Coffee Bean Types

The two species of coffee beans most widely cultivated commercially are Coffea arabica (Arabica) and Coffea canephora (Robusta).

The coffee that most are accustomed to is made from arabica beans which typically have better flavor. Arabica comprises about 75-80% of world production.

Estimates of caffeine content average about 1% for Arabica beans and 2% for Robusta beans by weight.

Starbucks advertises that it only uses arabica beans, Even though its coffee consistently is rated with higher caffeine than Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, etc.

There are a number of techniques in brewing coffee: concentrate brewing, Turkish or Greek, vacuum brewing, percolating, the French press (also called press pot or plunger coffee), and drip or filter coffee. Assuming that the brewing method stays the same, the finer you grind coffee, the more caffeine it will release.

Temperature is also an important factor. Proper coffee extraction happens between 195-205 degrees, however most drip brewers only reach about 190 degrees. Espresso machines usually brew at near boiling temps. With French press coffee, you have total control over the temperature with the option of pouring boiling water (212 degrees) over the grounds. Water temperature can vary by brewing method, with the hotter the water, the better the extraction. With better extraction comes better tasting coffee and caffeine extraction.

Brewed coffee requires that the water is in contact with the grinds for a long time, this leads to a higher caffeine concentration. Espresso actually has the lowest caffeine content at 100 mg per 2 ounces. However, if you consider the amount of caffeine per ounce, espresso has more caffeine than drip coffee. Coffee brewed in the French press has 107.5 mg per 7 ounces. Drip brewed coffee is highest, with 145 mg of caffeine per 7 ounce cup. Generally, for brewed coffee, two tablespoons of ground coffee is used per 6 fluid ounces of water.

Light, medium, and dark flavors are an indicator of flavor strength, with the dark roasts having the boldest tastes. The darker the beans, the longer they have been roasted. The loss of caffeine from light to dark is minimal, regardless of what many web sites show.

Factors, in addition to brewing process that affects the amount of caffeine: variety of coffee bean, roast level, temperature of water, amount of coffee, brew time, grind level, and beverage size.

Bottom line - longer brewing time, fine ground, robusta equals more caffeine.
Shorter brewing time, course ground, arabica, (light, medium, or dark roast) equals less caffeine.

Snooze Your Facebook Friends

After all that caffeine, maybe you need a snooze. Facebook has a feature that you can shut down a friend's posts for thirty days. They will not be notified. Great for someone who is inundating everyone with the latest adventure, vacation, election, new baby, new car, etc.

When you see a post in your feed from a friend, whom you want to snooze click or tap the three dots in the top right corner of the post. In the menu that opens, click or tap the option that says Snooze [Name] for 30 days. You can also snooze your friend's friends the same way. Think of it as temporary relief. Also, if you change your mind, you can unsnooze. I have not found the option in my feeds, but many say it works great.

You can do the same procedure if you decide to unfollow someone. Unfollowing a friend is permanent, until you go to their page and change it. Also, it does not notify them either way.

Jelly Bean Winner

Easter is coming and one of the popular treats for Easter is jelly beans. A new survey by CandyStore.com says it surveyed over ten years of sales data and over 12,000 people to reach its standings of favorite jelly bean flavors by state and then an overall winner and new jelly bean champion.

Cherry jelly beans are favored by five states, black licorice jelly beans are favored by seven, and the winner, butter popcorn is favored by ten. The overall winner by count is also butter popcorn. The sweet and salty flavor beat last year’s winner, (my personal favorite) black licorice.

Saving Money in a Hospital

If you need to go to the hospital, voluntarily or otherwise, be sure that you, or whoever is with you tells Admitting or Check-in that you do not want to be seen by "out-of-network" physicians or staff.

I recently had a very expensive surprise of multiple doctor bills from consultant physicians, who were not in my network. I had no way of knowing until I started receiving bills. By then it was too late to fight the charges. Adding insult to injury, at least two of them came in and spoke to me (no medical service provided), offering their services after discharge. I was billed for a consultation - for them to sell their services to me. Grrr!
Caveat Emptor.

TV Compensates for Bad Quality

Just like with current TVs, which upscale the low quality cable pictures, 4K TVs upgrade the same pictures to an even higher quality.

However, until the US catches up with other countries and really delivers at least HD quality, we will all continue to buy TVs to compensate for the cable companies unwillingness to upgrade the signal. It is no wonder Netflix, and Amazon Prime are doing so well. They deliver quality pictures to let our 4K TVs show how awesome watching TV can be.

Happy Friday

Joy lives on the corner of happiness and smiles.
There is no stop sign for happiness and smiles on a Happy Friday!

Daylight Not Saving

This weekend March 11, Sunday morning 2am for most of the US. This is that fretful time of year where we declare that the sun and the moon and the stars are out of alignment with our laws. Since it has proven futile to change the universe to our bidding, we are compelled to change our clocks forward by an hour for a few months until we take up the battle again in the fall and change them back to once more align with the universe. This is our government version of Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football.


Picture of three types of DST observing countries.

Pi Day

Pi Day was invented by physicist Larry Shaw and the first Pi Day celebration was held at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988. In 2009 the US Congress officially recognized March 14 as Pi Day in the United States. The 6-trillionth, 8-trillionth, 9-trillionth and 10-trillionth digits of pi, are all fives.

Innies and Outies

Scar tissue development. "Inny" and "Outie" belly buttons are not caused by where the umbilical cord is cut (contrary to a popular misconception). It is dependent on how scar tissue develops as the remaining tissue dries and falls off. This process is random, though "inny" tends to be a more common result.

Coffee Beans, Light vs. Dark Roast

Caffeine is extremely stable during the roasting process. A change in caffeine depends on how you measure your coffee.
There is an estimated ninety bean difference between a pound of dark and light roast coffee, with the dark roast higher. During the roasting process, a bean loses its mass. The density of the bean changes; beans that are roasted longer are less dense. That is why you have more beans by mass of dark roasts.

If you measure your coffee by scoops, light roasted coffee will have more caffeine, since the beans are denser than a darker roast. However, if you weigh your scoops, darker roasts will have more caffeine, because there is less mass. Depending on how ground coffee is measured, there is only a minimal variance in caffeine content with dark and light roasts. Unlike Marijuana,  people have died from caffeine overdose.

Two Car Part Inventors

Early automobiles had tillers, similar to the tillers used to steer boats. The tiller was attached to a simple mechanism that made the car’s front wheels turn when the tiller was pushed to the left or right. During 1894, a French engineer named Alfred Vacheron modified his Panhard runabout, replacing the tiller with a wheel attached to a shaft that went through the floor of the vehicle at a nearly vertical angle, where it attached to a mechanism that turned the front wheels.

Packard likely came up with the glove box. An article in a 1900 edition of The Horseless Age magazine describes the Model B: “The body of the carriage shows the best possible coach work and upholstering, and the aim has been to get rid of the ‘horse wanted’ appearance. The leather dash is not used, but instead a boot or box forms part of the body. In this is ample space for parcels, waterproofs, etc.” Other automakers soon started adding compartment-like features in place of old-fashioned dashes. The modern-looking glove compartment, with a drop-down door, first appeared during the 1920s.

Costco Ink Refills

Bring any supported, empty cartridges to the Photo Center at your local Costco. Your cartridge will be refilled while you shop. The system cleans, refills, and tests your cartridge. Receive your quality inkjet refill in an hour. Cost varies by location, but is cheaper than new cartridges.