DETROIT – A Starbucks in Detroit was forced to close on Friday after four protesters blocked the entrance by encasing their feet in concrete.
Four PETA supporters protested Starbucks’ upcharge of non-dairy milk by encasing their feet in concrete and blocking the store’s entrance for four hours with signs and chants.
Two of the four protesters were taken away in an ambulance.
PETA Starbucks protest (PETA)
“Starbucks’ punitive price hike on vegan milks harms cows, the planet, and customers who are lactose-intolerant—many of whom are people of color,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA has appealed to Starbucks to stop profiting from the plant-based milk upcharge, but so far, greed continues to define the company’s position.”
This comes as the latest Starbucks protest from PETA supporters. The previous “cement-in” took place outside of a Nashville Starbucks which resulted in the arrest of four protesters.
Other supporters have superglued themselves to counters in Chicago, New York City, and at the company’s headquarters in Seattle.
The Detroit protest comes on the last day of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.
A whopping 42 percent of small-business owners say they experience burnout relatively early on in their entrepreneurial journey, a 2022 Capital One Business survey says. Staring at a screen for 60 hours or more per week, looking at financial models, and giving approvals to new products and features can wear a person down. Luckily, that’s why For Wellness exists.
For WellnessFor Wellness
When the For Wellness founders discovered the antioxidant benefits of coffee, they realized they could build on it and craft a special powdered creamer. They call it The Good StuffTM. It’s designed to improve focus, metabolism, and hydration and decrease inflammation. It’s especially great for those on treadmill desks for hours a day. With more than 440 reviews and 4.5 stars on average on its website, it’s no wonder why people swear by The Good Stuff.
Now, of course, not every businessperson is a coffee fiend like the movies might lead you to believe. If that’s the case for you, you can get as much focus (and even more flavor) out of For Wellness’ Superfood Energy Bites, an espresso brownie with a load of wellness benefits covered in dark chocolate flavors. While mixing and frothing The Good Stuff is easy, the energy bites come ready to eat out of the package.
For Wellness’s products are designed with athletes, entrepreneurs, and all those who hustle day and night in mind. The products are for those who don’t want to stop moving but can’t put their health on the line. Built with MCT oil for metabolism and burning fat; L-theanine for focus, energy, and reducing the caffeine jitters; collagen for skin, hair, and bone health; and Ceylon cinnamon to reduce inflammation, it’s hard to imagine a workday without For Wellness.
The best part is you don’t have to stress about re-structuring your entire personal budget to try For Wellness. A 30-day supply of The Good StuffTM is only $30 per month when you subscribe, and a 40-pack of Superfood Energy Bites is only $2 per brownie, both available at the official For Wellness shop.
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – It’s an American tradition, as soon as the leaves start falling, the pumpkin spice lattes start pouring. The flavor seeped into the public consciousness in 2003, when Starbucks realized no one had tapped into the world of pumpkin. The company thought it would be the perfect addition for its fall collection, and they were right.
“I don’t know why, but people go crazy for it,” said Sam Lopez, Manager of The Velvet Robot Coffee Lab.
However, is this autumn squash slowly losing its magic?
“We were like man, you know, we don’t enjoy pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin spice in general as much as everyone else seems to, so there’s gotta be other people who feel that way, so when we did our little study that’s exactly what we found out,” said Jason Patton, Vice President of Fire Department Coffee in Rockford.
Patton and his team conducted a survey where they interviewed 500 Americans about the signature spice. Here are some of the results:
– Only 26% said they prefer pumpkin spice over other flavors.
– 10% say they’ve had at least one argument with a friend or family member over differing pumpkin spice opinions.
-11% said they’d consider breaking up with a partner over differing pumpkin spice opinion.
As a result, Patton think there’s new fall coffee flavors on the horizon.
“People love crème brulee, so I’m gonna play with crème brulee, make it like a salted caramel brulee,” said Pete DuFoe, who owns Inzombia Coffee.
“When we created our vanilla bean bourbon infused coffee for home, bean or whole ground, that was our highest seller immediately,” Patton said.
As we move into winter, peppermint and cinnamon will take center stage.
We believe proper sleep is so critical for health, we discuss it with each one of our coaching clients. Today, we’ll share our tips for sleeping like a log with you too.
Here’s what we’ll cover in our Ultimate Guide to Getting Better Sleep:
Sleep is freaking important, and you should get more of it!
Article over, I’m going on break!
Kidding.
Before we cover why sleep is important, let’s talk about what happens when you don’t get enough.
For example: If you manage to only get four hours of sleep, a sleep-deprived body can actually act similarly to an intoxicated body. [1]
Getting less sleep than average regularly? This is correlated with increased body fat percentage, more issues with insulin sensitivity, and even a disproportionate decrease in lean muscle mass when eating a caloric deficit.[2]
We all know missing sleep can make us grouchy, miserable, unfocused, and unproductive.
I know I’m going to have a crappy day in the gym when I don’t get enough sleep the night before. I know not sleeping enough AFTER a workout day can further hinder the muscle-building process. So, what else happens when you don’t get enough sleep?
Here are some potential consequences of forgoing sleep:
Brain shrinkage. Studies have found a correlation between sleep deprivation and brain atrophy.[3] While correlation doesn’t prove causation, it’s believed that disrupting sleep impacts our ability to restore and heal our organs, including our brains.
Raised blood pressure.Insufficient sleep might increase your blood pressure.[4] A lack of sleep can impact your central nervous system and your body’s ability to regulate blood pressure.
Increased risk of obesity and diabetes. Certain metabolic diseases, like diabetes, are associated with sleep deprivation. This study found that disrupted sleep might influence our hormones, perhaps increasing our chance of insulin resistance.[5]
Shortened lifespan. When you add up the increased risk of disease from too little sleep, it’s no wonder that a meta-analysis found a lack of sleep is associated with an increase in all-cause mortality.[6]
Not good.
Conversely, let’s talk about the awesomeness that is sleep. Here are the benefits associated with getting enough shut-eye:
Sleep will enhance your memory performance and creative problem-solving skills. You know, those things that make you smart.[7]
Sleep can boost your athletic performance. And we all know appearance is a consequence of fitness.[8]
Sleep triggers the release of human growth hormone (HGH), which plays a huge role in muscle and cellular regeneration.[9]
Sleep cuts your risk for the common cold and other basic illnesses. Less sick days at work = more productivity, more awesome, more leveling up.[10]
Sleep makes you more resilient to daily stress..aka more willpower!
Moral of the story: Sleep is awesome.
This is going to lead to a natural question…
How Much Sleep Do I Need?
There’s some debate on exactly how much sleep a person needs.[11]
But there are some best practices.
7 to 9 hours is widely accepted as the ideal target for a good night’s rest. The National Sleep Foundation promotes this range, and researchers in the UK did a study that corroborated the recommendation.[12]
We’ll roll with 7 to 9 hours as an ideal target for a good night’s sleep.
I should note, that there is a small percentage of people who have a “rare” gene that allows them to get by on 6 hours of sleep or less.
“Steve, I’m sure I’m one of those mutants who only needs 6 hours of sleep. Sounds like I’m good to go, right?”
As much as we all want to be part of the X-Men…
I used the word rare there intentionally because only about 4 in 100,000 people have this specific mutation.[13]
Realistically, you probably don’t have the special gene that makes you need less sleep. Sorry.
This is why the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society both recommend “healthy adults” get at least 7 hours of sleep.[14]
Knowing you need to get 7 hours of sleep is one thing. But knowing is only half the battle…
So let’s get to the root of the problem for most:
“I know I need to sleep more, but my day is too busy and I just can’t get to bed sooner or wake up earlier.”
First and foremost, you’re not alone. According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly a third of all working Americans get six hours or fewer of sleep a night.[15]
Does any of this sound like you?
I am always freaking tired, and I need five cups of coffee to get through the day.
Even on days when I get enough sleep, I wake up groggy.
I get to ‘bed’ but I toss and turn and it takes me forever to fall asleep.
I hit snooze half a dozen times before miserably crawling out of bed.
