A grinder for cheaper than elsewhere

Advantages: Fresh ground coffee at a good price
Disadvantages: Loud, a bit messy and somewhat limited adjustment

...The Starbucks Barista grinder is a relabelled Dualit grinder which is offered at a reduced cost from Starbucks outlets. A grinder is essential for those who want fresh coffee. Coffee beans will last much better than ground coffee, and so grinding before use becomes the only way to ensure the freshest coffee. A burr grinder like this one is essential for an even grind that doesn't burn the coffee. The coffee mills with spinning blades should be avoided at all costs, as they cannot evenly grind each bean and give consistent grounds. Added to their shortcomings of a mill, is that the speed of the blade heats and alters the coffee as it is ground. The burr grinders like the Barista crush the beans between grinding wheels and allow for each bean to be ground to an even consistency, without build-up of heat. The machine has an easy load...

summi335 25.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Starbucks Barista Burr Coffee Grinder

A Ga do do do, grind coffee and shake a tree

Advantages: Looks good, adjustable for fineness and servings
Disadvantages: A bit noisy

...Krups Expert Coffee Grinder, GVX2 Having recently bought a Gaggia Espresso machine I needed to get a grinder to prepare the beans to make the perfect coffee. I'd bought the espresso machine at Bluewater shopping centre and I knew that I'd want to get cracking as soon as I got home so there was no time to look around online to get the best deal. After realising that the only suitable Gaggia model would cost £150 I thought I'd nip into John Lewis to see what they had on offer. The choice there was pretty good with models starting at about £20 running up to the Gaggia model. After being given a crash course in the matter of grinding beans by the very helpful assistant I plumped for the Krups model, GVX2, at £39.95. Before I talk about the Krups model, let me try and pass on that crash course and explain the finer points of grinding...

brereton66 22.06.2006 · Read review
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Review of Krups Expert Coffee Grinder, GVX2

The Waldorf Astoria - 2005

Advantages: Superb location and communal areas
Disadvantages: Hotel rooms being allowed to deteriorate

...The Waldorf Astoria, An iconic, Landmark Hotel. This hotel has been in many films, so....I suppose I should be saying wow. My husband and I visited New York in the February of 2005. I was treated to a stay at the Waldorf Astoria. When we entered the hotel, I was.......blown away. The entrance is plush, extravagant yet elegant, with a pianist playing music, for those that wish to sit and enjoy a drink and just take in their surroundings. The reception area again was stunning. That unfortunately is where the glamour of it all stopped, during our 10 day stay, I lost count of how many times their \"systems were down\". Checking in therefore took an age. When we eventually got our key and were directed to our room, the disapointment set in. The room was shabby, the bathroom, although ornate and I am sure impressive in it\'s time...

catkinsays 18.11.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Waldorf Astoria, New York

The Ataris - So Long, Astoria

Advantages: fun, catchy, great riffs
Disadvantages: not a vast fan-base

...Blink 182, Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Yellowcard, Simple Plan, Mest etc ??. a line of Green Day wannabes growing longer with every intake of breath. Yet, other than Good Charlotte, there is only one band that have earned the god given right to be spoken of in the same sentence as Green Day. That band hit the scene with the release of their album ?Blue Skies, Broken Hearts ?.. Next 12 Exits? in 1999 through Kung Fu Records. That album, however infectious, was nothing compared to the success they would see with the follow up album ?So Long, Astoria? (and no that?s not in reference to the London gig venue). Released in 2003 through Sony Music, ?So Long Astoria? came full to the brim with great lyrics and hooks so infectious that you wouldn?t want anything else. Oh ?.. And the name of the band ???? The Ataris. Hailing from San Diego...

ManUtdBoi 25.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of So Long Astoria - Ataris (The)

Conscience Coffee

Advantages: Fairtrade, ethical business, reasonable product
Disadvantages: Bit bland, not full bodied as rivals or real ground coffee

...I really love the taste and smell of fresh ground coffee, especially from Colombia or Costa Rica. There is a richness and distinctive aroma as you open the pack which just sets the taste buds tingling???..Alas, all too often it is simply not practical or best use of time to indulge in real brewed coffee so instant must suffice. Unfortunately in this sector of the beverage market price is often indicative of quality, and premium brand instant coffees almost always taste better than the standard or economy offerings. Having experienced enjoyable cups of Percol Fresh Ground Colombian Coffee I had high expectations from the instant variety: even more so since it was on offer at just over £2 for a 100g jar making it very competitive against other premium brands. The packaging with it?s familiar green green hue and prominent Fairtrade...

suehome 22.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Percol Fairtrade Instant Colombian Coffee

Coffee with a Conscience?

