Subscribe to this naughty blog - fresh posts to your e-mail box! · Friday March 15, 2019 by colin newell
Just testing out a requested feature – want to get BLOG updates to your e-mail?
It is that easy.
Instead of prowling this blog daily, just sign up for the updates.
Save time. Have fun. Why not?
Instant pot living Mushroom Risotto · Tuesday February 5, 2019 by colin newell
Authentic and brilliant Mushroom Risotto in less than 25 minutes from start to finish? Oh yes!
This recipe produces creamy, perfect risotto every time.
This is best served right out of your Instant Pot to experience the best silky texture of the risotto.
Reheating with a little extra water and pad of butter helps recreate the creamy original texture, for you leftover lovers.
read more of the article
The Ten Best Cities for Coffee in the United States of America · Thursday January 10, 2019 by colin newell
Living on the West Coast of North America in an area dominated by coffee culture, I cannot imagine not having the best of cafe culture within an easy walking distance. And in my 25 years of writing about the bean scene in Canada, I have traveled from the West Coast to the East Coast, with many stops along the way, looking for the best of the best in the brewed cup of joe.
read more of the article
Coffee in the 21st Century · Thursday September 6, 2018 by colin newell
For those who hearken to the 1950’s for a simpler time need only look at an assortment of sexist, mean-spirited ads that seemed to define a generation.
The reality of the time was – coffee quality had declined so much in the 40’s and 50’s that no amount of talent would have fixed it. In that era, as well, people were brewing coffee in percolators which is the single worse way to brew coffee – by running boiling water through the ground coffee and recycling the brewed coffee through the filter a half dozen times before it’s poured.
My mom and dad were still brewing percolated coffee into the late 1960’s until something of a renaissance started to develop – filter brewing coffee with hot water and a single pass – or manually pouring into a Melitta carafe.
For those of us, over 50 years of age, who have been drinking coffee for decades, these are simply the best of times for coffee culture and coffee lovers!
Steeped coffee from Santa Cruz - what's new. · Monday November 13, 2017 by colin newell
Podcast – Talking steeped coffee with Josh Wilbur of Steeped Coffee – Santa Cruz, California –
Talking steeped coffee!
We spoke with Josh Wilbur, brainchild behind the “Steeped Coffee” concept just out of beautiful Santa Cruz California.
Hey. People love coffee. I love coffee and have been talking about it for over 20 years
Just when I think I have run out of things to talk about, something interesting comes down the pipe.
And that is Steeped Coffee.
Steeped Coffee has just launched, arguably, the easiest way to make a great cup of coffee with their fully compostable single-serve bags.
Steeped Bags replace the need for wasteful pods, expensive machines, and time-consuming homebrewing equipment. And for the first time, this new brewing method combines the quality and ethics of specialty coffee with the convenience of a single serving. Not only that but the packaging is Earth friendly too! Wait, what?
My lab mates and I tried some free samples of the Steeped coffee product recently – simply following the dead simple instructions – Hey, if you can make a cup of tea you can make a darn fine cup of coffee. As the press info goes: “Each portion is delivered in a fully compostable nitro sealed packet for freshness, essentially halting the coffee’s aging process so it’s like it was ground within moments.” And we found this to be true. Just ground freshness in an envelope.
As Josh pointed out in our audio interview: “Sometimes simplicity is the most difficult thing to achieve. I came up with this idea 7 years ago—knowing that there should be an easier way to make great coffee. When I first started it was just coffee in a tea bag,” said Josh Wilbur, CEO and Founder. “There’s a reason this hasn’t been done before. We had to innovate to account for a number of factors such as sourcing ethical and quality beans, getting the right grind size and density, maintaining the freshness of ground coffee, controlling the water permeability of the filter, and making sure everything we do is environmentally sustainable. Turns out there were a lot of challenges to overcome to make something this simple work.”
Whoa. We love it when a plan comes together.
In our lab at the University of Victoria, we enjoy great coffee every day. We grind and brew for Hario V60 brews as well as Newco pro drip brewers. In a pinch it would be nice to have a slightly faster process that we can count on in a pinch – and have a clear conscience too! We have reviewed numerous “instant brew” type machines with PODS and such that are a blight on the environment. Steeped Coffee has thought it through and brought us something that we can live with. And a product that tastes good. Stay tuned!
For more information, visit Steeped Coffee online.
Podcast – If you cannot see the HTML audio player above, click here for the mp3 download.
Comment [2]
