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"QUANTUM SHOT" #752
Link - article by Avi Abrams




Have your cup of coffee with a smile! (and a vengeance)

Sophisticated, intense coffee drinking rituals demand the appropriate heights of style and imagination, nuances of taste and aroma, and most of all, that exhilarating geek coolness factor that goes far beyond simply loading up on caffeine.

Probably the most enchanting way to make coffee is in this Royal Coffee Maker. The "classic copper" model goes for $595 and there is a gold one (of course), which comes with a golden spoon.


(images via)

See all the models here. The site describes the process perfectly:

"Boiling water is pushed through the metal pipette. By the time the water reaches the grounds, it has cooled a few degrees. The result: coffee and water meet at the perfect temperature to extract the oils and flavors, but not so hot as to impart "scorched" taste. Unlike other methods - the Royal Coffee Machine - quickly siphons the brewed coffee away from the grounds. Aroma and flavor remain in the closed canister with the coffee while the bitter grounds stay in the glass carafe."

A gorgeous steampunk way of making coffee: Siphon brewers!



Read about particulars of making coffee in a siphon brewer here.


(images via)

Beautiful wood & steel coffee plunger - buy it here. On the right is the Alesso espresso pot:


(images via)

Here is also very cool concrete-styled espresso machine, designed by Shmuel Linski - more info:


(images via)

Sustainable coffee shop architecture: Shipping Container Starbucks Drive-thru in Tukwila, Washington - more info:


(image via)

A World-record coffee bean mosaic, made by Albanian artist Saimir Strati - this one is 25 square meters large, make sure to see his past projects:


(image via)

High-speed coffee splashes! Spectacular series of images, made by Jack Long - more info:


(images credit: Jack Long)

Looking for a picture that shows "everything you wanted to know about coffee but where afraid to ask"? Well, here is a helpful diagram for understanding coffee drinks:


(image via)

Another great infographic about coffee can be found at The Oatmeal.

Very interesting coffee is sold to-go in the vending machines in Japan (with some adventurous flavours):




"Processed"? Disgusting? or Simply Exclusive and High-Class?

Here is a coffee that you'd think twice before imbibing: Kopi Luwak, or civet coffee. It is the most expensive and rare to come by... and yet its fantastic taste and exclusivity come at an additional price: knowing that the beans were first eaten (and "processed") by a small cat-like creature - Asian Palm Civet:


(images via)

These cute guys belong to a family of medium-sized mammals, the viverrids, which usually feed on berries and fig tree fruits. And as for coffee... "Coffee cherries are eaten by a civet for their fruit pulp. After spending about a day and a half in the civet's digestive tract the beans are then defecated in clumps, having kept their shape and still covered with some of the fleshy berry's inner layers. They are gathered, thoroughly washed, sun dried and given only a light roast so as to keep the many intertwined flavors and lack of bitterness yielded inside the civet."

Anyone tried it? Apparently some varieties of this coffee are the most expensive the world: for example, the Vietnamese weasel coffee sells for $6600 per kilogram ($3000 per pound). Must have a really unique taste (mostly lacking bitterness)! It is also very hard to come by : Weasel coffee is produced in quantities of a few hundred kilograms a year.


(images via)

But be warned, there are some imitations on the market! "The problem is that the Vietnamese have perfected a roasting process that mimic’s that of the digestive tract of the weasel" - more info. So this is NOT the real thing:


(images via)

This New Zealand company seems to have the real thing, of course in limited quantities - try to order it here (last item on the page)




Beautiful Coffee Photography

Here is a fragment of a Dunlop Tires print ad:


(image via)

Inspiring, almost flavourful photography from Markus Reugels and Elena Stepanova:


(image credit: Markus Reugels)


(image credit: Elena Stepanova)


(image credit: Natalia Klenova)


(image credit: Elena Shumaeva)

At the brink of a latte ocean: part of a series of closeup photography by Oscar Cuitat


(image credit: Oscar Cuitat)

There is also a great roundup of Coffee Grinder Reviews for those with a taste for better-styled grinders.


