I found myself a little short of time come mothers day, and a young 10 year old daughter that was yearning to express her creative flair - both important priorities, and it was at that moment I realised how cost effective, simple to prepare and rewarding this idea could be. 

I popped into our local supermarket and handed my daughter a shopping basket - that was perfect, because I really didn't want to have to shove an entire shopping trolley's worth of groceries into the resulting gift basket, because we all know that a girl will definitely shop until no more shopping can be physically done!

We filled the basket with all sorts of treats, biscuits, crackers, chocolate, grapes, cheese and a couple of bottles of wine - mostly for the appearance of the bottle, rather than the quality of the wine - I'm not that good at selecting great wines, so I just look for a nice looking label (typical guy huh!)

Armed with our goodies, we headed down to the dollar store and selected a suitable size basket to pop it all in. lined the basket with gift paper, placed everything in, and job done! we had enough change from $50 to grab a chocolate milkshake, a coffee and a muffin, each ;-)

This idea is so simple that I wont be waiting for mothers day in the future, its going to be an any-time gift. Just don't think less of me when one of the baskets contains a few more of the essentials, like apples, kraft cheese slices and a couple of bottles of milk - its the thought that counts, right?

If there is one thing in my life I will always make time for, it is coffee. And when that coffee can be enjoyed in a different way, I will push every other non-essential task on my plate right out of the way! 

Coffee and Tonic Water are a match made in heaven, and by heaven, I mean that cosy place you dream of where there is not a trouble in the world, ever. You have just one job this week, and that is to try Tonic Water mixed with Coffee Espresso.

Its so easy to prepare; grab a glass, extract a shot of coffee into the glass, add a couple of cubes of ice from the freezer and top it all off with cold Tonic Water - add a wedge of lemon or lime and call it 'knock off time'. 

Grab a comfy chair, sit back and enjoy your moment of sunshine in a glass.

is it just me, or are Monday’s getting harder and harder to face each week? I’m thinking the real cause is that our work weeks are becoming more involved and a little more intense that come the weekend, we are cramming as much as we can into those two days - be it recreation, working around the house or tending to family duties, that when Monday rolls around, it’s a case of “hang on, here we go again”!

I’m certain it was easier for our parents and their parents. Not in a physical way - we’ve got more comfortable cars, better safety equipment, air conditioning, socially aware everything - but they didn’t have mobile phones that ring on a Saturday morning, work emails that bing at 8pm, mortgages that really do take 30 years to payoff, internet bills, it goes on and on.

What do you think?

Science and coffee are life long partners!

It’s also ist like a laboratory experiment, the way we weigh, measure and test every aspect of the coffee making process. It takes exactly 14grams of coffee prepares in a double basket portafilter, the coffee is ground to a precise and repeatable grind, and extracted under a perfect 9 bars of water pressure at the predetermined 91 degrees Celsius.


Only them do we achieve the magic 60mls of deliciously smooth espresso base.

It goes without saying that we are a little obsessive and like to control the outcome of our coffee making experience, for the benefit of the perfect coffee shot.

It is for that reason a preheated cup is important. Without it, we are relying on a cup that is colder than the. Coffee it will be coming into contact with and therefore affecting the temperature of the coffee in the cup. That temperature change will affect the flavour of your coffee.

I store my ceramic coffee cups on top of my espresso machine, but for the times that I forget, I’ll just rinse the cup with some warm or hot water and that will do pretty much the same job.

I used to be the guy that would add two sugars to my coffee, and I thought nothing of it. I tried a few times dropping down to one sugar, and that was kind of acceptable, but no sugar? awful! It was bitter and tart, I just couldn't do it. 

I didn't realise there was as a simple reason why I needed sugar in my coffee; the coffee I was using was not fresh, and that made it bitter. Supermarket coffee and coffee roasted at a roaster that is stored on a shelf (IE: not roasted fresh on demand) will be more bitter and require sugar compared roasted on demand fresh roasted coffee beans. 

If you find that your coffee is still not naturally sweet enough for your taste preferences, there is one simple trick you can use to make your coffee even more naturally sweet; when you are extracting your coffee, cut your extraction short, so instead of a 25 or 30 second extraction, aim for a 15 second extraction. If you want a stronger coffee, just add a second shot! No bitter aftertaste, and no sugar.

Aeropress is similar to a plunger or drip filter, but with a little more refinement to the process. You are left with a very crisp and clean tasting coffee in the cup, so long as you are able to use the right beans for Aeropress.  Ideally, aim for a coffee that is equally light and fresh, with some fruitiness; Daily Blend or Fairtrade are perfect choices, but my favorite is Mocha - all varieties are roasted fresh on the day you place your order and express delivered to you anywhere in Australia. 

Grinding for Aeropress is quite a bit different to grinding for Espresso Machine - instead of the very fine grind used in cafes for their machines, you're looking for a grind that is similar in texture to crushed rock salt - its going to be gritty if you rub it between your fingers. 

Someone in the team is responsible for organising the coffees, which almost needs its own project manager.. Steve wants a skinny Flat White, Mary is after a cappuccino, extra froth, get mike his usual long black and I'll have a hot chocolate, else i'd be on my fifth coffee for today!

I'm going to suggest we get a coffee machine at the office, use our own coffee beans and save ourselves from the insanity of the endless coffee run!

Time is up for assignment one. Off for a coffee!

You've decided its time you got some great tasting coffee out of your Nespresso coffee machine and you'd like to save some money too? No problems, I've got you covered. 

This latest generation of Nespresso Compatable coffee capusles is tested on all of the Nespresso coffee machines including those manufactured by Delonghi and Mielle. These capsules are hemetically sealed so do not require an outer wrapper and will retain their roasted fresheness even when displayed on your countertop. Save some money too and benefit further with free delivery anywhere in Australia.