Cricketscoffee Blog

  If you’re looking for the healthier versions of chocolate, look for the term ‘dark chocolate. That’s going to be on the label, and then look for a higher percentage.   Other benefits of cocoa powder, the main ingredient of dark chocolate, may include raising good cholesterol levels, the high density lipids or HDL, while lowering bad cholesterol levels, the low density lipids or LDL.   Dark chocolate with at least 70-percent cacao contains fiber and is high in antioxidants. Antioxidants are really important because they help to protect us against certain diseases like cancer, and macular degeneration from aging.   Chocolate can be part of a heart healthy lifestyle but in small portions. You still have to count calories. For example, a serving of miniature Hershey’s Special Dark, five of them, is around 200 calories.    Enjoy, but in moderation.

Think your coffee tastes extra bitter today? You may want to switch mugs. The color of your cup may be affecting the taste of your morning brew, says a new study.     The idea for the study was inspired by a barista who overheard customers claiming they thought coffee drunk from a white mug tasted more bitter than drinking from a clear glass container.  Researchers conducted a series of experiments where participants drank coffee from white, clear and blue mugs and were then asked to analyze taste.  The study found that coffee drunk from a white cup tastes “significantly more intense”—aka less sweet and more bitter—than drinking from a clear or blue mug. The reason?  People tend to associate color with flavor and white is associated with bitterness. The brown color of the coffee “contrasts” significantly with a white drinking cup. Conversely, drinking from a clear cup enhances a drink’s “perceived sweetness.” Blue mugs apparently amplify both swe...

   If your morning cup of joe isn't tasting as good as usual, the problem could be a dirty coffee pot. Glass or stainless steel carafes should be cleaned after every use to prevent the oily build-up that makes coffee bitter. Wash in warm soapy water or in the dishwasher on the top rack. If pot is stained, fill it with equal parts water and white vinegar, allow it soak for 15-20 minutes, then wash.  Using filtered water is a huge help in keeping you coffee maker clean. Distilled water is what I use as it "softer" than even bottled of just filtered water.

  The waste production of the K-Cup, the non-recyclable, single-serve coffee pods that Keurig machines use, has long been noted. Keurig Green Mountain pledged to create a full recyclable version of its main product by 2020, but estimates say that the Keurig pods buried in 2014 would already circle the Earth 12 times.   Meanwhile, the Keurig’s popularity has made it ever more ubiquitous, bringing it to offices and homes across the country. The company sold a total of 9.8 billion Keurig-brewed portion packs last year, which include the new multiple-cup pods.

  According to a new study by Boston Medical Center, about 15 % of 2-year-olds drink as much as four ounces of coffee a day .     Between 2% to 3% of the infants  studied were drinking coffee. At two, that number grew to 15 %. drinking on average a little more than an ounce of coffee a day.   “Our results show that many infants and toddlers in Boston – and perhaps in the US – are being given coffee and that this could be associated with cultural practices,” said Dr. Anne Merewood, director of the Breastfeeding Center at BMC and associate professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine.    Official guidelines for children’s coffee consumption is lacking, but there are some alarming potential health effects. Previous hospital studies have shown that coffee and caffeine have been associated with depression, type 1 diabetes, sleep disturbances, substance abuse and obesity in children and adolescents.   Ano...

  With a study in their hands that finds electronic cigarettes may expose users to high levels of formaldehyde. the California senate has introduced a bill that would define the controversial devices as tobacco products and treat them as such.       Filed Monday by state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), the bill would subject e-cigarettes -- battery-powered tubes that vaporize liquid nicotine instead of burning tobacco -- to the state’s existing anti-smoking laws, effectively banning "vaping" in workplaces, schools, restaurants, bars, hospitals, public transit and everywhere else traditional cigarettes are forbidden.      For those of you who think this is for the good health of California. It's not tobacco you have been smoking to much of. E cigarettes are a response to the bands on tobacco. Ban E cigarettes and the maket will find a new way around the ban.     The bill is sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the ...