The beverage industry is a major money making enterprise with many competing advertising messages aimed at the consumer on a daily basis. All beverages including coffees, teas, sodas and bottled water are marketed around a major ingredient – caffeine or no caffeine. In the non-caffeine market segment, consumers will notice many terms used to describe the beverages such “decaffeinated”, “naturally decaffeinated”, and “caffeine-free”. As a general rule, beverages should only be considered “caffeine-free” if there was never any caffeine in the ingredients to begin with. This rules out all coffee beans and tea leaves because both contain caffeine in their unprocessed form. For coffee and tea lovers who do not want caffeine in their drink, they should pay attention to both natural variations in caffeine content of various teas and coffee (some have more and some have less) as well as the physical decaffeination process used to manufacture a specific coffee or tea product.

So far, there is no method of decaffeination that can remove 100% of the caffeine from coffee. The U.S. standard – which is, by the way, a “standard” and not a law – says that a beverage may be labeled “decaffeinated” if 97% of the caffeine content has been removed. Europe generally follows a higher standard which is closer to 99%, but still not foolproof. And beyond the manufacturers’ control, brewing methods and steeping times (length of time a tea bag is left sitting in your hot water cup) drastically affect the level of caffeine that you end up consuming.

Percentages are where thinking about the actual caffeine content of different types of coffee beans, roasts and teas can be useful. For example, Arabica beans normally contain roughly one-half the caffeine of Robusta beans. So whereas a Robusta brew may have 100 mg of caffeine and its decaffeinated equivalent 3 mg, the equal serving of Arabica brew would contain about 50 mg of caffeine and 1.5 mg in the decaf version. Teas also have naturally lower caffeine content than coffee – of any variety. Once you read about the industrial methods of extracting caffeine from a coffee bean, you may want to carefully consider the beverage products you choose.

Misleading Information

A web search of “coffee decaffeination” or “decaffeination processes” will produce many conflicting, confusing, uninformed/incorrect and sometimes purposely misleading results. With so many consumer dollars at stake, and the sordid historical origins of chemical decaffeination (more later) beverage producers do everything they can to reassure consumers that their beverages are safe and healthy. While there is a kernal of truth in most labels, decaf products labeled “naturally decaffeinated” and “water processed” are particularly misleading. The two methods and four agents of decaffeination help to explain why.

Direct vs. Indirect

Contrary to what you will read, there are both direct and indirect methods of chemical, water, carbon and liquefied carbon dioxide processing agents. The terms “direct” and “indirect” do not tell the consumer anything about whether or what kinds of solvents, chemicals or reagents are used to decaffeinate the product. Direct and indirect refers to whether the chemical, water or carbon dioxide solutions come into direct contact with the coffee beans. Indirect processing methods steam the beans, collect and condense the steam and then remove the caffeine from the condensed water by either solvents or carbon-based filtering – thus the beans themselves are not soaked in the solution. After caffeine is separated (by any of the above methods) from the coffee extract, the concentrated liquid containing coffee solids and flavors are soaked back in to the coffee beans. This is why many people claim that decaf has less taste or quality from unadulterated coffee.

Chemical vs. “Natural”

There are currently four types of decaffeination processes: 1) solvent based; 2) charcoal or carbon filtered; 3) “supercritical” carbon dioxide; and 4) triglycerides, a process developed within the last 5 years. All of these processes are performed on green coffee beans before they are roasted.

A point of clarification: you will read a lot about “water-based” processes, but every single method of decaffeination named above uses water in the process. One should therefore not assign any weight to the term “water processed” with one exception, which is the Swiss Water Process that is in fact a specific, patented carbon activated filter method.

Solvent based decaffeination is the earliest and most controversial way to remove caffeine from coffee or tea. Its inventor first used benzene as the separation agent. As benzene began to be recognized as a health hazard, it was replaced by TCE, another controversial industrial solvent. By the 1970’s and 1980’s, TCE was replaced by the chemical methylene chloride which has many advantages but is still suspected of having some carcinogenic risk. Today most processors use only ethyl acetate as a decaffeination solvent.

