Starbucks loses legal battle with roaster of “Charbucks” beans

Starbucks sued Black Bear Micro Roastery because the New Hampshire roaster marketed a dark-roasted coffee blend called ?Charbucks.” But a U.S. District Court judge ruled against Starbucks last week, saying the company failed to prove its image was tarnished by the Charbucks brand. Bear Micro Roastery owner Jim Clark says: “I had vicious arguments with my own attorneys right from day one. When I said I wanted this to go to trial, they laughed in my face.”

Full Story: Manchester, NH Union Leader.

Where did the word 'coffee' originate?

Kaffa? A province in Ethiopia where it was first discovered.
Kaaba? The holy building in Mecca.
Kavus Kai? A Persian king who was able to defy gravity and levitate by drinking coffee.
Kahwe? Meaning roasted in Turkish.
Cahouah? A hunger curing drink in Arabic.
Cohuet? Meaning strength or vigour in Arabic.

Grind size

Grinding exposes the beans' cell walls and prepares the beans to release their flavour during brewing. Because of variations in the length of the brewing cycle, the water temperature and the water agitation pattern, each brewing method requires different degrees of grind.

Effects of Grind

Since there are so many different ways to brew coffee, choosing the correct grind is essential to get the optimal flavour extraction during brewing. The degree of extraction depends on three things:

• the fineness of the grind


• the ratio coffee / water


• the length of time the grounds have been in contact with the water

Generally, the shorter the brewing cycle, the finer the grind required to produce optimal flavour extraction. The longer the brewing cycle, the coarser the grind required. Fine grinds expose more of the coffee's surface area to the water and the coffee's essential oils are released faster. Longer brewing methods require a coarse grind to avoid over-extraction. For example, espresso brewers can produce a cup of espresso in just 20 seconds, so they need a very fine grind. A grind that is mismatched to the brewing method can produce a bitter, overly strong coffee, or one that is weak and lacking in flavour.

Coffee Facts

Did you know...

Germany is the world's second largest consumer of coffee in terms of volume at 7 kilos per person.


Why Coffee Is Better Than Men

A cup of coffee looks good in the morning
You won't fall asleep after a cup of coffee
You can always warm coffee up
Coffee comes with endless refills
You won't get arrested for ordering coffee at 3 AM
Coffee is out of your system by tomorrow morning
You can make coffee as sweet as you want
Coffee smells and tastes good
You can turn the pot on, leave the room, and it'll be hot when you get back
They have coffee at police stations
You can always ditch a bad cup of coffee
No matter how ugly you are, you can always get a cup of coffee
A big cup or small cup? It doesn't matter
You can have an intelligent conversation with coffee
Coffee is ready in 15 minutes or less
Coffee doesn't take up half your bed
Coffee doesn't mind if you wake up at 3 AM and decide to have a cup
INSTANT COFFEE!

If you have any more reasons why coffee is better than men, Let us know!

P.S - FREE COFFEE for the best comment left this week!

Paddington Teas

Welcome to Paddington Teas,

Our customers demand the best, hence the reason for selecting Paddington Teas to be our primary tea supplier.

Our range of teas include white, green, black, and oolong teas, as well as the hugely popular vita mate. Our online shop provides detailed descriptions of these products and their many health benefits.

There is no doubt that Australian tea drinkers are broadening their tea drinking tastes and I can only encourage you to experiment with our exquisite range. Our teas also make wonderful gifts for those special occasions.


Tea Grades and Storage

Tea Types and Grades: Stemming from the Camellia Sinensis plant, there are six main types of tea (Black, red, white, green, yellow and Oolong) of which black, green and oolong are the most well known and drunk.

These six types of tea are further sorted by origin ( i.e. Assam, Ceylon, Chinese, Japanese etc) and graded by their characteristics ranging from whole leaf grades (Flowery pekoe, orange pekoe, pekoe, pekoe souchong, and souchong) down to the broken leaf grades (Broken orange pekoe, broken pekoe, BOP fanning, fannings, and dust).

Tea storage: The best way to store tea is in an airtight container, away from sunlight, in a cool location. Improperly stored tea will absorb moisture and flavours from its environment, resulting in a duller weak tasting tea.

Although tea can be stored for up to 1-2 years in optimal condition (traditional tea longer than herbal and fruit tea), we recommend consumption within six months after purchase.


Proceed to Online Shop!

Juice and Java Announcements!

Juice and Java Announcements!

Specialist Teas

Specialist teas now available! We now have a range of specialist teas in house. Come in a try a South African Rooibos or a vitamin packed Organic Vate Mate. All our teas displayed in-house are available for purchase and taste fantastic. If you're interested in attending one of our tea tasting evenings then send me an email to register.

Infused Olive Oils

Infused Olive Oils. We've just launched a range of infused olive oils and these are for sale at the cafe. These oils feature 100% Australian grown extra virgin olive oil harvested this season. Included in the range is chilli infused and rosemary infused oils and we'll be developing further products as well. These products make wonderful gifts and are great in any kitchen.

Coffee Fun!

Jean Paul Sartre is sitting at a French cafe, revising his draft of Being and Nothingness. He says to the waitress, "I'd like a cup of coffee, please, with no cream." The waitress replies, "I'm sorry, monsieur, but we're out of cream. How about with no milk?"

Soy Macchiato

Jules made this beautiful macchiato with soy milk today.

Famous Tea Quote

Tea and Water give each other life," the Professor was saying. "The tea is still alive. This tea has tea and water vitality," he added, "...Afterwards, the taste still happens... It rises like velvet... It is a performance."

