Making Coffee at Home

Nespresso or Keurig Individual Drink Machine

                                    

The Nespresso and Keurig machines serve the same function but are just different brands. With both, you insert a small cartridge, pictured in the photos above, into the designated spot in the machine, close it, fill the reservoir with water and then push a button and the machine makes you a perfect individual cup of coffee in a matter of just a minute or two. The machines come with varying abilities, so some may only make espressos but with others you can choose from an espresso, small or large cup of coffee depending on your needs in the moment. Additionally, there are countless varieties of cartridges you can buy ranging from normal everyday Green Mountain Coffee Roasters French Roast to special Dunkin' Donuts brand or caramel flavored cartridges. On the down side, the cartridges are relatively expensive and create excessive waste, but these machines are definitely a fun, luxurious and trendy thing to have.

Classic Drip Machine

These are probably the most common way to make coffee. Drip machines are found in many homes as well as restaurants and almost every diner in America. The general idea is to put coffee and water in the proper places and with the touch of a button, an entire pot of your every day coffee in brewed. This is definitely one of the most cost-effective methods, but also one of the less fancy methods.

French Press

I remember growing up my grandmother always had a french press. I always thought it was cheap and weird, but now, after learning more, I have my own as well. The picture above gives about the most detailed instructions you could need to use a french press. The important things about using one is the grind or the coffee and the length of the brewing. French presses work best with a coarsely ground coffee to get the fullest flavor and minimize grounds that make it into the actual coffee you drink. Mastering the art of french pressing is definitely a feat, but once you learn to do it correctly, some argue it produces the best and most pure cup of coffee. Since it's completely in your power when to sink the plunger, you can make it as strong or as weak as you want, just be careful not to make it too watery or over brew it, which has the potential to make it gritty and bitter!  

"Pour Over" Filters

              

These are probably the most simple method in existence. Just put the coffee in the cone shaped filter, and pour boiling water over it into a cup (or pitcher like on the left). This method is kind of like a mixture between a drip machine and a french press. Its like a drip machine in that it brews the coffee by letting boiling water slowly percolate through more finely ground beans, but like a french press in that it's completely manual. This method is perfect for when you're on the go and need a quick, single cup of coffee without the luxury of a Keurig or Nespresso machine. 

Vergennes Laundry

Vergennes Laundry 

Location: Main Street, Vergennes, VT 05491, USA

  

After much anticipation I finally made a day where I could go to Vergennes Laundry. The mecca of local coffee shops in Vermont. After following Vergennes Laundry on Instagram  I was obsessed with everything. The food, location, layout, vibe, patrons, employees, culture, and of course their coffee. 

A crowded Vergennes Laundry, at noon on Saturday

The Review: 

I couldn't find anything that could be improved in Vergennes Laundry. I loved it all. Maybe there could've been more seating inside, but we were there on a cold rainy day and there is seating outside when it is sunny. 

My favorite part of Vergennes Laundry was the physical environment in the shop. If felt so warm and cozy even though it was a minimalist/contemporary environment; which can come off as cold and empty in some cases, but Vergennes Laundry was the polar opposite. It had a welcoming appeal to it; that made you want to stay and enjoy the newspaper. 

Whenever I go to a coffee shop or cafe for the first time; I always have to checkout their facilities. I am happy to say that Vergennes Laundry has the nicest cafe restroom that I have ever been in. It was so clean. 

The pastries were delicious and ranged from sweet fruit tarts to savory cardamom buns. If you get the chance to go; try the caneles. 

The coffee was amazing. I have never had a cappuccino that both looks and tastes excellent. You'll find some great coffeegrams here. 

Production Center

Their Stock

Candied Fruit Squares

Sweet Buns

View of the Elk and counter

Our first course and my bag

Coffeegram

Butternut Squash Pie

Family style tables; we sat with cyclers

A couple overwhelmed by all the options

The most amazing citrus tart

Dough ready to be put in the oven

Info: http://vergenneslaundry.squarespace.com 

OPEN

Thursday-Sunday 7AM-3PM

CLOSED

June 7-24, reopen June 25

CONTACT

vergennes.laundry@gmail.com

Speeder and Earl's Coffee Roastery

Speeder & Earl's 412 Pine St, Burlington, VT 

Coffee Beans - This includes bean varieties from all over the world, blends of different types of beans and even flavored versions of many beans. As you can see, Speeder and Earl's has a very wide array of beans including many that are decaffeinated, organic, and fair trade.

