Coffee and Exercise

I saw this on Digg the other day and wanted to comment on it. Researchers have determined that coffee can lessen the pain of exercise. Specifically it is the caffeine in coffee that helps and it doesn't matter if you are a habitual coffee drinker or abstain from coffee altogether.

I can tell you from personal experience that this works. When I graduated from university I had gained quite a bit of weight. I decided it was time to drop my college 30 so I started running at the gym. I started having a cup of coffee before my run for it's metabolism boosting properties but I also noticed on the days after my run I bounced back faster then day I ran without coffee.

Anna at Alexsa's Ballet Birthay Party

On Saturday we attended Alexsa's 4th birthday party where all the kids got a chance to be ballerinas for awhile.



This kids all had a great time and the cake Anmar made was amazing!

Starbucks Office

From Gizmodo: Just had to link to this guys office at Starbucks. Go Digg it here.

$1 Cup of Coffee at Starbucks

I missed this news a few weeks ago but it looks like Starbucks is testing out $1 for a short cup of coffee in their Seattle locations. Looks like the coffee giant is trying all sorts of ways to fight their worsening stock price and bring people back into their stores.

Starbucks Value Meals?

Thanks to Coffeearama for the link. It appears that Starbucks are going to be introducing value meals or reduced price pairings. It looks like the McCafe from McDonalds as well as the economic downturn is really hurting Starbucks core business and they are fighting back.

Green Tea Varieties

A nice run down of the different varieties of green tea. I had some very nice green tea that Guo and Arthur brought back from China. Couldn't tell you what the type was as I don't read Mandarin.

Coffee Brewing Tips

A great primer on how to brew tasty coffee at home. As a coffee nut I have to agree that grinding your own Arabica beans is the best way to have great coffee at home. The burr grinder is superior to the blade grinder and you can find one for significantly less than the $200 they suggest they cost. Sometime I have to try out a French press at home.

My only other tip is avoid flavored coffee beans. Most times lower quality beans are used as they manufacturer expects the added flavoring to mask the taste.

Update: My friend, Jason Kratz, recommends the Capresso Infinity which is currently on sale at Amazon.com.