Justin Beiber – from glory to Glory

Singer, Justin Bieber is now so popular that there’s a dessert named after him. According to Delish.com, British department store, Harrods has created an ice cream sundae called the Beiber Bocker Glory; to promote the pop star’s new perfume. Available for a limited time, it features vanilla and berry ice cream topped with lavender sprinkles, pears and edible glitter (flavours that are meant to mimic those in the fragrance). Bieber fans will have to pay £19.95 for the frozen confection; though the price may well be worth it – all proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish-Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. Meanwhile in other ice cream news, the trend for bizarre flavours continues – cow tongue and oyster are just some of the varieties on offer in Japan; while Americans can enjoy lobster, foie gras and cicada creations.

Creepy creations

A New York restaurant is encouraging guests to indulge their wild side, reports Delish.com, with insect-garnished cocktails. Amongst the offerings at White & Church are ‘Blue Velvet’ (a tobacco-infused brandy topped with scorpions) and ‘Why Not’ (a mixture of Cointreau, tequila, lime juice and avocado, complete with a Mexican worm). Cristina Bini, wife of the restaurant’s owner says: “I got the idea when I was working in a bar in Florence and they had lobsters in a tank. I thought, insects, same thing. People eat escargot, which are snails. What’s the difference?” And it appears she isn’t alone in her views about entomophagy (insect eating) – approximately 1400 species of insect are eaten across 90 countries, every day.

Putting a lid on bad taste

Takeaway coffee is about to get a whole lot tastier, thanks to Hong Kong’s Urban Mint Technologies. Springwise.com reports that the company has designed a lid which enhances the flavour of coffee, by eliminating the plastic aftertaste and restricted aroma often encountered with regular varieties. The Aroma Lid is made from two parts – a primary lid that comes into contact with the coffee; and a secondary lid that is made from an aromatic material. Urban Mint Technologies representative, Marc Miller says that this will help coffee drinkers better enjoy the more than 800 flavours found in coffee; as the

Aroma-Lid uses the finest of these flavours to enhance the drink. The lids are available in either a standard or customised design.

Coffee and a piece of optimism, please

A coffee shop temporarily set up in Toronto had just one aim – to make people happy. According to Springwise.com, the Optimism Café (open for just one month) offered customers free drinks and internet access; as well as positive stories from staff. Owned by coffee chain, Maxwell House; the venture was part of a wider campaign by the company to make Canadians ‘feel more glass half-full’, whilst increasing brand awareness. The campaign is still running and includes a website, where people can upload videos of their own happy moments. While the Optimism Café was open, Maxwell House saw a 10 per cent increase in sales – proving that good deeds really are rewarded.

Butch meets butter-cream

A New York business is quashing the stereotype surrounding a popular treat. Butch Bakery claims that it makes cupcakes for men – “not the frilly pink-frosted sprinkles and unicorns, kind of cupcakes. We make manly cupcakes, for manly men”. These are available in such flavours as ‘Home Run’ (a peanut butter cake with banana cream and crumbled bacon); ‘Rum & Coke’ (a rum-soaked vanilla cake with cola cream); and ‘Camp Out’ (a vanilla cake with marshmallow cream and milk-chocolate and graham-cracker crumbles). Butch Bakery is the creation of David Arrick, a former attorney, who wanted to “bring a product to New York City that was completely unique and totally unprecedented”. For more information, visit www.butchbakery.com

Don’t forget your morning coffee…

For those who need a reason to justify their coffee addiction, you may now have one. According to Onfood.com.au, a study by the University of Florida has found that the drink could help prevent or delay the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. This involved feeding mice (which had been bred to develop symptoms of the mind-robbing disease) caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee; as well as caffeine on its own. Researchers found that the caffeinated coffee increased blood levels of a factor called GCSF; which is greatly decreased in people with Alzheimer’s but appeared to improve memory in the mice. However, it is not the caffeine that can be credited with these results, but rather a component in coffee that interacts with caffeine. Researchers will now attempt to identify that component, so coffee and other caffeinated drinks can be enriched with it to provide disease protection. This news supports previous studies that have shown people who drink coffee or other caffeinated drinks during mid-life and older age have a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s.

Flavour? Just suck it up

One of the latest additions to the American beverage market is a straw, says Foodista.com, which adds taste to plain milk. Milk Straws contain tiny pods of wild berry, chocolate, orange cream and other flavours that are released with each sip. And unlike many other drink innovations, they are relatively healthy. In conjunction to being low in sugar and containing no lactose, fat or gluten; Milk Straws have no artificial additives, flavours or preservatives.

Did you know?

- Chocolate is the number one foodstuff flavour in the world, followed by vanilla and banana

- The ancient Mayans bought a different meaning to the name ‘hot chocolate’ – they made a version containing chilli.

- Vanilla has the potential to be mildly addictive, due to the fact that when eaten it causes the body to release adrenalin.