August 2009

Health Benefits of Coffee

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It’s no wonder that coffee is the second-most popular drink in America. It’s delicious, it comes in as many unique flavors as you can think of, and it’s a very quick pick-me-up for tired souls. Why is it, then, that I feel so guilty when I indulge in a cup?

It’s probably because coffee’s got a bad rap. If you drink too much—say, three pots a day while never sleeping and studying all week—yeah, you should stop. Like, yesterday. High “doses” of coffee can make you dehydrated, raise your blood pressure (but only for a few minutes), and perhaps even contribute to more brittle bones. It’s also not a good idea for pregnant women.

Top 10 Weird Coffee Flavors

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Call me old-fashioned, but I just like a regular cup of joe. If I’m in the mood for a latte, I like it sweet and French vanilla-y. I’m not into a lot of weird flavors in my coffee. (Take me to get a drink at Sonic during Happy Hour, now, there’s a different story.)

I always see seasonal latte flavors at the convenience store and the bookstore and I was wondering what the oddest flavors might be. Here’s what I came up with.

10. Eggnog: This flavor isn’t so weird on it’s own, but do we really need to make it into a latte flavor? Couldn’t you just, you know, heat up a glass of eggnog?

9. Tea Lattes: When Starbucks first started serving these, I was a bit skeptical; however, they’re quite delicious, and really nothing new. Red lattes with rooibos tea are common in South Africa.

Making Coffee: Pour Over Coffee

This is still one of the most common ways to make coffee as well as one of the least expensive in terms of equipment. Essentially, manual pour over coffee make

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consists of a glass or plastic housing that contains a coffee filter, and a container to collect the brewed coffee. They come on both individual one-cup serving sizes, that perch over a mug, and larger sizes up to 12 cups. My very first coffee maker was a manual pour over. In my case, it was one of the plastic Melitta filter cones that I used with Melitta paper coffee filters. There are other brands besides Melitta—purists often favor the Chemex manual pour over coffee makers because the entire thing is made of high quality tempered glass. In my glass, I used a plastic Melitta filter cone, and a porcelain coffeepot, with an air tight lid that would keep the coffee hot.