Coffee Glazed Macadamia Nuts!!!

I came across these in a Target a while ago and thought it was an interesting idea so I bought them. They look a little strange (the coffee coating makes the nuts shiny) but they taste amazing! The Kona Coffee glaze is delicious and you won't be able to stop eating them. I found them later on amazon for a reasonable price, but they don't seem to be available anymore. You can still get them from the Mauna Loa store, I highly recommend them!

And just in case amazon carries them again (they have great sale prices when they are in stock):

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts, Coffee Glazed, 5.5-Ounce Canisters (Pack of 6)

Tully's Breakfast Blend

I first tried this coffee several years ago and it is excellent. It's one of the few coffees I buy for home brewing anymore. It's a light roast with smooth flavor and aroma, great for any time of the day. It's not bitter at all; I always drink my coffee black with no sugar and this blend is perfect for that. It's also good as iced coffee if you have any left over after brewing. You can usually find it on sale at the grocery stores, or just find a local Tully's shop.

Starbucks!

I was at Starbucks last week, and I noticed that the lid on my coffee was different. I'm sure you are all familiar with the traditional starbucks lid that loves to leak coffee out the seam. I've written about these death-lids before. But now, Starbucks seems to have changed their lid for the better. I'm not sure if it's a local thing , but the lids now look something like the picture to the right. Notice how there is a small indent around the edge, where it hugs the cup. I've had coffee 4 times now with this new lid style and it hasn't leaked from the cup seam once! It's awesome, someone at Starbucks finally realized their lids were crap and fixed the problem. Of course, a more rigorous set of tests should be performed to determine the limits of these new super-lids.

The Mona Latte

I came across a cool website with a collection of coffee art. Here is the Mona Latte, one of my favorites. It finally makes sense why she is smiling; I don't know why Da Vinci left out the coffee cup, it really ties the picture together. I think you can buy this in print or magnet form in their store.

Dunkin' Donuts coffee

So, recently Dunkin' Donuts started selling their coffee in supermarkets. It's nice, because there are no Dunkin' Donuts where I live but now I can drink their coffee, which is pretty good. It also reminded me of a funny story that came out a while ago about a man named Dustin Hoffman (not the actor), a Dunkin' Donuts employee who fought off a robber with a coffee mug. Here's the news video, it's funny:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SRTsqyFHRpE

So yeah, don't mess with Dustin Hoffman or Dunkin' Donuts.

the "ghetto-latte"

A friend of mine pointed out a starbucks forum that is pretty funny. It's a bunch of employees talking about how customers try to rip them off by ordering a "ghetto-latte". Basically, they order an americano with ice instead of water, or just 2 shots of espresso. Then, at the condiment bar they pour in 15oz of cream and end up with a latte. This saves the customer a few bucks, and causes the employees the pain of constantly needing to refill the cream containers.

I'm fine with people being cheap, there's nothing wrong with it. They found a way within the system to save some money. It's funny how mad the employees get on that forum though. Some of the more amusing lines:

"Its not being crafty or smart, its being cheap. All the baristas know what they are doing anyway. But, just say yes right? If these ppl are ok with being looked down and judged for being penny pinchers then fine."

"The condiment bar is a not a make your drink buffet. It's a condiment bar."

"Oh I definately still think it's stealing. Hell, try this anywhere else and they'd prolly call the cops/throw you out....Sometimes I wish I worked for a company that cared about these things so that I could take out my day-to-day frustrations on what are essentially thieves"

Crazy english king

King Charles II made a proclamation on December 23rd 1675 banning coffee houses from london:

"BY THE KING: A PROCLAMATION FOR THE SUPRESSION OF COFFEE HOUSES
Whereas, it is most apparent that the multitude of Coffee Houses of late years set up and kept within this kingdom, ... the great resort of Idle and disaffected persons ..., have produced very evil and dangerous effects; as well for that many tradesmen and others, do herin mispend much of their time, which might and probably would be employed in and about there Lawful Calling and Affairs......."

Wait a second, coffee houses used to encourage people to drink coffee instead of doing their jobs? What kind of crazy place was london in the 1600's?