It is important to note that some producers claim ethyl acetate as “all natural” or “naturally decaffeinated” because the chemical compound does occur naturally in many fruits and vegetables. But the quantity of chemical required for industrial decaffeination means that almost 100% of the time, synthetically manufactured ethyl acetate is used. So far, there are no known health risks linked to the use of ethyl acetate in direct or indirect decaffeination methods.

Charcoal and carbon filtering processes were developed as a direct challenge to solvent-based methods. Using only water, coffee elements are extracted from the beans, filtered through carbon or charcoal to remove the caffeine, and then the extract is replaced back to the bean. The patented Swiss Water Process is touted as a superior method for preserving flavor, because it throws away the first batch of beans and uses the decaffeinated coffee extract to wash and filter the next batch of beans, and so forth. Basically the difference is they are not using pure water to filter the beans, they are using “flavor charged” water that is already saturated with flavor ingredients so only caffeine moves from the beans to the water. Thus there is no re-soaking or re-infusing removed flavor back into the coffee bean, because the flavor has not been removed.

Supercritical carbon dioxide fluid has both gas-like and liquid-like physical properties. You many have also heard of superheated or liquefied gas. Supercritical fluid fills the container like a gas, but can dissolve substances like a liquid – making it an excellent agent for separating an element such as caffeine from a coffee bean. The highly pressurized carbon dioxide is forced through the beans and penetrates deeply, dissolving up to 99% of the caffeine. The carbon dioxide residue evaporates from the coffee beans as they return to room temperature.

Any finally, the newest method of decaffeination uses triglycerides from spent coffee grounds to extract caffeine from raw coffee beans. The beans are soaked in a hot water solution to draw the caffeine to the surface of the beans. Then they are transferred to another container and immersed in coffee oils that were obtained from spent coffee grounds. The coffee oils contain triglycerides, which when heated for several hours at a high temperature, separate the caffeine – but supposedly not the flavor – from the beans. The beans are next separated from the oils and dried. The caffeine is removed from the oils, which are reused to decaffeinate another batch of beans.

All of these decaffeination processes adulterate the natural coffee bean in some way because they are extracting elements from the essence of the bean or tea leaf. While some methods claim to be better or safer than others, the processes are similar, and it can be tough for the consumer to discern which actual method is being used. Decaf drinkers should read product packages carefully and possibly contact the manufacturer to ask about which method they use.

Another alternative is again, just choosing a beverage with low caffeine content to begin with. Modify your intake and brewing methods to preserve flavor while lowering your caffeine exposure. One promising development for the future is the discovery of the enzyme that produces caffeine in the coffee plant itself. Scientists have discovered coffee varieties in Ethiopia containing a small fraction of the caffeine of traditional coffee. Further they are working on developing the enzyme into a commercial way to grow bioengineered, caffeine-free coffee. In the mean time, enjoy your coffee!

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Pick the best coffee beans available all over the world, roast them to perfection, season with an advanced social conscience and a mission to help change the world, flavor with a very savvy sense of marketing and business and you might end up with one of the most successful specialty coffee businesses in the world. Ask the founders of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, the specialty coffee business that started as a small café in Waterbury, Vermont back in 1981 and recorded nearly $350 million in sales in fiscal 2007.

The road to success for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has been a series of excellent business decisions coupled with right-place-right-time social policies. The Green Mountain label stands for excellent coffee combined with a mission to make a difference in the world. That mission imbues everything that the company does, from sourcing their coffees to point of sale and beyond – the company even uses recycled/recyclable packaging materials. Mission and social responsibility aside, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters owes its success to one factor – the amazing flavor.

The Green Mountain brand is built on high quality specialty coffees. The company began as a small café in Vermont, with a commitment to serving specialty coffees roasted on premises. It wasn’t long before restaurants and shops in town started asking to serve Green Mountain’s coffee. When skiers who had tried Green Mountain’s specialty coffees while on vacation started asking if they could order coffee and have it sent to their homes, the company added its mail order business, and things just grew from there. These days, you can buy Green Mountain Roasters specialty coffees in your supermarket or order it online, sign up for Café Express to have Green Mountain coffee delivered to you automatically, drink Green Mountain coffee at many of your favorite restaurants, and buy Green Mountain coffee pre-packed into Keurig K-cups – Green Mountain sells the most varieties of coffees in K-cups of any of the Keurig partners.

