Bikini baristas bring new meaning to the "Got Milk" ad campaign

One of the enduring tenets of the advertising world is that sex sells, and it seems it sells coffee quite well too. The owner of Cowgirls Espresso opened her first coffee stand near the Silver Dollar Casino in the Seattle area in 2002. Sales were good enough, but when barista Candice Law and other employees suggested doing "Bikini Wednesdays" sales doubled right off the bat. Well when you realize you're on to a good thing, why stop there? And they didn't, extending the sexy espresso theme to "Fantasy Fridays," "School Girl Thursdays," "Cowgirl Tuesdays" and "Military Mondays".

Cowgirls Espresso wasn't the first coffee shop to juice up their coffee sales with scantily clad female baristas. Sarah Araujo of Sweet Spot coffee shop claims to have started the trend. In an effort to distinguish her store from the ubiquitous competition in Seattle, she launced Tube Top Tuesdays, Wet T-Shirt Wednesdays, and Fantasy Fridays.

It seems that being a bodacious barista pays for the girls too. Typical tips in a regular coffee shop might amount to $10 to $20 a day. The bikini baristas report getting anywhere up to $200 a day! Yes, sex does sell.

I have not seen any reports yet of any stores that cater to the fantasies of the other side; women and gay men. Nope, the last time I checked in at a coffee shop, the male baristas were typically pasty white and skinny, with a bit of acne here and there, and some greasy looking hair too.

If you're ready to lick the milk off your upper lip and check out the udders on the cowgirls, visit the Cowgirls Espresso website and The Sweet Spot Cafe.

And I always thought this is what they meant by Espresso porn!

What's the "Got Milk Campaign"?

Can you run coffee through the maker a second time

That was the search phrase from someone on the Boston University domain today. It gave me a great idea: create a new tag for these posts for "crazy coffee questions". I guess this could be a starving student; how else would you explain a question like this? What's the intention of brewing a pot of coffee and then running the coffee through the machine a second time? To extract the last mg of caffeine from the beans? To reheat the coffee, perhaps? Or is it simply a science experiment? Any other suggestions? Post them here with a comment.

How much ground coffee to make espresso

We all start with whole beans, right? I always make my espresso-based drinks with a "double shot". The other day I heard an expression I'm not familiar with, what was it now? Oh yeah, something that sounded like "single shot". If you know what that is, please let me know. So for my double shot of espresso, 2 x 2 tablespoons of whole beans works out perfectly. The scoop that comes with your machine will be calibrated to fit your portafilter, so after grinding I get two scoops of ground coffee. That's perfect for the perfect cup of espresso coffee. You'll find that your portafilter will have a sweet spot: too little or too much and you end up with an inferior extraction. Just experiment to find your machines sweet spot but essentially, it's close to 2 tablespoons per shot.

Can you make espresso with regular coffee

That was a question asked in the server log today. By "regular coffee" I'm presuming the questioner meant coffee beans that aren't specifically an espresso roast, such as say "French Roast".

Well you can certainly grind the beans and pull a shot, but it's not likely you will get good crema production, or any crema at all, and that's what espresso is all about, right? I have tried it myself, of course, and normally end up with a cup of black coffee without crema which is very unsatisfying when you are hoping for that elixar of espresso coffee. I have managed to squeeze a little crema out by grinding the beans more finely than I normally would and tamping with my full body weight.

So, answer to the question is basically "No, you can't use regular coffee beans to make espresso". Buy espresso roast beans from a premium roaster such as Espresso Vivace Rosteria in Seattle. You can order online.

Correct Temperature when Steaming Milk for Espresso Drinks

The correct temperature when steaming your milk is between 140 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit (60 and 70 degrees Celsius). Once you get above the upper limit the milk will be scalded and the flavor of the drink will be ruined. Everyone of course has a personal preference; some like it not so hot, some like it very hot, but be careful with the very hot end; the flavor of your drink will be ruined by going above 160F.

If you are someone who likes to use soy milk in your espresso-based drinks, then the upper limit is 120F degrees (50C).

Most experienced baristas can judge when the milk is at the right temperature by the feeling the sides of the pitcher, but if you want to learn where your "sweet spot" is, get a milk thermometer.

What to do if espresso coffee extraction is too fast

If when you are extracting espresso, the water is passing through the ground coffee too quickly, you will not achieve good crema and the coffee will not pick as much flavor from the beans. There are essentially two things you can adjust: the fineness of the grind, or the pressure used for tamping. Either of these steps will create greater resistance to the water passing through. Tamping should ideally be around 30lbs of pressure (practice using some scales to find out how much weight you need to put behind your tamper). The grind for espresso is fairly fine, but you should use a grinder that has multiple grind settings so that you can adjust it till you find the right grind. The extraction should take about 20 or so seconds. If it's happening faster than 20 seconds and you aren't getting good crema production, then vary either or both of these things.
Hint: Did you know that once you open your coffee beans, unless you are storing them in a vacuum container, they will quickly start to dry. As they dry, you should adjust the setting on your grinder to be more fine as the beans dry - that way you will still be able to produce crema. The other thing is to use your beans up quickly!