Advantages: Good taste, cheap, sustainable development.
Disadvantages: Air miles?

...The particular Kenco instant coffee I am writing about is their 'Sustainable Development' variety. I could have asked Ciao to allow me to review this as a new product as this particular 'flavour' has not been reviewed, but as plenty of Kenco reviews exist I thought it would be okay (and less greedy) to simply review it in this category. I don't drink coffee much as I see it as a treat and I like my coffee strong enough for the spoon to stand up in, with (I use Elmlea light) cream. I also like it so hot it burns my lips, which is probably not too good for me, hence, the rare treat. Sustainability: I first tried this brand and type out about 6 months ago and was attracted to the fact that it boasts a 'Rainforest alliance' certificate and aids local farmers earn a fair deal. In fact the coffee comes from a cooperative in El Salvador...

paulhanton 08.04.2008 (09.04.2008) · Read review
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Review of Kenco Instant Coffee

Waldorf Astoria Hotel, NYC

Advantages: 5 Star hotel in central location
Disadvantages: Some areas could be improved upon

...I stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in January 2004, which was my first (and only so far) trip to New York, and at the time only my second trip to the USA. Given that I didn't feel I'd be regularly jetting off to New York, I'd decided to check us into the hotel I'd always heard about and hence had always wanted to stay at. We arrived late evening by taxi which dropped us off at the main entrance to the hotel on Park Avenue. The lobby area is large, with the reception being located right at the back, meaning you have to walk through the lobby and past the main lifts to get to check in to your room. It's not a problem as such, but you are left following your nose and common sense, which, when your body is telling you it's 2am, you're not really up to doing. We booked the hotel stay through BA Holidays rather than directly...

sally.jenkins 04.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of The Waldorf Astoria, New York City

Coffee with my Tea!

Advantages: delicious, quite cheap
Disadvantages: coffee doesn't appeal to as much

...Drinking a cup of coffee for me is a rare thing. I will decide on a cup maybe once every six months but even then when I drink it I am left with an awful headache and I feel quite sick too. However I love any food product which tastes of coffe - thats a total different ball game! Whether its coffee revels, coffee cake or coffee cream, I love it! I was shopping for my dad at Tesco when I stopped in the cake aisle to pick up his Kiplings. My Dad loves Mr Kipling cakes but to be honest I am not ovely excited by them nowadays. However I did I notice a selection of Tescos madeira cakes which I feltl ooked a bit more appetizing!: lemon, cherry, marble, coffee! Oh wow, coffee cake! I hadn't had in ages, not since my Grandma and I baked one a few years back. I checked the price - £1.29. That seemed quite pricey, but it was a fair size, quite...

Amy69 10.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Tesco Iced Coffee Madeira Cake

Coffee Conundrum

Advantages: Quick and covenient with a reasonably convincing fresh brewed taste
Disadvantages: Brown sludge on the bottom, enormous amoeba like bag

...Whilst I like coffee, I'd hardly consider myself a coffee aficionado. I love the smell of freshly brewed coffee, yet I am content to drink good quality instant. Still, freshly brewed coffee at home is a treat. I'd heard about Lyons one-cup coffee bags. It turns out you can get a free sample (in fact, two free samples - there are two bags in the free sample pack - click here to get your own: http://www.coffeeperfection.com/our-coffee.php). I'm a sucker for free samples, so I filled in the e-form, and many weeks later (and I mean lots - maybe six weeks), these dropped through my letterbox. Each bag was enclosed in a foil envelope (presumably for freshness). Lyons helpfully give me advice on what they are 'perfect' for (I love that - as if I need to be told when the time is right for a one-cup coffee bag - if I'm 'at work...

mattygroves 09.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of Lyons Fresh Coffee Bags

Coffee with bite

Advantages: Tasty, strong alcohol content, not too expensive
Disadvantages: The weird bottle, leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste

...with Sheridan’s original written across it. The same label but this time oval shaped is stuck on the front of the fused bottles. The cap is a large black plastic umbrella shape with a round twist off lid on the front of it. Once you remove this you are greeted by two large holes that look like some kind of cannon staring you right in the mush just waiting to blast your nostrils off. Oh, it does tell you on the bottle that this is a coffee layered liqueur and it is a whopping 18.5% in the alcohol content. ~~~~~~WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THIS WEIRD BOTTLE?~~~~~~ Well, you are supposed to tilt your glass when you pour the drink and from one side of the now pouring bottle, you have some brown stuff oozing out and right next to it there is some weird milky looking stuff hitting your glass as well. Once your glass is full, you are then supposed...

deano_76 26.01.2003 · Read review
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Review of Sheridans Coffee Layered Liqueur