The connection with Keurig is not the first strategic market placement decision that’s paid off for Green Mountain. Many avid fans got their first taste of Green Mountain’s specialty roasts at a most unexpected place – local convenience stores like 7-11 and Store 24, Gas-n-Go shops and other on-the-run coffee pickup spots where the last thing you expect is excellent coffee. As the various convenience stores have expanded their repertoire to include self-service coffee bars – and the technology for making good coffee has improved – Green Mountain has often been the coffee served.

Who Is Green Mountain Coffee Roasters?

Why not ask the company themselves? According to their press releases:

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters was ranked No. 1 on the list of “100 Best Corporate Citizens” in 2006 and 2007, and has been recognized repeatedly by Forbes, Fortune Small Business, and the Society of Human Resource Management as an innovative, high-growth, socially responsible company.

Is the coffee really as good as all that? With the fastest growing sales in the industry, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters stands by quality as a watchword. They send coffee sourcers throughout the world to taste and test the crops at coffee plantations in Africa, Asia and South America, bringing back the best that they find. Unlike the biggest chains that must be able to buy in large enough volume to supply hundreds or thousands of stores with any variety they choose, Green Mountain has no issues with selling limited edition coffees, often as single origin coffees.

Green Mountain Coffee Sourcing

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is also popular with “socially conscious” consumers who love the company’s environmentally and community-friendly policies. The company makes every attempt to source directly from growers around the world, and is one of the leading buyers in the Fair Trade coffee market. Green Mountain buyers work directly with coffee growers whenever possible. It is their commitment to high quality coffee and improving the world that has spurred the roasting company’s success.

Favorite Green Mountain Coffee Blends

If you’ve never tried Green Mountain Coffee, one of the best ways to get a real feel for the brand’s variety of flavors is to order one of the company’s variety samplers. If you’d rather pick and choose your own sampler pack, here’s a list of all-time favorite Green Mountain Coffee Blends.

Breakfast Blend – The #1 all time favorite and best seller, lighter roast, rich taste and medium acidity

Nantucket Blend – Exotic blend, full-bodied with a hint of floral and fruit, bright acidity and complex flavor

Dark Magic – An extra bold dark roast specially blended and roasted for espresso

Wild Mountain Blueberry – Seasonal flavored coffee that has become one of Green Mountain’s most popular coffees ever

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Stories Without Borders: The Documentary is an educational documentary project that believes through exploring the stories that we share we can better understand our common humanity across time and cultures. Its first project is to record the influence of the Sanskrit epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata across the cultures and religions of South and Southeast Asia while celebrating the diversity of the people and places that it chronicles. It will also produce an accompany text.

“We want to show that there are stories that are loved and shared across cultures, and these stories can be unifying and humanizing across times and places,” said director Andrea Frazier. “We want to be part of telling those stories ourselves through the medium of film.”

Covering the origins of these epics and their contemporary roles in India, it will trace their influence first to Java, Indonesia where reenactments and retellings continue today in this mostly Muslim island. From there, it will travel to the Hindu island of Bali where these epics form a central part of religious identity and worship.

From there it heads to the Southeast Asian peninsula to Malaysia where today shadow puppet reenactments continue in the deeply conservative Muslim states of Kelantan and Terengganu. Next, it is to Thailand where it demonstrates how these stories play a role in the lives of Thai Theravada Buddhists from incorporation in architecture to traditional dancing. From there it moves on to the mysterious Kingdom of Cambodia and the communist state of Laos to see how these Hindu epics continue to form a central part of the many of the diverse cultures one encounters there.

It is the brainchild of Andrea Fraizer, a videographer, filmmaker and director who is currently with FCA-TV in the United States, and Jarrod Brown, a philosopher, scholar and educator who has spent much of the last decade living, researching, and working among these cultures.  The group also maintains a Web site with information about the upcoming film as well as educational resources for those doing comparative studies of the epics.

First you need choose the basis of your beverage: coffee or espresso. Coffee can be drip-brewed, percolated, instant or cold-pressed. Any of these methods are very inexpensive. An espresso-based beverage is more likely to satisfy the sophisticated palette of the coffee connoisseur. To do this at home however, requires more of an investment in the brewing equipment. Real espresso machines cost upwards of $1,000. An affordable and popular alternative are the single-serving type of machines such as the Tassimo, where you invest in the machine and purchase pre-portioned packages of espresso varieties to brew a serving at a time.

