Drinking

A man walks into a bar. He goes up to the counter and says his last name, followed by his first name and then his last name yet again. The barkeep immediately knows who the man is and what he wants. And more importantly, the bartender knows how the man wants it. Bond...James Bond is his name and he wants his martini shaken, not stirred. Can you be like this man? Probably not; after all he is a fictional character. But you can have your drink made his way -- or yours.

The Metrokane Rabbit Electric Cocktail Shaker or Mixer (about $25) … Read more

More so than any other time of day, every action in the morning is associated with a certain amount of time spent doing said action. After the coffee-making and breakfast-eating have been checked off the list, then the rest of the day can proceed at its own pace with responsibilities being accomplished and reshuffled (or ignored) depending upon the degree of importance. Luckily, the simplified routine of morning gives us all the foundation that we need for the complex actions of the day, now in as few as 45 precious seconds.

If it takes longer than a minute to brew … Read more

The turning of the seasons signifies a time of change. Yet just because the weather will soon start to turn cool, doesn't mean it's time to toast adieu to chilled wine.

The Cork Pops VinOice Wine Chiller uses a gel-filled stainless steel chilling rod to cool down open bottles. It doesn't need to be removed to pour a glass since a gravity-hinged lid covers a pour spout that is attached to the chill rod, so wine can be served without the need to mess around with any wet accessories.

To use, the chilling rod should be placed … Read more

The Electrolux Design Lab is a yearly competition that challenges design students across the globe. This year's competition asked students to create home appliances that would "provide a fuller sensory experience." Perhaps one day, some of these entries will be used in the home kitchen. Below are a few highlights:

Ingresure (seen above) is by Jongwoo Choi. It is a gadget designed to be a taste tester. Instead of chef's tasting their own creation, they would use the device to taste it for them. The idea is that the Ingresure would give amateur chefs the assurance … Read more

The art of brewing tea is an age-old process that has been refined for generations. Cultures far and wide have developed traditions and ceremonies surrounding the ubiquitous beverage. The drinking of tea offers a way to bring together people, giving them a reason to slow down, relax, and contemplate their place in the grand scheme of things. Also, it is available caffeinated.

The rush to get caffeine into our system is not of minor importance. In recent times we have seen the proliferation of coffee shops and energy drinks -- there is even an inhaler contrivance out there called the … Read more

It is pretty easy to become complacent regarding availability of goods and services. Mobile devices let us order whatever we may need with a simple touch and can even tell us directions on how to get to a good old-fashioned brick-and-mortar store if the need arises. While there may be countless apps for helping us to order, organize, and plan, even the best of us will occasionally forget to plan for the big stuff -- like making sure there is enough coffee.

The Nespresso Zenius is an office and hospitality solution that keeps the coffee flowing. Using a SIM card … Read more

Decepticons and Autobots of the universe, check out this unique Transformers-style wine storage device fit for Megatron himself.

Clifford Wong, a 33-year-old lighting salesperson based in Arizona, put up an advertisement last week on Craigslist for a 6-foot-tall wine rack styled like a herculean man-slaying robot. The massive $7,000 device securely holds 32 bottles of wine, weighs 1,000 pounds, and features an array of mock armaments. … Read more

Gadgets and devices of all shapes and sizes have become quite adept at giving us what we want when we want it (and more than a little of what we don't want). But whatever "it" may be, it is something that is easy to take for granted. This on-demand access and availability for whatever our hearts desire may be baked into all of our mobile devices, but for stationary objects, the concept is still spreading. Like to the kitchen faucet.

Way back when running water was somehow magically introduced through a series of pipes into our abodes, … Read more

Coffee drinkers have all the fun. That is not necessarily a bad thing as so many people drink coffee, but tea drinkers need their say, too. When it comes to gadgetry, there seems to be a disproportionate amount of coffee tools as there are tea-making tools. But with so many varieties of tea available both loose and bagged, tea drinkers deserve to have their teacake and eat it, too.

The Nesco TM-1 Tea Maker provides an easy method for brewing both loose and bagged tea. All that is required to make up to 1 liter of freshly brewed tea is … Read more