Several studies have varying opinions on coffee side-effects. On one side, they say coffee is helpful; on the other, they say it’s dangerous. Well only one thing is for sure—having coffee break will make your boss happy.

Better Memory Retention

David Foster’s research along with colleagues from Massachusetts Institute of Technology has discovered that taking a break helps the brain to retain information better.

They experimented on rats to repeatedly run on a track. Their brain has memorized a pleasurable pattern on the track. What’s surprising is that when they repeated the experiment after the rats’ break, their memory retention is 20 times faster.

So, having a coffee break will help you perform better at a mentally-demanding work. Actually, taking any break from work, like enjoying other office refreshments or self-grooming, is also beneficial for memory retention.

Activate Mind and Body

Better have a coffee break than just any other break. Coffee has caffeine that activates mind and body, keeping you perform better at work. It’s the reason behind sleeping difficulty when coffee was taken within two hours before bed time.

In fact, a study from France found out that taking at least three cups of coffee everyday by women 80 years old and over can reduce their risk of having memory decline to about 70 percent.

But don’t overdo your coffee break. Drinking more than four cups of coffee everyday will lead to caffeine addiction with symptoms like depression, fatigue, irritability, brain dilate, and jumpiness. Your boss will never be happy with a caffeine-addicted employee, for sure.

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Among the things that make Brazil popular, the quality and selection of its coffee is surely among the top of the list – so if you’re visiting Brazil right now and are wondering what to do (which is odd by itself), you should treat yourself to some of the magnificent flavors of coffee it offers, and experience the product from one of its original sources.

Coffee has played a major role in the history of the nation, and if you ask any of the locals they’d probably be able to give you a good insight of how the coffee industry in Brazil came to be.

You should also know that Brazilians have a lot of tradition related to coffee – not only do they have various ways to prepare it in their books, but they also have some traditional rules by which they abide when drinking coffee. If you want to make the most of your experience, make sure you familiarize yourself with those traditions so that you can blend in better.

For example, Brazilians value the talk during a coffee session. They don’t look well upon the idea of the hasty coffee meetings people have to get a quick cup over a few sentences of mindless chatter – when you’re talking to your companions when drinking coffee in Brazil, always make sure you share your most precious recent moments and truly savor the experience. Respect the others and ask to be corrected if you did anything wrong.

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Vienna offers quite a lot to tourists – from amazing sightseeing opportunities, to delightful treats in its large number of coffee houses. If you’re paying the city a visit and would like to try out some of the exquisite tastes presented in one of its numerous coffee houses, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Remember that the most popular coffee houses aren’t always the best ones. In some cases, smaller places that are somewhat concealed around the city’s winding streets may end up giving you a better deal and allow you to have a better time as you’re sipping from your coffee at them. Café Prueckl
, which is one of those less popular ones, is one of the best choices for newcomers to the city to experience some of its delightful coffee flavors. Try out all the special varieties they offer and don’t just stick to the first one you like though!

If you’re wondering what to make out of all the sorts of coffee offered in Viennese coffee houses, you should have a look at this great illustration of different Viennese coffee sorts. It can give you a good overview of the most popular sorts being consumed around the city, and you’ll be much better prepared when you go out to have a cup of coffee with some of your friends – or even complete strangers, who tend to be very friendly here in Vienna! So enjoy your stay and savor every moment with Vienna’s wonderful coffee!

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Some say that technology has turned us into a bunch of lazy people, but I say if things can be made easier, why not give it a try? I stumbled upon a really cool video which shows how you can instruct your coffee maker to brew you a pot of nice hot coffee with a single tweet. Now, people who are continuously on Twitter will certainly feel the excitement that I felt when I first read about the hack. If you are not into Twitter (how can you not be?), then you might think this silly. But, hey, being silly on a Sunday morning is allowed!

So, how does this thing work? You’ll need a little bit of knowledge – both about hardware and software. The things you will need are a coffee maker, a computer, a Twitter account, a mobile phone, and Arduino. Okay, I have to admit that it doesn’t look like the average joe will be able to pull it off, so I will stick to the concepts instead of the specific instructions on how to set it up.

The idea is to hook up the coffee maker to a computer, which will serve as the switch (albeit a complicated one) to turn the coffee maker on. If you do things right, you can simply send a tweet and the coffee maker will have your coffee ready when you want.

