I absolutely love Bill Maher! I agree with him on 99% of the time. Gosh, I even can’t remember where I was disagree

May be sometimes he crosses the line (for me) but in his own words :”how would you know where the line is without crossing it”.

I respect that.

So, just watch the episode from his yesterday show:

Try to share it with your friends. We should stand for ourselves, because nobody else will.

What a disapointment!

Starbuck always was a “role model business” for me, and personally Howard Schultz was my business hero. Not anymore.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zp-heller/starbucks-health-care-pol_b_208382.html

Health Care reform is a very sensitive subject for me for the very personal reasons. As a business owner myself I understand very well what a change is to provide the health insurance for the employees. But I still convinced while we didn’t get the single payer Health System here in US, Health Care for the workers should be a priority. And such a successful business like Starbucks can find a creative way to do that. These guys are too smart not to come up with something decent.

Shame on them! Boycott Starbucks! Buy home Espresso Machines! Buy Lelit!

Philips acquires Italian espresso maker Saeco.
Very, very sad day for the consumer, and like always, very sweet deal for the business. I wonder is there anything that can’t be outsourced in Asia? French cheese, Argentinian tango, Czech glass?
I hope Lelit will stay Italian. I still prefer espresso from Italy rather than China. Am I sound like Lou Dobbs?

Like this article very much and still advocate for Lelit. Great deal for the price and quality. And manufactured in ITALY. I am not saying that Italians do not produce some crappy products. Like everywhere else there are good and bad companies. But I would rather trust people who do it for years, make the pride of it, and working under the strictest health regulations in the world.

“There seems to be ratings on anything, so it is not surprising that there is a coffee maker ratings, and many people depended on it to find the right coffee maker.

This brings me to the question if it is a waste of time to look for coffee maker ratings? What makes me say that? Well, these ratings and reviews are done by individuals no more different from you and me.

So, what makes them so special that we would have to look up to them for ratings and reviews. Then, wouldn’t they have their own biasness and their own likes and dislikes.

This preference and perspective thing is what I am most worried about. It would tend to sway the ratings to an angle that the individuals prefer. So, if that individual likes single serve coffee maker, then single serve would definitely not get any low coffee maker ratings.

If you do not believe me on this, go and search in Google for espresso maker and see if you can get any lousy or even low ratings on these machines. Chances are most if not all the ratings that you come across would be good ones.

But, it is true that all coffee maker ratings on espresso maker is good? The truth is there are so many machines that are using steam driven pressure on espresso maker that is not able to produce a good cup of espresso.

But, what about an espresso maker that is not able to produce good espresso, would you still consider it to be a good espresso machine? You would not view it as a good coffee maker right?

Now, here is where they evaluate these machines using other metrics, for example price. And suddenly a lousy espresso maker can be termed the most affordable machines, a title that is bound to attract some consumers.

And that is the way or the system coffee maker ratings follows, it is about the person doing it and how they are doing it. There are currently no clear definition on what is good or bad, so the person doing it would come out with their own version of positive and negative ratings, and usually it would fit into their agenda.

The fact is, choosing a machine is not difficult. It is all about knowing about your lifestyle and ensuring that this coffee maker would fit into your lifestyle. If it is does, no matter how bad the press or the reviews make it to be, it would never failed you, because it caters to your needs.

There you have it folks, I do not think it is worth the time to spend on coffee maker ratings, you would be better off evaluating yourself, your kitchen area then look for a machine that is a great fit into your lifestyle. One tip: single serve coffee maker is the easiest to fit into almost any lifestyle…”

Article sourse: http://www.bestelectronicequipment.com/home-appliances/do-you-think-the-time-investment-is-worth-it-98

Honestly, we never tried any of below recipes. My husband is a straight espresso consumer (or double espresso, depending on the time of the day). The only recipe that he recognizes is a few drops of whiskey in the cup (his own invention). If you are interested in more details – just let me know, I’ll publish it for you.
I love straight cappuccino, without any additional flavoring or spice. But I understand that there are many people who would like to experiment with their espresso taste, so enjoy it and share your experience.

Delicious Coffee Recipes: Amaretto Coffee, Alpine Carnival Coffee, Canadian Coffee, Alexander Espresso

Amaretto Coffee
Ingredients:
• 1 ½ c Warm Water
• 1/3 c Amaretto
• 1 tb Instant Coffee Crystals
• Dessert Topping from a pressurized can

How To:
In a 2-cup measure stir together water and instant coffee crystals. Micro-cook uncovered, on 100% power for about 4 minutes or just till steaming hot. Stir in Amaretto. Serve in mugs. Top each mug of coffee mixture with some dessert topping.