Let’s see if we can fix these issues.
What Does Good Sleep Look Like? (The Perfect Night)
Let’s imagine a perfect night:
You go to bed at a time that you’re happy with. You’re not stressed out because you didn’t just watch The Walking Dead, you’re reading a good fiction book in bed that’s putting you closer to sleep rather than checking your smartphone or screwing around on the internet (damn you Twitch.tv).
You sleep uninterrupted through the night. You have kickass dreams.
When you wake up, whether naturally or with an alarm…you immediately get out of bed, without a single snooze, and you feel damn good. You then crush your morning routine and dominate your day.
If you’re looking at your screen and laughing right now, you’re not alone. I’d guess this is a pipe dream for a huge majority of our society because they’re not sure how sleep actually works, and thus have NOT made sleep a priority.
It’s time to start looking at sleep as one of your most important tasks. Like I said,we value it so much here, that we bring up sleep duration and quality with every single member of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program.
What Are the Stages of Sleep?
Like the Indiana Jones movies, sleep can vary in quality.
Let’s take a quick look at the different stages of sleep first.
We have Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep, and Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep:[16]
Non-REM Sleep Stage 1: Where you’re kind of asleep…but not really…but working on it. This lasts about 5-10 minutes.
Non-REM Sleep Stage 2: Your heart rate slows, your body temperature decreases, and you start to drop further into slumber…this can last about 20 minutes or so.
Non-REM Sleep Stage 3 and 4: also called “slow-wave sleep,” and each can last up to 30 minutes. These stages are where you get “deep sleep.”
REM Sleep:This is the point of the night where your eyeballs flail around your eye socket. It’s also when dreaming occurs, and one of the most important stages for mental functioning the next day.
Your body goes through these stages in order, but as you repeat sleep cycles (which are 90 minutes), the duration can shift dramatically.
Sleep Junkies provides a pretty good graph of different sleep cycles (in their article on sleep and alcohol), which we’ll borrow below:
In this example of “Cycle 5” the sleeper barely spends any time in “deep sleep,” but much more time in REM sleep.
Our bodies are cray like that.
What’s with the different stages of sleep?
During the deep stages of NREM sleep (3 and 4), our bodies build bone and muscle (like after you strength train), repairs tissue, and boosts our immune system.[17]
When your body kicks into REM sleep, this is when your brain has increased activity and leads to dreaming, while your body is the most ‘paralyzed’ and knocked out. Some studies say that REM is most important for restoring brain functions. [18]
What’s crazy is that your entire morning can be dictated by what stage of sleep you were in before waking up. If you’ve ever only slept a few hours and woke up feeling great, or conversely slept plenty of hours but woke up groggy, this could explain it!
How to Get Better Sleep (The Single Best Advice on Better Shuteye)
We have a circadian rhythm (a daily biological clock) that ebbs and flows throughout the day.
Our body uses outside stimuli and our own activity to produce certain hormones at certain times to make our body more prepared for the required functions at that time (alertness vs restfulness).
Look at it from an evolutionary perspective – way back in the day (which was a Wednesday):
When the sun rose, our bodies are signaled “the day has begun! get cracking!” We reduce the hormones that make us sleepy, and produce more hormones that allow us to do the things that need to get done.
As the sun went down, our body starts to produce more melatonin, which produces that sleepy feeling and encourages us to rest/recover. Our only option for light back then was a candle or campfire. If that went out, we’d have moonlight and nothing else.
While sleeping, our bodies knew to cut back on urine production, decrease body temperature, decrease heart rate, and muscle activity. Our brains are still highly active during our sleeping.
Unfortunately, these days, our bodies aren’t tied to the rise and fall of that giant ball of gas above us.
Instead, we can use electricity, alarm clocks, computer screens, smartphone screens, and all other sorts of outside stimuli to adjust our natural sleeping schedule.
This means that our bodies often have no effin’ clue what time it is!
Outside of our circadian rhythm, we have another biological system that tells us when to go to bed: the chemical adenosine.[19]
Think of it as “sleep pressure.” As soon as you wake up, your body starts to produce adenosine. When it hits a certain threshold, you get tired and start thinking about your pillow.
You really want your circadian rhythm and adenosine buildup in sync. When they’re not, it’s terrible.
You may have experienced it: jetlag comes about when you’re in a different part of the world than your home, so the change in daylight throws off your circadian rhythm.
For example, let’s say it was daylight when I left London and it’s daylight when I arrive in New York 10 hours later.
But your sleep pressure system doesn’t know this, so it’s trying to send you to bed, despite it being high noon.
Here’s when things can really go haywire: you finally get to bed in New York, but your circadian rhythm is still linked to London (which is now morning), so it starts making you more alert despite being nighttime in Manhattan.
And insomnia ensures…
This brings us to the single best advice on getting better sleep: do what you can to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.[20]
Even on weekends whenever possible.
This helps your circadian rhythm and adenosine buildup stay in line with each other. Things get awful when these two systems are out of whack.
This isn’t our only piece of advice on getting better sleep!
Here are 10 more tips on engineering a perfect night’s rest:
#1) Avoid screens as you get closer to bedtime. Why avoid screen time? A couple of things to consider:
There is some evidence that the light emitted from electronic devices interferes with our circadian rhythm.[21] Artificial light, specifically blue light, is thought to confuse our body’s internal block. To capitalize on this concern, companies are now selling blue light-blocking glasses, which are advertised as sleep aids. Studies done on the effectiveness of these blue light blockers are mixed.[22]
What else can be going on? Our devices are designed to monopolize our attention, which means we spend more time on our phones instead of sleeping. We’ve all been there. This is why there’s an association between social media use and sleep deprivation.[23]
#2) Consider purchasing red lightbulbs to use in your bedroom lamps, so your bedroom is a place of soft light rather than bright/harsh light.[24]
#3) Keep your bedroom cool (but not too cold). Outside of light, our bodies use temperature as a signal to go to bed.[25] It gets colder at night, so this shift in temperature tells our body it’s time to go to sleep. Personally, I’ve found that keeping my bedroom cool helps me fall asleep. It’s been a real game-changer. What’s the sweet spot? Experiment a little here, but shoot for somewhere between 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit (15-19 Celsius). Just don’t go too cold, which can also disrupt your rest.
#4) Consider getting black-out curtains for your bedroom windows, especially if you live in a city. Living in a city, there’s always something bright and shiny happening outside my window – it wasn’t until I purchased super dark curtains to cover up my windows that I noticed an improvement in my ‘fall-asleep time.’
#5) Earplugs or a white noise machine might be a good idea. Sounds and other forms of ear pollution can be a distraction when you’re trying to sleep. White noise machines might drown some of this out, and studies show they do help, but some good ole fashioned earplugs could do the trick too.[26]
#6) No TV in bed. This might be incredibly difficult for you if you’ve been falling asleep to TV for years. Instead of falling asleep with the blue glow of a TV at the foot of your bed, read a book – trust me, it will put you right to sleep.[27]
#7) Get in the habit of reading fiction. Reading puts me to sleep within a few minutes most night, though only if I’m reading fiction. When reading non-fiction, my mind starts to race with all of the new ideas and things I could be working on. Either read real books or read on a Kindle, no iPads!
#8) Buy the right TYPE of Mattress for you: I slept on a soft mattress with two mattress pads for a few months years ago and wondered why I woke up with lower back pain every day. Turns out, my back was jacked up, and the soft mattress made things even worse. Since switching to a firm mattress, I wake up without back pain. Lesson learned here: I’m not smart.
#9) A lot of this can depend on HOW you sleep! Are you a side sleeper? Back sleeper? Stomach sleeper? Turns out there are some evolutionary reasons why some styles work better than others! Personally, I use the “half-military crawl position” outlined by Tim Ferriss (scroll down to tip 11 for the position).
#10) Have allergies? Try a hypoallergenic pillowcase! Your allergies could be affecting you while you sleep, and having the proper pillowcase can make a world of a difference.
How to Get More Sleep
So we’ve covered how to get BETTER sleep, what if you also need to get more of it?
