About robyn

Robyn is a freelance writer, editor and a serious foodie. A native of Seattle, she has found a new home in Northern California where she splits her time about equally between hiking in the redwoods and typing in local coffee shops. In addition to writing for CoffeeKrave, Robyn is currently working on a project to produce a short animated documentary—"Clipped and Tucked"—about her adventures in cooking recipes from antique cookbooks.

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Here are my most recent posts

Caffeinated at 30,000 Feet: Is It Possible to Make...

My philosophy toward airline coffee has always been, “Take what you can get and make the best of it.” Certainly the flight attendant would prefer I sit down, shut up and accept her meager brew. But it hit me– why can’t I make my own on the plane? Is it even possible? We set out to find the answer. Caffeinated at 30,000 Feet: Mile High Brewing Setups The constraints of a typical economy cabin don’t leave many options open. High-flying brewers need equipment that is a) portable and b) doesn’t require electricity. In this day and time it would take a brave soul to power up an electric kettle in the cabin,...

Mission Possible: How to Save a Laptop from a Coffee Spill Apr16

Mission Possible: How to Save a Laptop from a Coff...

Your mission: Save your laptop from a coffee spill disaster. Saving your electronic devices in the event of an unfortunate baptism by coffee can be a “Mission “Possible” – with a little luck and some lightening-fast reflexes. The basic parameters of the situation: Liquids can cause short-circuits. Short circuits damage electronic components. Your odds of successfully recovering from a spill depend the amount of liquid that was spilled, how corrosive and conductive the liquid is and how you react to the situation. Assuming the spill was an accident, the only factor you can control here is your reaction. To assist you in reacting like...

The Top 10 Coffee Makers: Unplugged

We have been in a list making mode recently at CoffeeKrave. To continue the trend, we present out Top Ten Coffee Makers. From the Espro Press to the Cona Vacuum Brewer . . . here are our takes on the top gear to grace your countertops. Authors Note: When Daniel, Editor and Chief here at CoffeeKrave, assigned me this article, I broke out in a cold sweat. Any “top ten” list is going to be subjective by nature, but a top ten coffee maker list? That’s one difficult combinatorial optimization problem right there. I decided the optimal way to constrain this search was to cut the cord. As in the power cord. In other words, this is the Top Ten...

Going Blonde? The Trend Toward Light Roasts Apr08

Going Blonde? The Trend Toward Light Roasts

For the past few years, talk surrounding the virtues of light roasts has been trending in the coffee community. I can remember the morning (November 29th, 2011) when I read “I’ll have a tall blonde please.” Starbucks, known for a distinctively dark roast, had announced that they were introducing a new line of lighter roasts. Starbucks went “blonde” in their terminology to avoid linguistic confusion – “light” (when removed from its roasting-specific content) having the potential to imply that something is missing or has been removed. My first response was to start a list recording how many variations of “insert inevitable...

Monthly Coffee Subscription Programs: Our Picks

With the majority of our daily communications happening online, it can get a little lonely in your mailbox. If there is room in your budget, consider signing up for a coffee subscription. It’s the best cure we know for coffee lovers who are channeling their inner Charlie Brown while peering into an empty mailbox. It’s also the best way to sample small batch beans from the top indie cult roasters. A few of our favorite subscription options: 1. Tonx The word on the street: “Tony is obsessed with coffee like a record store nerd is with vinyl . . . Me, I trust the guy’s taste. I just want really good coffee. Send me the beans.”...