Still confused about the difference between coffee and espresso? Espresso is a method, first originated in Italy, of extracting flavor from the heart of the coffee bean. The technique employs a pump-driven machine to force hot water through the ground coffee beans at high pressure in a short time frame — usually between 20 and 35 seconds. The amount of water used is only about ¾ of an ounce, and the resulting taste is described as smooth, thick, rich or sweet. So the obvious differences between coffee and espresso are 1) the amount of water used and 2) brewing or pressing time. Coffee is generally brewed for 4 to 6 minutes depending on the method and individual preferences.

Cappuccino is espresso mixed with equal parts of steamed and frothed milk. If you don’t purchase an espresso machine with milk-steaming capabilities, you will have to steam and froth your milk the old-fashioned way — on a stove. The frothing process involves skimming and stirring the hot milk. To layer the milk and espresso, allow the freshly frothed milk a moment to rest and separate (foam on top and milk on the bottom). Pour the steamed milk into your cup first, then pour in the espresso, and top it with the frothed milk using a spoon.

The creative possibilities go on from there. One of the most popular twists on the cappuccino is adding a sprinkle of powdered cocoa or cinnamon. Other combinations take their inspiration from favorite foods such as traditional desserts or candy bars. Try these super-easy recipes or experiment with making your own!

Milky Way Cappuccino– 2 shots espresso, 1 shot chocolate syrup, 1 shot caramel

Java Chai Espresso — 1 shot espresso, prepared chai concentrate, steamed milk, ½ ounce almond syrup

Cafe Corretto — 2 shots espresso, 1 shot brandy, cognac or flavored liqueur

Cafe Romano– 1 shot espresso, served with a twist of lemon or lemon peel

Rocky Road Cappuccino — 1 serving of your prepared cappuccino, 1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur, 1 tablespoon chocolate sauce, 1 teaspoon of marshmallow crème and ¼ teaspoon finely chopped nuts

Butterscotch Creme Cafe — 1 serving coffee, 3 tablespoons butterscotch syrup, 2 tablespoons of half-and-half cream

Ginger Spiced Coffee — 1 serving coffee, 1 small piece finely chopped crystallized ginger, 1 cinnamon stick

Cafe Borgia — 1 cup coffee, 1 cup hot chocolate, 1 shot cream, sprinkle of grated orange peels

Chocolate Mint Truffle(for the non-coffee drinker) – 1 cup hot chocolate, 2 chocolate coated mint candies topped with 1 tablespoon whipped topping and 1 fresh mint sprig

Espresso Martini — 1 shot espresso cooled to room temperature, 1 shot premium vodka, 1 splash liqueur in flavor of your choice (try amaretto, Irish creme, Godiva chocolate or any favorite), garnish with 3 whole espresso beans

Mexican Coffee — your favorite brewed coffee, 2 cups whipped topping gently mixed with ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

French Vanilla Coffee– your favorite brewed coffee, equal portion of milk heated to scalding temperature, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cinnamon stick, sweetener to taste

If you are hosting a winter party and feeling a little adventurous, you may want to try a festive twist on the usual coffee and eggnog choices. Try this Betty Crocker recipe for 16 servings of Cappuccino Eggnog:

Ingredients — 6 eggs, slightly beaten; 2/3 cup table sugar; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 5 cups milk; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2 cups hot espresso; 1 cup coffee liqueur or brandy; 2 cups heavy whipped cream; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; ground cinnamon

Directions — Stir together eggs, granulated sugar and salt in a Dutch oven pan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over low heat 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly, just until mixture coats a metal spoon; remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Stir together coffee and liqueur. Gradually stir coffee mixture into egg mixture; keep warm. Just before serving, beat whipping cream and brown sugar in chilled large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Gently stir 2 cups of the whipped cream into egg mixture. Pour into mugs. Top with dollops of remaining whipped cream. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve immediately!

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Ghana is an African country that is situated right on the south coast of what we call the West African bulge. It shares its borders with Togo, Ivory Coast, Burkina Fasso and the mighty Atlantic Ocean.

