"morning" news and stories

When brewing coffee, there are two factors that play a huge part in the final flavor. The water-to-bean ratio is important, but first you should have fresh beans and they should be ground as soon before brewing as possible. Fresh grounds will have the natural oils of the bean still in them, which will give you the fullest flavor, eliminating much of that flat and bitter aftertaste that can come from stale grounds - and ground coffee can stale very, very quickly. This is why, if you brew coffee at home, it's a good idea to buy a grinder and grind your own beans. Since that's another step between you and coffee in the morning, however, many opt for preground. The all-in-one coffee makers, which have built in grinders, are a good option for anyone who wants to get the best cup of coffee with the least amount of work.

The machines are programmed in advance and they heat water, grind beans and brew your coffee all with the touch of a button. A recent test showed good results from each of three machines. The Melitta preformed well, but had no insulated carafe, which keeps the coffee from becoming burned or overly strong sitting on a heating pad. The Cuisinart made a slightly better cup of coffee than the Melitta, but the Capresso, with a burr grinder to ensure even grounds and smooth flavor, won the test.

All in all, you can't really go wrong with any of the machines from the sound of it, but if you already have a machine you like, look into getting a grinder instead of a whole new machine to really improve the quality of your morning brew.

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We love toast here at Slashfood, but we think that toast is a little more fun when you can customize it. We're not referring to whether you like your toast light or dark, with butter or with Nutella, but to actually using a design for the toast itself. So far, we have see snakes on toast, pop art on toast, love notes on toast and Disney characters. None of those can top the Zuse Toast Printer, though. This wall-mounted toaster can burn - by which we mean toast - any 12x12 px image onto your toast using "a technology similar to early matrix printers," working line by line until the image has been reproduced. The toaster comes with some images already uploaded, but it sounds as though you would be able to add your own to the image inventory, too.

I have no idea what that little cube guy under the toaster is supposed to be, but I can think of at least a few designs that would make my morning toast a little more interesting.

[via SciFi Tech]

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There may be some debate over whether breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, but it is undeniably one of the best looking.

These aren't the first sticky buns/cinnamon rolls that have been seen here as food porn, but all that really goes to show is that cinnamon buns are one of the most visually appealing breakfast foods that you can find. This is probably the very reason that Santos, the gifted food blogger behind The Scent of Green Bananas, chose to use this tempting breakfast scene as an example of how to work with the limitations of your camera to produce some great photographs. This shot uses natural lighting and is not an extreme closeup, so it could be easily replicated with almost any digital camera. To improve your own photography, try staging shots like this one to capture the best lighting in the room. Just be sure to have a cinnamon bun (or several) to practice on.

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Waffles make appearances at the breakfast table slightly less often than other foods, like eggs, cereals and pancakes. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that they require a separate appliance and, unless you are fortunate enough to have a surplus of counter space, you probably have to spend some time tracking it down before you can cook. Waffles are not really any more difficult to make than any other breakfast food - and these particular waffles are easy and delicious.

The recipe comes from one I saw in Sunset magazine and called for blue cornmeal and a whipped cream topping. I replaced the whipped cream with maple syrup, which seemed more appropriate for breakfast, and used yellow cornmeal. In seconds, the batter comes together in one bowl and the waffles begin to dook in the iron. The waffles are crisp outside and moist and tender within. The cornmeal gives the a fantastic and satisfying texture.

While running out to Starbucks is one way to get your coffee fix in a flash, the Cuisinart Coffee on Demand is an even easier way. The small, stylish machine takes up less room than most countertop coffee makers and dispenses one cup of coffee at a time, directly into your mug without the need for a carafe. The way that it works is that the coffee is brewed and stored inside a thermal reservoir inside the machine, which keeps it hot for up to 4 hours.

The product is suggested for entertaining, perhaps so guests can refill their mugs easily at a party, but the real target audience is anyone who has more than one cup of coffee per day. It would work particularly well in an office or home office, where you are likely to "refresh" your coffee every hour or so anyway.

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