Michael Allen Smith is the founder, publisher and programmer of INeedCoffee. Michael resides in Seattle, WA. Michael's personal blog is at CriticalMAS.com.
I respond to emails from readers. Sadly, my email filtering software has been flagging many emails from Hotmail as SPAM. If you didn't get a response to a message, resend. Make sure you have a unique subject line. I do not respond to emails from companies that appear sleazy.
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| Latte Art Etching Photo Gallery | Brewing Coffee | Etching |
| The following photographs of Latte Art Etching were done over the course of three visits to Dubsea Coffee in White Center, Washington, which is just south of Seattle. |
| The Quantified Coffee Drinker | Coffee and Health | Data |
| In the past few years a movement called The Quantified Self has emerged. With spreadsheets and gadgets it is now possible to track data about our lives and then adjust behavior. |
| Eva Solo Coffee Brewing Tutorial | Brewing Coffee | Eva Solo |
| When I tell people that my favorite coffee brewing method - other than espresso - is the Eva Solo, they usually don't know what I am talking about. The Eva Solo is also known as a Cafe Solo. What is the Eva Solo? |
| Stovetop Espresso Brewing Tutorial | Espresso | Stovetop Espresso |
| This is a quick tutorial on the stovetop espresso maker. It is also known as a Moka Pot and is sold under the name Bialetti. |
| Espresso as a Lottery Ticket | Espresso | Observations |
| My coffee drink of choice for the past five years has been the espresso. Straight shots. No milk and no sugar. In my opinion, espresso represents the best potential for coffee. |
| Coffee Gear That Won't Break the Bank | Brewing Coffee | Coffee Gear |
| Making great coffee at home is something that should be easy and inexpensive. With the right equipment it is. |
| Latte Art Gallery | Brewing Coffee | Latte Art |
| Here is a mini-collection of some latte art photos that I have taken in the past 3 years. |
| Portland Espresso Vacation | Coffee Travel | Portland, OR |
| Throughout my Portland espresso vacation, I would hear the term single origin over and over. Basically it means that coffee comes from a single geographic origin. This is a growing trend in coffee, especially in espresso. |
| Cleaning the I-Roast 2 Coffee Roaster | Roasting Coffee | I Roast |
| Before we go through the cleaning methods, let us break down the I-Roast 2 into its components. |
| Table Top Press Pot Review | Brewing Coffee | Review |
| Earlier this year, I posted an article titled Buying a French Press - Picking the Right One. I isolated the only three variables that I felt were necessary to make a purchase decision. |
| Starbucks Coffee College | Coffee Business | Starbucks |
| When I accepted the offer to attend Starbucks Coffee College, I decided I would not let my past Starbucks experiences cloud my judgment. It was time to listen and learn. I was going back to college. |
| Coffee is Loaded With Antioxidants | Coffee and Health | Antioxidants |
| I always knew coffee had some antioxidants, but was unaware than it had more than tea. Antioxidants protect the body from free radicals. |
| Responding to the Enemies of Coffee | Cafe Culture | Wisdom |
| I know several people that don't like coffee. I'm OK with that. But every so often I'll meet someone that after learning about my love for coffee wants to rant to me about how awful the beverage is and that they would never drink it. |
| Sleepy Starbucks and Caffeinated Sins in Phuket, Thailand | Coffee Travel | Phuket, Thailand |
| Just because I am on vacation doesn't mean that I don't still wake up early and seek out coffee. |
| Buying Your First Home Coffee Roaster | Roasting Coffee | Buying A Roaster |
| I started home roasting coffee in June 1998. Since then I've used a number of different roasters and methods. I'll be the first to confess that I haven't kept up on all the different machines available to home coffee roasters. |
| Extending the Life of Your Bodum Cordless Electric Kettle | Brewing Coffee | Bodum Kettle |