Great and Creative Coffee Mug Designs

Somewhat humorous ceramic creations of Monique Goosens (left):




(image via)



Tippy coffee and tea set, made by Robert Lazzarini:


(image credit: Robert Lazzarini)

And then, there is a "Slim Cup" - designed by Sharona Merlin:


(image via)

Mustache Mugs, available from Shanware Pottery:


(image via)

"Mustache mugs were popular in Victorian times when men sported bushy handlebar mustaches."

"Zero Gravity" cup (left) and a "Labyrinth Coaster" (right):


(images via 1, 2)

"Wallace & Gromit" cup allows you to watch your sugar intake (buy it here):


(image via)

This coffee set seems to be invaded by aliens - buy it from Finding Cheska:


(image via)

Coffee lights? No problem! - more info:


(image via)


Fantastic Examples of "Coffee Latte" Art





Want to have a short primer on how to make Latte Art? Click here.




Here is a portrait of Mio (part of K-ON Japanese girl group):


(image via)

Coffee with butterfly wings (part of a Blackberry wallpaper collection):


(image via)

Here is a great video on how to make "Bird" latte art - Click here



Did you ever see a three-dimensional latte art? Here is an example:


(image credit: Ekaterina Lokteva)

And then, there is quite another kind of coffee art by Karen Eland: more paint-like perhaps, but also using only espresso and water:



(images credit: Karen Eland)

Cookies with your coffee, anyone? (and then you can pretend that you are drinking tea):



You can try these cookies and cupcakes, too:



When you got some spare time in a coffee shop, try doodling on a napkin or a coffee filter - art by Ben Blake at Draw Coffee:


(images credit: Ben Blake)

Here is a great vintage image of a Bengston Coffee Machine:





Tea? Sure... but we love this image, and it would work great with coffee cup, too:



They really appreciated their cup of coffee in the 1950s:



Coffee grows on trees, right? Just pluck your cup from a tree in the morning:



We really like this retro-styled poster, by Coffee Made Me Do It Simon Alander from Sweden:


(image via)

Well, it's time to put away this coffee and greet the day with a smile!



(if you work in Starbucks and cannot draw much, perhaps this sentiment will work) -


(image via)


CONTINUE TO "GORGEOUS ESPRESSO MACHINES"! ->

CHECK OUT THE REST OF OUR "FOOD & DRINK" CATEGORY ->





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YOUR COMMENTS::

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Does anyone know what type/manufacturer the vacuum coffee maker in the second set of pictures is?

___  
Blogger JohnLeeMEDIA said...

beautiful stuff. would also recommend http://www.espressoporn.com/
Don't worry its SFW!

___  
Blogger Pastor Matt said...

My son bought me some kopi luwak from ThinkGeek for Father's Day last year. It is quite good coffee with very little aftertaste. Not worth the outrageous price tag, of course; it's mainly for the novelty of it.

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Anonymous ID said...

I am living in Lombok, Indonesia which is one island west of Sumbawa, where a lot of Luwak is produced. The coffee is nice with little to no bitterness and costs about $20 per cup. I have no problems with its source - it has been roasted and is basically sterile even before it goes into the plunger.
Most of the cost is a result of its rarity - the locals scour the forest floor looking for the droppings, which are particularly difficult to spot. Some enterprising individuals are beginning to farm Civets - whether or not this will have an effect on the price is to be decided.
I don't order it simply because the coffee here is already great - Lombok Kopi or Bali Kopi are basically ground to a fine powder, making a rich instant coffee with full flavour. I suggest making your way at least as far as Bali.

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

Strabucks = swill

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Blogger Hirayuki said...

The coffee drinks in the Japanese "vending machine" are actually on a convenience store shelf. The one on the left is a Starbucks iced espresso, the one on the right an iced green tea latte. Both are standard drinks on Starbucks menus in many countries around the world.

There actually are interesting coffee varieties in Japanese vending machines, but these ain't them. :)

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Blogger Hirayuki said...

...and the Japanese spacesuited coffee-drinker is drinking tea.

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