15 Things Worth Knowing About Coffee. 17 Things Worth Knowing About Your Cat. The MotherF**king Pterodactyl. These and various other amusements courtesy of The Oatmeal.
posted by brain_drain on Nov 18, 2009 - 30 comments

Time for the morning jolt delivered by the dark nectar of the gods? Ok fine, but shouldn't you know what's in that cup of coffee?
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Oct 6, 2009 - 57 comments

Now there's a 1000$ worth cups of coffee. Beautifully done by the very talented Mike Harding.
posted by lipsum on Aug 24, 2009 - 48 comments

Fancy a coffee with Dominic West? Rather tasty British actors in slightly ridiculous soft focus sell instant coffee, using sexy literature. [more inside]
posted by tiny crocodile on Aug 14, 2009 - 58 comments

According to the Wall Street Journal, coffee shops in New York are starting to cut back on laptops -- by reducing WiFi privileges, removing outlets, or banning the machines outright. This article has spawned a vast number of spin-off pieces and conversations across the Web. [more inside]
posted by Shepherd on Aug 7, 2009 - 100 comments

Cheeming Boey is an artist. Sharpie on coffee cups are his chosen medium. Boey even outlines his process. The cups, of course, are for sale, and arrive in a tasteful glass case. His other projects are similarly creative.
posted by alzi on Jul 28, 2009 - 20 comments

Do you have any idea what day tomorrow is? Oh sure you could celebrate by going to: Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme. But why not try someplace a little less mainstream?
posted by Mastercheddaar on Jun 4, 2009 - 46 comments

The Breakfast Song. [more inside]
posted by jbickers on Mar 5, 2009 - 40 comments

Christoph Niemann illustrates: his sons' obsession with the NYC subway (previously), bathroom tile art, New York cheat sheets, and his experiences with coffee (illustrated with coffee on napkins). Check out his excellent portfolio of illustrations and don't miss the ones on illustrating. You can see Niemann talk a bit about his work here.
posted by parudox on Dec 26, 2008 - 18 comments

In a series of sixteen advertisements screened in Japan, Tommy Lee Jones plays extraterrestrial 'Alien Jones', who has taken the form of a man to check on the world of humans, all the while drinking a Japanese brand of coffee named BOSS. I have no idea how Tommy Lee Jones got talked into doing these advertisements, or why. And after watching them for yourself (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16), you probably won't either.
posted by Effigy2000 on Nov 23, 2008 - 85 comments

Despite the much-maligned economy, people are seemingly starting the holiday season early this year in Loveland, Colorado by "paying it forward" for strangers' coffee at a Starbucks drive-through. This has happened in 2006 and similar events were debated last year on the blue, which led me to believe it was not a real phenomenon. CNN has the video version of the first link with interviews of those involved. Maybe it's not a PR stunt after all.
posted by knile on Nov 18, 2008 - 75 comments

Pssssst. Hey you. Yeah... you. Feel like some damn good hot coffee? Of course you do. Well then... here ya go.
posted by miss lynnster on Jul 25, 2008 - 36 comments

The Coffee Junkie’s Guide to Caffeine Addiction. Caffeine's a hell of a drug. In fact, it's the world's most popular psychoactive drug. And more and more of us are getting hooked on the stuff. [more inside]
posted by The Card Cheat on Jul 22, 2008 - 144 comments

Browse the demise of Starbucks' stores in this searchable list of all 600 closures.
posted by plexi on Jul 18, 2008 - 176 comments

He wanted his espresso iced, but the coffee shop wouldn't let him. "Hey man. What you're about to do … that’s really, really Not Okay." [more inside]
posted by brownpau on Jul 14, 2008 - 339 comments

How to make the worst White Russian ever. That's what you get for asking for cocktail at some super square looking business hotel adjacent to an exhibition center. Ok, ok, here's how to make a nice one. Ooh it looks like Jupiter. Try one hot. Teeny tiny Kahlua drinks. Do NOT cook pork in it. Oh, okay, go ahead. Make you own kahlua. It won't be as pretty as this. While we're adding coffee to booze why not add booze to coffee.
posted by Artw on May 29, 2008 - 58 comments

The Love Affair of Bicycles and Coffee. [more inside]
posted by bassjump on Mar 11, 2008 - 26 comments

"Hendon's library's opening hours have been cut, a cafe has taken the place of part of the fiction section, and a computer learning zone has replaced the periodicals room. When I complained, a local councillor wrote back to say that he did not feel that the cut in opening hours was a great hardship for anyone."

