Random Thoughts

A Brew To A Kill

I love cozy mysteries that give you a taste of the location and local community and Cleo Coyle does not disappoint. As her characters move from one scene to the next in the 11th of her Coffeehouse Mysteries, readers are once again treated to the sounds, smells and flavors of Greenwich Village, NY. Author Cleo Coyle has taken us from the aromatic “On What Grounds” to a steaming cup of “A Brew to a Kill” delivering mocha and murder all the way. Although I’m not a fan of books in first person, Coyle manages to expertly peek into the other character’s thoughts by observing facial expressions, body posture, and tone of voice. I’m soon lost in Greenwich Village. We immediately are aware of Coyle’s love of coffee and her knowledge of the valuable bean. Drop into the series at any time as Ms. Coyl...

Scones and Bones

Need a little tea break? Pick up one of our brews at the library cafe, select a Laura Child’s Tea Shop Mystery, and take a short trip to warm Charleston, South Carolina, far far away from your troubles. Ms. Child’s characters are quirky, likable, and get into the right amount of trouble. The plots escalate from a mellow chamomile morning in Charleston, to a gunpowder green whodunnit, then slide nicely to a sweet jasmine finish. Each book’s title is a fun tea reference, and the information on teas, flowers, and baked goods will leave you reaching for a highlighter. Like icing on a cupcake, the author finishes off her books with recipes, hosting ideas, and even tips on dyeing fabric with teas. Start at the beginning of the series to enjoy the growth in characters. Her recently released book,...

Hypothetical

Let’s just say that there is a busy healthy foods store in the area and along the far edge is a row of large containers holding freshly heaped coffee beans.  Along the top are the labels indicating the names and locations where grown. Now – imagine if you will, that it is very very close to lunchtime and the heady aroma of the coffee beans fill the air.  You see a woman lingering near the bins, a woman who looks much much younger than her last months of 49.   She leans over a full bin of heaping beans and inhales the heady aroma of Jagong from the Sumatra region and imagines the deep notes of dark chocolate and a spice layer atop a heavy, syrupy body and just a touch of fruit to round out the experience.  Swaying a bit, she moves to the next bin and breathes the Baroida Single-...

Are there calories in your drinks?

Dear Betsy Bean: Your drinks are so delicious but I wonder how many calories are in those yummy mixes. Sincerely, Julie Dearest Julie When consuming a Latte’ Da! beverage, a very magical thing happens. Calories vanish into the mist, fat content is absorbed into the brain and converted to higher mathematical capabilities, and sugar percentages are mysteriously divided into non-traceable fractions. All this is done so that you can experience a rare moment of true joy and bliss. We just don’t allow ourselves to partake of such joy on regular occasions. Why is this? YOU deserve such joy. YOU work hard, you give of yourself to the world – now give yourself what others are enjoying on a daily basis. Repeat this mantra: Iced Blackberry Mocha…hummm….Java Chip …oooooommmm…. Chai Tea….aaaahhhhhmmmmm...

Inst@%t

I can’t even spell it much less say it.  But some people use it.  I never want to nor will peer pressure make me use it.  Not after knowing Latte’ Da!.  Most … instant … (there I spelled it but read it in a whisper) coffees are made from poor to mediocre beans brewed in industrial-size percolators until the grounds have been over extracted, and much of the aroma and taste has gone right out the smokestack.  Aromatic oils are then added back into the granules.  So it’s all pretend.  Ain’t nothing like the real thing bay-bee. Now I need a Cinnamon Bun Latte to make it all better again.   *S.Perry, The Complete Coffee Book

Do you know your coffee?

Dear Betsy Bean

I’m here for you.  How can I help?  Delve into your troubled soul and…. okay maybe not a delve but gently reach into your soul, okay maybe not your soul, but if you have a question, troubles, coffee ponderings, I’m here for you.

Around the world

Which one are you? America – Most Americans still prefer a light roast; but  darker roasts are becoming more common. Americans generally like their coffee with cream and sugar. Flavored coffees (which “taste” flavored only due to the aroma of the additive, not because the beans themselves are flavored in any way) are also popular. France – The dark roast called, appropriately, French roast, is popular. The French also like café au lait, a half-milk, half-coffee mixture. Austria – Viennese roast is a blend of two-thirds dark-roast beans and one-third regular roast (what’s known as “European roast” flips those proportions). Italy – Italy is the home of espresso, which is coffee brewed by forcing steam through finely ground, dark-roasted ...