| Although there were various criticisms, the bulk of the complaints were related to the defective switch. I've owned one for years and I knew exactly what they were talking about. |
| Fearing Starbucks VIA Instant Coffee and My Solution | Brewing Coffee | Instant Coffee |
| I have always suspected it was possible to make a decent instant coffee. However, I feared Starbucks would fumble the project. |
| Coffee and Tea Tasting Notes For Beginners | Tea | Tasting Notes |
| How do you take notes describing flavors that are difficult at first to detect or that you don't even have the vocabulary to describe? |
| My Worst Cup of Coffee Was My First Cup of Coffee | Cafe Culture | Essay |
| I was 17 years old and I never tasted coffee. I had no interest in the beverage. What I was interested in was finding a way to pay for college, so I joined the Army National Guard. |
| Common Grounds Coffee in Siem Reap, Cambodia | Coffee Travel | Siem Reap, Cambodia |
| Outside of the Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea Leafs and McCafes, most of the places that served espresso during my month trip through Southeast Asia were little more than kiosks. Few stood as fancy. |
| Buying a French Press - Picking the Right One | Brewing Coffee | French Press |
| Every so often someone will ask me to help them pick a French Press. Of all the coffee equipment decisions to make, selecting a french press (aka press pot) is the easiest. |
| Red Espresso is Espresso Style Rooibos | Tea | Rooibos |
| Red Espresso is a finely ground version of pure rooibos, which makes it possible to pull espresso shots. As a fan of rooibos and an espresso fanatic, I was excited to try this product. |
| Ninety-Four Coffee - Bangkok, Thailand | Coffee Travel | Bangkok, Thailand |
| No matter where I travel in this world, I always seem to attract 1970s American pop music. Thailand was no different and 94 Coffee delivered. |
| The Coffee Song | Coffee People | Frank Sinatra |
| I thought I was a Frank Sinatra fan, but somehow this tune escaped me. Back in 1946, Frank Sinatra sang The Coffee Song. |
| The Longest Coffee Roast Ever? | Roasting Coffee | Stir Crazy |
| I've been home roasting since 1998 and I've never heard of anything close to a 60 minute roast. My experience tells me that if you can't get to 2nd crack by 20 minutes (at the very latest), the coffee will be flat and tasteless. |
| The Quick Economics of Home Roasting Coffee | Roasting Coffee | Economics |
| Let me go through the numbers and show you how much money you could save by home roasting your own coffee. |
| Meeting Up With The Green Coffee Buying Club | Roasting Coffee | Buying Club |
| Coffee cooperatives are groups that pool their money together to buy sizes of unroasted coffee that are usually only available to commercial roasters. |
| The 2 Best Cups of Coffee I've Ever Had | Coffee Business | Pricing |
| I don't believe there is always a direct correlation between price and quality. To illustrate this point, I'd like to describe the two best cups of coffee I've ever had. |
| Preventing the Flu By Gargling Tea | Coffee and Health | Flu |
| While I was reading up on the latest H1N1 virus information, I came across an interesting study that measured how tea could prevent influenza. |
| The Coffee Breakfast Cereal | Coffee Business | Cereal |
| Is there a coffee flavored breakfast cereal? Let me share with you what my research turned up. |
| Avoiding Plastic - 3 Stainless Steel Electric Kettle Options | Brewing Coffee | Electric Kettle |
| I think I might have been the last person to get this memo: Hot Water + Plastic = Bad. |
| The Hamilton Beach Cool Touch Tea Kettle Review | Brewing Coffee | Tea Kettle Review |
| I wanted an electric tea kettle that had no exposed plastic parts and ended up purchasing the Hamilton Beach 40898 Cool Touch Tea Kettle. Here is my review. |
| Kona Coffee Confusion | Coffee Business | Kona |
| I forgot the exact dollar amount, but I recall during college a friend telling me they got a full pound of Hawaiian Kona coffee at price that seemed too good to be true. |
| Picking Your Top 10 Coffee Accessories | Brewing Coffee | Top 10 |
