I’m a geek, if you’ve looked around the site very much you know that. But I’m a special kind of geek, I love coffee and I like shiny things, so when word got out that there was a voice responsive coffee maker coming to the marker I reported on it on my podcast. I would never guess that I would later get a chance to review the very same item.

Primula Products was nice enough to send me a a Primula Speak n’ Brew voice activated coffee maker. The idea behind this is that you press a button and speak the time and AM or PM when you would like your coffee. It also allows you to set the time on the clock without playing with any buttons or dials.

No matter what product comes out there is always a target audience. A group of people who the product is meant to appeal to. Who would be the target audience for this coffee maker? Well anyone who isn’t too technically inclined and still loves good coffee. There are a good number of people out there who at one point or another had a flashing 12 on their VCR’s and this product is marketed directly to them. Beyond the voice recognition aspects I wondered how the coffee coming out of the machine would taste, because no matter how awesome the features, if it doesn’t brew good coffee there is no point. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: caffination podcast, CaffiNation Review, Pimula Products, Primula coffee, primula speak and brew, primula speak n' brew, pul rj muller, speak and brew, speak n' brew, voice activated coffeemaker

What has twitter done for you,Or Your Business? Has it ever made you coffee? Try as i might I hadn’t been able to make twitter give me anything good, until recently that is.

Twitter has been called everything from a frivolous nonsense website, to a fantastic business tool. And on many different levels both assertions are correct. However now I have Twitter to thank for some of the best coffee I’ve had in quite a while. Thanks to the Barista On Duty a Pan Roasting Coffee Fanatic Supreme! Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: barista on duty, BODY Coffee, body rater, caffination podcast, caffination reviews, caffination tastes, coffee consultant

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Apologies for last show.

Technical difficulties won’t trouble this episode, we hope

Sponsor: Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days! For this special offer
visit www.gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts

—

So apologies are in order if you listened to the last show you know by now that we had some minor to major issues with the audio skipping pretty much throughout the episode. I’ll explain what happened and why so you don’t fall into the same trap I did. But all that Aside we’re gearing up for Podcamp Philly and I’ll have some fun downloads in the coming week for you to see before people at the event do. I’m making some surprises that I hope will go over well.

This show has lots of lego love, a great web-comic i just re discovered and a ton of Coffee Geekery to go around. We discuss the seriousness of Net Neutrality, the lighthearted Robot Foozeball, the heretical nature of the Beatles and the sacrosanct nature of good coffee in Seattle. Its a tall order for a short format show, but I think we covered good ground.

The push for Podcamp Philly is on. We’re really excited to bring the event to Temple University on October 3rd and 4th. Hopefully I’ll see you there! Are you wondering why you should go to a Podcamp?

Enjoy the show!

• Back Channel: All the Cruft, non of the Chaff
• Where else can you find me? www.paulrjmuller.com

News in brief

• The Beatles ‘bigger than Jesus’ on Google
• Font Nerd Alert Arial versus Helvetica
• Police Play Wii Bowling During Drug Raid
• Nerd Merit Badges
• Finally Cell Phone Companies listen, a simple phone
• Nintendo Remembers how to print money and drops the price of the Wii
• Podcamp Philly October 3rd and 4th @ Temple University

Geek Cruft

• Net Neutrality, what it does and does not mean
• MaruBot Table Soccer Uses RC Robots to replace iconic table soccer players
• Bell Alarm Clock, this is the type of alert i neeed in the AM
• James May’s Lego House has been demolished, Destruction
• LEGO cello actually works, Creation
• Buddhist Leader Says fraging is brings one closer to the gateless gate
• Microsoft’s Courier Tablet

Food and Caffeinated Bits:

• New Coffee Project Research Below, Glimpse Here
  • All About Coffee, by William H. Ukers
  • History of coffee – Wikistyle
• Girl Genius knows how to do coffee up right, I have friend who are good with tools
• OTTO Stove Top Espresso Coffee Maker, beautiful design
• Coffee-and-mad-science party video, Neat but a bit off on the coffee part
• Certain Coffee Curmudgeon Makes news with his Roast Declaration
• My Goodness Happy 250th birthday Guinness
• WMF1 Coffee Pad Machine, neat but fails the usability test
  

Want to contribute?

Feel free to send in any recipes, reviews or like minded articles and I’ll gladly post it with a link back to your lair!

Thanks and Stay Caffeinated People!

Tags: beatles, Buhdist gamers, CaffiNation Paul Rj Muller, caffination podcast, Coffee, Espresso, font nerds, Foozeball, heresy, Lego, otto, podcamp philly, robot, tablet pc, Tea

I was the guest host for this weeks edition of TechPodcast Weekly today. I decided to cover a bunch of coffee questions that I get asked frequently. Check below for an idea of what went down, and follow the link to the show notes to enjoy the show in all of its majesty

• TPN Weekly Number 17 Coffee Geekery

Cruft

• Summer of Podcast Contest : Podcast Carnival Tonight @ 7pm Central
  • Or check back after the fact to see who won!
• Podcamp Philly @ Temple University October 3,4th
• What is Cruft?
• Geek vs Nerd, Why we’re all geeks at heart. I’m just a coffee geek

Caffeinated Bits

Today’s Coffee: Home Roasted Colombian: Watch it being made!

• Plea for a collaborative coffee effort
• Bean Storage
• Grinding, conical burr vs blade, why it matters
• Store grinder
• Cleaning your grinder
• Fair Trade? What does that mean
• Shade Grown?
• Roasting your own, a bit loud but informative

Thanks and Stay Caffeinated People!

