COFFEE STATISTICS

• Among coffee drinkers the average consumption in the United States is 3.1 cups of coffee per day.
• Currently there are approximately 12,000 coffee shops across the country.
• About 52 percent of Americans drink coffee everyday.
• There are a100 million daily coffee drinkers in United States.
• About 30 million drink specialty coffee. (latte, café mocha, espresso)
• The average price for regular coffee is $1.38.
• The average price for an espresso-based drink is $2.45.
• Men drink as much coffee as women.
• The preferred time of day for coffee is at breakfast with 65 percent of preference.

IHOP, ANYONE??????

Yes, why not. I really like going out for breakfast with my family to IHOP. We all love coffee, specially my mom and I. Their greasy selection of omelets and extra-calorie-packed pancakes are among my favorites. Coffee is good at IHOP, very good--especially because I love the carafe they bring your coffee in. The carafe holds four cups, so while I wait I drink at least two cups. Then when my breakfast comes I don’t have to bug the nice but rough looking waitress for more coffee. The only bad thing about going to IHOP is to think about the 2000 calories that I consumed just for breakfast. Sad!!!!!

HOW A MACHINE ESPRESSO WORKS????

Did you know that the word ESPRESSO comes from the latin word espressere (expresar in Spanish) which means let things out. This well explains how the word espresso is basically a way of brewing coffee and "letting everything out".

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK TO SEE HOW A ESPRESSO MACHINE WORKS

http://home.howstuffworks.com/espresso-machine1.htm

COFFEE LINGO

* Demitasse: Small cup for serving espresso straight, no chaser.

* Doppio: Double espresso.
* Double Double: Double cream, double sugar.
* Drip: A regular coffee.
* Dry: Steamed milk (just foamed milk).
* Espresso: Approximately a one-ounce shot of espresso made from Arabica beans, which are used in making regular coffee. The word comes from the brewing method -- hot water is pressed through finely ground, firmly packed coffee.
* Espresso Breve: Espresso with half-n-half or other semi-skimmed milk.
* Espresso Lungo: This one uses a long pull, to squeeze the max from the bean. Some think it gives a stronger brew, others just a more bitter one.
* Espresso Macchiato: Espresso with just a dollop of steamed milk on top.
* Espresso Ristretto: Thicker drink.

I will be adding more to this list ...........

IRISH COFFEE WITH A TWIST........

• 1 1/2 oz WHISKEY
  

• 1 tb spoon of BROWN SUGAR (use 2 tb spoon of granulated Splenda )
  

• 6 oz hot COFFEE

• HEAVY CREAM (use a FAT-FREE version)

• orange zest!!!

• WHIP CREAM
  

Combine whiskey, splenda and coffee in a mug and stir to dissolve. Float cold cream gently on top and sprinkle the orange zest over the whip cream.
ENJOY!!!!

OH STARBUCKS.... $$$$$

I am a very good client of this place. I go at least four to five times per week to Starbucks. My mom always complains and tells me how much money I am spending there and how is her coffee different from theirs? Well mom, you don't make foam, right? But as I was listening to her one day I was throwing some numbers in my mind and the figures that I've come up with kind of scared me. Starbucks I love you, I love your coffee, the music, the atmosphere but you don't offer a rewards program for good and loyal costumers. I want my little card that reads "buy three (any coffee or espresso drink) and we will give you one free." At least that will help somehow. Well I know that little or nothing they care about my idea but is always worth trying. My mom is probably right, I am spending a lot of money just in coffee. Hopefully I will win the lotery soon so I don't have to think twice when I go to get my fix.

Here is how much I spend in my vice a year...
*GRANDE Non-Fat Latte $3.78
*$3.78 five times a week, $18.90
*$18.90 a month, $75.65
*$75.65 a year, $907.80

Here is an example of what I can do with $907.80.....

Fort Lauderdale to Paris (round trip)
*Flight + Hotel Package $860 all taxes included
*Six nights at the Best Western "Le Saint Maurice Paris Porte de Bercy
*$47.80 left for some coffee!!!!!

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY.....

The plant of coffee is originaly from Ethiopia. From Ethiopia went to Arabia and then to India. This happend probably through travelling Muslims who traveled to Mecca. Peregrinations routes were great commercial routes as well. But the great propagators of the coffee plant were the Dutch, that operated great plantations in their colonies of Ceylon and Indonesia.

The Dutch imported the coffee plant and acclimated it in the botanical gardens of Ámsterdam, Paris and London, from where it went to the Dutch Guayana, Brazil, South America, Central America and other countries.

The Arabs were the first in discovering the virtues and the economic possibilities of coffee. They developed all the process of cultivationg and processing coffee and kept it like a secret.

Coffee began to conquer territory in the world like the favorite drink in Europe, and arrived at Italy in 1645 thanks to the Italian retailer Veneciano Pietro Della Valle. England began to consume coffee in 1650 thanks to the retailer Daniel Edwards, who was the first person who opened a coffeeshop in England and Europe.