Butter on Coffee?

Have you ever heard the Bulletproof Diet?



The creator of this diet, Dave Asprey, claims that
you can lose your weight while drinking
a mug of coffee blended with butter.


Doesn't it sound crazy?
Have butter and lose weight don't seem to mingle with each other.

via http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/style/the-cult-of-the-bulletproof-coffee-diet.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Style&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article

via http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/11256546/The-Bulletproof-Diet-simplistic-invalid-and-unscientific.html

Dave Asprey was a computer hacker who became a multimillionaire.

Then, he began to gain weight, and he weighed too much at some point.

Although he tried a number of diets to avoid a stroke or heart attack,

unfortunately, nothing worked for him.

Then, when he was in Tibet, learning to meditate and trekking,

he found out about the yak butter tea which Tibetans usually drink 40 cups a day.

He really liked that drink and got the idea for the Bulletproof Coffee.

You need the followings for a cup of Bulletproof Coffee.

-low-mold coffee beans

-at least 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (grass-fed)
-1-2 tablespoons of medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) OIL (digestible fat)

And Asprey recommends having the 450+ calorie cup of coffee

instead of breakfast.

He says it can suppress your hunger, promote weight loss, and provide mental clarity.

Joan Salge Blake, a clinical associate professor of nutrition, however, cast a doubt over the BulletProof Coffee.

She believes that people will continue to consume the drink, forgetting about the weight loss project since it tastes TOO GOOD.

Yea, why DOESN'T IT taste good with butter and oil?

In fact, I want it NOW. I think I need some buttery taste in my body.

And I know that I will be one of the consumers who forgets about her diet

and keeps drinking that butter coffee with more and more butter....

Anyway, Asprey says that the Bulletproof Coffee not only makes you stronger and thinner, but also upgrades your brain-functioning and reduces the risks of many diseases,

including cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's.

Here's how Asprey consumes each day.

"I wake up and I have about 14 oz of Bulletproof Coffee," he tells me. "I use about 2 tbsp of butter, and 2 tbsp of the extractive coconut oil." If he eats lunch, he'll have several servings of vegetables, plus a protein "and all of it with butter." Dinner, he says, is a similar affair: lots of veg, grass-fed steak, white rice.

Although the drink is actually not very nutritious because of the lack of protein and vitamins or minerals, Asprey keeps his diet healthy by having lots of vegetable.

Also, to the skeptical point of view to his Bulletproof Coffee,
Asprey, in an interview, said that the wrong part of this diet is how people consume it,
not the drink itself.
For example, he blamed for the wrong choice of butter and no MCT oil.
If the recipe is not right, the result should be wrong, as well, he insists.

Nevertheless, many scientists and nutritionists are still not very fond of this diet.

Asprey is planning to open his first stand-alone shop and cafe in the beginning of 2015 in LA.
And his book, titled, "The Bulletproof Diet: Lost up to a Pound a Day, Reclaim Energy and Focus, Upgrade Your Life" is about to be published next week.




Hm.... I should say I am in line with the skeptical scientists and nutritionists.
I agree that this coffee boomed because of the marketing strategy, not the real benefits of it.

I think this butter coffee is going to be just another beverage that
not only coffee lovers, but also those who have a sweet tooth enjoy.

Asprey's argument is understandable, however, it is too fastidious I should put.
I mean, how can an individual carry ground beans, containers of clarified butter, a silicone squeeze bottle of MCT oil, plus a hand blender and etc like MacGyver who is now trying this diet.



Err.. and of course, every diet accompanies with some levels of workout.
No matter how hard the workout should be, working-out sucks.. all the time.




But, I really want to try that once for my brain to wake up in morning, Asprey! I DO!

List of Coffee Drinks

Hey there!!

Today I'd like to explore the world of coffee with you!
Thesedays, when you go to a regular cafe,
you might be the one who can't decide which to drink.
There are just SO MANY different kinds of coffee, eh?

Personally, I'm not that kind of person but,
many of my friends are...
And that's fine to me most of the time as long as I can have a sit first.
However, if I can't have a sit before my friends or
if I'm the one who gets to pay for the drinks,
I sometimes get annoyed..

I mean.. 'why don't you just drink americano if you can't decide?'
And surprisingly, most of my indecisive friends usually go for americano
at the end. Ta-da..