• "Make It Fair" Fair Trade Organic Blend
• Bali Blue Moon Organic
• Black Forest Chocolate
• Black Forest Chocolate Decaf
• Butterscotch Toffee
• Butterscotch Toffee Decaf
• Columbian Supremo
• Costa Rican Decaf
• Costa Rican Terrazu
• Earl's Blend Decaf
• Espresso Blend
• Espresso Blend Decaf
• Ethiopian Harrar
• French Roast
• French Roast Decaf
• French Roast Decaf Fair Trade Organic
• French Roast Fair Trade Organic
• French Vanilla
• French Vanilla Decaf
• Guatemalan Antigua
• Hazelnut
• Hazelnut Decaf
• Indian Monsooned Malabar
• Italian Roast
• Java Estate
• Kenya AA
• Maple French Roast
• Maple French Roast Decaf
• Mexican Fair Trade Organic
• Middlebury Blend
• Mocca Java Blend 
• Nicaraguan Segovia Fair Trade Organic
• Peruvian Decaf Fair Trade Organic
• Peruvian Fair Trade Organic
• Pumpkin Spice
• Pumpkin Spice Decaf
• Speeder's Blend
• Stowe Sunrise Blend
• Sumatra Gayoland Fair Trade Organic
• Sumatra Mandheling
• Sumatra Mandheling Decaf
• Tanzanian Peaberry

Description & Review:

Speeder and Earl's is a coffee roaster company and shop founded in 1993 in Burlington. The larger location is found on Pine St in the south end, but there is also a second, much smaller shop on Church Street. This being said, the two locations are not very related aside from their brand name; they are almost entirely independent from one another.

You can get a pretty good idea of the Speeder's vibe by looking at their logo. There a lot of vibrant firetruck red and royal blue coating the walls and in both location as well as checkered black and white tiles on the floors. The Speeder's look gives it a hipster and kind of artsy feel. Its the perfect place to read a book or chat with friends or even the awesome baristas.

Speeder and Earl's is a great place to go if you need a great quality cup of coffee. On the other hand they don't really have food options, so make sure you eat before if you're looking for a meal. Speeders does sell biscottis and pastries from local bakeries like Mirabelles, so if you just need a like snack, you're good to go.

The Pros and Cons of Coffee

Why Drink that Magical Cup of Joe?

Coffee; the solution to any tiring day or that edge for concentration. The reason that you cannot sit still in a class or at work. Coffee is one of the wonders of the food world. Definitely one of the seven wonders in my book. But, the taste can take some getting used to; unless you like to eat and drink dirt right from the gecko. 

Coffee has some great pros and some debatable cons. 

Pros (Up for debate)

• Coffee is Caffeinated (It wakes you up and gives your brain that edge.)

• Coffee reduces the risk of Diabetes 

• Coffee Fights Free Radicals (Coffee is actually a plant and like all plant foods, the coffee bean contains more than 1,000 naturally occurring substances called phytochemicals, which may help prevent disease.)

• Coffee improves Memory and Cognition

• An inverse association between regular coffee (caffeine) consumption and the incidence of Parkinson’s disease was found–in other words, caffeine looks to be protective against Parkinson’s disease.

• Coffee prevented motor deficits, normalized brain function, and prevented brain degeneration.

• Coffee improves a sense of well-being, happiness, energy, alertness and sociability.

• Coffee improves aerobic endurance.

Cons (Up for debate)

• It's not that great for the environment. There's a lot of waste with creating coffee, packaging, and distributing coffee. It pretty wasteful. Just think about all those plastic Keurig cups and packaged bags of ground coffee. 

• The caffeine is coffee; and caffeine is addicting. This is good news and bad news. Caffeine has some great uses, but it in so much of what we eat. If it is addictive then it's hard to live without. You don't want to constantly be shelling out money for something that your body cannot bare to live without. 

• There are definitely more cons about coffee, but I like pros. So, you'll have to face the bias. 

How An Ethiopian Goatherd Accidentally Launched One of the World's Most Profitable Industries

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks worldwide. Everyone drinks coffee. It's delicious and has magical energizing effects, so what's not to love? Here in the US, at least, we just go buy our coffee at the grocery store, take it home, combine it by some technique with boiling water and bam, you have a piping hot cup of energizing, dirty water. Coffee drinkers worldwide seem to take the simplicity of it for granted. Today I have conducted some thorough research on the world wide web in hopes of informing you of the history of this weird drink that so many people love so dearly.