In order to start getting more sleep, sleep must become more of a priority. If you constantly stay up too late because things need to get done, evaluate how your time is spent after work. Seriously, think about it!
Are you doing the important tasks first? Or are you messing around on the internet and not starting your tasks until late in the evening.
Are you watching late-night shows long after they’ve become enjoyable, simply because your DVR records them?
Are you checking your smartphone while in bed, watching Twitch, or using your laptop to watch more shows you don’t really care about on Netflix?
Yes, I understand we have parents who read Nerd Fitness and have to stay awake and function on minimal sleep (I commend you, and wish you luck!).
However, for many of us, less sleep is often a result of disorganized priorities and poor use of our time.
Here are the best practical tips for giving you the greatest chance at getting into bed earlier:
Don’t drink caffeine after lunch if possible. Caffeine can have an effect up to 6 hours after consumption. We love caffeine for many reasons (in moderation); however, you want to make sure it’s not consumed too late or your body will revolt.
Turn off the electronics sooner. I have to enforce a “laptops closed by 8PM” or a “TV off after 10PM” rule on many nights or I never get to bed. I get lost in Internetland far too easily. Putting in actual barriers really helps. If you find yourself checking Facebook and Twitter and other sites incessantly, BLOCK YOURSELF from those sites after a certain time.
Stop watching crap TV shows!Just because it exists doesn’t mean you need to watch it. Pick a FEW shows you watch on Netflix, but be wary of the “auto-play” next episode! Netflix is counting on you to be lazy to watch another episode accidentally instead of getting sleep.
Shift things by 15 minutes every week. If you want to get to bed sooner, don’t just try to get to bed an hour earlier than normal. You’ll probably lie in bed for that whole hour wondering why you can’t fall asleep, stressing yourself out and making things worse (remember our lesson on circadian rhythm). I shifted my pattern by waking up 15 minutes earlier and getting to bed 15 minutes sooner. Then I repeated that process over a series of weeks. Eventually, you can shift your bedtime by an hour or two, but do it gradually!
How to Wake Up (The NF Sleep Calculator)
Is there any more annoying sound in the world than the “beep beep beep” of an alarm clock?
Well, maybe this.
But you get the point.
So here you are, dreaming about riding a dragon, doing improv with Liam Neeson, and playing poker with Iron Man and Spock…and that damn alarm clock wakes you up. You are now incredibly groggy and miserable.
Here’s what’s happening: Remember earlier how we talked about different sleep cycles? Depending on which cycle you were woken up during, your body can struggle to move from “asleep” to “wide awake.”
Wake up in the right phase and you can feel energized and ready to go.
Wake up in the wrong phase and you will feel lethargic and sleepy.
Because we’re often waking up at times when we’re not ready to wake up, timing can be everything when it comes to getting out of bed.
Have no fear! Let’s give you a timetable to base your sleep schedule on, so your alarm clock isn’t so jarring.
Here are some assumptions we’ll use:
You need about 15 minutes to fall asleep.
A sleep cycle is 90 minutes.
You want 5 or 6 sleep cycles (our 7-9 hours range).
THE NERD FITNESS SLEEP CALCULATOR
Wake up: 5am
Bedtime for 5 Sleep Cycles (7.5 hr): 9:15pm
Bedtime for 6 Sleep Cycles (9 hr): 7:45pm
Wake up: 6:30am
Bedtime for 5 Sleep Cycles (7.5 hr): 10:45pm
Bedtime for 6 Sleep Cycles (9 hr): 9:15pm
Wake up: 8am
Bedtime for 5 Sleep Cycles (7.5 hr): 12:15am
Bedtime for 6 Sleep Cycles (9 hr): 10:45pm
You get the gist. Try to time your alarm clock to a natural break between sleep cycles.
Technology might help here too!
Set a “go to bed” alarm, rather than a wake-up alarm! Remind yourself WHEN you should go to sleep. Bonus points if you can rig it to also shut off your wifi so that you actually have nothing exciting left to do in your house except read a book and go to sleep!
Try a dawn-simulator alarm clock. Rather than waking yourself up in pitch black with a disgusting beeping noise, why not gradually rise as if there was a natural sunrise in your room?
Feel free to sing the first line of “Circle of Life” at this point. I just did.
Also, DON’T SNOOZE!
Instead of snoozing, set your alarm for 30 minutes later and SKIP snoozing entirely. If this is an issue for you, put your alarm across the room so you need to physically get out of bed to turn it off!
Here are a couple more tips to help your alertness in the morning:
Still feeling groggy? Go for a walk first thing.A mile every morning, if you can. Heck, do it while walking to Mordor! Walking outside and seeing that blue sky can trigger your body to release the hormones that encourage you to feel more awake and alive.
Consider blue light therapy during the day. Productivity guruTim Ferriss swears by it, and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, so I’ll be testing one out during the winter months to see if my mornings are marked by increased energy. If you’ve used one and had positive/negative experiences, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Am I a Night Owl or a Lark? (Why Am I Not a Morning Person?)
According to studies, about 1 in 10 people are true morning people (“larks”), while 2 in 10 are considered “night owls.” The rest fit somewhere in the middle as “hummingbirds.”
What this means: Some of us are more alert at certain times of the day and naturally want to rise earlier or stay up later. [28]
Now, the difference between the two extremes isn’t as DRASTIC as we’ve made it out to be. Humans can never be truly naturally nocturnal – we don’t have night vision (yet…).
We’re not programmed to operate during the middle of the night. But, we CAN use our natural tendencies to help us be more efficient and productive during certain parts of the day.
We can change and adapt. Just like those who successfully work a night shift job (tips on that here), many who consider themselves a night owl may find they can become a morning person if they set themselves up for success.
I used the excuse for years of being a “night owl” to screw around all day and work from midnight to 4 AM each night, when it really just required a shifting of my priorities and productivity hacks.
What this all means: Identify your biological clock and try to adjust around it if possible. However, if your job requires you to get up early or stay up later, most of us can make an adjustment. Don’t let your poor habits blame “being a night owl” like I used to.
Should I Take Naps? (How to Nap During the Day)
Although generally not part of a day here in the States, we’re actually programmed to desire a quick nap in the early afternoon.[29]
In other countries, naps are more socially acceptable (Siesta? Si, por favor!). If you feel bad that you get tired in the early afternoon, it’s not because you’re lazy. It’s because you’re naturally wired for naptime. Now, you might still be lazy, but it’s not related to your nap schedule.
So, behold the power of the power nap:
Didn’t get enough sleep last night? Only have 20-30 minutes for a quick break? Try the caffeine-fueled power nap.
Fun fact: If you’ve slept less than normal, taking a 90-minute nap the following day could lead to an increased amount of REM sleep in that nap.[30]
What Is Sleep Apnea? (What’s the Best Treatment for Sleep Apnea?)
Sleep apnea is a condition where someone periodically stops breathing while sleeping.
While there are a few different versions of sleep apnea, the most common is “Obstructive Sleep Apnea,” which occurs when throat muscles become overly relaxed.
A telltale sign of obstructive sleep apnea is loud snoring, although not everyone who snores has sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea can potentially be pretty serious, what with the whole not breathing thing going on. It depends on the severity of the condition.
If it’s serve, not breathing correctly could majorly disrupt sleep, to the point of increasing the risk of certain diseases.[32]
How do you know if your sleep apnea is mild or severe?
Unfortunately, the only way to really be sure is to head to the doctor. If you go to your primary care physician, they will likely refer you to a sleep specialist to find out.
If you feel tired in the morning despite getting plenty of sleep, and a partner or loved one complains that you snore, it might be worth looking into a sleep apnea diagnosis.
I will mention that being overweight can contribute to obstructive sleep apnea, so weight loss could be a possible treatment.
I’ve got a couple of resources to help you start your journey:
How to Lose Weight (Without Dieting): check out our guide on the 5 rules for sustainable weight loss. If you’re not sure where to start, start there.
Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program: if you want a trained professional to tell you exactly what to do, check out our coaching program. Many clients jumpstart their weight loss journey with the help of a NF Coach, and the results they’ve achieved can be incredible.
In the meantime, try a different sleeping position (like the aforementioned half-military crawl position to keep your passages open).
What Is Second Sleep? (Waking up in the Middle of the Night)
Biphasic Sleep is sleeping in two distinct periods.
We’re gonna go back in the day again: during winter months, nighttime could last 12-14 hours.
With our bodies’ production of melatonin (the “sleepy time” hormone) kicking into high gear when that sun drops, people had nothing else to do (no TV, PS4, or iPads) and would fall asleep early. Then they would wake up for an hour or two in the middle of the night to read, pray, or think, and then fall back asleep for another 4-5 hours before waking up for the day.
If you’ve ever gone to bed at a normal hour, and then woke up in the middle of the night without being able to fall back asleep for an hour or so, you know what I’m talking about.
Here’s the thing: this is actually quite natural![33]
Rather than freaking the heck out and lying in bed wondering why you can’t fall asleep…consider it something that is more common than our current sleep schedule.[34] Don’t be afraid to turn on the light (red light!) and read a book or use the time for meditation until you can fall back asleep.
This one ‘mental shift’ alone can keep your stress levels down and let you get back to sleep faster and provide you with BETTER sleep.
4 Tips and Tricks to Hack Sleep
#1) Macrodozing:
I stumbled across the BEST biohack for optimal human performance.
It’s tricky, but here’s what to do:
Lie in bed with your eyes closed, for like, 7-9 hours.
If you can actually pull this off, productivity for the next 16 hours will be INSANE.
I often spend my nights in bed thinking and worrying about all of the things I need to do the next day. Instead of stressing out about it, take a minute and write down the things you need to do the next day. Then set it aside.
A notebook, a post-it note, an Evernote file, whatever.
Do a brain-dump and clear your head so you can focus on reading A Game of Thrones without thinking about the next day’s tasks.
#3) Want to control your dreams? It’s called “Lucid Dreaming,” it’s possible, but requires work. I’ve only been able to do it once, but haven’t given up hope that it can become a more common occurrence! Ultimately, this allows you to live out a real-life version of Inception.
#4) Have way too much time on your hands and not constricted by societal norms? Try Polyphasic sleep and then tell me how it goes 🙂 It didn’t work for Kramer, but it might work for you!
(But it probably won’t).
Start Sleeping Better Tonight (Next Steps)
Like, anything, that which gets measured gets improved.
Now, if you’re somebody that isn’t really detail-oriented, just start by picking ONE or two changes above, and focus on building that Hard Hat Habit. However, if you like to nerd out about certain details, why not nerd out about your sleep?
Starting tomorrow morning, when you wake up, recap the previous day with a journal entry:
What time did you wake up, and what time did you actually get out of bed?
How many times did you hit snooze?
After work, how much television did you watch? After you finished watching, did you go right to bed? Did you fall asleep with the TV on?
How long did you lie in bed before actually falling asleep (obviously this will be tough to tell, but you can estimate).
A quick recap on what to do:
Change one or two things about your current strategy.
Turn off the computer 15 minutes earlier.
Stop watching TV in bed.
Read fiction.
Limit the amount of blue light and screen activities that amp you up at night.
No more snoozing.
Set the alarm clock across the room.
Go for a walk in the morning outside.
If you want to use technology:F.Lux for your computer, red bulbs in the bedroom, Sunrise alarm clock for waking up without disturbing deep sleep.
That should just about do it for today’s article.
If you’re looking for where to go from here, I’ve got some options for you. But I’m only gonna tell you, because you’ve been a good sport this whole article.
NEXT STEPS IF YOU WANT TO GO FARTHER!
#1) Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program: a coaching program for busy people to help them lose weight, get strong, and level up their lives!
We take sleep so seriously, we discuss it with each and every client.
#2) If you want an exact blueprint for getting in shape, check out Nerd Fitness Journey! Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
If you follow our Sleep missions, you’ll learn to improve your night rituals while earning XP! Sah-weeeet.
Try your free trial right here:
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Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages. Here in the United States and in 17 other countries, September 29th is celebrated as National Coffee Day. For the rest of the world, October 1st is International Coffee Day. It is all about celebrating a love of the caffeinated beverage made from the beans of the tropical evergreen coffee plant and paying respect to the world’s coffee farmers.
New research showed that people that drank two to three cups of coffee a day appear to live longer. The study also found that there was a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. All types of coffee, including ground, instant, and decaf, appeared to provide this health benefit. The research was published on September 27, 2022, in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology
Maya Vadivloo backs the claim that coffee is good for you, with some caveats. She is the Associate Professor and Director in Health Sciences Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. Vadivloo is an expert on nutrition, appearing often on such outlets as Today.com.
“Based on existing evidence, I would say it is mostly true that coffee consumption appears to protect against cardiovascular and total mortality, with a few caveats. I believe evidence remains inconclusive about intake >5 cups/day and that the method of preparation may matter, with some question about whether compounds released when boiling coffee (vs. drip or similar methods) may be less favorable (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7524812/).”
For those who don’t drink our coffee black, are the benefits still there after we add flavorings such as sugar or cream? “The addition of milk etc. to coffee does not eliminate all health benefits,” says Vadiveloo. “However, in line with other recommendations for a healthy dietary pattern, limiting forms of added sugar and replacing high-fat dairy with low-fat products would be better for health outcomes and energy balance.”
Is coffee the magic bullet that will help us live longer, healthier lives? Not quite, says Vadiveloo.
“While I love coffee, I am always cautious of media coverage that suggests there is some ‘magic bullet’ to improve mortality. While I believe there is compelling evidence that 2-3 cups (or even <5 cups of coffee) have cardioprotective and mortality benefits, it’s not a recommendation that exists in isolation. Regular coffee consumption when part of a heart-healthy diet rich in minimally processed fruits, vegetables, healthy sources of protein (mostly plant sources like nuts and legumes, seafood, and fish), whole grains, heart-healthy vegetable oils, and limited in added sugars, salt, and high fat meats as advocated by the recent American Heart Association dietary guidance (https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001031) is the secret to improving overall health and mortality. (**disclaimer, I was a part of the AHA writing group)
So I would say, if people enjoy coffee, they should continue to do so as part of a healthy dietary pattern, and to be mindful of what things they add to their coffee to maximize the health benefits. And further, if people want to replace less healthy beverages in their diet (e.g., sodas and fruit juices) with coffee, that would be a positive step.”
“Hey guys, wanna go camping?” our friends, who are avid campers and have three kids, suggested a few weeks ago.
Of course, my 4-year-old son was all in! “We can fish and sleep in a tent and hunt a bear for dinner!”
I’d been camping before but never with a child. And my camping resume includes one night in a tent and another time where we slept in a decked-out motorhome for two nights.
So here is the brutal honest truth about tent camping with kids:
They love fire. They love burning things. They will ask if they can throw wood on the fire, paper plates, used wet wipes, plastic toys, or live bugs. They will stand too close to the fire. They will poke the fire. They will marvel at the fire. They will give you repeated heart attacks all weekend long.
It’s dirty. Layers of sunscreen, insect repellant, sweat, tears, sticky juice, campfire ash, and sand will find its way into every nook and cranny of your body. You’ll spend much of your time chiming at kids to take their shoes off before going into the tent, and you’ll still somehow find yourself sleeping in sand. Every single washable thing you bring camping will need to be washed when you get home. You’ll spend days catching up on laundry that has mysterious stains and reeks of campfire… and regret.
It’s dark. Fine, it’s all nice sitting next to a fire in the darkness, but when you constantly need a flashlight and can only see within that beam of light, it gets tiresome. “Mommy, where are my shoes?” “I lost my cup.” “Where is my stuffed animal?” I don’t like the idea that there could be someone standing five feet away and I wouldn’t know it.
But the darkness can be a blessing too…. You don’t have to see all the mosquitoes and other critters buzzing around your head or climbing in your bed.
