Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Fall Coffee Recipes: Cinnamon Dolce Latte

One of the best things about Fall is that you can have so many things that would almost seem weird to have another time of the year. One of those things is the cinnamon dolce latte. One of the best coffee drinks around can be made in mere minutes, right in your kitchen.

The recipe is incredibly easy to make, it only has four ingredients; all of these ingredients will likely be in your kitchen already.

  • Medium Roast coffee K-Cup - This can be dark or light roast if you prefer one of those. I like the medium roast best here because the amount of coffee flavor from the medium roast is a perfect fit.  
  • Cinnamon (ground)- This will be used both as part of the coffee itself and as decoration. Whatever brand you like best will be great, my friends. 
  • Honey- You can use another sweetening agent if you would like. Honey is a big favorite in my house so that's what I like to use. It does add a certain "Fall" flavor. 
  • Whipped cream- This is only for decoration so it is entirely optional. If you use it, using the kind from the spray can works much easier. 
Now that we have the ingredients, let's start making the cup of deliciousness. 
  1. Sprinkle some of the cinnamon into the bottom of your cup before you brew your K-Cup coffee into it. If you are using traditional drip coffee or a french press, then you can add it to the grounds before you brew. 
  2. Once your coffee is brewing, heat up your milk. I use the microwave but you can also use the stove. 
  3. Once the milk is warm, sprinkle some cinnamon to this too. Now, add in some honey. Both the cinnamon and the honey are to taste, so add in as much as you want. Give this a nice stir with a whisk (this will make it frothy).
  4. Pour in the coffee. Mix in your milk mixture from before and stir it again (you don't have to use the whisk again if you don't want).
  5. Top the coffee with whipped cream and sprinkle some cinnamon on top. 
  6. Enjoy. 
Now you have an amazing coffee in you mug. Be sure to shop Coffeevines for you coffee needs! We ship quickly and right to your door. No hassle shopping that can be done from anywhere. 

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Starbucks Testing a Beer Flavored Latte

Lots of people enjoy a cup of coffee, some people enjoy a glass of beer; now, we can enjoy a cup of beer-flavored coffee. If you are into craft beer, then this concept is familiar to you since there are coffee-flavored beers.

Starbucks is known for having interesting coffee drinks and pushing the limits beyond where they were in the past. What they have now is setting the social media world into a frenzy-- good and bad frenzy, depending on who you follow.

The Seattle-based chain is testing a new latte that is dubbed, "Dark Barrel Latte" that is made with espresso, whipped cream on top, and dark caramel drizzle, oh we forgot the chocolatey stout flavored sauce. Only a few stores in Ohio and Florida get to test it at the moment.

Some consumers are already in love with the blend, stating that it "tastes just like beer. Guinness." Other consumers find it repulsive, stating that they find it weird to "feel like you're drinking beer in the morning. Gross."

There is no beer or alcohol in the latte at all. It only tastes like it. The stout flavor comes from the roasted malt.

Some analysts believe that the new blend, if it succeeds in testing, will be to bridge the gap between the morning coffee people and the evening beer/wine people. Who knows, maybe the blend will survive and then be released in coffee K-Cup format?

Until then, we'll just have to wait and see. If you are a fan of Starbucks, then shop from Coffeevines. We have major brands, including Starbucks!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Which Professions Drink the Most Coffee?

Journalists and reporters consume more coffee than other industries, according to a recent study that studied the coffee habits of 10k people. Especially since the invention of the coffee K-Cup machine where coffee is made quickly.

Apparently, 85 percent of the participants stated that they consume at least three cups of coffee per day while another 70 percent believed their work quality would suffer if they went without their daily coffee.

It would seem that drinking coffee is a must for business professionals, states Pressat survey researchers, the group that conducted the study. Some of the professionals in PR, the industry that ranks 1st, consume as much as 6 cups of coffee per day. Those with stressful jobs/careers consume the most, which makes sense since PR is often ranked in the top 3 for stressful jobs.

