Coffee

Coffee

Whether you're making a latte at home because you want to save money, get creative, or just can't be bothered to leave the house, there's no denying that having the right ingredients makes all the difference. Coffee has a wide aroma spectrum, so, like alcoholic beverages, it's key to ensure that any flavors the coffee is served with are complementary. When I was a barista at Starbucks, most of the onboarding process involved learning about this concept.

XBREW Lab debuted its countertop nitro beverage machine, EverNitro, at CES this week, offering nitro coffee enthusiasts a more accessible way to enjoy the drink-without the waste and expense of traditional cartridge-based machines. If you're unfamiliar with nitro coffee, it's cold brew coffee infused with nitrogen gas. This process creates tiny bubbles, resulting in a silky-smooth, naturally sweeter taste-similar to drinking a Guinness. Many people also note that nitro coffee has less bitterness.

From Midwest-based franchises to beloved West Coast establishments, there are a handful of regional coffee chains that seem to be racing to open shops in as many areas as possible. Whether these franchises have been open for five years or 30 years, expansion has been top of mind for each one. Even if you aren't someone who frequents chain establishments of any sort, you'll likely find something to love about these brands, from their attention to customer experience to their high-quality beverages.

For a lot of consumers, this is true. The shelves of your local market are stocked with bags of different types of coffee roasts, and any café you frequent likely has a long list of different types of coffee drinks that you can order, but for the most part the actual species of coffee that you buy is not part of the equation.

For me, cafes have long represented more than just necessary fuel to start the day. They are a place to relax, create, and connect, whether that be to yourself, the local environment, or friends. As a food scientist and professional baker who's worked as a barista, good coffee and pastries are also undoubtedly important - don't get me wrong. The best cafes not only invite you in; they invite you to stay.

First the influencers and manosphere loons added protein to ice cream, and I did not care because I rarely eat ice cream. Then they added it to popcorn, and I did not care because I rarely eat popcorn. Now they're adding it to coffee creamer, and I am forced to care because I am hopelessly addicted to coffee, caffeine, and anything even remotely gimmicky in this space.

Starbucks is everywhere, and whether you're a frequent customer or not, it can be well worth joining the chain's rewards program. Starbucks Rewards members can not only order ahead and pick up free birthday treats, but they can also earn Delta miles and rack up points in the form of stars. These stars can be redeemed against extra shots, drink upgrades, food, and even merch when you get to the lucrative 400 mark.

Whether you're enjoying breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up, choosing between a soothing cup of tea or a strong mug of coffee can be a serious dilemma. You could try mixing the two, but they'd probably clash with each other ... right? On the contrary, cultures around the globe have enjoyed delectable coffee-tea hybrid drinks for decades, and trendy new spins on the concept could make you fall in love at first sip.

When java lovers think of "brewing," chances are that hot water comes to mind. But, instant coffee (like cold brew) totally dissolves in cold water, also. In fact, cold water is the key ingredient for making a knockout cup of instant brew - and one of the 11 common mistakes folks make with instant coffee is not making a cold water paste first. It's a quick step that helps eliminate instant coffee's most infamous drawback: a chalky mouthfeel.

Instead of treating great coffee as a weekend luxury, this little brewer integrates it into your everyday life. Plug it in beside your laptop, fill it with water and fresh grounds, and a few minutes later you have a dense, aromatic moka style coffee that feels closer to a ritual than a chore. This is also in part thanks to its avant-garde Alessi-esque Italian-design form factor. On the hardware front, you've got basic electronics

The maple miso latte ($5.50) blends a seasonal New England favorite with a bit of umami for a sip that's perfect for people who never want their dessert too sweet. Fuel up in the morning with the jam-packed Trapeze breakfast burrito ($13), a flour tortilla stuffed with scrambled eggs, cheddar, pork sausage, onion, shredded potato, and Cholula hot sauce. There's also a vegan version available.

Portable coffee gear is usually a compromise. Compact brewers come with plungers, filters, cups, and lids that rattle around in a bag, and making a decent cup on the go often means unpacking a small chemistry set. After brewing, you clean it all in a cramped sink or a trailside stream. MokaMax is a response to that friction, aiming to keep the ritual but lose the clutter by collapsing everything into a single cylinder.