What are Demitasse Cups

Demitasse cups are the small cups used for espresso coffee. The word comes from French and translates literally as "half-cup". Demitasse cups come in a wide variety of styles these days, and many are almost works of art and design. When drinking straight espresso coffee, you should always use a demitasse cup since using a regular sized cup results in a lot of the crema being left behind on the sides of the cup.

Making Espresso Coffee in the Microwave

Yes, believe it or not, this question comes up from time to time. Well my answer would be no unless I don't know of some fancy-dancy gaget that has been developed. For a start the correct temperature is absolutely essential for making perfect espresso, so how can you control temperature in a microwave oven? If you can't afford an espresso machine, then go for the option of a stove-top espresso maker.

How Much Coffee Do Americans Drink Each Day On Average

About half of all Americans drink coffee everyday and they consume it at an average rate of 3.4 cups per day. I guess that must be why in military slang coffee is referred to as "Lifer juice".

Source: National Coffee Association and its 2004 National Coffee Drinking Trends survey

Correct Water Temperature for Making Coffee

According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America, the optimal water temperature for coffee is 92 - 96C (197.6 - 204.8F) for 90% of the contact time.

Making Stove Top Espresso

Making espresso without an espresso machine using a stove-top espresso maker Can you make espresso without an espresso machine? Yes, there are stove-top espresso makers like this available from stores and online at Amazon.com. The name for these stove top espresso makers is "moka" which comes from Italian. The pot is divided into a lower and upper chamber which screws apart at the center. You put water in the lower chamber and then place the piece that holds the ground coffee with the stem down into the water. Finally screw the top chamber in place securely. When the pot is put on the stove and the water reaches the correct temperature, it is forced up through the coffee grounds into the upper chamber. It is best to place the pot on medium heat and on the smallest burner you have. You need to keep an eye on it and remove it from the heat as soon as you hear the last of the water coming into the top chamber. You'll soon know when this is happening by the sound that the moka pot is making. Consider the size before you buy. You don't want to buy one that is any bigger than the number of cups you are typically going to make. Use good beans and grind them to a medium grind, not the fine grind you use in an espresso machine. As always, use high quality espresso beans. Unfortunately, you won't be able to make crema like you do in an espresso machine when using a moka pot, but if you are using good beans, you will still have delicious coffee to enjoy.

Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Recipe

Apparently, the Cinnamon Dolce is currently one of the hottest drinks at Starbucks. Of course, by “hot”, I mean popular. One possible reason is that the cinnamon dolce syrup comes in a sugar-free option which I understand is very popular because we all want to lose the extra pounds we put on throwing back those mild-based coffee drinks. (Lactose, in case you haven’t yet realized, is a form of sugar. Lactose, fructose, sucrose. Get the hint?)

How about the recipe for the Cinnamon Dolce? Well, of course it’s espresso-coffee based, but it’s the syrup that makes the dink. For a small, a.k.a. 12oz Starbucks “tall” drink, it’s a double-shot of espresso, 3 pumps of said cinnamon dolce syrup, and steamed milk, topped off with foam. Sprinkled on top is a mix of sugar crystals and ground cinnamon. I presume if you ask for the “sugar-free’ syrup, you’ll ask to have them hold the sugar topping, but who knows?! It is Starbucks after all, and as I said already, lactose is a sugar, so “hang the expense, and lay it on!”

The idea of sprinkling cinnamon on top of coffee drinks isn’t anything new, by the way. In New Zealand where I hail from, a cappuccino is traditionally served with either cinnamon or chocolate sprinkled on top. Not quite sure where that came from, but I’m suspicious that it might have been introduced by the Dutch who, in a wave of immigration into New Zealand after the Second World War, opened the first “coffee bars” to make a living in their new homeland and laid the groundwork for today’s deeply entrenched coffee culture.

Anyone know if the Dutch sprinkle chocolate or cinnamon on any of their coffee drinks? I’d be interested to know.

Cappuccino Recipe per the Italian Authorities

The recipe for cappuccino according to the National Institute for Italian Espresso (as reported by The Guardian)

Ingredients:
125ml milk, no warmer than 3-5C, containing a minimum of 3.2 percent protein and 3.5 percent fat
25ml shot of hot espresso coffee

Directions:
Add coffee to a 150-160ml capacity ceramic cup
Froth milk with steam to a temperature of 55C, and add to cup
Add sugar and stir gently

Some interesting things to observe in this "official" recipe from the land from which the cappuccino originated. First, it's not clear whether "add coffee to...ceramic cup" means extract the espresso directly into the ceramic cup. My "golden rule of espesso making" is to extract directly into the cup - do not extract into a pitcher and then pour the espresso into a cup as you will leave a good amount of the crema behind. For more details, read my "golden rule for making espresso".

