Here comes instant gratification for coffee lovers or for those who want portable flavoured coffee.   This invention by Heo Jeong Im layers coffee on a stirrer.

You unwrap the stirrer, dip in hot water, start swirling and you have instant hot coffee!  As you stir, the coffee dissolves.  The end result? Hot flavoured coffee instantly ready to drink.

The coffee on a stick comes in assorted flavours including cafe latte, cappuccino, caramel macchiato, mocha latte and Americano.

Instant coffee gratification might be good, but I'll wait for the brewed coffee.

Not the usual grind,

The Coffee Guy

A tip of the mug to Yanko Designs for the heads up

This means calorie counts on menus or signboards near each item for easy reference. This way people can choose or not to know how many calories are in a particular food or drink.

The question I have: Do you really want to know how many calories are in a grande Café Mocha (300 with the whipped cream, or 260 without) or 500 calories in one slice of Meat pizza?

Eating healthy is important I know, but I’m not sure I’m ready for it being in my face. I know how to Google and I have a calorie book to look up when the mood strikes. So maybe I should give up the cappucino and go for espresso instead?

Anyone for Cinnamon Dolce Latte with Sugar-Free Syrup-only 90 calories?

Not the usual grind,

A tip of the mug to Alexander Galanakis for the use of the photo

Reading Forbes recently there was an article on the most expensive cups of coffee worldwide. Notice I did not say great tasting coffee, just most expensive. Well Moscow wins the award for most expensive cup of coffee.  A cup of coffee comes in at $10.19 including tip. Now if you don't want the Moscow experience you can pick up a familar latte or cappucino you can even find Starbuck's in Moscow. A latte will set you back less than $9.00.

If you happen to be traveling elsewhere, save up for Athens and Paris, the coffee will set you back just under $7.00.  The bargain prices are found in Buenos Aires in $2.03 and $2.36 in Johannesburg. The information was collected by Mercer a consulting firm. Mercer annually analyses cost of living information for companies which send employees abroad for conferences and extended stays.  No need to give up coffee though as the places surveyed were those cafes and restaurants are those frequented by expatriates.

And by the way don't feel sorry for those in Moscow.  According to Forbes, Moscow "boasts 74 billionaires, the most in the world."

Not the usual grind,

Thanks to Svilven Milley for the photo of the coffee cup and Daniel Moore for the photo of the money.

In many of the sites nationwide, the golden arches are serving ice coffee, lattes and cappucinos. 

The market and franchisee reaction is mixed according to Retail Wire and 24/7 blog.

McDonald's has made its reputation on fast, convenient economical choices. I'm not sure how that translates to lattes and cappucinos. 

My thought is McDonald's is hoping people will stop by on their way to work for a latte or cappucino instead of dropping by Starbucks.

Now Consumer Reports did give McDonald's a superior rating on their plain black coffee. But how many people actually go to McDonald's for coffee?

In many locations including Seattle McDonald's has launched their coffee expansion.

I was on holiday last week and had a fantastic time doing very little. I flew and stayed there for an entire week. Did nothing but enjoy myself and stay away from the computer. Since the holiday involved seeing family I did have a couple of trips to McDonald's. Uncles have to do that you know, eh?

The location I visited did not offer the lattes or cappucinos.  Well, while the cousins were climbing around the playgym  I tried the ice coffee. 

Being slightly virtuous I tried the sugar free vanilla ice coffee. It's ok, but nothing to write about. Cold and wet.

Giving up the virtuous part was easy. I decided to try the carmel flavor as the cousins wanted to stay longer and my sister and cousins wanted a break. I only do this once a year so I stayed.

The carmel ice coffee was good. It had the sweetness of the iced espresso with dulce du leche. Definitely a taste I will try again.

As for the playgym, it's a good thing the family gathers only once a year. One cousin lost one shoe, how I'll never know. I swear I saw them place it in the storage box.

So if you're at McDonald's and sitting watching the little ones on the playgym, buy yourself a carmel ice coffee. It's cold, refreshing and definitely not virtuous. Enjoy, it's summer!

Not the usual grind,

Thanks to Deborah Burns realtor from Seattle and her blog for the photo of the billboard advertising McDonald's espresso.

The question is: where do I go?  Around San Antonio there are lots of choices with Wi-fi.  Especially since Starbucks did its arrangement with AT&T.

With AT&T being my internet carrier at the house it's a no brainer. Close to the house and secure reception. Now if you're not an AT&T customer, you get a Starbucks card. Put $5 on the card (or use it once a month-putting money on card counts as use) and you're eligible for using Wi-Fi 2  hours per day at no additional charge.

