My favorite travel mug is this Zojiroshi model, it keeps the drinks hot for a long time compared to everything else (it replaced my Contigo). Here’s a link with a review at The Sweet Home.

I noticed that it’s cheaper on eBay.

I have to quote this section of the article as it covers how to clean these stainless steel mugs and what to use:

Care and maintenance

If you’re drinking anything besides water, gunk will build up over time. If you don’t like gunk, you’ll need to clean your mug from time to time and the best way to do that is with a bottle brush and some baking soda and vinegar. After a couple hours of research, we found that the best bottle cleaning set out there is the $13 OXO Good Grips Bottle Cleaning set. It comes with a large bottle brush, a skinny straw brush, and a looped detail cleaning brush, all kept together by a handy ring so you won’t lose any of the parts. The set is dishwasher safe, and after 96 separate reviews it doesn’t have a single one-star review on Amazon, so it’s a pretty good bet for anyone looking to get gunk out of their hard-to-clean items. We bought a couple sets to confirm their quality and they are as good as we thought they would be.

The competition offers similar products for a similar price point—the OXO set is $12.99—but there are downfalls. A $9.99 set from Contigo generally serves the same purpose, but some users think the bristles are too soft and that the entire set is difficult to store, especially since they are not held together by anything. There is another bottle brush kit for just over $14 from Camelback, but it doesn’t come with a detail brush and users generally feel the quality isn’t as high as the brushes from OXO.

Photo Credit: flickr.

هذه تشكيلة من الروابط عن القهوة التي أعجبتني:

• Table Service: 5 Great Coffee Table Books About Coffee ٥ كتب عن القهوة
• Grind it Out: 10 Best Coffee Grinders أفضل ١٠ طواحن للقهوة
• Frigid Brew: 5 Best Cold Brew Coffees أفضل ٥ قهوات مُعدة بشكل بارد
• I’ll Take Mine… How 16 Men of Note Take Their Coffee كيف يتناول بعض المشاهير قهوتهم
• 5 Best Automatic Coffee Machines أفضل ٥ أجهزة قهوة أوتوماتيكية
• THE MEDIUM-SIZED, 18-OUNCE ESPRO PRESS قهوة بريس جديدة
• Espress Yourself: How-to Buy an Espresso Machine دليل شراء جهاز إسبريسو
• Grace Under Pressure: A Photo Glossary of Espresso Drinks صور للإسبريسو

هذه تشكيلة من الروابط عن القهوة.

• Grounded Literature: 5 Great Books About Coffee ٥ كتب عن القهوة.

• High and Dry: 5 Best Instant Coffees أفضل ٥ أنواع من القهوة الجاهزة (عند عدم توفر القهوة الحقيقية).

• The Complete Guide to Brewing Coffee الدليل الكامل لإعداد القهوة.

Espresso, Intelligentsia

فيديو عن الإسبريسو.

Espresso, Intelligentsia from The D4D on Vimeo.

Don’t mind me, I’m just testing blogsy + sharing something I hope you find useful.

21 Ways To Use Old Coffee Grounds

by DIY Life Staff, Posted Dec 28th 2007 12:53PM

Photo: Flickr.com

Finding new uses for the old is a creative and fun way to live a little greener.

Have you ever wondered what other ways coffee grounds could be used after making that much needed morning pot of coffee. For all you java junkies, here are some tips for using coffee grounds.

Used coffee grounds get rid of cellulite. Here is the recipe we found at DIY Maven. “Mix 1/4 cup warm, used coffee grounds and one tablespoon of olive oil. While standing over an old towel or newspaper, apply the mixture to your problem areas. Next, wrap the areas with shrink wrap and leave on for several minutes. Unwind the wrap, brush loose grounds off your skin and then shower with warm water. For best results, it is recommended to repeat this procedure twice a week.”

Now, on to other tips for using old coffee grounds.

1. Soften and add shine to hair. When washing your hair, rub coffee grounds through wet hair and rinse. For brown hair, coffee grounds add highlights.
2. Use coffee grounds as an exfoliant for skin. Pat on skin, massage over skin, rinse.
3. Add coffee grounds to your skin mask beauty routine.
4. Make homemade tattoos (temporary) with henna and coffee grounds.
5. Fertilize plants. Old coffee grounds are nutrient-rich for plants that thrive in an acidic soil.
6. Add used coffee grounds to the pots of indoor plants.
7. Work used coffee grounds into your garden soil before seed planting. After your plants start to emerge, work in coffee grounds near the plants. Used coffee grounds are said to repel snails and slugs as well as adding nutrients to the soil.
8. Increase your carrot and radish harvest by mixing seeds with dry coffee grounds before planting the seeds.
9. Use coffee grounds to repel ants.
10. Keep cats from using your garden as a kitty box by spreading used coffee grounds and orange peels throughout flower beds.
11. Deodorize a freezer. Place a bowl with used coffee grounds in the freezer to remove unwanted odors. Add a few drops of vanilla to coffee grounds.
12. Rub coffee grounds on hands to get rid of smells from chopping or cutting up pungent foods.
13. Make a used coffee grounds sachet. Fill old nylons or cheescloth with dry used coffee grounds. Hang in closets to absorb odors.
14. When you need an abrasive cleaner, coffee grounds can be used. Be careful of any surfaces that might stain.
15. Remove furniture scratches with wet coffee grounds.
16. Got a fireplace? Sprinkle wet coffee grounds over the ashes to keep from becoming engulfed in the plume of dust ashes create when you need to remove them.
17. Dye fabric, paper or Easter eggs. Simply add used coffee grounds to warm water and let sit a bit to create a dye.
18. After you give your dog a bath, rub coffee grounds through the coat of your pet. Coffee grounds are said to repel fleas.
19. Keep bait worms alive by mixing coffee grounds into the soil before you add worms.
20. Grow mushrooms on old coffee grounds.

Tags: coffee, coffee grounds, green living

Yeah, like that will make me stop drinking coffee. It’s interesting how it mentions “instant coffee” though, instant coffee is not coffee! It’s crap! From slashdot:

“The Telegraph and other sources are pointing out a study on 200 students which has found that a high caffeine intake can cause visual and auditory hallucinations, and can make people think that others are ‘out to get them.’ The abstract (and full version if you have access) is available. ‘The volunteers were questioned about their caffeine intake from products including coffee, tea, energy drinks, chocolate bars and caffeine tablets.'”