Homemade Arab, Greek and Turkish Coffee

Traditional Arab, Greek and Turkish style coffee does not differ from any other type of coffee in the sense that a different coffee bean is used. Instead, the difference between traditional coffee and coffee brewed today is the mode of preparation in which it is made. Traditional coffee is prepared with all of the ingredients, coffee grounds and sugar, boiled together over an open flame and served hot in a small demitasse cup. Traditional Arab, Greek and Turkish style coffee has been found to be high in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties making it a drink that can increase longevity.

To begin to brew a homemade pot of traditional Arab, Greek, or Turkish coffee be sure to have all of the necessary tools and ingredients needed. These include; coffee grounds, sugar, cold water, demitasse cups, and a briki. A briki (also known as a cezve) is a small pot usually made from copper that has a long handle and is used to boil the ingredients together over an open flame. Briki’s usually come available in 2, 4, and 6 cup sizes if needed to make more than one cup of traditional coffee.

1. Beginning with the briki, add the desired amount of water for the desired amount of cups of coffee that will be served.

2. Mix coffee grounds and sugar into the briki and stir with the cold water.

3. Set the briki over an open flame and bring to a boil so that the foam rises to the top. The foam is especially important when serving Arab, Greek and Turkish style coffee as it is in rich in taste and is an indicator to when the coffee is finished.

4. Evenly distribute the foam between all of the demitasse cups than pour in the rest of the coffee. Be sure to pour the coffee slowly making sure to not disturb the foam.

5. Once the coffee is served a glass of cold water can be served alongside the coffee in case it is too hot. Cookies and biscuits as well can be served also.

Although traditional Arab, Greek, and Turkish coffee is rich in taste not many individuals enjoy their coffee sweet. If this is the case than unsweetened coffee can be served simply by not adding any sugar to the briki. Medium-sweet coffee can be served simply by adding one teaspoon of sugar for every two teaspoons of coffee. If extra sweet coffee is desired than add three teaspoons of sugar for every two teaspoons of coffee.

Traditional coffee is very easy to make and can be made in as fast as 6 minutes if serving for up to four people. However, unlike coffee brewed in the United States traditional Arab, Greek, and Turkish style coffee is not finished to the last drop. Instead, sediments from the coffee grounds gather at the bottom of the demitasse cup and can taste fairly bitter if consumed. Traditional coffee is usually sipped diligently while it is still hot and the remnants discarded once finished.

SOURCE: Natural News

Keurig Pod Coffee Makers RECALL

Keurig recalls coffee makers because getting burned is no way to wake up in the morning

Do you own a Keurig pod coffee maker? You might want to stop using it long enough to determine whether it's part of a massive recall of 6.6 million Keurig Mini Plus Brewing Systems. The manufacturer has received about 200 reports of hot liquid escaping from the brewer, including 90 reports of burn-related injuries. Click here for a list of all the recalled units. 

The coffee makers were sold at Kmart, Kohl’s, Target, Walmart, and other retailers nationwide, and online at keurig.com, greenmountaincoffee.com and keurig.ca from December 2009 through December 2014 for about $100. [CPSC.gov]

SOURCE: shopsmart.org

Stop wasting your money & jeopardizing your Health with chemical adulterated energy drinks. It’s COFFEE baby, straight away!

DRINK	Fluid ounces	Caffeine (mg)	mg/floz
5150 Juice	32	16,000	500
5 Hour Energy	2	138	69
Red Bull	8.4	80	9.5
Coffee	12	108	9.1
Matcha Tea	8	70	8.8
Green Tea	8	25	3.1
White Tea	8	15	1.9

Is the plastic used in Keurig K-Cups safe?

More comments on wonderful K-cup coffee from our friends at the CoffeeDetective.

Jan 13, 2015

keurig coffee - anxiety, heart rate, jitters 

by: Anonymous 

I love my cups of coffee every day, into the afternoon. The other day my gf returned from guatemala and brought back some coffee from a Plantation she toured. So i got out the old brewer, which had some been replaced for months by a keurig.

Since drinking the guatemalan coffee, i noticed i had no jitters or anxiety which I've been feeling daily when drinking...kcup coffee. For three days now i have had coffee from local shops (not Starbucks) and I've had the more coffee than what i would drink out of the keurig and experienced no anxiety, increased heart rate or any jittery feelings. Those symptoms have to have been coming from the kcup coffee. No more! I also have noticed a build up of white material in the water reservoir and only strictly put purified or bottled water in the machine. Not worth the chaos it has caused in my body.

SOURCE: coffeedetective.com

Why coffee shop blogging just got riskier

With wireless internet, comfy seats and plenty of caffeine, coffee shops can seem like perfect places to work on some fresh content for your company blog.

But an afternoon of productive and satisfying blogging could be much riskier than you thought.

