h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I run the caffeine addicts society here at work, and we chip in a couple of quid a month in order to drink real percolated coffee rather than the dishwater that is passed off as "Coffee" out of the vending machines. (Something I suppose that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea).

Anyway, one month for a treat, I bought some Hot Lava Java. Ground coffee that has twice as much kick as your regular flavour. And I picked a week when half the addicts were on holiday or on courses (or in rehab centres probably) to open it. Not wanting to waste the pot, I ended up drinking about 6 mugs of the stuff during one day.

At 4am I was still wondering why I couldn't get to sleep....

I have heard that if you use boiling water on Hot Lava Java, a cloud of caffeine is produced on the top of the coffee. Instant fix!

Remember though:

Boiled coffee is spoiled coffee.


LllamaBoy

Yes indeedie. And I'm honoured that you should spend your very first entry on h2g2 replying to my message.
Welcome, and enjoy the coffee.
zb

Mocha coffee is, if my experiences are anything to go by, deceptive. I'd bought a grinder and cafetiere several weeks ago, along with some beans from our local Whittard's store. One pack was 'Tamal Chand' (I think - the label was almost indecipherable), and one was Mocha. Tamal Chand made a lovely cup of coffee - piquant, slightly smoky - and Mocha was luxuriously smooth and gentle. I'd had the Tamal Chand a couple of evenings running without any disastrous red-eye effects, so I thought I was bound to be safe with the Mocha.

I was wired until 3-4AM and ended up crawling around half-dead the next day.

So, is mocha unusually potent, or can you become caffeine-saturated over a period of time?

Azimuth

youve spilled the beans....coffee saturation is a real
deal. you are clearly inspired...enjoy those insomnias
or perhaps try yogi tea. by the bulk boil for 30 min
add pinch of black tea, allow one minute, strain, add milk and honey and you will be cured of most anything.

Ohohoh, hot lava java, my favourite tipple. Well, when I'm not allowed anything that has 'n degrees proof' after its name.

Industrial strength coffee like this has its place in the world, if only because you can slowly wean everyone in the office onto decaff, then stonk them with a fullon mental dose of happy juice....

Of course, it would be unfortuante if any of them keeled over from an overstimualted heart, but I think the chances of this are fairly slim. I've experimented on myself in this respect andfound that two or three 1l caffitieres does produce a mild fluttering around the old ticker and an unpleasant itchy / crawling feeeling all over the face and hands, not disimilar to the effects of far too much alcohol.

Odd thing is, after a litre or so of coffee I tend to fall into a really deep sleep, any ideas why this should be when, by all accounts, everyone else appears to be jumping to that java jive?

True enough, you will get an aerosol effect as the hot water (just off the boil obviously) hits the grind and causes the volatiles to be released.

You ought to get a release of CO2 as well if the coffee is fresh ground, hence the foam on top of good coffee.

Remember, if you are getting coffee in a resturaunt that insists on filling up a half dozen or so filters at a time and stacking them by the machine, all those volatiles are evaporating leaving overglorified coffee flavoured woodshavings behind. Also, if they make up enough filters to do a days sales, then have a slow day, the same filters will still be sitting there the next day, yeuch.

Hint -
I won the respect of a roomfull of "Real Programmers" by taking two packs of "Instant Cappuchino", tipping them into a pint mug and making it up using Hot Lava Java... It tastes better than using water...

(btw - I forgot to mention I am now on the maximum dose of medication for high blood pressure, and am blind in one eye through burst blood vessels... But it was Worth It...)

Ahhh, hot lava java. It saved my university career. Every 9am lecture, hang over or not I would often fall asleep. That changed when I bought a cafitere (Sorry about the spelling) and some hot lava java and made sure I had a couple of cups before going into uni. Suddenly I was awake and taking stuff in.

My personal favorite reaction to Java and whatnot is the increased pulse and mild sweat you get just after drinking, the long period of conciousness that follows and teh incredible pain in your gut for about a minute as you start to come down.

Wonderful stuff, but it get's even better if you add it to a mug with Caffinesse (Liquid Dough Egberts) first. And it enables you to work all night and laugh like a maniac at the furniture for no particular reason 8-}

Hmm, i dunno. If I drink that much I usually start twitching and laughing in a way that everyone finds a little unsettling. Found something ince in Starbucks though, a cocolate brownie covered with expresso. That and a big cappuchino and I was set.

Wasn't it a bit soggy?
zb

Actually I don't know how they did it. I just saw teh albel that it was a brownie covered with dried expresso. I didn't know you coudl do that. If I leave a cup of coffee lying around for days it doesn't dry out it goes mouldy and attacks me.

Coffee addicts everywhere!!

Have a look at http://www.coffeequick.com

Takes a while to get going - ignore the "please stand by" message...

We all can sympathise with the main character I'm sure!

Hot Lava Java isn't the highest-caffeine coffee I've ever tried, but it's certainly the best!

Java as a coffee should come into its own anyway, because it excels hands-down over all other kinds of coffee ...

HLJ is definitely the best, but it's hard to come by where I am (central Manchester) and so I have to manage with Tesco Finest Java/Sumatran coffeeeeee.

Incidentally, I see no-one's linked to http://www.dr-java.co.uk/index2.html .. this is HLJ's own Dr. Java ... quite amusing, especially getting to roast an angry coffee bean with a kilt (click around, you'll find it)

~ Owl

Quite amusing...

An obvious rip-off of the "Hamster in a microwave" at http://www.joecartoon.com though...

But "Hamster in a microwave" doesn't involve coffee!

The Trick is, folks....

1 pint mug
3 Decent shots of Decent esspresso
Good Java Filter coffee...

Combine in the obvious fashion.

You are now cleared for takeoff.

Trivia: This thread started before the site had or emoticons!