They've unveiled the first in a new line of products that will come with Jane's seal of approval, Tanzanian Gombe Reserve Coffee. It's made from beans, as the name implies, from in and around the Gombe reserve in Tanzania, which is where she has done all of her research on chimps.
The new coffee came from an effort to improve the lives of people around the preserve by turning them onto cultivating their land instead of clear cutting it. Jane Goodall hopes that by improving the lives of the people, the lives and habitat of the chimps will also be saved.
The coffee should be sold in major grocery chains. If you see some, consider buying some in order to help save vital habitat in Africa. I love that: coffee with a heart.
The woman, an employee of a Tim Hortons coffee and donut chain in Toronto, gave a fussy toddler the tiny, 16-cent donut (called a "Timbit") to eat, and was promptly fired by her overzealous manager.
The woman said she would have paid for the donut, but the store was busy and she had to work.
As soon as Tim Hortons' corporate offices heard of the firing, they quickly issued a statement that the firing was a mistake (it was implied that the woman was re-hired).
Seriously, though: who would want to go back and work for that maniac? Whatever happened to the customer coming first?
Hopefully, the woman will be able to get away from the boss with the anger management issues, and get a better job. Like at the local IHOP.
Do you go to coffee shops with any regularity? Are you there every day, or do you make it a weekend thing? Whenever you go, have you ever wondered about the people who make your coffee?
As we should all remember they are people too (not just automatons, created to serve our caffeine whims), and they have just as many pet peeves about you as you have about them. The RedEye blog interviewed baristas extensively and put together a list of everything (well, ok, 10 things) that they really want you to know. Next time you order your favorite beverage from your favorite coffee shop, keep in mind these tips while you're leaving yours.
You've probably had this happen to you. You've just made yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee and you go into the fridge to get the milk and you open it and it has gone bad. So you have to put on your shoes and jacket and head out to the store to get more.
That's what happened to me today. My fat free milk went bad and smelled like...vinegar or something else that milk shouldn't smell like. So I had to go out into the rain and walk up the street to the convenience store.
I'm still not sure why it went bad so quickly. The date on it was May 2. My roommate has a jug of 2% milk with a date of May 1 and that's still fine. Does milk go bad quicker if it has less fat in it?
So, I've gotta hand it to Starbucks. Its new site, My Starbucks Idea, is actually...well, a good idea. You sign up and simply type in a suggestion that you think the coffee chain should adopt, and post it to the site. You can also view others' advice, and vote on ones you think are worthwhile.
Then - and this is the kicker - someone from the corporation actually reads the ideas and even puts some of them into practice. Several of the ideas on the site are currently "under review," like the suggestions for implementing frequent buyer punch cards, or for implementing free Wifi access in every store (obviously, many city locations already have WiFi service).
I'm also surprised at the quality of the suggestions. Though I'd imagine that the site is highly monitored to eliminate the crazies (or, for that matter, Starbucks haters), many of the responses are actually decent and well thought-out. And some, on the other hand, are flat-out hilarious: one poster calls Starbucks' music "pseudo-intellectual," "over-produced" and "noisy garbage," while another requests that the music in his local store be turned down, so that when he's "making a business call, it doesn't sound like I'm calling from a public place." Um...isn't that what your home and office are for?
Hmm...so I guess suggesting "STOP EXPANDING YOUR CHAIN!" would probably get flagged, huh? Just a thought.
Food styling has always been a field that I would love to go into, but I lack the skills and have no clue how I would proceed even if I did. So instead, I just read my boyfriend's digital food photography books and think about the tricks that one might use in the profession. Sometimes I consider using them for my personal blog, but I believe it constitutes cheating. Anyway, I thought I'd share some interesting ones just in case anyone needs to make their food more beautiful (though in some cases, it will result in it being inedible!):
1) To make your coffee appear bubbly and hot, add a teaspoon of soapy water. 2) For an extra cheesy-looking slice of pizza, cook the pizza halfway, then cut out one slice and add extra cheese around the edge of the cut. Finish cooking the pizza, then photograph the extra cheesy piece as you lift it out. 3) Use food-colored mashed potatoes for ice cream. I would actually never do this because my likelihood of forgetting and eating mashed potatoes with chocolate sauce is way too high.
