Free Republic

An Arizona man was shocked to find out that his wife was allegedly putting bleach into his daily coffee after he set up secret cameras to observe her behavior. The unidentified U.S. airman from Tucson began to wonder why his coffee was tasting weird, so he tested the water in the coffee pot with pool chemical testing strips. It tested positive for chlorine, despite the tap water testing negative. That's when he decided to investigate further. He initially set up one camera that caught her putting something into the coffee maker, but when he went to police, they said it...

The search for functional natural compounds that can improve age-related cognitive decline has recently emerged as an important research focus to promote healthy aging. Trigonelline (TG), a plant alkaloid found in coffee, as well as in fenugreek seed and radish, was anticipated to possess cognitive enhancement properties. In a study, researchers investigated the effects of TG on memory and spatial learning (acquiring, retaining, structuring, and applying information related to the surrounding physical environment) from both a cognitive and molecular biology perspective in an integrated manner using a senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) model. Following oral administration of TG to SAMP8...

McDonald’s is being sued over a hot coffee spill, again. This time, a San Francisco location is being accused of serving a “scalding” cup of coffee with an improperly attached lid, which allegedly resulted in the coffee pouring out on plaintiff Mable Childress’ body and causing “severe burns” after she tried drinking it. The lawsuit, filed last week, alleged that the elderly woman is suffering from “physical pains, emotional distress and other damages.” The restaurant’s negligence was a “substantial factor” for her injuries, it alleged. Childress also said in the lawsuit that the restaurant employees “refused” to help her, a...

Veteran Starbucks boss Howard Schultz is stepping down from the company's board after 40 years with the company, with sources saying he realized he has become a 'distraction' for the coffee giant. Schultz, 70, bought the company from co-founders Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker in the early 1980s, a decade after it was launched in Seattle. Schultz pushed the company to become the world's largest coffeehouse chain, serving three stints as chairman and CEO. He retired in 2000, then returned in 2008; stepped down in 2017, and came back as interim CEO from 2022 to March 2023. But...

If you’re a person of color, you know what I’m talking about. You walk into a new coffee shop and your senses are overwhelmed with whiteness and you get the glare from the Karens. The white hipster barista lines herself up between you and the bathrooms, ready to tell you non-customers aren’t welcome... Well, I’m here to validate your lived experience; coffee is in fact horribly racist, and there’s data to back it up. Every facet of the coffee industry, in fact, is rooted in racism. From the moment the whites viciously stole coffee from Black and Brown People to...

Job interviews can be nerve-racking as many interviewees stress over how to best answer questions the employer throws at you. But, not every company asks tough questions. One boss revealed the “coffee cup” test he uses in job interviews to determine whether an applicant is right for the role. Former managing director for Xero Australia Trent Innes explained how he refuses to hire anyone if they fail to return an empty cup to the kitchen at the end of an interview. “I will always take you for a walk down to one of our kitchens and somehow you always end...

Costa Coffee was today accused of glamourising 'complex and dangerous surgery' by covering a van with a cartoon image featuring mastectomy scars. The UK's largest coffee chain defended its use of the image to promote 'inclusivity and diversity' but was branded 'crass and irresponsible' and 'absolutely bonkers' – and there were calls for a boycott of the company on social media. The image, depicting an androgynous-looking character wearing long shorts with scars below each nipple, is taken from a mural designed by the chain for Brighton and Hove Pride last year. Use of the image on a mobile coffee van...

Whether enjoyed on its own or mixed into a latte, Americano or even a martini, espresso provides an ultra-concentrated jolt of caffeine to coffee lovers. But it might do more than just wake you up. Research shows that, in preliminary in vitro laboratory tests, espresso compounds can inhibit tau protein aggregation—a process that is believed to be involved in the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Recent research has suggested that coffee could also have beneficial effects against certain neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. Although the exact mechanisms that cause these conditions are still unclear, it's thought that a protein called tau...

First of all, much to the dismay of many, I did not die tonight. Secondly, I've seen these funeral threads before where people mourn the FReeper and talk about what they meant to them (and more than a few FReepers who celebrate the death). But what's the point of that? Does the dead FReeper know anything, or see any of the kind or crass remarks about them? No. Pointless. We should have these sort of threads BEFORE they die. So that's why I'm doing my obituary thread tonight. Plus, there is the added advantage of me knowing the exact date...

Imagine taking the first sip of your morning coffee, only to be hit by an overwhelming, gut-churning stench. This altered sense of smell is a reality for many living with a post-COVID smell dysfunction called parosmia—a disorder that twists even comforting smells into repulsive ones. A recent study offers crucial insights into some key characteristics and treatment options for post-COVID parosmia. The study identifies stellate ganglion block (SGB)—a procedure involving injecting a local anesthetic into the stellate ganglion, a collection of nerves in the neck—as a possible effective treatment to help alleviate the distorted sense of smell in patients. "The...