So, in order to make you guys not like my partly irritating friends,
I'm here to give you some tips for each coffee drink.
Hope this information makes you more straight-forward later on.

via http://www.types.coffee/popular-coffee-drinks

Isn't it brilliant?
By using simple signs, the creator made an image for 13 different kinds of popular coffee drinks.
I think I've heard of the term for it..
Is it Minimalism?




Among those list, guess which and which are my top 3!



1. AMERICANO

This is the coffee I drink most.
Whenever I go to a cafe, it's usually after some meal.
And then, I like to drink some coffee, but not too heavy one because I'm usually full after a meal.
It can sound a little weird since I'm full but want some drink at the same time.
But I think coffee makes the exception. Don't you think? :D

And when that time comes, americano is the perfect coffee for you.
The calorie is zero and what's more.
The bitter taste and the hot temperature of this drink make me feel like losing weight.
Every time I drink hot americano, I come to think it will burn up my fat.
Don't know why... It just feels that way.... 
Maybe just self-rationalization for me having something more right after a meal.



2. BLACK COFFEE

This one! I usually have it home. And I have much of it during weekends.
My dad loves black coffee and we have a grinder for beans, too.
The smell of black coffee on Saturday and Sunday morning makes my day. :-)

I guess you can add sugar or some syrup if you want, but
the best is black coffee itself surely. :D

This one also gives me the feeling of losing weight. Lol.

One summer day, during the vacation, I decided not to go out of my home for a day.
And I decided to drink black coffee instead of water for the day.
The result?

I got dizzy really bad....
A lesson from that day: Anything TOO MUCH is never good for you.

Black coffee is THE BEST when at home :*)
since I can't get shots of espresso on my own... T.T



3. ICED COFFEE

When I prefer the feeling of freshness to the feeling of losing weight,
I choose this one over hot americano.
It's basically iced americano and some people  prefer this even during winter.



+) Macchiato is quite a surprising drink, personally.
When you drink it iced, it's REALLY REALLY sweet.
And usually it comes with whipped cream on top, so the cream adds even more sweetness.

However, if you drink it hot, it is NOT SWEET.
A long time ago, when I couldn't drink any bitter coffee,
I tried hot macchiato, expecting it to be sweet as the iced one.
But... no... it wasn't sweet, but bitter.
And it didn't make any sense to me at that time..
I felt like the macchiato betrayed me.
But, seeing this table of signs, yes, there is a shot of espresso in macchiato.
And it just gets smoother(?) with the ice.


++) I want to try the galao.
It looks similar to the caffe latte, but there is more milk in galao,
which means it's gotta be more milky with lowered sweetness!!


+++) And about the tripplo.
what..? three shots of espresso only??
That sounds like Chinese medicine, doesn't it?
I wonder who drinks that everyday.
I'm guessing.. people in the art field??
Just because they seem to get stressed all the time and need lots of caffeine. Lol.

This one also illustrates the types of coffee drinks.
I think this list is more helpful and simpler to see
since the letters are bigger relatively and
you can see how much of what is put in each drink.

Instead of saying "1/3 of espresso, 1/3 of steamed milk, and 1/3 of milk foam,"
you can simply look at the photo of cappuccino and deduce the amount.

This one is somewhat funnier one.
Especially the indecisiano, lol. I wonder what taste that is.

And my favorite among those is!!
Indulgiano.
Hehe.... even seeing the picture, it makes me drool..... :3


And the quattro formaggi, lol.
I love cheese as much as I love coffee.
But that..? I don't want to try even if you give me 10 bucks.
YUCK..




I think this posting can be helpful for those who want to make their own coffee
at home but don't know the exact amount of each liquid
and so tired to look it up on the Internet.

Hope it's helpful for ya!

About Barista

Hey, coffee lovers.


I'm sure you must have heard the word, barista.
Today, I'm going to let you know more about baristas,
how to become a barista and what baristas do.




To begin with, the word Barista is Italian, meaning someone who works behind a counter, serving both hot drinks and cold drinks. And the cold drinks include not only coffee, but also alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.