What is Acidity in coffee?

A pungent, tangy taste in coffee, registered on the tip and sides of the tongue, is called acidity. The degree of acidity is an important aspect of coffee flavor, not as measured chemically, but as experienced by drinking the coffee. A robusta coffee grown at a low altitude may have a pale, bland flavor; an arabica coffee grown above 4500 feet at lower temperatures will have a bright, refreshing acidity. The acids emerge as coffee is roasted and light roasts enhance them. Dark roasts diminish acid qualities and emphasize sweetness.

Winter contest

Dearest fans, I love to put coupon opportunities on my facebook page (by the way, are you signed on to enjoy my coupon giveaways?  http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/LatteDavotional  But this month, with the frigid cold out there, I just can’t think of a good contest (an easy one) so that I have an excuse to email all these fresh coupons out to you.  I anxiously await your ideas and suggestions as to a fun contest.  So for now, I’ll just cup my hands around my hot Peppermint Stick Mocha, tidy up this pile of coupons, and look for your post….

Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing baby

I can’t even spell it much less say it.  But some people drink it.  I never want to nor will peer pressure make me use it.  Not after knowing Latte’ Da!.  Most … instant … (there I spelled it -but read it in a whisper) coffees are made from poor to mediocre beans brewed in industrial-size percolators until the grounds have been over extracted, and much of the aroma and taste has gone right out the smokestack.  Aromatic oils are then added back into the granules.  So it’s all pretend.  Ain’t nothing like the real thing bay-bee. Now I need a Cinnamon Bun Latte to make it all better again. *S.Perry, The Complete Coffee Book

dark roasts?

Dear Betsy: I’m a fan of strong dark roasts but sometimes find them to be too acidic. Any suggestions? sincerely, Kate   Dear lovely Kate: It is common to equate acidity with bitterness. Even for a classy coffee aficionado such as yourself. However, in the coffee world, acidity can mean bright, clear, snappy, dry, clean, winey, etc. Coffees without acidity tend to taste flat and dull, like flat soda. Acidity is to coffee what dryness is to wine. Interestingly, coffee acidity levels are high in beans that have a light roast and low when the beans are roasted to dark roasts. Also coffees that are processed using the wet-process method have a higher level of acidity as compared to coffees that are processed using the dry-process method. Usually coffee from Kenya, Ethiopia, and a few othe...

How do they take the caffeine out of coffee?

Thanks, Sabre, for your question!  Let me preface this with why would anyone want to do such a thing. Why why why. However, promising to research and provide answers to any question, I did find out how caffeine is removed from those precious drops of coffee. Again – why? “Although the caffeine can be removed from roasted beans or from the brew itself, most commercial processes treat coffee beans while still green. Generally, the beans are softened by soaking in water, exposed to a solvent such as methylene chloride or ethyl acetate that removes the caffeine, and then washed or steamed to remove the solvent and dried again. Developed by Ludwig Roselius, the direct solvent process was patented in Germany in 1905 by Hag Kaffee and is used to produce half of today’s decaffeinated coffee. A mor...

ode to latte

I worked so hard to make these free coffee coupons so I thought I better come up with a contest for you.  I’m feeling in a poetry mood.  Send me an ode, a limerick, a haiku, tercet, sonnet, you name it.  Subject matter is of course our Latte’ Da! favorite things.  Prizes for first, second, and third place.  And a special prize if yours is selected for the June newsletter! bb

Why does coffee smell so good? sincerely, Aileen from the UK

Dear Ms. Aileen: Thank you for asking! In the famous words of some guy I don’t know: No coffee can be good in the mouth that does not first send a sweet offering of odor to the nostrils.  ~Henry Ward Beecher There seems to be only a small group of components that are responsible for your experiences of those wonderful java aromas, but it is their high level of concentration that makes the aromas so distinct. After you inhale the conventional way, a retronasal perception kicks in. This takes place in the nasal passage during the time the coffee is in the mouth or just after swallowing it. So, it seems the experience begins when you hear that beep of the coffee pot signaling that the brew is ready and the scent is filling up the kitchen – and lasts until the last drop! Walk over to tha...

