Here’s good news for the night shift -

The New York Times science editor reports the results of several studies…

About 8.6 million Americans work night shifts, and for many of them fatigue is a serious problem…

Scientists have tried melatonin, prescription medications and light therapy to help relieve so-called shift work disorder, caused by disruptions in the body’s circadian rhythm.

But research shows that nothing seems to work quite as well as caffeine.

Scientists found that caffeine worked better than a placebo — and even naps — at reducing errors and improving performance on tasks including those involving memory, attention, perception, concept formation and reasoning.

Tim Leary and Richard Alpert’s former employer, Harvard University, moves from psychedelics to caffeine.

Through a process called particle engineering, Harvard professor David Edwards and a student team have developed a new way for coffee drinkers to get their fix: inhalation.

Yes! Coffee you just inhale.

According to Edward’s company, Le Whif, the breathable coffee powder delivers the jolt of caffeine without the cup.

And – you’ll love this – Le Whif also makes inhalable chocolates….perfect accompaniment to a line of caffeine.

Thanks to Earth911 for alerting me to this green initiative (no cup waste!)

Artisan Roasting

At Big City Coffee, we hand-select the green coffee beans to order, blending the required varieties or choosing the best single origin gourmet beans. Then we artisan roast the beans in small batches using a 5 kilo drum roaster.

It’s an intimate craft process; you hear the beans tumble, feel the heat transfer, smell the coffee as it roasts, then you thrill to the snap and crackle of the beans as they reach the peak of their roast cycle.

The perfect results cascade from the drum into the cooling tray before being inspected again to assure the roast quality.

Your order is then weighed, bagged, and packed by hand, insuring that many of our coffee experts have agreed to put their names on the quality testament for every customer order.

Here’s a cool DIY coffee cup holder I found at LifeHacker…

A fabulously creative New York City blogger who goes by the name “AP” is all about devising clever ways to eat outdoors with flair. She’s come up with ways to turn a lunchbox into a plate and a fire hydrant into a table, but we really dig her magnetic coffee cup holder.

Magnetic Coffee Cup Holder

Guest Post

Coffee is a universal drink consumed all over the world. There are many whose daily chores always start with a hot cup of coffee. Nowadays, modern cafes have promoted Coffee as an essential element of social networking amongst people of different strata. Apart from homes, even in workplaces and offices, there is always an informal exchange of one’s’ thoughts and feelings around a coffee machine.
In India, people of different regions consume both coffee and tea as their regular daily beverages. Coffee is predominantly consumed in the South India and the North Indians prefer tea. There is a traditional method of preparation of Coffee in the orthodox South Indian homes. This method has been in vogue for centuries and those who are addicted to the “Filtered Coffee”, as it is known, will not accept any other type of coffee including the commercially available “Espresso” in the coffee shops.
The coffee recipe of these particular South Indian homes goes like this – they purchase the coffee beans from the shops, mostly the local variety grown in the ‘Coorg’ district of India. These beans are roasted and ground in small home coffee grinders. Some people also mix a small percentage of what is known as “chickaree” beans, before grinding, to get a specific flavour to the coffee.
The ground coffee powder is stored in the homes and brewed as a ‘decoction’ in small filters with hot water. South Indians prefer the coffee to be quite ‘strong’ and the filtered liquid is mixed with boiled milk and sugar to get the famous “South Indian Filtered Coffee”. The coffee is served in a small stainless steel tumbler. If you happen to visit a typical South Indian home, remember to ask for their special “Filtered Coffee” and you can enjoy the drink with its rich flavour and aroma.

Guest Post:

Do you love artisan coffee? When growing up my parents only drank some instant microwave coffees and I thought that was all there was to it. Then one day a friend of mine gave me some real artisan coffee and there has been no going back since then. I didn’t realize how much there was to enjoy and learn about coffee. Now I love to explore the world through gourmet coffees that are grown in so many places. I love the smell and aroma of Sumatran blends that take me on a journey to South Asian rain forests. Also the robust flavor of African roast coffee really stimulates my senses. I have also learned the importance of owning a quality coffee maker and coffee grinder. I have started also to look into a coffee roaster and I’m intrigued by all the different blends and recipes and look forward to experimenting at home. Since the time when I have really started to get into coffee I have invited my instant coffee drinking parents over and have treated them to a bit of the real stuff and they also have become converts to artisan coffees. My Dad even lamented the years of wasted coffee enjoyment that he had suffered and vowed never to go back to that old microwave variety. Everyone should enjoy delicious coffee it is a wonderful start to a day.

Green Mountain Coffee Helps The Community And Takes Part In Fair Trade Business

Green Mountain Coffee, producer of specialty coffee and manufacturer of coffee makers, is trying to set an example in the field by taking part in environmental and community improvement programs and exemplary business practices. Green Mountain takes part in the National River Cleanup event by encouraging workers to volunteer their time and efforts during paid work days. The program has been very successful in helping to keep rivers and streams clean for everyone to enjoy them. Employees are encouraged to do many other types of volunteer work on company time as part of a Community Action For Employees program. Green Mountain also works to directly counteract it’s own carbon footprint through evironmentalism. Green Mountain is also involved in a fair trade coffee program that guarantees the growers who supply their coffee are fairly compensated for their labor and well supplied with the tools they need to produce an excellent product.

They strive to illustrate ways that companies can maintain profits while still advancing social and environmental concerns. By openly contributing to good business behavior Green Mountain hopes to set a prime example and stimulate other companies in the coffee business to take similar action.

Here’s some good news if you’re looking for a seat at Starbucks.
A recent National Coffee Association poll finds US coffee consumption about the same as last year, however more Americans are drinking coffee at home.

“Consumers still see coffee as an integral part of their everyday lives,” NCA chief Robert Nelson said.

Of the people who said they had drunk coffee the previous day, 83 percent said they had made it at home — up 5 points compared with year-ago figures.

Daily consumption of gourmet coffee, which includes espresso-based drinks, fell to 14 percent, back to levels seen in 2007, he said. In 2008, this category was at 17 percent.

Handpresso Wild Hand Pump Espresso Machine

The most caffeinated city in the US is Tampa, Fla., followed by Seattle, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, while the least caffeinated cities are Riverside/San Bernardino, Calif., Atlanta, San Diego, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Dallas, according to a survey commissioned by HealthSaver, and conducted by Prince Market Research.

And for the second year in a row, Seattle ranked #1 in coffee consumption, with 55% of residents saying coffee would be the most difficult caffeine product to give up.

The survey considered numerous caffeine sources, including coffee, tea, sodas, energy drinks, chocolate, pain relievers and caffeine pills.

Nearly half (49% ) of all respondents nationwide said they drink caffeinated coffee every day, while cola and tea tied with a 20% daily consumption rate, the survey found. Sweets containing chocolate ranked fourth among caffeine products, with a 13% daily consumption, the survey found.

After a tour of several farms in Boquete, Japanese businessmen acquired 600 quintals of coffee.
Laestrella.com.pa reports: “The representatives of the Japanese stores and roasters that visited the Boquete area for three days, expressed their admiration for the dedication and care with which the Panamanians cultivate and process the coffee. After visiting the plantations and greenhouses, they saw the various ways of drying, depulping and keeping the level of freshness in the grain, at the following farms: Casa Ruiz, Finca Beneficio, Finca Peterson, all producers of Keisha Coffee, which won various international prizes, in addition to the Callejon Seco Farm.”
[read original post from laestrella.com.pa in Spanish]