U.K.– Mobile coffee carts have been around for a while, in both Turkey and India tea vendors sell their product from units strapped to their body like backpacks. And chaat can be bought from vendors in colorful bike mounted stalls throughout India. But such carts are fairly new to western Europe that is until now UK-based Bikecaffe has come up with a pedal-powered coffee shop.
Using heavy-duty cargo tricycles, Bikecaffe serves up a range of coffee blends from roasters Segafredo Zanetti and Integrity Fair Trade. The company’s trikes use a gas-powered machine for brewing and can produce up to 500 cups per day—served in recyclable containers—along with chai, biscotti and other edibles. Best of all, Bikecaffe trikes can access pedestrian areas that their motorised competitors can’t, making them ideal providers for pedestrian malls, historic venues, outdoor events, concerts and parties.
Just launched in March, Bikecaffe is recruiting franchisees to run carts across the UK and Europe; one to bring to your neck of the coffee-drinking woods?
Or perhaps build you own – who’s to stop you?
source: springwise
Published on May 30, 2008 11:46 am.
Filed under: food money, london Tags: coffee
MIANZHU, CHINA– After being trapped seventy-seven hours under a collapsed building Xue Xiao didn’t ask for his mother, father or a doctor he asked for and got an ice cold coke.
The scene was broadcast live by CCTV on May 15 – and the grief-stricken Chinese were touched.
Xue recalled being in chemistry class on May 12 in Dongqi Middle School of Hanwan township, when the earth began to shake. Xue, with many other students, was buried in the debris of the collapsed building. Some were killed immediately and most others under the ruins died one after another.
The next day, he could hear rescuers but couldn’t see them and, a little scared, he shouted: “You won’t leave me here, will you?”
We promise we will save you, Zhang Jianqiang and He Hongwei told Xue; and comforted him by talking to him.
Through a straw, they fed him glucose water for more than two days; and when they asked him what he liked most, Xue told them it was cola and pineapple.
“Xue Xiao is such a lovely boy. We promised him we’d give him cola once he is out,” said Zhang. And a deal was made – rescuers would give him cola, and Xue would buy them ice cream.
The rescue operation lasted 48 hours before Xue was pulled out at 10 pm on May 15 – and that’s when many heard his famous pronouncement in a clear voice: “Uncle, I want to have a cola.”
“I was distraught and extremely thirsty after being buried for 80 hours, and I just wished to have an iced drink at that moment. I usually have a cola after sports,” said Xue, who plays basketball.
photo: chinadaily
Published on May 30, 2008 11:45 am.
Filed under: china Tags: coke, cola, soda
EVERYWHERE– Buzz’n across the blogosphere: A Dunkin’ Donuts ad featuring Rachael Ray wearing a scarf that looks like a keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by Arab men, has been yanked. “The keffiyeh has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,” said conservative Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin, fueling the controversy.
Dunkin’ says in a statement that the scarf was “selected by (Ray’s) stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial.”
The View gals raced to Ray’s defense today in a long opening chat:
Joy: “Companies should have a little more integrity.”
Whoopi: “It flags Rachael to businesses … as someone you might not be able to trust.”
Elisabeth: “This is the best advertising they could get.”
source: usa today
Published on May 29, 2008 12:26 pm.
Filed under: briefings, style Tags: dunkin donuts, rachel ray
Gotu kola is an ingredient in Chinese Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda, among other systems of medicine. Gotu Kola is considered an adaptogen, a substance that helps the human body deal with all kinds of stress.
Gotu kola is totally unrelated to cola nut. The cola plant is a source of caffeine and cola drinks. Gotu kola, on the other hand, contains no caffeine.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup fresh gotu kola leaves (aka pennywort
2 1/2 cup of spring or distilled water
1/4 cup agave
MAKE
- Wash the leaves well, pinch off stems.
- For each handful of leaves, add 2 1/2 cups cold water and 1/4 cup agave syrup made.
- Add 3 or 4 ice cubes and blend at high speed.
- Blend the drink just before serving, or it will lose its bright color.