Nevertheless, nowadays, we are more familiar with baristas, meaning coffee makers at cafe. :-)

A barista at work in a North American coffeehouse

1. How to become a barista

via http://www.baristahq.com/how-to-be-a-barista/

Actually. there is no straight-forward way to be a barista.
Generally, most people start with part-time jobs because you can learn many of the skills on the job.
If you already have a part-time job at a cafe, try visiting your workplace a little before your shift.
Then, watch other partners do their job, getting orders, making coffees, treating customers, and even washing the dishes!
That is a great way to get familiar with your job very fast.
Looking others work on their job, you will be able to learn which routes are best suited in what circumstances. That means, you can be more effective at your workplace without making mistakes. :)

via http://barista.kcc-coffee.org/2_rule/1_first.asp

In addition, there is an actual test for certificates.
Tests are given by Specialty Coffee Association and many countries have their own.

I've seen some recruits require this certificate when hiring employees at a cafe.
And I had a friend who wanted to become a barista, but failed his first test.
He said he knew what to do, but there wasn't enough time.


So, let's find out more about barista certificates!
And I will limit my explanation on Korean one.


There are two kinds of coffee certificates tests depending on their levels: 1 and 2.
Level 1 being more qualified, it is compulsory for you to take Level 2 before Level 1.

Also, there are a written test and a performance test.
You must take the written test first in order to take the performance test.

And REMEMBER.
You can only take the performance test within 2 years you passed the written test.


Level 2 test is relatively easy.
I have another friend who got the Level 2 certificate only after attending an academy for a month.
You can consider the level of difficulty as that of getting a driver's license. :)


The level of difficulty of written tests is about the same.
However, for Level 1 test, you  must put more efforts on the performance test.

While you are tested on your preparing posture, espresso, cappuccino, and service techniques on Level 2 test, there are much more steps to do in Level 1 test.


-First, during the preparing time, you need to pick among 2 different types of beans and 2 different types of grinders.

-Then, choose the proper degree of grinding depending on your chosen beans, check the flavors.

-You will have to make 4 cups of espresso with your chosen beans and give precise explanation on the flavors of your espresso in time.

-You have to make 4 cups of cappuccino with 2 different kinds of latte art.

*The preparation time is limited to 10 minutes.
*The performance time is limited to 10 minutes, too.

2. What baristas do

via http://www.snagajob.com/job-descriptions/barista/

Baristas are not just coffee makers standing behind the counter.
Most of the time, other than making coffee, they talk to customers, treat customers, and communicate with customers.

As a worker in the service industry, a barista has to be a people person.
They have to know how to handle complaints and wrong orders.
It is especially important if you are going to work at a cafe, (and that's where most baristas work!)
because many people get grumpy without caffeine, particularly in the early morning or busy lunch time.

Thus, it is very important for you to adapt to the fast paced environment, with appropriate recipes.

And when things go wrong, you will have to have the ability to calm your customers down and make them happy again.
There's no need to say you have to talk politely with a friendly attitude.


Furthermore, it is also baristas' job to make sure their customers return.
To make people come back, not only the taste of coffee, but also the service customers receive affect drastically.





So, we've looked at some information about baristas.
Although I've never dreamed of becoming a barista, this information helped me understand the difficulty baristas might have.

And I've decided not to become a grumpy customer.
Baristas alreay have enough works to do at a cafe.
I don't have to give more stress to them. Lol.

Roasting Coffee at Home..... (Should I Go For It?)

Think of the smell of your coffee

which you can smell as you enter a nearby coffee shop.

Good, huh?

I'm sure you have thought of roasting your own coffee at your home at least once if you are a coffee lover like me.

I sometimes think of the idea, but I have never given it a shot for real yet.

I guess I'm too lazy to do it.....

But, today, I decided to look more for DIY roasting and here we go!

via http://www.sweetmarias.com/instructions.php

I will start from stating the proper steps.

1. Choose a roaster

2. Choose green coffee

3. Process of roasting

1. Choose a roaster

When you choose a roaster, you must consider

          a) how much roasted coffee you need

          b) how much money you are willing to spend

Then, there are a few different DIY methods to roast.

          i) hot air popcorn popper

          ii) stovetop popcorn or a cookie sheet in the oven

For beginners, the first method is more suitable because the number two method may roast less evenly and require more techniques to get good roasted coffee.

However, if you insist on using the number 2 method or that's what you only have,

please check out http://www.sweetmarias.com/stovepopmethod.php

or http://www.sweetmarias.com/ovenmethod.php for your better results.

2. Choose green coffee

For the amount, 4 lb. Sampler is suggested, generally.

And here comes the fantastic part of home roasting! You can select different flavors depending on regions! Of course, for you to pick right coffee, you should look for the information about regions of coffee first. 

