1. Add 0.5 – 0.75 ounces of chocolate syrup in your 10-12 ounce mug.
2. Add Steamed Milk leaving room for espresso.
3. Top with a Shot (or two) of espresso
4. Drizzle with chocolate sauce.
Variety is the spice of life, right? Well then our lives have gotten a lot spicier then since we got the Keurig B70 in our kitchen a few weeks ago. I thought I would share some unintended consequences of getting the B70. So, if you’ve been reading my posts you know that we’ve really liked having the B70 in our kitchen for the shear variety of coffee that you can enjoy. I have been running through several types of coffees that I can enjoy as an espresso drinker. We have also bought some Timothy’s Green Tea and Timothy’s Peppermint Tea K-cups to enjoy when you are all coffee-ed out (yea it actually can happen in our house). With all the talk of the healthy effects of green tea, I have found that it’s a lot more inviting to brew up a green tea K-cup than dig for a tea bag and brew it, because I can control the strength and thus the flavor of the tea. I also like the larger size setting on the B70 because I have found that while I like strong coffee, I don’t like strong green tea. So, I go for the 9.25-ounce size cup on tea, and then the brewer reverts back to our pre-programmed 7.25-ounce size for the next brew (which would usually be an extra bold coffee anyways). So there you go, 2 more reasons we are enjoying the Keurig B70: 1) A wide assortment of teas, especially for us the Green and the Peppermint, and 2) Variable brew sizes to get the strength just right.
All of these are about $16 for a 2-pack (50 K-cups total). If you spend more than $25 - you get free shipping, and more than $49 you also get $10 off your order.
Review: Breville ESP8XL Café Roma Espresso Machine Review
The beautiful Breville Café Roma ESP8XL Espresso Machine is a sure footed espresso machine that is able to stand tall on any countertop with its beautiful stainless steel housing. Its rock solid construction makes even a Hummer H2 blush at the idea of taking it on. I mean this thing is build like a tank; thick solid stainless steel houses a lot of highly functional components that turn out a very respectable cup of espresso. While it may be built like a tank, the Breville Cafe Roma doesn’t look like a tank, and was right at home sitting on our counter for this review.
So, you’ve tried them at the coffee shop and asked yourself “How to I make a Macchiato at home and what’s the recipe?” Well if you like these over the top concoctions, they are pretty easy to do if you have the right ingredients. They are a much more indulgent version of what was a simple espresso with a mark of foamed milk on the top…..
1. Add 0.5 – 0.75 ounces of Caramel Syrup in your 10-12 ounce mug.
2. Add Steamed Milk leaving room for espresso.
3. Top with a Shot (or two) of espresso
4. Drizzle with Caramel Sauce.
Sometimes simple is beautiful. These Konitz K100 espresso cups are as simple as they get; white, elegant and fairly cheap! The 2-ounce size in heavy weight porcelain is perfect for a good shot of espresso. They are dishwasher and microwave safe. Enjoy.
The DeLonghi EC140B espresso machine is a low cost pump-driven espresso machine from one of the well known appliance makers of Europe. The unit is a pump-driven espresso maker that helps assure better extraction of your precious espresso, which can go through the portafilter designed for singles or doubles. It also accepts ESE Pods. The removable 35-ounce reservoir is plenty big for round after round of espressos. Easy control is had with three simple switches on the front panel, and the flip out frother does the job to get you frothy milk for your cappuccinos. No word from anyone if you can simply steam the milk by taking off the plastic attachment.
I will say that the EC140B model is an older model, and you should consider moving to its newer sibling the EC155 which we reviewed recently (see: Delonghi EC155 Review) and I have to say that it really surprised me with the quality of the espresso and the overall value for the price. The DeLonghi EC155 ships for free from Amazon, and is priced under $100 for this very good espresso machine.