There are no mirrors. I’m not vain at all, but I never realized how often you see your own reflection, until you don’t… and then you do. And you’re shocked and horrified. The first time you catch your own reflection in a public camping washroom after a day or two of camping, you literally can’t believe your own eyes. There are dirty smudges on your face and your hair is indescribably frizzed, not to mention the strange hue to your skin: sunburn mixed with sunscreen, bug repellant, sweat, and maybe even a few tears.
Everything is a friggin production. I’m a MAJOR coffee person, and when I wake up it’s the first thing I want (ahem, need). This was my morning coffee process the first morning of camping: find the one-pot machine, find a mug, find the little baggie of ground coffee in one of the three bins of stuff. Then seek out a clean spoon for said coffee and give up on that so pour coffee (which spills on the ground) into the filter, then walk to the outlet IN THE TREES. Try to plug it in but realize the cord is too short, so trek back to the campsite, find the extension cord in one of the three bins of crap, then walk back in the trees to plug it in. Find a bucket and walk to the water spigot in the opposite direction of the outlet, bring the water back, pour it into the coffee machine (which also spills on the ground), and turn it on. Wait patiently while grinding teeth in early morning frustration. Get cup of coffee and walk it carefully back to the campsite in the trees without spilling it and start searching for the little bag of sugar in the three bins of sh*t. Give up and drink it black.
So you’re probably presuming I won’t go camping again. I will. Because our 4-year-old son looooved it (of course HE did: he got to do all the fun stuff associated with camping). But we’ll do it different next time. We’ll pack less and more strategically. We’ll bring simpler things for meals. We’ll plan better. We’ll go into it knowing more. And we’ll bring instant coffee.
A full-time work-from-home mom of a toddler, Jennifer Cox (our “Supermom in Training”) loves dabbling in healthy cooking, craft projects, family outings, and more, sharing with readers everything she knows about being an (almost) superhero mommy.
DRAPER, Utah, August 6, 2021 (Newswire.com)
– On Aug. 6 at 12 p.m. MST, The Clever Bean Coffee Company will be launching a Kickstarter campaign for their new Clever Cold Brewer (CCB). After being in development since May of 2020, the Clever Cold Brewer aims to improve the quality of homemade cold brew coffee, while simplifying the process of cold brewing at the same time.
The Clever Cold Brewer uses a finer filter than most systems on the market, which is targeted at reducing coffee sediment and bitterness in the finished cold brew. Also, the CCB uses a larger brewing chamber to insure full saturation and extraction of the ground coffee.
Along with the brewer, The Clever Bean will be offering a subscription service with “single-brew” coffee pouches. These pouches contain freshly ground coffee and are sized for a single batch of cold brew in the CCB – meaning you can make coffee shop quality cold brew, without the need for a scale or a grinder.
The Clever Bean Co-Founder Craton Edwards had this to say about the brewer: “We always saw an opportunity in the cold brewing space, but the pandemic has really accelerated the desire people have to brew at home. We believe our system is one of the best on the market for convenience, cost, and quality.”
About The Clever Bean: The Clever Bean is a 5-star coffee company with over 250 reviews and was founded in Draper, UT in 2016. The two Co-Founders (Dennis Garrett and Craton Edwards) were childhood friends who both had a love for coffee and entrepreneurship. Check out www.thecleverbean.com for more information.
There are so many brewing methods to choose from (French press, the currently trendy dalgona whipped, pour-over), but many coffee lovers still rely on the classic, automatic drip for their daily fix. That’s why we tested the best-rated drip coffee makers using a wide range of criteria (outlined below) over the course of several weeks. Bags upon bags of dark roast, light roast and medium roast coffee beans were ground and brewed. We made full carafes, half carafes and single cups. And we tasted the results black, with cow’s milk, almond milk, sweetened condensed milk, cold-brew strength over ice — you name it.
Many, many pots of coffee later, we settled on four standout drip coffee machines.
Best drip coffee maker overall
The Braun KF6050WH BrewSense Drip Coffee Maker produced consistently delicious, hot cups of coffee, brewed efficiently and cleanly, from sleek, relatively compact hardware that is turnkey to operate, and all for a reasonable price.
Runner-up with a modern bent
This was, to our eye, the most handsome and minimally designed of the straightforward auto-brewers, delivering a clean, tasty cup. It lost first place only because the touchscreen may not be for every consumer, and brew time is significantly longer than the other machines we tried out.
Luxury pick for the design-obsessed
In just near five minutes, the Technivorm Moccamaster 59636 KBG Coffee Brewer turns out a whole pot of pretty perfectly brewed coffee, and the process is as entrancing as a targeted Netflix trailer.
Best affordable drip coffee maker
One of the cheapest options we tested, the Mr. Coffee 12-cup brewer is compact, simple to operate and yields a very competitive cup.
We brewed countless pots of coffee with the BrewSense, ranging from light to dark roast, and each one yielded a strong, delicious cup with no sediment, thanks to the gold tone filter, designed to remove the bitterness from coffee as well reduce single-use paper-filter waste. The machine we tested was white — a nice option for those with a more modern kitchen design — but it also comes in black, and it’s compact enough to fit under the cabinets in a smaller space compared to some of the more cumbersome machines we tested.
The BrewSense is straightforward to operate: It’s designed like a traditional automatic drip machine with manual operating buttons, but with a sleek, modern upgrade. The hardware is a sophisticated combination of brushed metal and plastic, with a glass carafe that feels comfortable in the hand.
The BrewSense doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles compared to some of the machines we tested, and that functional ease helped elevate it to the top of our list. You could unbox this machine, flush it through with water once, and be drinking a freshly brewed cup within 15 minutes, all without reading the manual. Brewing is also a nearly silent process, which can be pleasing on early mornings. Some consumers may want a machine loaded with special features, but for those who just want delicious, hot coffee every morning, without spending over a hundred bucks, this is your best bet.
The BrewSense isn’t perfect: It’s not the fastest we tested — to brew a full pot of 12 cups took upwards of 11 minutes. And we found an annoying error in the instruction manual around how to program the clock (call us rigid, but we insisted on programming the time before using each of the machines!); the directions read to press and hold CLOCK and then SET, but that didn’t work. We had to simply press and hold the CLOCK button and then sort of trial and error our way through the hours and minutes. Meanwhile, the auto-program setup is not as obvious as we’d have liked; though once we got it, it worked like a dream. But otherwise, we found this machine intuitive and easy to operate even without the instruction manual.
Cleanup could at times be a little messier than some of our other machines. The hot water comes up through the filter basket and spreads the grounds up to the top of the cone, and during one brewing, a tiny bit rose up outside the cone so the top of the brew apparatus needed a little wipedown. Overall, though, for less than $80, this machine delivers the best bang for your buck of anything on the market.
Coming in just a few points behind the Braun BrewSense was one of the three Cuisinart automatic drip machines we tested: the Touchscreen 14-Cup Programmable.
We rated all three Cuisinarts highly, but the Touchscreen ranked highest for its combination of progressive design and everyday efficacy. All the Cuisinart products we encountered were well designed, but this one feels special, like when you unbox a brand-new Apple product: Its all-black, shiny surfaces and touchscreen control panel look and feel next-level for an everyday coffee maker (and the price, $235 at Macy’s, more than three times that of the Braun, reflects that).
But this isn’t just a fancy, aesthetically pleasing machine: It brewed strong, delicious coffee that tasted cleanly filtered but rich. It’s also relatively easy to program and use, given its tech-centric platform. The touchscreen panel features cute little icons signifying one-touch commands to help customize your brew: If you like your coffee bolder, you can select the BOLD feature; if you’re brewing less than half a pot, select the 1 to 4 cups feature for a slower brew with the proper extraction time; adjust the hot plate temperature to low, medium or high; turn the audible brew-cycle-finished tone on or off.
