Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Coffee in Spaaaaaaace..!
Astronauts may have the very cool job of floating around in space, but when it comes to grabbing a caffeine fix, they are faced with the decidedly uncool prospect of drinking out of aluminum bags with straws. Donald Pettit was on Space Shuttle mission STS-126 when he decided enough was enough and came up with the idea of an “On-Orbit Coffee Cup” designed to hold liquid in zero gravity situations.
In Pettit’s design, liquid would be held in the narrow bottom of the cup by surface tension. A deep groove in the side of the cup would act as a wick, drawing liquid towards the top where a depression in the lip of the cup would retain beads of coffee - or other liquid.
The design raises questions, not the least of which is: how do you get the coffee into the cup in the first place?
A prototype of the cup has yet to be built, and tested, and one hopes they try it first with cold liquids!
Source: http://www.gizmag.com/zero-g-coffee-cup-11146/11146/
Are you drinking poison?
Mmmmm… sounds good!
Or maybe not.
Hot liquids will cause chemicals from a Styrofoam or plastic cup to leach out. So unless you want chemicals along with your caffeine, it is best to choose another option.
Try one of these solutions:
* Use a paper cup
* Ask for a real mug if you are enjoying your coffee at the store
* Invest in a stainless steel (unlined) or ceramic travel mug
Before you buy a travel mug, look inside. Many mugs are ceramic or steel on the outside, but plastic on the inside.
Source: http://www.empowher.com/news/herarticle/2009/03/03/plastic-your-coffee
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Coffee gadget causes a stir
Gadget bloggers were divided in their opinions of Gevalia’s new self-stirring coffee mug. The mug stirs gently on its own without the coffee drinker having to reach for a spoon or do anything at all, except press a button.
One blogger welcomed the mug as the perfect solution for those ‘all the spoons are dirty’ situations, while another suggested it was of use only “if you are an uncoordinated jackass that spills your beverage every time that you stir it.”
One blogger welcomed the mug as the perfect solution for those ‘all the spoons are dirty’ situations, while another suggested it was of use only “if you are an uncoordinated jackass that spills your beverage every time that you stir it.”
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Source: http://www.gilkatho.com.au/news/default.asp?cmd=view&articleid=693
Friday, October 10, 2008
7-Eleven brings back coffee cup presidential vote
7-Eleven Inc. is giving Americans the chance to vote early and often.
The Dallas-based chain is bringing back its to-go coffee cup promotion that proved prescient in the 2000 and ‘04 presidential elections.
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Voting begins Wednesday and ends on Election Day, Nov. 4. Customers vote by filling red to-go hot beverage cups for Republican nominee Sen. John McCain or blue cups for Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama.
Anyone abstaining or undecided but still in need of caffeine can fill a regular 7-Eleven cup.
7-Election has attracted 6 million voters each election, and the company expects at least that many this year.
The retailer says that past interim results closely mirrored the official surveys by the country’s top political pollsters. Final results were right on.
Cup counts predicted President Bush’s close against Democratic nominee Al Gore in 2000. Likewise in 2004, President Bush out-cupped Sen. John Kerry, 51 percent to 49 percent.
Joe DePinto, 7-Eleven president and chief executive, said the company doesn’t bill the poll as scientific, but its stores do reach regular Americans “just going about their everyday lives.”
Cups are instantly tabulated at the register when the sale is made. National and state results will be posted daily on www.7-election.com, a Web site created for the hot beverage poll.
7-Eleven says coffee is a nonpartisan beverage choice and notes it was named the national beverage by the First Continental Congress after the Boston Tea Party.
Starting Wednesday, 7-Eleven will have its voting promotion up and running again. Customers can pick a John McCain or Barack Obama cup for their coffee.
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Source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/taste/stories/DN-7eleven_29bus.State.Edition1.1adbf8f.html
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Another ceramic cup that looks like paper
This looks like a typical deli paper cup for coffee, but it’s actually made of ceramic. $12 and it’s yours. Link
Source: http://www.boingboing.net/2004/11/16/ceramic-cup-looks-li.html
I am not a paper cup
The “I Am Not a Paper Cup…” is a double-walled porcelain mug with a silicone lid, giving you the feel of those disposable paper coffee cups without all the waste. It’s not on sale until February, but should cost about $20.
It reminds me of Graham Hill’s “We Are Happy to Serve You” mug. Product Page
Source: http://gadgets.boingboing.net/kitchen-and-housewar/2008/01/20-week/
Monday, October 1, 2007
Tully’s Switches Over to Compostable Coffee Cups
Tully’s Coffee is now the first major coffee retailer to use a fully renewable and compostable paper cup for its hot beverages.
With its use of International Paper’s Ecotainer Hot Cup, which is lined with a bioplastic made from corn, rather than a petrochemical one, Tully’s has also simultaneously launched an in-store collection program to divert the used cups and other compostable food waste to organic composting facilities, rather than losing them to the landfill.
The cup is the only commercially available 100 percent compostable hot cup certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute, a press release states. (No mention of whether the cups are now made of post-consumer recycled content, however; last we heard, they weren’t, which really takes the “Eco” out of the “Ecotainer.”)
In contrast, Starbucks underwhelmed us when it announced with much pomp that its cups would feature 10 percent recycled materials.
Do all these companies one better and take your own reusable commuter mug for your java fix.
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Eshelman Pottery Espresso cups
By Paul Eshelman and informed by Japanese/Chinese crafts, American Shaker traditions, and contemporary Architecture. Eshelman uses red stoneware clay heated to the point of vitrification so as to create a non-porous surface. At Treehugger, we like ceramics for the dent they don’t leave on the earth, but in particular, we like that these have a dynamic color despite using lead-free glaze. Microwave, oven, dishwasher safe, there’s nothing at all fussy about them. 4 for $80.
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Sunday, September 23, 2007
Perk up your morning routine with coffee art
Face it: not everyone is capable of stunning latte art, but that doesn’t have to stop us from having a bit of fun with our frothy beverages. We spotted these stainless steel cappuccino stencils on GadgetCandy and were immediately intrigued. Just set the disc atop your latte or cappuccino and sprinkle with cocoa, cinnamon, or another coffee topper for a quick decoration.
Say it with feeling, in cocoa or cinnamon
(Credit: LOOP Limited)
Despite the cheesy clip-art design, we rather liked the idea of a quick way to fancy up our milky coffee drinks, so we Googled around and found these slightly more classy designs as well as this set of six stencils packaged in a round tin. Clearly the Brits are ahead of us on the coffee stencil front, because most of these links are to sites in the UK; you can find a few U.S. distributors listed on MySimon.
Floral patterns are so much more attractive than simple rings.
(Credit: Generate)
Those who prefer an American-style cup of joe (or tea) can get arty with a Stamp Mug. The pricey ($59) vessel turns your java sloshes into lovely floral watermarks on your desk or papers. It would be a great way to give yourself and your coworkers something attractive to look at without, you know, actually cleaning.
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