You may have read it in my earlier post, but my favorite part of Sundays other than football is making a fresh pot of coffee. During the week, my wife and I don’t have much time to make coffee in the mornings. So come the weekend, especially Sunday, we make a nice breakfast and brew one of our “exotic” coffees. We try to buy coffee that we have never tasted before and it has really opened up our eyes to the vast varieties that come from many different regions and the characteristics that are unique to the climates.
For those who have a Trader Joe’s near by, this is a great place to try coffees from all over the world without breaking the bank. They all tend to be very good, even their house brand. For today I brewed the Organic, Fair Trade, Shade Grown, Ethiopian coffee. This is a medium-dark roast which gives the coffee a great medium body and well rounded, slightly acidic flavor, or as my wife says, “it tastes like coffee.” Thanks babe!
Ethiopia may perhaps be the best region to grow coffee in the world for it is where the Arabica bean originated and still grows wildly. Ethiopia is the largest coffee producer in Africa and 25% of the Ethiopian population relies upon the production of coffee for their livelihoods. For Ethiopians, it is their major export and is referred to by traders as “black gold.” Though the coffee can demand higher prices than most other African varieties, the farmers who produce the beans are often poor. Buying free trade coffee helps farmers get the proper value for the hard work they put into growing this crop for the rest of the world to enjoy. A new deal with Starbucks will also help the Ethiopian coffee farmers obtain the fair wages they deserve and help bring their coffee to a wider audience, thus, leading to higher profit margins.
WEEK 5 – Sunday Football, Baby!
I already gave my favorite player match-ups for the week so I am going to keep this short an sweet and just give my picks to win the games, with and without the spread.
Straight up picks:
Eagles @ Steelers – Steelers; only because I want the Eagles to lose more
Packers @ Colts – Packers; Packers are the better team
Browns @ Giants – Giants; Come on now! Worst team against the Superbowl Champs at home!
Falcons @ Redskins – Falcons; they are playing better than any other team in the league, the ‘Skins are not
Dolphins @ Bengals – Bengals; they are playing very well offensively. I don’t give Dolphins a shot here
Ravens @ Chiefs – Ravens; Chiefs will be hard pressed to get anything going through the air.
Seahawks @ Panthers – Panthers; Despite their record, I think the Seahawks are one of the worst teams in the league.
Bears @ Jaguars – Bears; Despite the QB blowing off the offensive coordinator, the Bears have a good offense that is getting over their problems
Broncos @ Patriots – Broncos; I am going against the grain and everything that I believe, but Broncos have a chance here and I would bet on them – Patriots have lost to lesser teams this year.
Bills @ 49ers – 49ers; Great defenses almost win Superbowls, see last year’s NFC championship
Titans @ Vikings – Vikings; Vikes QB Christian Ponder has zero interceptions; in this game that may be all all you need; plus they have Adrian Peterson and quite frankly, that is all you need.
Texans @ Jets – Texans; the poor Jets have no one left on their team.
Picks Against the Spread:
Eagles @ Steelers (-3.5) – Eagles; this is the battle for Pennsylvania, this will be close
Packers (-7.5) @ Colts – Packers; I only give the Colts 1 TD today
Browns @ Giants (-8.5) – Browns; it would be hard to bet against the Giants but they tend to let bad teams keep it close.
Falcons (-2.5) @ Redskins – Falcons; giving only 2.5 points to the ‘Skins is a gambler’s wet dream
Dolphins @ Bengals (-3.5) – Bengals; unless you think the rookie QB is gonna keep up with A.J. Green and Dalton
Ravens (-6.5) @ Chiefs – Chiefs; Raven’s D has been good, but not that good
Seahakws @ Panthes (-2.5) – Panthers; I just don;t see the Seahawks
Bears (-6) @ Jaguars – Jaguars; they have the skill to keep it close
Broncos @ Patriots (-6.5) – Broncos; see above!
Bills @ 49ers (-9.5) – Bills; 49ers just don’t score a lot of points
Titans @ Vikings (-5.5) – Vikings; no faith in titans offense
Chargers @ Saints (-3.5) – Saints; Saints are mad, they will take it out on the Chargers
Texans (-8) @ Jets – Texans; and it isn’t even close.
Food and Football 