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NW - Apr08

What happen to April?!
I’m skipping April’s Net Worth post for a few reasons, mainly though because I’m making a major purchase that will change my financial picture. While that is in the works any snapshot of my money will be misleading and inaccurate.

I’ll wait until the first week of May, once the financial dust settles.

Meanwhile, in April, just after I sent in my Federal Tax Return, I realized I had forgotten a very small W-2. Very annoying, but it had to be corrected. I dreaded doing my first ever tax amendment - it sounded intimidating. But using Turbo Tax online it was pretty straight forward and simple.

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Cat Poo Coffee

Three words I never thought to see together as a serious statement. I have heard of “weasel-poo”, but only as an adjective to describe bad coffee.

Unlike “weasel-poo” the adjective, cat poo coffee is actually coffee made from cat poo…or rather coffee beans taken out of cat poo. Apparently this is a good thing. ?? And very expensive.

LONDON, England (CNN) — A London department store has started selling coffee for $100 a shot.

If the price sounds unappealing, then shoppers also have to overcome the unusual method of cultivation, which sees the coffee beans harvested from the faeces of an Indonesian jungle cat.

Even so, the Peter Jones store says the luxury blend — called CaffĂ© Raro — is one of the world’s rarest and most premium coffees.

Made by the Italian company De Longhi, Caffé Raro combines Jamaican Blue Mountain and Kupi Luwak, two extremely rare coffees.

The beans of Kupi Luwak are harvested after first being ingested by Civet cats and only around 260 kilos of the coffee is produced each year.
Don’t Miss

“The cats select the best beans to chew. It’s rather like a natural filtering process,” Carie Barkhuzen, a spokeswoman for the upmarket store in London’s upmarket Sloane Square told CNN.

The coffee, which went on sale yesterday, is either available at $100 for a shot at the Peter Jones Espresso Bar, or shoppers can buy 100g packs of the coffee beans to take away for the same price.

“It’s not exactly flying off the shelves — it’s very expensive after all — but customers are buying it,” Barkhuzen said.

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Barista Competitions

catcap…who knew?…
I had no idea such a thing existed. It actually turns out there are a few of them - annually.

I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, after all coffee rocks! And a well made coffee is most definitely an art appreciated by coffee-lovers.

There is nothing as disappointing as getting a poorly made coffee drink, after looking forward to enjoying at least a decent cup.

Apparently the most prestigious competition in the US is the USBC (United States Barista Championship) held every year. Judged by seven USBC-certified judges, the barista challengers have to prepare and serve 12 orders consisting of: four espressos, four cappuccinos and four original signature drinks of their own creation. All this in 15-minutes. The competition is held over four days and this year it is in Minneapolis at the beginning of May.

The USBC winner gets to move on to the WBC (World Barista Championship) held in Copenhagen this June.

What I want to know is where are all these talented baristas working when they aren’t competing?

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