AreoShot Coffee Inhalers
AreoShot, a new coffee inhaler, is now on the market in New York and Massachussets. Its also available in France and online.
The inhaler comes in a cannister about the size of a lipstick tube. It contains 100 mg of caffeine powder and costs $2.99. The airborne energy particles coat the inside of your mouth and back of the throat, then are swallowed, Massachusetts General Hospital reports. The particles dissolve quickly and are reportedly too large to reach the lungs.
It was created by David Edwards who is a biomedical engineering professor. Mr. Edwards claims the product is safe, but US Senator Charles Schumer of New York is calling for a FDA review of the now-unregulated energy product. Edwards, however, dismisses fears that inhaling caffeine might be harmful as “a bit of hysteria” and “the knee-jerk reaction” to anything new, according to USA Today.
Critics fear that it will be used as a drug by partiers. “You want those 10 cups of coffee, it will probably take you a couple hours to get through all that coffee with all that volume that you are drinking,” Lisa Ganijhu, MD, an internist at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, told ABC News. “With these inhaled caffeine canisters you can get that in 10 of those little canisters — so you just puff away and you could be getting all of that within the hour.”
The packaging warns people not to consume more than three AreoShots a day, well within the safe range for caffeine consumption. According to Massachusetts General Hospital, you’d have to consume about 80 inhalers (8,000 mg. of caffeine) to risk death by caffeine, since such a massive amount could cause a dangerous heartbeat abnormality called ventricular fibrillation. Three cups of coffee or three AeroShots deliver about 300 mg. of caffeine, considered a moderate, safe intake. Amounts above 750 to 1,000 mg. a day can be risky, due to the potential for “caffeine intoxication,” marked by such symptoms as anxiety, facial flushing, rapid or irregular heartbeat, impaired judgment, GI upset and insomnia.
I’ll Have a Latte and a Hack: No Thank You!
We all do it, find our favorite cafe with a “hot spot”, sit down with our computer and work, or play, the afternoon away. But is our daily indulgence becoming a little risque? Maybe so!
Enter the HACKER! While we are sitting there cup deep in blissful liquid gold, some of us are being violated by a good for nothing hacker. Well, that is a date I would rather not have, thank you very much! I’ll drink alone, maybe I’ll have a scone while I’m at it, me and my computer, by myself or with friends, but no uninvited guests.
A New York Times articlefrom February 16th drew attention to the new vulnerabilities faced by Wi-Fi users. In particular, a free program called Firesheep. Firesheep makes hacking your fellow cafe-goer a simple, user-friendly, DIY affair. It takes advantage of a lack of end-to-end encryption, allowing hackers to grab your cookies which are the bits of code that identify your private information. This enables hackers to act as you on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, or eBay. Sites that use HTTPS, rather than HTTP, are safe from this sort of hacking. Banking sites generally use HTTPS, but Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and EBay do not.
New York is advising people of this Internet cafe issue. Senator Charles Schumer spoke at Birch Coffee in Madison Square Park in Manhattan. He described the HTTP protocol as “a welcome mat for would-be hackers” and a “one-stop-shop for identity theft.” Its important to note that when you are using Internet hot spots, you are taking a risk if you are using HTTP.
Until the larger companies that store our data stop using HTTP, and start using HTTPS I suggest that you be aware of any unusual activity that might show up on your account. Be your own watchdog!
Tis’ the Season
Tis’ the season for flavored coffee!!!! This year, more regional and grocery store brands are participating with holiday blends of their own according to Bloomberg Business Week reports.
Starbucks has Peppermint Mocha Latte, Gingerbread Latte and Eggnog Latte. They also carry a lower-calorie version of the Peppermint Mocha Latte in select markets.
Dunkin’ Donuts has added a low-cal version of its gingerbread-flavored drip coffee to its holiday lineup.
Caribou Coffee has Fa La Latte and Ho Ho Mint Mocha.
Maxwell House is offering a Peppermint Mocha Latte mix.
Get your holiday flavor on!
Starbucks and Yahoo Team Up to Offer In Store E-Books and Movies
Starbucks has teamed up with Yahoo to offer their customers e-books and movies in an attempt to encourage them to “stay a while” and purchase more items at Starbucks.
Starbucks, who traditionally charged for wireless internet, began their free wireless internet campaign in July of this year. Now when you access Starbucks’ wireless service, you will be welcomed to watch moves, read books or enjoy access to some paid sites from their partners, some of which include The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, Apple’s iTunes, local news provider Patch, and Zagat.
If you want to read the books at home, you may purchase them through the internet service. Starbucks makes a small profit from the purchase.
The e-books on the network are being offered through the Bookish Reading Club, a partnership with publishers, including Harper Collins, Hachette, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster.
Some books will be offered as excerpts only – but the customer will have the option of buying the whole book if interested. Some material will be made available on the network before its release date. One of the first such offerings is a preview of Anita Shreve’s upcoming novel “Rescue.”