Ghana has always had a rich cultural and natural heritage. There is a narrow and small grassy plain that stretches inward from the Atlantic coast and widens in the east and this stretch of land is home to dense rainforests and different animals and plant species. One of the major attractions in Ghana is the national park at Kakum. As compared to some of the other countries in Africa, the national parks in Ghana are relatively small. Some of the animals that you will find in Ghana include different species of antelopes, deer, lions, monkeys, and elephants. There is plenty of species of birds for the avid bird watcher and the photographers and then there are the beautiful and colorful butterflies. Another major tourist attraction is the coastline of Ghana, which is home to many palm-fringed and powdery beaches as well as lagoons.

Why Volunteer In Ghana
Ghana offers a great opportunity to volunteers as you will be exposed to some of the extremes that Ghana is famous for. Volunteering in Ghana will involve working with the people and for the people. Teaching is one of the most sought after volunteer jobs but you can have limitless opportunities for contributing to the overall health and welfare of the people of Ghana. Different types of projects that you can work in as a part of volunteering in Ghana include orphanages, education, community development, HIV/AIDS awareness, and health programs.

Types Of Projects Available
As a part of volunteering in Ghana, you will get to choose the kind of project you are interested in. The different types if projects available include:

-Teaching Projects: Ghanaian schools have a dearth of good teachers whether that is for teaching English or for any other subjects. Volunteering in Ghana programs will help you to teach English in different rural schools across Ghana. Teaching is not just limited to English but you can teach various subjects from science to arts. The different forms of teaching will include subject teaching, classroom teaching and extra-curricular activities like arts, sports and Martial arts. You need to have a basic minimum of high school education for this type of volunteer work in Ghana.

-Orphanages in Ghana: There are over 170,000 orphaned children in Ghana and the primary reason being AIDS. Some of these children’s have been taken by extended family or even friends but not all of them are lucky enough. There are many more that live on their own on the streets of Ghana or in orphanages. As a part of volunteering in Ghana program, you will be working with various orphanages situated all across Ghana and mostly in rural areas.

-Humanitarian Projects in Ghana: As a volunteer in Ghana, you can opt for humanitarian projects, which are similar to community projects but more extensive and mentally challenging. You will be able to contribute towards educating the under-privileged children and women, assist in HIV/AIDS awareness for the benefit of mankind, and work with the local community in building homes, creating an infrastructure for rural schools etc.
-Health Care in Ghana: Most of the health care volunteer programs in Ghana deal with diseases, immunization and creating awareness in the community. Volunteering in Ghana will involve handling several projects related to creating HIV/AIDS awareness and maintaining statistics of the AIDS infected population.

Volunteer in Ghana Requirements
Age: The minimum age for volunteering in Ghana should be 18 or older.
Duration: The standard duration of most projects is 5-8 weeks although they can also vary from 1-2 weeks or 9-12 weeks.

Language: English
Experience: No experience required unless it is a highly technical project.

Fee and Other details
There is a fee attached to each of the projects that you volunteer for. The fee is charged in advance and is charged for the following:

1.Accommodation
2.Emergency evacuation services
3.Food/meals
4.Travel insurance
5.Transportation within the region
6.Emergency support
7.All types of training material
8.Supervision by local staff
9.Orientation on arrival
10.Local sightseeing & recreational activities

Conclusion
Volunteering in Ghana is a great opportunity for all those who have been longing to make valuable contribution to the continent that is known as the cradle of human civilization. Using your business or technical skills, you will be able to offer a better alternative to the people of Ghana.

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Types of Single Serve Coffee Makers

These days, a one cup coffee maker is more than a just a miniature drip coffee maker. There are many different kinds of coffee makers that only make one or two servings of coffee at a time. They include some of the oldest types of coffee makers in the world – the French press and the steam mocha pot, for instance. However, when most people refer to one-cup coffee makers today, they’re talking about automatic coffee makers. These fall into two different types of machine – a drip coffee maker that serves up one cup of coffee at a time, or the so-called single-serve coffee systems that use pods, cups or some other sort of special delivery system for coffee.