Second, note they say "ceramic cup". American coffee shops take note; ditch your paper cups! And we, the customer, should be demanding it. Coffee in a "real" ceramic cup tastes better. Serving it in a paper cup conveys the sense that coffee is just another fast food to be consumed on the run. Stop, take a breath, and enjoy your coffee in a ceramic cup. Oh, and join with some friends in doing so.

Third, the milk is added to the espresso. That's certainly how it should be - extract the coffee into your cup, and pour the milk into the espresso. Not the other way around. Again, pay attention America!

Finally, add sugar and stir. Hmm, I don't have sugar with my coffee, whatever kind of drink it is. Interesting that the Italians consider it essential to a cappuccino. This I would definitely say can be left to personal preference. In some countries, such as New Zealand and Australia, a cappuccino is typically served with either ground cinnamon or chocolate sprinkled on top, something I've never seen as an option in the U.S. Also, I note in New Zealand, that a cappuccino is often accompanied by a chocolate candy, typically a chocolate fish.

Espresso Vivace Coffee Roasters

Espresso Vivace Rosteria Cafe Seattle

Here are reviews of Espresso Vivace Rosteria Cafe in Seattle from Yelp. This is the place from which I currently buy my espresso coffee beans online from their website. Next time I'm in Seattle I've got to check them out. I was turned on to their coffee beans when a friend in Seattle gave me a bag of their beans as a gift. Anyone out there been to the cafe? And has anyone started buying their beans on my recommendation? How are you finding them? I highly recommend their Vita espresso roast.

Brew better coffee at home

At a price, that is! The fully-automatic espresso makers are quite a hit these days for those with cash to spare. As this article says, these kinds of machines are best considered when you're doing a kitchen upgrade (Ah! This is where the home equity loan comes in!) as one of these stainless-steel babies, along with installation costs, could set you back up to four thousand buckaroos! OMG! My recommendation to you is to spend a little time rather than a lot of money and read up on my easy-to-follow steps on how to make a perfect cup of espresso coffee, latte, cappuccino, flat white, or macchiato, at home with a machine that will cost you a whole lot less and over which you will have a lot more control, such as the Gaggia 16100 Evolution Home Espresso Machine I have a review of this espresso machine at ECS.

Setting up shop at coffee spots

At my "day job" we sometimes go to a local Starbucks for team meetings and the like. It's quite a development to see coffee shops turning into offices, business meeting places, and places where workers feel they have more privacy to make calls than they do from their cubes. Personally I think I would find it too distracting to be able to work out of a coffee shop unlike the guy in this article who says the ambient noise helps him work better. If I had the choice, I'd prefer to work at home where it's quieter, and the coffee is better!

Indian Government Wants More Details On Starbucks Retail Plan

The Indian authorities are putting Starbucks through the wringer before they will allow them to open their stores in India, and that despite the fact that Starbucks will have just an 18% stake in the venture. I guess this is the famous Indian bureaucracy in action, and not anything to do with the quality of the Starbucks product? And I guess the whole world is drinking coffee these days. Isn't India the home of tea?

Espresso Coffee Snobs Blog is Back!

When I started EspressoCoffeeSnobs.com I also started this blog at Blogger.com. Of course I wanted to take their option of hosting the blog on my own website, but had no end of trouble when coming to publish the blog from Blogger to my website. And I wasn't the only one I discovered when I searched the Blogger forums; it was a common problem. Then I tried using a forum which I called "Your Two Beans Worth". Boy, you think email spam is bad! Try forum spam! Within days they were there: the pornographers, the pill-pushers, the weight-loss champions, the online casinos, all posting spam links to their websites. So I had to drop that too.

Well, yesterday I thought about trying again, and noticed that there were still some stray links out there to the forum and the spammers were still going at it, so dropped that idea. But when I visited Blogger I found that they have had a major re-release of Blogger and that all the issues with hosting your blog on your own website have been resolved. Yay! So I'm going to try to pick up where I left off. The thing I want most of all is to provide visitors to EspressoCoffeeSnobs.com the opportunity to respond with comments and start a conversation. Let's hope that the spammers won't attach the blog too. So I just posted a link from EspressoCoffeeSnobs to the blog, and am renaming it "My Two Beans Worth now that I given up on the forum. This new version of Blogger has options to prevent spamming, such as requiring comment posters to register and then for me to approve the comments before they get posted. It's a lot of inconvenience to you all, of course, but please appreciate that without these steps, most of the posts would simply be links to porn, casinos, drug sites, etc. I appreciate you taking the time to register and post your comments.

John