Each year, Nixon organise one of the wildest and remote surf contests on the planet. Ten of the best European surfers are invited to an unknown surf destination, to battle against their own fears & human limits without the pressures of the public or the press.
An unexpected quest, one where the only enemy is yourself and your best ally is nature, in its rawest, purest form. In June 2014, the wild terrain of Kamchatka, Russia, was chosen to host this uncommon event. The Nixon Surf Challenge.
When I tell people that I’m moving to Italy, they usually ask what I’ll be doing there (teaching English) and how I came to my decision to do that. Since I get asked this so much, I thought this might be a good thing to write about.
Antwerp
During my junior year of college, I studied abroad in Antwerp, Belgium for three months. I had an absolute blast there and grew so much as a person, and officially caught the travel bug. That March, I went to Nicaragua for an alternative spring break trip. During that trip, our group got to sit in with a class at the university in Leon, with a group of students who spoke English fairly well.
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a distinct aroma and flavor, prepared from the roasted seeds of the Coffea plant. The seeds are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries.
Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. The roasting process is what produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by causing the green coffee beans to expand and to change in color, taste, smell, and density. Unroasted beans contain similar acids, protein, and caffeine as those that have been roasted, but lack the taste. Heat must be applied for the Maillard and other chemical reactions to occur.
“Among the numerous luxuries of the table…coffee may be considered as one of the most valuable. It excites cheerfulness without intoxication; and the pleasing flow of spirits which it occasions…is never followed by sadness, languor or debility.”
Benjamin Franklin
As green coffee is more stable than roasted, the roasting process tends to take place close to where it will be consumed. This reduces the time that roasted coffee spends in distribution, giving the consumer a longer shelf life. The vast majority of coffee is roasted commercially on a large scale, but some coffee drinkers roast coffee at home in order to have more control over the freshness and flavor profile of the beans.