So, a while back, I wrote up a post about the delicious Caribou Coffee Granola Bars - Chocolate Mocha flavor, and thought that I would finally get around to looking at the Vanilla Latte and well writing a little review on the things. The Mocha flavored granola bars are rich and a bit sharp in flavor; pretty delicious overall. I love them, and my kids love them. "You feed them to your kids? How much caffeine is in there?” You ask. Yes, while they have coffee in them, the ingredient statement has coffee below salt, which means that there is less coffee in there than salt. Now, in looking at the sodium content of a hundred milligrams or so, it tells me that there is only a hundred or so milligrams of coffee in these things, and a LOT LESS caffeine. So, not to worry, they won't keep my kids or me up at night.
So, again, we're taking a look at some other K-cups from the point of view of an espresso drinker, and I stumbled onto a good one. So, we have this rather nice looking Keurig B70 brewer sitting in our kitchen that I already wrote about, saying that the B70 brought harmony to our kitchen by allowing us to brew what we want from a wide variety of K-cups. In the first review of K-Cups where I landed on a combination of Green Mountain Organic Sumatran Extra Bold and Timothy's Rain Forest Espresso in to the same cup as nirvana. One of our readers, Cheezr, suggested Gloria Jean's Black Magic Extra Bold K-cups and I have to say that the are pretty good.
Last Week: Win Some Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate
This month we’re happy to announce Stomping Grounds Beverage Company as our Mailing List Sponsor and the ability to win some Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate in your choice of flavors: Espresso, Caramel, Vanilla, or Mocha. We recently reviewed Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate - the first pre-packaged, cold-press espresso -- and we loved the convenience and taste of the products. To be eligible to win, you can sign up as a new member of our Mailing List at SingleServeCoffee.com and/or SingleServeEspresso.com and we will give the first 100 new subscribers a free package of Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate; each box provides about 12 servings. Just add milk (or soy). Heat. And serve. If you are already a member of our mailing list, you can still win; we will give 50 current subscribers a free box of Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate through a random drawing. At the end of the month we will email winners a code that they can use to redeem a free Stomping Grounds Espresso concentrate at the Stomping Grounds Website store at www.stompinggrounds.com. Sign up for both mailing lists and double your chances!
This is quite possibly the best deal of the season if you can get one. I thought I would post it early and let you know if you wanted to jump on the train. The Lello Ariete 45900 Prestigio Espresso Machine is constructed of heavy-duty stainless steel and simple-to-use controls, this espresso maker makes it easy to brew cafe-quality coffee drinks. On top of the stainless steel, it offers some serious features that make it stack up well versus other makers, at least on paper.
The Lello 45900 Ariete Espresso Makers high-performance ThermoBlock 15-bar pump-driven system that provides uniform and constant pump pressure to make a great espresso with good crema and a frothy thick milk cappuccino. So, not only is it a pump driven espresso machine, but it's in stainless; a combination that you just don't see at this price range.
It has a removable 2-1/4-quart water reservoir that can be refilled from the top at any time during operation, and a cup-warming area allows up to nine cups to be warmed before use. The Lello Ariete 45900 measures 9-1/2 by 9-1/4 by 12-1/2 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.
The Lello Ariete 45900 Espresso & Cappuccino Maker from Amazon.com for only $129.99, and when you use one of their saver codes, you can save $25 off a purchase over $125. It qualifies for free shipping too!
I have one on order and it is slated to ship in the coming weeks. If you can't wait for this machine, check out my review of the DeLonghi EC155 machine that for about the same price, offers great espresso, just not in the stainless of the Lello Ariete model.
Blogpire Podcast - Liquor Snob - All The News that's Fit to Drink 10.24.06
Our special guest Jake Jamieson from Liquorsnob.com teaches us about Tequila, and we taste test P.I.N.K. caffeinated Vodka. And of course, we have the latest news and views from around the 'pire. We also answer your questions from the past couple of weeks so keep sending them in to podcast at blogpire dot com.
