Cold Coffee Recipes

Some of my favorite recipes include the use of cold coffee! Coffee is used in a variety of not only sweet, but also savory foods. As I use cold coffee quite often I like to keep a pitcher of it in my fridge at all times. Today I will discuss a few of the different ways you can use cold coffee at home to liven up a drink or meal, and how to prepare it!

My favorite way to use cold coffee, is in an iced coffee drink. I like to brew extra strong pots of coffee and cool them down in the fridge. I keep the strong coffee on hand for when I feel like drinking an iced coffee, or for something for sweet and decadent a Vietnamese iced coffee or a Thai iced coffee. These are wonderful for a hot summer day and for offering to guests and family as a sweet treat.

Another way to make use of cold coffee is to brew it the old fashioned way. That is simply taking coffee grounds and soaking them in water overnight. Once the coffee has steeped, you simply take cheesecloth to strain the coffee from the grounds. You can then pour the strained coffee in pitcher and keep it in the fridge. The key to making this is to make it stronger than you usually would.

One of the my popular treats you can make is a java smoothie or Frappuccino. These drinks are all the rave at the local coffee shops, and are very simple to make at home. Instead of spending, $5 or $6 on a drink at the local Starbucks, you can make it at home for pennies! Having the cooled brew helps to keep the drink nice and sweet. After adding the cooled coffee, ice, and desired sweeteners, such as chocolate syrup, you simply blend until you have reached the desired level. This is a great treat to indulge in on a special occasion, date night, or even a Monday morning!

Another great reason why you would want to keep this on hand is if you enjoy baking. One of the best chocolate cake recipes I have ever tasted, a decadent chocolate cake, involves pouring in a cup of cooled coffee. The extra strong brew makes the perfect background for a gourmet and decadent chocolate cake. I think like to use some ground espresso in the icing to tie the coffee and chocolate flavors together.

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5 Negative Effects of Coffee on the Body

Coffee is such an integral part of so many lives that most people don't even want to think the negative effects of coffee on the body. Many of us rely on that morning cup of coffee to wake up and kick start the day. Others depend on it in the afternoon to get over the 2 o'clock slump. Although coffee can keep us alert and energized, it contains caffeine which is a stimulant that can cause harmful effects on the body if over consumed. Read on to learn about the negative effects of coffee, what it does to your body, and what you can do to replace it.

1) Increases heart rate and blood pressure.

Excess coffee is not good for those who have heart conditions. Any type of heart problem can be affected by caffeine, and in high doses, it can even cause irregular heartbeats in healthy people.

2) Can cause dehydration.

Caffeine is a diuretic, meaning it causes the body to eliminate more urine. If the water loss is not replaced, it can cause dehydration. If you choose to drink coffee, you should drink a cup of water along with it to keep yourself hydrated.

3) Exacerbates stomach conditions.

People with irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, ulcers, and gastro-intestinal reflux may all suffer from the negative effects of coffee. Caffeine increases acidic response in the stomach which may lead to excessive bowel movements and is associated with stomach discomfort.

4) Worsens anxiety.

Individuals with anxiety disorders may experience negative effects from even the smallest amounts of coffee. Caffeine can interfere with the effectiveness of anxiety medications and its effect on heart rate can worsen symptoms. In some cases, it can lead to panic attacks.

5) Causes sleep problems.

It is known that people who regularly drink coffee are more likely to experience sleeping problems. Caffeine has the ability to disrupt sleep cycles, causing less deep sleep, and it is even more likely to disrupt sleep if one drinks it within a few hours of bedtime.

Some other common moderate negative effects of coffee include:

- Headaches

- Irritability

- Increase in breast tenderness

- Restlessness

- Increased blood sugar

- Difficulty concentrating

- Mild upset stomach

If you are a coffee drinker and suffer from these problems, you may want to reconsider your love for the morning, afternoon or evening cup of Joe. You can try drinking decaf coffee or having water instead. Caffeine can be addicting and it may be difficult to rid it from your diet, however, it is possible with time and patience. Most people don't experience any negative effects from it if they drink it in moderation. The key is to limit your consumption and there most likely won't be a problem!