Tags: Caffination, caffination podcast, Paul Muller, Paul Rj Muller, Techpodcast Network, Techpodcasts Network Weekly, TPN, TPNW, TPNW Weekly

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Like a long fly ball I’m, Outta Here!

Sponsor: Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days! For this special offer
visit www.gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts

—

For the next week i’ll be mostly offline, there should be a good deal of awesomeness built up in the archives and new shows dropping while I’m out to saite your thirst for Caffeinated goodness and Techy sweet treats. I’ll also be hosting the TPNW Show for the TechPodcast Network airing on Monday. So Its been a busy week of recording. I’m getting tired of my own voice again.

This time on TPNW I’ll be doing a short informative session on Podcasting Setups and Coffee Basics. Nice short and to the point.

The CaffiNation is also very proud to take part in the Summer of Podcasts Contest Make sure you check in on August 10th to see the winners!

Enjoy the show and Stay Caffeinated!

Check out the Twitter Poker Tour’s Charity Event to fight Cancer

• Back Channel: All the Cruft, non of the Chaff
• Where else can you find me? www.paulrjmuller.com
• Huge Congrats to GeekNews Central Podcast on dropping Episode 500 on the masses.
• Best of luck going forward

Geek Cruft

• Lasers on Airplanes
• Nissan Leaf neat idea, horrible name
• Weather Station Shower Mirror
• Back to the, Back to the Future
• Shift into Classy
• Nothing says classy like a good sticker chandelier
• Paintball turret plans released, hide the women and frat boys
• Nintendo Mini Classics
• How good does your music sound?

Food and Caffeinated Bits:

• Never drink and Derive
• Bacon Balm
• What warms your gravy
• Drinking Bingo, Old ladies never had so much fun
• Popcorn Ball Game
• Perfect Pizza Slices
• Cash for Bad Coffee, Nice idea!
• Just because I can, Scrubs Coffee Addiction

Thanks and Stay Caffeinated People!

Tags: Airplanes, back to the future, bacon, beer, Caffination, caffination podcast, drinking, drinking games, gameboy, Lasers, nes, nintendo, paintball, Popcorn, shifter

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

A limit to energy, and I’ve found it

Sponsor: Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days! For this special offer
visit www.gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts

—

I have been put through the wringer the past week, my sleep and caffeine schedules are on opposite waves. So I’m trying to break the cycle and bring the noise and the funk back to you. there are a couple of tangential stories woven into the podcast but for once i took control of myself and reigned them in forbefore they blew the time out of the water.

This episode has everything in it from Dragons, to Conspiracy theories, Legos to Beer. Its great mix, we think of news and information designed to educate and entertain, while covering the wonderful world of tech and caffeine.

The CaffiNation is also very proud to take part in the Summer of Podcasts Contest Head on over and check out the shows rocking the codeword this week. Week Four is Underway!Time is winding down to get involved and submit your codewords. make sure you head on over and check out the goodies. Make sure you check in on August 10th to see the winners!

Enjoy the show and Stay Caffeinated!

• Back Channel: All the Cruft, non of the Chaff
• Where else can you find me? www.paulrjmuller.com
• CaffiNation AFK: New Video segment, Home Roasting Video

Geek Cruft

• Nine Reasons RadioShack Shouldn’t Change Its Name
• BringIt.com Allows Players to Bet
• Awesome Garage Door Covers
• ATM scam at DEFCON
• Urban Mole nothing is beneath them
• Beach’s Pneumatic Transits system, origin of Ghostbusters 2 river of slime
• Video Game Characters in Lego! How do you stack up
• LEGO Minifig With LED Feet
• Chum-Dumping Boat Fishing buddy? or cheating
• Air Force cooks the Ionosphere who wants seconds?
• Shades of the Philadelphia Experiment?

Food and Caffeinated Bits:

• Glenfiddich 50-Year Old Whiskey
• Bugatti espresso machine, neon coffee
• Puff The Magic Dragon-Cake, unbelievable
• Make A Dragon out of Pop Tops
• Brewing Beer From 45-Million-Year-Old Yeast
• Ninkasi – Goddess of Fermentation

Thanks and Stay Caffeinated People!

Tags: beer, Caffination, caffination podcast, Cake, Chum, Coffee, D and D, Defcon ATM scam, dungeons and dragons, Espresso, Lego, Legos, Paul Rj Muller, Remote control boats

Hot Summer months are now upon us and we have spent no small amount of time talking about the wonder that is iced coffee. I was recently sent a product to review which promises to make the production of Cold Brewed Iced Coffee that much easier. The Ronco Coffeetime Brew System. Ronco the same company who makes all sorts of As Seen on TV goodies have tried their hand at a coffee system. And the best part is that I get to try it out! One more reason why i love running this website.

The Claims:

I like simple  and easily provable claims to judge products on. Most companies that make simple statements don’t have anything to hide, which is what I like. Cut the buzzwords give me the facts.

• Claim #1: Brews Coffee with much less acid
• Claim #2: Easy to Use
• Claim #3: Saves money over expensive coffee drinks

Simple claims and a very thirsty reviewer make for an easy review to write.

But wait… There’s More!

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: but wait there's more, caffination podcast, caffination reviews, Coffee, Coffeetime Brew System, cold brew, cold brewed coffee, ronco, Ronco coffeetime brew system