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Well, it's time to go back to school folks and learn a bit about coffee; the espresso variety. Saeco is a well known maker of high end espresso machines, and they have just launched a re-do of their Seaco University, a website dedicated to educating about espresso coffee. The info is mixed and targets newbies and has a few tidbits for die-hards too. The new site features several "picks" of the month, such as Coffee of the Month, Recipe of the Month, Coffee Topic of the Month, and Shop of the Month. They've got a fair amount of info up there, so its worth a trip over there to see what they've got. You won't be getting any credits for the coursework, but hey the research trips to the cafe are great.
OK, so recently we brought you word of a new Hershey’s Espresso flavored Special Dark chocolate bar, well I decided to go back out and search the aisles for similar products, and today we have the Ghirardelli version: Ghirardelli Intense Dark Espresso Escape. Unlike the Hershey’s bar, the Ghirardelli bar actually has ground up coffee beans in it, and the taste difference is dramatic. I’ll admit that the taste difference might just be in the chocolate, because the espresso flavor is not overwhelming. The ground up beans are really undetectable, as they probably put them through a similar conching process that the cocoa beans go through to make them silky smooth. So, if you like dark chocolate, and want a hit of espresso, try the Ghirardelli. It’s not a sweet bar, but its flavors are smooth and complex, and for a little bit more in price, a lot better value than the Hershey’s.
We know that a lot of our readers are coffee fiends, and that they have multiple coffee makers in their house, including Tassimo. Well, Amazon.com has Tassimo T Discs for on average $1-3 dollars cheaper than buying direct from Tassimo or other online merchants. The Tassimo T Discs typically come in two packs priced at $14-$15 dollars, and if you buy up to $25 dollars or more shipping is FREE. Not a bad deal.
So, with the story the other day on Red Espresso, a pressure extracted herbal tea (Rooibos tea), I decided to see what I could do on my own. So I picked up some Celestial Seasonings African Tea - Moroccan Pomegranate Red at the store which is a red, slightly sweet fruity tea and brewed it in the Breville Café Roma Espresso machine that recently arrived for review. Overall, not hard to do, but this is totally off the plan for what these machines were made to do, so try it at your own risk. I used the Espresso Pod Filter.
Fair Trade Coffee - a Review of Where it's Been and Where it's Going
There's a good article in today's Boston Globe that talks about Fair Trade Coffee, where it is going and where it came from. With its origins in Europe some 30 years ago, the idea of paying a little bit more to farmers, and leveling the bargaining table instead of pitting huge corporations versus small farmer co-ops fighting for daily sustenance. Transfair USA has been the proprietor of the Fair Trade label and certification program, and says that over 100 million pounds of coffee has been roasted under the certification program since 1999. This means that over $75 million in extra payments has gone to help 800,000 people in 25 countries.
Coffee? Tea? Or Both? – In an interesting mash-up, we find that a South African company is doing well with their Red Espresso, a tea based drink that extracts Rooibos tea much in the same way you extract espresso coffee; under high pressure with a small volume of water. Tea has long been talked about for its healthy properties, will this herbal tea espresso catch on for a new super healthy, super cool way to enjoy a bit of coffee tea shop culture?
The Red Espresso is the basis for many drinks including red cappuccinos, red lattes, fresh reds (Rooibos tea and fruit juice) and red shakes. According to red espresso Managing Director Peter Ethelston, “It’s not a traditional tea and it’s not coffee. In fact, red espresso straddles the two markets – offering a drink that has the sophistication of café culture combined with extraordinary health properties.”
Review: Hershey's Special Dark Espresso Flavored Chocolate Bar
So I ran across this limited edition Hershey’s Special Dark Espresso flavored chocolate bar in the store yesterday. Since I tried the Caribou Coffee Granola Bars and like them a lot I thought I would give this a try. I mean come on, chocolate and coffee flavors are made to go together, right? Well, this bar is Espresso flavored, and does not have any coffee in it; I was a little disappointed in the coffee flavor too. It tasted more like “old coffee” than a nice espresso, or even those Caribou Granola bars. So, if you like Dark Chocolate, and mediocre coffee flavors, give it a try. If not, steer clear and let someone else buy it. (Glad it's a limited edition!)