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Fair Trade Coffee Standards

A lot of fuss is made about fair trade coffee and if you coffee from Starbucks for instance then you are likely to be made well aware by a lot of hardly-subtle advertising and marketing that the coffee you are drinking is fair trade and that is a good thing. But what does it all mean? What is fair trade? Here we will look at the answer to that question and why it's such a good idea to use fair trade coffee whenever possible.

Fair trade coffee of course means that the coffee you are drinking is fair. But fair to whom you may wonder? Well of course the answer is that it is fair to the countries and the individuals selling the coffee beans. Of course the coffee you drink is not as a rule grown over here and most of what you drink will be imported in from third world countries.

This coffee is a very important export for those countries and it is one of the only ways that they can make some income, but unfortunately a lot of corporations over here take advantage of them by paying very low prices. Of course as those countries aren't very well off this then means that they will take what they can get, and this helps keep profits high and overheads low for those businesses. The problem is that this then of course means those countries don't get any richer and that they never pay off their debt. The fact that people are working incredible hours over there just to earn enough to give their children hardly-clean water doesn't seem to matter to some of these big organizations.

That's where fair trade coffee comes in which basically says that the companies will pay a good rate for that import. It's still relatively low, but for the workers in those countries the difference is huge and it's a lot fairer. If you buy coffee that says 'fair trade' on it, then you can rest assured that the guy at the bottom of the pyramid is getting a better cut of your money.

But this has other benefits of course as well. For one it means that those farmers etc can now start to ask for higher prices for their coffee from other companies - because they have another option. And of course it's good for the companies like Starbucks because it means that they can market the fact that they sell fair trade which will encourage more people to choose their coffee over the competition which does not necessarily. And at the same time it allows the person drinking that coffee to feel better about themselves.

On top of all this though fair trade coffee also often means various other things - for instance it tends to mean the coffee is harvested using sustainable methods - in other words it's not going to run out and meaning that the environment is taken into account contributing less to things like global warming.

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Some Unusual Date Ideas

Are you fed up with taking your date to the same places? There gets a time when you want to go somewhere different on your date, whether it's a first date or not. Over time you can get bored of going to the same restaurants and bars, which can have an impact on the successfulness of the date. It's not just who you're with that affects the date, where you go and what you do also plays a huge part. Why not try something more exciting? That doesn't necessarily mean more expensive; you can still do something more unusual without overspending. All you need is a great idea and some preparation.

Before you decide what to do, it helps if you know a bit about your date. That way you can judge if you think they'll like your idea. If you don't want to start out too adventurous why not arrange a day at the zoo or aquarium. Walking around talking about the animals ensures you won't run out of things to say. If the weather is nice you could always plan a day at the beach. Lying on the beach listening to the waves, having a picnic and eating an ice cream can be very relaxing. A day at your local park can be just as relaxing too. Why not take some card games with you to enjoy together while you're there or you could even take some roller skates or a kite. These are great ways to behave like a kid again and really enjoy yourself.

If you want to be more creative, you could suggest an art class. There's nothing stopping you going to the countryside with your paper and pencils and sketching the scenery. You could even try drawing each other. Even if art isn't your speciality, you can have fun doing it, plus you'll have a souvenir of the date.

An evening at a comedy club or seeing a musical are great alternatives to the cinema. Laughter is a great way to break the ice, especially on a first date, so a comedy club is a good idea if you're feeling a bit apprehensive. If those ideas don't appeal to you, you could visit to a planetarium or perhaps the circus. These will certainly give you something to discuss afterwards and will be a date you won't forget in a hurry.

If you wanted your date to be more physical, why not try indoor rock climbing, go karting, paint-balling or even white water rafting? These are quite adventurous ideas, so it might help if you know how your date would feel about these before you make any arrangements.

If you want to plan something unique, why not arrange a hot air balloon ride. It's not the cheapest date idea, but it's certainly unusual and very romantic. Unless your date is petrified of heights, it will be a date to remember.