It all started in Ethiopia with Kaldi, a goatherd. He discovered that after his goats ate the berries from a tree--presumably the coffee tree-- they couldn't sleep all night. He reported these findings back to the village and soon thereafter, they made a drink from the berries that kept them alert and awake for hours on end. From Ethiopia, coffee traveled east to the Arabian Peninsula.

By the 15th century, Arabians were the first to both cultivate and trade  coffee. It started in Yemen, but spread to Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey by the 16th century. This is also where the original coffee shops of the world got there start. Then called qahveh khaneh, these ancient coffee shops were very similar to today's coffee shops; they were the place to be for drinking coffee, socializing, listening to musics and other performers, playing games like chess, and also keeping updated of daily news. Soon, news of this "wine of Araby" traveled far from Arabia and into Europe.

Coffee soon became widely popular across Europe, but only after its reputation as the "bitter invention of Satan" was cleared by Pope Clement VIII. After this issue was taken care of, coffee houses became very popular in major European cities like they were in the Arab world. People easily forgot about the whole satanic reputation it first had.

By the mid-1600's, coffee was exported to New York and the rest of the new World from there. Tea remained the favored drink of the New World until the Boston Tea Party, when the preference switched to coffee.

Some time later, demand for coffee kept growing, so by the late 18th century, plantations emerged on the islands of Java, Sumatra and Celebes. It was also spread to the island of Martinique by the French, and from Martinique across Central and South America.

Coffee has a very long history, which was slow at first. However, in under 100 years it spread into a global industry, becoming a major economy and one of the most profitable industries by the end of the 18th century. Today, it remains widely popular. Almost everyone drinks this magical, dirty water from this strange bean that an Ethiopian goatherd accidentally stumbled upon so long ago. 

Scout & Co.

Scout & Co. 237 North Ave, Burlington, VT 05401

• Waffles – Comes with Vermont Maple syrup and house cultured butter. Add fresh jam (plum, rhubarb, or raspberry) and/or creme fraiche.

• Wafflegatos – Waffle, scoop of smoked maple and sea salt ice cream (or whichever flavor you wish) on top, and a double shot of espresso to top it off.

• Muesli – Seeds, Flowers, and dried blueberries. Available hot or cold.

• House Yogurt – We currently have three different yogurts: Nordic, Bulgarian, and American. Try them ll! Add maple, jam, or muesli.

• Chia Seed Porridge – Buttermilk, Hibiscus Maple, Blueberries, Pumpkin Seeds

• Fingerling Potatoes - Oysters mayo, pickled mustard seed, pine oil, sumac

• Hay Smoked Beets – Yogurt, fermented grapes, yarrow, sunflower seeds

• Kale Salad – Marcona almonds, anchovies, nori, lemon-whey vinaigrette

Quick Description:

Scout & Co. is an espresso bar and ice cream company located in the Burlington VT area. It is dedicated to scouting out quality coffee roasters, preparing the best cup, and delivering that cup right to you. They offer their own hard ice creams that are made right at the cafe. Discover some new flavors. Their menus are always evolving so check back often to see what’s new!

The second location is found in Winooski, Vermont off of the round about. 

Here are some of the tasty treats that they sell at the second location:

It's all so delicious! 

Our Review:

Scout & Co. is definitely a place of business. Scout itself if doing a great due to it's catering and interesting menu. Scout is also a place of business. There are certain hours where you may be standing because all the chairs are assisting people is business or casual meetings. Scout's its busiest on afternoons; any afternoon! The only hours that I have found Scout to be calm are Monday mornings at 8:30. Scout is doing great in the bottom floor of the new apartment complex on North Avenue. 

The shop physically resembles a white walled gallery with wood tables, stools, chairs, and bars. Scout has local artist's work on the blank walls and the giant windows. It's a hipster-minimalist's daydream. The natural light and the view of the cars passing by create the opportunity for you to take a break and enjoy your coffee, or you pastry. It is a simple, not overworked, scenery. 

If you are looking for a cupstagram; Scout is the place for you. The baristas at Scout create beautiful cups of art that always make you feel like someone special. I always sit there, staring into my cup, wondering if I have the strength to ruin this edible piece of art.