We at Roastery in Buena Vista take our latte art seriously, perfecting our foam and playing with designs on our lattes and cappuccinos. A triple rosetta on a macchiato is next in line. All of our baristas shy away from playing with chocolate sauce to make teddy bears and other cute things. Still, no matter how well we like to think we are doing in our ‘art with coffee’, there is somewhere new, like Coffee on Paper. This caricaturist is taking art with coffee somewhere else, and filling a great niche for himself. Much like the teddy bear latte, it will appeal to a distinct group. One of these days when my to-do list in pared down to a couple dozen things, maybe I’ll play around with a sketch of Bongo Billy. Pretty unique niche to find and capitalize on. Check out the art of Dirceu Veiga.
Winter is in full-force here in Buena Vista, and we all know that this lovely, crisp, cold weather often goes hand-in-hand with crummy head-colds, sinus head-aches and other unwanted sicknesses. If you’re anything like me, you’re hesitant to see a doctor for this seasonal stuff that generally dissipates on its own with time… but bring on the natural remedies, right??
A couple of weeks ago, while making a drink here at the Buena Vista Roastery, I overheard a customer telling her friend about how her husband cured 3 years of sinus problems simply by drinking a few cups of green tea a day! Apparently, after trying everything from antibiotics to the neti pot, he visited a specialist, who told him to try green tea. He added a couple of cups of a green tea to his daily coffee routine, and his sinus problems completely disappeared after only 3 weeks! Crazy! Continue reading Green Tea: Can It Cure What Ails You??
I came across this 6 minute video on coffee. The video takes you through some of the process of production and generally describes the regions where coffee is grown. It’s truly a coffee 101 piece, and interesting to learn the geography. We at the BV Roastery and Bongo Billy’s have coffees from about 30 different countries of origin, all Arabica with a variety of subspecies.
Just in time for the holidays, the Coffee Talkie. Complete with antenna and coffee safe key pad. Unfortunately, we won’t be carrying these at the Roastery, just our regular Bongo’s travel mug. It’s a gag gift, but you can read about it and the Wake & Bake Dream Griddle in the LA Times.
The BV Roastery and Bongo Billy’s Coffees offers free shipping on orders more than $25, for Cyber Monday. Earn Reward Points and get your ridiculously good coffee delivered for free…
A roaster of ours at the Buena Vista Roastery who is taking a few years respite in the Virgin Islands shared an interesting article with us. A study suggests that caffeine, whether in the habitual coffee drinker or the novice, can help to reduce the pain one may feel during exercise. Placebos and caffeine pills were used on a number of trials. Here’s one excerpt from Robert Motl of the University of Illinois.
“One of the things that may be a practical application, is if you go to the gym and you exercise and it hurts, you may be prone to stop doing that because pain is an aversive stimulus that tells you to withdraw,” Motl said. “So if we could give people a little caffeine and reduce the amount of pain they’re experiencing, maybe that would help them stick with that exercise.”
Author Ray Gill states that,
the current research could prove encouraging for a range of people, including the average person who wants to become more physically active to realize the health benefits.
We at the Buena Vista Roastery and Bongo Billy’s Coffees are embarking more formally on a quest to support terrestrial carbon sequestration. For two years we have been advancing our environmental commitments and pursuit of the triple bottom line – financial security coupled with long-term environmental regeneration as well social prosperity. So far, I am happy with some of our efforts, and know that there is plenty yet to do. One of the things we can do is be more proactive with dealing with carbon. Continue reading BV Roastery and Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration
Understanding a Bit About Aroma and Your Experience
When I used to teach 8th grade human anatomy we did an experiment poking our finger with a pin, with something hot, with pressure, etc. We were able to map out the various sensory cells, albeit in a fairly rudimentary graphic. The same could be done for our tongue – bitter, sweet, salt, sour. These attributes are what we taste. The rest of the taste sensations are aromatic. We perceive the taste of food and drink either on its way to the mouth, ‘nasally‘, or after it’s in the mouth through the back of the nasal passage, ‘retronasally‘. That’s why you can still taste the green beans even when you pinch your nose when you eat. So, getting to coffee and how we perceive taste. Continue reading The Perceived Taste of Coffee
Watch for our seasonal Maui Red coffee this year. We’re optimizing the roast – should be available after today. Smooth, great body, grapefruit subtlety. Ask your local cafe to carry this Bongo Billy’s special.
When I used to teach 8th grade human anatomy we did an experiment poking our finger with a pin, with something hot, with pressure, etc. We were able to map out the various sensory cells, albeit in a fairly rudimentary graphic. The same could be done for our tongue – bitter, sweet, salt, sour. These attributes are what we taste. The rest of the taste sensations are aromatic. We perceive the taste of food and drink either on its way to the mouth, ‘nasally‘, or after it’s in the mouth through the back of the nasal passage, ‘retronasally‘. That’s why you can still taste the green beans even when you pinch your nose when you eat. So, getting to coffee and how we perceive taste.