The first thing to consider when deciding on a single cup coffee maker is whether you’re willing to be limited in your choice of coffee. The major brands of single serve coffee makers – Senseo, Tassimo, and Keurig – all require that you use coffee that is specially packaged for their machines. If a wide selection of coffees is important to you, or if you have a specific favorite, you’ll either want to be sure that the coffee maker you choose offers your favorite brand of coffee or choose a standard drip coffee maker that brews a single cup at a time.

What to look for: One-Cup Drip Coffee Makers

There are only a few considerations if you’re choosing a one-cup drip coffee maker. They include:

• Does the coffee maker require paper filters, or does it use a permanent filter?
• Does the coffee maker dispense coffee into a regular sized mug?
• Can the height be adjusted for a larger mug or does it come with a thermal travel mug for easy dispensing?
• Can you make two or more cups immediately after one another?
• Can it be set to start your coffee automatically on a timer?

What to look for: Single Serve Coffee Systems

All single serve coffee systems have a number of things in common – they all have a reservoir to hold water, a boiler or heater to heat water, and some sort of specially designed coffee-and-filter combination through which the water is either pumped or dripped to extract the coffee. The major difference between the brands is in the coffee holder/filter mechanism. Each of the major brands uses a different kind of system.

Coffee Pod Systems

Many of the single serve coffee systems use coffee ‘pods’ (sometimes called coffee pads in other markets). The pods are an all-in-one coffee and filter arrangement that most often look like a large, round tea bag. There are standard pod sizes for single serving, double serving and espresso pods, and the better coffee pod systems will include coffee baskets to fit each of the three sizes so that you can use the coffee maker with the widest variety of coffees. In addition, there are products on the market that allow you to create properly sized coffee pods using any brand of coffee. The results are variable and it can be time-consuming to make your own coffee pods, though, so you may want to be certain that your favorite coffee is available in pods before choosing one of the coffee pod systems.

Single-Serve Coffee Brewing Systems

In addition to the pod systems, there are several one cup coffee systems that use a patented, proprietary ‘mini-brewer’ that is sized to fit their machines. The most popular of these are the Keurig brewing system, the Senseo and the Tassimo brewing system. Each of them uses a very similar mechanism for making your coffee. You simply drop one of the pre-packed pre-measured coffee ‘cups’ or ‘discs’ into the coffee maker, hit a button and wait. The cup or disc contains both the coffee and the filter. The machine is designed to force water through the disposable brewer and dispense it directly into the cup. When your cup is finished brewing, you simply remove the spent brewer and toss it out – no dealing with messy grinds, and since the coffee never touches any part of the machine, you can easily make multiple cups of coffee in different flavors and roasts without worrying about crossing flavors.

The biggest thing to consider when choosing one of the coffee brewing systems is whether the coffee that you prefer is available in packages that fit your machine. Currently, Keurig’s K-cups seem to come in the largest variety, with more flavors and roasts being added frequently, but each of the major brands is affiliated with one of the world’s major coffee roasting houses.

One further consideration when choosing a coffee brewing system is the cost of the coffee. As a general rule, you will pay more for coffee when you’re buying capsules, cups or pods for single serve machines, and in most cases, you have to order your coffee through the manufacturer. Also, few of them are sold in supermarkets or groceries.

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Students study abroad for many different reasons. Some want to experience a different country or culture, others want to perfect a foreign language and others want to build the skills needed to be effective in today’s global business environment.

Our observation is that study abroad is an incredibly enriching experience for most students and, for some students, study abroad changes their life goals and direction. Study abroad will challenge you to see the world in a different light, help you develop new personal, academic and professional skills and broaden your horizons and knowledge. One thing is certain. You will come back from a study abroad experience a different person than when you started it.

The “Big Three”

1. Academic Perspective

2. Personal Development

3. Career Enhancement

Academic Perspective

Studying in a foreign country can help you understand your academic major from an international perspective and how your intended career is related to increasingly global issues, co-workers, clients, customers, etc.

Personal Development

Studying abroad can tell you a lot about yourself. The experience of having to adapt to a new culture and interact with a diverse group of people will bring out elements of your personality that you did not even know existed. The unique moments and new experiences that you have while abroad will be life lessons and memories that will stay with you forever. Study abroad can be a journey of discovery, not just of countries and places, but of who you really are.