That tech-centric design is also one of the reasons this didn’t come in at number one, however. As exciting and different as it felt, we did feel that this machine — the only touchscreen model we tested — would feel less intuitive and more laborious than some consumers would want as part of their morning coffee routine. The touchscreen goes dark during the brew process, which yes, is nice-looking, but also feels a bit jarring, like you’re literally in the dark, asking yourself, “What’s going on? Is coffee brewing?” The settings and operating buttons are clear enough when illuminated, but it did take us a few times brewing to get used to how much pressure you need to apply with your fingertip to the touchscreen. We could easily think of people in our own lives who would be flummoxed by this machine if left alone with it and a bag of coffee — and for that, it lost a few points in functionality.
Also, like its Cuisinart cousins we tested, this one’s a slower brewer. We clocked 11 minutes for eight cups, and if you’re watching your coffee maker brew like, well, a watched pot, it seems like it … takes forever. We understand the appeal of a slower brewing process (pour-over and Chemex fans, we hear you!), but 12 to 14 minutes for a full pot of coffee seems like a long time to wait when you’re thirsty for your morning Joe and you’re not doing it by hand. Finally, not everyone will want to spend more than $200 on a coffee maker. But many may.
While some consumers might be flummoxed by the technology of this higher-end product, others will embrace it and make it a centerpiece of their kitchen, and rightly so. Form plus function equals morning happiness here.
We had heard about the Technivorm Moccaster, a machine beloved for its innovative and old-school industrial design, handmade and tested in the Netherlands since 1968, even before we received it for this story. Multiple friends reached out upon hearing that we were testing a Moccamaster, singing the brand’s praises, and one declared it superlative via Instagram DM: “Moccamaster? Test over!” And the Moccamaster arrives with its own best PR too. Its user manual applauds buyers: “Congratulations on your purchase of the World’s Finest Coffee Brewer!” (If you’re spending more than $300 on a coffee maker, perhaps the enthusiasm feels validating.)
Once we got the apparatus set up — which takes a little focus and time, to be honest — it really did pay off, with possibly the most delicious, hot, fresh cup of coffee we have ever tasted from a home-brewed machine. What’s more, you barely have time to peruse the morning news headlines before the process is done. The Moccamaster brewed 10 cups in less than six minutes, and, on a second trial, six cups in under four minutes. The brew function is almost jarringly fast: Once you turn on the machine, the brewing starts immediately. Then, seeing the water heat in the tank and bubble up through the water transfer tube into the brewer was a throwback to middle-school science experiments in the most pleasing way, like if a lava lamp produced fresh hot coffee after a few mesmerizing undulations.
We discovered much to love about the Moccamaster, but there also were elements we didn’t adore. Perhaps ironically, they’re about the design. Some love a more hands-on coffee-making process, but some might find that there are just too many moving parts here, literally. We needed to read the directions pretty closely to assemble the parts. Once assembled, and once we digested what was happening brew-process-wise, the machine became fairly easy to operate.
But each time you use this machine, you have to take the brew basket apart to add a new paper filter (yes, it requires a paper filter, if that makes a difference to you) and coffee grounds, and that basket removal sometimes disrupts the outlet arm and the reservoir lid — not a huge deal, but it could feel like you have to put your coffee maker back together from scratch every morning. Also, the basket lid and outlet arm, through which the hot water travels from the tube to the brew basket, get very hot during the process. It’s fine if you’re aware and cautious, but you wouldn’t want someone to wander up and unknowingly touch the hot part of the brewer.
And finally, perhaps our most significant beef with this model: When you return the glass carafe to hotplate in between pours, the glass scrapes the warmer in a slightly cringey way.
The coffee that this striking machine yields, though, may diminish other distractions — we found ourselves moving this maker back to the kitchen counter time and again, because the brew process and its results were superior. If you, like us, are a fan of the Moccamaster, you’re likely to be one for many years to come, which will amortize the steep price tag accordingly.
We won’t go on and on about the Mr. Coffee 12-Cup, but it brewed a very workable 12 cups, in both taste and temperature, in just nine minutes. The machine came packaged in some pretty intense plastic and cardboard — the unboxing took a full five minutes and a pair of scissors — but once separated from its packaging, this machine’s a breeze to put together. The hardware is very easy to use (and to program to brew at a specific time), even without reading the directions. It’s compact — one of the best small drip coffee makers we tested — and durable, and the lid, brew basket, carafe and removable top half are all dishwasher safe, which wasn’t common among the machines we tested.
The testing process for these coffee makers was intensive, lasting more than a month. We evaluated each machine based on what would be most important to the user — namely, functionality, durability and design. We tested each machine at least twice (but four to eight times for some) with both dark and light roast freshly ground beans, did a programmed/timed brew when available, and tested the additional functions of the more specialty machines (single-cup, cold brew, tea, milk frothing). We jotted notes about every machine’s unboxing, read every instruction manual, handled and rehandled the hardware, timed the brew of each machine, noted the temperature of the resulting coffee, and tasted and had others taste and weigh in on user experience. We tried to get as acquainted as possible with each of these machines, became fond of a good many of them — and as a result, we drank way too much coffee over the month in question.
Read on for the categories and their breakdowns.
Brew function
Optimal temperature: We didn’t take the actual temperature of the coffee from each machine, because we don’t think that’s how the average coffee drinker evaluates home brewing — experts recommend that coffee be brewed at between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit, and served immediately, at 180 to 185 degrees — but we scored the perceived temp of each brew against all the others. We tasted each cup immediately after brewing, black, and then with added cold milk, and recorded the results.
Taste: The taste of coffee is, obviously, subjective. Two people could spend a lifetime tasting the different coffee varietals and never agree on one. That being said, we tested each machine with both a dark roast and a light roast, keeping the amount of grounds consistent to the machine’s directions. As a result, some machines that recommended using more grounds yielded stronger brews — in those instances, we retested those with less grounds accordingly.
Time to brew: For each carafe brewed, we timed the process on an iPhone timer, both for a full carafe and half. For those machines that made single cups, we timed that process as well.
Heat retention: We noted whether the machine brewed into a glass or a thermal carafe, and how hot the coffee remained a half hour to an hour after brewing.
User-friendliness: We did an initial scan of each machine, evaluating whether a new customer would be able to brew coffee without reading the instruction manual. We then assessed whether the design of each machine is immediately intuitive, and on a more micro level, assessed the settings and buttons on the face of the machine, the markings on the water tank and carafe, how easy the carafe is to fill, and the design of the brew basket.
Volume yield: We noted how many ounces each machine can brew.
Programmability: We recorded whether you can program the machine to brew at a set time.
Durability
Everyday durability: For this category, we assessed how the machine responded to being handled during setup, filling the water tank, adding the grounds, removing and replacing carafe to serve, cleanup, and how durable the hardware felt.
Build quality: We noted what materials the machine is built from, e.g., plastic, metal, brushed metal, glass, and the tangible feel of each machine in a user’s hands.
Serviceability: We noted the ease of opening and taking apart the removable parts of each machine, in the case it would need to be serviced.
Setup and breakdown
Ease of assembly: We observed how long it took to unbox the machine, put it together, and do an initial water flush before the product could be used.
Size of machine: We assessed how much counter space each machine took up, and how easy it is to move and store.
Ease of clean: After each brewing, we took note of how easy it was to clean the brew basket, the carafe, and the surrounding hardware.
Aesthetic
First impression: We observed our first impression of each machine, noting details of design, color, size, feel — whether this machine looked attractive on our counter.
Color options: We researched if the machine came in any colors besides black.
Warranty
We checked the number of years of warranty of each machine.
Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System
We tested two Ninja machines, both of which have some very appealing features. The hot and cold brew system brewed an excellent pot of hot coffee in less than five minutes, as well as a very tasty single cup (in multiple sizes), a less easy feat to perfect. It also brews coffee intended to be served directly over ice, an option that lots of consumers will like. We love the cool, minimalist glass carafe, though the lid features a big hole in the middle for pouring, which can lead to some splashing.
