Tuesday, August 31, 2004


barista champ news

currently mr. right is filming in vancouver. this means he -- the diet coke drinker! -- is the one in caffé artigiano today enjoying the second best cup of coffee in the world.

because as long-time readers know, artigiano's co-owner, sammy piccolo, took second place at the recent world barista championship. (i know, i know: "first on technicals, actually.")

thus always the irony of life. sammy uses long-time bccy pal doug zell's intelligentsia "black cat" espresso blend, so we know the coffee's fabulous. . .

but already those baristi have the fire in their belly for next year. the previous new zealand champ, carl sara, has once again taken his national title, and has sworn to go all the way next year at the world.

several people emailed me yesterday's study showing that eating 100g. of dark chocolate reduces your chance of blood clots, thus likewise reducing the chance of strokes and such.

dark chocolate makes your blood flow more freely for up to 3 hours after you eat it, the study says. this research was released at the recent meeting of the european society of cardiologists.

100g. is about 3.5oz., or the size of your average premium chocolate bar. to get the full effect, and the least sugar, you'll want to make sure you're eating 70% or perhaps even 85% -- if you can take it that dark -- bars.

that's a lot of calories to add to your diet, so let me also responsibly remind you to skip other desserts, cut the snacking, drink less alcohol, and of course, add another day of vigorous yoga practice to your routine!

while other people are having mere crème brulée, you'll have to pull out your el rey gran saman or apamate. the sacrifices we must make for health!

posted by fortune | 11:21 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments