Off Topic: Coffee and Tea

Just make sure you have cups that arent white inside; the dentist says tea really stains your teeth, but added his hygiene person is always available.

For k-cups, some places online sell a refillable, reusable k-cup pod that is pretty inexpensive! I haven't used them myself, but maybe other people can chime in about how well they work.

Tom, as you know, I am a tea girl from waaay back. Love all kinds, but lately have been drinking mostly white and green. Am currently working my way through a Kusmi Wellness sampler. I love the elegant muslin bags with tags that they come in, but it probably adds to the expense.

I broke the handle off my espresso machine, and freaked out over the price of a new one. So I toddled on over to Amazon and bought one of those stovetop Bialetti Moka makers. It makes wonderful coffee! I went to Italy a few years ago, and turned into a terrible coffe snob...there's just no excuse for crappy coffee. I can't stand the k cups...though a friend has reusable ones that she fills with Peets coffee, and they are more tolerable. As for tea, I do like Teavana, but I'm not as passionate about it. Get well soon!

If you have a dishwasher Palmolive Eco+ liquid is the best I've found for completely removing the tea and coffee stains from inside cups and mugs that are dishwasher safe. I used to use a more expensive one and the inside of my teacups were still stained. When I switched my fiancé even asked how I removed the stains.

My mum showed me that you can clean tea stains with a dose of salt (a teaspoon or so) and just enough water to be able to rub it with your fingers but not dissolve it. It hasn't ruined the surface of her china cups after decades of doing this when it's needed.

If you're going to do Starbucks pods, see if you can find them with the "Gold Coast Blend". It's the best tasting, non-bitter bean that they roast. For tea, Kusmichoff (Kusmi) Tea has a blend called Troika which I adore. At my Cafe we served exclusively Republic Of Tea b/c their quality and consistancy are spectacular. They are credited with reviving tea-drinking in America in the early 80's, right after selling Banana Republic to a major corperation, in the 70's BR was a stand alone surplus store (tiny) in Mill Valley, CA. I shopped there alot as a poor college student, it was cheao!

Another trick for de-staining porcelain (coffee cups, toilets, etc.) is to fill with water and add a denture-cleaning tablet! I haven't smelled many coffee scents -- Arquiste Nanban supposedly has a coffee accord, and although I love it, I don't smell the coffee. But I do love tea scents!

A few things.. I am a huge fan of Nespresso - received the machine in 2005 and it works as good today as the first day I got it. When you pick up pods at the store, you can get a plastic bag to store used capsules. The store will recycle the used capsules to make new ones. As for teas and fragrance, if you have any friends going to Paris - ask them to go to the Guerlain boutique to pick you up a tin of a fragrance inspired tea. Le Petite Robe Noire is my favorite with Shalimar being a second. Though if they are going to Paris - a trip to Mariage Freres is essential for tea exploration. I am currently in love with Kusmi Tea Sweet Love - a black tea with Licorice, spices and guarana. :) Ron

Tea~how I love it! Rishi makes two that are incredible for flavor and scent: Tropical Oolong and a Dancong oolong with, IIRC, iris and orchid notes. Adagio's Katsumi is wonderfuly floral. And Keemun Mao Feng is fantastic in all its sturdiness sans floral notes of any kind. I could go on and on about tea.....

I love hot tea and drink it year-round. My favorites are green tea varieties in teabag form. Tazo and The Republic of Tea, available at Whole Foods, are two favorite brands. I love the smell of coffee, but only enjoy eating it in ice cream form or tiramisu. Yum! A neat, unusual coffee scent mixed with lavender is Sonia Rykiel's Belle en Rykiel. It's still available at some discounters and ebay from time to time. I've only got a sample of it, but it's memorable.

Top tip for tea-stained mugs - bicarbonae of soda! Make a paste with a couple of drops of water and scrub your mugs with it, or add 1tbsp to the mug and soak in boiling water. Unless the stains are really scratched in, your mugs will be as good as new (and if they are scratched in they will be almost as good as new) :)

Are these Kcups or those mini pockets of grounds? I've neve tried Kcups, but have friends who love them. I recently tried the mini pocket things at a hotel and found them pretty convenient. My coffee is Trader Joe's Bay Blend or Zekes Tell Tale Dark. Both are dark roasts. As i understand it, the darker the roast, the less caffeine it contains. Coffee smells are tricky. I love my two brands' smell, but find Starbucks brewed to have a burnt smell. We used to have a Columbian roast at work that smelled like cat pee as it brewed. As for perfumes, I adore coffee scents! Jo Malone Vetiver Cafe was my 1st. Now I have a parade of L'Artisans, SLs and *finally* I got ahold of Amen Pure Coffee on the re-release!! I horde it. I'll only spray it on my husband or myself for super special occasions.

Redbush (rooibos) is even worse at staining! I end up soaking my cups in chlorine and water. I quite like tea-based perfumes, and find the thought of wearing coffee a bit weird, but do enjoy it in Cacharel's Noa. This is a comforting fragrance - soft, incensey and just right for molly-coddling yourself at home on a grey day. While you drink a steaming mug of coffee.

Try Blue bottle coffee (SF). Be prepared to line up for it. What city in the states are you in ?