Would you like Crema with your Big Mac? · Tuesday January 8, 2008 by colin newell
McDonald’s will begin to roll out one of its biggest and most expensive new product concepts ever in a bid to put the heat on Starbucks in the battle for upscale coffee drinkers.
And if you think you are having a deja cappuccino moment, you are because if memory serves me correctly, Ronald McDonald did some clowning around with gourmet and specialty coffee about 7 years ago…
and it was an udder failure.
I was in a McDonalds Cafe in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in the year 2000 or 2001 and it was quieter than lunchtime at Mime School.
Perhaps it was timing.
And like the late-seventies Laser-Disk that was so totally wrong thing, wrong time this shot of espresso coffee supremacy could actually take off.
Starbucks, it appears, is suffering from an excessive softening in growth – and hence: Starbucks announced Monday that CEO Jim Donald is out and that founder and Chairman Howard Schultz would retake the reins as CEO…
It is all falling into place. Strike while the coffee pot is hot.
And so McDonald’s is diving into the frothing pitcher anticipating taking a chunk of upwards of over one billion dollars in market share.
Comment [1]
Espresso Beer Pork Ribs · Sunday July 22, 2007 by colin newell
Here is a wonderful summer recipe that my wife and I cook up this time of year.
2 whole racks pork side ribs, each cut in 2 or 4
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1 1/2 cups barbeque sauce
2 Tbsp. honey, or to taste
2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice
2 bottles Guinness® Beer
1 Tbsp. instant espresso powder
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Trim ribs of excess fat. Combine the spices, herbs, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle and rub mixture all over the ribs. Set ribs in a roasting pan.
Pour in the beer. Cover and bake 90 minutes, or until ribs are tender. When almost there, place the barbecue sauce, espresso powder, honey, and lime juice in a pot and whisk to combine. Simmer over medium heat 10 minutes. Heat a barbeque or indoor grill to medium heat. Remove ribs from the pan and grill until nicely coloured. Baste with barbeque sauce. Cook just until sauce heats through and then serve.
Comment [1]
Gaggia under the knife updates · Tuesday June 5, 2007 by colin newell
Some comments…
Clover coffee · Wednesday March 14, 2007 by colin newell
I am peeling the bulk of this off of the L.A. Times. It is an important read because, unless you did you not know this, Victoria has a Clover Coffee brewer at Discovery Coffee on Discovery Street.
And if you love coffee and have not been Clovered yet, you are truely missing out.
Anyhow… here is some of the article:
In the breve new world of coffeehouses, espresso has been getting all the love. Tattooed baristas pull perfect shots from loud machines the size of Fiats. Lattes come crowned with filigreed leaves drawn in foam; macchiati appear in dainty demitasses of Italian porcelain. The drip coffee drinker, however, is handed a paper cup and directed to a stoic thermos, exiled near the napkins and sugar packets.
But a seismic change is on the way in this highly caffeinated world. Drip coffee is getting a serious upgrade, thanks to a new machine called the Clover. A high-tech gadget that looks like a cross between a water cooler and a microwave (and it’s the size of a small one), the Clover brews a single cup of coffee at a time, to order, through a process that allows the barista to adjust the brewing to fit the flavor profile of specific lots of coffee.
Coffee brewed in the Clover has the depth of flavor of a French-press brew with none of the sediment; it has a clarity and focus, even an elegance, that you just don’t experience with other brewing methods.
And the price for a cup of such brilliant coffee? Two bucks. At least that’s what it costs (for most brews) at the new downtown branch of Groundwork Coffee Co., which has the only Clover in operation so far in Los Angeles. Not bad, when you consider that the machine costs a cool $11,000. read the rest
Victoria B.C.‘s Discovery Coffee has not just installed a new coffee machine – they have reset the bar for great coffee in the city of Victoria. This is drip coffee after all. Sure there are great shots of espresso to be had elsewhere in the city. But the drip coffee? Well, in most cases (and in most espresso bars and cafes around Victoria) drip coffee is an afterthought relegated to dusty old vac-pots… and neglect.
I list about 20 or more cafes on my favored list of great coffee joints in Victoria. And very few of these places really get drip coffee if you know what I mean. Some do. But few.
Consider this: drip coffee needs to be consumed within 20 minutes of brewing (or less…) before the ravages of oxygen turn a great bean into a bitter dreg. The coffee must be ground consistently. The water must be clean and fresh with just the right amount of mineral content (yes, minerals in the water make the best coffee!). Coffee must be brewed into an “air-resistant” thermal cafe. With the Clover, your cup is brewed right before your eyes for immediate consumption. It can’t be beat.
There is a cheaper alternative: The french press.
Chi-chi cafes, like Artigiano in Vancouver, serve press-pot/bodums with some of the finest ground coffee beans available. What is important with this method is timing, temperature and grind style. Done right, it produces a remarkable cup – done wrong, a cup of muddy bitter murk.
Alas, that is another blog entry.
Cheers!
Comment [8]