So, here! Click them and let's find out which beans from which regions are your favorites.

- http://www.sweetmarias.com/choosingcoffeeFAQ.php

- http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/06/coffee-flavor-profiles-major-growing-regions-guatemala-kenya-brazil-ethiopia.html

3. Process of roasting

There are many different roasting stages. And you will be able to get the right flavor you are looking for when you can control the process of roasting.

Here are some stages. :-)

-Yellowing: your green coffee will change its color to lighter yellowish and emit a grassy smell in the first few minutes of roasting.

-Steam: your beans will begin to steam as the water inside them disappear.

-1st crack: you will actually hear the sound of cracking soon after the steam turns fragrant. At this stage, sugars start to caramelize, captured water escapes, and beans crack.

-1st roasting stage: the cracking is a cue along with the sight and smell. It is called a City roast and from this on, you can finish up your roasting according to your taste.

-Caramelization: Oils migrate and the beans become larger as the roast gets darker. It is called a City+ roast as the roasting proceeds. You may want to stop your roasting at this point since that is recommended most. 

-2nd crack: this time, the sound of cracking will be more volatile than the 1st crack. It is called a Full City roast and also known as a Vienna roast. At this point, roasting may result in small pieces of beans... :s

-Darkening roast: at the end of the 2nd crack, it is now called a French roast. Sugars burn almost completely and the bean will break down more and more. You MUST stop at least at this stage because.....

-Charcoal water: you will only get to see a thin-bodied cup of charcoal water when you look for your beans.

via http://www.breworganic.com/coffee/howtoroast.htm

*****Tips for you to know when to stop the roast.

-Start with some roasted coffee that is roasted to the style you like if it's your first time for roasting yourself. 

-Use a candy or deep fry thermometer to measure the temperature of the beans while roasting. (You can skip this tip if you roast with a roasting machine.)

-When you smell a coffee smell from a grassy vegetable smell, your beans are about to be done. (This sense of smell will improve as you practice more.)

-Pay attention for the sound of cracking. It will come twice!!

-If you roast the same amount and with the same temperature, you can just simply duplicate the last efforts by timing the process. (It is much more useful if you are using an oven or a coffee roasting appliance.)

There are some good effects and bad effects of roasting at home.

For the good effects, it can bring good great smell to your home, it can be a fun activity for you to do by yourself, and it's cheaper than just buying roasted coffee (about 50-75%).

But, for the not good effects, roasting requires many times of practices for you to get desired results. Also, that means it is going to take up much time. And the smoke! What about the smoke the process of roasting creates? These are what you have to bear.

Well, writing up this post, I have been thinking and thinking.

I'd like to do the roasting process once, but I think that one time is enough for me.

So, participating in some events that allow participants to roast alone might be a lot better idea for me rather than buying all those materials and appliances and roasting at my own home.

Teehee-

How Coffee Can Be Healthy (Good Encouragement for Many Intense Coffee Lovers)

How many cups of coffee do you think is good enough per day?

In my case, I try to drink maximum 2 cups of coffee a day.

There are several reasons for me to keep that rule.

-First, I read some article, saying that more than 3 cups of coffee can make the bust size smaller.

Nope.. That is one of the worst things that can happened to me... :s

-Second, drinking many cups of coffee makes me dizzy.

Last year, there was time when I didn't want to drink water.

So I drank coffee instead. I even brought the coffee machine at home to my room and kept pouring cups and cups for a whole day in a row.

As a result, whenever I stood up from a chair, I had to feel the crazy dizzy feeling and almost collapsed. :s

-Third, too much caffeine contained in many cups of coffee can possibly hinder my sleep.

Since caffeine is known for its function to awake people, I thought this was plausible.

However,

I found some good articles to make wonderful excuses to drink more than 3 cups of coffee.

(If I don't have to worry about my bust size, of course)

via http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/540506/Drinking-Coffee-Fights-Alzheimer-s-Risk

Researchers found that drinking 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day could help to reduce the risk of suffering Alzheimer's disease, significantly.

-There is a compound called polyphenols. It is a powerful antioxidant usually found in fruits, especially in Mediterranean diet food. And this compound is known to have protective effects for osteoporosis, cancer, and heart disease. For example, polyphenols can reduce inflammation and decrease the deterioration of brain cells, especially the cells involved in memory.

