As many of you know I am a Tea Addict. This quick video originally created to show off my “Tea Tools” for @alexfrasier but I figured instead of just shooting a one time use video. Ya’ll might enjoy it as well.

How to Brew Loose Leaf Tea with a French Press

Without Further Ado here is how you brew loose leaf tea with a french press.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Additional Resources:

In the video I mentioned a couple other resources so be sure to check out the Yerba Mate Video with Tim Ferriss and the Wikipedia Article on Yerba Mate.

Today was an interesting day. Originally I got my camera/mic setup to do a Thesis theme tutorial for Art of Blog when I found out someone had ripped a post that took several hours to compile and didn’t even drop an attribution link.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Don’t Miss the Point

Now I understand that this happens all the time. That is not what we are here to talk about today. Today I am challenging you affiliates to take a close look at the extractor model. For a long time this has been an amazing way of making money online with very little effort, however I predict that 2010 will be the year when the Affiliate Extractor model begins to die.

The Future of Extractors

The web is not a young naive place anymore. It is harder than ever to stay anonymous and slimy business models will being to be called out (like the ones I mentioned). Sure you will still be able to con unsuspecting users, but as users get more savvy these business models will begin to falter. Lets face it each and every user out there essentially has a Boom-mic thanks to Social Media and people are listening. Heck even Google and Bing are listening.

Left in the Dust

Lets face it, the web as we know it is changing. Are you going to get left in the dust?

To ensure that you don’t I challenge you to ask yourself this every day:

Am I adding value right now?

If the answer is no, then you can be quickly be cut out of the value chain and replaced by someone that does.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So here is a quick video in response to this awesome post by Chris Jordan. Here is a quote from my comment over there:

Dude i am on the same wavelength as you. I just graduated college and too many of my peers are jumping into the corporate world and just becoming a cog in the wheel. It is amazing. It is almost like it is expected. Go to school for 16 years then get a job, grind your head against a desk because you hate your job for 30 more years, and hope you saved money so you can “retire.”

Thats a hunk of BS. The 9-5 is the biggest MLM structure on the planet. Why build someone else’s dream when you can build your own.

That old plan isn’t for me.

Seriously guys, pick up Crush it and the 4 Hour Work Week and do something you love.

Its True, I’m addicted to tea. After nearly two months in Austin, I have given up coffee, only succumbing to the temptation of only 2 cups in the past month.

My former daily ritual of drinking 2-4 cups of coffee daily “to be productive” has been replaced by drinking Herbal Tea, Green Tea, Black Tea, Yerba Maté, and Kombucha.

Personal Productivity & Tea

I find my most productive times are when I drink Yerba Maté or Maté Latte (a Yerba Maté Blend that tastes like coffee). Not only do I churn out more work, when drinking Yerba Maté, but for some reason I feel a lot more creative and “alive,” it just doesn’t make me crash the same way as coffee does.

This new tea addiction is definitely a result of living near Whole Foods Market whose selection of loose leaf teas is only rivaled by even more pre-bagged teas. If you ever get a chance to stop by Mecca Whole Foods Austin, definitely stop by the tea bar, where you can smell and “sample” any of the teas before you buy them. If you aren’t currently a tea addict, Whole Foods will convert you in a flash… Make sure to ask for a “Matcha Shot” it blows away an expresso shot.

Kombucha

Now if Yerba Maté wasn’t enough, my good friend Chris Pearson exposed me to Kombucha, which is a Probiotic infused tea. While this stuff will run you nearly $4 a bottle it helps replenish your “Gut Flora” which have a huge impact on your immune system. Little did I know before my introduction to it, but Whole Foods has a pretty hefty selection of Kombucha.

Kombucha Hype?

My first exposure to Kombucha was… well, interesting. It involved cranberry kombucha and the statement: “it tastes like the devil in my mouth.” With a first exposure like that I was quickly Googling away, trying to figure out what this “Kombucha” stuff was all about. After about 2 more weeks of drinking the “good stuff,” which is essentially anything but cranberry and ginger. I was hooked.

Home Brewed Kombucha

During my kombucha research I learned that I could “brew” my own Kombucha at home for the fraction of the price. Shortly after this epiphany I was on a quest to learn how. All I had to do was find someone who could get me started.

Luckily one day while talking while with Angelica the “Tea Girl” at Whole Foods we came across the topic of Kombucha. I told her of my dream to brew kombucha at home, and it was a match made in heaven. Angelica mentioned that if I gathered everything needed to make it at home, she would save her next “Baby S.C.O.B.Y” (”Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast”) so that I could brew some of my own.

I was sold. With some basic instructions and a list of what to get, I was eager to get started. First I needed to find a 1 Gallon Glass Jar which Amazon promptly supplied and a other few ingredients from Whole Foods while I eagerly awaited the “Baby” from Angelica.

Making Kombucha

Yesterday I picked up “Baby” SCOBY and starter juice. Today I started my first batch of Kombucha thanks to the guidance of Angelica.

Kombucha Ingredients

Here are the ingredients I used:

• 1 Cup Unbleached Sugar
• 1oz Blueberry Black Tea
• Water
• SCOBY
• Starter Juice

Kombucha Directions

Here is a quick rundown of the directions:

1. Boil 4 Cups of Water and Add 1oz Tea
2. Let Tea Cool to room temperature
3. Add Sugar and Stir with Wooden Spoon
4. Pour into Gallon Container
5. Pour SCOBY and Starter Juice into the mixture
6. Cover with Paper towel and rubber-band
7. Let sit for 5-7 days.

Definitely make sure that everything is sterile. Use bleach if you need to… The last thing you want it to be drinking some nasty bacteria which could make you really sick.

Waiting Game

Now its just a waiting game. I need to check this stuff in about 5 days and see how its doing. My “Baby” should have grown into a mother and my tea should have turned into Kombucha. I just ordered a funnel and some mason jars off Amazon to start bottling the stuff when its ready. I’ll keep ya’ll updated. Until then stop by your local health food store and grab yourself some Kombucha.

UPDATE: The Kombucha is ready! Here are the Pics!

New Design

As you may have noticed. I completely scrapped the old design that was previously ran nicholasreese.com. If you came here from Art of Blog to check out the examples in the tutorials, sorry that design had to go… It was pretty, it was fun, it was kinda tacky but it is no longer here.

The new design is still run on Thesis, but it is slightly more polished and there will be more changes in the future.

New Directions

Since my last post in August (WOW, its been a while). I feel like a completely different person. My perspectives on the world have been drastically shifted and irreconcilably changed. The catalyst to these changes have been the influence of life changes, talks with friends, The Power of Now and Landmark Education.

I am sure you will see these influences in my future writing.

Life Changes = Perspective Changes

After graduating from College at UCF, I moved to Austin Texas. Over this past month and a 1/2 I have come to a few major realizations.

• First, money isn’t everything. It is quality of life that matters.
• Second, Food is the most important human need and better food = better quality of life.
• Third, Kombucha is amazing. If you haven’t tried it you are missing out.
• Forth, Whole Foods in Austin (the one off West 6th St) is pretty much my Mecca.
• Fifth, a Vitamix is definitely worth its weight in Gold. I mean c’mon what blender can make scrambled eggs

I am sure there are more, but right now I have food on the mind as I just left Mecca.

New Direction

Overall, my life has taken a new direction, one where Money isn’t the sole focus. This fact alone will definitely reflect in the writing of this blog. Oh Yeah, also expect a lot more informal stuff and opinions.