hot beverages recipes & cocktail drinks recipes

Ah, espresso! It’s been called the nectar of the gods and the elixir of energy. Properly prepared, the perfect shot of espresso is an unparalleled sensory experience, encompassing four of the five senses – five, if you include the sound of this delicious drink as it is prepared and consumed. A perfectly turned out shot of espresso is an incredibly refreshing hot beverage and has been termed ‘the god shot’. There has been a great deal written about how to achieve a perfect shot/cup of espresso every time. Brewing the perfect cup of espresso consistently is a talent to which most baristas – both professional and at-home – aspire. What does it take to brew a perfect cup of espresso? Here are ten tips to help you make every shot of espresso a perfect shot. Continue Reading

What is Organic Coffee?

Today many agricultural products are grown using organic methods and coffee is no exception. Organic products have a very minimal effect on the environment because there is no use of insecticides, pesticides and fertilizers. All organic produces are certified to ensure that their products are grown in such a way. Expensive and very technical labs must conduct very thorough tests on the gourmet coffee to ensure the product is organic. The tests will be used to screen for various chemicals and additives. Continue Reading

True coffee lovers always drink their coffee black, yes? Wrong. Today, there are more flavors and blends of coffee than there in any wine selection, so let loose and start enjoying the 101 different ways to taste the marvelous gift of coffee.

The creativity of blends is nearly endless. One Indonesian blend combines Sumatran and the coffee beans of Papua New Guinea to create a tasty, full-bodied brew. What a surprise to those who never knew that Papua New Guineans even grew coffee. But, Sumatra can be mixed with more than just other Indonesian beans. Another great mixture is Sumatran with Colombian Patron to produce a delicious, dark roasted blend that combines to coffee perfection. Continue Reading

A sedentary lifestyle in the office can add unwanted pounds to your body. Here are a few simple steps that can help you to lose weight without having to give up your job:

1. Instead of emailing to your colleagues, it would be more beneficial if you walked those extra steps to his cubicle. Though the steps will be few but eventually they will definitely make a big difference. Moreover, a face-to-face rendezvous always helps to build a better rapport.

2. Avoid high calorie snacks and tea or coffee from the office vending machine. Instead stack your drawer with healthy and nutritious snacks like nuts, seeds, raisins and other dry fruits. Other choices include fresh fruits, raw veggies, sachets of herbal teas and ordinary coffee. Drinking strong coffee also helps, since caffeine increases your metabolism. However, it should be black coffee, minus the cream and sugar. Continue Reading

Tea, a three-letter word that pretty much everybody has consumed at least once in their lifetime.
It’s great to have in the morning, afternoon, or evening, and is a great companion when you’re feeling under the weather.
So, how are you preparing it? Is it loose leaf style, or are you simply dunking a bag and getting what you think tea really offers? If you thought you enjoyed the latter, then this article is for you. Continue Reading

About 2700 B.C. there was a emperor named Shen Nung in CHINA. He loved plants and flowers. He had the most complete and beautiful garden in the whole country.

Every afternoon, emperor Shen Nung would sit in his garden and enjoy his drink.
One day, while his water was boiling on the table, a wind was blowing through the garden. The leaves were flying everywhere.

However, there was one tiny green leaf flew right into the emperor’s boiling water. The leaves made the water turn green. Curious to what kind of taste it would give, Shen Nung took a sip. The sweetness and bitterness of the green drink refreshed him.So the discover of tea was marked in China about 3000 years ago. Continue Reading

by Vince Paxton
Coffee, both hot as well as cold, is perhaps one of the most universally consumed beverages. The number of variations you can make with the drink are truly amazing, especially as you move on to the various parts of the world, where each region adds its own exotic touch to give the drink a new taste altogether. In this section, we take a quick look at the different modes of preparation of this wonderful drink and the methods followed across different countries and cultures. Continue Reading

In the last few years, the demand for skin care products has increased tenfold. Studies have shown that there are few key anti aging ingredients known to have a positive impact on your skin.

Here are some of the ingredients that usually are present in most skin care products.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C helps to rebuild collagen in your skin, which leads to less wrinkly skin and a fuller, more contoured complexion. Clinical trials have shown that L-Absorbic acid, another useful form of Vitamin C, penetrates deep into the skin where the improvement begins. Secondly as Vitamin C quickly degrades once it is exposed to air and you should, in this case, find products that are in sealed bottles or containers. Vitamin C also improves blood flow and boosts collagen production within your body. Continue Reading

DENVER, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ — Freshies Food Corporation, a leading producer of all-natural, non-alcoholic drink mixes, will highlight the fresh flavors of the season as it introduces its newest product line: Freshies Martini Mixes. Four new flavors featuring only fresh ingredients and made without preservatives are now available nationwide. Cosmopolitan, Lemon Drop, Orange-Pomegranate, and Watermelon-Raspberry martini mixes now complement Freshies suite of all-natural products. Continue Reading

Healthy Dark Chocolate- Myth or Miracle?

Have we really overlooked an age-old health remedy and missed out on the benefits of pure dark chocolate? Most people laugh either with pleasure or disbelief when they first hear about healthy chocolate; however, most skeptics soon become converted when they are shown the research being compiled from sources across the world. Continue Reading