2012: The Year of Online Food Ordering

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Phone ordering has been the main way we place an order for delivery or takeout for many years now. There really hasn't been any alternative unless you were one of the 7 people who faxed in an order over the past few years. But times have changed and there are now many convenient ways to order food online without having to pick up the telephone.

The younger generation of people ages 18-30 were born and raised online and with cell phones. This demographic is the future of online food ordering as they will continue to order online and teach their kids to order online, etc, etc. And now that the older generation is becoming more and more computer savvy, they are also taking to the internet and doing most of their business online. The phone isn't dead, but it sure does have a severe limp and a few broken bones. The knockout punch is coming soon for the phone and you'll be hard pressed to find someone that is grieving its loss.

Online ordering is so popular because the person ordering is in control. They don't have to feel rushed by the person taking the order, they don't have to worry about the person understanding them and getting their order correct, and they don't have to search around in the phone book for a restaurant's number or address. (Do they still make phone books?!)

College kids, office workers, moms on the go and busy professionals are all wanting to order food online. The main issue for these people is finding restaurants they like that actually offer this service. You'd be surprised how few restaurant's actually have this capability. There is a huge market out there they are missing and by not offering a solution to this problem, they have no idea how many customers they are missing out on each day. Their only saving grace is that their competitor or the consumers alternate choice may not offer it either. Right now it's a game of who is going to figure it out first and reap the benefits of all these new customers.

Add in the ability to order through Facebook and the online ordering sector is well fulfilled. I would guess that about 99% of people that go online each day either visit Google or Facebook. I would also guess that about 99% of these people eat every day. Having an online ordering solution for these folks is not a luxury item anymore. It is a necessity if the restaurant wants to stay in the game.

Jason is a food and technology blogger about software, restaurants and anything related to online food ordering. Technological advancements and a shift in the online society have led to an increase in how many people order food online. Restaurants will soon be relying on this technology for most of their business, meaning less reliance on the phone altogether.

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Posted in: Online,Ordering

Received A Gift From An Online Tea Shop? Simple Rules For Brewing Whole Leaf Teas

One of your friends, knowing you like tea, has visited an online tea shop and bought you a selection of beautiful whole leaf teas from China. You're delighted by this thoughtful and generous the gift but perhaps you're not really sure what you're suppose to do with these funny looking leaves?

If you're used to drinking and brewing tea bags, this guide is here to give you some pointers when starting to brew loose leaf teas.

Brewing tea is deceptively simple and requires only three things: water; tea; and a vestal to hold the two. You need not even heat the water; certain teas, particularly of the high mountain Taiwanese variety are so sweet and delicate they can simply be left in cold water and allowed to infuse overnight. This lack of heat brings out the subtle sweet flavors of the leaves however generally you will require hot water.

Teapot

The first thing you will need to decide is what you're going to brew your tea in. The traditional Chinese methods of brewing involve using a Yixing, a small red clay teapot, or a Gaiwan, a small lidded bowl. Generally most westerners don't have such specialist items but, you may well already have a teapot and, whole leaves can actually be added directly into the teapot.

Following such a method you can immediately see that brewing whole leaf tea really isn't much more complicated, or different, to using regular bags.

Another method for brewing that is popular in China is to simply adding tea leaves into a glass or jar and filling that receptacle with water and drinking directly from it. Larger whole leave are generally heavy, and sink to the bottom, so you're able to drink without swallowing the leaves. Using this method it is traditional to keep adding more water to the jar before you've finished it and often people will sit and drink from the same container, using the same leaves, all day long!

Quantity

A general rule for brewing tea with a teapot is to use 1 bag per person and add an extra 1 for the pot. Surprisingly the rule remains remarkably similar for whole leaf teas - 1 teaspoon of tea per person with an extra spoonful for the pot. However, there are exceptions. Certain teas, where the leaf is long and twisted rather than the style where it has been tightly rolled into a ball, a tablespoon worth of loose leaf tea is used per person, again with another spoonful being added for the pot.

Temperature

Water temperature is probably the area in which most people make mistakes. Most black tea from bags requires freshly boiled water. Using water that is even only slightly cooler than that may result in a badly brewed pot. When using whole leaf teas more care must be taken when deciding upon temperature. Adding freshly boiled water onto tender green tea leaves will result in a brew that is bitter and unpleasant to drink. This is one reason why many people claim that they don't like drinking green tea!

Our second general rule that pertains to temperature is that the lighter the color of the tea, the cooler the water needs to be to brew it. White & Green teas only require water between 65-75 degrees C (149-167 degrees F). For moderately colored Oolongs you should be using water around 80-95 degrees C (176-203 degrees F). Black teas and Puers require freshly boiled water 100 degrees C (212 degrees F). How can you tell how hot if the water is the right temperature? A half filled kettle, freshly boiled kettle, will drop roughly 10ºC every minute it is left to stand. If you are preparing green tea, boil the kettle and leave it to stand for around 3 minutes, and you should have the perfect temperature of water.

By following these simple rules you'll find that you'll be able to brew any tea you may receive as easily as if it came in a bag!

James Franklin Bluth is a tea connoisseur with over a decade's experience sourcing and selecting the finest whole leaf teas and is especially interested in online tea shops.

At his favourite tea shop you can find a range of whole leaf teas from China and Taiwan.

driftwood tea products make perfect tea gifts for any tea connoisseur.

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Posted in: Brewing,Online,Received,Rules,Simple,Whole

Online Cake Delivery - Does Gourmet Make a Difference?

There are many ways to get cake. You can go to a local market and pick up a cake that has already been prepared, but that includes hoping that it is fresh and moist at the time of purchase. You can hire someone to make you a fresh, moist cake, but many local cake makers are far from creative, so you will end up with the same ordinary flavors that you have always eaten.

Then there is the option to go online and order cakes that are more creative. Many of these cakes will come from gourmet food and catering services, and they might be a bit more expensive than the cakes you buy at the local market. This may have you wondering whether gourmet is really worth the extra money.

What Qualifies as Gourmet Cake?

You will find different ideas of what "gourmet" cake is when you look around online, because it is kind of a subjective label. Gourmet typically means higher quality. Rather than getting cheap steak on a plate, a gourmet food and catering service may offer filet mignon and very expensive cuts of steak. Those dishes would be complimented with higher quality sides that blend flavors in more unique ways.

When you are talking about cake, a gourmet food and catering service may offer flavor combination and designs that are unique to their particular service. These cakes will typically be more creative and the flavors may be far more adventurous than what you find at the local market or a local bakery.

For example, you can get strawberry shortcake type cakes at almost any local market from time to time, but how often do you see a mango flavored cake with piles of fresh mango on top? There are many cakes with fresh strawberries on top, but mango is a more unique flavor that may only be found through gourmet bakeries and delivery services. That is just one idea of the type of cake you can find through gourmet online cake delivery services.

When trying to picture gourmet cake in your mind, simply think of higher quality cakes that are made with fresh ingredients. Imagine original flavor combination and unique toppings that you cannot pick up anywhere else.

Is Gourmet Cake Better?

When you consider that a cake from a gourmet food and catering service should be made with fresh ingredients from scratch, you can see how it could taste quite a bit better than cakes that are not made from fresh ingredients. For example, there would be no fair way to compare a cake made from boxed mix to a cake made from a gourmet catering service. The fresh ingredients versus the mixed ingredients simply do not compare, and it shows in the flavor.

If you want unique flavors that are not offered other places, then you definitely have to go with a catering service. The availability of these unique flavor combination is one of the big perks to ordering from an online cake delivery service in Singapore.

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Posted in: Delivery,Difference,Gourmet,Online