Tag Archives: coffee culture

Canadian King Kong Coffee Cup Sizes Causing Convulsions

Still from a classic 1963 t.v. commercial for Sanka decaffeinated Coffee. “But you can’t taste the Caffeine in any cup of coffee”. “Another fine product of General Foods – Have a whole day of it”.

I  was travelling a local highway a few years ago when my friend pointed out the license plate on the rear of the car ahead of us. It read, somewhat cryptically to me at first, XLDBLDBL.

Then I looked again and realized this automobile owner had created a move-able billboard, and perhaps loving tribute, to the most popular and recognizable coffee brand in the country, Tim Hortons [ Tim Hortons is in fact so popular, that there is even a font based on its paper cup lettering/ CP ]

The “Canadian” coffee giant now owned by American corporation Burger King and a presence in the U.S.A. since 2012, made the move of super-sizing its retail coffee format a few years ago. The small was now called an extra-small, and was the same price as the old small. The old medium was now a small, the large was a medium and so on. You paid the same price for the same amount of Joe, you just call it by a different name. And for 20 cents extra, that XL double-double now got you 24 oz of coffee. That’s 3 full cups.

“What is how many pints is three cups of coffee equal to?”

Now, I love coffee as much as the next person. Maybe more. I enjoy sampling the near infinite combinations of blends and roasts from the various growing regions of the world, much like wine. But, as with alcohol, I have found that moderation in my coffee intake is key to my mental, emotional—even physical—health.

Steve Martin as Rigby Reardon in Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid: “You need a cup of my famous Java”

Is anyone reading this old enough to remember when a cup of coffee used to literally be a cup of coffee: around 8 ounces (the amount in the Tim Horton’s extra-small)? But as our conception of “large” becomes ever larger, it’s like food, like so many things, excess becomes easier.

This trend is actually an American-style sizing format that’s been in place south of the border for years. Remember when Starbucks came north? Remember when you thought the Venti was an outrageous amount of coffee? That’s 20 oz., just so we’re clear. What will come to us next? The $3.99 All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast Buffet? Just how many sausages can you eat in an hour? How many do you want to eat? And for the record, Starbucks has the 31oz. size for its iced drinks called the Trenta.

That’s a lot of beverage. Trenta, in Italian, means 30.

Excess coffee consumption, according to Health Canada, can have results from irritability and sleep disturbances to muscle tremors, nausea and mood swings, says a CBC News article from February 2010 (www.cbc.ca/news/health). In more extreme cases: irregular heartbeat, vomiting, diarrhea—even convulsions. 

Coffee’s high antioxidant content may also be responsible for a host of health benefits: decreased susceptibility to some cancers and type-2 diabetes, and increased cardiovascular health and memory function in older adults. But Health Canada also suggests that 400mg of caffeine should be the maximum daily adult dose—the amount contained in about 3 cups, or 24oz, of coffee.

Frankly, I think there is enough rage, anxiety and insomnia in our culture without people regularly downing two or three 24oz javas every day. It’s not that everyone is going to do that. It wouldn’t even be bad for everyone. Just for most of us. So I believe a note of caution is in order: as with anything, think before you drink. – For the Silo, Alan Gibson.

The Many Cultural Charms Of Buenos Aires Argentina

Obelisk in Buenos Aires
George at the obelisk…

Feel Cooler Than You Really Are. If you want to learn to dance the tango the place to be is Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is a city that expresses its passion and national pride through their music, soccer, dancing, horses, and writing earning it the title of “City of Cool”.

Buenos Aires, (English meaning Fair Winds) Argentina.
With a population of 2.7 million people this capital city of Argentina is a place oozing with charm and things to do. From the moment you begin wandering downtown streets you know it’s going to be interesting. It’s a place to be cool even if you aren’t. Okay, let’s make it clear, I’m not cool, but for some unknown reason I started to feel this way when I mingled with the Argentineans. They spoke, what sounded like to me, an exotic language (Castilian Spanish), and looked and dressed like they were right out of the pages of Vogue magazine. It’s a city that never sleeps, populated by residents obsessed with fashion and image. Slim is beautiful is an established and largely uncontested fact.

Curvy architecture emphasizes the ‘tango’ speed and ‘coffee’ streamlining of Buenos Aires culture

Architecture
The downtown architecture is quite different from the rest of Latin America. It is strongly influenced by European styles with more than the half of the city buildings being French style. Countless museums, historical buildings, shopping centres, and hotels are yours to discover. And if you do get the urge to learn to tango there are plenty of tango-dancing schools (known as academias) throughout the city.

Bueons Aires is also known as a “city of buildings”

The Tango
Tango music was born in the suburbs, notably in the brothels of poorer suburbs. Its raw sensual dance moves were not seen as respectable until adopted by the Parisian high society in the 1920’s and then all over the world. There are loads of places with free tango shows in restaurant-bars such as Gitanos, where you can also try the national drink. I found it more like herbal tea than anything and its drunk out of a pot-like container through a metal straw. Even though it was foul-tasting, Argentineans say, it’s more addictive than coffee. To each their own.

Walking and Safety
When you walk in any largely populated area don’t be silly and carry an expensive camera slung over your shoulder and don’t ever wear an expensive watch that sets you apart from the crowd. It’s like saying rob-me, rob-me. Use common senses; err on the side of caution. I hid my camera in a plastic shopping bag. Always cross street at crosswalk. I’ll say it one more time to be sure it sinks in…Always walk at crosswalks and don’t begin until all vehicles have come to a stop.

Streets are busy but have marked crosswalks and are well laid out

Recoleta Cemetery
Don’t pass up the chance to visit to the Recoleta Cemetery established in 1822. It’s the final resting place for Argentina’s wealthiest and most famous families and people. The mausoleums are fairly small, befitting the size of the cemetery in an urban setting, and it’s common for many members, and generations even, of the same family occupying one mausoleum. One grave that I did seek out was that of Eva Peron who was the wife of Juan Peron, 3 time president of Argentina. Both are idolized for their efforts to eliminate poverty and to bring dignity to the labour movement. Because of this they were despised by the oligarchy of Argentina’s wealthy and powerful. I found it strange and a bit sad that her neighbours in death are those that despised her in life. Her husband is buried in another cemetery in the city.

Mausoleum at the Recoleta Cemetery

Art and Craft Museums
These museums are all the rage here, with the top attraction being the Malba, which is dedicated to Latin American modern art, the Museo National de Bellas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts) and Recoleta’s Cultural Centre.  You’ll find the general atmosphere in most of these places is more snooty than sincere. If art and crafts is not your thing, you’ll want to bypass all of these places and scout out somewhere to eat or sit on the grass in Plaza Francia. It’s easy to while away a few hours people-watching. I did both.

Where ever you travel, remember to take time to meet the local people. You will learn much about the culture of a place by watching and talking with citizenry.

The Obelisk
Another must see is to join the gaggle of tourists (and pigeons) that flock to the Plaza de Mayo. This is the site for some of the country’s most important historical occasions, including the revolution in 1810 which led Argentina gaining independence from Spain .If your legs are willing, take a stroll along Avenida Corrientes. When you get to the junction with Avenida 9 de Julio, which claims to be the world’s widest road where you can’t miss the famous Obelisk monument. For goodness’ sake use the pedestrian crossing if you don’t want to die! It’s the cities icon and the place the very spot where the Argentina flag was raised for the first time.       For the Silo, George Bailey.