Starbucks; Tapping Into the Energy Fiend Markets

Hey readers, hop on over to EnergyFiend to read my newly completed review on Starbucks' newest drink. These drinks aren't even out yet so don't hesitate to get a sneak peek.

Starbucks has been hush-hush recently about their +Energy option you may or may not have already heard of. In fact myself being one of the key caffeine fiend targets being marketed to, I can’t say I wasn’t a little surprised they weren’t knocking at my door trying to get me to buy the add-ins. Well what do you know, this morning (6am) I open my door to find a set of Starbucks’ newest knight in shining armor, Starbucks DoubleShot Energy + Coffee.....

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Vital Knowledge About Your Favorite Brew

Facts about the good and bad of coffee are passed around nowadays like loose change but LiveScience had an interesting article about the top 10 facts you might not already know.

1. Caffeine Can Kill You
But you'd have to drink 80 to 100 cups in a hurry, health experts say. We advise not trying.

2. Coffee Can Be Good For You
A study shows that Americans get most of their antioxidants from their daily fix of java. One to two cups a day appear to be beneficial. Or, if you don't like coffee, try black tea, the second most consumed antioxidant source. Bananas, dry beans, and corn wrap up the top five.

3. Caffeine Might Boost Female Sex Drive
It worked on rats anyway. But researchers say in humans, coffee might enhance the sexual experience only among people who are not habitual users.

4. Caffeine Might Cut Pain
Moderate doses of caffeine — the equivalent of two cups of coffee— can cut post-gym muscle pain, a small study found. But the research was done on people who were not regular coffee drinkers.

5. Caffeine Can Indeed Keep You Up at Night
Health experts advise avoiding it for 6 hours before bedtime.

6. Decaf Coffee Has Caffeine!
If you drink five to 10 cups of decaffeinated coffee, you could get as much caffeine as from one or two cups of caffeinated coffee, a study found.

7. Decaffeination Uses Chemicals
Beans are steamed, so that dissolved caffeine rises to the surface, where it is washed off using an organic solvent called methylene chloride.

8. Caffeine Is Not The Bitter Culprit
Caffeine is not the main bitter compound in coffee. Rather, the pungent perpetrators are antioxidants.

9. Great Coffee Depends on Roasting and Brewing
When it comes to great flavor, coffee chemistry boils down to roasting and brewing. During roasting, oil locked inside the beans begins to emerge at around 400 degrees. The more oil, the stronger the flavor. Caffeine content goes up as the water spends more time in contact with the grounds, so regular coffee often has more of it than espresso or cappuccino. Darker roasts also yield more caffeine.

10. Coffee Was Discovered By Goats
A millennium ago on a mountainside in Africa, a herd of goats kept a shepherd up at night after feasting on red coffee berries. The shepherd took his animals' discovery to some monks, and very long prayer sessions ensued. It's a good story, anyway.

But the real question is, does goat milk from goats who eat coffee berries keep you up at night?

I guess there's only one way to find out!

{Continue Reading| LiveScience}

Starbucks +Energy: An insult to Energy Drinks?

Bear with me on the posts readers, graduation is coming up and posts are a bit slow in coming lately. The small amount of time I do have to blog has been going to EnergyFiend reviews so all you readers coming from EF glad you came! This post applies to readers of both.


In light of the high demand for energy drinks at the current time Starbucks is trying to capitalize on the caffeine addiction of millions by adding a new add-in to both their hot and cold drink lines. Just say +Energy starting Tuesday May 13th and Baristas will add a combination of Guarana, Ginseng, and B-Vitamins to your existing drink. The First thing I was thinking after hearing this was, they should just add this to their DoubleShots and maybe then I might be able to get some sort of kick from them again. Lo and Behold, read on.

Next month, the company will begin selling ready-to-drink Starbucks Doubleshot Energy + Coffee in its coffee shops, grocery and convenience stores and places where its bottled Frappuccino is sold. For customers' first experience with +Energy on Tuesday, Starbucks is promoting adding it to the Doubleshot on Ice drink, Baker said. The flavors complement each other, she said. "It's a well-thought out and complementary flavor," Baker said, when asked how the boost would taste mixed in with coffee. The boost costs 50 cents, excluding tax.

{Seattle PI| Continue Reading}
{Picture Source| FreakingNews}

Another Folly of the Human Palate

"Mmmm, looks like crap"

In the past I've mentioned the extremely prized (and outrageously priced) Kopi Luwak coffee made from processing the droppings of the Civet, a small wild cat found in Indonesia. Now, blenders are taking it a step further.

The special coffee, a blend of extremely rare Jamaican Blue Mountain and a coffee bean harvested from the dung of Indonesian civet cats, is being sold for $100 a cup in the UK. It has become one of the world's rarest and most expensive coffees.The civet is a cat which has the knack for identifying the most superior beans.

That cat probably doesn't even realize he's eating berries and crapping gold. Actually 100$ per cup isn't that far off from being worth it's weight in gold. Keep pooping Civets, we're drinking this up.

{China Daily| Continue Reading}

Pikes Place Production in Full Peak

The coffee world is in full buzz recently and Starbucks tends to be the main instigator. With the introduction of Pikes Place coffee (also known as the original Starbucks Seattle blend) and a new "Fresh Every 30 Minutes" policy, the flavors are stronger than ever and the aromas are starting to return.

"Pike Place is Starbucks' attempt to address complaints that its regular cup of joe is bitter, overroasted and "burnt." The aim is a cup that's more broadly friendly and less overwhelming. The result is nothing too risky or distinctive — no wine-y, Kenya-like acidity, none of the super-richness of my favorite Sumatra — just a blend that tasted like the American statistical coffee median."

The coffee is smoother but also carries a bold punch. If you're looking to try it I would suggest going with an iced version (as the ice acts almost like a sweetener without loosing flavor). In no way does this bring Starbucks up to the level that connousieurs would like, but at least it's a start for the everday coffee drinker.

{TIME| Continue Reading}

Coming back to you now from a coffee break...

I must say that that last few days have been hectic and busy but now that the dust has settled I've come out on top with something I'm very excited about. Readers, if you were wondering why I've been seemingly absent this past week it's because I've been working on getting a CafePress account up and running. Cup after cup of coffee kept me going and now, with great pleasure I present to you New Spring 2008 Cubicalism apparel!


I designed the image myself and it depicts a coffee bean in place of a human brain (I overlayed the bean so the veins of the brain still show through). Something on your mind readers? Pick up a shirt or sweatshirt and let everyone know whats coursing through your brainy veins at that very moment. I hope you all are as excited as I am, at least hit the jump and get a better view.

The shop resides at CafePress
but if you for some reason can't get to this link just remember;

www.cafepress.com/cubicalism