I have a great recipe with common ingredients, easy too: Chocolate Chai 1 black tea bag (orange pekoe, English Breakfast or similiar) 1/2 cup boiling water 3 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 2 cups milk 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg whipped cream & cinnamon sticks, optional for garnish In a small saucepan pour boiling water over tea bag. Cover; let stand 3-5 minutes. remove tea bag. Stir in sugar and cocoa. Cook and stir over medium heat just until mixture comes to a boiling. Stir in milk, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg; heat through. Do no boil. Pour into mugs. Top with whipped cream and add a cinnamon stick to each serving. Makes 2 or 3 servings. That't the official recipe. You can make substitutions with the the spices. I often add 1/4 tsp of ground ginger with the others and boost the vanilla a tsp. You can also leave out the cocoa, if desired.

This thread is definitely getting some mileage... Evaluating and recommending coffee, especially grading outlets that brew it is a nearly impossible task: Consistency in roasting coffee is the main thing that sets a master apart from the run of the mill roaster. Good espresso is almost always a blend of beans from different parts of the world all contributing to a certain aspect in the finished cup. The finished flavor of the combined beans is controlled by the taste buds of the roaster that does the blending. So the first challenge is finding a flavor profile that you like. The next challenge is getting that same flavor the next time they blend a batch for roasting. It's not too tough if their supply of green beans is large enough that they can simply follow a ratio of this bean and that bean the next time they blend from that stash of beans; they follow a recipe. The thing that sets the great roaster apart from the typical is the ability to achieve the same flavor profile when new beans come in from the growers. Simply using the bean from the same variety, even the same farmer, is not a guarantee because growing conditions alter the flavor of the bean from season to season. The master roaster must be able to tweak the recipe, and at times even introduce an entirely new varietal into the mix, in order to achieve the same flavor. This is no easy endeavor! So saying, "I like Luigi's espresso roast from ACME Roasters" is no guarantee that it will taste the same the next time you buy it. Add to this the short life span of a roasted bean before huge flavor differences occur (2 weeks max), the ability or lack of ability to properly grind and brew the stuff, the quality of your water, etc, etc- coffee is a very crazy culinary world of variables. I pride myself in having a very good knowledge of the subject, over twenty years of personal experience and pursuit, a ridiculously expensive set of brewing equipment; and I am constantly disappointing myself in my own ability to make a great cup of coffee. Espresso is the hardest. Even with pro equipment worth several thousand dollars and all of my skill, I think I can safely claim an 80% to 90% success rate in preparing what I consider a perfect shot. To get a success rate that consistent takes an almost insane degree of passion and concentration. There are definitly some exceptions but I find it so hard to buy a decent cup of coffee, I usually don't. To repeat what I said earlier about the genious of Starbucks- their roasting style is the best one for producing consistency regardless of the person preparing it, assuming that person has a modicum of training. The delicate nature and subtle nuances of a light to medium roast is traded at Starbucks for a robust, almost singular monotone flavour. I don't like the stuff but I understand so many that do, because of the consistency and lack of surprise. Follow your nose and your tastebuds. Not every flavor appeals to every person. Consider Liver and Onions for instance... michaelp Here is a link that might be useful: the prize...

You'll find conflicting data on coconut oil in the diet. Lots of claims for it and against it. It's pretty well established that heavily hydrogenated tropical oils, including coconut (such as what you'd find in commercial baked snacks--they hydrogenate the fat to increase shelf life) are bad actors, but that's likely due to the hydrogenation process and not the oil itself. Coconut oil is a mid-chain mostly saturated fat. It may well be metabolized differently than other saturated fats. There was a study some years ago about a bunch of Sri Lankans who were convinced by Western doctors to switch from their traditional coconut oil in the diet to vegetable oil. The rate of heart disease went UP, ha ha. Now I don't know if they did other Western habits like smoking Marlboros while sitting on their hineys watching 'Baywatch', but I thought that was interesting. I have used coconut oil for 'buttering' potatoes. I've also used coconut oil as the poaching fat in making duck confit (wowza, was that good!). There is a difference in the quality of coconut oil. I can get some fragrant organic coconut oil from the Dekalb Farmers Market in the Atlanta area--it's wonderful. The local supermarket has Lou-Ana coconut oil--okay, but not spectacular. You'll also find that there are some claims made by people trying to sell you the stuff--"if you don't buy this particular brand of coconut oil harvested by sincere vegetarians who are kind to kittens, you're gonna miss out on all the benefits"--you just need to try to separate the hype from the fact. Hard to do sometimes.

They have one of these units at my kids' orthodontists office. Lots of variety, even tea, but it is pretty expensive for psudo-instant coffee, around $30 per pound, IIRC. For that kind of cash, you can get some of the TOP rated coffees in the world. I use the TMM that Rhome mentions. I have used one for several years and am very satisfied, but that's just my opinion. Down and dirty cheap is a pour over cone with paper filters as mentioned by sfjeff. You can get a herkin' big one and brew directly into a thermos or carafe (try sweet maria's website). The Keurig offers convenience. Coffee is mediocre and expensive. But if you don't drink it often, maybe the expense isn't an issue if you're having to throw out stale coffee. Have you tried the coffee? Do you like it? If so, go for it. You can buy a "pod" that let's you use your own coffee when you've got the time and inclination. BTW, coffeegeek.com has a forum of consumer reviews for all types of coffee makers.