Craving for an iced coffee slush café style? This is not a homemade attempt. It’s a real, good, professional tasting slush.

Ingredients:

8 1/2 cups milk

2 tablespoons coffee granules

1/4 cup boiling water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons chocolate syrup

1 tablespoon chocolate liqueur

1 drop almond extract (optional)

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Yummm…. Nothing like waking up to a fresh cup of coffee. The aroma, the warmth, and of course, the flavor. Caffeine aside, that cup of java has a lot to offer.

Legend has it that in the 800’s, a young goatherd in Ethiopia, found that his goats looked very energized after nibbling on a berry shrub. He tasted the berries himself and found that they did actually give him an extra boost.

Although there are 66 known coffee plants, only two are commonly used. Grown primarily in the mountains of Central and Southern America, Arabica beans account for 3/4 of the world’s coffee production. They actually have a better aroma, and are more flavorful, in addition to being more costly, than the Robusta beans. Robusta beans, as its name implies, are more robust and account for the remaining ¼ of coffee production. They are used in most canned coffee blends because they are cheaper, as well as in espresso blends, since they create an enhanced cap on the drink.  

If you are a true coffee aficionado, opt for the freshly ground beans so that you can brew your own coffee. Buy the freshest beans available, given that coffee tends to go stale once it has been roasted. Ground coffee should always be stored in an airtight, opaque container to keep it fresh. Keeping coffee in the refrigerator will dampen it and since moisture is coffee’s enemy you can say bye-bye. The freezer, however, does an excellent job in a pinch, if you have coffee that you can’t use up in a reasonable amount of time. ...continue reading

What’s a morning without coffee? Personally, I’ll drink/eat anything that is coffee flavored but hot coffee, just the smell alone nauseates me, let alone drinking a hot cup of coffee. For a good majority of the population, to even think about going through a day without coffee sounds absurd. Studies show that most people drink about three cups of coffee a day- a cup for breakfast, a cup for lunch, and yet another in the afternoon. Is drinking too much coffee really harmful for our bodies or is it just a myth? Let’s take a closer look at several pros and cons of coffee.
 

Pro: The caffeine found in coffee gives you the extra boost of energy that you may need to get through the day.

Con: Coffee stains teeth and gives you bad breathe.

Pro: Those who drink coffee with milk on a daily basis, have a smaller likelihood of suffering from depression.

Con: Caffeine can cause heart palpitation, insomnia, anxiety, heartburn and (in women) osteoporosis. 

Pro: Coffee acts as a diuretic.

Con: Coffee acts as a diuretic and removes vitamins such as vitamin B1 from the body.

Pro: Coffee is believed to improve your memory since it cleans toxins that are found in the bloodstream.

Con: Coffee slows down the production of anti-aging hormones, allowing your body to age faster. ...continue reading