Category: Free Inquiry

In this edition of “Coffee & Chats with Chels,” I will be taste testing some coffee pods I bought for .79 cents per pod!

SUPPLIES:

• .79 cent coffee pods
• Keurig – of any variety, mine is: https://www.keurig.ca/Brewers/Keurig%C2%AE-K-Compact%C2%AE-Single-Serve-Coffee-Maker/p/keurig-k-compact-coffee-maker:Red_color
• a cute mug
• my phone (to take pictures!!)

THE FLAVOURS:

• Wolfgang Puck’s Hawaiian Hazelnut
• Martinson’s Cayman Coconut
• Martinson’s Texas Pecan
• Martinson’s Caramel Crème
• Martinson’s Vanilla Velvet

HAWAIIAN HAZELNUT 5/10

This one did taste hazelnutty, but I wasn’t super sold on the flavour… Am I just not into hazelnut? I don’t know, I just didn’t have a crazy big opinion of this one.

CAYMAN COCONUT 4/10

The taste was pretty artificial in this one, and it was not a super enjoyable flavour! That might also be because I am NOT a massive coconut fan… oops!

TEXAS PECAN 3/10

This flavour wasn’t that great honestly. I figured it would taste like butter pecan, but it absolutely did not and I was disappointed by this! However, it was still drinkable and it did have a pecan flavour, just not what I was expecting! I also thought it was a little too sweet for my own taste.

CARAMEL CRÈME 7/10

This one was definitely the best of the bunch, mostly because I expected it to already be pretty sweet! I liked the silky flavour and would maybe buy again when I am wanting a sweet pod. I tend to go for a dark roast, so the ability to buy only one of these at a time is great! That way, I’m not wasting any pods from not using them.

VANILLA VELVET 7/10

This one ties with Caramel, as it was expectedly sweet! I would also consider buying this one again… I love vanilla flavoured things, so this was a good buy! I would definitely share this one with my sister who also loves Keurig pods and coffee in general…

Thanks for listening to my review & Cheers,

Chels

Over the reading break, my sister came to visit me. Now, when “E” comes to visit, I make sure to take her to drag brunch at the Vicious Poodle as it is so much fun and a big part of my identity! I reserved for this Saturday and made sure to get my favourite meal there – the Bacon Scramble (please go and try it if you can)!

I was sitting there and was asked what I wanted to drink. At first I thought, “hmmm I’ll just have water.” This is what I usually go for as I tend to not trust coffee from places that I haven’t heard were good before (I am a little picky with my coffee choices.) HOWEVER, this time I decided to step out of my comfort zone and thought about my reflections assignment. I thought, “what the heck, I’m just gonna try the drip coffee!” and it was actually pretty decent. Honestly, drip coffee is drip coffee so it doesn’t really matter where you get it from (which was a good realization to have and changed my views on whether or not I should “trust” coffee from certain places). Below I have added a picture of my coffee, and I will be going into why I love Drag Brunch at the Vicious Poodle so so much.

The coffee was great paired with the company I had!

Reasons I love Drag Brunch:

1. The queens/kings are always so so kind, and always bring the energy (specifically in the morning, I mean how do they do it!) I saw Vivian Vanderpuss and Rogue this time – give them a follow on Instagram and support the drag community!
2. The queens/kings always start with a land acknowledgement and refer to places where you can educate yourself about local Indigeneity, as well as some organizations to donate or support! Specifically, I remember them bringing up Native-Land.ca which is a great resource as I have used it in the past!
3. The food is actually surprisingly great (usually when you’re going to an event you go for mostly just the show, but the food pairs so well!) The hashbrowns are particularly delicious…
4. The music they lipsync to is my style, and the costumes are always stunning! The queens/kings dress to impress!
5. It isn’t always the same queen/king pairings, so you generally get a good amount of difference between shows! I haven’t seen the same show twice and have been to more shows than I can count.

A clip of part of the show, go check one out!

REMINDERS/TIPS

1. Bring $5 bills to tip the drag queens/kings! There is no cover charge, but you should tip the queens/kings for all of their hard work (especially because you aren’t paying the cover!)
2. Please stay silent and do not chat while the queens/kings are performing! When you’re in a theatre, you don’t chat so try and wait until there is a pause!
3. BOOK. IN. ADVANCE. (usually a few days before if you can)! Drag Brunch is super popular so to ensure you get seats, you kind of have to book a table in advance!
4. Get there early so you can eat your food earlier! Waiting in line earlier means you get a better chance of being served first! That way, you get your food before the queens/kings even come out.

