Here is a quick update on some interesting places to get coffee machines in the web.



You can now get Saeco Royal Proefssional at coffee-machines.com.au



The Jura range including the Impressa F90 is available at Gilkatho.com.au



When researching coffee machines it is worthwhile to consider the following:



Availability of staff whom know about the specific models.

Availability of training with your machine.

Competency of staff whom wil handle after sales.

Will your enquiries be handled locally or in a far off call centre?

Having the convenience of fresh espresso in the office kitchen means that staff do not have to go out of the office to get a cup of coffee. People can enjoy the luxury of fresh espresso coffee in the convenience of the office kitchen. The smell and aroma of espresso coffee can create a convivial atmosphere of relaxation. People associate the feelings that the coffee aroma creates with feelings of being away from the workplace and relaxing. This creates an area where busy office workers can get away from the office without actually having to go out of the office.

While it is true that office espresso is far cheaper than buying coffee at a coffee shop, it is also a very effective way of providing an incentive for staff or a reward for work that they have done on a particular project. Many new offices are being designed with a coffee machine as an integral part of the new office kitchen. In many ways fresh espresso coffee from an automatic coffee machine reflects the growing acceptance of the standard of coffee that many office workers expect today, and are willing to go out and pay for.

Free on-loan equipment is used in the coffee industry to avoid customers switching between suppliers easily. Additionally it is a way for coffee companies who have many outlets for coffee taking responsibility for the equipment and deploying it as they see fit.

Many people who are starting cafes and catering venues may not have the capital, say $5000, to spend on coffee equipment. That is where a coffee company with equipment can locate it in there quickly, get the customer up and running and start making income.

Exiting a customer site is difficult. You are never going to have 100% of your equipment on site. You have got to go through get the equipment out of the site and be prepared to have that equipment out of production until you find a new site for it. Invariably when you need new sites they come and want to come on-line in short term notice, whereas to get out of sites will take you at least thirty days with a thirty day notice period.

There is a growing trend amongst the hotels and clubs market to outsource the management of their kitchen and catering function. This is mainly driven by the extra work-load that is involved in organising food supplies and all that goes with the kitchen chef and good catering staff. The catering issue is not able to compete with other very efficient catering providers. The hotels and clubs outsource the management of their kitchens to experienced catering providers who concentrate on providing that catering service.

From a coffee point of view it changes the decision maker in who provides the coffee and who enters the agreements to provide the equipment. There seems to be two ways in which it is done. The club will have an infra-structure with equipment and will provide all the equipment. The caterer basically just provides labour. In a growing way we are starting to see caterers who will come in and take responsibility for all the equipment. They are entering into their own coffee contracts and coffee equipment supply contracts. In this case you need to have an alliance with these outsourcing providers if you are going to make a success in the commercial espresso market.

Here is a collection of interesting websites that we've visited. If you are a real coffee addict spend your time brewing with every one!

Coffee Franchises - Offering some of the best franchise opportunities and business opportunities in many varied industries, including coffee franchises, fast food franchises, and other top franchises.

Music With Your CoffeeDescription - Brings together awesome Coffee House Style music, by upcoming new artists, with our best 100% pure Kona coffee, shipped direct from the farm in the heart of Kona country.

Coffee lovers - visit Coffee-Lifestyle.com - There's everything coffee-related, from beans, to recipes, to the cups you drink from. Our site is dedicated to coffee lovers everywhere!

Electric Scooters : Scooter
Quality Scooters is your online source for affordable electric scooters.

Water Softeners for coffee
LifeSource provides the best water softener alternative to salt-based water softener systems. The life source water system uses no salt magnets maintenance free.

Kitchen Stores - Kitchen Supplies & Small Appliances
A directory of the best online kitchen supply stores. Shop for blenders, coffee makers, and more.
Sewing Machines and Vacuum Cleaners for a good coffee business
Offers you a wide variety of sewing machines, sergers, embroidery machines, vacuum cleaners and related items

Cheeky paper coffee cups are the latest weapon to lure tourists, with Tasmania beginning an aggressive campaign in Melbourne. The cups will be distributed to the city's many cafes this winter, carrying messages such as 'Melbored?' Tourism, Parks and Heritage Minister Ken Bacon said yesterday Tourism Tasmania's new 'short breaks' marketing campaign was expected to have a real impact in Victoria.



Mr Bacon said the quirky short breaks initiative was part of a game plan to boost visitor numbers in winter. "The coffee cup campaign will enable Tourism Tasmania to connect with Melburnians through `cafe society' or people who associate coffee breaks with time out," he said. (From an original article by Margaretta Pos)

In the Eastern US state of Maine police are looking for a Good Samaritan turned bad. They’d like to question the driver of a red ute who offered a traffic controller a cup of coffee laced with paint thinner. The victim was offered the cup of coffee by the passing motorist and realised at his first sip that the coffee was tainted.



Luckily he didn’t suffer any ill effects as he didn’t swallow any of the poisoned brew.



(From an original article at www.fosters.com)

In the state of Virginia, USA, the newest entry to the café scene is "The Bad Ass Coffee Company". Some customers who arrive for a cuppa are surprised and upset by the name of the new store. One woman told the Northern Virginia Journal her son took one look at the sign and asked if it was a swear word.



She planned to take her business elsewhere. The manager of a "Family Christian Store" near the café says nearly a dozen people have complained about the sign. But the owner says the "Bad Ass" name comes from a legend about donkeys carrying coffee beans down mountainsides. The sign features a drawing of a donkey.



