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View Full Version : Great coffee, but no taste, help!



skeff
June 24th, 2007, 01:31 PM
Hi!
I love my coffee and having no machine to make it for me, I boil a little water, take it off the heat, put in a few spoons of coarsely ground coffee, let it sit there for 3-4 minutes, and then lift the pot and "pull" it hard a few times to sink the particles.

Trouble is, I have a mild cold and my nose is stuffed! For the life of me I can't smell/taste my delicious coffee. It's still satisfying to feel the warm liquid and the caffeine, but I miss the smell of coffee in the morning. Are there any quick fixes for this problem?

Also, I suddenly wonder why it is, that I can breathe through my nose now, but still smell next to nothing? And, just how effective is "pulling" or accelerating the pot for sinking coffee? I'm certain it works well, but has anyone done a computational fluid dynamics analysis on this? :D

-skeff

Dokatz
June 24th, 2007, 01:34 PM
I love coffee, But I've never once had it from home.

I don't know guy, But usually drinking hot fluids for me is enough to clear my nose up unless it's really really bad. Try nasal spray, It fixes the problem for almost a whole hour then it comes back EVEN WORSE, It's so great.

And about the mixing thing, I used to work at Dunkin Donuts and uh...

I donno? I've seen by-cup brewing and by-pot brewing, And my friends mom like holds a filter over the mug itself and pours the hot water over it but I've never actually seen any sort of system where the particles are free and then strained (Which is what I'm assuming you're talking about)...Kinda like old tymey tea.

xyz
June 24th, 2007, 01:59 PM
I do fumigations and use a product called "Pérubare".
I get a pan, heat water and drop/dissolve Pérubare into it. Ithen put a towel over my head and breathe through the nose and mouth for a few minutes. Do it 2 or 3 times a day. Works great.

blah blah blah
June 24th, 2007, 02:32 PM
Blow your nose?

Fenryr
June 24th, 2007, 02:35 PM
I find that adding a bit of 12-year old Scotch to my coffee helps improve the taste...*g*

fuscia
June 24th, 2007, 02:45 PM
nasal lavage. put a teaspoon of salt in a cup of body temperature water and suck it through your nose (like a straw) into the back of your mouth.

%hMa@?b<C
June 24th, 2007, 04:06 PM
dont drink coffee. drink tea, it will make you feel better;)

v8YKxgHe
June 24th, 2007, 04:11 PM
dont drink coffee. drink tea, it will make you feel better;)

This man is wise, Tea is great!

Coffee does smell nice, but - imo, tastes not so nice

Tundro Walker
June 24th, 2007, 10:06 PM
If your nose clears up, but your sense of smell is still dulled, you may be low in zinc. Zinc is a mineral used by your body for, among other things, libido, sense of smell, immune functions, energy production. Signs of zinc deficiency include white spots on the finger nails (not the white half-moons at the base...everyone has those, but little white specks the show up sometimes and grow out with the nail over time), stiff joints, lower immune function, poor eye-sight & sense of smell, low sex-drive/libido.

You can try some zinc lozenges, but really you should either just try a multi-vitamin (since, if you're low in zinc, you're probably low in other things, too, and a lot of the vitamins/minerals work together synergistically to help one another do their jobs, EG: vitamin A helps zinc work), or get some zinc from Wal-Mart (or the local pharmacy). Shouldn't be more than $3-4 for a bottle of like 100 50mg pills. Take one at night, with food for about a week or so. (It may cause nausea if taken on an empty stomach). See if that helps.

Before doing that, however, you could try buying some smoked oysters, which are high in zinc. Or buy some liver. Chicken or beef liver is usually pretty common at grocery stores, and cheap, too. It's full of iron, and vitamin A (which helps zinc do it's job), and B vitamins (especially Pantothenic Acid, which the adrenals need to do their job). Liver is a really good food (high in easily assimilable protein), but I personally can't stand the taste.