Overall, between the coffee and friends, “E” and I had a great time- and a great cup of coffee!

Cheers,

Chels

Intro & to start us off:

The pour!!

The final results…

Overall, I think the Aeropress is a super great travel item to have, as it is portable and has everything compactly together. Honestly, I’m considering buying one to add to my collection of Gadgets! Thanks G for letting me use this awesome tool, and I hope you all enjoyed the videos 🙂

In terms of tech, it was kind of hard to send myself the videos I took on the Iphone 8 to my laptop… This is something I will be looking into, as it was a little bit of a difficult process! I ended up Facebook Messenger sending them to myself and then downloaded them to my laptop from there. My email would not let me send the files!

Cheers,

Chels

As a barista, there is pressure to be able to do the most intricate, beautiful latte art. When experienced and professionally trained baristas do their art it can look easy. However, it is very difficult for someone (me) to do it!

Although my milk quality is great, it is much more than just the quality of the milk to make a pretty latte.

What is a Latte?

also called caffè latte [kaf-ey lah-tey; Italiankahf-fe laht-te]. hot espresso with steamed milk, usually topped with foamed milk.

Dictionnary.com https://www.dictionary.com/browse/latte

It is important that I define what a latte is to scaffold our learning, and also to reiterate that a latte is hot espresso with steamed milk. The steamed milk is added to the espresso, and is the part that gives you your latte art design. I have watched a couple of videos and have decided that for me, I need to focus on one design at a time.

The design I’m working on currently is a heart. Although I’m not allowed to film/take photos at work, I believe I have improved greatly, thanks to this easy video below!

I love this video because they go step-by-step on what to do to ensure that your foam works. It took me 4-5 times using this method before I was able to do a very lopsided heart! I also practiced on paper with a pencil, and would recommend practicing the motions on paper in advance. As well, using 3 percent milk was easier than oat milk or other non-dairy milks in this process.

Although I’m not perfect, I know that giving myself some slack and patience within the process is my own key to success! It’ll take time (just like anything) and one day I may be the “skilled” barista.

Until then, Cheers,

Chels

Where should I go that has good coffee on Vancouver Island? I think about this question often as there are tons of different places, but not a ton of actual customer information… I tend to hear things by word of mouth, but what happens when I am travelling somewhere else? especially a new country?

Out of curiosity, I did some research on what I could do to find customer reviews on coffee shops around the world. To my surprise, a map of coffee shops exists online! I have attached the clickable map for your interest, and I’m going to tell you about what I’ve discovered…

https://worldmapofcoffee.com/#13/48.4290/-123.3246

things I’ve learned on the clickable map of the world 🌎

• There aren’t a ton of options for viewing customer reviews in Victoria on this map… so it isn’t quite relevant locally here yet!
• The map has tons of data in Europe, and the States, and not much in China and in Finland…
• The map isn’t the most user friendly, as it is hard to scroll in and out cleanly
• The map gives you both directions to (on Google Maps) and links you to the website of the coffee house
• It actually doesn’t give you much data on reviews from people

OVERALL:

I probably wouldn’t use this, as it doesn’t seem to be user friendly and I don’t really travel often. However, the idea of this is really cool and I respect the effort that has been put into this project!

Using a clickable map of the world for a classroom (obviously not about coffee) would be a great idea for a socials, French, or English class. I can see how something of this variety could work in my own teaching!

Cheers,

Chels

As I stated in one of my first posts, I haven’t always been into coffee… I used to smell it every morning as a kid when my parents would brew a pot, and would plug my nose because I hated it!

As a university student, I now enjoy a good cup of coffee and find it calming. I have even acquired my own tools over the years! My dream (debatably affordable considering how much coffee I drink) coffee machine I dream to have (but don’t) I have linked here!

However, this blog isn’t about what gadgets I want… It’s about introducing you to what I actually have! so here we go….

Keurig Machine

I love my Keurig machine! My parents bought it for me as a gift in my second year of university when Walmart had a big sale on Keurigs… You throw a “Keurig Pod” into the machine, and click one of the buttons on the top for the size of brew you would like.

PROS: it is quick, fast, and doesn’t waste an entire pot of coffee for one person.

CONS: it’s not the same as espresso and doesn’t have foamy milk, so it doesn’t have that barista energy, and it can be wasteful if you do not have reusable pods.

French Press

I got this from a friend who at the time didn’t use nor want the French Press… what a mistake! I love this French Press, and use it when I’m brewing coffee for more than just me (to prevent from Keurig Pod waste). I have included a website (click here) to show you how I brew my pot!

