IT'S A GRIND COFFEE HOUSE | DALLAS

Chilly Drinks For A Hot Summer!

grabbymcbeans — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:18:09 +0000

Come enjoy a refreshing Italian soda from 28 different flavors at It’s A Grind:

Almond, Banana, Blackberry, Black Cherry, Blueberry, Caramel, Creme De Minthe, Chai Tea, Cherry, Chocolate, Chocolate Mint, Cinnamon, Coconut, English Toffee, Gingerbread, Hazelnut, Irish Cream, Kiwi, Mango, Orange, Peanut Butter, Peach, Peppermint, Pumpkin Pie, Strawberry, Toasted Marshmellow, Vanilla and Wild Raspberry.

An Italian soda is a soft drink made from carbonated water and simple syrup—usually flavored. In spite of its name, Italian sodas originated in the United States, not Italy. One claimant to the introduction and increased popularity of Italian sodas is Torani: Rinaldo and Ezilda Torre brought recipes for flavored syrups from Lucca, Italy and in 1925 introduced what become known as an Italian soda to the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The Italian American association with Italian sodas has been reinforced by various ready-made brands of Italian sodas, such as the 2005 creation of Romano’s Italian Soda Company (named after the Italian American grandfather of the company’s founder) and the 2007 introduction of “The Sopranos Old Fashioned Italian Sodas” which come in three flavors: Limoncello, Amaretto and Chianti.

Magnanimity

grabbymcbeans — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:23:41 +0000

Magnanimity is the Word Of The Week for Monday July 12th 2010.

mag·na·nim·i·ty

[mag-nuh-nim-i-tee]

–noun, plural

1. the quality of being magnanimous.

2. a magnanimous act.

Origin:

1300–50; ME magnanimite < L magnanimitās.

Use Magnanimity in a sentence:

“Infuse her latte with magnanimity.”

Learn A New Word Every Week on GrabYourBeans.com.

Hub Shorts Film Festival

grabbymcbeans — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:18:26 +0000

FEATURE BLEND

Coffee, Connection and the pursuit of Community.

In our continued efforts to further create connections between our community, we present to you, FEATURE BLEND. A weekly GrabYourBeans.com article that connects you with your local community and the stories behind the people in it. Without further adieu, our FEATURE BLEND of the week:

Dallas Hub Theater

Dallas Hub Theater Hosts First Annual Hub Shorts Film Festival.

Hub Shorts is a film festival showcasing local filmakers to include narrative, animated, and experimental films. Featured artists include work wrtitten and directed by University of Texas at Dallas graduate students, as well as university of Texas at Arlington facutly members. Two of the films even star Deep Ellum residents!

Watch a Short and Drink a Shot

It’s A Grind Coffee House is generously donating coffee for you to enjoy pre-film or during the reception that will follow. In leu of the film festivities, GrabYourBeans caught up with Hub Shorts Curator, Lauren Guyer, to help answer a few burning questions:

GrabYourBeans: What prompted the Hub to start an annual Short film festival? Tell us about the festival and the reception that will follow?

Guyer: As an Artist in Residency, Dallas Hub Theater acts as a gage for the artistic pulse of the Deep Ellum arts community. They consistently house active artistic organization with weekly scheduled events; so when I noticed a slowing “pulse”, I immediately started brainstorming about the untapped talents of filmmakers. I’ve recently seen a lot of great video and film work around DFW, but without the technical and professional help from an establishment like the Hub.

GYB: How do you take your popcorn?

Guyer: Ah yes, the very important $1,000,000 Question. I like my popped corn as natural as it could be, straight from the cob. I wonder if there is a way to pop corn while it is still on the cob. I might have to look into this for my personal interest. Unfortunately, not everyone shares my love for this acquired taste. We will have choices of natural and buttered (for the ultimate movie going experience) available for donation before the screening.

GYB: What should the audience anticipate seeing this Friday?