Alpine Carnival Coffee
Ingredients:
• 2 tb Instant coffee
• 1 ts Vanilla
• 2 tb Brown sugar
• 1 ts Water
• 1 ½ c Boiling water
• ½ c Whipping cream, whipped

How To:
Divide instant coffee and vanilla evenly between two Spanish coffee glasses. In a small heavy saucepan, dissolve sugar in the teaspoon of water. Over medium heat, stir dissolved sugar until it reaches a full boil. Immediately remove from heat and stir in boiling water.
Divide sugar mixture between coffee glasses and top with a dollop of whipped cream.
Makes 2 x 6 oz servings.

Canadian Coffee
Ingredients:
• ¼ c Maple syrup; pure
• ½ c Rye whiskey
• 3 c Coffee; hot, black, double strength

Topping:
• ¾ c Whipping cream
• 4 ts Maple syrup; pure

How To:
Topping: Whip cream with maple syrup just up until soft mounds; set aside. Divide maple syrup and whiskey among 4 warmed heatproof glass mugs or goblets.
Pour in coffee to 1 inch of top; spoon topping over coffee.

Alexander Espresso
Ingredients:
• 1 cup Cold water
• 2 tb Ground espresso coffee
• ½ Cinnamon stick (3″ long)
• 4 ts Crème de Cacao
• 2 ts Brandy
• 2 tb Whipping cream, chilled
• Grated semisweet chocolate to garnish

How To:
Break out your espresso machine for this one or just make really strong coffee with a small amount of water. Break cinnamon stick into small pieces and add to hot espresso. Allow to cool for 1 minute. Add crème de cacao and brandy, and stir gently. Pour into cute demitasse cups. Whip the cream, and float some cream on top of each cup. For looks, garnish with grated chocolate or fancy chocolate curls. Multiply proportions by six and it’s perfect for a party. Serves 2.

Source artilcle :http://kfeez.com/?p=217

Another great article about Espresso accessories. We personally got only the tamper, scale, thermometer and pitcher. And my husband is dreaming about the knock box. No problem-Father’s day is coming.

By Kim R.

“Are you getting ready to treat yourself to a home espresso machine? Here is a list of common accessories that will improve your home espresso brewing experience.

The first add-ons that you need to get are your espresso making tools and at the top of this list is the espresso coffee grinder. Low end grinders use a blade to grind up the coffee beans and they do a fine job for course grounds. Burr grinders are higher quality grinders and they do a much better job when you need finer grinds for espresso. The blade grinders can also burn the coffee beans if they are used for a long time to make finer grinds.

An espresso tamper is a necessity and you probably got one with your espresso machine. A new tamper can be a nice upgrade if yours is a poorly made model (most that come with espresso machine are poor quality). Make sure the new tamper you are getting fits the opening well and beyond that get one that feels good to you.

A steamer or frothing pitcher makes you look like you know what you are doing. Many espresso drinks (lattes, mochas, cappuccinos, etc) call for either steamed or frothed milk so this will be a required item. You don’t need to get a giant pitcher; one the size of a can of soda pop is good enough for home use.

Espresso cups are one of the accessories where you can go a little crazy. Many cup and saucer sets come with unique art designs on them and can become very collectible. Other options are espresso glasses and stainless steel espresso glasses. Both the glass and stainless models typically have a double walled design to help retain the heat of your drink for as long as possible. Latte cups are usually 6-12 oz for larger espresso drinks.

To go along with your espresso cups you will want a set of espresso spoons. Espresso spoons are also known as demitasse spoons and they add a nice touch of class to your espresso cups. Latte spoons are larger and match your latte cups for your larger espresso drinks.

You will also need to have some espresso recipes for all of the different espresso drinks you can make. A good coffee recipe book will get you hundreds of options to choose from.

Flavors come next and there are LOTs to choose from. Although there are flavored powders (ex: chocolate, mocha, etc) most flavors are added as syrup. There are dozens of flavors of syrup and they range from the perennial favorite of chocolate to seasonal flavors such as pumpkin.

There are many more options for decking out your new home espresso bar but there is one more I should mention. Although not as exciting as the other accessories, you will need cleaning brushes and cleaning powder to keep your espresso machine in top condition. Follow this list and add the options that make sense to you and you will have a great deal of fun starting down the wonderful path of becoming a home brew barista.”

Article source: http://www.essentialaromatheraphy.com/espresso-bar-accessories-at-home/

I am sure everybody will enjoy this video. Have fun. Isn’t Lelit a great machine?