This machine, though prolific in function, lost points because the water tank — plastic with prominent ridges — feels cheap and devolves the user experience a bit (with this machine, thankfully, the plastic tank is in the back, hidden from view, but does need to be handled every time you add water). Another problem with this machine: The water tank doesn’t have marking measurements, only half carafe, and full carafe, and two sizes of single cup. Without ounce or cup markings, how does one know how much water to add versus amount of coffee grounds? The Ninja machines come with a special-sized coffee scoop, different amounts on each end of the scoop, but it was bothersome that the water and the coffee amounts couldn’t be more standardized without relying only on the provided removable accessories (which, for the record, are cute — there’s a removable frothing wand). A lot of performance features with this machine also means a busy control panel that also feels a bit high-maintenance.
The Ninja Specialty is similar to the hot and cold brewed one, with one major difference: The water tank is adjacent to the brew basket, and visible to the eye. This one also brews a very nice cup of hot fresh coffee, and has nifty added functions, too, like myriad sizes of individual cups, half and full carafes, and an over-ice option. The placement of the water tank front and center here, though, makes this one less appealing than the hot and cold option; the tank, similarly, feels flimsy and cheap, a factor that’s difficult to overlook in user experience. For those who like the Ninja brand products (they make blenders and other items), though, there’s a lot of function for your buck here.
The most basic of the Cuisinart options we tested, this one brewed a nearly perfect cup at, for this reviewer, a perfectly hot temp (even after adding significant cold milk, we still had a steaming hot cup), thanks to an adjustable carafe temp. This machine is solid and well-designed, with one downside (for us): Brewing time was 14 minutes for eight cups, nearly double the time of some of the other brewers we tested.
Cuisinart Coffee Center 10-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker and Single Serve Brewer
Our third Cuisinart brews only 10 cups into a thermal carafe, but has the handy bonus feature of a single-serve brew — with an attachment to use prepackaged coffee pods, or an adorable mini filter to use fresh grounds. (Note: The mini filter is a bit of a chore to clean because it is so small.) Like its Cuisinart siblings above, this machine makes good coffee, but the single-serve brewer does make the whole of the hardware more cumbersome. One annoying design issue: There’s an on/off switch on the side of the machine, whose placement feels not intuitive.
The De’Longhi TrueBrew is a superautomatic machine, meaning it incorporates a grinder so you can start with whole beans and have it do the rest for you. At the touch of a button, it can produce a single cup or a whole pot of coffee. The TrueBrew is incredibly convenient, but it’s quite expensive, and despite its wide range of options in our testing we got better tasting coffee from dedicated pour-over coffee and espresso setups. Unless you really want the ease of use of a pod machine along with the ability to use fresh whole beans it may not be for you.
The most affordable automatic drip machine we tested, the Black & Decker 12-cup, is also a solid choice. It brewed eight tasty cups in eight short minutes — overall a good user experience. Hardware-wise, it felt a bit less durable than its closest rival, the Mr. Coffee, but it’s programmable and super easy for near the cost of two lattes with an extra shot.
The Bonavita Connoisseur has its fans, but we had multiple issues with the machine. This pleasingly retro-looking apparatus brews a nice cup quickly and at a good temperature, but the user experience leaves much to be desired. Simply put, the design feels flawed. The lid of the carafe needs to be removed before brewing, so the coffee just brews directly into a wide-open carafe — this was so counterintuitive to us, even after three or four brew tries, that it diminished the experience of the brew process. The brewer also gets very hot during brewing — so hot that we wondered if it might actually be a safety issue. Lastly, after brewing, we screwed the carafe lid back on and tried to return the carafe to underneath the brewer — sure, maybe we were still sleepy, maybe not enough caffeine yet — but the carafe doesn’t fit under the brewer with the lid on; the entire top of the machine popped off. This affects storage of the machine, too; because the carafe lid and the brew basket don’t both fit into the hardware at the same time, there’s always one piece loose.
We were giddy upon opening this fancy brewer with much to offer: standard brew, fast, gold (what even is that, I wondered at first glance!), cold brew, single cup (with a sold separately attachment), and a customizable to your preferences setting. The options are exciting, but also overwhelming. The user is prompted to enter the consistency of their water, on a hard to soft scale — do all home coffee drinkers know the texture of their tap water? Also, does the average coffee drinker know what Gold Cup certification is? These feel like niche details for an automatic drip machine.
Big picture, the Breville brewed a good pot of coffee, quite quickly, but we didn’t find it hot enough. The whole apparatus is beautifully designed, with sleek brushed metal and a lightweight, handsome carafe lovely enough to join a brunch table. But digging in further, we found this machine just to be… well, just a little too much. Too much hardware — it doesn’t fit easily under our cabinets. Too many options — we needed to read up on a bunch of coffee wisdom before we could even set up the machine to our preferences. There are lots of users who would find this machine the sweet spot of function and sophistication, and enjoy exploring all of its specialties, but for those looking for turnkey coffee-making, this is a little extra.
Read more from CNN Underscored’s hands-on testing:
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, March 22, 2018 (Newswire.com)
– While notably one of Central America’s most under the radar destinations, Honduras is making strides in its tourism sector. The country has enjoyed a steady increase in tourism arrivals over the past few years, having welcomed more than two million visitors in 2017, which represent more than U.S. $700 million in tourist spending. The country’s cruise offering is a main driver for its tourism industry, with several new cruise ships arriving in 2017. Honduras has also generated growth in its connectivity and announced new hotel developments. Below are the most recent achievements for the Honduras Institute of Tourism:
Connectivity
The International Airport of Juan Manuel Galvez in Roatan will soon undergo multiple upgrades including an extension of the runway and a new building for passengers. These upgrades will allow the airport to receive more planes, as well as better attend to passengers. Another important milestone for Honduras was the addition of Air Europa offering weekly direct flights from Madrid, Spain, to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. This new route has allowed greater connectivity for the country to more than 20 European destinations and more than one thousand sales channels for the marketing of airline tickets. The weekly Air Europa flight began in April 2017 when flight occupancy exceeded 85 percent. Since then, Air Europa expanded the capacity of the aircraft on that route with an Airbus 330-300 able to accommodate 388 passengers, adding 89 more seats. The possibility of increasing the frequency to two flights per week is currently under consideration.
Cruise
The cruise sector is an instrumental contributor to Honduras’ tourism industry, as the country welcomed more than a million cruise passengers in 2017 representing a nearly 5 percent increase over 2016. Most recently, Roatan has welcomed new cruise ships including Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Reflection, Viking Ocean’s Viking Sky and TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff from Germany.
New Tourism Experiences
While Honduras is well known for its impressive archeological sites such as Copan, and its unmatched diving on the Caribbean coast, the Honduras Tourism Board is now making an emphasis to showcase its exquisite Birdwatching experience. Honduras is one of the countries in Central America featuring the most protected land with 121 areas and is home to more than 770 species of birds. Most recently, efforts have focused on the promotion and development of services offered for Birdwatching, for which there are excellent guides and tour operators specialized in this area. The varied ecosystems in Honduras allow visitors to see many species of birds including the Ocellated Quail, Keel-billed Motmot, Lovely Cotinga, Agami Heron and the Honduran Emerald Hummingbird.
The Touristic Coffee Route, which allows visitors to visit coffee farms and have a complete tour of the process from seed to cup, is another experience being further developed. For years, Honduras has been acclaimed for its coffee and last year, the coffee beans grown by Honduras’ José Abelardo Díaz Enamorado were designated as the “Best of the Best” in the 2017 Ernesto Illy International Coffee Awards. There are six areas to experience the Coffee Route in Honduras: Copan, Opalaca, Montecillos, Comayagua, El Paraíso and Agalta.
Accolades
Some of Honduras’ attractions have also been recognized among the best by top media outlets. Mary’s Place, located in Roatan, was recently listed among USA Today 10Best Reader’ Choice 2018 as one of the Caribbean’s best dive sites. Mary’s Place provides a habitat for marine critters including coral, sponge and seahorses. Additionally, the Island of Utila, located in Honduras’ northern coast along the second largest barrier reef in the world, was listed the No. 1 Best Caribbean Dive Site by USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice 2017.
