Cricketscoffee Blog

Keurig cries uncle.  With consumers raising hell over the Keurig 2.0 scheme and sales of the new Keurig 2.0 started sinking faster than the Titanic did. Keurig gives in and says it will cave to consumers and discontinue it's practice of it's coffee makes only excepting Keurig approved K-cups.  Now what? Well Keurig has a lot of consumer anger to mollify. The Keurig scheme was nothing short of a consumer rip off  by a heartless greedy corporation. With a cost approaching $50.00 a pound in the approved K-cups. Calling it a rip off is being mild.  It is obvious that the powers that be at Keurig  see their costumers only as a    revenue source. Not as people wanting a good product at a reasonable cost. Bottom line..... drop dead Keurig. You are a day late and a dollar short.  

First it is the grapes used then how the grapes are fermented and aged.   The color is in large part a result of the color of the grape's skin. Red grapes, red wine White grapes, white wine. Remove the grape skin and there is little difference in the color of the red or white grapes. Both are for the most part white inside.  When fermented, the additional pressing that red grapes receive releases the tannins and colors into the wine giving red wines their color and flavors of red wines.   After fermentation, Red wines are matured and conditioned in oak barrels for several months or longer.  The longer time the wine is in a barrel the deeper the color is likely to be However to long in the ageing barrel can be Bad news for any wine. Excess wood tannins will make the wine unpalatable even to those with the most exotic palate. To much aging in barrels is avoided for especially for whit...

The new Starbucks express is opening soon on Wall Street in New York City.   Starbucks Express is a result of the coffee drinking public wanting their coffee fix faster. Yet will not compromise on Starbucks quality coffee's and high end décor.   Starbucks express is introducing new efficiency's into the ordering process. A Starbuck employee will come to you in line and send your order in byway of a wireless devise. This step is hoped to reduce your weight time from placing your order to having you drink by as much as half. This is from the typical 4 minute weight time at your local Starbucks today.  Perhaps Starbucks could make a marked decrease in the time from when your orders is places to in your hand would be if Starbucks would have a coffee only lane. Let the people who want the more labor and time consuming drinks have the longer weight time.   

  California is on the brink of blowing away in the wind due to the water shortage, bringing on a huge onslaught regulations being passed that restrict personal and business water use.  Ethos, Starbucks bottled water brand has it's water plant in Merced California but recovers its water from nearby Baxter California. Both of witch are in the extreme drought areas of the state.   Ethos does not have to pay for the groundwater it pumps. It is a private source and does not come from any municipal source.  Some California's are getting a little irritated at possibly getting a hefty fine for flushing the toilet one to many times. Only to watch millions of bottles of Californian water being bottled and ship all over the country.     

  Starbucks now offers wine after 4 p.m. at three Portland-area coffee shops and is applying with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission for additional licenses to serve alcohol at nine others across Oregon.   It's part of Starbucks rollout of the "Starbucks Evenings" brand in a select few metro areas across the United States. In addition to wine, participating locations also offer a new dessert menu.   Wine is already available at the Starbucks locations in the Pearl District (1031 N.W. Couch St.), downtown Portland (614 S.W. 11th Ave.) and Bethany Village (4708 N.W. Bethany Blvd.), and the company has applied for liquor licenses at several more Oregon locations. Will your local Starbucks be next? Stay tuned.  

Baristas, The steady march of technology is after your job.Researchers at Cornell University have conceived of and built a mechanical device (a robot) that can make a great espresso and steams milk to perfection.  This is not all. this Rosie the robot can learn how to operate nearly any piece of equipment a baristas uses. Including new espresso machines.   The Magazine Gizmag says that the robot barista has at it's disposal a deep learning algorithm along with 3D cameras to analyze how to operate a piece of equipment. With only a few try's, the task at hand is learned and you job security gets a little smaller. This Android Barista has already mastered how to operate several different types of espresso machines. No word if Rosie takes tips.

Cold Brew .......Coffee, not beer or wine Making cold brew coffee is a snap to make at home. These directions tell you how to make a cold brew coffee overnight in your sleep. For that fresh cold brew coffee the next morning.  Coarse-grind 1 cup of your favorite roasted coffee beans for every 3 cups of cold-filtered water. Stir the coffee and water thoroughly, don't get lazy here. stir it...stir it good to get a good initial soak.   Pour the mix into a glass jar and seal with its lid. A Mason jar works great for this step. Put the mix into the fridge for 12 hours minimum. A 24 hours soak gets you the best results.  Strain the mix into a new glass container after the soak in the fridge or straight into your chilled coffee cup with crushed ice.