Am I addicted to caffeine? An insight from an alcoholic

coffee-and-alcohol-addictionIf you feel you are addicted to caffeine, can the Baristador range of reduced caffeine coffees help you cut down your intake?

A recent story shared by a self-declared alcoholic suggests the answer is yes.

[Note: I realise the chemical compounds in caffeine and alcohol are different, as are many other factors. This article is looking at one aspect of harnessing behavioural drives in a 'weaning' approach to reducing caffeine intake. I am not commenting on alcoholism itself. -Steve]

In a recent episode of Ardent Atheist podcast, comic, Brendon Burns, revealed how he suffered a relapse of his alcoholism last Christmas due to Brandy Butter.

He said it was late at night and he couldn’t resist the brandy butter in the fridge, left over from Christmas pudding.

He said he started gorging on the brandy-flavoured treat, which led to a major binge.

While there is actual brandy in brandy butter, Brendon said it was the flavour that triggered his episode.

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Top 5 tips to keep your coffee safe

How to make and store coffee safely

How to store your coffee safely (Image Dustin Gaffke via Flickr)

This is a guest article by Mike Stewart from Australian Food Safety News. I have added some comments in italics within the article. Steve Davis

Coffee is something that many people enjoy, in fact it’s the second most popular drink in the world after water.

Unfortunately, coffee is also something that many people store incorrectly.

Of course, many would tell you the reason to store coffee properly would be to keep its rich aroma and taste, but that is not the only concern.

It is possible that you could actually become ill from your coffee. When bacteria build up in the coffee itself or in your coffee maker, you could become sick with food poisoning.

To ensure that your coffee remains safe, you should follow these five tips.

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Australian coffee brand ‘not in talks’ with Benckiser over possible acquisition

Baristador Coffee not in talks with Benckiser

Steve Davis, enjoying a cup of Baristador Coffee in Port Lincoln Marina, South Australia – no plans to sell brand to a multinational

Adelaide-based, Baristador Coffee, can reveal today that we are not in talks, formal or informal, with a multi-national company that is buying coffee brands and operations worldwide.

German-based conglomerate, Joh. A. Benckiser, has hit headlines recently by buying coffee brands around the world to reportedly prepare itself to exploit high growth rates in Asian markets.

A New York Times article reports Benckiser has bought the company behind Douwe Egmerts for 7.5 billion Euro, following previous purchases of Peet’s Coffee And Tea and Caribou Coffee in the USA for 1.3 billion US dollars.

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Baristador Coffee salutes flight attendants

Flight Attendants and bad attitude

Hello? Hello? Please stop ignoring flight attendants!

An alarming article about the way Australian air travellers treat flight attendants has disturbed me for two reasons:

  1. I fly regularly and appreciate everything flight attendants do within their company’s restrictions in making flights as safe and bearable as possible, many show the passion and attention to detail that I admire in truly great baristas
  2. Some Baristadorians are flight attendants who choose our low caffeine coffee blends so they can enjoy and espresso without disturbing their vital sleep patterns

In the article, The reality of life as a hostie, drawn to my attention by Kelly from Glam Adelaide, an anonymous flight attendant ‘spills the beans’ on what life is like for them at 38,000 feet.

If you’re a regular Baristadorian, you will hopefully feel cared for and respected by me and my roasting team. I also appreciate the care, respect and loyalty I get back from you. This is the ultimate, virtuous circle of customer service.

That is why I always bristle when I hear of people in a customer service role being treated inhumanely.

Here are just a couple of appalling examples.

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Homemade decaf weasel coffee developed in Adelaide

Chief Stool Sifters

Chief Stool Sifters, gathering precious coffee beans post-Vivvy the Cat

I’m delighted to announce that we have developed the first homemade, decaf, Weasel Coffee in the world, using a domesticated cat, Vivvy.

Weasel Coffee or Kopi Luwak is a highly prized and expensive coffee produced from beans excreted by the Asian Palm Civet (commonly referred to as cats or weasels that inhabit forests throughout Asia) once it has eaten coffee berries. It is believed the digestive process improves the coffee flavour.

My journey towards creating my own ‘weasel’ coffee happened by accident when I spilled some coffee beans into my cat’s food bowl and before I could clean the bowl the cat had eaten them.

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Of dreams and baristas: How to stop your day turning into a nightmare

shades_of_coffee_gamal_abda

Morning coffee (Image Gamal Abda)

A friend just posted on Facebook that his barista was in a bad mood this morning.

It made me realise how important the mood of your barista is in setting up your day.

