Flavoured Coffee Syrup

There's many drinks out there, and coffee is probably the most popular drink of all. Even amongst coffee fans, there's a multitude of coffee types that people like to drink. Getting flavoured coffee is a good way to diversify, and get something that tastes better than your normal, traditional black coffee. Instead of the same taste you usually get, instead you get a different taste, based on the syrup you use. Flavoured coffee syrup is a great product to have in your kitchen, for that time you want to spice things up a bit.

Flavoured Coffee Syrup is typically made from corn and sugar cane. It also has fruits, which gives it the unique taste that it has. This can produce a very sweet taste, and goes at the opposite of what most coffees taste like, which can give a very interesting taste. Thanks to the syrup, you can get flavours of many different types, over a dozen in fact that are made to create just the flavour you want. Usually, you buy the flavour in a separate bottle, and add it yourself to the coffee. It doesn't matter what type of coffee you drink, you can add any flavour you want, simply by pouring it into the mug. The best way to do this is by preparing your coffee, using a coffee maker or another mean, as you normally would. Then, add the syrup by dropping it directly in the mug as it's still hot. The quantity is entirely up to you. There is no too little or too much, it depends how much of a flavour you want. It's simply up to the amount of flavour put in that will determine what the coffee tastes like.

There's flavours that are created all around the world. Some regions are known for their great flavours, because of access to fresh fruits that taste particularly strongly. This can help a region get up to speed economically by providing flavoured coffee syrup to the world. Because there's so many coffee drinkers out there, they quickly make a profit, and people flock from all around to taste their new flavours. It's an industry that's filled with many flavours, dozens of variants, and with many good and not so much brands. Like any extra ingredient, the whole drink will taste good or bad based on the quality you use. Some of the more exotic flavours provide an exceptional coffee, but it's hard to know that beforehand. Your best bet is to try it out, and see if you like it.

Overall, flavoured coffee syrup is something that isn't expensive to add to your normal coffee, and can make a huge difference based on taste. It's an acquired taste, something you may not want to miss once you've become accustomed to it, and can be a great way to spice up your day.

Is The Future Of GreenMountain Uncertain?

News hit on Thursday on Bloomberg and The Street that analysts are downgrading GMCR (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters) to sell amidsts reports of rising inventory and weakening demand.

“Shipments of Keurig brewers will continue decelerating,”said Astrachan, who advises selling the shares. In turn,“slowing household penetration of brewers will increasingly pressure K-Cup shipments,” he said.

Even more damagingly, Green Mountain's patents for K-Cups are expiring, opening up competition and taking a large chunk away from Green Mountain

Next year, Waterbury, Vermont-based Green Mountain will lose the main patents on K-Cups, allowing competitors to make less-expensive versions. The company has sought to boost sales and discourage competition by partnering with brands such as Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc.

It appears as though the free ride is over for Green Mountain. The company does deserve credit for bringing  a new product to an old industry and giving convenient access of single cup coffees to millions of people. Only time will tell however, just how prepared they are for a competitive market once their patents expire. It's good news for consumers, who can expect lower prices, more availability in the Canadian market and more innovation in 2012.

Is There Any GOOD Instant Coffee?

Canadians have always looked down on instant coffee that those overseas seem to love - not because there isn't any good quality on the market, but because Canadians prefer their coffee to be not pre-packaged. Think about the smell of your freshly brewed pot of coffee, and now imagine trying to live without that. Instant coffee just doesn't provide that level of satisfaction.

While we're not big into instant coffee, we do want our coffee instantly. This can be easily seen by the rise in individual coffee makers, that can prepare a coffee in under a minute. With our lives becoming quicker and more hectic, the pressure is on to get your cup of coffee quick. This hustle has spilled over into our lives a bit though, with instant coffee starting to make it's way into Starbucks and other coffee shops. Know you won't have time to stop by and wait in line for 5 minutes for a coffee? Grab a pack of instant coffee and off you go.

While today's equipment and availability of coffee almost eliminates the need for instant coffee, there is still a market. Single cup, on-demand coffee makers allow you to pop in a pod or "k-cup" and move onto something else, then come back less than a minute later to a freshly brewed cup of coffee. While not "instant", it is "in the blink of an eye". The single cup, nearly-instantaneous coffee makers let you get coffee fast, without resorting to instant coffee.

There are a couple brands of individual cup coffee brewers, and the biggest are Tassimo and Keurig.

Tassimo's machines are the most automated solution of all, with a digital barcode reader that determines what kind of coffee disc (known as a "T-Disc") you put into it and automatically selects the best setting for it. It's capable of making multi-cup coffees like Lattes or Cappuccinos with it's software.

