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A pop up appeared on my screen from coffeefool.com and it caught my eye. So I checked it out and read their claims to have the freshest coffee?? I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried it ?? I'm a bit leery of ordering coffee online but there really aren't any great places to buy coffee from around here (the capital district upstate NY) I'd love to hear your thoughts about the coffee from this site.

ON HGTV this weekend there was a 1 hr show of International Housewares- There were several items for coffee and tea that were interesting- www.hgtv.com----search products to see items

Just in case anyone in this forum has ever thought about roasting coffee, a new home coffee roasting applicance has just hit the market. The Behmor 1600 This can roast up to 1 pound to a Full City roast. It has an afterburner to deal with the smoke and can be used inside on a countertop. I have no affiliation with Behmor or the inventor, Joe Behm. I have been home roasting coffee for about six years now, and just purchased a Behmor. This device has gotten a great deal of favorable attention at CoffeeGeek and other coffee forums.

We are starting a mobile cafe and selling fresh roasted, prepared coffee to commuters from our AirStream located south of Boston. We are trying to think of the best food to sell from the cart. One thought is muffins, scones, or "real" bagels (not easy to get here). Obviously, relatively neat, premade, quick, and easy to hold in one hand and eat on the train is the objective. The branding is cool and hip so the food needs to match and be of high quality to match the coffee. Does anyone have any thoughts and ideas? Really, any ideas are welcome so let your imaginations fly. Thanks so much! Goldie

When in Italy, what's your favorite brand of Italian coffee? I'm asking because we are in the throes of deciding what brand to use in our new restaurant, and would love to hear some biased opinions! Grazie mille!

I will be in the Pacific side of Costa Rica for some tasty waves next week and compromised with Mrs. that we will check out the butterflies farm and tour a coffee plantation. Are there any smaller coffee planters out there? I know there are some coop farmers but need the farm/plantation name. Any recommendation?

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I'm not sure if my system is changing or if there is truly a difference in the amount of caffeine found in a perked cup of coffee vs a cup of coffee made from one of those individual coffee filters that attach to the top of your mug?? Can anyone tell me if its the same amount and I'm doomed to drinking decaf from now on or if I will find coffee more soothing to my tummy if I perk it?? Thanks Stacy

Hey all I"m new here and found a thread on coffee, one of my favorite things. At home we roast our own coffee, and it's by far the best tasting coffee I've ever had. It's super fresh all the time, and we get our coffee from a couple of different places who gets their supply from all over the world. So we get coffee beans from great crops, and it's also a lot less expensive this way. I don't know if this topic had been covered before but it didn't seem like it. Has anyone else on here tried roasting coffee? Or have you tried it from someone else? What do you think? Thanks! Jeanine

Hello Everyone, Well I am usually in the Baking and Pastry forum but I decided to jump the gap so we could discuss something....I am a chocolate expert and actually do pairings...yet most of the time that involves wine and chocolate. I really think the coffee and chocolate were made for each other when it comes to eating/drinking together or pairing. I was hoping to meet some coffee connoisseurs in here and learn a little bit about coffee and maybe try to match up some different origins of coffee and chocolate...I hope to learn some more about coffee and how it could go with chocolate...

Hello to all the Coffee Lovers out there, I have a question for you from someone(me) that doesn't know a lot about high quality coffee... What kind of quality do the larger coffee chains have? poor, ok, good, or great quality coffee products... I'm interested in the chain stores like starbucks, coffee bean and tea leaf, peets coffee, etc.... I would love to hear your opinions on who is the best out of those three or other big chains and why... Thank you for your help in advance,

Coffee and chocolate is, of course, one of the great flavor pairings of all time, and one of my personal favorite treats. Lately I've begun drinking tea occassionally in place of coffee, and this afternoon decided to try a bit of chocolate with it. Neither was a very exotic variety, Earl Greys and Baronie Bittersweet, but they certainly didn't enhance each other. Is this just a peculiarity of mine, a general rule of thumb, or are there some tea-chocolate combinations that work well? SB

A while back, a co-worker offered to get me a cup of coffee and asked if I wanted milk or sugar. "A little milk," I replied. He brought me a cup that was pale tan in color and had to have been 40 percent half-and-half. To me, it was undrinkable -- lukewarm and unpleasantly mouth-coating; yet another co-worker who got a virtually identical cup proclaimed it "perfect." (I ended up pouring half the coffee out and refilling the cup with straight coffee, at which point it was almost okay.) Since then, I've been paying attention to milk in coffee, and I believe I'm in the minority. Most people who drink milk or cream in their coffee seem to like much more than I do. I also prefer whole milk; although half-and-half is acceptable, it's much easier to overpour. "Reduced fat" milk is okay if I'm desperate, but non-fat is worthless in coffee. (And forget non-dairy "creamer" -- I'd rather not drink coffee than use it.) What kind of milk do others prefer? How much? Steamed or cold?

I saw a Dualit Coffee Maker in a store for the first time yesterday and wondered if any members here are familiar with them. This one was of a large, squared, chunky design, much like some espresso makers. Probably about a 10 - 12 cup capacity.