(From an original story from WJLA-TV)

Last month we reported on a US ballot that would have restricted coffee sales in Berkeley, California to ‘politically correct’ blends. But it seems coffee and politics don’t mix. Voters poured cold water on a ballot measure that would have made their California city the first in the nation to mandate "politically correct" coffee -- deciding nothing should come between a thirsty consumer and a cup of mocha-java.



But with coffee shop owners facing up to six months in jail for selling the wrong brew, city voters soured on the measure and it trailed by almost three to one. The coffee campaign provoked a sharp reaction from major retailers including Starbucks Corp., Peet's Coffee and Tea Inc. and the National Coffee Association, which spent thousands of dollars on mailed pamphlets in an attempt to sway voters their way.

A company based in Nevada, USA, has developed a process that allows for a fresh-roasted, better tasting cup of coffee and the results are impressive.



Smiles Coffee has been test-marketing the new system, which allows consumers to complete the final stage of the roasting process in their microwave in less than 60 seconds. The coffee is then immediately ground and brewed, resulting in a fresher, more flavourful cuppa.



The company has applied for a patent on the unique process. "We believe our 'final roasting' process will have the impact on the coffee industry that microwave popcorn and microbreweries had on their industries," stated Michael Calderone, President and CEO of Smiles Coffee. "This process simply allows for a fresher, better tasting coffee, and the results speak for themselves."



(From an original article at Yahoo Financial News)

In US local politics voters decide on proposals for law reform, not unlike in Australian referenda. However one town’s proposal stands out. In Berkeley, California, voters had the opportunity to decide on a ballot initiative requiring coffee houses to sell environmentally and politically correct brews.



The proposed law would make it a crime punishable by up to six months in jail to sell brewed coffee not certified as Fair Trade, organic or shade-grown. Fair Trade means farmers are assured equitable prices and shade-grown coffee is grown under trees that provide bird habitat and protect soil.



(From an original story by David Crary, AP National Writer)

Osteoporosis is a frightening prospect for many older women that can require lifestyle and diet changes to reduce the risk of this crippling condition. But the good news is older women don’t have to stop enjoying coffee.



A study to examine the long-term effect of caffeine consumption and risk of bone loss in older women found no association between caffeine intake, even up to eight cups a day, and osteoporosis risk in postmenopausal women. Published in the The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, this study examined the caffeine consumption habits of 138 healthy women age 55 to 70.



All of the women studied had either never used hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or had used HRT for less than one year. Conducted by researchers at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and University Hospital, the study confirmed the findings of previous research indicating that caffeine intake does not affect bone density and osteoporosis in women.



Additionally, researchers examined women who were hormone replacement therapy users as a separate subgroup, and found they also had no increased risk of bone loss.

Caffeinated coffee can help prevent road accidents according to research undertaken at the Sleep Research Laboratory, University of Loughborough, UK. Two studies by J. Horne and L. Reyner concluded that counter measures to driver sleepiness should include a 30 minute break, 2 cups of coffee (about 250mg caffeine) and if feasible, a brief nap. But still, always remember the catchphrase Stop, Revive, Survive, coffee only goes so far when you and your family’s safety is involved.



Other compelling studies on positive health effects of coffee/caffeine range from its use:



• as a topical treatment of atopic dermatitis (inflamed skin)



• as a booster of pain-free walking for patients with chronic stable angina (a painful heart condition)



• in the prevention of post prandial hypotension (high blood pressure after eating) in elderly patients



• as a good dietary source of potassium



(From www.cosic.org)

In yet another example of a study proving the blatantly obvious a US research team has successfully ‘proved’ coffee keeps you awake and alert. To see how caffeine might work, the team studied 16 healthy, young men, aged 18 to 30.



The men were put on a 43-hour day, which required them to be awake for 28.5 hours and asleep for 14.25 hours. Half the men were given low-dose caffeine tablets every hour, during the hours they were awake, and the other men got a placebo, according to the report in the May issue of Sleep.



The amount of caffeine given was equal to about one-quarter cup of coffee or half a can of cola. Indeed, this mind-boggling study is right up there with recent ‘discoveries’ such as smoking increases the risk of lung cancer and that men and women think differently.



(From an original article at www.abcnews.go.com)

Investigators in Texas reported that Tracy Langlee Misher, 30, has been charged with aggravated robbery involving serious bodily injury.



Misher, who was on parole for robbery, is believed to be responsible for at least four robberies that occurred in southwest Houston between July and October 2002. Police said that during the robberies, Misher would take a cup of hot coffee to the counter and pay for it.



As the cashier opened the register to give change back, the suspect would throw the coffee on the cashier and grab the money out of the register, authorities said. Detectives said that in one case, a victim suffered second-degree burns from the hot coffee. Additional robbery charges are pending against the suspect, authorities said.



(From an original story in click2houston.com)

Are you on a diet but can’t stand the thought of giving up creamy lattes? Unfortunately a large latte contains a significant amount of fat. But there are ways to watch your waistline while still being able to enjoy yourself, just try these simple hints.



Choose a smaller cup, it may seem obvious but you’ll be shaving off a lot of kilojoules just by doing this. Order with fat-free milk, it can save you a whopping 8 grams of fat. In addition, skip the flavoured syrup and cream, it may be delicious but its just adding more fat. Using these simple methods your coffee break can now be guilt-free.