All posts tagged: Coffee

Where to eat and stay in Hanoi’s Old Quarter: Pho, egg coffee, xoi xeo and luxe hotel

Where to eat and stay in Hanoi’s Old Quarter: Pho, egg coffee, xoi xeo and luxe hotel

Published by Sam Flores

Hanoi is a city of contrasts. You’ll encounter seafood vendors shifting tubs of slithering eels across the street; and just as likely, you might see a pour-over made from locally grown coffee beans right next door. In an alley, goatee-sporting creative types slurp pho on low tables, sharing condiments with housewives catching a quick break. I was in Vietnam’s capital at the invitation of Fairmont Hanoi, located just minutes from Hoan Kiem Lake, to attend its grand opening in late March. It was a quick stop, not enough time to leisurely sip Vietnamese drip coffee a hair’s width away from a passing train on that Instagram-famous train street. At least I didn’t have to risk life and limb to find good pho. Furthermore, with the city’s urban restructuring underway, exploring the Old Quarter, Hanoi’s cultural heart, on foot is about to get more pleasant.  “A lot of office buildings were no longer needed and are being removed to create more public spaces,” said Do Hanh Dung, the hotel’s senior sales manager. “I live in this …

Stuck in a Coffee Rut? ChatGPT Can Now Plan Your Next Starbucks Order

Stuck in a Coffee Rut? ChatGPT Can Now Plan Your Next Starbucks Order

Published by skeptic

If you like getting your daily cup of coffee from Starbucks, you’ll now be able to consult with ChatGPT for your next beverage. Starbucks said on Wednesday that a new Starbucks app in ChatGPT, now in beta, will help you figure out your next order based on your mood or craving in the moment.  Enlarge Image An example of what a Starbucks order idea looks like through Chat GPT. Starbucks Although you won’t be able to order your Starbucks coffee directly through the ChatGPT app, it will suggest drinks and menu items you may enjoy, then direct you to the Starbucks app or website to complete your order. OpenAI has added a host of other apps you can interact with in ChatGPT since announcing the functionality last year. You can do everything from browsing home listings to designing playlists without leaving the chatbot interface.  You’ll be able to use prompts like, “@Starbucks, I want something bright to start my morning,” or upload an image to describe your mood and location. Once the menu suggestion appears …

The 3 Best Mug Warmers of 2026: Better Than the Ember Mug?

The 3 Best Mug Warmers of 2026: Better Than the Ember Mug?

Published by skeptic

A lot of these travel mugs tend to take the form of a sippy cup. But when sitting at home, my ideal pick is the Fellow Carter, which sips like a normal drinking vessel and is stainless steel—not plastic. It’s ceramic-lined on its interior to avoid coffee-oil buildup or any hint of metallic tang. If you like sippy cups, Fellow also offers a nice 3-in-1 lid system ($57) with straw and slider lids. What I tend to do is drop a four-cup batch of coffee into the Carter, and screw the lid off and on when I take a sip. Sixteen ounces of coffee can stay warm for hours without introducing a lot of oxidation or heat. The coffee in a thermal-insulated drinking container tends to taste better, longer, than any coffee that’s been subjected to the heat and air of a coffee warmer. This said, while the Carter is prettier than most travel mugs, it’s never going to be my favorite mug (which, for the record, is a Grinderman tour mug from 2010.) The …

You’re Brewing It Wrong: 10 Experts Rank the Best (and Worst) Ways to Make Coffee

You’re Brewing It Wrong: 10 Experts Rank the Best (and Worst) Ways to Make Coffee

Published by skeptic

Coffee is personal, and rarely do two people make or take it the same way. You might crave the punch of a dark roast or lean toward something subtle and complex. Some take it iced, espresso-style with a drop of foam or lukewarm with skim milk (please, no).  Ultimately, the best cup of coffee is the one you enjoy, but making coffee is a matter of chemistry, and some brewing methods objectively extract more nuanced, well-rounded flavors than others. Nearly every coffee pro I consulted was aligned. Getty Images So, then, what is the best device or method for brewing? According to the cadre of coffee pros I spoke with, there is a definitive answer. In all, I asked 10 coffee experts, including roasters, cafe owners, educators, barista champions and one former president of the Specialty Coffee Association to rank seven popular methods for brewing coffee. Watch this: Physical AI vs. Generative AI: Waymo Battles ChatGPT 09:53 The contenders (listed alphabetically): AeroPress, automatic drip machine, espresso, French press, K-Cup, moka pot and pour-over. The best way …

How to make better coffee – without spending a fortune | Coffee

How to make better coffee – without spending a fortune | Coffee

Published by Sam Flores

The Filter recently did its very first live reader Q&A, where you had the chance to serve up your deepest, darkest roasted questions about coffee. There were so many that we didn’t have time to answer them all on the day. I’ve enlisted the help of Ben Young over at Craft House Coffee in Sussex to put some of your more challenging questions to his team in the roastery. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Many of you just wanted to know how to make better coffee – and without spending big money. Several readers professed their love of the moka pot, wanting to know the optimal technique. “Start with boiling water and lower the temperature once coffee starts flowing,” advises Ben. “As soon as you see any signs of bubbling or spurting, take it off the heat and cool the base to stop the brewing process.” The question of whether or not to compress the coffee puck in a moka pot …

