Breville

Halloween is next week! Can you believe it? Well, for those of you who’ll be celebrating a little early, we thought it might be nice if we could find a drink to help liven up whatever festivities you might have planned. The result? Batten down the hatches for the Kraken Cappuccino! This fearsome drink is something of our own spin on a traditional hot buttered rum. To make your own Kraken Cappuccino, you’re going to need:

• 12 fl.oz of Milk
• 4 fl.oz of Rum
• 1 tsp of Ground Cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp of Baker’s (ultra fine) sugar
• 6 Thin Slices of Butter
• 1 tsp of Ground Nutmeg
• 6 Shots of Espresso

Begin by combining your milk, rum, and cinnamon and sugar in a frothing pitcher and froth the milk as usual. Once your milk is frothed begin brewing your espresso. Add a shot to each cup and top with milk/rum mixture/ Take a thinly shaved slice of butter and place it on top of your drink. The butter will melt, creating a rich flavor. Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg, and enjoy!

Follow this link here to watch Morgan make a Kraken Cappuccino with the new Breville Milk Cafe and click the button below to subscribe to our Youtube channel!

I have always been fascinated by machines and have come to appreciate painstaking workmanship and carefully engineered and tested designs. Finding the very best quality design and craftsmanship at a reasonable cost in an espresso machine can be a daunting task. In some cases the beauty and quality is only skin deep and doesn’t extend beyond the polished metal finish, as the structure and type of components can be affected by the manufacturers desire to be cost competitive.

In a quest to find a really good espresso machine one must first think about what makes a great shot of espresso. Clean water, correctly ground beans, careful preparation of the grounds and very precise control of the brew-water temperature and brewing dwell-time along with plenty of steam for milk drinks. Once you find a machine that will help you meet the criteria for great espresso you are well on the way to being a gratified espresso machine owner. And in the case of the class of machines known as semi-automatic it comes down to filtering the water, and controlling water temperature, pressure, volume, and dwell-time for brewing and making steam for milk additions.

The best of breed for controlling water temperature for both brewing and steaming are machines with dual boilers. One boiler is dedicated to making a large volume of hot water and steam for making americanos and frothing and heating milk for lattes and cappuccinos. The second, and by the nature of its job, smaller boiler is dedicated to producing precisely temperature-controlled water for brewing shots of espresso. With this dual boiler plumbing arrangement many features can be added to keep critical temperature needs monitored and controlled.

Thinking about these facts I admire two machines in this class, the Breville BES900XL Dual Boiler and the LaSpaziale Mini Vivaldi II Espresso machines. Both machines have programmable controls and pay very careful attention to the brew temperature. Breville as a manufacturer has earned consumer respect for producing very high quality appliances for the home, and the Breville espresso machine is a modern sleek looking design with a great deal of carefully engineered features under the skin. LaSpaziale has a respected Italian heritage, commercial quality components, and very good craftsmanship. And by looking at buyer reviews of the LaSpaziale it is clear that it has a rock solid reputation for steady performance and a growing fan base.

When you get ready to become an espresso machine owner and avail yourself of great coffee drinks either at home or in the office, it would be worth your effort to take a careful look at both of these machines and to compare them to any others in their class.

It's summertime and the living's easy, shouldn't your coffee be simple too? Simplicity is the name of the game with Keurig and we're happy to introduce some new K-Cups this season to keep you caffeinated with minimal hassle. These K-Cups are compatible with all Keurig machines, the Breville BKC700XL as well as the Cuisinart SS-700.

Fans of celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, whose restaurants, shows and cookbooks have been American staples since the 80s, can now enjoy his original coffee creations at home. Keurig has partnered with Puck to offer two memorable K-Cups, Breakfast in Bed and Jamaica Me Crazy. For a traditional cup of Joe that's anything but ordinary, try Wolfgang Puck Breakfast in Bed. This medium-roast, single-serve coffee is well balanced and smooth, making it perfect for those laid-back summer days. If you're dreaming of a tropical getaway, on the other hand, Jamaica Me Crazy may the perfect ticket. This flavored coffee puts an island twist on regular java. It is distinguished by a remarkable coconut flavor and pleasing aromas.

Not to be outdone, Timothy's and Gloria Jean's Coffees have flavored K-Cups of their own. The first is the exotic Timothy's Kahlua Orginal K-Cups. This light-roast Arabica coffee sets itself apart with enticing flavors of rum, caramel and vanilla. Timothy's Kahlua K-Cups are great for late afternoon drinks or entertaining guests, as the flavors beg to be savored. For more conventional fare, try Gloria Jean's Cappuccino Coffee K-Cups. This is a creamy, medium-roast flavored coffee with cinnamon-y undertones. It has a well-rounded body and balanced acidity. The Kahlua and Cappuccino K-Cups are both certified Kosher.

If you just need a quick jolt to keep you going during the dog days of summer, Keurig's new Revv Coffee K-Cups promises to deliver just that. Said to capture “energy in its purest form,” Revv is a striking dark coffee that is undeniably bold. Since it was launched, the Revv blend has been praised by countless customers for being smooth and never bitter. The new Green Mountain Extra Bold Espresso Blend is also another great option for fans of strong coffee. It's a dark-roast blend of certified organic and fair trade coffee. Green Mountain Extra Bold Espresso presents a nice palate consisting of chocolate and vanilla flavors accented by a smoky, fruity undertone.

All of Keurig's new K-Cups are available in boxes of 18. But, if you find a flavor that's to your liking, make sure you stock up as they have a very good chance of selling out! No matter if you're brewing at home or looking for a single-serve coffee solution for the office, K-Cups are a great value and offer the convenience of truly hassle-free beverages.