Crew Review: Turkish Coffee Equipment
May 18th, 2012
Rade takes it to the streets and shows Gail how it’s done! Finally. In this video, he tries out a few different Turkish coffee-related apparatus to help us determine what to bring in. Watch as he demonstrates the hand grinder and then teaches Gail how to make Turkish coffee, Serbian-style.
 Brewin’ with Brandi: Smashing Sunset
May 17th, 2012
If we leave Brandi to her own devices, she just causes trouble for everyone. And, in this case, that trouble is in the format of a ridiculously delicious vodka cocktail that is perfectly refreshing and the best choice for your breakfast, lunch or dinner beverage all summer long. While she used Monin’s Blackberry syrup, we’re pretty sure this will go great with any of their berry syrups — strawberry, raspberry, blueberry … heck, we’ll even give a nod to mango.
Ingredients
Directions Fill a tall glass with ice and then pour the syrup and vodka over it. Fill with lemonade, give it a stir and enjoy. Crew Review: Rocket Espresso R58 Dual Boiler
May 16th, 2012
Seriously, we’re not sure if it can get much better. We need a moment. While we collect ourselves, check out Gail’s from box-to-cappuccino introduction to the R58.
All That (Caffeine) — and a Bag of Chips!
May 15th, 2012
But wait, did you ever think a bag of potato chips could give you the same amount of energy? Arma Energy Snx and NRG have done the what many may consider to be the unthinkable: Created a crunchy + salty + caffeinated snack with a dash of taurine (an ingredient often found in energy drinks) to boost our mood. Given that we often associate potato chips with being a couch potato, a high energy version definitely borders on ironic. But Arma claims that each 2-ounce bag comes with about 70 milligrams of caffeine while NRG says that every 3.5-ounce bag is ‘equivalent to 3 and a half cups of coffee, 350 mg of caffeine.’ However, with each bag also comes 290 calories. Compare that to an energy drink that has 80 mg of caffeine and 110 calories and a shot of espresso with only 5 calories and 75 mg of caffeine. Crew Review: Breville BES840XL
May 14th, 2012
While we loved several of the features on Breville’s BES830XL, the temperature consistency did leave a bit to be desired. So imagine our tearful joy when we learned that Breville was implementing an upgrade to the internals of this machine and releasing a new model! You can check out the differences between the older heating tech and the new heating tech (if you’re into that kind of thing) in this video. Then watch Gail take us through the BES840XL’s features and demonstrate functionality. The BES840XL will be available in mid-June 2012.
Crew Review: Hario Clear Water Dripper
May 11th, 2012
If patience is a virtue you’ve already acquired, Hario’s beautiful Clear Water Dripper might produce the cold cup of coffee to reward you. Watch as Gail takes this gear-fit-for-a-laboratory out for a test drive. As you can see, we didn’t have great results, but we wont give up. Have you tried this prep method, or something like it? Please share your technique with the class! Brewin’ with Brandi: Mocha Smoothie
May 10th, 2012
If you take dark chocolate, coffee ice cubes and milk, throw it into a Vita-Mix and hit ‘high,’ is there any possible way that you can go wrong? If so, we don’t want to know. Watch Brandi combine all this rightness into a delicious smoothie and then treat herself to a smoothie + Espresso Chocolate Cake Truffle breakfast.
Directions
Cooking with Kaylie: Espresso Chocolate Cake Truffles
May 9th, 2012
Ingredients
Directions
You just made cake truffles! While they are quite a bit of work, people thoroughly enjoy them. For example, I was told that this is the best recipe I’ve made so far for Seattle Coffee Gear. Success! As an added bonus, it is super easy to take shortcuts on this recipe or scale it down. Only want 10 truffles? Then simply make 1/4 of the espresso chocolate cake recipe. Short on time? Buy some chocolate cupcakes at the store and just mix in the ground espresso with the frosting. Also, don’t skip the freezer/refrigerator step. It’s what keeps them from falling apart as you dip them in the chocolate. Trust me on this one. Now, what are you waiting for? Go make some awesome cake truffles! Crew Review: Capresso Burr Coffee Grinder #559
May 8th, 2012
Watch as Gail tests out this grinder, discusses its features, pros and cons and then demonstrates its grind quality.
What is a Thermoblock?
May 7th, 2012
Gail introduces us to a few different varieties of thermoblocks/thermocoils and shows how they compare to a standard boiler (specifically, the internals of the Breville Dual Boiler).
Special thanks to Breville for providing the sample internals for this video!
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