Warren Buffett's wife reportedly balked at the $4 cost of a coffee at Sun Valley. Astrid Menks' reaction aligns with her husband's approach to life, investing, and dealmaking. Buffett lives simply, seeks value as an investor, and strikes a hard bargain when he cuts deals. Warren Buffett detests high inflation, and it appears the billionaire's wife does too. Astrid Menks balked at paying $4 for a cup of coffee at Sun Valley this week, noting she "could get a pound of coffee" for that price in other places, the New York Post reported on Thursday. Her reaction won't surprise close...

A subsidiary of Nestle, the multinational food corporation, is closing a coffee plant in Freehold, New Jersey, after 75 years of operation and reportedly sending production to Mexico. Nestle’s Freehold coffee plant will close in November, the company confirmed to NJBIZ, and lay off about 200 employees. “We’ve made significant investments in Freehold over the years, but the factory’s many challenges, specifically its age and limited operational flexibility, would cost tens of millions in additional investments to make it viable,” a Nestle spokesperson told NJBIZ. “How consumers drink coffee is constantly evolving and our manufacturing network must be set up...

A few updates: I will appear on Faux News's "The Korean War" special with Brett Baier, Sunday night, May 28, 10:00. I know may of you are boycotting FAUX, and I respect that. Did this for an old filmmaking friend. Also, I have begun a MWF youtube show "Patriot's History," where I just read through "A Patriot's History of the United States" at 12 noon EST on the Wild World of History channel. Just started the Revolutionary War. We are 24 episodes in, all in the video archives. We are working to make "Patriot's History" in to a "John Adams/Sons...

The next time you're sipping your favorite hot beverage, consider what it Dr. Lisa Zhuoting Zhu has found a positive link between coffee and tea consumption and the thickness of our macular retinal nerve fiber layer. The macula is the central part of the retina at the back of the eye that gives us sharp central vision. The retinal nerve fiber layer is a thin layer of nerve cells that transmit visual information from the eye to the brain. "Our findings indicate if we consume two to three cups of coffee or more than four cups of tea per day,...

Having that second cup may actually be good for coffee drinkers, according to a discussion of coffee's preventive and therapeutic benefits to human health in a recent review. Research showed the mechanisms of action of coffee are complex and dependent on the effects of its constituents, including chlorogenic acids, polyphenolics, terpenoids, alkaloids and other phytochemicals. "We also found evidence that the antioxidant activity of coffee, which activates the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, or Nrf2, may be an important mechanism of action," Davidson said. They found evidence protective effects of coffee in the gut decreased colon cancer risk, which...

The City of Everett is paying out $500,000 to a former bikini barista stand owner and its employees after a U.S. district court ruled that a 2017 city ordinance unfairly targeted women. The owner of a chain of coffee stands called Hillbilly Hotties sued the city, claiming its dress code infringed on their First Amendment rights–and a U.S. District Court judge agreed. A U.S. District Court judge found Everett’s dress code ordinance violated the Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. and Washington state constitutions. The Court found that the ordinance was, at least in part, shaped by a gender-based discriminatory...

Entering a nondescript old wooden factory at the end of a partially paved road just 10 minutes out of Klang town, Selangor, one would be hit almost immediately with the smell of smoke caused by wood burning and the aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans. Behind the wooden doors lies a coffee roastery that still roasts its beans the old-school way - by hand and using a wood fire. At the Chuan Hoe Coffee Factory, Tan Loon Chuan, 65, roasts the coffee beans the same way he had been taught by his father.

Being a caffeine addict doesn't come cheap in Singapore. Especially when your choice of coffee is a soy milk latte or a cold brew black at a hip cafe. Kopi is the obvious alternative — the fact that it often doesn't cause as much damage to the wallet is a big plus. However, a local coffee-drinker, who goes by JM, argued that downing a cup of kopi daily would still add up to a cost of "more than $40 — 50 every month". As a frustrated consumer, he took up the challenge of bringing a better coffee experience to people...

You don't have to suffer through a bad cup of morning coffee.× Most people would probably assume I make great coffee at home. I work at Food & Wine, I care about things like garnishing my scrambled eggs in a cute way, and I deeply appreciate a good cocktail (or mocktail). Still, when it comes to my at-home coffee situation, the standards are floor-level. My roommate and I have been brewing our daily coffee in an ancient Mr. Coffee machine for the past four years — the coffee pot actually came with the first apartment we got together, so its...

Created by Black people for Black people—and now a pillar of white supremacist capitalism. If you consume coffee, you are helping an industry built on racism.If you’re a person of color, you know what I’m talking about. You walk into a new coffee shop and your senses are overwhelmed with whiteness and you get the glare from the Karens. The white hipster barista lines herself up between you and the bathrooms, ready to tell you non-customers aren’t welcome.If you have a white coffee drinking friend, he or she may have even let you in on the old coffee joke white...