Career Enhancement

Employers these days are looking for more than just academics. The skills required to compete in many of today’s work environments involve things such as proficiency in more than one language, the ability to adapt easily, multicultural awareness and international experience. Studying abroad can provide you with all these skills and more, while setting you apart from most other job applicants.

Top Reasons to Study Abroad

• Become more mature and self-confident as you learn the skills to succeed in unfamiliar environments and enjoy adapting to new places.

• Earn academic credit that will help you progress toward your graduation while experiencing a new environment.

• Get an international experience beyond a superficial tourist experience.

• Understand how culture guides values and behaviors and learn to respect different cultures.

• Practice intercultural competencies that enhance your career and social relationships.

• Make friends and meet people from a completely different background

• Take one of the few opportunities most people ever have to live in a different country

• Add something extra to your resume which will make you more appealing to employers.

• Enhance your career opportunities with a second or third language which is so valuable to the future of our workforce.

Coffee Makers

The typical office break room has a coffee maker that is meant for home use. Unless you’ve only got a couple of people drinking coffee over the course of the day, you’ll find yourself replacing that coffee maker far more often than you would at home. Professional office coffee services generally will offer a wide choice of coffee makers to suit the way your office drinks coffee. Your choice of coffee maker will vary from provider to provider, but most offer several choices that include standard drip coffee makers, espresso machines, single serve coffee machines, semi and fully automatic coffee makers and even vending machines.

These days, the most common coffee maker choices are single-serve coffee systems like Keurig, Flavia or Senseo. Single serve coffee makers cut down on maintenance and clean-up by brewing one cup of coffee at a time using a self-contained coffee “capsule” or cup. Some of these are connected directly to the plumbing so that even filling the water receptacle is a simple matter of turning a tap. Single serve coffee systems offer a number of advantages over coffee makers that brew by the pot. Perhaps the biggest advantage is that each employee or client can make a different kind of coffee without having to brew up a full pot. If your secretary loves her Rainforest Hazelnut, the rest of the office isn’t stuck drinking up the rest of the pot.

The cost of the coffee machine will often depend upon two factors: the type of machine and the volume of coffee that you order from the coffee service each month. Many coffee service companies provide a standard coffee machine for free as long as you continue to order your coffee and other supplies through them. Often, however, you can continue to rent the machine for a small monthly fee even if you buy your own coffee to use in the machine.

Coffee

In addition to the coffee machine, coffee services also deliver coffee to your office on a pre-determined schedule. If you’ve chosen a pour-over pot or drip machine, the coffee will usually be packaged in pre-measured one-pot pouches. If you’ve chosen a single-serve coffee system, you’ll be able to order coffee in single serving coffee pods (K-cups, T-cups or other pod types depending on the coffee brewer supplied by the company). In either case, you’ll usually find that having coffee available to your employees in pre-measured pouches cuts down on waste and reduces the amount of coffee that’s used per cup.

Other Beverages

In addition to coffee, many coffee services also carry tea and hot chocolate, and some also provide soups that can be made with hot water. In fact, if you’re renting a single serve coffee system like the Keurig from your office coffee service, you’ll probably be able to order their entire range of beverages through your service provider.

Snacks for the Break Room

Some coffee service companies also offer a range of snacks for your office break room. The snacks offered by your coffee service may include bags of chips and pretzels as well as individually packaged bagels, doughnuts, croissants and muffins. The companies that provide snacks may also provide other individually packaged items like jams and jellies, butter pats, coffee creamers and cream cheese. Many offices find that providing these in sanitary individual packages cuts down on waste and is more economical than buying them at the supermarket.

Supplies and Equipment

What happens if your coffee carafe shatters or your machine needs servicing? Office coffee services provide all service for your coffee machine, including replacement parts and repair. In most cases, if your coffee machine malfunctions the coffee service will provide you with a replacement for it if it can’t be repaired in place. You can usually set up a service contract with your provider and let them take care of regular maintenance like cleaning, de-scaling and replacing filters and other parts on a regular schedule.

When choosing an office coffee service, be sure that you ask to see their full catalog of supplies and services. Compare all costs of using the coffee service with the costs of providing a similar level of coffee service on your own to help you decide if a coffee service is the best option for your office.

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