Good News: Caffeine has the same positive effect like polyphenols!

-Caffeine helps to prevent the formation of the two hallmarks of Alzeimer's disease.

via http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2833461/How-four-cups-day-coffee-help-diabetes-bay-say-scientists.html

-Studies found that 4 cups of coffee a day can drive away diabetes by 25% when compared to having less than or 2 cups of coffee a day.

-Particularly, drinking decaffeinated filtered coffee at lunchtime is the best to lower the chances of getting diabetes.

-Drinking coffee does not increase the possibility of facing cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension or stroke.

There are several reasons why coffee is so good according to the studies.

First, coffee improves glucose and energy metabolism, and it burns more calories.

Second, coffee can affect insulin sensitivity in the body. In other words, the reason why coffee does not increase the risk of diseases mentioned above is that coffee consumption can be protected against insulin resistance in normal weight individuals.

Third, simply, coffee can be a calorie replacement. For instance, choosing coffee over other sugary drinks may lead to reduction in calorie consumption.

Of course, you cannot be certain of not getting Alzheimer's or diabetes only by drinking coffee.

Exercising regularly and eating a healthy balanced diet are the number one factors for living a healthy life.

But, yea, as a coffee lover, those two articles are real blessings for me.

They made me feel great about having coffee and made me love coffee more. hehe.

However, I think the problem lies on the choices of drinks I make recently.

I go to cafes more frequently than ever in my life in this fall.

And as I enter a cafe, I get this weird craze for sweet coffee rather than plain black coffee.

And I get one after one or two minutes of agonizing over menus.

Phew...

And the result...?

My cheeks are about to explode.

SOOOOOOO chubby. :s

But, I can't stop trying new things!!!

There are so many new menus, welcoming cold winter right now..!

:-( Plz don't come out more, future new menus. PLEASE.

Giveaway Prize for Life from Starbucks

If you can get free coffee for your life at Starbucks..?

via http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Starbucks-Announces-Giveaway-Prize-of-Coffee-for-Life-284522261.html

That would be amazingly awesome..!

Wouldn't it?

It is the most fantastic dream that all coffee lovers worldwide dream of.

Starbucks announced today that it set a prize with the value of $54,000 that can cover food and beverages.

And this amount of money can pay for a drink or a kind of food for the next 30 years or so.

There will be 14 ultimately lucky winners:

10 in the States, 3 in Canada, and 1 in the UK.

Hmmm............

WHY NOT KOREA....???????????????????????

WHY ONLY 3 NATIONS IN THIS WHOLE WORLD...???

:( dislike..................................

Another amazing feature is what the lucky winners will get.

The card!

Winner can engrave their names on it

and the card itself is worth $5,000 because it is made of 10 karats of hammered gold.

:O

The way to participate the competition is so easy too!

Just buy a food or beverage using a regular Starbucks Card or Starbucks mobile app.

Then, you can find some code in your receipt.

Go to starbucks.com/play. and enter the code.

You, then, become a part of this competition.

In addition, there are 482,000 instant awards

for those who do not get to have the ultimate prize,

but are somewhat luck to get some kind of something.

Now, I have never been so eager to go to the States in my life..

Why didn't Starbucks do this kind of wonderful event 4 years ago?

when I was still in Canada?

Well, should I thank Starbucks for not doing that?

because I would definitely have been a coffee addict if they made this event at that time...

NOOOOOOOO

I'm still jealous..

However!

There is an event going on in Korea at the present, as well.

It is a little similar to the event above.

Except that Korean one gives free coffee only for a year

and that Korean one offers only coffee, not food.

In order to jump into the competition, you need to drink 17 cups of coffee, first.

This event is a part of the 2015 planner event.

If you collect all the coupons to get the planner, you will be given a receipt with a code.

Then, you go to www.istarbucks.co.kr/2015planner and wait for the announcement!

Although there is no instant prize for people other than ultimate winners in Korea,

over 20,000 people took part in during the first 2 weeks.

Until January 7th, 2015, Starbucks Korea will announce 1 winner in 2 weeks for 10 weeks.

First three winners........

They will have the most lovely year in 2015......

Phew.. 

I only collected 6 coupons till today.

I'm not sure if I can receive the diary even..

I think I can get all the coupons till December.

But, I doubt they will have diaries left until then.

I should make an effort tho!!!!!!!!

yay!