Hooking up household appliances to Twitter is not a new idea. A couple of years ago, some guy had too much time on his hands and hooked up his washing machine, toilet, and toaster to Twitter. Pretty soon, tweets from the threesome were flying from the guy’s house, through Twitter’s data service centers, to countless people’s Twitter accounts.

The latter “experiment” is a bit less useful than this coffee maker project, but it is no less cool, is it? Then again, cool and fun is one thing. I would much rather have a coffee maker that will not require me having to clean it and fill it with water and coffee grounds – on top of not having to switch it on. (Who said something about being lazy?)

If you still want to give Tweet-a-Pot a try, though, here’s the video. You’ll at least have a kick out of watching it.

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Being Self-Employed (or a freelancer, Entrepreneur, Solo-preneur, or countless other titles I’ve heard people refer to themselves as – some of which aren’t really suitable to be posted on here), I meet a wide range of people in a whole host of different situations and locations.

Sometimes I’m the customer, other times I’m the supplier. Sometimes I’ve arranged the meeting, and other times, someone has asked to book some of my time.

I’ve read a fair few books, articles and essays related to where the dynamics of where you meet people compared to what you are looking to achieve from the meeting – if you’re looking to sell a service or product, it’s often best to go and visit the customer at their workplace (it gives them more security in their own environment, and they are more likely to buy), if you’re looking to buy a service or product, having the meeting at your workplace often gives you more confidence and ability to intimidate and get more of what you are looking for from the deal. However, I frequently met with Senior Managers and I was more than happy to bet the contract on the fact that they had read similar reports in the past.

Now, I hear you ask what this has to do with Coffee…

Having the meeting in a neutral location (like a Coffee House!) was often touted as a great idea. It allows both parties to meet somewhere which is more social, allowing them to drop the structure that appears in offices. It’s also a great way to sneak out of the office earlier – especially if you have to travel more than five minutes away, get your dose of Coffee from somewhere other than the Staff Kitchen, and also creates a more relaxed scene. The Coffee house was put forward as the best place to meet in, as the features such as the tables and chairs are more informal, allowing both parties to become more relaxed, and hopefully etch out a more beneficial outcome.

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Currently sat in my local Coffee shop, heard this on the music system, and it now finally feels festive. Weird how those two little words can make everything change hey!

Anyway, being the highly organised person that I am, I’m considering to start my Christmas shopping as I write this (December 21st), and feel that I should sort of start it. Luckily, my brother and mother are coffee addicts. So I’ve just bought their presents whilst ordering my drink. Not bad hey!

One that I’ve found is the $5 free Voucher with a 12 Pack of Starbucks Via Ready Brew for the US, and in the UK, you’re able to load the voucher with an amount from £5 to £150 – a great idea with the current weather and postal problems.

Perhaps look at that Coffee Machine you know they’ve always wanted (I know this would be what my parents would like the most…I think they’re being a bit optimistic myself…) – or just a packet of their favourite brew (You could get the 12 packets from Starbucks, and get yourself a free voucher in the States…of course, the giving is the best part!)

In the UK, Limini Coffee offer a range of courses – ranging from Latte Art, through to running your own Coffee Shop, so if theres that budding Barista in the family, get them down!

Above all, make sure you enjoy yourself. It’s a time for indulgence, so go ahead – have those six coffees (which are good for you), over-eat, and promise yourself in the New Year you’ll go on a diet – I won’t tell anyone if you don’t!!!

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

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In this recent cold spell in Europe, I’m starting to drink more and more coffee than ever before. And I’m not just drinking it – I’m holding cup after cup of it.

This got me thinking of ways that I could use the cold coffee – not necessarily the steamed and foamed drinks, but often the basics – Americanos, Instant or Percolated Coffee.

So far, I’ve got a…err….varied list- ranging from heating it up again (either using a Microwave, or splitting it into two cups, and topping each up with boiling water), using it to make Coffee Cake, or even making Frappes.

Heating the drinks up may be a short term boost – it’s less waste, and faster (very good if I’ve been caught on the phone with a customer or door-to-door salesperson) but the flavour does seem to be a bit lower due to either diluting the strength, or the flavoured oil burning a bit.

Making Coffee Cake is great for three reasons. 1: Coffee. What’s not to love about that! 2: It’s cake….again, what’s not to love about that! And 3: It’s fun to make. Baking a cake will keep me as warm as a cup of Coffee, but it’ll also be a great treat to go with my drinks each day. But each of these takes a long time, and quite a bit of coffee to make (well, if you like it with a similar strength to mine!) so I’d have to either waste a lot, or make some more up on purpose to waste. It also doesn’t taste right if you’re using a flavoured Coffee syrup.