| When it comes to coffee gear, what makes it into the Top 10 list? |
| Vancouver Espresso Vacation | Coffee Travel | Vancouver |
| Memorial Day Weekend was approaching so I decided it would be an ideal time to take off on a little vacation. Where should I go? Since it was almost summer, I decided a return visit to Vancouver, Canada would be perfect. |
| The Naturally Caffeine-Free Coffee Plant | Coffee Agriculture | Coffee Plant |
| A coffee plant that can produce coffee without caffeine is a major breakthrough. For all of us. |
| Avoid Hydroxycut, Drink Coffee Instead | Coffee and Health | Caffeine |
| Since ephedra was removed as ingredient in fat loss pills, I kind of thought this supplement would disappear. |
| Black Coffee and Espresso - Not Calorie Free | Coffee and Health | Calories |
| For years I've been under the impression that coffee and its younger brother espresso had no calories. Well no calories until you started mucking around with it by adding sugar, dairy and what not. |
| Anti-Starbucks Crusader To Run For New York City Mayor | Coffee People | Rev Billy |
| Bill Talen, who is better known as Reverend Billy, is now running to be the next Mayor of New York City. |
| Locating a Decent Coffee During Mardi Gras in New Orleans | Coffee Travel | New Orleans |
| This year I left the espresso comfort of Seattle and ventured to The Big Easy for my first trip to New Orleans. Bringing my Rancilio Silvia and a pound of espresso was not an option. |
| Everything You Wanted to Know About Coffee From Hawaii | Coffee Travel | Hawaii |
| An overview of The Hawaii Coffee Book - A gourmet's Guide from Kona to Kaua'i by Shawn Steiman. |
| Coffee Blending For the Home Roaster | Roasting Coffee | Blending |
| Blending can be broken down into two different camps: blending for espresso and blending for non-espresso (regular coffee). |
| Coffee Roundtable - Our Starbucks Idea | Coffee Business | Starbucks |
| I just saw a news story on how Starbucks is asking it's customers for ideas on how they can be a better company. Well good ideas are no fun if you can't share them with your friends. |
| Coffee Mugs of Coffee Fanatics Part 2 | Cafe Culture | Mugs |
| I really didn't expect to have a Part 2 so soon. Without further introduction, below are more Coffee Mugs of Coffee Fanatics. |
| Cold Weather Coffee Roasting | Roasting Coffee | Cold Weather |
| Roasting coffee can be done indoors or outdoors. With my current pad, roasting on the outdoor patio is the only option. My smoke detector is hyper sensitive and requires an acrobat to disable. As the months went by and the temperature dropped, my roast times were getting longer and longer. |
| No Coffee or Tea For At Least 2 Weeks | Coffee and Health | Teeth Whitening |
| I messed up. I messed up bad. A few weeks ago I got a direct mail advertisement for a dentist offering new patients a free Zoom teeth whitening with the purchase of a cleaning and X-rays. |
| Coffee Mugs of Coffee Fanatics | Cafe Culture | Mugs |
| A photo collection of the favorite coffee mugs of several INeedCoffee contributors. |
| Caffeine Consumption By Coffee Fanatics | Coffee and Health | Caffeine |
| Once people learn about the INeedCoffee web site, they always seem to come to the same conclusion. You must drink a lot of coffee! For the longest time I tried to defend myself by explaining that I prefer quality over quantity. |
| Troubleshooting French Press Coffee | Brewing Coffee | French Press |
| It's been years since I wrote the Press Pot Tutorial. Since then I've developed a checklist of steps to take to improve the taste of French Press coffee. |
| Coffee Cup 2.0 | Coffee Business | Coffee Cups |
| Every year coffee hobbyists are exposed to many new brewing or home roasting gadgets. Not only is innovation occuring at the gadget level, but it is also occurring with the disposable coffee cup. |
| Ristretto Rant | Espresso | Ristretto |
| My coffee drink of choice for the past few years has been the straight espresso shot. All my other coffee equipment has either been packed away or is gathering dust. For me it is all about espresso now. |
