How To Make a Perfect Cup of Coffee

The first step in making a perfect cup of coffee is to select your beans. Coffee is grown in three majors regions in the world: Central/South America, Africa, and Indonesia.

Personally, I think that South American coffees have a sweeter taste, African coffees have citrus or floral flavors, and Indonesian coffees have spicier flavors. Find a coffee that you like, but don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things.

Always buy your coffee whole-bean and as freshly roasted as possible. Roasted coffee can stale very quickly. The peak of coffee freshness is about as long as the shelf-life of a loaf of bread. That being said, the best place to buy your coffee is at small, local specialty coffee shops that roast their own beans. Store your beans in an airtight container, but be sure to open it at least once a day to release carbon-dioxide buildup.

Your brewing method of choice is also very important. Most coffee purists (including myself) will tell you that the best way to brew coffee is by using an immersion method of brewing. Unlike conventional drip brewing methods, the coffee grounds are mixed into the hot water and then filtered out. This gives the coffee the highest possible water to coffee exposure possible.

That being said, the method we will be discussing is the French Press. A French Press is a simple device used for immersion brewing that can be found at many stores for a low price, I am using a Bodum French Press which I highly recommend. I will also be using a electric water kettle, blade coffee grinder and Brita filtered water pitcher.

First I will grind the coffee beans. There are two basic types of coffee grinder; blade and burr. A blade grinder works by spinning a blade at the bottom of the grinding chamber at a high speed. A burr coffee grinder has a coffee chamber at the top where the coffee beans move from the chamber between a set of grinding wheels and into the bottom for collection. A burr coffee grinder gives a much better, more even grind that requires less maintenance and cleanup, but they are much more expensive. A blade grinder can be found for relatively cheap, which is why it is what I am using.

For every six-ounce cup of coffee that we will be making, you want to add a level two-tablespoon scoop of whole coffee beans. Grind until you achieve a coarse grind, which is what is recommended for immersion brewing.

Next we want to heat the water. I use filtered water from a Brita water pitcher. I would not recommend using tap or distilled water.

The target temperature for brewing is 190 degrees Fahrenheit. A good rule-of-thumb is that this is about fifteen seconds off of a boil.

Add your coffee grinds to the bottom of your French Press. Pour the hot water on top of the grinds up the level that is marked on the side of the French Press. Stir to mix evenly using something that is not metal so that you do not scratch or chip the glass on the French Press. I like to use a plastic chopstick.

Place the top of the French Press on and left sit for four minutes to brew.

After four minutes has passed, press the plunger down and pour your coffee into your serving vessel of choice.

I like to drink my coffee black with no sugar, but you can add cream or sugar if you would like. Try adding warm milk and vanilla for a latte, premade hot chocolate for a mocha, or frothed milk and sugar for a cappuccino.

How to Make a Can of Beer Flow Better

First take your can of beer and drink at least ¼ of the beer.


Next take off the top of the can by shifting it back and forth until it comes off.


Next, notice that the top of the tap has two little jagged edges on the top. This is important for the next step.


Next use one of the top edges of the tap and rub it back and forth until it cuts a slit into the top of the can.


The tap should then rest in the top of the can and enjoy your nice delicious cold flowing brew.



Article by ZA.

How To Hack an Electronic Road Sign

How many times have you driven by an electronic road sign like one of these?


This is the ADDCO portable sign. Today, you see what is on the inside, and how they are programmed to display important information.

*** WARNING YOU SHOULD NEVER TAMPER WITH THESE SIGNS ***


1. The access panel on the sign is generally protected by a small lock, but often are left unprotected. Upon opening the access panel you can see the display electronics.


2. The black control pad is attached by a curly cord, with a keyboard on the face.


3. Programming is as simple as scrolling down the menu selection to “Instant Text”. Type whatever you want to display, Hit Enter to submit. You can now either throw it up on the sign by selecting “Run w/out save” or you can add more pages to it by selecting “Add page”

Should it ask you for a password. Try “DOTS”, the default password.

In all likelihood, the crew will not have changed the password. However if they did, never fear. Hold “Control” and “Shift” and while holding, enter “DIPY”. This will reset the sign and reset the password to “DOTS” in the process. You’re in!


Article reproduced with permission from i-hacked.com.

How To Make a Beer Can Ashtray

Here is a quick article on how to make a beer can ashtray. They work pretty well in a pinch for gifts or decoration, and also make a pretty good party trick.

Be really careful with this one, I cut myself on the sharp aluminum pretty badly. You might want to wear a thick pair of gardening gloves for protection.

1. Start with a beer can. Drink the beer.
   
   
   
2. Cut the top off right where the can begins to straighten out (about an inch from the top).
   
   
   
3. Snip the can from top to bottom into eight even strips. Start by pinching the can in half and making two pieces, pinch again to make four, and once more to make eight. You can vary the number of strips to achieve a different effect, but I like to use eight.
   