Any others, perhaps ones that don't render the food inedible?
After reading this story at our sister site That's Fit, I may look at my local Starbuck's barista a little differently the next time I stop in for a triple venti non-fat peppermint white chocolate mocha.
Apparently a Starbuck's employee and one of her long-time regular customers had developed a friendship of sorts. If you've ever worked in the food and beverage industry, you'll know this happens often - serving the same people day in and day out, you tend to find out a lot about their lives. As much as they talked over the course of three years though, the customer, Annamarie Ausnes, hadn't revealed that she was suffering from polycystic kidney failure until it got to the point where her kidneys were only functioning at 15 percent and she would be needing a transplant.
Annamarie's husband and son weren't matches, and she was already on a very long waiting list for a donor when she happened to mention it to Sandie Anderson, her barista. Sandie immediately volunteered to be tested, and was found to be a perfect match.
Earlier this week, surgeons removed one of Sandie's kidneys and successfully transplanted it into Annamarie. Both ladies are doing well and are expected to make a full recovery. Now that is going above and beyond in the way of customer service.
Whether you grow it, sell it or drink it, coffee is now more than just a hobby or your favorite drink - it's also your ticket to new friends, new information and a serious gateway to procrastination.
I'm referring to Barista Exchange and Barista Connection, two new additions to the sorta-recent explosion of social networking sites. But unlike Facebook and MySpace, these two cater to a specific audience, and the content revolves around everything java.
On Barista Exchange, you create a profile (first, define yourself by any number of coffee-related personas, including a barista, a farmer, or simply an enthusiast), and then gain access to thousands of similar-minded peeps. The name of the site describes one of its primary features: members can use their connections to facilitate an actual coffee exchange, which consists of baristas changing places for a week or so to experience the coffee culture in each others' city.
Even if you're not a real barista, you can pretend at home with Barista: The Game. Discovery Bay Games calls it "a strategic game of fresh-brewed fun," and it may be for the amateurs out there. But let's admit it: for hardcore baristas, we all know it's so much more than that. Like a bartender playing a drinking game, or a chef playing Wii Cooking Mama, it's a chance to show off your skills and prove yourself once and for all amongst your comrades.
For $14.95, you can roll the dice and flip the cards to "make" drink orders - but beware of fellow players spilling your drink or messing up your order! And don't get your hopes up when you win Barista of the Month, because with another card draw, your store can just as easily be sued for serving its coffee too hot.
Essentially, Barista is a card game, so you'll have to test your trivia and actual knowledge elsewhere (for a full list of rules, click here). But it's a cute idea, and a fun way to pass the time, for baristas and wannabes alike.
About a month ago, a box containing four 12-ounce bags of Ugly Mug Coffee appeared in my mailbox. I had never heard of this unpretentious coffee roaster (out of Memphis, TN) before they emailed asking if I'd like to taste their beans. However, being the coffee addict lover that I am, I was more than happy to give their coffee a run through my French press.
Four weeks later, I'm a bit mournful, as I'm coming to the end of my Ugly Mug stash. This has been uniformly delicious coffee. I got to try four of their blends, Good Vibes, First Cup, Hardy Passion and Saving Grace. Each have been full-flavored and interesting, with great brewing aroma. The clever names and appealing packaging (we all hate to admit it, but it does make a difference) add to the experience.
In addition to producing really tasty coffee, Ugly Mug also has a commitment to roasting fair trade beans. They are in the process of setting up economic assistance programs for coffee growers that will give Ugly Mug the ability to more directly support the farmers.