Most people will be aware of the threat of hackers exploiting the lax security of free wireless networks to get at your private information. But your laptop could still be “leaking” data even if it’s offline.

Researchers in the US discovered that side channel signals emitted by laptop computers, tablets and smartphones could be picked by various surveillance devices and used to capture passwords and other sensitive data.

In some cases, hackers would need to use sophisticated equipment such as a spectrum analyser, but in others these signals can be detected by a simple AM / FM radio.

“People are focused on security for the internet and on the wireless communication side, but we are concerned with what can be learned from your computer without it intentionally sending anything,” Alenka Zajic, an associate professor at Georgia Tech who worked on the research project, explained. “Even if you have the internet connection disabled, you are still emanating information that somebody could use to attack your computer or smartphone.”

Professor Zajic and his team noted a number of potential risks, including fake battery chargers that are in fact monitoring power fluctuations from your computer.

The aim of the study, which was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, was to identify security loopholes so that they can be closed before hackers start to exploit them.

“We are measuring computers and smartphones to identify the parts of the devices that leak the most,” Professor Zajic said. “That information can guide efforts to redesign them, and on an architectural level, perhaps change the instructions in the software to change the device behaviour.”

The researchers did not find evidence from within the hacker community that these techniques are currently being used, but ironically their work provides some useful ideas for anyone keen to change that. It’s certainly enough to have you eyeing your fellow customers with suspicion the next time you need a proper flat white to inspire your writing.

SOURCE: Castleford

Herbs to fight against colds, flus and chronic disease development

Many herbal compounds act to reduce inflammation and enhance our body's immune system. Two of the most well-researched anti-inflammatory, immune-strengthening herbs are turmeric and green tea. These are great components to add to your daily regimen to strengthen your immune system and protect against colds, flus and the development of chronic disease.

Some foundational principles to keep the immune system strong include avoiding sugar and environmental toxins and reducing stress. Additionally, getting regular exercise and having good sleeping habits is extremely important as well. Finally, incorporating immune-boosting herbs such as turmeric and green tea will provide the extra push that the body needs to overcome major weather changes and other stressors.

Turmeric:

The orange Asian herb turmeric has been traditionally used for centuries by Ayurveda and Chinese medicine. Curcumin is the most powerful active anti-inflammatory compound within turmeric. Curcumin has been shown to be a powerful suppressor of chronic inflammatory mediated disease processes.(1)

Many Asian cultures use turmeric in nearly every meal. They rave of its anti-aging and medicinal benefits. Western medicine has just begun to research it its components at a very deep level to better understand turmeric's remarkable health properties. Over 500 studies have appeared in the mainstream literature demonstrating curcumin's cancer-protective effects.(2)

Turmeric is a powerful healing tool. The curcuminoid compounds boost levels of the bodies most potent antioxidants including glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase. These molecules are critical for the body to limit oxidative-stress-related damage to the vital organ systems.

Curcumin regulates tumor suppressor pathways and triggers mitochondria-mediated death in the cancer tissue. Curcumin is anti-angiogenic, which means that it shuts down the ability of cancer cells to develop the extra blood supply that these cells use to fuel on. This effect makes cancer cells more vulnerable to pharmacological treatments such as chemotherapy and other cancer control drugs.

For optimal curcumin absorption, it is necessary to combine the turmeric with good fats such as coconut oil or milk or olive oil. You will also want to add a dash of black pepper for the piperine molecule that enhances curcumin uptake.

For individuals with chronic inflammatory diseases such as cancer, it is recommended to supplement with high-dose curcumin. Find one that is made with piperine in an enteric coating that protects the nutrient from stomach acid for optimal absorption.

Green tea:

Green tea is a common Asian drink that has picked up popularity throughout North America. As a trendy drink, many are searching out green tea as a healthy alternative to coffee and other warm drinks. Research has shown that green tea is rich in polyphenol antioxidants that have extraordinary health benefits.

A November 2005 issue of Antiviral Research demonstrated how EGCG inhibits the flu virus from replicating in a cell culture.(3) Scientists found that it blocks the hemagglutinin enzyme in the virus, which inhibits its ability to infect other cells. It also suppresses viral RNA synthesis by altering key properties of the viral cell membrane.(4)

ECGC has been shown to suppress pathogenic viruses such as Epstein-Barr, herpes simplex, HIV-1 and the influenza virus. Green tea contains high levels of L-theanine which has been shown to activate human gamma-delta T lymphocytes to proliferate and make interferon gamma (If-G). If-G is a potent antimicrobial cytokine that is the first line of defense in the blood stream against infection.(5)

Green tea also contains small amounts of alkylamines which are also present in pathogenic organisms. When we drink green tea, the alkylamines present act as relatively weak antigens that don't fully activate the immune system but get it in a ready state. This primes the immune system against bacterial and viral invaders.(6)

SOURCE: Natural News