McDonalds's has Newman's Own coffee and Wi-Fi service too. Not bad coffee either.

Other choices are in close range too.  It's A Grind-great coffee. Hard to believe it's a franchise.  Problem is getting a table with a electric plug. My laptop battery only lasts so long. I'm competiting with students from the local colleges and medical center complex.

Borders-Seattle may have its best, but it's not serving at my local Borders. Even the flavored coffees have a hard time covering up burnt coffee taste.

But then I have to narrow it down a bit. What type of coffee do I want?   Wildfire Roasters is the choice for today.  Looking forward to trying the coffee of the day and their  Wi-Fi as well.

I want to wish all of you in Canada, Happy Canada Day!

When you need to escape to a new change of work scene, where do you go? Share your places to go for Wi-Fi and coffee(of course).

Not the usual grind,

It’s great to write about this as it forces me to ‘research’ so I can better describe the different drinks. Ah, rough life, but I’m up for the challenge.

The first of the traditionals is cappuccino. Cappuccino is espresso with steamed milk and its foam poured onto the top.  The cappuccino is then garnished with a dusting of chocolate powder.

Cappucinno is the most easily prepared and most often abused in its preparation. If you could look at a cappaccino through a clear glass you would see the layers of equal parts espresso, steamed milk and foamed milk.  The steaming of the milk gives a sweet taste to the milk and a velvety smoothness. Too often the milk is scalded giving a burned not sweet taste to the cappucinno.

The layering is important as it gives cappuccino its unique taste. The foam on the top acts as an insulating blanket keeping the drink hot and delicious for a longer period of time. The dusting of the chocolate powder is a dusting not another layer. The chocolate adds an accent to the milk and the rich coffee oils of the espresso.

A latte, another favorite is espresso with hot milk added then a thin layer of gently foamed milk. Ideally latte is served in glasses to show off the color.  Lattes have more milk than cappucinno with its equal proportions of espresso, milk and foam. The caffe latte has a smoother milky taste to it.

Macchiato served in the tiny espresso or demitasse cup is an espresso with just a dash of foamed milk. Wikipedia refers to the dash of milk as a ‘stain’ or as the Portuguese word for a macchiato is "pingo," which means "drop".

A little milk, more or a lot, the choice is yours to enjoy.

Not the usual grind,

A tip of the mug to Elvis Santana  from Hialeah where my passion for coffee began.  Elvis took the photo of the cappucino sign featured here.

As I sit here tapping on the computer keys and drinking my cappucino, here's some of the great information I found about how coffee can positively effect your health.

Did You Know?

Risk of Gallbladder Disease Decreased In Male Coffee Drinkers

So if you're male,  drink regular coffee, at least 1-3 cups a day you'll have less of a chance of having problems with your gallbladder. Didn't seem to matter how the coffee was made, just that it was not decaffinated. And it's not just the caffeine factor either. Seems tea,and caffeniated sodas didn't have the same effect. For those of you who like reading the  statistical results, I've included the study link for you.  American Medical Association Journal (JAMA) found males who drink 1-3 cups of coffee a day can decrease their risk of gallbladder disease by 30%+.  The study included a large number of male health care providers and lasted 10 years.   Ah-h the magic of a cup of coffee.

 Antioxidant Levels High in Coffee

Antioxidants are compounds found in food which have been shown in studies to minimize inflammation in the body. Now antioxidants are found in tomatoes, blueberries, whole grains and many other fruits and vegetables. So why should you care?

Inflammation is a part of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and a number of other conditions which affect our body's mobility and health.  So with a little less than 2 cups of coffee each day, you can help your body.

Just for those of you who are real coffee fanatics and you know who you are, other food groups are needed also.

And here's yet another reason to enjoy your coffee or cappucino,

Risk For Type-2 Diabetes Maybe Reduced In Coffee Drinkers

Seems studies found a 30% reduction  in people who drank 3-4 cups a day.

One study out of University of California-San Diego found that people who had impaired glucose tolerance (early warning sign of type-2 diabetes) also had the 60% reduced risk of actually getting/having type-2 diabetes.

Researchers are guessing it's not just the caffeine, but something in the coffee that has the effect.

Tip of the mug to WebMd  for a summary of the studies reporting a reduction in type-2 diabetes in coffee drinkers.

 My cappucino is almost finished, so I'll sign off for now.  Enjoy your cup of coffee.

 Not the usual grind,