| Alternatives To Using a Keurig Coffee Maker | Brewing Coffee | Brewing Options |
| You really do not want a Keurig Coffee Maker. Is making coffee really that hard? I don't think so. If you are considering buying a Keurig Coffee Maker, please read this article. |
| Hosting a Coffee Party | Cafe Culture | Party |
| As much as a I love the coffee shops here in Seattle, sometimes I just want to meet up with friends and family at home. I still want the coffee though. |
| Tips for Quick and Easy Iced Coffee | Brewing Coffee | Drinks |
| Summertime is the perfect time for iced coffee. How do you make it at home? There are two schools of thought. One is to make a near double strength cup of hot coffee and then chill it with ice. Pretty easy, but not very quick. |
| Cold Brew Coffee with the Toddy Coffee Maker | Brewing Coffee | Cold Brew |
| About 10 years old when I knew far less about coffee than I do today, I attempted my first cold brew coffee. It was a disaster. The coffee was so vile and disgusting I threw it out after a single sip. |
| Coffee on the Road - Los Cabos, Mexico | Coffee Travel | Mexico |
| On the southern tip of Baja California is the region known as Los Cabos. This beautiful area which includes Cabo San Lucas and San Jose Del Cabo is just a short flight from Southern California. |
| Senseo Coffee Brewing Revisited | Brewing Coffee | Senseo |
| The article Senseo Coffee Brewing has caused quite a reaction and some confusion. This follow-up hopes to address some the common questions. |
| Roasting Coffee in a Popcorn Popper | Roasting Coffee | Popper |
| Roasting coffee in a popcorn popper is not an indoor endeavor. Without modifications, you would fill your home with smoke. The first step is to find a spot outside near an outlet. It will produce smoke, so keep it away from open windows. |
| Senseo Coffee Brewing | Brewing Coffee | Senseo |
| The two most important words when discussing coffee are quality and convenience. For the most part we want both, but often we must make choices. The Senseo Coffee Machine is all about convenience. |
| Coffee on the Road - Grand Circle | Coffee Travel | Grand Canyon |
| Although I was certain to be impressed by the handy work of Mother Nature, I was skeptical that mankind would impress me with excellent coffee in these remote areas. |
| Chemex Brewing | Brewing Coffee | Chemex |
| The Chemex brews coffee using the infusion method, which makes it most similar to drip coffee in terms of body and taste. It's unbleached filters are a little thicker than those used by auto-drip filters. |
| Coffee and Dieting | Coffee and Health | Dieting |
| The intended audience for this article is the average coffee drinker who happens to be overweight. This is not intended as medical advice. |
| Stovetop Roasting with the Whirley-Pop | Roasting Coffee | Popper |
| This article explores using a stovetop popcorn popper, which enables you to roast coffee right on your gas stove. It's not nearly as easy as roasting with an electrical popcorn popper, but the advantages of this method are that you have 100% control over the roasting profile. |
| Press Pot Tutorial | Brewing Coffee | Press Pot |
| Learn how to brew press pot coffee and discover how to correct the most common brewing mistakes. |
| Gourmet Coffee Roaster | Roasting Coffee | Hearthware |
| Like the Precision, the Gourmet is an indoor coffee roaster that can roast 1/2 cup of green coffee beans at a time. |
| INeedCoffee Concentration | Cafe Culture | Games |
| Play the classic concentration game using coffee images from INeedCoffee. |
| Popper Roasting Tips | Roasting Coffee | Popper |
| A few helpful tips for beginner home roasters using a popcorn popper for roasting. Another name for this article might be Roast Your Own 2. |
| Melitta Mishap | Roasting Coffee | Melitta |
| Home Roasting with the Melitta AromaRoast is a bit more difficult than other methods. In an effort to discover a perfect roasting environment, one of the basic lessons of roasting was forgotten. |
| Illy | Cafe Culture | Reviews |
| Illy is the March 2001 INeedCoffee Site of the Month award winner. |
| The Year 2000 Coffee News Review | Coffee History | News |