As for caffeine, it ramps up the adrenals, which is a bit like putting low-grade jet fuel in your cars fuel tank. Everything works harder, but if you don't add more repair time to your car, then it'll break down more. So, while caffeine ramps up your adrenals and perks you up for periods, it can tax your bodies supply of vitamins, minerals, hormones, etc. If you're getting sick more frequently, then you should ramp up your multi-vitamin use.

It's also good to take time off from caffeine. Since it's essentially a drug (procured form a natural source in this case), you should (ideally) treat it as such. However, realistically, some folks do fine drinking caffeine all the time, and it can actually have beneficial affects, like moderating their mood and energy levels. For others, however, caffeine is like crack...it's an energy crutch that ends up draining them in the long run, taxing the adrenals to the point of exhaustion. The "test" for this is if you're a person who can't function without their morning cup of coffee (or if you need multiple cups of coffee), then you need to lay off for a while (like a month or so), get lots of rest and try to kick the habit. If you're the type of person who likes a morning cup of coffee, but doesn't really mind if you miss it, then keep going with it.

Side note, the caffeine head-ache is a real ***** to deal with when coming off caffeine. Basically, caffeine dilates the blood vessels in your brain, increasing the blood flow. When you come off caffeine, the blood vessels constrict again, and all the extra blood is being forced out of your brain over time. That, and caffeine is a diuretic, which can lead to a compounded dehydration headache effect, too, and you might feel really bad for a day or two when coming off it. If you've been using caffeine for years straight, you might even have a headache for a week or so. My only recommendation is to drink lots of fluids (to rehydrate), and in some cases, an iron supplement can help. For some folks, the increased blood flow of the caffeine is really just making up for a lack of oxygenated blood. By taking an iron supplement (a few days before kicking the caffeine), your body can make better blood that does a better job of oxygenating the body, and then it won't be so bad coming off the caffeine headache. In some cases, you may not even get a headache. (That's another reason why liver is such a great food.) If you do get an iron supplement, get a Ferrous Sulfate one, not a Ferrous Oxide. Ferrous Oxide is hard to digest / assimilate, and can cause really bad bloating and gas. You could also try the "morning helper" pills drinkers buy to try to prevent hang-overs. Sometimes they work, sometimes not. Aspirin is hit or miss, too.


And that would be your daily dose of TMI...

RAV TUX
June 24th, 2007, 10:16 PM
You just need a "Netty Pot":


Using a Netty Pot for Sinus Health (http://the-howto-blog.com/using-a-netty-pot-for-sinus-health/)
By Soo Young Lee on November 1, 2005
Using a Netty Pot for Sinus Health
It seems that these days, we have respiratory related issues all year long. My son and I seem to be congested most of the year from allergies, mold, colds, and pollutants in the air. There has been one drug free remedy that we use almost daily that seems to help with the whole range of sinus-related symptoms.
Every morning after we wash our face, we use our Netty pot. This little ceramic pot resembles a small watering can. You can purchase one at any health food store or herbalists. There are many styles but buy one that does not have too long of a spout. The longer spouts are harder to manage because it is that much farther from your nose and eyes.
You fill the Netty pot halfway with warm water and put half a teaspoon of sea salt to dissolve. Then once the salt has dissolved, fill the rest of the pot with tepid water. Make sure it is not hot or even too warm. You want to think about it entering the nasal canal and how sensitive that area is. I tend to leave it pretty close to room temperature for my son. He started using one at the age of eight.
It helps to blow your nose before you start then tilt your head to one side without straining. Then insert the spout in the nostril that your head is tilting toward. Breathe through your mouth in a slow and even rhythm. Use about half the water and the switch sides. You may want to blow your nose in between switching sides. If one side of your nose seems infected, then you might want to wash it out between side changes.
If you find that your sinuses are stinging from the Netty pot usage, then you might have a sinus infection and may want to consult your local doctor, naturopath, or herbalist.
Our naturopath has said that using the Netty pot daily is most effective and least invasive way to support respiratory health. Make it a part of your morning routine and you will find that you are sneezing less and hardly stuffed up.

http://the-howto-blog.com/using-a-netty-pot-for-sinus-health/

Heres a YouTube video on how to use a "Netty Pot":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQm7YpxgOnA