Coffee Nomad

The Adventures of Wandering Coffee Fiend

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Coffee Breath — It’s Worse Than You Might Think

November 6th, 2009 · Random, Tricks of the Trade

Sometimes you need a thoughtful friend to tell you what you really need to hear.  In my case, my wife had to inform me that coffee breath is a lot worse for the people around me than I would have imagined on my own.

Up until recently, I have assumed that coffee breath just smells like coffee — everybody likes the smell of coffee right?

In reality, coffee breath doesn’t “just smell like coffee.”  It’s actually another variation of bad breath.  Of course, there are worse kinds of bad breath out there, such as that which results from not brushing for a week, all the while maintaining a steady diet of pickled eggs and cottage cheese.

Even after brushing, coffee breath tends to be unpleasant, in close quarters especially.  Coffee breath is even detectable from across a desk, at an interview for example.

It turns out that coffee breath can be a turn-off for interviewers, which is surprising to me — Wouldn’t this indicate that I’m ready to get to work?

If you go on coffee shop date, you should definitely bring along some after-coffee gum.  In case you get the chance to make out at the end of the date, there’s no guarantee that both of your bad coffee breaths will be compatible.

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Peet’s to buy Diedrich Coffee for $212 Million

November 2nd, 2009 · Coffee, Coffee News

The deal has been finalized: Peet’s Coffee will buy Diedrich Coffee for $212 Million.  Thanks to this acquisition, Peet’s will now have a sizable share in the single cup-brewer market (Diedrich makes K-Cups for Keurig).

Diedrich is a coffee-roasting company primarily.  Diedrich operates a small network of franchise coffee houses, which go by different names (I gather) including Gloria Jean’s (a coffee shop commonly found in malls throughout the country).

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Carl Diedrich, the son of Charlotte Diedrich (the founder of Diedrich Coffee) took on his mother’s devotion for the company and also helped to bring Italian style coffee preparation stateside.

As a side note:  I’ve seen some coffee roasters with “Diedrich” printed on the side — but I’m pretty sure that is a different company.  Someone can correct me if I’m wrong about this, but there is no mention of the other company on the two websites Diedrich.com and DiedrichRoasters.com.

Peet’s is a specialty roaster based out of California, making most of their income from retail sales.  There are about 200 coffee shops bearing the name “Peet’s” at this point.

The founders of Peet’s were close associates with the founders of Starbucks.  Starbucks chains actually bought their coffee directly from Peet’s during their first year of business in 1971.  Since then Starbucks has focused more on the coffee-bar scene while Peet’s has concentrated on selling via retail.

Peet’s is one of my favorite retail coffees.  However, because I am cheap and other comparable brands cost a few dollars less, I tend to go with the comparable brands.

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Caffeine in Cosmetics

November 1st, 2009 · Caffeine, Coffee Science, Health

caffeine cosmetic

I learned recently that caffeine is a common ingredient in mainstream cosmetics.

According to Garneir, (as per the newspaper ad I photographed above), caffeine “stimulates, energizes and refreshes” the skin. The general argument I find for caffeine’s use in skin care products is that it “tightens” or “rejuvenates” skin.  Tightening the skin is supposed to decrease bags under the eyes and possibly also cellulite.

The possibility that caffeine decreases cellulite has been largely been disproved by now, especially since cellulite isn’t primarily a skin problem — cellulite occurs under the skin.  Naysayers also cite caffeine’s tendency to dehydrate the body, which would not be good for one’s skin.

Also of note is that many of the studies that have been done to prove that caffeine has an improving effect on the skin have been done by companies who, coincidentally, sell skin care products.

On the other hand, in favor of caffeine, it has proven to be an effective anti-inflammatory agent, which very well may substantiate the claims of many cosmetic companies.  There is also a steady (large) number of medical specialists who claim that it offers a wide range of health benefits.  Caffeine is also suspected to be an antioxidant — antioxidants help prevent cancer.

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Andre Agassi Took Caffeine as a Performance Enhancer

November 1st, 2009 · Caffeine, Coffee News, Coffee Science

I didn’t realize taking caffeine pills before a tennis match could be counted as illegal drug use… but apparently it can be (especially when mixed with amphetamines such as Meth and Speed).  Agassi disclosed his ritual of taking “a little white pill” before his match to increase his alertness in his recent autobiography Open.  According to different reports, he had a feeling that he shouldn’t be taking these little pills, which is why he lied under oath about it.

Caffeine is condoned by most Americans as an acceptable performance enhancer since most of us consume it in some form or another every day.  It can be found in mainstream beverages such as coffee and soda.

Caffeine not only boosts mental alertness, it also amps up the body’s central nerve system, metabolism and the respiratory system.  As a long distance runner, I found that it also helped to expand my airways, making it easier to breathe.  As a high school student especially, it would not have been possible to study and participate in all of my energy-consuming extra-curricular activities without caffeine.

One noteworthy ruling regarding caffeine in sports occurred around the time of the 2000 Olympics, when caffeine was officially banned.  Olympic officials use urine tests to determine whether or not an athlete has an excessive level of caffeine in their system.

Reference: The Associated Press.

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The Hub Bub Coffee Truck

November 1st, 2009 · Coffee News, Coffee Shops

Hub Bub coffee truck

There’s a “buzz” going around about a new coffee joint in town (if you live in Philadelphia) called Hub Bub Coffee.  This new joint is actually a truck.

The guy in charge of this operation is Andrew Crockett, who is an enterprising, recent graduate of Penn State.

This truck is apparently spotless and new from the inside out.  His coffee-shop-on-wheels features Fetco coffee makers, La Marzoco espresso machines and Stumptown coffee beans.  Stumpton is an Oregon based coffee roaster, rumored to be one of the best in the land.

You can follow him on Twitter for updates on how his new business is going.

You can also follow me while you’re at it.

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