Fresh Brews: 5 Worst Coffee Drinks And Solar Powered Coffee Machines

The top 5 worst coffee drinks in America
Coffee does have a lot of health benefits, beyond keeping you awake. However, the drinks full of sugar and calories like the McDonald’s Mocha are actually causing Americans to gain weight. It’s not like we needed any more help with that either. By avoiding these five drinks, the experts say you can lose up to thirty pounds in a year.

Will the Hard-Core Starbucks Customer Pay More? The Chain Plans to Find Out
The prices of some of the more expensive Starbucks drinks like Frappuccinos and Caramel Machiattos are going to be going up, anywhere from ten to thirty cents. Meanwhile, the prices of their basic coffee and latte drinks will actually be decreasing in price. This probably won’t stop me from buying my next white chocolate mocha, but what’s your opinion? And is this really how they’re going to compete with places like McDonald’s, by raising their prices?

Not your mom’s instant java; Starbucks prepares for instant coffee blitz
The instant coffee that Starbucks has been selling in select cities and online, is getting ready to go national this fall. I thought they were okay, a much better alternative than regular instant coffees, but is the nation really going to accept the Starbucks Via? It’s more expensive than regular instant coffee.

Troopers dole out free coffee to perk up drowsy drivers
The police where I live hand out things like speeding and parking tickets, it would be a dream come true if they started handing out coffee like some troopers on Seward Highway in Alaska. It seems that they’re having a serious problem with people falling asleep on that stretch of the highway, so the police are doing something about it.

PCM Coffee mug keeps perfect temperature
Researchers in Germany have created a coffee mug that will keep your coffee hot. The material used in it, is called Phase Change Material (PCM), which is used in construction materials, winter jackets and now coffee mugs. The hot coffee actually melts the PCM, kind of the way wax melts into a liquid. That’s pretty crazy, but it doesn’t say if it would affect the taste of the coffee. I’ll have to try it at some point.

Solar powered coffee maker concept
You can’t find it in stores yet, but hopefully in the near future the solar powered coffee maker will go from prototype to store shelves.

Ode To Coffee
A tribute to coffee on an excellent blog that I found by accident this week.

How to make a good Italian coffee at home
Instructions on how to make coffee Italian style with a Moka coffee machine.

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Photo by Miss Turner