31 January 2012
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
Coffee Making Tip of the Day No. (11) Wash the steamer attachment and the coffee measuring spoon as the coffee is brewing. The best part of this tip is that I am sat here enjoying a cup of 'Panama Boquete Coffee'. It is a medium coffee that is stronger than the Breakfast Blend, and has the unusual trait of becoming sweeter as it cools. Well so that means that there is a coffee out there that is a bit like me. I tend to be sweeter when I cool. But what gets me about this particular coffee; is that it does exactly what is on the pack.
30 January 2012
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
Coffee Making Tip of the Day No. (10) Did you tamp down your coffee? It’s not too late. Remember that big plastic round piece on the machine low down fits the coffee holder and may, just may be for tamping down the coffee and reducing the water flow in order to extract more of the flavour. I mention this because I was making coffee at someone’s home yesterday using their machine, and they didn’t realise that the plastic ‘thingy’ was for compressing the coffee! So this could be the killer tip of the day if you haven’t been reading the instructions or your coffee machine was passed on second hand by a friend or family member without the paperwork.
27 January 2012
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
Coffee Making Tip of the Day No. (9) Empty your pre-warmed coffee cup of the hot water that you used just before the coffee is coming through. It’s only now, just before I switch the machine to ‘flow’ that I would add that measure of syrup, as the addition won’t have time to cool down the cup. The old syrup isn’t my cup of tea, or should I say 'coffee', but I do understand that there are plenty out there who enjoy some unusual coffee tastes and want the product sweetened in some way.
26 January 2012
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
Coffee Making Tip of the Day No. (8) Don’t forget to tamp your ground coffee powder down before you make the drink. Firmly tamped coffee powder reduces the water flow and therefore the water extracts a greater amount of flavour from the coffee as it passes through the ground coffee and on into your cup.
25 January 2012
Coffee Time
Now that the 'Breakfast Blend' coffee pack has ended this morning, it's now onto (from tomorrow) the new 'Panama Boquete coffee' that I purchased from the Mecca in Aberystwyth. Apparently my new acquisition of ‘Panama’ coffee is a medium coffee that is stronger than the Breakfast Blend. According to the chap that sold it to me; it has the unusual trait of becoming sweeter as it cools. Mmmmm, that sounds a bit like me :-) I can’t wait, but I might have to pop out to Costa in a mo; to get another daily fix.
The reason being that coffee drinking is a social habit, and I limit myself to only one cup a day at home. I need to get out and about or I suffer from ‘Cabin Fever’, and we don’t want that to happen again, do we?
The reason being that coffee drinking is a social habit, and I limit myself to only one cup a day at home. I need to get out and about or I suffer from ‘Cabin Fever’, and we don’t want that to happen again, do we?
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
Coffee Making Tip of the Day No. (7) Purge the steamer spout before you start to warm and froth up your milk as a good purging will reduce the amount of water in the system and less water will flow into your milk jug. It’s also healthier as you are removing stale water and cleaning the steamer at boiling temperature if you purge the system just before you start dealing with the milk.
24 January 2012
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
Coffee Making Tip of the Day No. (6) Buy yourself a nice small china jug for warming up and frothing your milk.
23 January 2012
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
Coffee Making Tip of the Day No. (5) As soon as the heater switch is ready; allow some hot water through the coffee machine to warm up your coffee cup to ensure that your drink will stay warm a little longer.
22 January 2012
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
Coffee Making Tip of the Day No. (4) Use fresh water each and every time. Not only will the coffee taste better but it’s probably a tad healthier in the long run.
20 January 2012
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
Coffee Making Tip of the Day No. (3) Store unused ground coffee powder in the fridge.
18 January 2012
Still Cruising
We are both very much looking forward to our next Cruise, once again with Celebrity Cruises.
Recent events suggests that having all of the safety things are lovely, because in theory everything will be fine, but now Cruise Companies have to build in 'human behaviour' into their safety systems and monitoring processes.
Who would have thought of an alleged 'sail pass' if the stories are true. Followed by an alleged early 'abandon ship' by the top guy if that story is true, and to top it all, a 'Not on your Nelly' sequence regarding the Jacobs Ladder, again if true. It could of course all be untrue and the chap really is a jolly good fellow. He may have in fact saved "hundreds if not thousands of lives". Then again, a timely; 'to lifeboats', followed by 'launch' could have resulted in a better outcome.
If any of it is true, then this storyboard must be a very sad eye opener to all of the Cruise Lines and not just the one that sank. How do Cruise Line senior managers deal with what you would never expect to happen? Risk analysis is about the unlikely, and who would have thought what happened could have happened before it actually did happen? Now we have £450m pounds worth of junk, and yet all the best safety features in the world were probably installed on that ship. Human behaviour may have taken the ship where it should not have been, and human behaviour may have failed to launch the lifeboats when they could have been launched. Only the fullness of time and the publication of the official report and the legal proceedings and their Appeals if applicable will tell us all what truly happened. At the moment we are simply double guessing. Yes, these guesses seem to be based on credible circumstances and initial 'evidence' but it's still double guessing until the experts have their day.