Well, there aren't many of them. To be more specific, there is only one coffee making robot in Italy so far (but leave it to the Italians to come up with this one)
The robot's name is Justine, and she was only just introduced to the world as a prototype at a robotics conference in Rome on Wednesday. So far Justine can only make instant coffee, but her creators say just give it time. They're working on ways to give the coffee maker enough sensory equipment and the ability to use both hands so that one day you can have your very own barrista at home.
Justine is the first result of a European Union project called DEXMART, which involves research partners in Italy, the U.K., France and Germany. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but I know lots of people who are. I bet they can't wait for the day when every one has their own coffee robot. "Justine, I'll have a double shot espresso, please."
When it comes to coffee, while I can say that I have to drink a steaming hot cup of it at least once a day, I have to admit that I'm not very - how do you say? -- discriminating. Basically, I'm your street variety caffeine addict who only cares that it gives me a high, even if only for 15 minutes.
So is it fair for me to "review" the tiny sample of Dunkin Donuts coffee that the company sent me to try? Absolutely!
I brewed the entire sample pack with the intention of giving it a full test run -- one cup fresh after brewing taken black, one cup maybe a few minutes later with my usual splash of soy milk. Was it acidic? Balanced? Deep? How the hell do I know? This is basically what I will say about Dunkin Donuts coffee.
It tastes nothing like doughnuts.
But I understand that the real appeal of Dunkin Donuts coffee comes from knowing that you are getting coffee that is the same coffee they serve in the pink and orange temple to fried dough. With that understanding, Dunkin Donuts coffee is pretty darn good.
A group of scientists at Nestlé Research in Switzerland have come up with a machine that will rapidly taste and rate as many as eight different kinds of espresso. The ratings, they say, will be as accurate as if tasted by...well, actual people.
According to an article in Live Science, the machine analyzes the gases released by the espresso, and then interprets the data as "cocoa," "citrus," or "toffee," for example.
Sounds intriguing, and it could definitely save time. But do we really want to let a machine take the place of a task that people already perform well? It's not as if there is a sudden, increased demand in coffee taste testers, or that they are not adequately performing their jobs. ("Toffee?! No way. I distinctly detected citrus notes...you're fired.") I don't think that we're somehow missing out because our coffee isn't properly classified. Perhaps the machine is more discerning?
Cool invention, but for right now, I'm comfortable in the notion that my espresso has been categorized by humans, thanks.
I wish that I had gotten to sit down to this breakfast this morning (I can't remember the last time I had a croissant, but now I'm craving one like crazy). Bowhaus has a whole set of breakfast pictures and each is more drool-worthy than the last.
If you've got a picture of your breakfast that you'd like to share with the world, or at least all the people who read Slashfood, head over to Flickr and join our photo pool.
Have you ever stashed a Coke in the freezer, hoping to chill it quickly, then forgotten all about it, only to have it explode all over your frozen peas?
Do you go to coffee shops with any regularity? Are you there every day, or do you make it a weekend thing? Whenever you go, have you ever wondered about the 
You've probably had this happen to you. You've just made yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee and you go into the fridge to get the milk and you open it and it has gone bad. So you have to put on your shoes and jacket and head out to the store to get more.
Food styling has always been a field that I would love to go into, but I lack the skills and have no clue how I would proceed even if I did. So instead, I just read my boyfriend's digital food photography books and think about the tricks that one might use in the profession. Sometimes I consider using them for my personal blog, but I believe it constitutes cheating. Anyway, I thought I'd share some interesting ones just in case anyone needs to make their food more beautiful (though in some cases, it will result in it being inedible!):
After reading 
Whether you grow it, sell it or drink it, coffee is now more than just a hobby or your favorite drink - it's also your ticket to new friends, new information and a serious gateway to procrastination. 
Well, there aren't many of them. To be more specific, there is only one 
A fraking amazing Battlestar Galactica cake
Iced Tea 101
Pierogies + cheese + onions + kraut = Parmageddon!
