Caffeine - the worlds greatest LEGAL drug!!! :)

[Capmaster]

The Egyptians are hard-core tobacco and caffeine users.

One of our tour operators doesn't bother wasting time by steeping strong Egyptian tea leaves in hot water ....he chews them straight in the morning, in order to get his caffeine.

They also have a drink they jokingly call "Egyptian cognac". It's the strongest, ass-kickingest coffee you'll ever try. It's also called Turkish Coffee. About the bottom 1/3 of the demitasse cup is filled with this tarry mud, with the liquid the rest of the way to the top. It's gritty, strong as hell, and if you slam back a couple of those ...you'll pass yourself coming into the cafe!!!!

[rallynavvie]

Ugh, Starbucks. They used to be good once upon a time but now they roast their beans too long. Almost everything is a dark roast. Even their Kona which is my favorite bean tastes like a French roast and that's just wrong.

[Ripper2860]

Sounds like the Cuban Espresso my Dad made and I drank as a kid. Small demi-glass of a jet black tar colored liquid with the consistency of a light syrup. !!!!

That was some GOOD stuff. Used to drink it all the time and for bed it was Cafe con Leche -- coffee and evaporated milk. It's a wonder I wasn't diagnosed as ADHD as a kid !!!


BTW -- one of my favorites is French style Vietnamese coffee. Basically espresso and sweetened condensed milk !!!

[Ripper2860]

Ugh, Starbucks. They used to be good once upon a time but now they roast their beans too long. Almost everything is a dark roast. Even their Kona which is my favorite bean tastes like a French roast and that's just wrong.

It's not about the quality it's the accessability!! There's one on every friggin street corner!!

I agree, though. I really liked CC's Coffee house which blew into town to try and compete with Starbucks. They were a subsidiary of Community Coffee and had much better coffee. They couldn't stand up to the pwerhouse that is Starbuck's though.

I hear Dunkin Donuts actually has a very good coffe, although I've never tried it as they are few and far between.

Starbucks is the Microsoft of the coffee and tea business!! Few if any can stand-up to their presence in the market.

[Capmaster]

It's a wonder I wasn't diagnosed as ADHD as a kid !!!

Well just look at your eyes in that pic. Those aren't "cocaine eyes", them are "caffeine eyes" if I ever saw them

[bazooka]

It's a wonder I wasn't diagnosed as ADHD as a kid !!!

It is not any fun to have ADHD

I wish I did not have ADHD.

[yoda313]

Hello,

Well I tried to not have any caffeine today. No luck. Though so far I've only had ONE can of Diet Mountain Dew. So hopefully it won't be too bad. (I usally have 2 or more a day.

Kevin

[Capmaster]

Hello,

Well I tried to not have any caffeine today. No luck. Though so far I've only had ONE can of Diet Mountain Dew. So hopefully it won't be too bad. (I usally have 2 or more a day.

Kevin

2 a day? Come see me when you have a serious addiction. I practically have 2 cups of coffee while still in bed. Well, not really. But I have 1 with my cup right under the basket first thing, then another while I watch the news.

Then I get dressed and have another before leaving the house for work.

Once at work I brew an 8-cup (measuring cup) pot, and make another right before lunch, which lasts the rest of the day. Then it's home to have one cup before supper and one after.

Then maybe a half bottle of diet Pepsi in the evening. Then tomorrow it starts again.

And that's a low-caffeine day for me. Weekends there's a pot going all day. Usually a 10-cup first thing, a couple of 8-cup pots and a 6-cup pot put on about 4:00. My wife has 2 cups in the morning, and occasionally one before supper. That's it for her. Lightweight :P Like I said, I'm a coffee fiend

[yoda313]

Hello,

Like I said, I'm a coffee fiend

So when you get your blood tested at your next medical exam will it come out brown like coffee????

Kevin

----BTW I still only had one can of caffeinated pop today, I call that cutting back! -----

[glockjs]

mt dew is my bestess friend...

[Capmaster]

Hello,

Like I said, I'm a coffee fiend

So when you get your blood tested at your next medical exam will it come out brown like coffee????

