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Coffee Grinders
A Simple Cup of Coffee
A simple cup of coffee is a powerful thing! It can mend fences and save friendships. They say that the pen is mightier than the sword, but it could be that a simple cup of coffee is more powerful than both of them put together.
It had been a tough week in the neighborhood. It was cold, and the kids had been underfoot indoors at one house or the other all week. My neighbor and I had been close friends for several years, but our relationship had gotten seriously strained over this past week. She had called me twice to complain about how my Bobby was tormenting her Shawn. She had sent him home, too, more than twice.
Now, the boys played at my house as often as they played at her house, and I was fully aware of the fact that her Shawn wasn't the little darling that she thought he was. Our relationship and our friendship were nearing the breaking point; there really wasn't much doubt about it.
On Thursday morning, I took the boys to the "Mother's Day Out" program at a nearby local church for the morning. It was my neighbor's turn to drive, but I offered to run the "taxi" service and she accepted.
When I returned from dropping the boys off, I looked across the street at my neighbor's house, and it had the deserted look that most homes have during midwinter. In fact, it looked sad. I looked at the pile of laundry that was waiting for my attention. I looked at the as-yet-unmade beds. Then I looked at my coffee maker and made the decision. I picked up the phone and called my neighbor.
I said, "I know we both have a long list of things that we need to do while the little darlings are gone, but how about coming over for a cup of coffee?" She was there almost before I had time to hang up the phone. We drank a cup of coffee, and we talked about how we were both so tired of being cooped up with rowdy kids. We laughed and we cried, and we mended our broken fences and saved our friendship -- all over one simple cup of coffee.
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Coffee with a Twist
When I think of a cup of coffee (which is often), two pictures come to mind. The first is me pouring my first cup of coffee out of my automatic coffee maker first thing in the morning, and the other is a picture of the waitress at my favorite coffee shop handing me a cup of coffee over the counter. There isn't anything fancy about the coffee in either situation. It is coffee….good, hot coffee.
However, I have discovered that coffee doesn't have to always be just plain coffee. Plain coffee is terrific, but you can make coffee as fancy as you want to make it.
For example, hot coffee in cold weather is great, but hot coffee in hot weather isn't. Iced coffee in hot weather is better…much better. The trick to making good iced coffee is to brew the coffee well in advance. Let it cool to room temperature and then refrigerate it in a very tightly sealed container until you are ready to serve it.
But wait…you can make it even better by using one of the many flavored syrups that are on the market that are specifically made for use in coffee (either hot coffee or iced coffee). These flavored syrups can be purchased in regular flavors like vanilla, chocolate, and the usual fruit and nut flavors, but they can also be purchased in some really exotic flavors as well. Flavored syrups like lavender, gingerbread, Granny Smith apple, eggnog, pumpkin pie, and cheesecake are available.
You can also add flavored whipped cream to coffee that really gives the coffee a festive air and a different taste. Flavored whipped cream recipes are available free all over the Internet, and flavored whipped cream can be purchased as well.
Coffee is great as just plain coffee, but coffee with a twist can be fun and interesting. |
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It all depends on what "study" you choose to believe whether coffee (caffeine) is a good thing for the body or pure poison. Personally, I've decided to believe those "studies" that say coffee is a good thing…a VERY good thing.
I like coffee…no, that isn't exactly accurate….I LOVE my coffee!
The fact is that there is caffeine in a lot of things other than coffee. There is caffeine in tea, and there is caffeine in many sodas as well as in chocolate….and I am sure not going to give up chocolate! So just giving up coffee won't mean that you have given up caffeine. Caffeine is actually the only active ingredient in coffee. There are no calories and no carbohydrates in a cup of black coffee.
Caffeine is a stimulant. There isn't much doubt about that one. If you have a cup of coffee right before bed, you will certainly have difficulty falling asleep -- at least that is true for most people. A cup of coffee first thing in the morning certainly wakes you up and gets you going! That afternoon cup of coffee picks you up.
Coffee is said to be addictive, and maybe that is true. People who suddenly stop their usual daily intake of caffeine in whatever form will suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Headache is the most common symptom of caffeine withdrawal, but caffeine withdrawal can also put a big dent in your sweet disposition. People who are withdrawing from caffeine are just plain grouchy.
The caffeine in coffee has both positive and negative effects on the human body. The positive effects are that it relieves boredom, decreases depression, increases alertness, increases physical stamina, and increases performance on boring or repetitive tasks. The negative effects of caffeine on the human body are that it increases nervousness, affects sleep, and increases jaw tension.
Related Topics: Types of Coffee Makers,
Flavored Coffee Syrup, Coffee Grinders
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