In fact, there are two influences worth noting: dreams and baristas.

Dreams and happiness

I stumbled upon some dream research and a smartphone app by psychologist, Richard Wiseman, recently.

He has developed an app that can:

  • monitor your phases of sleep
  • gently wake you close to your alarm time but at a time when you are in shallow sleep rather than deep sleep
  • quietly play a soundscape in your last phase of sleep to influence your dreams to be on a subject that makes you feel good

In essence, his app and research is investigating the theory that the tone and subject matter of the last dream of the night has a profound influence on your mood for the day.

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Group Roasting has been launched

Group Roasting of coffee for Australians

Group Roasting means no waste (Image Michael Allen Smith via Flickr)

Baristador Coffee is the first coffee bean retailer to offer group roasting to Australian espresso lovers.

The new model involves staging a set number of roasting days per year and group processing specific orders at that time so that you have enough coffee to last until the next roasting day.

The concept came about because I detest two things in the coffee industry; waste and stale coffee.

In the past, we’ve wasted some coffee because we are sticklers for freshness, whereas the larger commercial coffee brands just place longer best before dates on their products and sell staler coffee to the market.

Neither approach is perfect, so that’s why we’re embracing a hybrid of two healthy consumer trends known as Presumers and Custowners, where consumers are involved more intimately in our business and are really in charge of our operational decisions.

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The side effects of caffeine: A timely reminder

The side effects of too much caffeine?

The side effects of too much caffeine?

For a few years now, Baristador Coffee has stood for an approach to espresso that is ‘flavour first, caffeine second’.

We believe this raised consciousness and acute appreciation for the many flavours and variations of this mighty bean, rather than for its ‘kick’, has been a mark of sophistication; something that separates the true aficionado from the swill merchants.

And so it is that we stumble upon this video, Beyond Life Coaching.

All we can say is that it seems to be a spontaneous eruption of insight into the excesses of caffeine.

It is short and sweet, just like a good coffee, and we hope it might lighten your day.

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Order coffee every two months

Ordering Baristador Coffee

A still from the video about the new Baristador Coffee ordering system

Since Baristador Coffee began, I have been on a quest to deliver fine coffee to aficionados with the slenderest possible overheads in the industry.

This is because Baristador Coffee has been set up as a service for coffee aficionados rather than a multinational coffee operation.

With 2013 here, we are unveiling a new espresso ordering system that brings us as close to our vision as possible.

The history of price slicing

When Baristador Coffee began, we introduced a free shipping option for orders of two bags or more. This saved coffee drinkers lots of money and let them pocket the difference in extra coffee.

Two years ago, we were able to develop new operational procedures that allowed us to slice $5 off every bag due to more efficient roasting and ordering practices throughout our supply chain.

This year, we have moved to a group order, group roast, group ship system, allowing us to carve more than $1 off each bag.

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How should I store my coffee beans, especially in summer?

Coffee storage tips from Baristador Coffee

Look for a one-way valve (the black hole of espresso delight) on your coffee bags – this lets unwated gases out, keeping coffee fresher longer.

Storing coffee beans demands a great ability to ignore most of the nonsense trotted out in the community about fridges, freezers and airtight containers.

In essence, you want to keep your beans safe and happy until you are ready to consume them.

Before we get into the coffee storage tips, we need to be clear on the enemies of coffee:

  • Heat
  • Air
  • Water
  • Time

Roasted coffee does not enjoy being exposed to heat, as that increases its urge to release its goodness too early, leading to stale coffee.

Nor does it like being exposed to air (oxidisation spells the end of palatable coffee) or water (it spoils the beans too soon).

Finally, time allows all these enemies to make advances, even in the best storage conditions, so consider a coffee clock is ticking the moment your beans have been roasted.

Be that as it may, most discerning coffee lovers will actually find properly roasted and packed coffee can quite handsomely remain tasty for a good six months in the right bags and storage conditions. Yes, really fussy coffee drinkers will demand coffee roasted within the week before consumption with a whole gamut of personal theories on time between roasting and drinking. Some people swear by drinking just hours after roasting (even though most beans will still be too volatile), to 2-3 days, to 8-12 days, and every shade in between.

In fact, you could write a book called the 50 Shades Of Brown and dedicate it to people’s preferences for coffee roasting to drinking time.

However, at the sane and realistic end of the spectrum, you should find that the convenience of having coffee roasted and packed for you (and ground too if you don’t own a ‘proper grinder’) will meet and most likely surpass your coffee needs at home and in the office.

So, with the enemies and quirks out the way, here are some tips for you for storing coffee.

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