I Tested 20 Bags of Grocery Store Coffee. These Are the 5 Best Beans to Brew

I Tested 20 Bags of Grocery Store Coffee. These Are the 5 Best Beans to Brew

Published by skeptic

1: Intelligentsia House Blend Trendy Intelligentsia coffee isn’t worth the steep price. Katherine Peach/CNET Intelligentsia is a Chicago-founded roaster that’s become a widespread specialty coffee brand in grocery stores coast to coast. At $20 for a 12-ounce bag of whole beans at my local Brooklyn grocery store, Intelligentsia House Blend coffee can be considered an investment. The lack of a “roasted by” date on the bag, however, means freshness is a gamble. This tester ended up with a whisper of flavor with three months left on the “best by” date. It lacked any noticeable tasting notes, potentially due to an overstay in the grocery aisle. The Intelligentsia House Blend bag also lacks any tasting note descriptors or instructions whatsoever on the packaging.  Even with low expectations, the beans still produced a bland cup of coffee, firmly placing it in the “low” category. If you’re interested in drinking Intelligentsia coffee, I’d recommend heading to the brand’s coffee shops or purchasing a fresh bag straight from the roaster.  What to try instead: Groundwork Groundwork’s Organic Bitches Blend …

The Best Mushroom Coffee, WIRED Tested and Reviewed (2026)

The Best Mushroom Coffee, WIRED Tested and Reviewed (2026)

Published by skeptic

Others Tested Photograph: Pete Cottell Lifeboost Mindflow for $40: The flavor of this instant powder is snappy and astringent at first, then it mellows into a warm middle ground after a few sips and a short cooling period. By the middle of the cup I forgot I was drinking something other than coffee, and the mild acidity on the finish–likely a product of the CognatiQ Coffee Fruit Extract that’s lauded on the back of Mindflow’s mylar pouch–tastes similar to a nice cup of Ethiopian or Rwandan coffee if you close your eyes and pretend for just a moment. Regarding its potency, if mushroom supplements were attendees at a state college keg party, Lifeboost would be the unremarkable guy pacing himself in the back while everyone else is getting blitzed like the world is ending. It’s unassuming yet self-assured, patiently waiting for all other entrants to crap out so it can make its move. I copped a mild buzz just a few sips in, and I felt alert and wide-eyed for a good two hours after …

The Best Time to Drink Coffee for Productivity (and When Not To)

The Best Time to Drink Coffee for Productivity (and When Not To)

Published by skeptic

“Right when your adrenaline hits, it kind of boosts the release of sugar stores from your liver, and then you get a crash,” Akkerman says. “And if you haven’t eaten anything, you can get hypoglycemic, which can make you really shaky on top of everything else.” The solution, says Akkerman, is to have a little complex carbohydrates and proteins. This might be anything from granola to peanut butter toast. The extra energy from the food will stop your body from crashing out mid-morning. This, I learned from Akkerman, is the root of my mid-morning shakes. It wasn’t the caffeine. It was adrenaline and hypoglycemia. I’m not much of a breakfast person, but on Akkerman’s advice, I now eat a handful of peanuts each morning before my morning brew, to avoid an unexpected sugar crash. Moderate Your Caffeine Dose Some people process caffeine quickly and well. Some people don’t. Some people are also bigger than others. But the general rule of thumb from the US Food and Drug Administration is that 400 milligrams of caffeine per …

Coffee cake that earns its coffee

Coffee cake that earns its coffee

Published by Sam Flores

When I picture most coffee cakes, they seem to materialize in the same three places, as predictably as a non-player character in an open-world video game: office break rooms, church basements and conference center breakfast buffets. They arrive pre-sliced, pre-dulled, pre-forgiven. Beige. Bland. Dry. They are polite background noise — the culinary equivalent of a cubicle in a Schaumburg office park. Coffee cake, as a category, has a reputation problem. It is expected to be fine. Serviceable. Something you accept with a paper napkin under fluorescent lighting and a murmur of gratitude. It fills space. It does not demand attention. I have a soft spot for the cinnamon coffee cake from Starbucks — or rather, for what I remember it being like when I was 12. There was a year in middle school when I was sick often enough that the doctor’s office felt a bit like a second address. Eventually we learned I had an immune condition; I also had mono, which felt cosmically unfair considering I had not yet been kissed and suspected …

8 Best Espresso Machines for Home (2026), Tested by Coffee Pros

8 Best Espresso Machines for Home (2026), Tested by Coffee Pros

Published by skeptic

Compare the Top 8 Espresso Machines Frequently Asked Questions How Do I Test Espresso Machines? AccordionItemContainerButton Over the past decade, WIRED has tested dozens of espresso makers to find our favorites. The process, in part, is simple. We brew a whole lot of coffee. I’ve written about coffee for more than a decade on both the East and West Coasts, including my hometown coffee mecca of Portland, Oregon. Other current and past WIRED espresso testers—who include former baristas and longtime coffee writers—include Jaina Grey, Jeffrey Van Camp, Kat Merck, Tyler Shane, Pete Cottell, and Scott Gilbertson. On each machine that’s capable, I make and assess at least four styles of drink, on multiple roasts and beans: a basic 2:1 espresso, an Americano, a latte, and a cappuccino. On machines that advertise a wacky array of drinks, I test each one. This includes any newfangled coldspresso and head-scratching variations on a “long.” It also includes, if science dictates, espresso martinis. And I test to see whether a machine can be dialed to both dark roasts and …