4 Common Mistakes People Make with Coffee

Coffee is at the heart of many Americans, and frankly, people around the globe. Many of us consume it first thing in the morning, then again later on in the morning, perhaps again in the afternoon, etc. We drink a lot of it. It smells good, it tastes great, and keeps us happy and sane.

However, there are certain things that we do with coffee that are not great to do with coffee.

1. The first thing is that some people try to use coffee as a substitute for smoking. While this can be a great idea, replacing the cigarette with the coffee K-Cup is that some of the effects of the chemicals in the cigarette and the tobacco can make the liver perform faster; this makes the metabolism burn the caffeine faster than a coffee drinker who does not smoke. Due to this, smokers can have a higher caffeine tolerance than non-smokers and might have to drink three to four times the amount of coffee to have the same effect. Having too much coffee can create some health risks, remember, everything in moderation.
2. Having coffee too late in the day creates another issue. The point of coffee is to wake us up but we do not want to have coffee but we do not want it to prevent us from falling asleep at night. If you have coffee too late, then you might find your bedtime is thrown off, which disrupts your sleep cycle. Know your body and how it reacts to caffeine. If you really want more coffee later in the day, try using decaf coffee.
3. Trying to sweat out the caffeine is not something that works too well either. Have you ever had one cup too many and then you feel jittery and anxious? Often times, we try to do something to sweat out the caffeine. Sometimes, we try to eat something to soak up some of the caffeine as well. The ladder might work, depending on what you eat but not always. See, caffeine is metabolized at the same rate no matter what so trying to sweat it out or eating food to soak it up does not really work too well.
4. Believing that only die-hards can tolerate espresso. Yeah, we know that espresso can be a real bold way to drink coffee but it is not reserved for the dedicated and seasoned coffee consumers. A shot of espresso has less caffeine than an 8 ounce cup of coffee. You also might find it interesting that a lightroast coffee has more caffeine than a dark roast coffee or a mediumroast coffee.

Coffee sure is an interesting beverage. We love it!

Do you need a quick fix for your short coffee supply? Then shopCoffeevines and get your coffee delivered to your door right away! No need to stop at the store, especially if the closest one is a long drive away!

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. 

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. 

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!

The Differences Between Dark Roast Coffee & Light Roast Coffee

When it comes to K-Cup coffee, or any coffee for that matter, roast matters. Not all coffee roast are the same since they all feature different flavors, caffeine levels, roasting time, etc. Dark roast, medium roast, and light roast coffee are the three main ones but there are roast levels within those.

The roast is one of the aspects about coffee that completely changes the drink depending on which one you go for. If you are into roasting your own coffee beans, then depending on which bean you have, it requires a different roast. So how are the roasts different and why should you care? Let's find out.

• Light roast: This coffee is light in color, as figured by the name. When you want a mild coffee, then you will want to order a light roast because the typical coffee flavor is not as potent; however, the amount of caffeine is greatest. The beans do not have oil on the surface. 

• Common names for light roast include: light city, half city, cinnamon, and New England. 
• Medium roast: The beans are a medium brown in color and have a bolder flavor than mild roast. Still, there is no oil on the surface of the beans. This is the roast that Americans tend to enjoy the most. 
• Common names for this roast include: City, American, and Breakfast. 
• Dark Roast: The coffee is really dark brown, much richer and bolder than the other coffee roasts. There is some oil on the surface to a lot of oil on the surface. There is much more bitterness with dark roast. This roast has the least amount of acid and caffeine in the coffee. 
• Common names for dark roast include: high, continental, New Orleans, European, Espresso, Viennese, Italian, and French. 

If you want to try a roast that you are not used to having, then an easy place to purchase coffee is www.coffeevines.com! We have these roasts with plenty of brands to choose from. 

Pancake Recipe Perfect for Pairing with Coffee

On a nice weekend morning, nothing is better than having a delicious plate of pancakes and a hot cup of single cup coffee. We found an incredible recipe for apple-bacon pancakes with cider syrup. Oh my, they will even make pancake lovers out of someone who once despised pancakes. If you like apples, pancakes, and bacon, you will absolutely love these. These pancakes have a nice sweet, yet slightly smoky taste to them.

The ingredients in this recipe are very easy to find in a store, if you don't have them in your kitchen cupboards already.

• Half cup of apple cider
• 3 tablespoons of light brown sugar, and make sure it's divided 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch
• half cup of whole-wheat pastry flour. Yeah, has to be whole wheat. 
• Quarter cup of all-purpose flour. None of that flour that isn't cool enough to do more than one job! 
• 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. That's not a typo. 
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• Half cup of nonfat buttermilk
• 1 cup of apple, peel it and dice it (about 1 medium sized apple)
• 4 slices of bacon, fried and cut
• 1 teaspoon of canola oil, and make sure it's divided

Now that you have ingredients good to go, let's get to frying up some pancakes to pair with your medium roast K-cup coffee! Or, if you like K-cup tea, that works too! Delicious. 

1. Mix the cider, brown sugar (just 2 tablespoons), lemon juice, and the cornstarch into a small saucepan. Bring your mix to a medium heat until boil. Whisk it and cook it until it thickens; this should take about a minute or two. 
2. Whisk the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and the last bit of brown sugar (there should be 1 tablespoon left) in a small mixing bowl. Mix in the egg, egg white, and the buttermilk in a large mixing bowl. Then, mix in the dry ingredients, bacon, and the apple chunks until it is all combined. Yeah, it will be thick batter indeed! 
3. Grab a skillet (large) and with a half teaspoon of oil and put on medium heat. Use a quarter cup of batter and cook four at a time. They should be about 3 inches in diameter per pancake. 
4. Cook until the edges are dry and you see bubbles start to form in the middle (this will take about two minutes). Flip. Cook a couple more minutes or until they are golden brown. 
5. Serve pancakes, pour on apple cider syrup. Sip a dark roast single cup coffee, read your favorite section of the paper. Repeat.