Monday Morning Coffee News

Happy Monday! Some interesting recent goings-on in the world of coffee: KFC announced plans for an edible coffee cup, Dunkin’ Donuts greets spring with the return of ice-cream flavored coffees and lattes, and a study indicates drinking coffee may lower risk of heart attack. Also, Martha Stewart opened up a coffee shop in New York, Starbucks announced launch of Cold Brew in more than 2,800 stores, and a company creates a coffee cup made from coffee.

Recently KFC announced a plan to bring edible coffee cups to its UK stores. Still in the testing phase, the cups are made out of a wafer cookie wrapped in edible printed paper and lined with a heat-resistant white chocolate. The idea is the coffee cup will hold up solidly in the beginning and then slowly soften, making the coffee it contains more sugary in the end. As an added bonus, the edible cup is also supposed to release scents reminiscent of summer; namely “coconut sun cream, freshly cut grass and wild flowers” – They had me until the scent thing. The idea of ingesting something that smells like sunscreen doesn’t really do it for me, though I’d probably try this for the novelty factor alone. The cynic in me wonders if the scent thing is less about adding smells to “evoke the positive memories we associate with warm weather, sunshine and summer holidays” and more about the chemical smell from whatever they used to make this novelty food item a possibility.

With spring just around the corner, Dunkin’ Donuts announced the return of coffees & lattes inspired by Baskin-Robbins ice cream flavors. The delicious flavors of Cookie Dough, Butter Pecan, and Rocky Road are available in both hot and iced coffee and lattes.

A study published in the journal Heart examined the connection between coffee consumption and levels of coronary artery calcium (an early indicator of clogged arteries which can lead to heart attack or stroke). The study used food questionnaires and the determined coronary artery calcium levels of a group consisting of 25,138 men and women. The analyzed results led the researchers to the conclusion that 3-5 cups of coffee day may lead to a lessened risk of clogged arteries and heart attack. – I’m really intrigued by all these recent studies that seem to indicate the positive, healthy effects coffee has on people, but many of these studies are just analyzing someone’s current health indicators and then looking at a questionnaire they filled out indicating what food and beverages the participant has been consuming. While these may be good indicators, I definitely think more in-depth laboratory research is needed before we get too excited.

Martha Stewart (or more specifically, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia) opened up the first Martha Stewart Cafe in New York. The cafe features handcrafted espresso beverages and teas, as well as a menu personally picked by Martha Stewart herself. – I peeked at the website and everything looks simple, well-made, and delicious – very Martha Stewart 🙂

Starting March 31, Starbucks will launch Cold Brew in more than 2,800 of their stores. Unlike iced coffee, which is traditionally made by pouring double strength coffee over ice, Cold Brew is made by steeping coffee in cool water. According to Michele Sundquist, a member of the Starbucks R & D team, “Our Cold Brew is smooth and rich, it’s very refreshing with chocolate and light citrus notes.” To get just the right flavor, Cold Brew Blend coffee is brewed for 20 hours. – I’m trying to get my head around the logistics of this. 20 hours is a long time for brewing, so obviously the Cold Brew coffee will be made ahead of time, but are they going to make huge batches in the back of the store, staggering the time to minimize running out, or are they making it offsite and shipping it into the stores in jugs? Inquiring minds want to know.

A company called c2renew launched a Kickstarter campaign for a travel mug, called the c2cup, made from a coffee biocomposite using coffee waste. See the video below for more info (p.s. – I totally want one):