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

Top Green Coffee & Tea Tips

Did you know:

• Coffee was used as a murder weapon in New York. A man poisoned his soon to be ex-wife's coffee with cyanide.
• If you are female and drink 3 or more cups of coffee a day, you could be shrinking your breast size. (I didn't make this one up. It's a real study done in Sweden at Lund University.)  Better news from that study, if you have a certain variation of a gene (50% of women have it) then coffee can reduce the risk of breast cancer by as much as 2/3. Seems coffee counteracts the hormone effects on the breast tissue.
  • Limit the amount of coffee you drink if you're pregnant. If you have two or more cups a day, the odds are higher you'll have a low birthweight baby.
  • Starbuck's is giving away coffee if you vote. Honor system. But the state of California considers it be be a bribe since food can be an influencer of voting. California evidently took a donut shop to task 20 years ago.
  • Jeremy Clarkson in the UK TImes Online is convinced coffee drinking countries are staying on top. He despairs of the UK tea drinkers saying,
    

  " Because when you stop and think about it, how many French or Italian banks have gone bust? And while we  wobble, Spain’s Santander bank is stalking the globe like one of the country’s gigantic trawlers, sucking up the broken minnows.  This is because they are all coffee drinkers. They wake up, have an espresso; then, invigorated, they go to work quite literally full of beans.  We, on the other hand, expect to be able to operate on a stomach full of wet leaves. Tea, in actual fact, caused our banking crisis.

  • McDonalds in the Ozarks (Missouri to the rest of us) is offering free coffee to those making donations to the Ozarks Food Harvest food bank. Bring a non perishable item and you'll receive a small regular or gourmet coffee of your choice.
  • If you happen to be up in Maine, not Down Maine on the coast drop by the University of Maine.  The University of Maine at Orono holds an International Coffee Hour every Friday at 4 p.m. in Memorial Union's North Dining Room. This past week they celebrated Guy Fawkes Day(which is actually November 3rd.) Hosted by the International Students Association, you'll meet some people from different cultures and have some coffee as well.
  • From Gillian Hurst Down Under at the CourierMail.au here's a recipe for espresso granita.

  To make your own all you need is 350ml of strong espresso (not instant coffee), about a tablespoon of sugar and 250ml of whipping cream whipped together with a few teaspoons of vanilla sugar. Simply dissolve the sugar into the coffee and place the sweetened coffee into ice-cube trays and freeze. When frozen place the cubes into a food processor and blend.Return to the freezer until required. Serve with the lightly whipped Chantilly cream.

  That's all the news for today. I'm expecting my Sumatra Gayoland Coffee today. Will let you know how it brews.

  Not the usual grind,

• 

Tip of the mug to Woodsy for the use of the photo

Visiting the Gilkatho site I again remembered the great espresso I had experienced with Jura Capresso machines. The machines are well-designed and touch button easy to operate. Jura offers everything from the Jura Capresso mini s Espresso Machine to the Jura-Capresso IMPRESSA Z6 Coffee/Espresso Machine When you are ready for espresso made to perfection then Jura is the choice for you.

As the weather heats up, this cool and creamy coffee beverage is a great way to chill out! (Down Under they're wanting to chill out, while up here we're looking for ways to warm up!)

- Double espresso (40ml)
- 1 to 1 sugar ratio (bring to a boil and then let cool
- Crushed hazelnuts
- Fresh juice from two passion fruits.
- 50ml cold cream
- crushed ice
- 2 tsp honey

- Champagne glass
- Two shakers

Start by dipping the rum of the glass into the sugar water, and then into the hazelnuts. Mix the double shot, passion fruit juice and crushed ice together in a shaker. Let stand briefly and then pour the contents into the glass. Place honey, cream and crushed ice in a separate shaker. Shake briefly and then pour slowly into the glass.

This is on my list of recipes to try. For now I'll just put a log on the fire and find a special someone to cozy up.

Tip of the mug to Gilkatho for the recipe Cool Passion.

The coffee shop barista, following corporate policy said no. The next thing you knew expletivess were flying and the blogosphere reacted. 

The blogger finally ordered the recommended Americano (4 shots of espresso and light on the water at the suggestion of the barista. The blogger liked it; the barista did his thing following policy.

Blogger finishes by leaving a tip. Dollar bill marked "#$%! you and your coffee policy." Photographed the dollar bill for his blog.

Shop owner gives his response. Hey the   Washington Post. got involved and wrote a section for the Metro section and even the US News and World Report joined in. Had to be a slow news day.  I'm at a loss today, what can I say today so I'll jump on the train as well.

 Bottom line: do businesses have the right/responsibility to maintain product standards?

Or when a do it your way philosophy is the norm does a business let the customer decide?

Is the customer always right?

How do you like your espresso? Me, I'll brew it, add some dulce du leche then ice and enjoy. It' s just too hot to complain. I'd leave and go to a shop which served it my way.

I'm ready to listen. So let me know your thoughts. I've plenty of espresso, dulce du leche and ice.

Not the usual grind,

Tip of the mug to Sara Baraz for the photo and to the Glen the reader who sent me the links.