The Guardian writes on the long slow death of libraries.
posted by The Jesse Helms on Mar 7, 2008 - 86 comments

Don't Fear Starbucks

Soon after declining Starbucks's buyout offer, Hyman received the expected news that the company was opening up next to one of his stores. But instead of panicking, he decided to call his friend Jim Stewart, founder of the Seattle's Best Coffee chain, to find out what really happens when a Starbucks opens nearby. "You're going to love it," Stewart reported. "They'll do all of your marketing for you, and your sales will soar".

Contrary to popular belief Starbucks, instead of destroying it, is promoting a thriving Mom & Pop coffee house industry. With the number of independent owned stores growing 40% between 2000 and 2005 and a less than 10% failure rate you might want to start looking for an empty storefront next to your local branch of Seattle's biggest export.
posted by PenDevil on Dec 30, 2007 - 120 comments

The Most Expensive Drink at Starbucks.
posted by dhammond on Dec 21, 2007 - 65 comments

The other day, I overheard someone marveling at this story: Impatient jack-ass in Starbucks drive-thru (no, not always synonymous) honks and shouts repeatedly at driver in front of him, a tai-chi master who decides to "change the consciousness" of the jerk by paying for his coffee. The jerk is so moved, that he pays for the coffee of the person behind him, and this "chain of kindness" winds up lasting all day, with everyone paying for the drink behind him. Nice story, right? How odd that the same thing (minus the Jewish zen-master) ccurred almost simultaneously in another part of the country. In this version, the "cheer chain," as the Starbucks employee calls it, was a near-perfect (except for this guy) example of holiday cheer. I guess pre-caffeinated Starbucks customers must possess a surprisingly high amount of holiday spirit. Or maybe it's just the red cups.
posted by ericbop on Dec 17, 2007 - 205 comments

Girlfriend just broke up with you? Feeling a little stress? Be careful how you relieve it - you may end up on the wrong side of the law (or be the subject of a cartoon depiction).
posted by thrakintosh on Dec 13, 2007 - 22 comments

Alfred Peet died last month; Is he the real father of Starbucks? Either way, cheers to some good java.
posted by bustmakeupleave on Sep 12, 2007 - 15 comments

Coffee + laser = instant awesome!
posted by loquacious on Mar 26, 2007 - 59 comments

Starbucking, the true story of one man's highly caffeinated journey. Starbucking is a documentary film that follows Winter, a man who has dedicated his life to visiting every Starbucks in the world. He's been to 6,000 Starbucks (and counting) since 1997, and is trying to break his record of visiting 28 Starbucks in a day. So, "sit back, have a cup of joe, and watch as one man defies society's norms in a never ending search for the lady in green."
posted by londontube on Mar 22, 2007 - 239 comments

Welcome to the South Pole Telescope blog.
posted by geos on Mar 8, 2007 - 7 comments

Just Coffee is a vertically-integrated coffee cooperative with a mission to provide the training and resources to create a sustainable small-scale international coffee company fully owned and controlled by the coffee growers. Could they also provide a model solution for the immigration problem?
posted by carsonb on Feb 18, 2007 - 17 comments

Coffee Pot Meth. "I know enough now that whenever I go to a hotel, regardless of how nice it is, I'll never use a coffee pot."
posted by stbalbach on Feb 9, 2007 - 138 comments

Drops of milk splashing into coffee. The beauty of high shutter speed photography.
posted by jonson on Jan 29, 2007 - 53 comments

Contra Café: Wake Up With Freedom Fighters.
posted by stammer on Jan 22, 2007 - 20 comments

How much is too much? Here in Manhattan I can choose from exactly 197 Starbucks locations. Currently Starbucks continues to open 5 new stores a day. Its nice to have choices, but is anything sacred anymore? Hell, even National Slow Down Week (courtesy of Adbusters.org) has coffee in the picture.
posted by allkindsoftime on Jan 19, 2007 - 163 comments

Is it possible to make truly excellent coffee or even espresso at home? Are fancy machines necessary? Dethroner is doing a theme week about coffee with a guestblogging pro coffee nerd dispensing some dense yet practical advice about beans and brewing. Don't miss the latte art video which makes it look so easy.
posted by the_ill_gino on Dec 14, 2006 - 29 comments

Coffee, anyone? PDF found here Everyone needs that nice pick-me-up in the morning, after all. Don't worry - have a nice espesso!
posted by lalochezia on Sep 14, 2006 - 55 comments