James Hoff3mann, the author of The World Atlas of Cof3fee and the cre3ator of a cof3fee-cen3tric YouTube chan3nel, can tell you many things about coffee-from how to roast cof3fee, to t he tools and tech3niques need3ed to make espres3so, to the ulti3mate French Press tech3nique. Then he can also get into more tan3gen3tial3ly relat3ed ques3tions, like why cof3fee makes you drop the prover3bial deuce. Above, Mr. Hoff3mann takes you on a short sci3en3tif3ic jour3ney through the human body, explor3ing the effects of cof3fee on diges3tion, gut bac3te3ria, and our ner3vous sys3tem.

Prior to owning a real coffee grinder, my morning cup of joe was more a routine, a habit, less a ritual. I love making my own coffee, but on the days when I would wake up to see my Cafe Du Monde jar of grounds completely empty, I'd sigh and go to the cafe across the street to pay $4 for a drip coffee.

Oat milk is one of the best plant-based milk options for coffee, with an especially creamy consistency that felt silky and luxurious as we sipped it without coffee first. The warming spices and subtle sweetness of the gingerbread hit our taste buds immediately and were robust enough to stand up to the strong taste of our cup of joe. Where other creamers were lost when stirred into coffee, Planet Oat held its ground, providing baking spice undertones.

The average share of private label spend rose from 19% in Q1 to 22% in Q3 this year, with store brand coffee purchases ranking #1 at club stores. Starbucks took the top spot at grocery and mass stores, such as Walmart and Target, and ranked #2 at club and dollar stores, showing that consumers still prefer their name-brand coffee when they can afford to splurge.

It's simple, reliable, and yields a flavorful cup of coffee, so I've never felt the need to replace it. Until now. Recently, I was introduced to Pure Over's new glass French press, and its superior performance and sleek appearance impressed me so much that I've decided to finally say bye-bye to my Bodum-or at least give the vintage "heirloom" to my niece for her new apartment.

La Colombe Coffee emerged in 1994 in Philadelphia and has since taken the coffee world by storm. What was once a lone cafe has blossomed into a brand that is easily recognizable, cementing its reputation for serving up quality coffee that emphasizes sustainability and ethical business. In addition to draft lattes, La Colombe's collection of single-origin coffee beans has hit market shelves. Naturally, we sent a team member to try them all.

It's a gorgeous, 63-degree fall Sunday morning, and Groovy Goose is slammed. Every table inside and out of the shoebox-sized coffee shop is filled, the line is five-deep and the slim corridor that runs along the coffee bar's counter has a dozen more people hugging the wall, patiently waiting for their coffees to be ready. "Matcha latte for Brett?" the barista asks. "Brett" appears and grabs his cup.

The Coca-Cola and coffee mixture was sold in a variety of flavors, offering options for those searching for a tasty afternoon boost. Dark blend, vanilla, caramel, and Coke Zero options delivered almost 70mg of caffeine per 12-ounce can, doubling the amount found in a typical can of Coke. The coffee flavor was described as a sneaky element in the drink, as each sip led with the familiar taste of bubbly Coke until coffee entered the chat as a kind of grand finale.

We all know and love the power of the best coffee makers on the market: They're efficient and practical for making excellent brews at home. And while we love a coffee maker that does its job, as design editors, we care about the counter appeal of these appliances (that is, how aesthetically pleasing it is in the kitchen) just as much as we care about cup capacity and self-timers.

Our taste tester sampled an array of store-bought holiday coffee creamers and flavors, spanning from beloved peppermint mocha to frosted sugar cookie. While some of these creamers boasted excellent, bold, and seasonally appropriate, one coffee creamer flavor in particular sank to the bottom of our taster's list: The Nutpods Gingerbread Latte creamer. This non-dairy offering - made from coconut milk and almond milk - is the coffee creamer equivalent of coal in your stocking.

In 1983, Howard Schultz was an employee of Starbucks, a small chain of coffee stores that mainly sold beans (and no drinks), when he was sent to Milan for a trade show. As Schultz observed Italians visiting their local cafés, he loved what he saw, describing it as a " sense of community, a real sense of connection between the barista and the customer."

If I could start over, said Ko Jang-su, I would do anything but open a cafe. Mr. Ko's cafe is one of the busiest coffee shops in his densely populated neighborhood of Seoul. Still, on weekday mornings it sits empty. It is not hard to understand why: Mr. Ko has more than 50 competitors nearby, and in South Korea, that is hardly unusual.

Working remotely can be a blessing and a curse. Sure, it's nice to work from your bed, in sweats, with no one to judge your snacking habits. But do it for too long and you might get cabin fever. Working in public spaces can be a great way to get out of the house, meet new people and get to know your city. And yes, we mean beyond the closest Starbucks to where you live.