FACTS
scientific name: Centella asiatica
a.k.a: Pennywort, Centella, Hydrocotyle, Mandukaparni. Sometimes confused with Brahmi and Kola, which are different plants.
native to: China, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, and parts of Africa
traditional uses: In India and Indonesia, used for lupus, leprosy, and wounds; in India and other parts of Asia, used for longevity and memory. Also used for fatigue, mental acuity, venous insufficiency, skin conditions such as scabies, psoriasis, and fungal infections, wounds, and much more. Also used in China.
medicinal uses: Boosts immune system; protects against stress; improved learning and memory; good for wounds, some chronic ulcers and lesions, and skin conditions, including psoriasis
side effects & contraindications: People with diabetes or high cholesterol should be careful using gotu kola and avoid high doses. Dermatitis possible from contact with fresh or dried plant. Not recommended for pregnant or lactating women.
further research: Gotu kola may be helpful in the treatment of varicose veins, cancer, and chronic liver disorders. Antifertility and blood-pressure-lowering effects observed in mice.
source: plant detective
Published on May 29, 2008 12:24 pm.
Filed under: drinks, recipes Tags: gotu kola, tonics
TOKYO– Nintendo and McDonald’s have offered Nintendo DS gameplay built into many of the restaurant’s U.S. stores since 2005. A new initiative will bring the service to Japan, with a twist: You’ll be able to download McDonald’s-exclusive content.
The company is currently testing its “Nintendo Spot” service in 21 stores found in the Setagaya and Suginami wards of Tokyo. The same service will also be offered on the Tsukuba Express train line (which leaves from Akihabara), and all 20 of its stations.
What the service does is give your Nintendo DS access to a special browser, the “Nintendo Spot Viewer,” that you can download free of charge when in range and demos of Nintendo DS games, and promotional campaigns in the form of product information and discounts.
Available at participating McDonald’s for one month only, and until the end of the year for the train line.
source: wired.com
Published on May 29, 2008 12:23 pm.
Filed under: briefings, tokyo Tags: mcdonalds, nintendo, wifi
USA– In a rash of fuel thefts across the country involving siphoning and fuel tank drillings a new form of fuel rustling has emerged. Restaurants from Berkeley, Calif., to Sedgwick, Kan., are reporting thefts of old cooking oil worth thousands of dollars. Cooking oil rustlers refine it into barrels of biofuel in backyard stills. Biodiesel can also be blended with petroleum diesel, and blends of the alternative fuel are now sold at 1,400 gas stations across the country.
“Gas is liquid gold these days, and has been for the last year-and-a-half,” a police spokesman said. “I would anticipate seeing more of these kinds of incidents as the price continues to go up.”
Published on May 29, 2008 12:22 pm.
Filed under: briefings Tags: biofuel, crime
USA– Sales of Spam — that much maligned meat — are rising as consumers are turning more to lunch meats and other lower-cost foods to extend their already stretched food budgets.
What was once cheeky, silly and the subject of a musical (as Monty Python mocked the meat in a can), is now back on the table as people turn to the once-snubbed meat as costs rise, analysts say.
Food prices are increasing faster than they’ve risen since 1990, at 4 percent in the U.S. last year, according to the Agriculture Department. Many staples are rising even faster, with white bread up 13 percent last year, bacon up 7 percent and peanut butter up 9 percent.
There’s no sign of a slowdown. Food inflation is running at an annualized rate of 6.1 percent as of April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The price of Spam is up too, with the average 12 oz. can costing about $2.62. That’s an increase of 17 cents, or nearly 7 percent, from the same time last year. But it’s not stopping sales, as the pork meat in a can seems like a good alternative to consumers.
source: ap
Published on May 29, 2008 12:21 pm.
Filed under: briefings Tags: inflation, spam
SANTIAGO, CHILE– This has been a tough season for salmon: from negative reports on the health of farmed salmon, to the aborted west coast salmon fishing season to volcanoes that threaten Chile’s salmon farms. (see Killer Salmon article)
Last week some 600,000 salmon were being moved by boats Tuesday from a fish farm just eight miles from the Chaiten volcano, according to Carlos Odebret, a spokesman for Salmon Chile, the association of private salmon industries.
He said that farm was the last of several to be evacuated because officials recently reduced the size of the prohibited-entry zone around the volcano, making it accessible again to workers.