   
   
4. Spread out the strips to make a star pattern.
   
   
   
5. Take your first strip and fold it over the strip beside it, and below the next one. See the picture below for an example.
   
   
   
6. Continue folding the strips all the way around by tucking a strip below the next strip. Make sure that it goes over the end of the previous strip.
   
   
   
7. Continue around the can until you have only one strip remaining.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Take the final strip and tuck it below the first strip. Make sure to go above the previous strip and under the first. If it does not fit, you may need to pull the first strip back a little bit.
   

Enjoy your new ashtray. Make sure to comment, and post any ideas you might have.

How To Make Some Ghetto Movie Glass

Did you ever wonder how people in movies can break a bottle over their heads or jump through a pane of glass without getting seriously injured? In movies they use a special kind of glass made of sugar. It is usually a pretty involved process that requires some special ingredients and lots of measuring. However, we figured out a simple way to make brown sugar-glass out of things that almost everyone has in their kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of water


• 3.5 cups of sugar


• 1 cup of maple syrup

That's it! Here is how you make it.

1. Combine all of the ingredients together in a pot. You probably want to use a taller one than I did, since it will eventually bubble up a lot.
   
   
   
2. Bring the pot to a boil and move the heat down to low, just to keep it boiling. It is going to smell a lot like pancakes and you are going to seriously crave some. Try to fight the urge to cook and eat pancakes, I couldn't.
   
   
   
3. Let the pot continue to boil until all of the water is removed. You will know that all of the water is gone when you smell the sugar start to burn and the color start to turn darker. As soon as you smell burning sugar, remove it from heat. You will have lost your craving for pancakes by now. This usually takes awhile, it took me about 45 minutes.
   
   
   
4. Have your mold ready to pour the mixture into; I used a pizza pan. Be sure that you cover it aluminum foil and spray it generously with nonstick cooking spray. Also be sure to put a hot pad under it so that your surface is not damaged.
   
   
   
5. Pour the mixture into the mold. It is going to be really bubbly and scary, so be careful. Let it sit out until it is cool to the touch.
   
   
   
6. Move the mold into the refrigerator and let it sit for at least an hour. Only remove it right before you are ready to use it.
   
   
   
7. When you are ready to use it, carefully peel back the aluminum foil. It is very brittle and breaks easily so be careful.
   
8. And there you have it! You are done!
   
   
   
9. Go ahead and punch through or head-butt your pane of glass. It breaks and sounds exactly like real glass. Have fun!
   

For a less-ghetto version:

• Use clear corn syrup instead of maple syrup to make clear glass
  
• Add a pinch of cream of tartar to the mixture to keep the bubbles down during the cooling process
  
• Use a candy thermometer and heat until it reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit instead of waiting for the sugar to start burning.
  

Have fun, if anyone makes any cool molds, be sure to link pictures in the comments!

How to Make Your Own (Healthier) Potato Chips:

Everyone loves potato chips. The only things more American are Natural Light and arson. We thought we would share our way of making our own potato chips with you. They are HALF the price, HALF the fat, TWICE the flavor, and TWICE as awesome- plus you can make them any kind of crazy flavor you want to. They are healthier and tastier because they are baked, not deep-fried. Baked chips are expensive in stores, but you can make them for next to nothing.

1) Get some potatoes. I used the little tiny ones, but you can use whatever you have laying around. Experiment to find out which ones you like best.


2) Wash your potatoes. Peel them if you want to, but I like to leave the skin on.


3) Slice the potatoes between one-eighth and one-sixteenth inches thick (about 2-6 mm for you non-American readers), use a mandolin if you have one. Thickness is something that you can experiment with, it's mostly preference, but it has a pretty big effect on cooking time.


3) Put all of your sliced potatoes into a bowl. Add about a teaspoon of your favorite oil (I like olive oil).


4) Toss the potato slices in the oil. Slowly add more oil and toss if you need to. Go with about a teaspoon at a time. Only add enough to coat, if you have oil pooling in the bottom of the bowl, you have added too much.


5) Get a baking pan and cover it with aluminum foil. Spray that foil with your favorite non-stick spray. If you don't the chips will stick, and will be really hard to remove.


6) Lay your oil-coated potato slices in a single layer on the baking sheet.


7) Heat your oven to 400 degrees (F), set the timer for twenty minutes. This isn't the total cooking time, since we will watching them to see when they are done.


8) Put the potatoes into the oven and keep an eye on them. They are done when the edges start to curl up. I like mine a little more crispy, so I left mine in a little longer. It's another personal preference thing that you can play around with.



9) When the chips are done, pull them out and set them aside to cool. If you want to put some seasoning on them, this is the time to do it. Most people will add a little salt, but you can get creative with your toppings. I like mine with some black pepper and Old Bay seasoning.


10) Enjoy your chips!