Keurig's machines require you to select the type of coffee pod you put in, but are simple and intuitive to use - and just as fast as the Tassimo coffee makers. Their pods are known as "K-Cups" and are used by a wide variety of machines that have licensed the Keurig technology. Many brands have jumped on board with their own flavours and blends of coffee, as well as teas. Among them, you can find Emeril's K-Cups, Timothy's K-Cups, Green Mountain's K-Cups, Van Houette K-Cups, Celestial Tea K-Cups and many more. The wide variety of K-Cups makes it easier to find than Tassimo's, though the Canadian market is odd at times.

With individual coffee makers popping up everywhere, it won't be long until nearly every business or home has the ability to make a single cup of freshly brewed coffee just for you.

Peppermint Flavoured Iced Tea (Sugar Free)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Torani Sugar Free Peppermint Syrup
• 1 cup brewed tea, chilled

Instructions:

This generic recipe makes use Torani Sugar Free Peppermint Syrup and straight tea. Combine chilled tea and syrup in a tall glass (or pitcher if making larger quantities) filled with ice and stir well.

Note: for party size, use 1 cup Torani Sugar Free Peppermint Syrup per 8 cups brewed tea (making sure to chill).

Torani Blue Freezie Cocktail Video

The "Blue Freezie Cocktail" is similar to an "Electric Lemonade Cocktail", and is made with Torani syrups. Find more at Torani Syrups Canada

French Vanilla Flavoured Martini (Sugar Free)

Ingredients:

• Ice
• 1 1/2 oz Belvedere vodka or Gin
• 1 oz Torani Sugar Free French Vanilla Syrup

Instructions:

Pour ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon or lime. Enjoy your French Vanilla Flavoured Martini (Sugar Free)!

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Flavoured Iced Tea (Sugar Free)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Torani Sugar Free Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup
• 1 cup brewed tea, chilled

Instructions:

This generic recipe makes use Torani Sugar Free Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup and straight tea. Combine chilled tea and syrup in a tall glass (or pitcher if making larger quantities) filled with ice and stir well.

Note: for party size, use 1 cup Torani Sugar Free Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup per 8 cups brewed tea (making sure to chill).

Cherry Watermelon Italian Soda

1 oz. Torani Cherry Syrup
1 oz. Torani Watermelon Syrup
8 oz. sparkling water or club soda

Strawberry Kiwi Italian Soda

1 oz. Torani Strawberry Syrup
1 oz. Torani Kiwi Syrup
8 oz. sparkling water or club soda

Citrus Explosion Italian Soda

1 oz. Torani Grapefruit Syrup
1 oz. Torani Orange Syrup
8 oz. sparkling water or club soda

Buy Coffee

Sometimes a little inspiration is required to get the creative juices flowing. A lot of us don't quite feel right until we've had that morning coffee to jolt us into the working day and be more productive. If you're stuck on a design problem, I'd recommend heading over to our friends at Coffee Canada for a pick me up!

Alternatives to Wood Architectural Mouldings

Architectural Mouldings will help your home sell faster in this market. Due to the uncertain monetary times we are all living inside, home owners now find themselves staying in homes they'd intended to market or trying to sell homes they'd expected to help keep. Regardless, it continues to be important to keep the external condition of your property. If you might be exhibiting your house for a quick sale inside a glutted industry, it must appear nicely maintained both inside and outdoors.
Everyone knows they have to spruce up the inside; unclutter it, fix apparent problems, shampoo carpets, and have everything set aside nicely showing it efficiently to potential buyers. But too few realize that the outside look of house windows, trim, shutters, and siding tend to be equally important... especially when there are hundreds associated with homes going for less than they are worth.

If you're staying inside a home that is getting older, and that has no windowpane headers, trim, or architectural mouldings, you should really look directly into getting some. If you do have these, but they are older, and made from wood, you need to inspect them to see if they are leading to a possible health threat.
The one advantage of wood trim is that it's often less expensive than composites. But wood material rots and warps following years of blistering sun and driving rains. This is particularly true within humid areas. Another problem can be insect pests, termites as well as other vermin that really like rotting timber. If the actual wooden new mouldings close to your windows and doors wasn’t set up properly to begin with, you may also have mildew growing inside the spaces. Unfortunately, you usually don’t see the problem till someone will get sick in the mold or even the timber rots.
The bottom line here is that you want to have architectural window mouldings, headers, surrounds made from composite materials that's inorganic; both for putting on a costume your exterior to create it more appealing, and simply by extension a lot more saleable, and for the general wellness.
You can buy architectural mouldings that look like ornate concrete moldings in a variety of colors. They demand less upkeep and last much longer. All outside architectural moulding is not similar. Some might be composed of the wood/plastic combination that doesn't rot, warp, or entice insects. It could be handled and also installed very similar way you'll install timber surrounds and also headers, using wood working resources.
There are usually composite architectural molding which can be lightweight, using styrofoam since its core, fiberglass nylon uppers, and coatings of the cement just like base coat. These styrofoam architectural mouldings preserve an physical appearance of ornate precast concrete moulding without the associated expenditure. They may be painted in a color you love to go along with your siding, but be sure you use the masonry paint that's designed for exterior applications.
It is sensible to install composite architectural mouldings, to help your house be safer and much more saleable. You might pay a tad bit more for this, but you won’t be replacing it year after year.