PROS: it looks cool, aesthetic and fancy, you can make a bunch of coffee without wasting grounds!

CONS: I do not like to wait for things (this is not an instant coffee experience), and I don’t use it that much because of this.

Cold Brew Maker

My partner bought this for me when he saw it at Thrifty Foods, and I didn’t think it was going to be something I’d often use! Turns out that I prefer my coffee to be iced, and this was a good way of doing that (and making it taste good)!

PROS: it is the most delicious at home coffee I make, and it isn’t complicated to use!
CONS: it is so hard to clean & it takes FOREVER to do (you have to wait for it to steep and get cold!)

Milk Frother & Reusable Keurig Pods

These tools are pretty cool little gadgets that I was also given by my partner (as part of one of my Christmas gifts). He knows how much I love coffee, so tries to get me gifts that are intentional and useful!

(Milk Frother) PROS: does its job and froths the milk, super quick and easy to use and clean

(Milk Frother) CONS: it doesn’t come with batteries so that is annoying, and the froth isn’t warm (which is why I like espresso machines)!

(Keurig Pods) PROS: it is reusable, and sustainable.

(Keurig Pods) CONS: it is so hard to clean, and messy once you start to clean it.

aaaaaaannnddddddd…… THAT’S A WRAP! I hope to grow my collection and try as many different types of coffee brewing methods in the future. One thing I couldn’t show was the coffee machine I use at work (as I don’t have rights to do this.) However, it is one of my faves!

Cheers,

Chels

I am passionate about my love for a good coffee snack. I will ALWAYS opt to pair my drink with something. I tend to lean towards cinnamon flavoured things myself, but as long as it’s sweet I don’t care. I will eat it! First, let’s chat about what the internet says about the best coffee snacks:

Real Good Coffee Co. in Seattle (as hyperlinked) discusses the 7 best snacks for coffee… I agree with some of these, but not with others! (biscotti is too crunchy, and I do not like how difficult it is to eat) so here’s Chelsea’s best 7 snacks to have with coffee list in order!!

☕Chelsea’s List of Fave Coffee Snacks☕

• Cinnamon Coffee Cake (my cousin’s wife has a recipe posted on her Instagram that I’ve attached that is SO delicious! I have linked it for the sake of you needing to try it out!) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6PVvNzn6Wq/

• Cinnamon Rolls There’s something comforting about the taste of warm cinnamon, and maybe it’s because my fave holiday is Christmas…🎄

• Chocolate Chip Cookies!! No matter the recipe, it’s always tasty when warm… if you prefer hard cookies with coffee though, I am a little skeptical…

• Danishes A yummy fluffy pastry with a delicious filling? YUM you had me at Danish!

• Crepes Debatably not a snack, but Nutella Crepes have a grip on me with a black coffee!

• Shortbread (specifically with a fun design/icing) you can judge me for thinking shortbread is only tasty when it is pretty and be wrong, or you can agree with me because it is the truth!

Cheers,

Chels

CONTENT WARNING:

mention of Slavery & Colonization below

Although I knew that coffee originated in Ethiopia, I had never thought to look at the devastating past and present that comes along with the subject.

As I didn’t know where to start on such a big topic, I began by watching a very detailed history of coffee video with animation included, at the bottom of my post. I recommend giving it a watch if you’re curious, or if you are wanting to educate yourself on the harsh reality of coffee. 

I enjoyed the way this video was done, as it doesn’t leave out the reality of coffee; that there is a long history of slavery and colonization attached to it. I found it to be the most “honest” about what happened in the past and continues to go on in the present. As well, they give sources in their little description of the video, and provide links to check these out. I have noted some of the devastating things I learned as I was watching, but will not go too far into detail as it is important to watch this yourself if you have a chance (especially if you drink coffee! it is important to know what you’re consuming). 

If you’re curious about which points are in what part of the video, I have listed the times in which they describe these things: 

• 9:02: African slaves were forced to work on coffee plantations in Brazil. 
• 10:58 Coffee actually destroyed the environment in Brazil.  
• 11:11 Guatemalan “rich coffee growers”  took land from the Indigenous peoples, and forced them to work on the plantation. 

History of Coffee Video 

This was hard to watch towards the end, but it’s also important to listen to the truth of what lies beyond the bean. Next time you take a sip out of your cup, be mindful about the impacts and implications this may have. Although I love coffee, I will be taking a hard look at my consumption of this drink. 

Cheers,

Chels