More Reader Reviews for Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate
So, if you haven't heard, we're giving away some Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate as part of our mailing list sponsorship from them. Last month, they gave a few readers some free espresso concentrate, and we continue to get more comments in from these readers on how good the stuff is. So, don't just take our word that it's good, read some other comments from readers too (Click on the names to go to their comments):
"The flavor is fabulous, rich and sweet and the fact that you can just pull it out of the cupboard when you want a treat is great." - Ramona
"I received a sample of the vanilla flavor. I thought it was very good. I especially liked it cold over ice or as a coffee smoothie." - Bruce
Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate is available at their website and nationnwide at Cost Plus Markets.
So, while we have the Breville Café Roma in for review, I thought I would point out the new Breville Espresso machine that is starting to pop up at finer stores around town. The new Breville ikon BES400XL Espresso Machine is part of the stylish Breville ikon line that includes beautiful stainless steel countertop appliances that will outfit almost your entire kitchen, from 4-slice toasters to Panini Grills. The Breville ikon Espresso machine has a more modern look to it with a turquoise water tank backing the brewing area, and minimalistic push button controls on the front. The ikon Espresso Machine comes with 65 ounce water tank, stainless steel all around, a 15 bar pump that delivers 198F brew water to the coffee. The double wall portafilters create fluffy crèma every time. The unit comes with three portafilter baskets for a single, double or an espresso pod. List price is $449.
So you fancy yourself a coffee shop owner? Come on, we've all had that idea while sitting in a coffee shop, "I could do this.... how hard can it be?" Well try your luck out before you buy and check out this new game Coffee Tycoon. This simple to play and hard to master game lets you run your coffee shop in a turn based system that has you paying baristas, determining advertising levels, and hopefully gaining more customers in the process. As you gain more customers, you open up the potential to add stores, or buy better equipment to drive sales higher! To win, you need to get a million customers. Free demo available or full version for around $20. Fun little diversion while sipping your latte.
This month we’re happy to announce Stomping Grounds Beverage Company as our Mailing List Sponsor and the ability to win some Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate in your choice of flavors: Espresso, Caramel, Vanilla, or Mocha. We recently reviewed Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate - the first pre-packaged, cold-press espresso -- and we loved the convenience and taste of the products. To be eligible to win, you can sign up as a new member of our Mailing List at SingleServeCoffee.com and/or SingleServeEspresso.com and we will give the first 100 new subscribers a free package of Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate; each box provides about 12 servings. Just add milk (or soy). Heat. And serve. If you are already a member of our mailing list, you can still win; we will give 50 current subscribers a free box of Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate through a random drawing. At the end of the month we will email winners a code that they can use to redeem a free Stomping Grounds Espresso concentrate at the Stomping Grounds Website store at www.stompinggrounds.com. Sign up for both mailing lists and double your chances!
Review: Green Mountain Dark Magic and Fair Trade Organic Espressos
We recently received a shipment of Green Mountain Coffee in for a review that we will use in the Jura-Capresso Impressa E8 that we have here at SingleServeEspresso.com The Impressa E8 is kicking out the espressos here at the test kitchens and we are loving it everyday. If you want a full review of the unit, click HERE. The two blends here for this review are the Dark Magic Espresso Blend and the Fair Trade Organic Espresso blend; both of which are roasted for espressos in mind and the ability to stand up in a Latte or a Cappuccino.
Starbucks Corp. is recalling about 73,000 Barista Aroma stainless steel eight-cup coffee brewers sold at retail outlets because of a potential fire hazard. These are coffee brewers, not espresso machines, but I thought I would post it just in case you espresso-heads picked one up in your recent trip to the corner Starbucks.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Seattle-based Starbucks said the coffee brewer has defective electrical wiring that can result in overheating, smoking, burning and melting. Starbucks has received 23 reports of melting in the units but no reports of injuries. The $100 coffee brewers were sold between March 2005 and September 2006. The recall only affects the eight-cup coffee Starbucks Barista Aroma brewer, not 12-cup or single-cup brewers, Starbucks says.