Kevin

----BTW I still only had one can of caffeinated pop today, I call that cutting back! -----

Brown and steaming hot

[rallynavvie]

Fortunately for me we have Cairbou Coffee stores all over since they started here and I think they're still based here in Minneapolis. Even better is there is one next door to work so every day I hit them up for something. I also get my beans there every other week. Their only drawback is they stopped carrying a Kona blend. They do get a good 100% peaberry, the best Kenyan, Blue Mountain's whole crop, and some great Ethiopean beans. Almost makes up for not having Kona. I'm very much a light roast person.

I picked up a Pasquini Livia espresso machine after a restaurant closed down for only $800. Barely used at all. Wonderful machine and it gets used pretty heavily by me. I'm still looking for a good La Cimbali commercial unit though.

[Capmaster]

Fortunately for me we have Cairbou Coffee stores all over since they started here and I think they're still based here in Minneapolis. Even better is there is one next door to work so every day I hit them up for something. I also get my beans there every other week. Their only drawback is they stopped carrying a Kona blend. They do get a good 100% peaberry, the best Kenyan, Blue Mountain's whole crop, and some great Ethiopean beans. Almost makes up for not having Kona. I'm very much a light roast person.

I picked up a Pasquini Livia espresso machine after a restaurant closed down for only $800. Barely used at all. Wonderful machine and it gets used pretty heavily by me. I'm still looking for a good La Cimbali commercial unit though.

Ahhh ...a connoisseur 8)

[rallynavvie]

You've known me how long here?

What's unfortunate now, as I found out sorta camping this weekend, is that I can't stand crappy coffee. I can make a good pot of camp coffee but other folks just dust off the old Folgers can and use too little for the 35 or 55 cup pots. I was choking down some pretty bad brew yesterday that was actually sour

I recommend Caribou for those who have them in their area. Other than the convenience of them here I also have a small commercial supplier that I get beans from sometimes. He's the one I got my half pound of Kopi Luwak from. And for those still curious about that roast: it is all that.

[Capmaster]

You've known me how long here?

My oversight

[888888]

I have never understood people's obcession with Caffeine. Nor do I think it is the best "legal drug"- what about alcohol, prescriptions, and countries where real drugs are legal? But I won't get into that.

Anyway, my experience with caffeine. I love the taste of tea and for many years I have been drinking strong black tea multiple times a day. It does not energize me nor does it make me not sleepy. In fact, it sometimes makes me MORE sleepy. I also used to drink a mug of black coffee in the morning with no effect other than the nasty taste of Folgers.

Last night, I drank down a macaroni dinner with two big thermo mugs of black tea brewed with two bags a mug and with the bags left in there while I drank it.

I did not have trouble sleeping nor did I get jittery. This was not decaf.

The most effect I have ever gotten from Caffeine is feeling jittery and not being able to fall asleep... but then again, I get those symptoms sometimes with Caffeine. Sometimes, tea makes me feel really tired but unable to fall asleep, just great! This jitteriness has recently made me switch to drinking strong berry tea every meal instead of black tea. But I have since switched back because I ran out of berry tea.

Oh yeah, and Caffeine pills like NoDoz have never done shit for me. Cigarettes on the other do have a very stimulant effect on me although also with pretty bad jitteriness.

Anybody else get sleepy from Caffeine?

[Rookie64]

Anybody else get sleepy from Caffeine?

It doesn't have any affect on me one way or the other.


I need my morning cereal to revive me 8)


Rarely drink coffee and gave up cola a few years ago (and don't miss it one bit)....usully drink green tea (cold).

[Capmaster]

Anybody else get sleepy from Caffeine?

I need caffeine to wake up but how much of that is from addiction and how much is strictly the caffeine's stimulant effect, I don't know.

I do know that I can drink a cup of strong regular coffee 1/2 hour before bedtime and it'll have no effect on my ability to get to sleep. Nada.

[mrtristan]

Rally - Do you roast your own beans? I just started home roasting, not too long ago. I want to pick up a decent hand lever espresso machine sometime soon.

[elkfir]

Love this caffeine talk. Just had to post one of my favorite Dilbert's:

[Tommyknocker]

Man, that one is a classic!

