A new service is on a mission- can they out-geek LootCrate?

A few months ago I was contacted by a new Kickstarter project with a simple concept: to be a better and geekier box-a-month service than LootCrate.  The project was successful, reaching their funding goal in less than a week, and GEEKFUEL was born.

I just received their first ever box, along with a Kickstarter exclusive bonus box, and so far their method seems to be at least partially focused on enlisting popular artists from the DeviantArt community to add exclusive artwork to the mix.  Add exclusive comic books, limited edition Pop vinyl figures, caffeinated beverages and access codes for games and downloadable content on Steam and I think they have a chance to give the veterans a run for their money.

Instead of listing the contents I figured the best way to describe this product would be to take pictures as I was unpacking the box.  So here we go.  I give you GEEKFUEL:  

All told a pretty impressive showing for a first issue.  Subscriptions are available monthly, quarterly, every 6 months, or annually with price breaks and bonuses at each increased level.  I've been a big fan of LootCrate for a long time but GEEKFUEL is definitely making a name for themselves in Fat Boy Heaven.

Gizmodo has all the best CyberMonday deals in one place

As always, Gizmodo and Kinja have teamed up to put together a comprehensive list of CyberMonday deals for all things tech and geek, I'll post deals as I find them but their list is a good place to start today.

Great deal on one of the worlds best coffee makers

Amazon has discounted the price on the AeroPress, voted numerous places the worlds best coffee maker and one of our personal favorites.  Normally $30, it is now $25 and a great deal for the coffee lover in your life this holiday season.  We reviewed the AeroPress here early in the life of Fat Boy Heaven, you can check out what we had to say about it there and follow the link below for a great deal.

AeroPress

Review: Cafejo "My French-Press"

The first french-press to use K-cups, and the cheapest keurig brewer on the marketI had the opportunity to get ahold of the Cafejo My French-Press, and I am impressed.  Taking the flexibility and ease of use of both a Keurig Coffee maker and a traditional french-press and merging them into a handy and portable gadget, this is a great coffee maker for anyone short on space or money.  There are several things that make this actually better than a Keurig, the most desireable of which is the ability to use any liquid (including spirits and milk) at any temperature.  Since many traditional coffee makers brew too hot and scorch coffee, and while wide ranging, K-Cups for Keurig brewers have limited variety the My French-Press really is the best of both worlds.  Pick this up using the link above from Amazon, you won't be sorry.

Coffee: A look at the AeroPress, with a new addition

Those of you that know me know I love my coffee.  Any time I can find a way to get better coffee, I'm going to try it.  I have had what many consider to be the best coffee maker no one has ever heard of for a couple years, and just received a great new product to make it better.

In 2005,  Alan Adler (famous for his Aerobie line of flying disks), invented a new way of brewing coffee.  He dubbed this contraption the AeroPress.  Combining the pressure brewing of espresso with the steeping process of a french press, the AeroPress makes the best coffee many people have ever tasted.  The AeroPress is the resulting of years of applied research by inventor/engineer Alan Adler. Adler’s numerous brewing experiments demonstrated that proper temperature, total immersion and rapid filtering were the keys to obtaining excellent flavour. He then designed and tested dozens of brewing methods before settling on the AEROPRESS design.

Up until now this has meant changing disposable paper filters after every brewing, an expensive prospect for folks who drink a lot of coffee.  The new product I received this week is a stainless steel filter, which promises to smooth this process out, and breathe new life into my AeroPress.

A company here is Portland called Able Brewing has made a permanent filter for the AeroPress, and it has made a great product even better.

The concept of the AeroPress is a combination of pressure forcing the water through the ground coffee combined with the coffee steeping much like a french press gives you the most flavor in the least amount of time.  The other advantage is that you have total control over the temperature that the water is at when you add it, so you can experiment with different temp ranges to get the cup that fits your taste perfectly.

Making coffee with the AeroPress is quick and easy:

1. Place filter into the cap.

2. Lock cap onto the end of the brewing chamber.

3. Place the chamber on top of a coffee mug. (Make sure the mug is large enough to hold all of the coffee you want to brew!)

4. Add a scoop of coffee for every cup of coffee you want to make.  I like my coffee strong, so a full chamber makes me one cup with 4 scoops of grounds.  You can vary the strength of the coffee by adjusting the grind.  A smaller grind will allow more of the oils and flavor to be released.  Don't be afraid to play around with the grind, the worst thing that can happen is you have to add a little more water to back the strength off a bit.

5. Pour heated water slowly over the grounds.  You'll want to make sure the grounds get wet before you have too much water in the chamber.  The cooler the water, the smoother your brew.  I usually use water at around 180 degrees, but again, this is a place to experiment.  The company recommends 165-175, but there are people who swear by temps closer to 200.

6. Stir the grounds into the water to help speed the extraction, as they will naturally float to the surface of the water.  This is one place where people tend to make mistakes.  Unlike a french press, you don't want to steep the grounds for too long in this brewer.  30-50 seconds is about right, any more than that and you have too much bitterness in the coffee for my taste.

7. Carefully place the plunger into the chamber, and rest your hand on top of the plunger to start forcing the coffee through the filter.  The more pressure you exert, the faster the coffee will be done.  One thing to remember though is that the slower you go the less oil you force through the grounds, and the smoother your cup.

8. If you like it espresso strong, you are ready to drink.  If you are looking for a more traditional american cup of coffee, you'll want to add about 4 ounces of hot water for each cup marker you used at the beginning of the process.  A full chamber of water will get you about 9 ounces of espresso (or coffee concentrate if you prefer).

9. Enjoy the best cup of coffee you'll ever drink.  If it doesn't meet your expectations, go back and experiment with the grind, temp, and speed of extraction until it does.