Category: Coffee

  • Nothing like a good… coffee nap?

    I can’t believe I beat Aaron to a post that is even remotely related to coffee, but I found this to be somewhat interesting. Check out this article on how to Cheat on the Need to Sleep

    Scientists say that a successful midday nap depends on two things: timing and (no kidding) caffeine consumption. Experiments performed at Loughborough University in the UK showed that the sleep-deprived need only a cup of coffee and 15 minutes of shut-eye to feel amazingly refreshed.

    1. Right before you crash, down a cup of java. The caffeine has to travel through your gastro-intestinal tract, giving you time to nap before it kicks in.

    2. Close your eyes and relax. Even if you only doze, you’ll get what’s known as effective microsleep, or momentary lapses of wakefulness.

    3. Limit your nap to 15 minutes. A half hour can lead to sleep inertia, or the spinning down of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which handles functions like judgment. This gray matter can take 30 minutes to reboot.

    And that’s not all, there’s some stuff in the article that I never had really thought about before. Not saying it’s guaranteed to work, but it’s worth a shot, right?

    Read the Article

  • McDonald’s vs. Starbucks

    I don’t really like Starbucks, so I’m going to enjoy writing this immensely.

    A recent Consumer Reports taste-test McDonald’s coffee beat out Starbucks!

    The magazine says McDonald’s Premium Roast Coffee has “no flaws,” labeling it “decent and moderately strong.” The java from Starbucks, meanwhile, was determined to be “strong, but burnt and bitter enough to make your eyes water instead of open.”

    Granted this is just talking about regular coffee, most people go to Starbucks for a Caramel Macchiato or White Mocha Frappuccino, but still that’s embarrassing. McDonald’s has also recently starting offering other drinks as well, such as lattes and cappuccinos in some locations.

  • An Illustrated Guide to Coffee

    caffe mochaI love coffee, but that doesn’t mean I have a clue what goes into most of the drinks I consume.

    Well, now you can find out at a glance just what was in that Caffe Mocha you just ordered, thanks to Lokesh Dhakar’s “Coffee Drinks Illustrated” an illustrated coffee guide. Simplistic, yet brilliant work. Even if you don’t drink much coffee it’s worth a look, pretty interesting stuff.