Drinking

Wine and good times go hand in hand, but where else can wine go?

The pairing of food with wine can be as simple or as complicated as need be. Sticking to the old rule of thumb that says to serve red wine with red meat and white wine with white meat is usually a pretty safe bet, but there is a third factor to consider and that would be the company; wine always tastes better when shared among friends.

What could be better than good friends and a bottle of wine? Good friends and six bottles of wine, of … Read more

The hardest thing about coffee is waiting for it to brew.

Coffee is easy; really it is. Despite all the accessories, methods and varieties, all it really comes down to is the interaction of water with crushed beans.

Coffee beans have the ability to transmute water into an elixir worthy of seeking out every morning (and afternoon, and sometimes night), but that ability doesn't mean there is only one way of going about it. Methods for brewing coffee are varied and with each technique comes its own sets of pros and cons. Usually, however, it being easy to make … Read more

This portable water bottle offers a bright solution for sterilizing water on the go.

Portable beverage containers come in all shapes and sizes. Their proliferation has been for good reasons: they are efficient, economical, and easy to use. Specialized containers exist for coffee, smoothies and water, with each variety having its own set of capabilities. Usually though, they don't come with a built-in light.

Designed for the great outdoors, the CamelBak All Clear is UV-C portable water bottle that treats water from a variety from a variety of sources. The ultraviolet light interacts with microorganisms, destroying their DNA, which … Read more

There is something magical about ordering a cup of coffee or an espresso drink at a cafe. Face it, if there wasn't some type of extra allure, we would still be living in the dark ages. (Those dark ages being the 80s when it wasn't a given that a half-decent cup of coffee was available within a one-block radius.) Luckily for the afflicted, it is easier than ever to observe the coffee-making ritual--but tea drinkers are still mostly an afterthought.

Seeing no reason to continue leaving tea drinkers in the dark, Cambridge Consultants, a British design and development firm has created the TeaTotal. … Read more

Evernote Food lets iDevice users take photos and notes of meals not to be forgotten.

My wife and I entertain a lot. We have two young kids, and having friends to our place for dinner is less expensive than paying a babysitter and dining out. Plus, we like to cook. We typically have the same cast of characters over for dinner, and my wife recently expressed a desire to start a food journal, so we could remember what dishes we cooked for whom, in an effort to avoid duplication.

You should also know that our household is somewhat unorganized. Or … Read more

The last time I went to jury duty, the prosecuting attorney spent a good deal of time talking about one of Albuquerque's most famous lawsuits: the McDonald's hot coffee spill that resulted in a $640,000 award to the elderly woman who was burned.

That's an extreme example of a hot-coffee problem. Most of us just fry our tongues or desperately blow steam out of our mouths. The Smart Lid is looking to save us from our own eagerness.

The disposable Smart Lid changes colors when it's sitting on top of a hot cup of joe. If your cup is topped with bright red, you should chill out for a few minutes before you go in for a sip of that sweet caffeinated nectar of life. … Read more

When it comes to finding flavor in food and drink, the best way to start is at the source. Chefs routinely expound on the virtues of "respecting the ingredients" and for good reason. Finding flavor doesn't have to be a search when it is already there to begin with. Perhaps the same can be said for coffee.

As every coffee-drinker knows, how a cup of joe is prepared can make all the difference. While there may be many different methods of extracting the caffeinated elixir from the bean, the Bodum Bistro Pour Over Coffee Machine focuses on … Read more

Modern living has made life easier in a number of significant ways, with plumbing and electricity topping the list. As a society we've become accustomed to things working with a press of a button or turn of a handle, but that doesn't mean basic necessities cannot be improved upon.

Coffee--a well-known necessity of life--may be plentiful and readily available, but many would consider that to be just a start. Improving upon the accessibility of coffee is the Scanomat TopBrewer.

At first glance the spigot may elicit a question about why a water faucet would be mounted in that … Read more

Not everybody likes calm mornings. For some, the revved-up frenetic pace that is set by the attempt to get out the door on time is the very thing that gets them going. In short, some people only operate at breakneck speed, and for those select few, they now have a coffee mug to match.

Of course, with the vroom-vroom lifestyle of the fast and the caffeinated, no slow, stationary mug will do; it must be a travel mug. The Hot Rod Heated Travel Mug fulfills all of the requirements necessary for a fast (coffee) drinking lifestyle: a candy apple red … Read more