Ground Up

In Michael Idov’s “Ground Up,” at first I wasn’t sure I liked the writing style, but I soon found myself chuckling over situations and characters. Before long, I felt the escalation of a disaster coming and I had no idea how or if Mark and Nina would stay together. Was it the location? The marketing? Their targeted audience? Or was it the fresh dreams of a married couple hoping for a place among New York’s ‘hip’ coffee scene? Surely New Yorkers care about authentic Viennese coffee? Mark and Nina have such appreciation for the fine brew – how could things go wrong? Oh, but they do… Highly recommended with a good strong java nearby.

it was a dark and stormy night

What a perfect night for a red velvet hot chocolate from the cupcake menu.  My daughter and I are  hiding under blankets taped to chairs, and illuminated by the glow of a dim flashlight.   It’s my turn to tell a spooky story but I’m not sure what.  I’m pretty sure a dark, evil, shuffling math teacher will go over pretty well.  Help me out dear fans – my first line is, of course, ‘It was a dark and stormy night and the figure in black shuffled toward the villagers.  The wind howled across the street, tossing stray papers and debris toward the cloaked figure. Here’s where you come in.  I’ll finish up my red velvet chocolate and you let me know what the next line or two will be – kid friendly please.  Oh, and yes I have new April coupons!!

How many days until Spring

The countdown has begun.  I’ve had it.  I don’t want to SEE snow, I don’t want to HEAR it, and I don’t want to slip and slide on it.  Normally, I’m a very mild, gentle soul.  But this weather has me feeling mighty grumpy.  I need a good British mystery, a steaming cup of something naughty and sweet, and a side of yummy.  Recommendations could very well be followed with a sweet coupon for YOU!

Wanted

Clean, funny, coffee or tea related jokes and riddles for the next newsletter.  Contributors deserve free treats!

Is coffee a ‘functional’ food?

Foods that have, beyond their nutritional value, properties that prevent or inhibit chronic, non-communicable diseases are called functional foods.  Some examples are blueberries, onions, chocolate, red wine, and black or green tea.  Such foods contain antioxidants or other phytochemicals that offer potential health benefits.  Most of coffee’s antioxidant properties are attributed to chlorogenic acid, a combination of caffeic acid and quinic acid that is the most abundant polyphenol in coffee.  Caffeine in coffee, as in tea and cocoa beverages, inhibits LDL (low-density lipoprotein) oxidation and keeps plaque from accumulating on artery walls, which helps prevent heart disease.  The chemical theophylline, found in coffee, acts to enlarge air passages in the lungs and may prevent asth...

La TEA da

When the world is all at odds and the mind is all at sea Then cease the useless tedium and Brew a cup of tea There is magic in its fragrance There is solace it its taste; And the laden moments vanish Somehow into space. And the world becomes a lovely thing! There’s beauty as you’ll see; All because you briefly stopped To brew a cup of tea. - William Gladstone   Ah, tea – Send in your finds of tea or coffee poetry and if reposted, a free treat will be on its way to your email inbox!

One cup of coffee, a dollop of cream, and a paintbrush

Apparently there IS more you can do with coffee.  If you sip while painting, be careful which cup is for the paintbrush… Click on the painting for more coffee art!

What kind of Tea does Captain Jean Luc Picard enjoy?

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. The Captain’s tea contains Bergamot, a citrus oil derived from the bergamot orange used to flavor black tea to make Earl Grey tea.  

Kids and coffee

Dear Betsy Why do some parents let their kids drink soda but tell them they can’t drink coffee. I see little kids drinking P*&si but get funny looks if they are holding a latte. I don’t get it. sincerely, Kim L.   K.L.: Here’s the thing. Soda is evil. Filled with sugar and chemicals,  why would you give it to your child. Coffee is sublime. No sugar needed. It helps reduce risk of diabetes, keeps us mentally alert, and may alleviate depression and memory loss.  See my previous posts. Okay okay I’m biased I recognize that but here’s my take: There are many benefits to coffee. There are NO benefits to toxic sugar drinks – I mean soda. For an energetic kid, no caffeine. For a sleepy teen on the morning of a test? Home coffee. Or Latte’ Da! coffee. None from you-know-where. I do not gi...

Best Summer Menu Item?