CoffeeNate #22 ::VIA™ vs. Starbucks® Brewed Coffee “Challenge”


Have a coffee question? Have it answered on the show, and win FREE coffee! ASK COFFEENATE

Well, it’s that time again.  Time for me to go undercover and investigate what I consider outrageous claims made by Starbucks® concerning their new instant coffee, VIA™.  They released the line of instant coffees, which are being promoted as being AS GOOD as regular brewed coffee.  They claim that their instant coffee is different because it contains ‘micro-ground’ coffee.  Um, ground coffee does not dissolve in water, no matter how ‘micro’ it may be.  Fine ground coffee, allowed to steep in water will always, always, always be bitter and offer many off notes in the flavor.   Pardon my [Read more…]

CoffeeNate #21: How Much Coffee Should I Use?


Have a coffee question? Have it answered on the show, and win FREE coffee! ASK COFFEENATE

Two posts in three days, yay!  Life is full, with three busy boys, a full time job, and numerous other commitments, it is difficult to churn out episodes at a quick pace.  Even just to get some quiet time to shoot a video is a challenge 🙂  I’m always thinking of new stuff to do, and I’m always looking for new topics.  It was suggested by a viewer that I should address some coffee basics.  It is so true that many coffee drinkers are misinformed on the basics, like [Read more…]

CoffeeNate #20: LIVE! … In the Trenches


Have a coffee question? Have it answered on the show, and win FREE coffee! ASK COFFEENATE

Howdy do my fellow coffee addicts?  This week I have two episodes back to back.  I’ll be posting another video this weekend 🙂  This is a video of my presentation at IgniteSault.  An ignite talk is where presenters give a 5 minute talk about a passion of theirs.  During this 5 minutes you have 20 slides that supposedly automatically change at 15 second intervals, so there is a lot of timing involved.  Well, I said ‘supposedly’ because, as Murphy’s Law, indicates whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and my slides advanced 2 at a time and then they were being manually adjusted by the presenter dude.  I programmed it correctly, it just got corrupted somehow when they converted to the other machine…oh well.  No biggie, just threw me off a bit and I missed some points.

This talk was “The 3 Keys” as I’ve spoken about before here.  There are three major factors that have such a significant influence on your coffee flavor that if you get one wrong, you get it ALL wrong!  I’ll talk about these individually on future episodes, but here is the ‘Reader’s Digest version’.  The three keys are… [Read more…]

CoffeeNate #19 :: How To Store Coffee


Have a coffee question? Have it answered on the show, and win FREE coffee! ASK COFFEENATE

Hello again, my dear and highly valued coffee friends! Today, I’m addressing a popular topic, they question that I receive most often. I figured that it deserved its own show… proper coffee storage. I continually get asked whether coffee should be stored in the fridge..in the freezer…ground…etc. The answer to all of those questions is a resounding “NO freaking way!”  Did you know that coffee in the grocery store is typically six months old…or older? Did you know that coffee is considered fresh up to 15 days after the roasting process? Uh…15 days…6 months? Hmmm. Sadly, the majority of us have been trained and accustomed to drinking stale coffee! In order to properly store coffee, you must first purchase fresh coffee in the first place.

So now you know all of the don’ts, here are the do’s.  [Read more…]

Camping Coffee : How to Make Great Coffee While Camping!

 
 
 


Have a coffee question? Have it answered on the show, and win FREE coffee!
ASK COFFEENATE

Hello again coffee friends!  I’m back after a nice week of camping, hiking, fishing, cliff diving etc 🙂  One question I’ve gotten a few times is “how do I get quality coffee while camping?”  Many people think of using a percolator while camping, and predispose themselves to using this less than preferred method of coffee brewing while roughing it.  I have put together three easy camp coffee methods that will all produce a quality cuppa joe!  Oh yeah, all of these wonderful methods cost less than $30!

The first method is the travel french press.  Certainly, you can cart around your full size glass press pot, but why risk breakage and take up precious packing space?  I purchased this exact mug myself a month ago, and I must say that I am impressed.  It’s is a very unique design that offers great coffee brewing capabilities, even on the run!  Just throw a scoop of coffee in and add water that is 30 seconds removed from boiling.  Give it a stir for a few seconds, put the lid on and [Read more…]