Stains on paper.
posted by dead_ on Sep 14, 2006 - 15 comments

Bicycle Coffee Systems reviews products essential to the "joys of bicycling and drinking good coffee, at the same time" and is written by "The Earth's Leading Authority on Conveying Coffee by Bicycle".
posted by turbodog on Aug 14, 2006 - 8 comments

Developing black and white film at home just got much cheaper. It's possible to develop film using tea, coffee, or even vitamin C. To avoid being called a fustian photography nerd, call it caffenol (or caffeinol, but not that caffeinol).
posted by nomad on Apr 20, 2006 - 20 comments

The little coffee plant that almost died. A fascinating and inspiring radio piece detailing the story of the wild coffee plant, "cafe marron," that almost disappeared from the one island where it grew, Rodrigues, in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
posted by billysumday on Mar 29, 2006 - 3 comments

Man kills jealous boyfriend with coffee mug. This is from my local paper (see also stoner busts self). Just to show you the kind of interesting stuff that goes on here in Utah...(more inside)
posted by punkbitch on Feb 9, 2006 - 44 comments

Toss your espresso machine? An "entirely new way to brew coffee" for $30?! Yessssssss. From the same guy that invented the Aerobie flying disk (which holds the world throwing record of more than a quarter mile). Articles/reviews at SingleServeCoffee and the official product page. Download the instructions (pdf). A Coffeegeek discussion and also some customer reviews at LocalsOnlyCoffee. </CoffeeFilter>
posted by spock on Jan 17, 2006 - 102 comments

Maine's favorite drink is Allen's Coffee Brandy and milk. No, really, it is Maine's favorite drink. Let's go get a sombrero, brother!
posted by Mayor Curley on Jan 10, 2006 - 26 comments

The women's petition against coffee and the mens answer to the petition against coffee circa 1674. The Humble Petition and Address of several Thousands of Buxome Good-Women, Languishing in Extremity of Want.[more stuff inside]
posted by KevinSkomsvold on Dec 22, 2005 - 32 comments

A potted history of coffee Oh, and some music - Dylan, Bach, Inkspots, Lightnin' Hopkins, Peggy Lee, Duke Ellington, White Stripes, etc.
posted by carter on Dec 20, 2005 - 14 comments

The Starbucks Cup. An icon of taste and excess. On one hand, it's honored by the National Recycling Coalition for adding post-consumer recycled content (wow, 10%!). On the other hand, it's announced that the cups will soon feature religious nuggets from Rick Warren, author of the Purpose-Driven Publishing Empire. What gives?
posted by billder on Oct 25, 2005 - 68 comments

Six Drinks that Changed the World. Beer, Wine, Coffee . . . Their impact upon the history of the World. via GeekPress
posted by caddis on Oct 9, 2005 - 50 comments

Death By Caffeine I just learned that it would take 155.11 cans of Mountain Dew to kill me, according to this odd little service.
posted by jragon on Aug 17, 2005 - 44 comments

Finding good coffee - I am a big fan of both del.icio.us and good coffee (i.e. not over-roasted crud from Starbucks), so I was very happy to see the two combined in CafeSpot which calls itself "a social guide to independent cafes, coffee shops, restaurants and more".
posted by arete on Aug 10, 2005 - 11 comments

Coffee hacking: See self-heating coffee cans and cold-brewed coffee. [via MAKE: blog, which is shaping up nicely]
posted by Lush on Jul 7, 2005 - 14 comments

Coffee Starbucks and the Revolution PDF
The Tatler. First post: April 12, 1709.
...wherein I shall from time to time report and consider all matters of what kind soever that shall occur to me, and publish such my advices and reflections every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday in the week for the convenience of the post. I have also resolved to have something which may be of entertainment to the fair sex...
posted by Tlogmer on Jun 11, 2005 - 10 comments

The women's petition against coffee "the Excessive use of that Newfangled, Abominable, Heathenish Liquor called COFFEE, which Riffling Nature of her Choicest Treasures, and Drying up the Radical Moisture, has so Eunucht our Husbands, and Crippled our more kind Gallants, that they are become as Impotent, as Age, and as unfruitful as those Desarts whence that unhappy Berry is said to be brought." (via)
posted by dhruva on May 3, 2005 - 43 comments

The mission of delocator.net is to assist the public in finding and supporting independently owned cafés. There's a thinly-veiled stance against a certain coffee company, but the site's a great community-driven toolkit for finding yourself a good cup of joe anywhere in the US.
posted by mkultra on Apr 5, 2005 - 53 comments