Guyer: Most of the videos offered that night will be narrative and experimental; definitely a show for adults. I was given the pleasure of viewing many pieces of work during this process, but I truly believe the ten selected films were created by ten exceptional artists. Many of the artists come from varying artistic backgrounds such as, music, dance, photography, and theater. Short answer: The Hub Shorts viewers can expect to see ten short films by ten DFW artists who are truly passionate about their work.

GYB: Should coffee be consumed before the view of the shorts or after during the reception….decisions, decisions.

Guyer: Oh GYB, coffee should be consumed before AND after EVERYTHING. haha The public will be offered refreshments before and after the screening, but coffee and cupcakes go nicely together so I recommend waiting for the reception.

Dallas Hub Theater

Dallas Hub Theater Hosts First Annual Hub Shorts Film Festival.

WHEN: Friday July 9th

TIME: Show Starts at 8:00pm

WHERE: 2809 Canton Street * Dallas, TX * 75226

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Coffee’s Mysterious Benefits Mounts

grabbymcbeans — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:45:56 +0000

Coffee’s Mysterious Benefits Mounts, Reports Life Science.

From lowered cancer risks to a sharper memory, more studies are showing that coffee is good for you – but why?

Regular coffee drinkers have a 39 percent decreased risk of head and neck cancer, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Those who drank an estimated four or more cups a day had significantly fewer cancers of the mouth and throat than non coffee drinkers, the study found.

“Coffee contains more than a thousand chemicals, some of which have antioxidant and antimutagenic activities,” Mia Hashibe, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Utah and the study’s lead researcher, told Life’s Little Mysteries. “Further research is necessary to identify which ingredients in coffee are responsible for the results we observed in our study.”

Scientists are still trying to determine exactly what it is about coffee that gives it its disease-fighting properties, but recent research is getting closer to unlocking the mysterious power behind the energizing brew.

Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than any other dietary source.

Coffee Facts Reported By Life Science:

The risk of some cancers may be cut by drinking coffee.
There are many organic and inorganic compounds in a regular cup of coffee, including chemicals called phenolic compounds, melanoidins, and diterpenes.
The safe daily dosage of caffeine is 300 milligrams for adults and 35 to 40 milligrams a day for children, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).
Research has shown that coffee is good for the cardiovascular system.

Coffee’s Mysterious Benefits Mounts. Read The Full Article, By Remy Melina Life Science Staff Writer

posted: 22 June 2010 05:34 pm ET

Heliolatry

grabbymcbeans — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:45:55 +0000

Word of The Week for June 21st, Summer Solstice:

HELIOLATRY

heliolatry\hee-lee-OL-uh-tree\

noun;
1.Worship of the sun

Quotes:

I am certain that if our preparations for greeting the returning sun were seen by other people, either civilised or savage, we would be thought disciples of heliolatry.
– Frederick Albert Cook, Through the first Antarctic night

Tourists were known for their heliolatry, excessive drinking, and promiscuity; their prearranged cultural excursions were notoriously shallow and contrived.
– Sasha D. Pack, Tourism and dictatorship: Europe’s peaceful invasion of Franco’s Spain

Origin:
Heliolatry stems from the Greek helio-, “sun,” and -latry, “worship.”

—Related forms
he·li·ol·a·ter, noun
he·li·ol·a·trous, adjective

Cori Berg

grabbymcbeans — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:39:39 +0000

FEATURE BLEND

Coffee, Connection and the pursuit of Community.

In our continued efforts to further create connections between our community, we present to you, FEATURE BLEND. A weekly GrabYourBeans.com article that connects you with your local community and the stories behind the people in it. Without further adieu, our FEATURE BLEND of the week:

Cori Berg

I’m a dreamer and a worker bee. Is that possible? I dabble in just about everything …
painting, guitar, storytelling, cooking. I don’t believe in limits, just humble curiosity
in everything I can try. God has given me an insatiable appetite for learning new things
which is a gift and a curse. Sapping up as much as you can from the world around you is
tireless…

IAG:Would you be interested in being featured on “Feature Blend,” a weekly article on GYB?