| A brief rundown of the top news stories of the year 2000 that relate to coffee. |
| Java Cabana | Cafe Culture | Reviews |
| Cuban espresso retailer Cafe Pilon has created Java Cabana. It is the October 2000 INeedCoffee Site Of the Month. |
| Designing a Web Site for a Coffee House | Coffee Business | Marketing |
| An important element to running a business is a web presence. This is especially true for the cafes. What elements go into creating a good web site for coffee houses? |
| Home Roasting Coffee with the Fresh Roast | Roasting Coffee | Fresh Roast |
| The Fresh Roast can roast 2-2.5 oz of green coffee beans per batch, which yields enough for about 10-12 cups of coffee. If you and your household consume a lot of coffee then a larger capacity roaster may be more appropriate. |
| The Home Roaster Color Chart | Roasting Coffee | Color Chart |
| A simple eight color roast chart for home coffee roasters to reference. Also can be used to articulate coffee color when roasting for others. |
| Home Roasting Coffee in an Oven | Roasting Coffee | Oven |
| There are many ways to roast coffee at home. One of the most basic and least expensive methods is the oven. Yes, you can easily roast your own coffee at home using an oven. |
| GreatCoffee.com | Cafe Culture | Reviews |
| GreatCoffee.com is the April 2000 Site of the Month. GreatCoffee.com is an on line coffee retailer with excellent product descriptions and an intuitive shopping cart. |
| The Quest for Good Coffee in the Office | Cafe Culture | Journeys |
| Remember your first day of school? It may have been quite the emotional event to be separated from your parents and surrounded by strangers for hours. This situation is very similar to the college student spoiled on quality coffee heading into his/her first office job. |
| CoffeeKid.com | Cafe Culture | Reviews |
| CoffeeKid.com is the March 2000 Site of the Month. This site includes tutorials, photos, and coffee equipment reviews. |
| A Coffee Eulogy | Cafe Culture | Humor |
| This is a story about finding the perfect coffee mug, owning that mug, and then watching it die. It is sort of like the timeless story of Romeo and Juliet. Only this time Juliet is a coffee mug.
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| BonJour Hand Milk Frother Review | Cafe Culture | Reviews |
| The original BonJour milk frother review was written in 2000. That product is no longer available. BonJour now offers a completely new approach to frothing milk. |
| Internet Outpost Cafe | Cafe Culture | Reviews |
| Site Of the Month Award for 2/2000 is the Internet Outpost Cafe. They are located on St. Pete Beach, Florida. |
| How to Stereotype Roasters | Coffee Business | Roasting |
| Learn how to effectively stereotype a coffee roaster without sampling their wares. |
| Home Roasting with the Hearthware Precision | Roasting Coffee | Hearthware Precision |
| A demonstration on how easy it is to home roast coffee with the Hearthware Precision Coffee Roaster. |
| Shopping For the Coffee Fan | Cafe Culture | Shopping |
| This article may be like preaching to the choir, since most of the visitors to this site know what they like about coffee.
But in the event you are looking to shop for a coffee fan, this is just the primer you need to read for the holiday season. |
| SweetMarias.com | Cafe Culture | Review |
| The first site of the month winner for INeedCoffee.com is Sweet Maria's. |
| Teach A Fish To Make Espresso | Cafe Culture | Humor |
| Why would Starbucks sell me a machine that would give me the power to make my own espresso drinks at home? |
| Home (Alone) Roasting | Roasting Coffee | Cold Weather |
| There is an obstacle to home roasting in the winter. Cold wind rushing into your popper cools the beans while they roast. The beans take forever to roast and the batch usually doesn't roast evenly. |
| My Cat Kato vs. The Kona Coffee Plant | Cafe Culture | Humor |
| The two warriors are my 6 month old kitten and my Hawaiian Kona plant. The plant is doing it's best to stay alive outside of Hawaiian soil and the kitten is doing her best to rip every leaf off. |