Folgers “Home For The Holidays” Contest
The sights, sounds and aromas of the holiday season often stir up a sense of nostalgia and a yearning to be at home with family. This year, Folgers® is once again helping to make that happen for five lucky families as part of the second annual “Home for the Holidays” contest. To enter, America can visit www.folgers.com from October 1, 2010 through November 30, 2010, and submit a 200-word essay answering “What is the best part of wakin’ up at home during the holidays with Folgers coffee?” Five winners will receive a seven day, six night trip in December 2010 for themselves and up to three other guests to travel to their hometown destination within the 48 contiguous United States. Each trip includes round trip airfare, hotel accommodations, a rental car, $1,000 spending money and a Folgers gift basket. Travel origination and destination must be within the 48 contiguous states. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C. 18 years old or older. Void where prohibited. See www.folgers.com for Official Rules, entry information and complete details.
National Coffee Day: Get Your Free Cup!
Today is National Coffee Day. In celebration there are a few places were you can get a free cup of coffee.
Dunkin’ Donuts is participating. To get your free cup of coffee from Dunkin’ check out their website for the “free” coupon! ‘Fans can enter to win the grand prize — a trip for two to Costa Rica, a tour of Dunkin’s Coffee Lab and 60 months free coffee — by submitting a video, 60 seconds or less, describing why they deserve the title of ultimate fan. The contest and announcement were timed to celebrate the company’s 60th birthday and pay tribute to September 29.
Some local places may be participating as well, but coffee giant, Starbucks, will not be celebrating by giving away free coffee, which is honestly a shock to me. I thought for sure they would be on board. Oh well!!!
New York Women Attracted To The Smell of Coffee
A study has shown that New York women are attracted to the smell of coffee, according to a report by NBC New York
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The study was conducted by the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation and sponsored by Ax Men’s Grooming Products.
The study also noted that women around the US prefer different smells. In Philadelphia they like the smell of clean laundry, in Los Angeles the prefer lavender and the ladies of Dallas like campfire smoke.
Seattle’s Best Coffee Contest: FREE TRIP TO SEATTLE
Coffeesage.com readers have been invited to participate in a Seattle’s Best Coffee contest. First prize is an all expenses paid trip to the coffee capital of the US……….. Seattle!!!!
Seattle’s Best is celebrating their fan’s love of great coffee. They are now looking for their BIGGEST fan to join them for a first class coffee lover’s experience in Seattle. You can compete to win the free trip that will be the “ultimate coffee immersion” and a chance to become a Seattle’s Best Coffee Ambassador. The Ambassadors get the “low-down” on coffee news, prizes and other free stuff.
The contest runs through September 3rd. To enter, visit the Seattle’s Best Coffee Facebook fan-page and tell them why Seattle’s Best Coffee is the “bright spot in your day”.
Good luck and may the coffee be with you!!!
McDonalds Competing With Starbucks: Frappes & Smooties
McDonald’s just recently introduced Frappes to its menu in an attempt to dive deeper into the specialty drink market. It began with premium coffee at a lower price than Starbucks and expanded into iced coffee and lattes.
Now McDonald’s is taking another plunge into the Starbucksphere. It is going to introduce Smoothies to its menu. This is aimed at consumers who stop at Starbucks and other specialty coffee retailers and convenience stores during the middle of the day to get a drink. It is hoping that the Smoothie sales will increase its revenue, as did the specialty coffee drinks. Specialty coffee is a $13 billion market in the USA, says the Specialty Coffee Association. Coffee sales at McDonald’s have jumped double digits every year since 2006, when it rolled out premium coffee.
Coffee Increases Productivity and Safety at Work
Workers who are subject to “shift work” suffer from increased tiredness due to the interruption in their biological clock. This disruption can lead to more accidents and less productivity at work.
Researchers looked at workers who drank caffeine, whether in coffee or energy drinks and compared those results to workers who took naps and placebos. The results: work-related tests showed those on the caffeine suffered significantly less mistakes and had better memory, attention, perception and reasoning.
”It seems reasonable to assume that reduced errors are associated with fewer injuries, although we cannot quantify such a reduction.” says lead researcher Katharine Ker of the London School of Tropical Medicine.
Free Iced Coffee Today 5/11/10 at Dunkin’ Donuts
Today is Dunkin Donut’s 60th birthday and they are celebrating by giving away free iced coffee in some of their cities.
Baltimore, Md.; Charlottesville, Va.; Cleveland, Ohio; Harrisonburg, Va.; Norfolk, Va.; Washington, D.C.; Youngstown, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Richmond, Va.; Roanoke, Va.; Salisbury, Md.; Philadelphia, Pa.; and Phoenix, Ariz.
The free iced coffee is also available in New York City, but only from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, this is causing a controversy in the cities where the iced treat is not being offered free and the feelings of those excluded from the promotion are being posted on Dunkin Donut’s facebook page.
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