I thought this video might be of some interest. Hearts in a cappucino would be too easy for that artist. FYI: It has almost no sound, so it would be safe for work watching while muted. And, save your sanity and avoid the comments on that site *shudder*

Hey all, Thought I'd inform those of you who travel through or to the Capital District are about a new coffee cafe called Mocha Blend Espresso Bar and Panini Cafe. It is located in Brunswick Plaza on Hoosick Rd. I have yet to check it out but then again I'm not a coffee expert as most of you on this site are. So what I think is good may taste like swill to you ??? But I'm just happy there is a place on my side of the river that MIGHT be worth frequenting?? So, I'll let you know what I think for what's worth?? Stacy

Hello all eG coffee forum members. After a long hiatus I have renewed my membership. I am interested and curious as to what your best specialty coffee experience may be? No restrictions, can be any experience...... Cheers! Spence

Has anyone either installed a new thermostat or upgraded one on a Francisfrancis X5? Or, for that matter, know of anyone who has? Mine is going, the boiler is cycling on and off every second in the espresso mode, and taking about three times greater than normal to reach steam temperature. I searched the net this afternoon with little luck specific to this model and learned after calling Illy, that the minimum charge will be $100 just to look at it. And that doesn't include the parts that they won't sell to individuals. I found a posting online that refered to a group of finatic X5ers that live for parts failures so they can modify their machines. Unfortunately, the site gave me no way to contact the person. I posted a similar topic on coffeegeek this afternoon, but have not gotten any replies back yet.

A wonderful thing happened today. Cafe Kubal opened in Eastwood, a neighborhood of Syracuse. Four blocks from our house. They're doing small batches of coffee in a 1904 roaster and serving a nice, basic set of coffee drinks and teas. They also serve pastries that are made by some Austrian guy in Geneva, NY. To get those pastries, they bring coffee beans to a customer in Weedsport and this person, who goes regularly from the Geneva pastry-maker's place to Weedsport, hands over pastries. Because Cafe Kubal is run by it's owners, the cafe is able to cater to local tastes, pay attention to important little details, and still offer coffee that is quite possibly superior to anything else being currently roasted in Syracuse. (Lots of pictures in the slideshow here) My question: We travel for food and coffee. Where are the other truly great cafes in the Northeast... outside of New York City? (Okay, include it if you must.) I'm looking for places from Toronto to Buffalo to Albany to Boston, and maybe up and down the Hudson Valley. Into Pennsylvania or northern New England would be fine, too. Anyone have their take on Muddy Cup? They're expanding rapidly! Lonnie

I had a Krups 12-cupper for a long time, 10 years maybe. It was working fine when I gave it away and bought a blue Cooks (Penney's) 12-cupper which is just OK. It cost $30 and I bought it because it's a pretty blue. However, 10 months later it is dead. Amazon reviewers like these two (both free shipping): Cuisinart DCC-1200 12-Cup Brew Central, Black and Stainless Steel $80 Hamilton Beach 43253 Ensemble 12-Cup Coffeemaker, Red $50 My requirements: 1. 12 cups 2. stand-alone and no grinder attached (I use a separate) 3. Would love one that doesn't dribble with each cup of coffee poured. Any thoughts out there? Marge

I read this here: I've check Vitamin Cottage (the local chain of health food stores) and searched online. Looks like Matcha is pretty hard to come by -- I was only able to find VitaLife offering it and/or some Japanese brand of tea. Anybody know where to get matcha?

Coffee, a well-established source of antioxidants, may also be a richer source of soluble dietary fiber than orange juice, researchers in Spain have reported. Source

Here's the article on MSN: "Bad buzz: Chinese bloggers bash Starbucks" Starbucks bashing isn't new. But that it's happening in China is new.

Reading a thread on another forum about why Reidel glasses make such a difference in tasting wine got me to thinking... Does the shape of my coffee cup affect how I taste the coffee? Is there an optimal shape, or different shapes based on the bean?

In a "SERVICE" thread in DC/DelMarVa forum Bux asked the following question Here's a place to start... Specialty Coffee Association 2005 Barista Competition press release Most of the pertinent details providing a high level overview are available there. I'll start by commenting on the question of In a word - no. The reason being that the highest quality espresso and espresso based drinks being prepared and served around the world today are coming from independent cafes and coffeehouses. I have yet to hear of a restaurant, even one operating at the highest levels of price and quality, that offers truly outstanding world-class espresso. Perhaps the two are mutually exclusive without some fundamental shifts in attituide and perception occurring? There is sometimes a tendency here at eG to discuss the coffee/espresso experience in the context of fine dining. Wouldn't it seem that the only way a true world-class barista experience could be delivered in a fine dining setting would be if a separate espresso/coffee lounge was provided that guests to could retire to after their meal? I should think that the noise of milk steaming, the on/off of the espresso machine's pump and many other factors would preclude having the actual espresso prep area within the dining room. Additionally, we might consider the issues of presentation and speed of serving. Straight espresso itself is a fragile drink with a short window of time in which to truly appreciate its wonders. Properly made milk based drinks such as a tradtional cappuccino or even specialty drinks typically are best served within no more than a minute or two (literally) of their preparation. On a separate note.... apart from encouraging young people to pursue careers and providing an incentive for skills development... do the Barista Competitions serve a higher purpose? Are they at present or could they, properly publicized and promoted, become an important vehicle for educating the public about the exciting changes that have taken place in espresso culture just within the past few years? If so how might this be accomplished?