Global 2011: 13 Things Baristas Won’t Tell You

Image via Wikipedia
Gourmet coffee and skilled baristas may raise coffee prices but we still need them for the perfect cup. Here are some of your baristas’ secrets.

1. Drinking two quad-shot, 22oz, vanilla lattes every day is bad for you.
2. Sometimes the owners of independent coffee/espresso carts buy cheap coffee and sell it as a respected brand.
3. Please believe me.
4. If you’re not at Starbucks, don’t order like you are.
5. You are the reason for the wait.
6. Be nice.
7. Just because they’re vegan doesn’t mean our cakes are good for you.
8. Yes, I went to school for this.
9. There is an art to pulling a perfect shot of espresso.
10. Tip
11. A bigger cup doesn’t mean more coffee
12. Latte art isn’t merely decorative.
13. A real macchiato has just a stain of milk foam and no sugar.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/13-things-baristas-won-t-tell-you-2463942/

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Global 2010: 10 Brands Americans No Longer Love

Image via CrunchBase
Americans do not merely love their favorite and most cherished brands, they love them. Consumers love Apple. They love the Mustang. They love Starbucks, and they once loved The Dallas Cowboys.

Brand loyalty involves emotions as much as it does the logical reasons people become loyal to products. These are the primary forces that allow the best brands endure. Times change and so do brand features. The best brands evolve and change with the people to whom they are important. It is as much an art as a science to consistently find the right mixture or price, design, and features.

24/7 Wall St. looked at a number of famous brands which have been among the most important in America.  We chose from this list ten brands which were highly regarded and to which millions of people had strong attachments. We then identified those which had fallen from the status of most loved brands to that of also-rans, if they were even still existing brands at all.

Here is the list of brands Americans no longer love:

1. Chrysler

2. Dell

3. Kmart

4. Firestone

5. Time Magazine

6. Timex

7. Maxwell House Coffee

8. Reebok

9. Merrill Lynch

10. MySpace

http://247wallst.com/2010/12/27/ten-brands-americans-no-longer-love/

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Global 2010: 11 Fast Fixes for Instant Energy

Image by Impact Sounds via Flickr

Having a low-energy day? Sometimes the problem is lack of sleep. But even if you're well rested, certain diet or exercise habits or other lifestyle choices can bring on a slump. And surprisingly little things—like the size of your Starbucks order or how you decorate your office—can hurt or help your energy levels. Make some of these tweaks to recharge your batteries and power through your day. 

1. Have bran for breakfast

2. Order a small latte—and sip it slowly

3. Eat more often

4. Plop a plant in your office

5. Gulp some water

6. Or steep a cup of tea

7. Take a 10-minute walk

8. Copy your kid's lunch

9. Cue up your iPod

10. Try a natural cure

11. Order the seaweed salad

http://health.yahoo.net/rodale/PVN/11-fast-fixes-for-instant-energy

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