-Jason Goodwin, The Gunpowder Gardens

History of Tea

Tea's history is as interesting and complex as the drink is seductive. Shen Nung was an early emperor of China. He was also a skilled ruler, scientist and a patron of the arts. As a hygienic precaution he required that all drinking water be boiled. While visiting a distant region of his empire on a hot summer day, he and his court stopped to rest. As the servants began to boil water for drinking, some dried leaves from a nearby bush fell into the boiling water making a distinctive golden brown liquid. The scientific side of the Emperor emerged and he was driven to experiment with the new liquid. He drank it and found it quite refreshing. And so tea was created. Serendipity at it's best - wouldn't you agree?
If you're looking for soothing organic teas for yourself or a gourmet tea gift for someone special, remember GourmetStation's tea collection.

The Coffee Break

It's not you. It's not your product or service. It's not even the restroom, though that's close. If there's one thing that your business couldn't survive without, it's--without question or argument--coffee.

Can you imagine what would happen if you refused to let your employees sip coffee at their desks or, if not there, in the company break room? You would likely be strung up to the ceiling fan and left to spin the day away, while your employees went off to sip mocha lattes and plot your ruin. Your business would curl up and die. As well it should. Coffee and the workplace have had a symbiotic relationship for some time now (see "Bean There, Done That," right).

The first coffee break as we know it likely happened around the turn of the 20th century. Howard Stanger, a professor of management and marketing specializing in industrial relations and business history at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, says it was in 1900 when the Larkin Company, a hybrid soap manufacturer and mail-order company, began giving employees free coffee to drink in break rooms. As far as he knows, this is the earliest example of an official coffee break.

Like many businesses of the time, entrepreneurs were concerned that their female employees not be subjected to their brash male co-workers and the harsh conditions in the factories. Since women couldn't completely be shielded, "companies often tried to create domestic spaces where they could take a break," says Stanger. "In photographs, you'll often see [break rooms] decorated like a middle-class home." Offering coffee in these refuges was an amenity that would lead to future amenities, like health benefits and pension plans in the 1920s.

Today, of course, coffee at the workplace dominates much more than a few minutes a day, because people appreciate the drink for the same reason their counterparts did 100 years ago, observes Stanger: "They drank it for the caffeine jolt, the warmth and the comfort."

Coffee Rub

After a visit to the farmers market, our friends Misha and Michael whipped up this incredible dish. The meat is a Buffalo tri tip and the rub/marinade was made with the following:Victrola Guatemala Hue Hue Tenango Finca Vista Hermosa, bay leaf, cayenne, rosemary, earl grey tea, thyme, coarse salt, pepper and a few other secret ingredients. Coffee makes a wonderful base for meat rubs. Some other spices to add to coffee to make a great rub include star anise, chipotle pepper, cardamom & corriander.

Espresso

Espresso is originally an Italian method. It is drunk worldwide nowadays, both at home and out-of-home.

The term 'espresso' is often used for a type of coffee, but it is actually the term for the brewing procedure. Espresso means coffee that is made at the moment when it is requested and it refers to a quick infusion of water through coffee grounds using either a stovetop or an electrical machine. The difference with other brewing systems is that the water is forced under pressure through finely ground coffee packed tightly over the filter. With an espresso machine a cup of coffee can be ready in around 25 seconds.

Moka express or Neopolitan

In the stovetop version, also called Moka express and sometimes Neopolitan, water in the bottom chamber is heated, the resulting pressure (max. 1.5 bar) forces the water up through a filter containing packed ground coffee, at the end the coffee brew arrives in the upper chamber.

Electrical espresso

The electrical models inject hot water through the ground coffee directly into a cup. In this machine, pressure is built up by a pump in combination with the coffee bed and the sieve and should be at least nine bar. To build up this pressure the grind should be perfect, which not only means very fine but also with a certain particle size distribution. For espresso usually a dark roast is used, which is, however, not essential.

Usually the espresso coffee has a high dry solids content, but really discriminating is the richer flavour and aroma, more body and a pleasant aftertaste and last but not least a beautiful, stable, creamy layer on top.

Coffee Beans

Freshness is essential when selecting your beans - if your coffee isn't fresh you have no chance of producing a great espresso. Make sure you purchase your coffee from a specialty coffee roaster. If there is not one in your ares, find one online who guarantees freshness. Bean quality and roast degree are also crucial for espresso. Use high grade beans that have been roasted for a medium to dark roast. Coffee deteriorates quickly so try and buy whole beans coffee each week in small amounts. Use the coffee's aroma to determine freshness. You should smell a hint of toasted caramel if the coffee has been freshly ground and a rancid,oxidised aroma when stale. Coffee packed immediately after roasting and vaccum or nitrogen flushed is ideal.

Caffeine consumption is least worrisome of teen behaviors

DURING THE past few years, teens have been gulping down caffeine in record amounts.

Many seem to favor products with the highest caffeine content, such as energy drinks including Red Bull and double shots of espresso. Starbucks and similar-style coffeehouses have become the “in” place to be for teens. Their love affair with this stimulant — some call it the last legal high — has not been discouraged by most parents, or even society in general. I, for one, will not add coffee to the long list of beverages my teens shouldn’t drink. Moreover, considering all the places teens could be and the things they could be doing, hanging out at a coffeehouse sounds pretty good to me. Besides, a little caffeine can be good for you; it is loaded with healthy antioxidants and, when used moderately, provides a short-term memory boost.

Full Story: Contra Costa Times.