It is 100 years since the Titanic sank, and I bet when they launched her; they didn't think that she would sink either. Mmmmmmmmmmmm, does anyone need a good Safety Officer? You see, I've never thought 'outside of the box', because for several decades I have understood that none exists. It is people like me who are not constrained by the norm, the what should happen scenario, or the what could happen, that are needed now. People who see the risks and can identify the solutions. It is probable that Cruise Liners will require greater regulation after this episode. No one can complain, for after all, there are an awful lot of people on board when the boat goes down.
Recent events suggests that having all of the safety things are lovely, because in theory everything will be fine, but now Cruise Companies have to build in 'human behaviour' into their safety systems and monitoring processes.
Who would have thought of an alleged 'sail pass' if the stories are true. Followed by an alleged early 'abandon ship' by the top guy if that story is true, and to top it all, a 'Not on your Nelly' sequence regarding the Jacobs Ladder, again if true. It could of course all be untrue and the chap really is a jolly good fellow. He may have in fact saved "hundreds if not thousands of lives". Then again, a timely; 'to lifeboats', followed by 'launch' could have resulted in a better outcome.
If any of it is true, then this storyboard must be a very sad eye opener to all of the Cruise Lines and not just the one that sank. How do Cruise Line senior managers deal with what you would never expect to happen? Risk analysis is about the unlikely, and who would have thought what happened could have happened before it actually did happen? Now we have £450m pounds worth of junk, and yet all the best safety features in the world were probably installed on that ship. Human behaviour may have taken the ship where it should not have been, and human behaviour may have failed to launch the lifeboats when they could have been launched. Only the fullness of time and the publication of the official report and the legal proceedings and their Appeals if applicable will tell us all what truly happened. At the moment we are simply double guessing. Yes, these guesses seem to be based on credible circumstances and initial 'evidence' but it's still double guessing until the experts have their day.
It is 100 years since the Titanic sank, and I bet when they launched her; they didn't think that she would sink either. Mmmmmmmmmmmm, does anyone need a good Safety Officer? You see, I've never thought 'outside of the box', because for several decades I have understood that none exists. It is people like me who are not constrained by the norm, the what should happen scenario, or the what could happen, that are needed now. People who see the risks and can identify the solutions. It is probable that Cruise Liners will require greater regulation after this episode. No one can complain, for after all, there are an awful lot of people on board when the boat goes down.
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
Coffee Making Tip of the Day No. (2) If your coffee bag sticky label is broken, then turn over the edges of the coffee bag and seal using a clothes peg.
17 January 2012
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
So with my Parallel Universe 'Roger Bennett' enjoying African Coffee and me being a daily habitual coffee shop drinker and getting that coffee machine for my Birthday; I thought that it might be a nice idea to offer a series of Coffee Making Tips.
Coffee Making Tip of the Day
(1) Coffee machines take a finer ground powder than the old plunger device so don’t forget to ask for the right grade of grinding when you visit your local ‘Mecca’ to collect your favourite blend of coffee.
14 January 2012
Parallel Universe
I found out recently that my other half of me in that Parallel Universe that must exist; likes Coffee, runs a Blog and is into many things including posing Lego figures, African coffee and the like. Now you all know that I am a fatalist and understand that all things happen for a reason. It may not always be for a good reason, but nevertheless the reasons are always there.
With this in mind I am really glad that ‘Roger Bennett’ sent me that Facebook message on 01 June 2011. More so in that this particular bit of fatalism has been a good thing. His likes and dislikes appear to be mirrored by mine and those of my friends. I have a really good friend who is a Registered Doorman, and another who writes Computer Code. I like posing figures, and I can see the fun in posing a ‘Lego’ storyboard in stills, or as a short film. His latest Blog is about music, and I wish that he had been around when I bought my latest surround sound system. Like me, he dislikes noisy computers, and I also dislike noisy surround sound Blue-Ray players. The more I hear about my Parallel Self; the more I would like to sit down with him and share a good coffee and a few beers. It’s strange really, the social networking that I have mentioned on many occasions as creating massive friendship numbers that really equate to very little, could, just could bring about a connection to my Parallel Universe.
With this in mind I am really glad that ‘Roger Bennett’ sent me that Facebook message on 01 June 2011. More so in that this particular bit of fatalism has been a good thing. His likes and dislikes appear to be mirrored by mine and those of my friends. I have a really good friend who is a Registered Doorman, and another who writes Computer Code. I like posing figures, and I can see the fun in posing a ‘Lego’ storyboard in stills, or as a short film. His latest Blog is about music, and I wish that he had been around when I bought my latest surround sound system. Like me, he dislikes noisy computers, and I also dislike noisy surround sound Blue-Ray players. The more I hear about my Parallel Self; the more I would like to sit down with him and share a good coffee and a few beers. It’s strange really, the social networking that I have mentioned on many occasions as creating massive friendship numbers that really equate to very little, could, just could bring about a connection to my Parallel Universe.
10 January 2012
Well here's a 2012 cheer up for all of us recession hit folk. Mr Tister popped into my room to bring along a smile and to show me his 'Stickers'. I particularly like the cheeky ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ one. Well being a train geek, I suppose that this was inevitable. What’s wonderful is the way that a small child can bring a big smile. Thank you Mr Sticker and what a great start to 2012. Happy New Year everyone!
6 January 2012
Question: is TWITTER micro-blogging or is it FACEBOOK without the hang-ups? Answer: in 140 characters
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