For fellow drinkers of #coldbrew#coffee: here are 2 v important charts from a food science journal showing how efficiently #caffeine is extracted. As I learned early on, it's deceptively easy to consume an unpleasant amount of #caffeine using this brewing method.
1. Caffeine concentration begins approaching steady state after about 400 minutes (6 2/3 hours). If you think that a 7 hour counter steep will avoid most of the caffeine ... this is wrong. You've extracted almost all of it at this point.
2. While cold water extracts caffeine less efficiently than hot brew methods, this is more than compensated for in cold brew by the much longer time the grinds are in contact with the water.
3. I crunched the numbers reported in the paper and (IIRC) you're looking at at least as much caffeine extraction for a given quantity of grinds as hot brewing methods and (in the case of coarse grind) actually about 20% more.
4. The summary of all this is: go easy. You're getting all the caffeine out of a given quantity of beans that you'd get from hot brewing and then some.
Data/graphics from: The Effect of Time, Roasting Temperature, and Grind Size on Caffeine and Chlorogenic Acid Concentrations in Cold Brew Coffee (Megan Fuller + Niny Rao). Published in: Scientific Reports.
I usually try to drown out the debate around #antisemitism as it tends to be rather bleak but ... I'm getting the distinct feeling that things are approaching a very sharp fork in the road in the US with the Trump dinner with Ye + Fuentes
It looks like the collective might of @ADL and Trump's Jewish supporters (notably: @DavidM_Friedman isn't going to eke out any kind of mea culpa from the former President.
The precedent that's about to be set is that it's okay - in American society - for leaders to openly socialise with and support open anti-Semites. Not people that are vociferously anti-Israel and *arguably* anti-Semites but .. the "sky is blue" variant of them.
1 - The IHRA (@TheIHRA) Working Definition of #Antisemitism is an essential imperfection (in the sense that adequately defining racial hatred is near impossible). It is being cleverly attacked at the moment by opportunists seizing upon a flabbergasting decision by a UN official
2 - to urge suspension of its use. Of the eleven suggest manifestations, one whose importance I was reminded of last night was that comparisons between the actions of Israel and Nazi Germany are (prima facie) to be considered ... well .. "manifestations" (per the name)
3 - see: some of the gross comparisons included here: bit.ly/3zRjqil. According to several Irish politicians, Israel is carrying out "pogroms", "ethnic cleansing," and programs intended to suppress the less "favored race."
An important piece by @alexbkane. A problem not dealt with, though is that - in the Israeli context - so much of the population are standing reservists. (No-one rationale should argue that that grants legitimacy to targeting them in the ongoing lone wolf attacks)
Debating whether Palestinian militant attacks on IDF personnel qualify as "terrorism" doesn't grant an *iota* of legitimacy or support to such attacks. But it does question whether that's the right word to reflect the situation we find ourselves in.
It also reflects, more openly, a reality that many in #Israel would prefer to not acknowledge: that we are engaged in an ongoing state of warfare with the Palestinian population. Asymmetrical warfare, perhaps, but this is still a grisly, ugly armed conflict.
My impression of the various epochs of air transport.
1914 (first scheduled air service) through to the advent of the low cost era (@Ryanair came on the scene in '84 but wasn't the first). Only the wealthy can afford to fly. But if you can afford it, it's a luxury experience.
1980s to the Covid crunch: air transport becomes a two-track system. Legacy carriers continue to provide a less luxurious but still pretty decent service (even to economy flyers). The rest of us make do with flying being okay but not totally miserable.
Covid crunch to the present: the bifurcation between flying in comfort (for the wealthy) and flying in lesser comfort (for the rest of us) is starting to look very damn stark. The class inequalities - as judged by the literal ticket classes - is starting to look pretty stark.
1: It's been a long time since I blogged about anything, but I feel like writing one about #Israel and #Ireland. Some loosely connected thoughts that need thinking and development (using Twitter as my notepad here):
2: Despite challenging political relationship, so much obvious potential for synergy and development between the two countries. Both are ambitious small countries that leverage their diaspora populations well.
3: Convergence of interest in tech. Both can be good incubators for startups and gateways to larger markets. Both seek to punch about their weight internationally and both succeed to good degrees.
I think I'd have an interesting blog to write one day about how I've built up a pretty extensive collection of video and camera gear without spending a fortune. But my secrets are:
1: Utilizing every single visit outside of Israel to pick up a couple of missing bits and pieces. Because: literally everything (except for falafel, surgeries, and prescription meds) is more extensive here. Key investment is a reliable weighing scale to use every KG of baggage.
1-1: For items where prices fluctuate frequently, I set up alerts on Amazon price alert sites such as Camel Camel Camel