The volcano began erupting on May 2, spewing vast columns of ash and gas that spread across South America from the Pacific to the Atlantic and beyond.
All 4,500 residents of the town of Chaiten were evacuated soon after the eruption began and the future of the town is now uncertain. It has been flooded by a river that overflowed its banks, damaging scores of houses, and it has been coated in ash.
Authorities rescued hundreds of pets eight days after the eruption and removed thousands of heads of livestock. They then authorized the removal of the salmon.
Odebret told The Associated Press by telephone that small teams worked for days in the salmon operation, aided by the navy, which had speedboats on hand “in case something happened that forced a quick departure.”
He said the relocated fish amount to only about 1.5 percent of the annual production of Chile’s salmon industry, which has exports exceeding $2 billion a year.
source: ap
Published on May 29, 2008 12:21 pm.
Filed under: affairs Tags: fish, salmon
SEATTLE– The crotch shot notwithstanding, Starbucks went to great lengths to re-deisgn their saucy maiden in a way that would not offend.
When asked whether Starbucks was trying to nab headlines by reintroducing its original logo, which features a topless mermaid Stanley Hainsworth, former VP-global creative at Starbucks said, “Are you kiddin’ me? This is a mythological creature.”
In fact, while re-working the logo, Hainsworth’s team was so concerned that they found other ways to say the infamous body part, because not everyone was comfortable with the word “nipples” at work.
Starbucks first planned to release the old logo nationwide as part of is 35th anniversary. But concerns about how a topless, two-tailed siren would play in rural areas led the company to limit its release to the Northwest. No matter: One Washington school district banned Starbucks coffee cups during the limited-time offer — unless students concealed the creature’s breasts with a cupholder.
So what actually did Starbucks do to mitigate the coming controversy?
- The siren’s hair was draped over her breasts to conceal the nipples.
- The siren’s midriff was streamlined.
- Her expression softened.
- Her hair lengthened.
- She was generally “cleaned up”
Starbucks can not understand what all the fuss is about seeing how the logo change is only temporary. The Pike Place cups will only be in circulation for a few more weeks.
Get her while she’s hot!
Published on May 28, 2008 11:06 am.
Filed under: briefings, style Tags: coffee, starbucks
SAN FRANCISCO– Orange hell that’s what the oncoming tsunami of lawsuits will be for Cheetos corp when people begin dialing their lawyers for damages to the stuff Cheetos’ orange sucking minions vandalized during this ill-conceived “underground” promotion of their heart-stopping suicide snack!
The idea behind (RAoC) or the “Random Acts of Cheetos,” promotion is to recruit users to perpetrate Cheetos pranks against those who deserve comeuppance — like tossing a handful in somebody’s dryer load of whites at the Laundromat. Ha ha!
[wp_youtube]D84q5TaCsdI[/wp_youtube]
Adolescent angst is nothing new, but it is a powerful psychological tool for marketers – like Cheetos, Pepsi and MTV – being the easiest way to “Pimp your Demographic.”
As the Cheetos orangeunderground.com site says, “The third rule of RAoC is to stick it to The Man, preferably with one of these.”
Get it? Alienated teenagers and young men hate authority. So frustrated are they about their humiliating powerlessness, they lash out — destroying other people’s stuff.
And that’s where your lawyer comes in.
Published on May 28, 2008 11:05 am.
Filed under: briefings, culture, food money Tags: cheetos, crime
Senator Barack Obama’s personal assistant, Reggie Love makes sure the candidate has plenty of the things he loves — and makes note of those things he would rather not.
Here is a partial list, provided by Mr. Love.
LOVE
- Planters Trail Mix: Nuts, Seeds & Raisins
- Roasted almonds
- Pistachios
- Water
- Dentyne Ice
- Nicorette
- MET-Rx chocolate roasted peanut protein bars
- Vegetables, especially broccoli and spinach
- Handmade milk chocolates from Fran’s Chocolates in Seattle
HATE
- Mayonnaise
- Salt and vinegar potato chips
- Asparagus (“if no other vegetables are available, he’ll eat it”)
- Soft drinks (prefers water)
source: nytimes.com
Published on May 27, 2008 11:07 am.
Filed under: briefings Tags: election, Obama, politics
