1 Fun Thing
Physician Barry Kerzin performed MRI brain scans on long-term meditators (>10,000 hours) and showed that the prefrontal cortex of this group is larger in size and activity compared to non-meditators. This part of the brain is involved with planning and reasoning. The good news for non-meditators: just 8 weeks of short, daily meditations decreases negative mood, increases attention, working memory and reduced anxiety scores on the Trier Social Stress Test.
3 Coffee Facts
The tamper-like distribution tools that are seen in cafes around the world, were popularised by Obsessive Coffee Drinkers (OCD). These have, however, been shown to do little to no distribution, largely acting as just a leveller. In fact, tests show that average extraction yields drop when using this tool.
Sworksdesign makes really interesting coffee accessories and tools, recently launching a kit that converts the wildly popular Niche Zero from a 63mm conical burr to a 54 or 58mm flat burr grinder. Pretty wild stuff!
Superautomatic espresso machines only require you to put in whole beans and some water, and voila you have espresso! They have inbuilt, on-demand grinders and many superautos also offer automatic milk steaming capabilities for cappuccino and latte lovers. Machines like the Eversys Cameo can make up to 175 espressos per hour (!) and start at almost $20,000.