Mr. Freeman, a native of Northern California who began Blue Bottle after he “washed out” of playing the clarinet in local symphonies, began serving his first cups of slow coffee at a local farmers’ market in 2002, relying on a small batch roaster for his beans. Blue Bottle’s name is an homage to Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki, who became a hero in Vienna in the 17th century for his role in fending off an invasion by the Ottoman Empire. He used the money he was given for helping save Vienna to open a coffee shop whose name roughly translates to “House to the Blue Bottle.”

Nice piece about nice people.

[via Blue Bottle Aims to Blend Slow Coffee, Fast Growth - WSJ.com]

 ”Like rebuilding your soul after a heartbreak, or a tsunami-like disaster, making coffee is a process in which you learn how to be humble.”

Read the amazing story here: Yoshi Masuda’s Particular Blend of Enthusiasm.

his coffee makes you feel noticeably better than anything else you’ll find. You’ll never go back to Starbucks again. These beans are meant for drinking black or best of all, for making Bulletproof Coffee with grass fed butter.

What? Grass fed butter?

The beans are roasted in small batches by the #1 ranked roaster in United States under the strictest conditions.  Roasting the beans enhances their antioxidant capacity and flavor to provide you with a healthier, tastier cup of coffee.

I love the #1 ranked roaster in the United States!

[via The Bulletproof Executive via @ebolognino]

“For my birthday, my girlfriend got me a training course with the world champion. That’s what I’m going to do when I get back to London.”

Maybe Daft Punk will play at his cafe.

[Via Grub Street New York]

“Arousal effect of caffeine depends on adenosine A2A receptors in the shell of the nucleus accumbens” J. Neuroscience, 2011.

What? Ok, sounds basic. Caffeine affects specific receptors.

A chemical is only as good as its receptor, and that receptor is only as good as where it’s located, where those neurons are going, and what they connect to. In this case, we know that 2A Adenosine receptors are very densely located in the basal ganglia, an area of the brain known for its role in things like locomotor activity, arousal (which may be awake, but may also mean alert to stimuli), and responses to rewarding stimuli such as drugs of abuse.

So if caffeine and psychostimulants like cocaine work in the same brain areas, the basal ganglia, and both affect dopamine, why is one so much less addictive than the other?

So basically we’re all crackheads. Which explains everything and nothing.

[Via The Scicurious Brain, Scientific American Blog Network]

“Welcome to Kraft Kommon where we’re trying to really elevate the conversation around macaroni and cheese.”

It’s true that agitating too much will negatively affect the Xantham Gum.

[Via the amazing drunks at @KraftKommon]

This kickstarter project to fund a coffee based board game is nothing short of amazing.

[Via )on Lewis]

“I could take that coffee that was so carefully cared for…and just screw it totally up. And that’s a lot of responsibility.”

Indeed.

If you’ve never seen the inside of Sweet Leaf before, here’s a nice opportunity. They’re still the best spot in 11101.

[Via Vimeo]

What was Coffee Common NYC? An opportunity for consumers to explore what coffee professionals take for granted: great coffee. There is a lot of time invested in gadgets and wizardry designed to improve our understanding of quality, but the average consumer simply wants to enjoy a good cup. Visitors to our space were given support, encouragement, and inspiration. They received tips and advice, not lectures. Our role was to guide our guests to the destination of their choice, to increase understanding and appreciation for a product we all love. It was collaboration on every level.

But that’s just my opinion. For the perspective of an attendee, please visit smdlr.

[Photo via Coffee Common on Flickr]

This infographic may or may not be full of unsubstantiated information that is often disputed and contradicted regularly, but it’s colorful! And comes to us via Shape Magazine!

[Via Shape Magazine]