Frappes may seem like the ideal solution, and indeed, it’s the most common thing I do. When I was in the Scouting movement, my leader kept saying to have drinks that are close to the temperature outside – because the closer your core temperature is to this, the less you’ll feel the cold. Of course, unless you have hypothermia, in which case I’d suggest calling a Doctor or Medic.

What do you often suggest doing with your unused Coffee?

Photo Courtesy of: Dyobmit

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I’ve recently gone back to my parents for Christmas, and noticing a difference in the attitudes, atmospheres and people in each place I’ve been so far…and considering I’ve only been back for one day, and visited three different places already – excluding the Airport.

The first was a small chain store (BB Coffee and Muffin), inside a shopping centre. As you’d expect with Christmas shoppers, it was quite busy, and people were in quite a bit of a rush. Considering I’d ordered the same size Latte here as I’d done for the rest of the day, I’d drunk this cup in a very short period of time – didn’t enjoy it very much for this reason, but felt warm inside (if you’ve been watching the weather in the UK recently, it’s a bit cold!), which is a bonus!

The second was a small restaurant my family are regulars at. Had a Latte again, and enjoyed this much more. It might have been the roaring fire in the building, it may have been the superb dinner I’d just eaten, but it might have been the fact that I was just much more relaxed. And, being more relaxed, I enjoyed the Latte more.

Where I am writing this at the moment is a Starbucks. It’s quite different to each Starbucks I’ve been in before, it feels more like your old local pub – the barista’s are very relaxed, chatty, and recognise people quite easily – considering it’s very near two of the busiest Motorways in the UK, that’s quite impressive. I did push the boat out here – I got a lovely big Frappe, with lots of whipped cream, so it’s not going to give me the same warming feeling that the Lattes would have, but it does feel quite nice inside here.

What do you think makes a great atmosphere? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

Photo Courtesy of: ASurroca

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Coffee has long had bad press in regards to health issues – the caffeine in it is linked to addiction, dehydration, panic attacks and the advice to pregnant and lactacting mothers is that they should avoid drinking it as much as possible.

But recent studies have shown that there is getting to be more and more positive reasons for drinking your daily cup of Java – not only does it help fight heart disease, headaches, asthma and Parkinsons, a recent study that has been published shows that it’s able to reduce the likelihood of developing diabetes.

The tests, which were carried out on Lab mice found prone to develop Diabetes have shown that the sample group given coffee (compared to Water) displayed signs of improved insulin sensitivity, and did not develop high blood sugar levels.  The research also found that coffee has beneficial effects combating fatty liver tissue.

Past tests have also shown that drinking Coffee reduces the likelihood to develop diabetes. Women have been found to be more responsive to change compared to their male counterparts. When drinking six cups per day, the test subjects were (over eleven years) twenty two percent less likely to develop diabetes, compared to those who drank no coffee.

The main type of diabetes that Coffee is found to be especially useful in protecting against is Type II. Of course, combating this disease (one of the leading causes of death in the United States and across the world) can often postpone the offset of type II diabetes in the majority of people.

Photo Courtesy of: Untitled Blue

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We’ve all had the problem at least once. Do you take your coffee to go, or do you drink in-house? A lot of it might depend on how much time you’ve got (I know when I was studying, it was normally a rush from home to my lecture, which had started twenty minutes ago!), but what if that’s not a time restriction?

First off, lets look at what you’re drinking. I’m sure if you’ve got thirty minutes for your drink, rather than being late already, you’d be able to find something a bit more…exciting. You could have a look at the menu, debate trying something new, and then consider what would happen if you didn’t like it (quite simple, order something you know you’d prefer!) If you’re in a rush, you’d probably be a bit more likely to order your favourite, in a snap second judgement.

What you’re drinking out of might also be different – a few places I know serve out of the paper cups, which I detest – especially in Winter. Cold hand, plus very hot coffee is quite painful, especially through a thin paper cup – even with an extra layer of cardboard around it – it’s not as bad if I’d have one of the wide range of thermal cups that are available – but it might ruin it a bit if I was drinking a frothy drink.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not take a ‘proper’ coffee cup outdoors when I’m walking around. Last thing I’d want to do is drop it and lose my precious java, as well as a cup – hence the thermos cup firmly planted in my hands most days. What’s your preference when you’re out and about? Sitting down in-house, or drinking on the move?

Photo Courtesy of: Adam NFK Smith

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