Tuesday, December 25, 2012

A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN FOR YOU


In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that the whole world should be enrolled.
This was the first enrollment,
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth
to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and family of David,
to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying:
"Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

When the angels went away from them to heaven,
the shepherds said to one another,
"Let us go, then, to Bethlehem
to see this thing that has taken place,
which the Lord has made known to us."
So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company, maker of four brands of gourmet coffees, wishes you a Merry and Blessed Christmas.  We invite you to try PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees.  We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you've worn out the handle on your favorite mug!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

PERFECT IRISH COFFEE


Being addicted to caffeine can become an art, if you delve into the lavish realms of gourmet coffee. However, such coffee drinks tend to be on the expensive side. So, if you don’t want to splurge on a mere drink, but still want to enjoy the beauty and divine taste of gourmet coffee drinks, know that there’s a world of gourmet coffee recipes freely available out there. We are going to give you the recipe for the most spectacular, popular and visually striking drink, for all you coffee lovers out there.
And that Gourmet Coffee Drink would be, of course, Kona Cowboy Irish Coffee…the most popular holiday coffee drink here at the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company.
It’s Irish because it involves whiskey, of course.
All you need to do to get started is to pour yourself two thirds of a cup of hot, preferably strong coffee. Now you do know what kind of coffee to use, don’t you?  Why, of course!  Use our own Kona Cowboy Coffee Company’s PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee or our MOKA-JAVA blend of Ethiopian and Indonesian coffees.
Now stir in a teaspoon of sugar.
You then add one jigger of whiskey, top with whipping cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon, for added zing.  Whatever you do, don’t stir. You’ll just diffuse the alcohol.
That Kona Cowboy Irish Coffee will be perfect on Christmas Eve with one of those Kona Cowboy Coffee Brownies we gave you the recipe for last week.
The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company can get your Christmas coffee consumption going with our four brands of gourmet coffees.  You’ll get a real start on having a great holiday with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your holiday happiness during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that will make you positively positive!  We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when your only source of nutrition comes from "Sweet & Low!"  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

KONA COFFEE BROWNIES


Here’s a recipe you might want to try for holiday entertaining. Kona coffee is prized for its bold, clean flavor and in this recipe, that famous Kona coffee flavors both the brownies and their ganache topping.  Don’t fret, we’ll supply you with the Kona coffee but, we’ll admit, good espresso beans and strong brewed espresso work well, too.

Here’s what you’ll need…

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups sugar
15 tablespoons (2 sticks minus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons finely ground Kona coffee beans
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup pecan pieces

And for the frosting…
1 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (6 ounces)
6 tablespoons freshly brewed Kona coffee

Here’s what you do…
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9x2-inch metal pan with nonstick spray. Combine sugar, butter, cocoa, ground Kona coffee, and salt in large metal bowl. Place bowl over saucepan of simmering water and whisk until butter melts and ingredients are blended (texture will be grainy). Remove bowl from over water; cool mixture to lukewarm if necessary. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Sift flour over and fold in. Mix in pecans.

Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake brownies until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool brownies in pan.

Place chocolate chips in small bowl. Bring brewed Kona coffee to simmer in small saucepan; pour over chips and stir until melted and smooth. Let ganache stand until cool and beginning to thicken, about 1 hour; spread evenly over brownies. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; let stand at room temperature.) Cut brownies into 15 squares.

Lastly, enjoy.  And invite us over!

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company can get your Christmas coffee consumption going with our four brands of gourmet coffees.  You’ll get a real start on having a great holiday with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your holiday happiness during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that will make you positively positive!  We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.


You know you’re a coffee fiend when you don't need a hammer to pound nails!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

WOULD YOU PAY $7 FOR A CUP OF COFFEE?


Recently saw a tweet from Jack Groot where he forwarded an article by Ben Popken, a TODAY contributor.  Popken asks, “Fancy a $7 cup of Starbucks? “

In this day of skyrocketing gas and food prices, only a select few do.  But that's the price for a special rare brew Starbucks is serving up in only 48 stores in the country and 46 of them are in Seattle and Portland.  Ask for "Costa Rica Finca Palmilera," and pay over $40 for a half-pound. 

Starbucks said there's a very good reason for the premium price on this "exotic" blend from a rare "Geisha varietal" line, which comes from an ancient line of plants that traces its lineage back to Ethiopia.  They didn't make very much of it.   It's simple supply and demand, created for demanding coffee fans in two of the nation's most coffee-centric cities. 

The coffee "only grows at extremely high altitudes, and because of the tree’s low yield allows for more of the soil's nutrients to reach each cherry, intensifying the coffee's vibrant flavors," said the Starbucks spokesperson.  "A trained nose and palate might pick up delicate floral aromas, flavors of white peach and pineapple, and a juicy herbal complexity in this coffee."  In addition, all the beans came from just 3 hectares out of a single 90 hectare estate, yielding a tiny amount, a mere 3,800 pounds.  "Costa Rica Finca Palmilera" is part of the Starbucks "Reserve" line of coffees, where the company hunts down rare and flavorful beans in origin countries and makes them available at just a few stores for a brief period of time. 

"It is the highest price we've ever had," a Starbucks spokesperson told TODAY. "It raises the bar."

Would you pay $7 for a cup of coffee?

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company can get your money-saving coffee consumption going with our four brands of gourmet coffees.  You’ll get a real start on having a great day with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your mental functions during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that will make you positively positive!  We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when all your kids are named "Joe"!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

SHOULD DOCTORS START PRESCRIBING COFFEE?

CBS News reports that in the latest study to tie coffee to health benefits, new research finds a daily caffeine boost may ease symptoms of Parkinson's disease in sufferers.