About Honduras
Set in the heart of Central America is Honduras, one of the region’s less discovered gems that is ready to be explored. Boasting a variety of ecosystems and a vast amount of protected land, Honduras is home to a wealth of nature and wildlife both above land and under the ocean. The country presents numerous unparalleled experiences: nature, including the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, designated a Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO; several archeological sites such as Copan, declared a Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO; adventure with river rafting and rappelling through the protected jungles; diving in pristine reefs on the Caribbean coast and connecting with authentic culture including several indigenous groups who have preserved their customs and tradition. Honduras, love outright. For more information, visit https://honduras.travel.
Press Contact
Diana Arellano Newlink Group 305-702-2776 diana.arellano@newlink-group.com
WASHINGTON, December 7, 2017 (Newswire.com)
– Congressmen and businessmen from the United States praised the quality of Peruvian coffee and cocoa and celebrated the success of the policy of replacing crops in the fight against drug trafficking in Peru. Both products were tasted this morning by hundreds of people at the headquarters of the U.S. Congress.
The two crops have been produced on land taken from illegal coca plantations in the valleys of the Amazon and Sierra del Peru.
It’s a battle where the cocoa is defeating coca, where coffee is pushing back the illegal coca crops.
Carlos Pareja, Ambassador of Peru in the U.S.
“This is a success story,” said Peru’s ambassador to the United States Carlos Pareja. “It’s a battle where the cocoa is defeating coca, where coffee is pushing back the illegal coca crops.”
According to the Peruvian diplomat, the policy of crop substitution undertaken by the government of Peru, within the framework of Peruvian cooperation in the fight against illicit drug trafficking, “is paying off” thanks to a strategic alliance of cooperation between USAID, DEVIDA and the local governments of the coca-growing areas.
For her part, the Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations Ana Maria Choquehuanca, who is in Washington, D.C., to participate in a special session of the Permanent Council of the OAS, said that the substitution of crops demonstrates the government’s commitment to advance in the eradication of drug trafficking, on the eve of the bicentennial of the independence of Peru.
“We are accompanied by seven mayors and an alderman from the regions of Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Junín, Huánuco, Pasco and Piura, and all of them have come to testify that it is possible to defeat drug trafficking by promoting effective policies to replace crops that restore their dignity to the affected populations and that improve their income levels,” said Alfonso Velásquez, executive president of Sierra y Selva Exportadora del Perú.
The Peruvian coffee and chocolate tasting event was attended by a dozen prominent U.S. Congressmen, many of them members of the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Peru, an association of U.S. legislators aimed at promoting bilateral relations between the peoples of the United States and Peru, as well as between their respective governments.
“From the U.S. Congress, we can help Peruvian farmers grow coffee and cocoa instead of coca,” said Utah Republican Representative Chris Stewart. “We are going to promote all our efforts so that it continues to be a success story.”
For his part, Congressman Gregory Meeks, Democratic Representative for New York, invited attendees to demand in the U.S. supermarkets “coffee and chocolates from Peru,” because they are part of the excellent tradition of Peruvian cuisine. “Some of the best restaurants in the world are in Peru,” he explained. Meeks once again invited attendees to visit Peru “where there are wonderful places to explore.”
Congressman Paul Cook (R-CA), president of the Western Hemisphere subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee; Albio Sires (D-NJ), leader of the Democratic minority in the Western Hemisphere’s subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee; as well as Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), David Price (D-NC) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) of the Appropriations Committee, also attended the event.
Also present were Robin Kelly (D-IL), member of the Foreign Relations Committee, as well as Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI), Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (D-CA) and former Congressman Baron Hill.
The “Coffee and Cacao Day in the United States Congress” was organized by the Peruvian Embassy in the United States and Sierra y Selva Exportadora del Perú. The purpose of the event was to demonstrate the success of the policy of replacing crops to eradicate the illegal production of coca leaf in Peru and also to find new export markets for both products.
Compass Group, the world’s largest foodservice company, along with Foodbuy (their procurement arm), joins Farmer Brothers in support of World Coffee Research. Foodbuy is the newest member and the only foodservice sector supporter of this non-profit, collaborative research and development program of the global coffee industry.
Press Release –
Dec 14, 2015
Fort Worth, TX, December 14, 2015 (Newswire.com)
– Compass Group, the world’s largest foodservice company, along with Foodbuy (their procurement arm) is the first foodservice company to commit to a sustainable future for coffee where coffee begins—with the seed. Foodbuy is the newest member and the only foodservice sector supporter of World Coffee Research.
“Foodbuy and Compass Group have a commitment to three life-sustaining priorities: humanity, sustainability and wellness,” says Tony Shearer, Foodbuy’s Chief Executive Officer. “Supporting World Coffee Research allows us to take action on these priorities and directly impact coffee farmers, the growing process and the coffee many of our customers drink every day.”.
A major focus of WCR’s work in 23 countries is making the coffee plant more resilient to the threats of the 21st century, including climate change. With $20,000 in new funding from Foodbuy, World Coffee Research will be able to extend its research into the molecular and genetic causes of quality, productivity, and disease resistance in the coffee plant, which will help make coffee farming more profitable and less risky, and therefore more sustainable for coffee farmers and for coffee drinkers.
Without investment in research and development like that conducted by WCR, it’s expected that up to 50% of the land where high-quality Arabica coffee currently grows will be unsuitable by 2050, with significant consequences for the people who grow coffee and for the environment.
Farmer Brothers, a national coffee roaster and distributor, is a WCR member and partners with Foodbuy to provide its Artisan Collection™ of premium, sustainable coffee to hospitals and colleges around the country. Through the Artisan Collection, Farmer Brothers and Foodbuy are making great, sustainable coffee available to a wide audience. Their joint support of WCR will fund research to help grow, protect and enhance quality coffee supplies for the future.
“We could not be more excited about Foodbuy’s commitment to our work,” says World Coffee Research Executive Director Tim Schilling. “And about what it signals about the growing awareness among companies and the public about how essential scientific research is to ensuring a sustainable future for coffee and coffee farmers.”
Some examples of the work that funding from Foodbuy will support:
Tools to give farmers better information about existing coffee varieties so they can plant the coffee varieties that are best suited to their farm, such as the first-ever catalog of coffee varieties for Central America
The world’s largest coffee seed exchange and comparison of varieties, to give farmers better choices about which coffee varieties to plant
A long-term program to breed the next generation of coffee varieties that are climate resilient, disease and pest tolerant, high producing, and truly high quality. Improved coffee varieties can increase a farmer’s include by up to 50%.
About World Coffee Research
World Coffee Research (WCR) is a 501 (c)(5) nonprofit collaborative research and development program of the global coffee industry to grow, protect, and enhance supplies of quality coffee while improving the livelihoods of the families who produce it. The program is funded and driven by the global coffee industry, guided by producers, and executed by coffee scientists around the world. It is based at the Norman Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M University. worldcoffeeresearch.org
For more information about World Coffee Research and its programs, please visitworldcoffeeresearch.org
About Farmer Bros. Co.
Founded in 1912, Farmer Bros. Co. is a national coffee roaster, wholesaler and distributor of coffee, tea and culinary products. The Company is a direct distributor of coffee to restaurants, hotels, casinos, offices, quick service restaurants (“QSR’s”), convenience stores, healthcare facilities and other foodservice providers, as well as private brand retailers in the QSR, grocery, drugstore, restaurant, convenience store, and independent coffee house channels. Headquartered in Ft. Worth, Texas, Farmer Bros. Co. generated net sales of over $500 million in fiscal 2015 and has approximately 1,800 employees nationwide. The Company’s primary brands include Farmer Brothers®, Artisan Collection™ by Farmer Brothers, Superior®, MetropolitanTM, Cain’sTM and McGarvey®.
About Compass/Foodbuy
Foodbuy, LLC is the largest foodservice procurement organization in North America and the sole sourcing partner for our parent company, Compass Group North America. We manage more than $20 billion in purchase volume, giving us a tremendous competitive advantage when negotiating contracts for our customers.
WCR Media Contact: Compass Media Contact:
Hanna Neuschwander Jayne Buckley
Communications Director VP Strategic Business Implementation
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