caffeine – Cups and Comments

What are my favorite things to pair with coffee?

At home:
- chocolate chip cookies–homemade (both my mom and I bake regularly), or store-bought chocolate chip cookies from Sprouts
- peanut butter cookies–homemade only
- pumpkin bread–made from Trader Joe’s mix
At Starbucks: lemon loaf
At Mothership: croissant or pumpkin pop-tart (when in season)
At Einstein Bros. Bagel: a chocolate chip bagel, toasted, with nothing on it
At Bingo: maple bar donut

Those are the first items, and regular venues of coffee, in my life, over the past couple of years, that pop into mind.

What about you? What’s your favorite thing to pair with coffee?

3 Third — Coffee and a Pumpkin Pop-Tart at Mothership in Las Vegas, Nevada

This is a work-related question:

Which is better for the workplace: the Keurig or the coffee pot?

Benefits of the Keurig:

Individual taste preferences more readily available for all
Everyone can bring their K-cups and use their own K-cups
No clean-up required
Depending on the Keurig, there may be options for various serving sizes

Benefits of the coffee pot:

More coffee available at one time
More people know how to use it–it amazes me how many people need constant direction on a Keurig
Arguably less wasteful–I have read and heard that the K-pods are considered wasteful due to their single-use nature
Arguably cheaper–think the cost of a big tin of coffee v. a pack of K-pods

This is a simple question that led to an extended discussion and no definitive answer–so I ask, which is better for the workplace: Keurig or traditional coffee pot?

decaffeination:

removal of caffeine from coffee, cocoa, tea leaves, and any other caffeine-containing materials
- as it pertains to coffee, there are several methods to extract caffeine–these include chemical solvents, carbon dioxide, or water methods

decaffeinated coffee:

often referred to as “decaf” or “decaf coffee”
coffee that has had almost all of its caffeine removed
- while decaffeination refers to the removal of caffeine, decaffeinated coffee is not completely caffeine-free–trace amounts of caffeine can and do remain in coffee

Coffee is more than a brand, a blog, or a beverage. For me, it’s a language and lifestyle. I love to drink coffee, I love to learn about it, and I most assuredly love to share it with others.

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I love coffee. I crave it every morning. I crave it without fail. In fact, if I don’t crave it, I automatically start checking for other signs of distress–am I sick? I have to be sick if I don’t want coffee!

Non-WebMD irrational diagnosis aside, coffee is a staple each and every day. But that doesn’t mean I drink it all day. I may obsess over it, I am writing a blog on it, but it’s not the only thing I’m drinking.

My morning routine is a glass of water right when I get up. I read somewhere drinking water first thing in the morning helps with muscle activation and general health. I’m a runner so if I read something might help my morning run, I’ll try it. I have enjoyed one glass of water, first thing every morning, for about three years now. I love it.

Now, while I drink my glass of water, coffee is either brewing in the background or a plan for coffee on the way to work is being hatched. Starbucks today? Only if it’s Double-Star Day.

On most occasions, I drink about 3 cups when I use my coffee maker, two Keurig pods when I use my Keurig (8-10 ounce mugs), or 20 ounces if I grab something during my morning commute. Unless it’s a dire emergency, my intake is usually limited to about 24 ounces a day. On the rare occasion I may indeed need or crave more, but I try to limit my intake to 20-24 ounces regardless.

Coffee is a special treat. I don’t want it to lose its special place in my heart with overconsumption.

Coffee is caffeinated. I get the jitters when I drink more than my regular dosage. That’s not fun.

Coffee is a morning drink. It is a rare event for coffee to be consumed past 10 a.m., and it’s never consumed after 4 p.m. Otherwise, I may have trouble sleeping and I already have that issue–no need to aggravate an existing problem.

Of course, rules and routines are meant to be broken. So while I do my best to keep it to the morning, or keep it to 24 ounces, on occasion, I may just make or order some more. I mean, is there really such a thing as too much coffee? Not today my friends. Not today.

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Tag: caffeine

Favorite pairings

Keurig v. Coffee Pot?

Coffee Lesson #7

Cups and Comments

Is there such a thing as too much coffee?