Parkinson's is a degenerative brain disease that causes tremors, difficulty with walking, movement and coordination. The condition most commonly develops in adults over 50, and occurs when nerve cells in the brain that make the muscle-controlling neurotransmitter dopamine are slowly destroyed, leading to loss in muscle function. The cause of the disease remains unknown.  
The study, published August 1 in the online issue of Neurology, tracked 61 people with Parkinson's who were exhibiting symptoms of daytime sleepiness. Participants were assigned to receive either a placebo pill twice per day or a 100 milligram-caffeine pill twice per day for three weeks. After three weeks, those in the caffeine group were given a 200 milligram caffeine pill twice per day, about the caffeine equivalent found in two to four cups of coffee.

Six weeks into the study, people taking the caffeine pills averaged a five-point improvement on a ratings scale of Parkinson's symptom severity compared to those who took placebos. Researchers called this a modest improvement, but one that might provide benefits to people with the disease.
The researchers also found those in the caffeine group averaged a three-point improvement in the speed of their movements and the amount of stiffness they experienced, compared to their caffeine-free counterparts.
"Studies have shown that people who use caffeine are less likely to develop Parkinson's disease, but this is one of the first studies in humans to show that caffeine can help with movement symptoms for people who already have the disease," study author Dr. Ronald Postuma, a neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal, said in a press release.
Oddly enough, caffeine did not appear to help improve the patients' daytime sleepiness problems.
Postuma said in light of his findings, a longer study was needed to determine whether the effects of caffeine would wear off over time.
"Does it really make a difference over years of Parkinson's disease? I don't think we know," he told Reuters.  Postuma added that the main drug given to patients with Parkinson's, levodopa, would provide benefits up to four times greater than what his team saw in people taking caffeine pills.

In an accompanying editorial in the same journal issue, Dr. Michael Schwarzschild, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, wrote that caffeine seems to block a malfunctioning brain signal in Parkinson's disease that may explain these benefits in patients. However, he stopped short of recommending coffee or caffeine as a treatment.

"Although the results do not suggest that caffeine should be used as a treatment in Parkinson's disease, they can be taken into consideration when people with Parkinson's are discussing their caffeine use with their neurologist," Schwarzschild wrote. 
Recent studies have found drinking coffee could help stave off Alzheimer's in older adults, reduce risk for the most common form of skin cancer, decrease a person's odds of developing heart failure and even lower their overall risk of premature death by 10 percent.

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company can get your healthy coffee consumption going with our three brands of gourmet coffees.  You’ll get a real start on having a great day with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your mental functions during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that will make you positively positive!  We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you can jump-start your car without cables!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

COFFEE MAKES PEOPLE HAPPY!


Coffee makes people happy, according to an online article I read in The Daily Meal.  The article pointed out that coffee drinkers can point out positive thoughts and words over negative ones.  Well that comes as no surprise!

No one ever said, "My cup of coffee is making me grumpy."  Now, more and more investigations link your state of mind to the cup of coffee in your hand.

German researchers found in their study that participants who had the caffeine equivalent of two to three cups of coffee were able to point out positive words in a series, but couldn't point out the negative ones as easily. The Daily Mail reports that it's all about the caffeine, as caffeine can help boost mental function. The researchers believe that the caffeine stimulates the part of the brain associated with happiness. "Although caffeine improves some mental functions, our study shows this may be specific for certain types of stimuli, like only positive words," said researcher Lars Kuchinke to the Daily Mail. 

Granted, it's not shown whether caffeine from teas or caffeine from other drinks such as energy drinks would have the same effect on the brain. However, a study last year published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reported that coffee drinkers had 20 percent lower risk of developing depression.

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company can get your happy coffee consumption going with our three brands of gourmet coffees.  You’ll get a real start on having a great day with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your mental functions during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that will positively positive!  We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

Look for the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company’s Cowboy Coffee Saloon in New Mexico at the Roswell Christmas Fantasy, November 23-24 at the Roswell Convention Center. 

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you can type sixty words per minute ... with your feet!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

EUROPE REALLY DRINKS COFFEE!


Coffee in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. This is a daily habit for many adults. They drink it for varied reasons – as a tradition, to perk up their day, to keep them awake or just to relax after a hard day’s work.

But do you have any idea what countries consume the most coffee? The U.S., you say? Not quite. The United States may have the most number of Starbucks branches in the world but in terms of per capita consumption, it’s not even in the top 10 list according to statistics I found on the Brewed Coffee blog.

For the year 2011, the World Resource Institute listed the top five countries. All of them are in Europe and the list covers coffee consumption per person per year.

Finland is on top with 26.5 lbs of coffee consumed per capita annually. Norway is in second place (9.88 lbs) followed by Iceland (8.98 lbs), Denmark (8.70 lbs) and the Netherlands (8.39 lbs).

Reports have it that one of the main reasons why Europeans are the top consumers of coffee is primarily due to their long winter season. By tradition, European countries are the top coffee importers.

In other parts of the world, Brazil is slowly keeping up. This biggest coffee producer in the world is now strongly promoting its major export product to locals to increase coffee consumption. Interestingly, the government has started to include coffee with milk to the school meals of children aged five and older.

Countries that used to be tea drinkers such as Turkey, Belarus and Ukraine are also drinking more coffee these days. Euromonitor International said they are the fastest growing markets for instant coffee in the past five years.
The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company can get your coffee consumption going with our three brands of gourmet coffees.  You’ll get a real start with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains, the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to relax during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that will knock your socks off!  We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

Look for the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company’s Cowboy Coffee Saloon in New Mexico at the Roswell Christmas Fantasy, November 23-24 at the Roswell Convention Center. 

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you're so jittery that people use your hands to blend their margaritas.  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!