Fred. He’s Water.

My dad’s first name is Fred, which makes this fine piece of bottled water a little bit weird for me. Fred (the water) comes from Alpine Spring, located in Livingston Manor, New York. According to Fine Waters, the top purveyors of water in the world (or ate least in InternetLAND), Fred has is “super low in total dissolved solids (TDS)  and has a superior rating for nitrates” which gives Fred a  smooth characteristic.

If there was a Don Juan equivalent of the water world, Fred would be it.

Buy Fred from Love Fred for $30 Per Case (20 Bottles Per Case).

Thanks to Ade from Milk & Eggs Co. for the Tip.

Poster Series by Albert Exergian

Nothing beats simplicity. And simplicity is exactly what Albert Exergian (Art direction for print and RGB media) accomplished. These posters are just a a taste of Exergian’s re-imagining of some popular TV shows. He stripped these shows down to their bare essentials and created contemporary poster art. I chose to share the following three if only because the central images have to do with the art of drink. Be sure to check out the rest of the posters over at Exergian.com and at the Exergian Blog.

Thirsty Spotlight: Costello’s Travel Caffe

Costello’s Travel Caffe has been serving up coffee and other delights to people in PDX for the last 5 years. The little euro style cafe was started by Chris Costello in 2004 out of his passion for travel and film. Stop by the Caffe during the week and be pleasantly surprised with live classical and jazz music, foreign language conversation nights, and travel trivia.

“In keeping with a passion of travel, Costello’s hosts weekly foreign conversation nights, foreign films, and international soccer. From the Soccer World Cup to the Tour de France, Costello’s has been a fixture for devoted fans to enjoy sporting events from each corner of the globe. Live music is played on Thursday and Friday night from 8-10pm, ranging from toe-tappin’ Gypsy jazz to Brazilian bossa nova. Foreign Film Night, Wednesday at 8pm, has been a longtime favorite as customers crowd the café to see some of the world’s best films.”

If you own an independent coffee shop, tea lounge, bar or know of one that you especially love then let us know about it so we can share it with the world!

Costello’s Travel Caffe
2222 Northeast Broadway
Portland, Oregon 97232
503.287.0270

Bob Dylan Recycled Album Jacket Coasters and Warped LP Basket

Bob Dylan fan? If so, then these handmade recycled coasters might interest you. The site comes with a custom warped LP basket of the actual Dylan Album, Hard Rain (1976). The product uses an actual used Dylan record. The coasters are made out of the album jacket.

“The vintage album complete with the time worn look of an album that was listened to numerous times, was used to create the 9 coasters. The jacket is laminated to 3 3/4″ by 3 3/4″ by 1/2″ birch plywood. To protect the unique beauty of the album jacket, the coasters are protected with a clear moisture resistant finish. These unique coasters are a snap to keep clean, just wipe them off with a damp cloth or a disinfectant wipes. Each coaster has 4 felt pads attached to the underside to protect your furniture. Each coaster weighs about 2 and ½ ounces.”

Buy the Bob Dylan Coasters and Warped LP Basket from inoudidsattic’s Etsy Shop for $35.

Coffee Art by Karen Eland

Karen Eland likes coffee. Okay, Karen Eland really likes coffee. So much so that she has made a name for herself as an artist who paints in espresso. The Oregon based artist has been busy recreating some of history’s most famous paintings, including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. You can even find an 8 foot mural of The Last Supper hanging in one of Karen’s favorite coffee shop, Nordaggios Coffee in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Different print sizes are available and prices vary based on print size.

“Coffee art is a truly unique art form. It requires a thoughtful and delicate touch. Capturing the depth of these classic works is only possible through a slow and sophisticated process of building layers upon layers of espresso. I first thought of the idea of painting with coffee while watching rich, red-brown espresso pouring perfectly into my cup. As I enjoyed my hot latte, it occured to me that perhaps I could take my passion for coffee to a deeper level. So I dipped my brush and began painting, and to my delight, it worked beautifully.”

Buy Coffee Creations from Karen Eland for $5 – $500.

Thirsty Spotlight: New Wave Coffee

I love coffee shops with large open spaces. I guess that I am just a large open space kind of guy. New Wave Coffee Shop is based in Chicago, Illinois at Milwaukee & Logan. They feature Metropolis Coffee, grilled sandwiches and free Wi-Fi. I love the look of New Wave, very 80’sish. If Vans (the shoe company) ever opened up a coffee shop, I am pretty sure this is what it would look like. New Wave looks like a place that I’d love to spend a lot of time at.