After public relations, police officers come in 2nd, then teachers, plumbers and other trade professionals, nurses and doctors, company execs, telesales, IT support, retai
l, and drivers (truckers, limo, buses, etc).

One hypothesis includes the possibility that professionals are being overworked, overstretched and pushed beyond limits.

The recommended dosage of caffeine is 200 mg per day; this over consumption can lead to health concerns.

So if you need coffee to get through the day, make shopping for it less stressful and buy from Coffeevines- we will deliver right to your door with easy UPS shipping. Shop for brands like Starbucks, Green Mountain, Peet's, and more.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

10 Coffee Trends to Expect in 2015

Every year, something new happens in the world of coffee and every time, there are trends that make people wonder, "Why are we doing this?" and there are also ones that make people wonder, "Why didn't we do this sooner?"

We have a list of 10 trends that we believe will happen next year; only time will tell if we are right or wrong. Let's hope we're right!

  1. Using coconut/almond milk. There are some coffee shops that are using almond and/or coconut milk as options to regular milk but next year, these milks will be at every shop. Why? Well, people are looking for alternatives to even soy milk and these milks are already popular choices in stores. 
  2. Coffee drive-thrus. These are already around and can be popular, depending on the area. However, these will become just as popular of a way to order your co
    ffee as going into the store. People don't always like to have to park their car, go into the shop, order, wait in line, then get back into their car and go. Expect to see more coffee shops with drive-thrus. 
  3. Desserts from local bakeries. More coffee shops will have pastries from local bakeries instead of using pre-packaged goods. 
  4. Chilled coffee over iced coffee. Due to droughts in many regions of the country, more shops are cutting back on water usage, which means switching to chilled coffee. 
  5. Getting to see how it's done. Much like some shops already do, expect to be able to watch your coffee be made very easily. Of course, if you use a K-Cup coffee machine, then you can already see your coffee be made. 
  6. Coffee being used as a marinade. Some chefs are discovering how coffee adds great flavor to meat. This isn't a coffee shop trend but it still fits with the list. 
  7. Coffee used as a sleep-aid. That's right, some people are already using coffee to help them fall asleep. We're not sure how it works but bedtime coffee might be a thing. 
  8. Single cup coffee machines in hotel rooms. Having the ability to make a real cup of coffee in the morning is something that frequent hotel travelers love to do instead of the toy-sized coffee pots they usually see. 
  9. Blends from countries we don't usually see. We are used to seeing Brazil, Colombian, and French blends but expect to see blends from countries you didn't know had their own coffee blends
  10. Small and mighty. As a nation, we are looking at Europe and liking their style of coffee, especially Italy, where coffee is small but packed with power. Expect to see more espresso style drinks become the norm. 
We love coffee and the styles that go along with it. At Coffeevines, we believe the best coffee is the coffee you brew yourself and can shop for when it's most convenient for you. 

Friday, September 5, 2014

A Brief Explanation of the Coffee Nap

You read it here! The traditional nap where you just feel tired then lay down and sleep for a couple hours are naps of the past! The new "coffee nap" is in. The next time you feel tired, take a coffee nap, my friend.

It sounds contradictory, right? Well, yeah, it does sound contradictory. However, in reality, it works out great! Scientific evidence suggests that taking one of these will actually power you up more than just having a cup of coffee or just taking a nap.

How does the power nap work? Well, it's all about the chemistry; there are two competing effects at play here: caffeine and adenosine. Adenosine is the neurotransmitter in our bodies that tell our minds when we are feeling awake (it accumulates) and when we are feeling tired (when it dissipates). Caffeine takes about 30 minutes to take effect and make you alert.

How does one accomplish the coffee nap? When you start to feel tired, drink a cup of coffee. If you want the coffee quickly, then choose K-Cup coffee. After you consume that, take a 20-30 minutes and when you wake up, the caffeine will have kicked in and you'll feel great. This will help fight off sleep-inertia, or, the grogginess you feel right after waking up.

So the next time you want to take a nap, have some single cup coffee right before and then do a power nap. Let us know how well it worked out for you by commenting on the blog post!