Downtown mob gets into the $20 bottomless cups

By Malaika Fraley, STAFF WRITER

SAN MATEO -- They were shamelessly flirting in a copy shop, gulping down Merlot inside a neighborhood cleaners and shaking their stuff outside a Scandinavian furniture store.
Music, laughter and gallons of wine poured throughout downtown San Mateo on Friday night at the Eighth Annual Wine Walk.

Just one hour into the festivities the Downtown San Mateo Association had sold nearly

2,000 of the souvenir glasses that, for a $20 fee, earned drinkers wine and appetizers at businesses on and around B Street and Second through Fifth avenues.

People from throughout the Peninsula came by foot, Caltrain and mini-van to attend the event, which gives business owners the opportunity to draw in faces that might normally pass by. The money raised goes to the Downtown San Mateo Association, a coalition of businesses owners working to promote and improve downtown activity.

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Coffee buyers at Tim Hortons helped raise millions for kids

By going to Tim Hortons on June 11 and buying a cup of coffee, Tim Horton's customers raised $5.5 million to help send deserving kids to camp.
More than 2,200 stores across Canada and 160 in the United States donated 100 per cent of their coffee proceeds, in addition to funds raised through various Camp Day events and activities.

The funds will help send more than 9,000 children to camp who could not otherwise afford it. Last year, the campaign raised $4.8 million for the Tim Horton's Children's Foundation, which was started in 1974 by Ron Joyce, co-founder of Tim Horton's.

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McDonald's moves to tap coffee craze in Hungary

Reuters, 06.18.03, 5:59 AM ET

BUDAPEST June 18 (Reuters) - The Hungarian unit of U.S. fast food chain McDonald's (nyse: MCD - news - people) on Wednesday opened its first McCafe coffee shop in Budapest and said it would swing back to the black by the end of the year.

McDonald's Hungary will open three McCafes in 2003 with an investment of around 120 million forints ($535,900), said managing director Branislav Knezevic at the opening of the first cafe inside a McDonald's restaurant in downtown Budapest.

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No barista needed for iced coffee

DOUG BLACKBURN
Albany Times Union

There's one secret for making delicious iced coffee at home: Brew the coffee at double strength.

This isn't java you're going to want to drink hot. It will be way too high-octane for that.

But because iced coffee is equal parts coffee and ice, you have to begin with twice the amount of grounds you usually use.

According to the Web site for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, blends of light and dark roasts make the best iced coffee.

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Coffee May Help Prevent Diabetes

But Tea, Decaf Don't Seem to Do the Trick

By Charlene Laino
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Michael Smith, MD

A jolt of java may do more than get you going in the morning. Drinking four or more cups of coffee a day appears to help prevent diabetes, Harvard researchers report.

It's not the first time that a study has suggested that the popular brew may protect against the blood sugar disorder that affects at least 17 million Americans. Last year, Dutch doctors reported that heavy coffee drinkers are half as likely to develop diabetes as people who consume two cups or less a day.

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Coffee shops chill out: Cold-beverage sales swell in summer's heat

By Jake Batsell
Seattle Times business reporter

Working in her garden near Green Lake on an 85-degree afternoon, Rebecca Wilhelm wasn't craving a hot cuppa joe.

When she took a break Tuesday at her neighborhood coffee shop, Zoka Coffee Roaster & Tea, she turned to a cooler form of refreshment: a double-short iced Americano.

"I would not drink hot coffee on a day like this," said Wilhelm, a Bastyr University student who sipped her drink outside while working on a crossword puzzle. "This is a summerly event."

As the mercury rises, so does competition among specialty coffee retailers looking to entice customers with cold drinks and blended beverages. All three of Seattle's major coffee chains have expanded their lineups of chilly drinks this summer, and some independent coffeehouses say cool beverages can account for a third of summertime sales.

"It's really sort of a long-overdue trump card in the coffee industry," said Ted Lingle, executive director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. "Achieving a balance in your sales mix is an important business strategy. In the summertime, when hot beverages are on the wane, it's nice to have a cold beverage to pick up the slack."

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Scientists grow decaffeinated coffee plants

NARA, JAPAN - Researchers have genetically modified coffee seedlings to produce up to 70 per cent less caffeine.

The team says demand for decaffeinated coffee is growing worldwide. Caffeine can trigger palpitations, increase blood pressure and disrupt sleep in sensitive people.

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CoolBrew® Coffee

New Orleans Coffee Company has a great product, called CoolBrew® Coffee. I like it, but I don't like the name. I would have called it EasyBrew, because I don't care how they make it, I like it because it is so easy to use. And, it tastes great.

I'm not putting all my coffee brewing and grinding toys on Ebay, but I will use it. It is really good on ice cream and it makes just about the best iced coffee I have ever made. The one I am using now (Original) has chickory in it, which I like for a change. It reminds me of Cafe du Monde in New orleans. I just need a plate of beignets to be complete. They also offer French Roast, Decaf, Vanilla, Hazelnut, Mocha, and Toasted Almond.

Visit their website at New Orleans Coffee Company

Here is their description of the process: "CoolBrewing is a process by which the most flavorful essence is extracted from freshly roasted coffee with absolutely NO HEAT. The coffee is brewed very slowly using only cold water. With cold water brewing, the most flavorful oils are extracted leaving behind the bitter acids. This ensures the richest possible flavor with the least bitter taste."

It is not instant coffee. It is concentrated, brewed coffee. You put one ounce in a mug and fill with hot water. Or, put one ounce in a glass with ice. Add two heaping teaspoons of sugar, a half cap of vanilla extract, and fill with cold milk. Yummy.

It comes in 16 ounce bottles and the bottle has its own measuring device built in, so it's easy to use. It keeps for about three weeks in the refrigerator, after opening.

I like it, my wife likes it, and my 11 year-old son loves the iced coffee. I will buy it, and I recommend it to you.

Robert