[rallynavvie]

Rally - Do you roast your own beans? I just started home roasting, not too long ago. I want to pick up a decent hand lever espresso machine sometime soon.

Oh my no. Roasting is an art I don't think I can perfect. I did do a chicory root roast once upon a time but it didn't turn out.

You're lucky, Kona must be a bit cheaper out there.

[Sillyname]

I am a Coffee addict. I drink it all day to the point whjere I can see through my eye-lids. I have sworn off soup as I can never get the spoon to my mouth without the spoon's contents having splashed back into the soup bowl due to caffeine shakes.

I tried to quit once. The symptoms were horrific. I could not surf the web due to wanting to sleep at 10PM; constant yawning in the mornings; too much productivity as I was always at my desk instead of the coffee machine; and the headaches. The terrible headaches!!

It is an addiction. I have max'ed out my credit cards and pawned anything of value including my wife's jewelery. I have burgled my neighborhood homes and taken all of the proceeds and immediately given it to the souless entity that feeds my addiction. All that I own I have given up to the purveyor of this Nectar of the Gods -- the Elixir of Life. I can always be found at the street corner completing a trascaction with my dealer ...



STARBUCKS !!!


Damn you Starbucks! Damn you to Hell !!!!!


Woh!! Too much coffee again. Gotta learn to lay off of the stuff!

When people mention coffee, I have actually found myself yawning, to trick myself into getting a cup.

Reminds me of when smokers see someone light up a cigarette in a movie and they get all antsy.

[mrtristan]

Nah, roasting isn't all that hard, if you have the time and patience to experiment, experiment, experiment. The crappy part is drinking a bad roast. I hate to waste good coffee, even when it becomes bad, due to me. I drink all of my roasts, even if I don't like how they turned out. On the bonus side, some roasts turn out terrific and I'm getting more consistent each time.

Since you press your own espresso, I think you would enjoy home roasting. I've been doing it with a hot air popcorn popper for now, until I feel confident enough to invest in a more substantial machine. I do have a semi-commercial duty machine that I inherited from a friend, but it takes no less than 1/2lb at a time. That's a lot of coffee to waste, if the roast comes out bad. With the popcorn popper, I usually roast about 1/2 cup at a time.

Kona's getting expensive. Its now offered nationally in Starbucks, as well as served in the White House. The national and worldwide demand for Kona coffee has sky rocketed and so have prices. I've been trying to get some green beans, so I can roast them the way I want and drink it as fresh as possible.

If you like Kona, you'll probably like Molokai coffee. Molokai beans generally taste better with a dark roast, but I like them a lot better than Kona. The cup is almost sweet, like cocoa. They aren't as available as Kona coffee beans, though. The quality also varies, from brand to brand.

Oh my no. Roasting is an art I don't think I can perfect. I did do a chicory root roast once upon a time but it didn't turn out.

You're lucky, Kona must be a bit cheaper out there.

[yoda313]

Hello,

Well I'm trying to cut back to one can of caffenated pop a day. One mountain dew than thats it. Hopefully I can do it. I usually do two a day. I'll see if I'm still awake by 5pm!!!

Kevin

[yoda313]

Hello,

So far so good. Only one can of mountain dew today also. Maybe I can go a week with just one can of caffeine a day. That would be good. Then maybe I could try for no caffeine for a week (scary!). I know I can do it.

Kevin

[yoda313]

Hello,

I know nobody probably cares but I'm going without caffeine today!!!

I feel ok so I must not be as addicted as I thought. Well we'll see by 5pm est today huh???

Kevin

[leebo]

I know nobody probably cares but I'm going without caffeine today!!!

Kevin

I'm taking a shower today.

[yoda313]

I know nobody probably cares but I'm going without caffeine today!!!

Kevin

I'm taking a shower today.

Hello,

Good for you!

Kevin

[Capmaster]

I know nobody probably cares but I'm going without caffeine today!!!

Kevin

I'm taking a shower today.

'bout time. We've been hinting long enough ....I think there are even some posts on Heyday's old board about that J/K leebo