Cori Berg: Really excited about possibly getting featured… I just really love the mission of the
Demeter project. Before I turned to art full-time.. I was a preschool teacher and then
preschool director. I know how hard it is to run a business that is ethically sound for
all involved… trying to give my teachers a living wage and good life, without raising
tuition so it is sky-high, and still having the materials and training.. it takes hard
work and lots of creativity… And funny, now I’m doing the same sort of thing with my
art.. trying to give myself a living wage, but not make art that only rich collectors can buy. It’s interesting!

IAG: What does the phrase”building business with compassion” mean to you?

Cor Berg: I think the basic premise to building business with compassion is having the core belief that a business is most successful when the needs of all the people involved are met: the employees, the customers, and the community. I think many businesses focus mostly on their
products and services. But the person who delivers it, the employees must be taken care of by getting paid a living wage, receiving adequate benefits such as health care and vacation, and being encouraged to live a balanced life. This means such things as being
flexible with employees with families or employees who are students. As far as the community
goes, the business needs to meet an actual need in the community and be a positive force in it.
It should interact well with other businesses and it should support a health environment for
the people who live in it. All this sound like idealism, but it can be done through small
intentional steps. I used to be director of an early childhood center, a field which is known
for very poor wages for employees. But I knew in order to attract the very best teachers,
I needed to create a good environment for them. It took a lot of working with the parent community to understand theimportance of the education for their young children so they understood why tuition was beingraised. But we raised it incrementally, to meet the needs of the parents. It is difficultand challenging but it can be done.

As an artist, I still carry the same sort of mission with me. I want to break down the high pretense of the gallery walls. I believe in the importanceof art and its healing factors and that it should be part of everyone’s lives. But manypeople cannot afford to pay the high cost of original artwork. Yet, as an artist, if youonly sell a few pieces, you must be paid adequately. It is something I am continuing to strive for.

IAG: On a Rainy Spring Day, where would you most like to find yourself?

Cor Berg: Oh, I love my rainy days. My favorite place to be is in a chair off our little porch,
with the screen door open so I can hear and smell the rain. I have a soft crocheted afghan
I made, a good book, the light of a reading lamp, and of course, my 17-year-old cat, Zack,
sleeping on my lap.

IAG: The most rewarding work you have accomplished (yet) in your lifetime?

Cori Berg: During my teaching career, I worked in a very low-income community in California. I had 48 preschoolers – 24 in the morning and 24 in the afternoon. Only a few spoke English. The families and the children led very difficult lives. There was a lot of violence in the
community, they didn’t receive adequate health care, and so on. What was most rewarding about this experience was how I was able to use the
arts to build a bridge between this classroom community and me. I loved playing guitar and
singing and dancing with the children. And the artwork! Any artist needs to spend time in a
preschool classroom to feel alive again! Collage and painting and sculpture! Seeing the
children’s eyes light up when I put sparkly things on the table for them to glue or seeing
the amazing intricate constructions they could come up with all on their own just from cardboard
and straws and tape… it was very rewarding.

IAG: How do you take your coffee?

Cori Berg: Mmmm… coffee. I love it! I take it with milk.. so it’s the color of caramel!
Although, I’ve been known to accidently sip a cup of coffee that I’ve unknowingly dipped
my paint brush in!

To see more of Cori’s work, click the picture below.

Italian Sodas

grabbymcbeans — Fri, 28 May 2010 20:27:05 +0000

Italian Sodas are a great way to beat the heat this Memorial Day weekend.

Italian Sodas are served Icy Cold, and can be sweetened with a variety of flavors:

Peach Italian Soda

Strawberry
Kiwi
Peach
Cherry
Blackberry
Mint
Almond
Orange
And Many More…

For an extra treat, try a Italian Cream Soda, made with your flavor of your choice Fizzy water, and breve.

Italian Sodas are a great way to beat the heat this Memorial Day weekend. Start your 3-day weekend with something refreshingly sweet. Stop in on your way to the pool party, or the family BBQ, for a tasty IAG Italian Soda.

Barista Whips Up A Mean Blended Mocha

grabbymcbeans — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:59:00 +0000

It’s A Grind Coffee House|Dallas Barista sure knows how to whip up a mean blended mocha, and yes, whip Cream is optional.