ReadMore at the Consumer Product Safety Commission
We are happy to say that the shiny stainless steel Breville ESP8XL Cafe Roma Espresso Machine has arrived for review at SingleServeEspresso.com. This popular espresso machine hits on a lot of the best features found in many espresso machines these days, and goes a step further by jazzing things up with a great stainless steel look that is classic. The Cafe Roma is being sold at several outlets this year, you may have seen it at Macy's and of course, Amazon.
The DeLonghi EC155 Espresso Machine doesn’t ask much out of you in terms of cost, but gives you a lot in return. The value equation here is really incredible; great crèma; I mean wonderful crema, a really good cup of espresso, and all this in a compact little good looking machine for around $100. The construction is solid, and has nice metal accents on it that helps it look a lot more expensive than it really is. After using the DeLonghi EC155, I have to say that this is an incredible value for an espresso machine at this level.
Gaggia is well known for its quality espresso, and the Gaggia 97001 Deluxe Espresso Machine is sure to thrill. The unit has an automatic milk frother that allows you to put a dip tube into a container of milk and when you turn the steam on you draw frothed milk right into your coffee mug. The unit has an oversized heating element that at 1,425 watts should minimize any wait time for water to heat up to brewing or steaming temperatures. The unit includes two filter basket inserts for single and double shots, and is capable of using ESE pods. The unit is impressive turning out plenty of crema and frothed milk for drink after drink. The ~2 quart water reservoir should also keep you from refilling the unit very often.
Krups has put out the new Krups XP4030 Espresso Machineto compete in the crowded pump driven basic espresso machine segment priced in the $150 range. Krups designed the unit to be very competitive with a strong feature set and a classic design. I spotted the XP4030 at the mall the other day and I have to say that its pretty sharp looking.
The Krups XP4030 comes with three portafilter inserts that will hold a single, double and an ESE espresso pod. This will give you some nice flexibility to make what you want. The unit has a 1200 watt Thermoblock heater and a 15 bar pump to crank out high quality espressos in short order. The 32-ounce water reservoir should keep you going for a while, cranking out about 15+ espressos before refilling. Krups calls their steam wand the Perfect Froth steam system to mix air and steam for foolproof frothing.
Remember, check out Amazon’s specials when you spend more that $125, you get $25 off at the checkout. This machine will qualify for this promotion and Free Shipping.
Snap café in Georgetown has stopped taking cash for payment on their coffee and pastry. After 5 months of not taking cash, life is easier running the café: no runs to the bank, no change to make, and no worries about employees stealing a handful of cash out of the drawer. With lower credit card fees, the plastic only policy has made things a bit easier and a bit more economical for the café. Could this be the precursor for a cash free society?
So one of our readers passed this along and I thought it would be a good thing to have hanging around here.I tried it and it tastes pretty darn good. If you can handle the half and half, good for you, and I supposed if you drink enough of these, you'll be able to burn off the calories with all the caffeine in your system.
This month we’re happy to announce Stomping Grounds Beverage Company as our Mailing List Sponsor and the ability to win some Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate in your choice of flavors: Espresso, Caramel, Vanilla, or Mocha. We recently reviewed Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate - the first pre-packaged, cold-press espresso -- and we loved the convenience and taste of the products. To be eligible to win, you can sign up as a new member of our Mailing List at SingleServeCoffee.com and/or SingleServeEspresso.com and we will give the first 100 new subscribers a free package of Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate; each box provides about 12 servings. Just add milk (or soy). Heat. And serve. If you are already a member of our mailing list, you can still win; we will give 50 current subscribers a free box of Stomping Grounds Espresso Concentrate through a random drawing. At the end of the month we will email winners a code that they can use to redeem a free Stomping Grounds Espresso concentrate at the Stomping Grounds Website store at www.stompinggrounds.com. Sign up for both mailing lists and double your chances!
Cafe Mocha Recipe
If you also want to make a killer mocha, picture perfect for your friends, you can try this chocolate sauce as a drizzle too. 
Continue reading: 
OK, so recently we brought you word of a new 
