Archive for January, 2010
Tully’s opened its first store in Kent, Washington, in 1992. The founder of Tully’s Coffee, Tom Tully O’Keefe, planned to rival the quickly expanding Starbucks coffee. Tully’s quickly developed into a strong regional specialty-coffee retailer. In 2006, Tully’s Coffee made its first net profit. But more recently, the president and CEO has described Tully’s focus as no longer on competing against the mega giant Starbucks, but on serving fine hand crafted coffee (and expanding into the Wholesale market).
It now operates nearly 100 stores in the Greater Puget Sound area of Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Southern Idaho, more recently Arizona, and licenses its brand for use in South Korea and Japan. It has also opened several stores in Stockholm. Tully’s sold the most profitable unit of the company-its Japan partnership-for $17.9 million in September, 2005. Also in 2004 Tully’s entered into an agreement with Northwest University (located in Kirkland, Washington) to open a coffee shop on campus which would be run by the student body. To this day it remains quite busy serving the 1100 to 1200 student and staff population at Northwest. It used to be that you had to travel to one of their storefronts to enjoy their premium brews, but now you can even by their beans and brew coffee in your own cappuccino maker.
Nothing beats having a cup of coffee every morning. Coffee can indeed perk you up and give you the necessary jolt to start the day. While coffee is available in instant and powdered form, which you can just add to hot water to, true connoisseurs know that grinding you own beans is the only way to get premium flavor.
When brewing your own coffee, there are literally hundreds of varieties to consider. It may seem overwhelming when you walk down the coffee aisle at your local supermarket, but just think of it as an opportunity to explore a range of distinct variations. Why not try a different kind every week and in your automatic espresso machine until you find one that suits your fancy?
Proven Methods to Increase Office Productivity
Every business owner is interested in increasing the productivity of their employees, and no matter how hard someone works, there’s almost always potential for improvement. First, it’s been proven that brighter lights increase productivity and focus. This doesn’t mean you should have blinding lights embedded in your ceiling, but definitely more light from natural and artificial sources is better. Another proven method to increase productivity is through improving the air flow. This means having living plants in the office that will improve oxidation, and also an office air purifier is a good idea. If you don’t, investing in a couple Saeco espresso machines and having an extensive selection of coffee and tea and a kitchenette will help to keep people awake and focused in the morning.
Combining these methods can improve productivity by a significant amount, but also make sure that your employees don’t mind the changes around the office before you make them.
Coffee is a widely-consumed stimulant beverage prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. In recent years, the number of coffee drinkers has exploded, thanks in large part to the emergence of coffeehouse chains like Tully’s and Starbucks. While many of us think that coffee has only garnered a devout following in recent years, its origins can be traced back centuries.
Coffee was first consumed in the 9th century, when it was discovered in the highlands of Ethiopia. From there, it spread to Egypt and Yemen, and by the 15th century had reached Armenia, Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa. From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe and the Americas. Today, gourmet coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide, with people brewing java in their own espresso machines
Here’s a great recipe for an oyster omelet; quite simple in terms of ingredients and directions but one hundred percent delicious! In addition to the ingredients, you will need an omelet pan with a lid.
Ingredients:
6 oysters
2-3 eggs (depending on how hungry you are)
1 tbsp lemon juice
Pinch of fresh cracked pepper from a Cilio pepper mill
Directions:
Shell the oysters, and drain the oyster and their juices into an omelet pan. Cook the oysters thoroughly in their own juices until they begin to curl. Drain the oysters, and chop them finely. Once chopped, season the oysters with the pepper and lemon juice. Next cook the omelet, and add the oysters just before folding it over; straightforward and quite delectable!
In general, my office is quite normal in the traditional sense of a business office. There are cubicles, phones ringing, lots of clicking of keys, and the occasional group of suits walking around or meeting in the conference room. But one unique feature of my office is the cubicle owned by my co-worker, who is right across from mine. Jane, who is my co-worker, must have about a hundred novelty coffee mugs, as well as an automatic espresso machine, in her cubicle. We always joke around in the break room that if one of us ever forget our thermos, we’ll just go over to her cubicle and get a cup of java while she’s not looking.
One day, another co-worker, Steve, went over to her office and borrowed one of her novelty coffee mugs when she wasn’t around. When she came back, she was in her cubicle for about 10 seconds, and she came storming out and yelled “Who took my elephant coffee mug?!” Steve came out of his cubicle and apologized and gave it back, she gave him a dirty look and then went back to work. Now I know I’d better just go without coffee if I forget my thermos!
Most people cannot start their day without that first mug of coffee. Coffee has evolved from being just a pleasant start of the day beverage to a multifaceted social drink. There are cafes everywhere. In addition, coffee can be taken in a variety of ways. Coffee also can be prepared with a lot of different techniques; espresso coffee is one such preparation.
One shot of Italian espresso coffee and you will be glad somebody thought of this. It is coffee in its most concentrated form. It contains approximately three times more caffeine per shot compared to regular coffee. Also, because of the concentrated flavors, espresso is often the base for other coffee-based drinks like latte, macchiato and cappuccinos. To ensure that you get the best tasting cup of espresso, clean your machine with an espresso decalcifier periodically.
Here’s a tantalizing recipe for homemade sausage! These delicious little links are great for breakfast or dinner, and are simple enough to make with a standard meat grinder. Because they’re made with lean meat, you can rest assured you’re having a healthy meal.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless, skinless turkey breast
1 lb. boneless pork loin
1 tbsp. browning and seasoning sauce
½ tsp. garlic
½ tsp. onion
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Place your turkey breast and pork loin in your meat grinder, and combine it with the seasonings. To make your links, you’ll want to use a sausage funnel with a ¾ inch tip to place the meat into the casings. While you hold the casing secure, use a spoon to push the meat mixture through. Cut off the ends of the casings, and leave about two inches at each end to twist or tie off. Bring about an inch of water to a boil in a skillet, then lower the heat and cover. Let the sausages cook for about 10-12 minutes. Uncover, and then increase the heat to high for a couple of minutes while the sausages brown. Add salt and fresh crack pepper from one of your pepper mills to taste.
In my family, we always have dessert and a cup of coffee after a nice meal. My personal favorite is this recipe for scrumptious pecan pie.
Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
½ cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 ¼ cup cream
1/3 cup cornstarch
¾ cup corn syrup
1/8 tsp. salt from a Cilio salt mill
3 Tsp. butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Mix the brown sugar, corn syrup, cornstarch, egg yolks, cream and salt in a heavy saucepan until they reach a smooth consistency. Heat the mixture to a boil, making sure to whisk well throughout.
2. Remove the mixture from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. You’ll need to cover the mixture’s surface with plastic wrap or wax paper to keep a film from building. Refrigerate for four hours, during which time you can prepare the pie crust. Add pecans to the top of your pie just before baking. Try anywhere between 1 and 2 cups of nuts, depending on preference.
I am one of those people who absolutely have to have their morning cup of coffee; without it I am absolutely useless. Due to the high volume of java that I consume, last year I purchased a premium coffee maker for myself, and it has undoubtedly saved me an exorbitant amount of time and money. The last few weeks, however, I found that the machine wasn’t brewing as quickly as it usually did and that there was an odd aftertaste to my brew.
After doing some research, I found that coffee machines can develop calcium deposits over time. Not only does the calcium affect the taste of the coffee, but it can also retard the brewing process. Luckily, there is a quick fix; I purchased a premium descaler product online and my machine was running like new in no time.