IAG Barista Stephen Barley

Today was much like any other day at It’s A Grind Coffee House|Dallas, just doing what we can to serve delicious coffee drinks and great customer service.

IAG Barista, Stephen Barley, is always busy with keeping the store in working order, handing out treats to the dogs that visit our patio, and he is also quit talented behind the espresso machine. Barley has been in the barista business for nearly a decade, and if anyone knows how to whip up a Mocha, it’s him. Stephen knows that making small adjustments to classic drinks, like our Blended Mocha, can go a long way.

Stephen suggested to one of our customers today, that perhaps he should try his blended mocha with sugar-free chocolate powder. It was shortly after that first sip Stephen was told,

“This is one of the best drinks I’ve ever had. I’ll have to come back every day to get one!”

Stephen always appreciates a great compliment, thank you. You can visit Stephen at It’s A Grind Coffee House|Dallas Saturday-Wednesday and for the other two days of the week, rest assured, we have 7 other barista’s who’ll be able to whip up something sweet.

Have you tried an IAG Sugar-Free Blended Mocha? It’s A Grind Coffee House|Dallas Barista sure knows how to whip up a mean blended mocha, and yes, whip Cream is optional.

French Press

grabbymcbeans — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:39:02 +0000

French Press is our Word Of the Week for May 24th 2010.

French Press

[french-pres]

1.) Weight training exercise that targets tricep muscles: Lying Dumbbell French Press

Lie on flat bench, arms extended, palms facing out. Keep upper arms locked bending only at elbows.
Lowering dumbbells toward forehead, rotating until palms facing in. Reverse, squeezing triceps.

2.) Sometimes refered to as a Plunger pot or Press Pot

3.) A great method for brewing coffee:

Start by choosing your favorite It’s A Grind Coffee blend.
Remove the lid and filter assembly.
Measure coffee grounds into the coffeemaker.
Pour very hot water over it, filling to the desired level.
Replace the lid and filter assembly, keeping the filter at the top.
Let coffee and water steep together for 2 to 5 minutes, depending on desired strength; the longer they steep, the stronger the coffee.
Now take the plunge; slowly push the plunger down, to filter the coffee. Doing this slowly will keep most of the grounds under the filter of the plunger.
Pour the filtered coffee, sit back, and enjoy!

Choosing the Right Grind Size

grabbymcbeans — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:32:06 +0000

For the perfect cup of coffee in the morning, it is important when choosing the right grind size.

The ideal fineness (or coarseness) of your ground coffee depends mainly on what type of brewing method you are going to use. In general, if you brew coffee that is ground too coarse, the coffee can be under-extracted (weak), and less flavorful.

If your coffee is ground too fine, however, the coffee can be over-extracted and bitter. Small
changes in grind size can drastically affect the taste of your final brew.

GRIND SIZE DESCRIPTIONS (How to identify your grind size):

Coarse: Distinct, chunky, pieces of coffee beans. Like heavy kosher salt.
Medium: Gritty texture with visible flakes. Like very coarse sand.
Fine: Much smoother texture. Like table salt, maybe a little finer.
Extra Fine: Coffee grains still barely discernable. Finer than granular sugar.
Turkish: Powdered with no grains. Blade grinders cannot grind this fine. Like flour.

GRIND SIZE vs. BREWING METHOD CHART (How to select the right grind size):

COARSE

Plunger Pot
French Press
Percolator
Vacuum coffee pot

MEDIUM

Drip coffee makers with flat bottom filters

FINE

Drip coffee makers with cone shaped filters
Espresso moka pots

EXTRA FINE

Espresso machines – pump
Espresso machines – steam

TURKISH

Ibik

For the perfect cup of coffee in the morning, it is important when choosing the right grind size.

If your coffee is too weak, try a coarser grind. If your coffee leaves a ”pucker” effect at the edges of your tongue, it’s probalby been over extracted. If your still having problems, stop in at It’s A Grind Coffee House|Dallas. Our experienced baristas will be able to help you find the right grind for the perfect cup of coffee at home.