Refined sugars (such as table sugar) are stripped of nutrients; most noncaloric sweeteners are artificial. Sugar isn’t all that convenient when you’re trying to get it to dissolve in iced coffee, iced tea or lemonade.

One solution: liquid cane sugar and liquid stevia dissolve easily and are available in natural food stores. But one family business is treating them with imagination and sass. We bought quite a few bottles for ourselves and for holiday gifts.

The Hey Shuga! line of all natural, organic liquid sweeteners dissolve instantly in cold beverages and cocktails, and are equally delicious in hot beverages, as topping for cereal and fruit, in baking and glazing.

The two initial products are:

 
Both are alternatives to agave. corn syrup/golden syrup, honey, maple syrup, refined white sugar and conventional stevia. Lil’ Suga! has so few calories, you can use it instead of noncaloric sweeteners.

Both have a delicious cane sugar taste, nothing artificial and are USDA organic certified, GMO free, gluten free and kosher certified by SKS.

The line expects to expand next year to all-natural Hazelnut, Irish Cream, Maple and Vanilla flavors.
You can purchase them on Amazon or on the HeyShuga.com website, which sells:

 
There are also tall bottles, glamorous for gifting:

Check out all the different types of sugar in our Sugar Glossary.
  

Deck the sinks with holiday-scented hand
soap.

With everything getting the holiday treatment, why not your hand soap?

Softsoap Scentsations Limited Edition Holiday Liquid Hand Soaps offers three holiday scents: Enchanting Sugar Plum, Spiced Berry Bliss and Wintermint Wonderland. We installed bottles at the kitchen and bathroom sinks.

 
Softsoap Scentsations Holiday Liquid Hand Soaps are available at Walmart. The suggested retail price is $2.29.

They may get the family to wash their hands more often! And in our germophobic crowd, they make good party favors.

There’s no information at the Softsoap website, but what more do you need to know?

ARE YOU A GERMOPHOBE OR A MYSOPHOBE?

Germophobia/germaphobia means “fear of germs,” coined in modern times. But back in 1897, the term mysophobia was coined by Dr. William Alexander Hammond, who served as Surgeon General of the United States Army during the Civil War. The word combines the Greek musos, “uncleanness” and phobos, “fear.”

Other medical terms, such as bacillophobia, bacteriophobia, molysmophobia/molysomophobia, rhypophobia, rupophobia and spermophobia, indicate a pathological fear of contamination and germs or the need to compulsively wash one’s hands.

Of course, you don’t need a phobia to keep those hands clean!

We’ve never been to New Zealand, but friends who moved there from the U.S. love it.

It sounds like paradise: pristine waters, lots of sunshine and clean air, not to mention wonderful lamb and delicious wines.

Considered one of the great wine-growing regions of the world, Marlborough, located on the northeast coast of New Zealand’s South Island, is one of the country’s sunniest areas. The climate is perfect for growing crisp, zesty Sauvignon Blancs and complex yet fruity Pinot Noirs.

The Nobilo winery is one of the best in the region, with two award winning lines: Nobilo Regional Collection and Nobilo Icon. Founder Nikola Nobilo emigrated from Croatia in 1937, ordered by his uncle who saw the signs of what would become World War II.

Nikola and his family began to plant grapes in 1943, and pioneered planting of classic European grape varieties in New Zealand that produced higher quality wines than the hybrid grapes the industry had been planting.

We received a gift of a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinot Noir. Both honor their founder:

 
If you need to pick something nice for holiday meals and gifting, look for Nobilo Icon. The inspirational story behind it makes it even tastier.

Learn more on the winery’s website.

We keep these stackable espresso cups right
next to our espresso machine. Photo
courtesy Harold Imports | AMZ.

There are key differences between espresso, Italian Roast and French roast coffees.

1. Beans: Special. Espresso is not a type of bean, but a level of roasting. In fact, espresso is typically a blend of beans roasted anywhere from very light to very dark; you know it’s espresso if there’s a lot of surface oil evident. Different coffee roasters use different blends of beans and different degrees of roasting. Ask which roaster roasted the beans you are purchasing. If they’re not your ideal, keep trying different roasters.

2. Caffeine: Less. Because a cup of espresso takes no more than 30 seconds to brew (28 seconds is the ideal brewing time), less caffeine is extracted from the ground beans than in drip coffee, which takes anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes to brew.

3. Crema: Thick. The pressure exerted by the espresso machine forms a thick cap of brown crema (pronounced CRAY-mah, Italian for cream; but it’s “espresso bean cream,” not milk-related cream). Some single serve coffee machines also produce a crema; but true espresso crema carries the aroma and lasts to the bottom of the cup.

4. Portion: Small. Although modern designs veer from the classic style, espresso cups were intentionally made small and thick. They serve a different purpose from the delicate porcelain demitasse cups used for regular coffee in a fine dinner service. Thick, small espresso cups hold the heat; large cups dissipate the heat and the crema. The proper portion of espresso is one ounce for these reasons. If you want a larger serving of espresso, don’t fill a full-size cup: Have another espresso-size and drink it in its peak form.

5. Garnish: Lemon Peel. You may see espresso served with a piece of lemon peel, to be rubbed around the rim of the cup to leave a slick of lemon oil. The original purpose was to counteract the taste of over-roasted, overly bitter espresso: The oil in the peel blocks the bitterness. Italians traditionally serve top quality espresso without lemon peel, bowing to the quality of the beans. However, if you like the added flavor of the lemon peel (we do), feel free to serve it.

6. Freshness: Imperative. Advice continues to circulate that coffee beans should be kept in the freezer for freshness. False! Freezing the coffee coagulates the natural oils contained in the bean. In an espresso, those oils need to emulsify to produce the body and mouthful of the coffee. Coffee can be stored in the refrigerator, but airtight containers are crucial. An airtight container keeps out odors and protects the internal moisture of the coffee bean. No matter what kind of coffee you buy, the best rule of thumb is to buy only what you need for a week, or two weeks at best. Ground coffee will begin to go stale in 24 hours. Keep coffee away from direct light and heat. Direct light and heat begin to cook the coffee oils, and will affect the flavor and aroma properties.

Discover more about coffee in our Gourmet Coffee Section.

It’s National Espresso Day, so trade your regular cup of java* for an espresso.

Some people are intimidated by an espresso machine. This video shows how easy it is to use one.

Espresso can only be made in an espresso machine, which exerts a specific amount of pressure on the ground coffee beans. The beans need to be an espresso roast, the darkest roast of coffee beans. The objective is a strong, pleasantly bitter shot of coffee.

You can get an espresso machine with a small footprint that will pay for itself in two weeks, assuming you purchase one espresso daily. With your own machine, you can enjoy a shot—or a double or triple shot—as often as you like, for pennies.

The Capresso espresso machine shown in the video is less than $60.00. Take a closer look at it on Amazon.com).

What if you don’t want to buy an espresso machine? The closest cup of strong, bitter coffee is a brewed Italian roast, made in a regular coffee maker.

Find everything you want to know about espresso in our Espresso Glossary.
 
See all of the national food holidays.