Tag: coffee

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Every once in a while you see something that gives you the feeling that yes, you’re living in the future. I got it the first time I saw Wolfgang Puck’s self-heating coffee at the grocery store. I also got it when I saw this:

Laser-guided paper cutter

I mean, how can you go wrong with a paper cutter that has a laser sight?

A few weeks ago, Warren Ellis wrote about “detecting outbreaks of the future” and possibly setting up a website for “future hunters.” His latest Bad Signal mentions setting it up at the currently-defunct DiePunyHumans.com. This kind of stuff should fit right in.

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  • You pour yourself orange juice, then very carefully put the carton back…in the cupboard.
  • You walk into the lunch room for coffee, but forget to bring your mug.
  • You momentarily forget how to make coffee.
  • You set up the coffee maker, but leave out a critical step like positioning the coffee pot.
  • You get the coffee, then forget to drink it.
  • You pour yourself a bowl of Wheat Thins.
  • You try to slice fruit into your cereal, but you do it over the sink instead of your bowl.
  • You pour yourself coffee, then immediately wash your mug and head for work.

Feel free to add to the list in the comments!

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I was preparing my latest favorite work-suitable drink a few minutes ago, and a drop of tea spilled over the side of the mug and ran down to the base. Naturally it immediately spread around the entire base, forming a ring on the desk. It was easily wiped up, but then I thought—why does it always spread around the entire base to form that unmistakable coffee ring?

It occurred to me that it might just be capillary action with the liquid flowing along the V-shaped channel formed by the table and the edge of the mug. Some googling did turn up the fact that ring-shaped coffee stains from single drops are caused by capillary flow: as the drop evaporates, it draws water from the inside.

But the instant ring from the mug? Either it’s something else, or it’s so obvious no one has throught it worth writing about.

Edit: *sigh* Read first, then post. I was just reminded that capillary action specifically refers to fluid moving against gravity. Any other thoughts?

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The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has a drink they call a Moroccan Mint Latte. It’s a tea latte with chocolate. You can get a fairly good approximation by making hot chocolate using mint tea instead of hot water. Katie suggested Bigelow Plantation Mint (after I mentioned that I’d tried it with Stash Moroccan Mint), which seems to work well.

Update: I forgot to mention the key difference between the two varieties of tea that I tried. Black tea works better with chocolate than green tea.

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We have four coffee-house chains in the area, in addition to local places.

My favorite is Diedrich Coffee, with a couple dozen locations in Orange County, two each in LA and San Diego… and three each in Houston and Denver. (In the last few months, Diedrich has started selling T-shirts that say, “Venti, Schmenti.”)

Then there’s Kelly’s Coffee and Fudge Factory, which had about five locations the last time I checked but now has about thirty scattered around Southern California with one more in Lake Havasu… and according to their website, they’re opening one in Riyadh. Yes, Riyadh.

And then there are the international chains. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is all over the American Southwest and Southeast Asia. Starbucks, of course, is everywhere.

At one point we had all four chains in one mall. The first phase of the Irvine Spectrum had a Diedrich Coffee attached to the Barnes & Noble, before the bookstore hooked up with Starbucks. The second phase added a Coffee Bean. The third phase added a Kelly’s, and the Barnes & Noble moved to the new section… and added a Starbucks coffee bar inside. Unfortunately the Diedrich’s was off in a corner, and without the bookstore to bring people in, it eventually closed.

Edit: I can’t believe I forgot these, but if you really look for them, you can find Peet’s and Seattle’s Best. Neither has many stores in the area, though.