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The Magnet 050: Coffee Gachapon

The Magnet 050: Coffee Gachapon

Plus birth rate world map, space-age industrial design, most popular sleeping positions, and the joy of playing 1980s Rogue

Nov 12, 2021
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The Magnet
The Magnet
The Magnet 050: Coffee Gachapon
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DIY coffee capsules

Coffee and cream to go

I keep an emergency Starbucks Via instant coffee packet in my wallet. When I’m desperate for caffeine but am away from home and there’s no espresso shop close by, I’ll break out the Via packet. The powdered coffee dissolves readily in cold water. I usually pour a half-packet (which is plenty for me because an entire Via packet affects me like a quadruple espresso) into my water bottle and drink it that way. It’s not as tasty as an espresso from Blue Bottle, but it beats a caffeine-withdrawal headache.

My wife Carla keeps a few Vias in her purse, but she doesn’t like the taste of black coffee. She needs cream or half-and-half. So I made coffee-and-powdered-cream capsules for her like the one shown in the photo above. I make them by putting a tablespoon of heavy cream powder (note: here’s another source for heavy cream if the first link is sold out) and half a Starbucks Via packet into a large gachapon, or vending machine capsule (which can be washed and reused). Carla can take a capsule with her when she goes out (or takes a flight).


New T-shirt: Creature 2074

Since October 2020, I’ve been drawing thousands of creatures in a sketchbook, with the goal of drawing 4,900 in total (100 pages with 49 creatures per page). Every once in a while, I’ll sell T-shirts with a selected creature. Here’s the latest, which is the 2,074 one I’ve drawn. It is available in a variety of styles and sizes.


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