“New Wave Coffee takes its name from the musical revolution that occurred in the mid 1970s through the mid-1980s infusing punk rock and funk, urban influence and ska, electronic instrumentation and glam rock into a landscape that had formerly been dominated by disco, folk and pop. Our name signifies our dedication to the rebels, the radicals and the revolutionaries—those who bring about a sea change in their various arts and sciences. We are dedicated to: New art, New music and New thought.”

If you own an independent coffee shop, tea lounge, bar or know of one that you especially love then let us know about it so we can share it with the world!

New Wave Coffee
3103 W Logan
2557 N Milwaukee
Logan Square, Chicago
773-489-0646
info@newwavecoffee.com

Foldedpigs Anatomical Tea Cups

These handmade tea cups designed by Foldedpigs are both disturbing and nerdy chic. In other words, I love them! They are cream colored restaurant style ceramic cups that have been refired to 1990 degrees with a handmade image on both sides that are fused into the glaze. The decal images are reddish brown. These are perfect for that biology major friend of yours (we all have one). Bonus points for being dishwasher & microwave safe.

Measurement: 2 1/2″h x 3 3/4″w x 4 3/4″d (with handle)

Buy the Anatomical Tea Cups from Foldedpigs for $15.

8-Bit Vintners

The thing that often scares people away from wine is the snob factor. 8-Bit Vintners takes definitely takes the snobbery away from drinking wine with their inaugural red, Player 1. The term 8-Bit is of course a throwback term referencing games from the early days. NES anyone? A bottle of Player 1 is reasonably priced at $18 and 8-Bit Vintners is offering free shipping on orders of 6 bottles or more.

“The inaugural vintage of Player 1 displays the quality and diversity of fruit that is being produced in Eastern Washington. Player 1 is blended from various vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley, Wahluke Slope, and Walla Walla Valley. 2007 was a moderately warm growing season with long, dry, sunny days that allowed for extended hang time during harvest. This wine shows an accessible and approachable style that is both fun to drink now and has the acidity and tannins to hold up for 5 years plus.”

Appellation: Walla Walla Valley, Wahluke Slope, and Columbia Valley
Blend: 50% Syrah, 30% Tempranillo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Carmenere, 5% Malbec
Harvest Date: August and September 2007
Bottling Date: July 2009
Cooperage: French, American, and Hungarian for 18 to 22 months
Alcohol: 14.1%
pH: 3.74

Buy Player 1 from 8-Bit Vintners for $18.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user 8-Bit Vinters.

Tea-Mergency

What to do when you’re feeling down? Tweet about it to @Teemergency! I just discovered this interesting concept on Twitter and am pretty intrigued by the whole idea. Essentially, the people at Teamergency are scouring Twitter to find people who are having a Tea-mergency. Get it? Tea + Emergency! Research shows that 68% of people in the UK sip on tea in response to trouble or dilemmas.

Teamergency will select 100 people to receive Direct Line Tea-Mergency Tea. “Formulated by master tea-blender Alex Probyn, this delicious black tea should be kept within easy reach at all times. After all, you never know when your next tea-mergency may strike.”

“Using his ten years’ experience as a tea taster and blender, Alex has created The Tea-mergency blend especially for Direct Line. A combination of North Indian Assam (warm, malty, rich and soothing), Sri Lankan Uva (light, refreshing and uplifting) and Kenyan (bright, strong and rejuvenating), this tea is for trouble.”

To be sure that they read your Tea-mergency, be sure to add the hashtag #teamergency at the end of your tweet. I’m not sure if the promotion is done since Teamergency.com says that the promotion runs through the end of August but a quick search on Twitter shows that people are still receiving Tea-mergency teas. Nonetheless, I thought that the idea was a brilliant way of leveraging social media and let’s not forget to mention how sexy that packaging is!

Samovar Kevin Rose Tea Starter Set

This Starter Set from Samovar includes: 3 cans of tea: (Ryokucha Green Tea, Maiden’s Ecstasy Pu-erh Tea, and Samovar Masala Chai Black Tea Blend), and an infusing basket. They’ve even got a useful (albeit infomercial like) instructional web video featuring Kevin Rose (Founder of Digg.com) and the founder of Samovar, Jesse Jacobs. If you’re new to tea, the video shows you how you would go about using the set. I think I might just get this to get started and familiar with loose leaf tea.

Buy the Kevin Rose Tea Starter Set from Samovar for $25.