But, Is It Really Decaf?
If you insist on drinking decaffeinated coffee, but you find yourself deeply suspicious of what you are really being served, you may be in the market for D-Caf Test Strips. Drop a strip into a sample of your drink to find out for certain whether you've been served decaf or been duped.
$9.95 for a pack of 20 strips at The Spoon Sisters.
Is My Latte Hot or Not?
Can food and drink websites get any more niche than this? Rate My Rosetta adapts the Hot or Not formula to an online competition among professional and amateur baristas for the best latte art. To date, the site has amassed more than 3,082 photos of foam and coffee design from 496 latte art contributors.
Convenience Coffee, Italian Style
Lest you think that all food in Italy is slow food, Italians do have a way with convenience foods. I've written before about the imaginative lunchable-in-translation of Nutella, breadsticks, and ice tea. When we traveled to Italy a few weeks ago, we spotted pouches of foil-wrapped bite-size cubes of parmiggiano reggiano, "fredo fredo" and "caldo caldo" (instantly hot or cold coffees), and, at the COOP (supermarket), small pouches of pre-cubed pancetta, just right for cooking one dish. But, none of these could have prepared me for the magic of Pocket Espresso To Go, my newest discovery.
I've been a fan of Ferrero's Pocket Coffee, a chocolate and praline confection with a liquid coffee center (think of those nasty liquor-filled chocolate bottles, only better and with espresso inside and you get the idea). Stopping at an Autogrill somewhere along the Autostrade between Milan and Bologna, I thought I was purchasing some of these treats. However, it turned out that I had taken home some something quite different.
Opening the box, I discovered that these were not the candies I expected, but tiny containers. Each came with a two inch-long straw attached, and a spot labeled "forare qui" (pierce here). I plunged the straw into the miniature drink box and sucked out the syrupy contents: 21.8 ml of the liquid center (sweetened with sugar and chocolate) you would find in Pocket Coffee. It was thick, bitter-sweet, and stimulating (according to the box, contains 1/3 of the caffeine in a shot of espresso).
Unfortunately, I can't find a source for purchasing Pocket Espresso To Go in the U.S., but if you know of one, let us know in the comments.
Press Perfect
We've been intrigued lately by the proliferation of double-walled glassware that not only looks cool, but keeps your beverage cool -- whether you're drinking liqueur, beer, or wine. Bodum, which makes several lines of thermal mugs and glasses, has taken the technique to the next level by reinventing the classic French press coffee pot. Bodum claims that its double-walled Chambord Coffee Maker (34 oz.) will keep just-pressed coffee hot for up to two hours. While this development may be heresy for coffee purists (who would tell you to decant your coffee and get it away from the grounds as soon as possible after steeping), the pot seems like a nifty (if pricey) innovation for lazy, slow-sipping French pressers everywhere. $89.95 at Bodum.
Espresso Anywhere
The latest from the Department of Culinary Mashups (see also the Rossini Pie Server) is the Handpresso espresso maker, which looks like a bike pump on too much caffeine. For mobile baristas everywhere, the cordless gadget works by inserting an E.S.E. coffee pod, adding hot water, and pumping the device by hand to build enough pressure to pull a shot of espresso. €99 at Handpresso.com.
Precision Coffee
Perfectionist much? Suck UK's MyCuppa coffee and tea mugs help you mix your favorite brew with milk to precisely match a Pantone-esque color guide printed on the inside -- from "milky" to a super-dark "builder's brew." $25 each at Generate.
Image: Suck UK.
Down with PTZ?
Are you down with PTZ? That's the "Perfect Temperature Zone," according to the makers of the Brugo travel mug.
As you tip the thermal mug, hot coffee is released into a small chamber at the top where it cools down before reaching PTZ. $19.95 in multiple colors at Brugo.
Coffee for One
Why suffer through undrinkable office coffee, when you can make your own individual brew? Perfect for the workplace, the Coffee for One coffee-maker comprises a ceramic french press pot with a matching, stacking mug. One pot brews 14 ounces of coffee. $26 in red, blue, black, and aqua at wishingfish.com.
Coffee for One
Why suffer through undrinkable office coffee, when you can make your own individual brew? Perfect for the workplace, the Coffee for One coffee-maker comprises a ceramic french press pot with a matching, stacking mug. One pot brews 14 ounces of coffee. $26 in red, blue, black, and aqua at wishingfish.com.
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