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Gourmet Coffee Gifts
An Old-Fashioned Coffee Klatch
Back in the dim and dusty past, women didn't hold jobs outside the home. I know that is hard to believe, but it is true. One income was sufficient for a household to live on. Children were cared for by their mothers at home, while the father worked and earned the living to support the household. My, how times have changed!
Now, understand that running a household was a full time job in those days. The modern conveniences that we all take for granted didn't exist. Washing machines weren't automatic, clothes were dried on clothes lines, and the only canned goods that were available were those that the mother had canned and stored herself. Life wasn't easy, and social occasions were few and far between. That is why women participated in old-fashioned coffee klatches.
Coffee klatches were most often regularly scheduled events. A group of women would gather at the home of one and enjoy coffee, sweets, and conversation for a short period of time once every week or so simply for social contact.
Today, we have our modern versions of the old-fashioned coffee klatch. Today, however, men as well as women participate in them and, of course, they aren't called "coffee klatches" now. Still, coffee drinking is a social affair. It is one that is practiced all over the world in one form or another. People gather for social or business reasons, and you can be almost certain that coffee will be the beverage that is offered. There may be other beverages, but coffee is almost always included.
Perhaps the connection between social contact and coffee drinking stems from the old-fashioned coffee klatch. Our grandmothers and our grandmothers were on to something important…coffee drinking is social.
See Also:
Coffee Caffeine and Weight Loss & Dieting- What You Should Know
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Perked Coffee
Coffee Shop Charm
Coffee shops that are very uniquely American can be found all over this great country of ours. There are coffee shops in big American cities and coffee shops in dusty little off-the-beaten-path towns that you have probably never heard of. Now I am not talking about big chain coffee shops like Starbucks here. I'm talking about the locally famous coffee shop that are the gathering places for friends or an escape hatch for those who can't stand being chained to a desk for even one more minute.
In many of the large American cities, locally famous coffee shops offer wi-fi Internet service, sometimes even for free. In those small, out-of-the-way towns, there is rarely a wi-fi connection offered, but you can find out who is getting married, divorced, having a baby, or the going price of cows and hogs.
There is one thing that coffee shops all over America have in common, though. They all smell the same. There is a particular smell of an American coffee shop that you will find in no other place on earth. It is impossible to describe this unique smell accurately. There is, of course, the smell of coffee, and maybe that is the predominate smell; but it certainly isn't the only one. Underlying the smell of the coffee is the smell that cannot be described, but that you recognize immediately when you walk into an American coffee shop. The smell is clean, warm, and welcoming and like no other.
The local coffee shop is where life happens, whether the "local" is in a big city or in a small town. People arrange to meet at the local coffee shop…lovers, business associates, friends, etc. Everybody knows where the local coffee shop is, and that it is "neutral" territory and a natural gathering and meeting place. |
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Flavored Coffee Syrup
Flavored Coffee Syrup
To give your coffee some zing and more body, or just to add a surprise flavor to a cup of coffee, you might want to try some of the many choices of flavored coffee syrups that are on the market today. Coffee no longer has to be plain coffee. It can be flavored almost any way any body could possibly want.
There are flavored coffee syrups available in all of the flavors that you might expect; chocolate, vanilla, various fruits and nuts. But then there are flavored coffee syrups available in some flavors that you might never expect, like Granny Smith Apple, lavender, gingerbread, eggnog, cheesecake, or pumpkin spice, just to name a few.
Do you have to watch your diet? No problem, you can still enjoy many of the flavored coffee syrups on the market because they come in sugar-free and even low-carb varieties.
If you are very creative or really into the flavored coffee syrup thing, you can even make your own flavored coffee syrup. The syrups that you make can be used in coffee, of course, but they can also be used to make shakes, smoothies, or over ice cream as a dessert. You can find recipes for flavored coffee syrup all over the Internet. Here is one example of a flavored coffee syrup that you can make at home:
Stir together until fully blended:
1 ½ cups of sugar
1 cup of powdered cocoa
1/8 teaspoon of salt
Gradually add 1 cup of water to the mixture stirring constantly. Don't beat the mixture. Simply stir it until it is blended completely.
Then heat this mixture until it comes to a full boil and boil it for a full three minutes. You must stir constantly to prevent lumping. Now, remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool, then add two teaspoons of vanilla flavoring and store it in the refrigerator.
Related Topics: Types of Coffee Makers,
Types of Coffee Makers, How Coffee Affects the Body
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