Good Morning - March 11th - With March Madness coming around next week all you sports handicappers better get all the luck you can. Putting in the work researching stories for this week (and college hoop bets) we stumbled across “the world’s best restaurant”. That’s an amazing title and 3 stars can’t be easy to achieve. It almost drove Bradley Cooper crazy in that one movie. I still want to try that “Best Cup of Coffee” Buddy found wandering around in NYC. Wishing you all the best of luck on your picks before tip-off. Just remember your odds of hitting the perfect bracket is 1 in 9,223,372,036,845,775,808 sooooo…there’s a chance!

This weeks grind:

• Your Coffee Just Got Fancier: 3-Star Coffee Roaster?

• Maybe Try Decaf: A bold brew without the buzz.

• St Patrick’s Day Mixup: It doesn’t count because it’s mostly coffee!

That’s a Latte Ambition - Noma’s Dive into Coffee Roastery

How often do you order a cup of coffee after dinner? The internet tells us 20-30% of ‘Mericans sip a fresh Cup-of-Joe after meals at their fav restaurant. That number jumps up into 40-60% when you venture into Mediterranean and Latin American territories. Vegas has 336 restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip to choose from. 336 creative culinary concepts all providing post-dining coffee and none of them are considered best restaurant “In the World”. Noma has that designation along with 3 Michelin stars. (reservations are about $650US/person) They weren’t content with providing award winning cuisine so they decided to jump into the coffee roasting game.

The renowned restaurant Noma, long celebrated for its innovative and nature-inspired cuisine, has ventured into coffee roasting. Nestled in Copenhagen, Denmark, Noma’s new coffee roastery represents a continuation of the restaurant’s dedication to craftsmanship and quality. Known for its meticulous attention to detail, Noma aims to elevate the coffee experience by focusing on seasonality, origin, and sustainable sourcing. By bringing the coffee-roasting process in-house, the restaurant hopes to gain greater control over the entire chain—from bean selection to roasting technique—to deliver a cup of coffee that aligns with their culinary philosophy. This addition not only highlights coffee as an integral part of the dining experience but also signals a shift toward treating coffee with the same respect and creativity as food and wine.

When this Megabucks ticket hits we’ll give you a first hand account of a JTD field trip to Copenhagen to experience Noma ourselves. The idea of paring coffee with my world’s best entree sounds amazing and something that may need to jump up on the bucket list.

The Unleaded Revolution - Why Decaf Deserves a Second Look

Decaf (unleaded) coffee has long been treated like the awkward sibling of the coffee family—always around but never the star. This Food & Wine article shows how that’s changing, thanks to fancy new processing methods like the Swiss Water Process and sugar cane fermentation. These techniques keep the beans’ complex, origin-forward flavors intact while stripping away the caffeine. Specialty coffee roasters are now giving decaf the VIP treatment, making sure it delivers all the good stuff—aroma, body, and depth—without the jitters.

That line right there is a big reason why people stick with regular leaded coffee. Rise & Grind being posted daily by thousands of people on social media holding a fresh cup of coffee. Former World Barista Champion, James Hoffman, is mentioned a few times in this article. He’s dedicated his life to coffee and if you’re into deep dives on coffee extraction or plenty of gear reviews, then he’s someone to take a look at on YouTube.

Basically, decaf is finally getting some respect. No longer the drink of last resort, today’s decaf offers rich, nuanced flavors that stand up to even the snobbiest of coffee drinkers. It’s a game-changer for anyone who loves a good brew but wants to skip the buzz, proving that you don’t need caffeine to enjoy a bold, well-crafted cup. How is decaf? A better question might be why is decaf, but below is a breakdown of how decaf is created so you can enjoy your coffee without the crack effects before bed.

3 Methods to decaffinate coffee: 

1. Water based Method

   1. This process is also known as Swiss Water Process, SWP Method, Activated Charcoal Decaffeination, or Dihydro-oxide Process. No chemicals are employed in this process that was pioneered in Switzerland in 1933. 

