Good news for the caffeine addict!!!

I was going to the gym four times a week, every week! I was doing great. Feeling trim, taut and terrific. Utterly devoid of the modern day curse we like to call the "muffin top." *Shudder* And its amazing how much energy you have when you are fit and healthy! It was great!

Then a took a week off for Christmas. In 2009. Its 2011 now and I am trying to get back on the wagon. However, Joanne tells me that health is 20% exercise and 80% diet! To be honest I was a little bit annoyed. I thought I could eat like a maniac and then hit the gym and everything would be okay! But it turns out food has more to do with my little problem than I thought it did. So ladies and gents, 2011 is my fit year. Feel free to join me! We are going to look fabulous by the end of the year...inside and out.

So where is the good news for the coffee addicts that I told you about in the title of this entry? Well,  I thought I would have to give up caffeine! I was a little distraught. But it turns out coffee can actually be really good for you. You just have to quit adding the sugar! I know you will be breathing a sigh of relief. But let me tell you a few other things you may not have known about coffee.

- Black coffee with no sugar contains no calories! Woohoo!!!

- More than 20 Million people worldwide work in the coffee industry. (Therefore it must be socially and economically responsible to drink it right! I mean, people's jobs depend on this! I am proud to say Tall Poppy purchases only fair trade organic coffee!)

- Turkish bridegrooms used to have to promise their wives that they would always provide them with coffee. Now that is something I think we should incorporate into Australian wedding vows!

- Caffeine is known to increase the effect of some painkillers, especially aspirin and paracetamol

- October 1st is official Coffee Day in Japan! I think we should bring this into Australian culture too!

- In 1675 Charles II, King of England issued a proclamation banning Coffee Houses. He said that they were places where people met to plot against him. I actually think he may have had a point. I have been in many a modern day coffee house where Uni students and young professionals alike discussed the evils of goverment. But lets not tell Julia Gillard. We like coffee houses just as they are thanks...

They tell us they are huge in New Zealand???

Tea Cozies. Yep. Tea Cozies. Kitch, bright, cute, retro and a little bit practical. Tea Cozies. I saw these in an upmarket homewares place in New Zealand last year and they were virtually walking off the shelves. They were retailing for around $45 NZD each! I saw them, thought "Huh, who would have thought tea cozies would make a comeback?" and I kept walking.

My mother didnt keep walking though! The pull of the colours, designs and buttons was a bit too much. She spent the next three months absorbed in patten books making up the teacozies and then presented us with a box to sell.

Okay, so my mum is a crusader or sorts. Not the caped kind. But the social justice kind. Years ago we met some amazing people by the name of JR and Anita McGee. They run an organisation called Gift of Joy which helps orphans and poverty stricken kids in China and South Africa. They are amazing individuals who have given their lives to the less fortunate. Currently they are back in the States building a missions base so they wont be shouldering this burden alone. So mum is selling her tea cozies to raise money for these real life heroes.

If you want to check out the cause, head to the facebook group for the Rescue 500 program! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=336924588601 or jump onto http://www.giftofjoy.org/ and check out the missions training section. And if you want to buy yourself a tea cozie, pop me an email! tallpoppycatering@gmail.com  They are walking off our shelves at $20 for a small one or $25 for a large.

The Coffee Effect

Happy New Year Everyone! What was your new years resolution? I decided I would deal with my caffeine dependance. Now, I didnt want to give up coffee altogether, I just wanted to get rid of the three times a day, give-me-one-or-I-turn-into-the-grinch, blind rage inducing caffeine need! And I did really well, for the first 36 hours. Then the headache kicked in.

So here's the fact I am coming to terms with: My Name is Clare H. And I am an addict. The pull of a good coffee is a force of gravity all of its own! I swear it! But its more than a drink. Its a cultural phenomenon!

I spent three years living in Melbourne, returned home to the beautiful rural township of Sale and purchased a cafe with my childhood friend and business partner, Joanne.(She makes the most amazing coffee in town, and yet she doesnt drink the stuff. How does that happen huh?) And what I have observed since falling into the caffeine addiction category in my final year of Uni is a thing I like to call "The Coffee Effect."

The Nescafe advertisements in the late 1990's first advertised that 'it gets you together.' It showed people sitting in silence until their brew was poured then conversation started to flow a lot easier. They say alcohol is the great social lubricant. I beg to differ. I think its coffee. I stumble into my cafe every morning and Joanne makes me my "Personality Transplant." Its a double shot skinny latte with a half shot of caramel syrup. I consume it, my IQ jumps by about 30 points. I arrived at the cafe as a badly coordinated grinch. I leave as a fine upstanding, intelligent and genuinely nice member of society.

And I am not the only one! Several customers come in wearing their "I dont want this day to start" face and leave with a smile. Parents come in with their quiet teenager and a moccachino later, they are talking again. The elderly come in for their chat with Jo and their tea/coffee and scones and leave with a smile. Friends catch up. Girl friends gab about life, love and boy trouble. Couples take time out from life, all over a brew. It really does get you together. Thats what we love about running a cafe!

So maybe I have been roped in by the Coffee Effect but I dont think I will be quitting caffeine this year. But I have also decided that really isnt such a bad thing! Happy New Year Everyone!

Coming soon....

The Tall Poppy Cafe, located in Raymond Street Sale (Centre of the Universe) has a blog! Keep an eye out on this space for exciting, insightful, light hearted and hopefully amusing posts on everything from coffee to food to culture to health.

We are passionate about the things that make life great! And we want to share our tips with you! So click follow, share it with your friends, comment on our posts and keep an eye out for new developments! We hope you enjoy it!

Cheers and HAPPY NEW YEAR

Joanne, Clare and the Tall Poppy Team!