Coffee, and early mornings always make me philosophical. So consider yourself warned, eh?

I was just thinking as I savored my illy espresso about an old Turkish proverb. "A cup of coffee commits one to 40 years of friendship,"   about  the friends with whom I've shared a cup of coffee.

 You know you can debate the problems of the world and solve them (sometimes) over a cup of coffee.

You can warm your body and the conversation can warm your heart when you talk with friends over a cup of coffee.

I've listened to sad stories, happy stories and those in-between over cups of coffee with friends.

Maybe the reason I savor my coffee is the good memories and friends that go with the great taste of coffee or espresso.

Not the usual grind,

 A tip of the mug to Benjamin Earwicker for the photo of the deer.

I admit I've been making more coffee and espresso at home than dropping by one of my favorite coffee shops.

For those of us who are developing an additonal expertise as home baristas, here's some trivia for you from the Speciality Coffee Association of America.

If you find a coffee you really enjoy at a local roaster, buy some. When properly stored, (cool, dry location) coffee can stay fresh for several weeks or even months. If you want to protect the aroma of the coffee then don't grind the coffee until just before brewing.

The oils in coffee are volatile and quickly fade. The oxidation damages the oils and the flavor is-shall we say-not the one you bought the coffee for.

But here is the key to my rationalization of buying some great roasted coffee beans.

Even the most highly prized single-origin estate grown specialty coffees sell for only
$12.00 a pound. Even if you brew coffee exceptionally strong, you will still get at least 50
cups from that pound, making the cost of each cup just 24 cents—cheaper than bottled water.

Source: Speciality Coffee Association of America

So enjoy your coffee whether from your local roaster or take a look at perfect espresso every day. Sign up for the illy espresso membership program and enjoy easy ordering and home delivery.

Happy 4th of July to all stateside.

Not the usual grind,

A  tiip of the mug to Przemyslaw Szczepanski for the dollar sign photo and Jason Morrison for the scissor photo

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,

I've got two great examples of eco friendly coffee businesses to share today. Both are across the pond from me.

First if you're in Copenhagen you'll have the opportunity to have your espresso freshly brewed and delivered if you are staying or working in the central area. Seems an espresso fan and entrepreneur Ole Skram got the idea as he sat sipping his favorite brew at a cafe.

Putting his vision of a coffee "chariot" into reality, Ole got a blacksmith to design and build a platform for his bike and the rest they say is history. Ole Skram uses pedal power to take his espresso machine to those wanting freshly pulled espresso.

Known as the "Coffee-Man" he now pedals his way around the central area. Ole can also be found at  Østerport station and is available for planned events. (phone +45 60 65 16 010)

Still across the pond ,  this time in the UK two guys, Will and Steve,  have taken the pedal power a step further. They are offering franchises for their BIKECAFFE™.  This twosome offers Italian coffee products delivered by on retrofitted trikes with espresso machines. The two guys have partnered with roasters Segafredo Zanetti and Integrity Fair Trade to provide top of the line coffees to coffee fanciers in the UK

BIKECAFFE™ offers a variety of coffees from espresso to cappuccino or even chai. Will and Steve even offer little cakes and biscotti to go with your drinks. Their coffee trikes are available for bookings for events, parties, concerts or conferences.  You can contact them by  EMAIL  Info AT (use @ instead of AT)bikecaffee.com or phone 0845 436 70 16 if you can't wait.

 Isn't it just amazing how coffee drinkers can take their love of coffee and turn it into a business. Great ingenuity all!

 Not the usual grind,

A tip of the mug to Lars Hedegaard Pedersen, S.W. and Springwise for this tip. Thanks to Will and Steve of BikeCaffee.com for the use of the photo.  Now if we could get this idea going in some US and Canadian cities…

The shop is called Wildfire Coffee Roasters. It's a small coffee shop but with a big  difference.

As soon as you enter the shop you smell the difference. They roast their own coffees onsite. Using a small batch roaster by Ambex, the roaster can be seen at the back of the shop. 

I didn't get to see the roaster in operation, but I did get to enjoy some of the results. The special coffee of the day was a microlot from Costa Rica called La Cuesta Honey Prep Microlot. It was a smooth almost delicate medium roast coffee. There was no bitterness at all.  This microlot means it comes from only one farm in Costa Rica.  The harvest is small,  only 500 bags of this coffee are harvested each year. If you have the opportunity, get a taste or bag of this coffee.

The shop is a nice neighborhood coffee bar with 11 tables, some easy chairs and a comfortable couch.  It's a great place to sit, study, read the paper or just enjoy the coffee. Owned by Tricia and Mark Sobhani, two avid espresso fanciers, the Sobhanis wanted  freshly roasted and well made coffee. 

All of this shows in their attention to details. The coffee cups are big enough to enjoy a good cup of coffee, but not so heavy or clunky you slosh yourself.  The menu boards are filled with a variety of drinks and they offer taste treats to accompany your coffee. You are also offered samples of the coffee of the day as you enter.

A definite discovery where I'll return. Many more coffees to try..

Not the usual grind,

Tip of the mug to Shanti for the recommendation, to Ambex for the use of the photo