What New Thing Did You Try Today?

[ElectronGuru]

Maybe you saw something, passed it up, and went back for it. Maybe you discovered something new in an usual place or something normal in an unusual place. Maybe someone shared something with you. Can be food or not, just needs to be CPF friendly. What new thing did you try today?

I discovered Cherry IPA (as in beer) ice cream. I was skeptical at first, but the flavors actually work.

[StarHalo]

I'm not a beer guy, but cherry beer ice cream sounds pretty refreshing, I'd give it a try..

I signed up for a free sample of Green Mountain Keurig K-cups from Target; they arrived today and I forced a French Vanilla Iced Coffee cup open to dump its contents into an Aeropress coffee maker - using the proper ratios and temperatures, it came out above average, I suspect Green Mountain is using fresher (and less burnt) grounds than Starbucks does, at least. It still doesn't compare to what I can do with a bottle of Torani syrup, and the K-cups are still way overpriced even compared to mail-order coffee, but it was a solid experiment, and free is always the right price..

[StarHalo]

Tried the Green Mountain Nantucket Blend Iced Coffee, yikes, some straight up hotel room goes-good-with-cigarettes joe, I dumped it. I'll have access to a local coffee roaster soon, so there'll be more updates.

I can't believe this thread is inactive, you guys need to try more things..

[Wrend]

Posting here from my new Nexus 7, for starters. (So far I've avoided touch screen typing like the plague - still not a fan.)

[HighlanderNorth]

I am going to try and install 2 gable vents on the sides of a customer's home tomorrow for the 1st time to vent his attic. Did I mention I am not a carpenter? I have to figure out which of my power saws will be best to cut vinyl siding with, then figure out how to reattach the remaining siding to the house after cutting the square hole for the vent, then figure out how to attach the vent. The one side will be easy to do, as its over the garage, but the other side is about 24 feet in the air, and my longest ladder is only about 19 feet when fully extended! Its technically a 24 foot ladder, but they measure the 2 pieces when they are fully pulled apart, but when slid together and overlapping each other, the ladder is only 19 feet. Its kind of false advertising....

I've done this "figure it out as you go" method many times, and its always worked out, so I think this will too. As long as you can follow instructions, make good measurements, and have good, basic mechanical skills, it shouldnt be a problem to do this kind of thing I always say...... I've put floors into 3 attics, rebuilt the frame work and walls of my own covered patio and rebuilt the doors and sides of 3 good quality sheds. I own a landscaping company by the way..... might not sound that way though.

[nbp]

Organic milk

[StarHalo]

New for me this weekend:

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee (48 hours after roasting): Like a lemongrass tea, rounding out to a quality tobacco aftertaste. You know just from smelling the beans that you're dealing with something very different.

Virgil's Microbrewed Root Beer: I had no idea so many oils and herbs went into good ol' root beer, but you can taste each and every one in a bottle of Virgil's.

[orbital]

+

Just the other day, bought a Monster Energy Irish Blend coffee drink.
really good,,surprisingly good!


I never bought a single energy drink before this one,, I'd buy it again for sure

[StarHalo]

Just the other day, bought a Monster Energy Irish Blend coffee drink.
really good,,surprisingly good!

As long as you dig the Starbucks-style chilled sweet coffee drinks, you'll find all the energy drink brand coffees to be great, I can't say I've ever had one I didn't like. Rockstar's version has the most caffeine in it, but they also don't put expiration dates on their cans, which is a bad idea for any dairy product. And be aware that plain old coffee will in most instances have more caffeine; Monster drinks are 150 mg per 16 oz can, but that's the same caffeine content as only ~9 oz black coffee..

[orbital]

^

I'v drank 10~12 cups of coffee a day for at least a couple decades, never put any sugar in it.
I do 50% espresso roast 50% medium roast for my own personal blend. {I'll admit it, I buy Starbucks beans'}
Just a dash of milk for balance.

The other day I was really thirsty and the Monster thing sounded good,,,it was.

[StarHalo]

I'v drank 10~12 cups of coffee a day for at least a couple decades, never put any sugar in it.
I do 50% espresso roast 50% medium roast for my own personal blend. {I'll admit it, I buy Starbucks beans'}
Just a dash of milk for balance.

The other day I was really thirsty and the Monster thing sounded good,,,it was.

If you're still doing store-bought coffee, my preferred two blends (and the two blends most aficionados arrive at before moving to fresh roast) are Starbucks Caffe Verona and Peet's Major Dickason's Blend. Both are dark and bold, with roasty cocoa sweetness that goes great with chocolate or pastries. But know that both are but pale imitations of the coffee waiting at your local coffee roaster's, which tastes like fine wine in comparison. If you don't have a roaster near you, ordering from one online is absolutely worth the shipping charge (Philz Jacob's Wonderbar was my gateway fresh-roast.)

You can also do your own chilled coffee drinks at home:

StarHalo's Homemade Bottled Frappuccino

1/5 cup brewed coffee
1 cup milk
1 tsp sugar
2 tblsp chocolate syrup

Brew coffee then chill in freezer 30-40 minutes. Mix all ingredients in a large glass. Makes one 10 oz serving.

The formula above (one part coffee to five parts milk) is closest to the original bottled mocha frappuccino product, being very mild and focusing mostly on the milk flavor. You can get the coffee and/or chocolate flavor much bolder to suit your taste.

Lately I've been doing 8oz coffee to 4oz milk, 2 teaspoons chocolate, no sugar; this balances all the flavors in the cup nicely.