2. Carbon Dioxide Method

   1. Using liquid CO2 in place of chemicals, this process places soaked beans in a stainless-steel container. The extractor is sealed, and liquid CO2 is forced into the coffee at a pressure of 1,000 pounds per square inch to pull out the caffeine. This process is costly and is often used to decaffeinate large quantities of commercial-grade coffee usually found in grocery stores.

3. Solvent-based Methods (this is the bad one)

   1. Solvent-based caffeine removal uses a number of toxic solvents to draw out caffeine. These have included benzene, trichloroethylene, dichloromethane (Methylene Chloride), and even chloroform. Recently, methylene chloride and ethyl acetate are more often used.  If a solvent process is not mentioned on the coffee label, it has likely been decaffeinated via direct or indirect solvent methods. In fact, it is estimated that 70% of all coffee is decaffeinated using solvents.

      1. dichloromethane (Methylene Chloride) - This is the horrible shit being used. The FDA concluded that methylene chloride is carcinogenic to animals when inhaled, and may be carcinogenic to humans.

      2. They banned the use of Methylene Chloride in paint thinner! 

      3. Important to note: methylene chloride tolerance in decaffeinated coffee has not been re-evaluated by federal authorities in 35 years.

Irish Coffee Was an Accident—and We’re Eternally Grateful for It

If you've ever wrapped your hands around a warm Irish Coffee on a chilly night and thought, Wow, this is genius, you’re absolutely right. And we have a clever Irishman named Joe Sheridan to thank for it. Back in the 1940s, Joe was a chef at Foynes, an airport in Ireland known for transatlantic flights (basically the pit stop for the rich and famous of the time). One particularly grim and stormy night, a plane had to turn back mid-flight, leaving a group of weary, frozen travelers stranded. Instead of handing them the usual weak tea, Sheridan did what any hero would—he spiked their coffee with Irish whiskey, added a touch of sugar, and floated cream on top. When the passengers asked if it was Brazilian coffee, he smirked and said, No, it’s Irish coffee. And just like that, an icon was born.

Fast forward a decade, and this genius concoction made its way to the United States thanks to a travel writer who fell in love with it and brought the recipe to the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco. After some trial and error (and probably a few whiskey-fueled brainstorming sessions), they perfected the drink stateside. Today, Irish Coffee is a worldwide staple—warming up our hands, keeping us caffeinated, and giving us just the right amount of buzz to pretend we’re sophisticated. Whether you're drinking it in a cozy Dublin pub or at brunch pretending to be fancy, one thing’s for sure: Joe Sheridan was a man of the people.

We’re helping you get into the Irish Coffee Spirit with 3 coffee options straight from the island of green clovers and purple horseshoes.

1. Classic Irish Coffee: The OG coffee cocktail—simple, elegant, and perfect for sipping on a chilly evening.

   Ingredients:

   • 1 ½ oz Irish whiskey (Jameson or Bushmills work well)

   • 1 tsp brown sugar (or more to taste)

   • 6 oz freshly brewed hot coffee

   • Heavy cream (lightly whipped)

   Instructions:

   1. Preheat a glass mug by filling it with hot water; dump water out.

   2. Add brown sugar and whiskey, then pour in the hot coffee. Stir until sugar dissolves.

   3. Gently float the whipped cream on top by pouring it over the back of a spoon.

   4. Do NOT stir—sip through the cream for the ultimate experience.

This is my new go-to choice to start out an early round of golf. Just the right amount of swing juice to get me going and still leaving room for back 9 beers. For details on how to make the Cold Brew Irish Martini and the Nutty Irishman Coffee head on over to ItsJustTheDrip.com.

Random Wakeups

• Flipping the bird to bad drivers has less effect: Self driving taxis hit Vegas Strip.

• The Everything Chicken App: Chick-Fil-A has their own app?

• Jordan & Hurts Grab Dinner: Jalen bet Jordan couldn’t finish a 130oz Steak. Jordan took that personal. Finished 2 of them.

• X a Target of Cyberattack: Next up: Why won’t my new Model Y turn left?

• BOJA - Bank of Josh Allen: Need a loan? No problem, just call J’Allen!