Stucco Repair Toronto

EIFS (also known as stucco) is a popular siding choice in the Toronto area because it can be applied directly over decaying brick, protecting it from further damage. A large percentage of homes in downtown Toronto were built between the 1940's through 1970's and are now reaching that crucial point in their life, when tuckpointing can extend it's life slightly, or it needs to be replaced.

Tearing down brick to replace it is not only wasteful, it's also unnecessary. EIFS is a great option because it preserves the original brick, while adding insulation and renewing the look of the house. Unfortunately, not all EIFS projects are done properly and the result is that repairs are often required. Depending on the severity of the problem, the EIFS will either need to be torn off the wall and replaced, the surface re-skimmed, or a simple patch applied.

Unfortunately, repairing by patch usually leads to a patch-like section on the wall that is noticeable. Re-skinning the wall is the more popular choice for stucco repair Toronto because it will entirely seal any indentations, and allows a new finish coat to be applied over the entire surface, essentially renewing the cladding.

When re-skinning an EIFS wall, the home owner has a great opportunity to install control joints where they may not have been installed the first time, and to entirely update their home colour.

Whatever decision you figure is better - remember that repairs are most often required because the stucco was not installed properly in the first place. When repairing a stucco wall, make sure to have it done right as opposed to as cheaply as possible.

How to Create Staggered Quoins

The visual effect of staggered quoins can be achieved by 2 means - using different sized quoins, or using a quoin with 2 different sides and alternating which way they are installed.

Decoramould offers two sizes of quoins to achieve this, in 2 different design styles. The files style is the Quoin 001 and Quoin 002 (click for pictures), which are both straight edge - and the second style is Quoin 005 and Quoin 006, which have beveled edges.
Quoin 001 and 005 are 12" in height and have 12" width along each side of the wall, while Quoin 002 and 006 are 12" height but 16" in width along each side. What happens is there is a 4" 'step' every 12" height up the wall.


Aside from the style of the quoin itself, the home owner needs to decide whether they would like to install the quoins stacked directly on top of one another or with spacing between. The beveled edge quoin is required if they are to be stacked directly on top of one another to provide a seam between the quoins, because the flat quoins would join seamlessly together and look like just a straight corner as opposed to quoins.

Typical spacing for quoins depends on the look that the home owner is trying to achieve. Spacing as low as 2" isn't uncommon, up to half the height of the quoin itself (6"). There have even been projects installed with 12" spacing between quoins, but this tends not to be very common.

For more information or to purchase Quoins, visit quoins section of Decoramould.com

Decoramould on AdCanada

You can now find Decoramould on AdCanada.ca

Toronto Stucco Renovations

Homes near the downtown core of Toronto are generally reaching that age where if no major maintenance has been done in the past 10-15 years, it's beginning to become critical to do it now. Even things as durable as brick siding is reaching the end of it's useful life, and you have homes where the brick is now crumbling or falling off completely. Tuck point is always an option, but leaves the wall looking patched and is a temporary solution - other parts of it will begin to degrade in just a few years.

One option is to re-clad the walls with a product known as Exterior Insulation Finish Systems (EIFS, sometimes mistakenly called "Stucco"). EIFS begins with a cementitious layer directly over the brick cladding that will seal in mortar and brick that is starting to crumble or come apart. On top of that layer, insulation is added, which is then coated with a fibreglass mesh, another cementitious base coat and an attractive acrylic finish coat.

Aside from modernizing the look of the home, the insulation that is part of the EIF system helps home owners to lower their heating bills, actually turning this project into an investment. While it takes upwards of a dozen years sometimes, you will get a return on your money. Toronto Stucco Contractors are a great starting point to get more information on how renovating with EIFS might help your home. Government programs are typically available that will pay for a portion of the renovation as well, as an incentive to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.