[StarHalo]

This weekend:

Columbian Gerardo Collazos coffee: Didn't really hit its stride until two days after roasting; begins with muted flavor, almost as though nothing's going to happen, then comes a solid tobacco aftertaste with delicate overtones that ring like a bell for some time.

Coca-Cola Freestyle: The touch-screen fountain machine with 100+ flavor combinations, with exterior styling by Pininfarina. Vanilla Coke whenever I want, or vanilla anything, really, since it's at the burger joint five minutes from me. Check out the combo list.

[ABTOMAT]

Today I jogged 2.5 miles without stopping for the first time. On a beach, for whatever that's worth. Feels good since I never used to be much of a runner.

If it's gotta be beer related, I also tried a Paulaner Hefeweizen. Very strong taste. Not bad but I'm used to my wheat beer not tasting so much like some kind of seasonal spiced thing.

[StarHalo]

El Salvador San Juan Bosco coffee: Similar to the Columbian above, took a few days to get somewhere; magnificent aftertaste with not much going on in the first few seconds of the sip. Very middle of the road and cautious, not much magic to it.

Making coffee with bottled spring water: This smoothed out the slightly sharp, sour bite usually present in the initial sip, making the normally muted background flavors stand out more. Combined with how smooth the Aeropress normally makes coffee, this took it another step beyond and made the mouthfeel almost creamy. Will definitely have to experiment with this more.

[Launch Mini]

Haven't tried it yet, but am booked for a session.
Float Tanks. Or REST tank. Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy.
Sounds cool. I sure could use some unltimate stress relief.

[Quest4fire]

As long as you dig the Starbucks-style chilled sweet coffee drinks, you'll find all the energy drink brand coffees to be great, I can't say I've ever had one I didn't like. Rockstar's version has the most caffeine in it, but they also don't put expiration dates on their cans, which is a bad idea for any dairy product. And be aware that plain old coffee will in most instances have more caffeine; Monster drinks are 150 mg per 16 oz can, but that's the same caffeine content as only ~9 oz black coffee..

The other day I was really thirsty and the Monster thing sounded good,,,it was.

+1 Tried my first energy drink the other day. They put in a new machine at my work place so it was convenient. It was a Starbucks coffee flavored energy drink, 15 oz. IIRC. It was very satisfying and had the desired effect. Some of the ladies tried the low calorie variety and said it had an unpleasant aftertaste. For $2.50 it did the trick!


Oh yeah, I finally went wireless in the whole house. All devices, computers, big screen TV's, blu-ray players, ect. now enjoy a wireless internet connection. I can't believe I held out so long.

[ABTOMAT]

Over the weekend I learned how to cast my own bullets and I ran my first 5K race. Odd combination of skills.

[Empire]

Organic milk

Me too

[ElectronGuru]

I am going to try and install 2 gable vents on the sides of a customer's home tomorrow for the 1st time to vent his attic.

A good companion to vents is a gable fan. Put it on a thermostat mounted near the center of the attic. Automatica operation year round.

Virgil's Microbrewed Root Beer: I had no idea so many oils and herbs went into good ol' root beer, but you can taste each and every one in a bottle of Virgil's.

These guys have a huge selection of root beer, including a 24 pack from around the world:

http://popsoda.com/noname.html

Coca-Cola Freestyle: The touch-screen fountain machine with 100+ flavor combinations, with exterior styling by Pininfarina. Vanilla Coke whenever I want, or vanilla anything, really, since it's at the burger joint five minutes from me. Check out the combo list.

Oh man, found one of these just last month. Without a line of people behind you, you can have some real fun, even just browsing the options. I'm still imagining the racks of syrup bags needed to support it!

[StarHalo]

These guys have a huge selection of root beer, including a 24 pack from around the world:

Most impressive! I may have to look into that..

And I agree about the dizzying selection on the Freestyle, I've spent quite a while looking at that Wikipedia chart. Add to that the fact that a lot of my local burger places are doing add-a-flavor too (Baker's and Sonic both use actual strawberry puree to make my Strawberry Sprite..)

Edit: I had to look up how the Freestyle does the flavors; here's the secret - cartridges, like an inkjet printer:

[StarHalo]

Panama Elida coffee: Grown on the highest-altitude farm in the entire country, this medium roast comes on strong with a blue/blackberry explosion that wanes into honey cocoa tones. If you've ever wondered what people are talking about when they talk about tasting fruit flavors in a coffee, this would be the fine way to learn, because you can't miss it..

Dipping biscotti: I've had plenty of biscotti before, but I was unaware that the French tradition was to dip it in your coffee. Seemed a bit sacrilegious with such premium coffee, but I gave it a whirl - WOW, the taste is like midway between french toast and a chocolate chip cookie, now I know what I was missing. I'm definitely dipping from now on.

[Sub_Umbra]

Booted and poked around Puppy's Slacko LxPup distro LiveCD. Pretty slick at 137 mb.

[Cataract]

Bicycle trainer (turns your regular bicycle into a stationary bike.) I've never owned a stationary bicycle and I never intended to because it is definitely not the same position as a regular bicycle. Now, riding my own bike while watching TV is something I'll enjoy doing. I bet I'll also enjoy loosing the pounds

[Phil828]

I am easing into eBay slowly. Today I tried posting something for sale. Not too difficult from my iPhone. We'll see what happens now.

[Chauncey Gardiner]

I bet I'll also enjoy loosing the pounds

Only if you don't watch the Food channel.

~ Chance

[Cataract]

Only if you don't watch the Food channel.

~ Chance

Yowser! Talk about double torture! Then triple torture when you notice your weight going up rather than down.

I was thinking the opposite route: watch the whole series of the Biggest Loser and use the shows as a timer. I think it should help until the episodes run out.