ShotZombies

Ritual Coffee on the Great Wall of China

Mike — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:10:51 +0000

I kind of love this picture Ritual posted on Twitter yesterday. “Ritual invades China. The Great Wall kept the Mongolians out but didn’t keep Ritual out!”.

Hey Ben, how’s the water?

[Uploaded by ritualcoffee]

Drink your Friend’s to Improve your Own

Mike — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:07:40 +0000

If there’s one thing helps you improve your coffee service more than anything else, it’s tasting everyone else’s coffee. Regularly, as often as possible. Tasting nothing but your own product develops predilection for what you’re serving, and it becomes impossible to be objective. Of course you think your coffee tastes great! That’s all you drink! And when you’re knee-deep in daily operations, that sadly becomes the norm. Guess what? Someone else is serving something better, and you should taste it!

Video: A Little Montage of a Hectic Two Weeks in Europe

Mike — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:06:09 +0000

Oh by the way, we spent two weeks in Europe. Emily made a video.

[via Europe 2010 on Vimeo]

Hard Cover Travel Kits for Coffee on the Road

Mike — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:31:08 +0000

One advantage of the trend towards single cup brewing is that it becomes easier to pack up your gear for coffee on the road. Not that you couldn’t before, but now you’re more experienced with the v60, Clever, and Aeropress, and when you unpack it at your destination it’s more likely that you’ll produce something halfway decent. Throw in a Hario Skerton and a scale (and a refractometer if you can) and you’re good to go. The only problem is, how do you pack it? Do you just toss it all in a sack and hope for the best?

In other words, does anyone have a recommendation for hard cover travel cases, built for coffee or easily customizable? Something small and easily manageable on planes, trains, and automobiles?

[Photo via vintagerunway on Etsy]

SMUG Embeds an RFID Tag in your Mug

Mike — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:09:59 +0000

Which essentially turns the mug into an E-Zpass system. Wave the mug near the register to pay for your morning coffee and manage your account online. Just don’t lose it.

Currently it only appears to be available at Stone Creek Coffee in Milwaukee. Maybe Scott Lucey can give SMUG a spin for us?

[SMUG Coffee]

Satan Loves the Chemex

Mike — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:50:24 +0000

Not to beat a dead horse here, but Rosemary’s Baby clearly shows Satan’s brewing device of choice. Or Roman Polanski’s. Either way.

The NYT on Counter Culture’s Espresso Apollo

Mike — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:18:49 +0000

In today’s Ristretto, Oliver Strand writes about Counter Culture’s new seasonal espresso blend “Apollo”, and Peter Guliano describes the intention behind this new approach.

[Ristretto | Espresso Apollo (The Eagle Has Landed) - T Magazine Blog - NYTimes.com]

Exploding Dog Mugs at Cafe Grumpy

Mike — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:44:50 +0000

I’m a fan of Cafe Grumpy’s limited edition Exploding Dog mugs.

Video: Cold Cream Mixing with Hot Coffee

Mike — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:16:59 +0000

Infrared video from researchers at Yale University and the University of Bath. I don’t know what they were studying exactly, but the video shows the effects of cold cream being stirred into hot coffee.

[YouTube via Physics Central]

Barista Bath and Body: Just In Case You Weren’t Already Covered in Coffee

Mike — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:18:18 +0000

Everyone knows that the health benefits of coffee are indisputable (right?), so why stop at drinking it? Baristas have long held an advantage over civilians when it comes to clogging their pores with antioxidant aromatics. Not anymore! Barista Bath and Body (from Portland, natch) now offer the same advantages to the every day consumer. No word yet on their sourcing practices, or whether the human kopi luwak guy from the WBC is involved.

[barista bath and body via Earth Times]