Paper Cups Or Coffee Mugs?
When you go to Starbucks or other coffee shops, what container do you use for your coffee? It’s probably a paper coffee cup, right? I suppose it is the most convenient container for everyone involved. The shop does not have to wash mugs and the customer does not have to carry around something heavy. Yet if you think about it, there are advantages to using mugs instead of paper cups in coffee shops.
One, we have the ubiquitous issue of helping the environment. Paper cups are made from trees and the more paper we use, the more trees we cut down.
Two, there is the problem of taste degradation – at least for some people. I have never really experienced this but maybe because this is due to the fact that my coffee never stays in the cup for long. Rands of Rands In Repose actually brought this up:
In fact, I’m pissed at paper. Forget about the environmental guilt, cups made of paper are a sure fire way to ruin any cup of coffee because they change the taste. Coffee mugs are the only way to go and I’ve spent a lot more time fretting about mugs than paper.
Starbucks encourages its patrons not to use paper cups, did you know that? If you use your Starbucks mug or cup, you get a certain amount off the coffee price. The discount is not big, but it’s a discount nonetheless. Coffee Bean serves dine-in coffee in mugs – for what reason, I do not know. I guess this is just a small reminder – we can help the environment in our own little way and have great tasting coffee at the same time.
Photo courtesy of StarbuckGuy
Free Samples At Apres Tasting Club
A few weeks ago, we received an e-mail from Luke Bunting of the Apres Tasting Club, which is part of the main web site, Apres Café. Apres Café is actually a site that is all about coffee and tea. They offer gifts, coffee, and tea in their online store. More than this, they also provide a host of information about coffee and tea. Enthusiasts will certainly find a lot to read in their “Learn” pages.
What Luke e-mailed us about is the Apres Tasting Club and while going through their site, it really caught my interest. How does the Tasting Club operate? It is quite simple – if you are interested, sign up for the Club. You will then receive free samples of either coffee or tea. Once you have tried the free samples that were sent to you, you can go online and then rate them. If you rate the samples that you receive, you will continue to receive new samples every 3 to 4 weeks. It’s a pretty good setup, isn’t it?
Other benefits of being a member of the Apres Tasting Club:
1. Discounted prices not offered to the general public when purchasing a sampled coffee or tea
2. Advanced notice of special purchases or offers
3. Automatic eligibility each month to win a coffee or tea gift box (valued at $20)
4. The chance to sample some of the finest coffees and teas in the world – for FREE!
5. An opportunity to help us choose only the very best coffee and tea products by offering your comments on each sampled brew
6. Instant access to exclusive email offers through the ApresCafe.com email club. (You may unsubscribe from this email service at any time.)
One drawback – I think they only ship to the United States.
Coffee-Themed Wedding Favors
You may not be getting married any time soon but you may not someone who is. I just saw this article from Transworld News about a unique idea for wedding favors and I liked it so much that I thought about posting it here as well.
We all know how conventional wedding favors can become boring. Most of the time, people don’t really find any use for wedding favors and they end up as junk or clutter. Think about it – how many wedding favors do you have in your store room? Don’t even get me started on how many I have!
Now, if you love coffee, why not incorporate this passion into your wedding favors? When I saw the list provided in the article, I thought to myself “Now why didn’t I think of this myself?” Here are some of the more interesting items:
- A personalized coffee kit. Each personalized bag includes premium ground coffee and a heart-shaped coffee spoon in shiny chrome.
- An assortment of different coffee scoops in various shapes and sizes. Give your guests a scoop of love with these practical coffee scoops.
- The “Espress Your Love” Coffee glass candle. This rich brown candle comes in a cup and smells like espresso. This candle is elegantly packaged in a clear gift box.
These items are obviously from a site specializing in wedding favors. You can find out about the specific products from Truly Wedding Favors. Alternatively, you can make your own favors by buying the materials and putting them together!
Seriously, why didn’t I think of this?
Coffee Cup Cuff Cum Bracelet
Seriously, sometimes, people think of the darnedest things! Who would have ever though that anyone would want to wear a bracelet that would double as a coffee cup cuff? Well, apparently, the people over at Contexture think that this is a brilliant idea.
They created a coffee cup cuff that would fit most take out cups. The cuff is actually quite stylish and is made from reclaimed veneer – everything is handmade. You can pick from three different wood types – black walnut, bird’s eye maple, or benge. The idea is to satisfy both form and function with the Contexture coffee cuff.
So what about its function as a bracelet? Well, as you can see from the picture, it does have a certain appeal to it. After all, many fashionistas would tell you that accessories can make or break an ensemble. Would the Contexture cuff add to your sense of fashion?
I honestly don’t know. I can only speak for myself. I do not think that I would spend about 68 Canadian dollars on the cuff so that I could use it as a bracelet. I have to say that the cuffs look good, though. So maybe – just maybe – if I had an extra 70 bucks to spare, I would buy one of the cuffs. It just might come in handy if the paper coffee cuff that the coffee shop gives me is not good enough.
The Perfect Cup of Brewed Coffee
How do you make the perfect cup of brewed coffee? Mind you, I am not talking about espresso but purely brewed coffee. According to George Howell of Terroir Coffee, “Coffee has never been a noble beverage because the means to perfectly produce it haven’t existed.” Oh yeah? Well, he followed that statement with good news, though. With the advances in technology, we are now in that age where perfect extraction is attainable – at least many experts believe.
So how do you get the perfect cup of brewed coffee? Buy yourself a siphon bar or a Clover. Of course, if you do not have $11,000 handy (that’s for the Clover. You need $20,00 for the siphon bar from Japan), then you may just want to look for coffee shops which make use of these machines. In fact, the Clover has been around for about two years and there are only about 200 units around the world. At the price they are asking for the machine, it is no wonder that not many coffee shops have one.
Here’s great news for us – Starbucks just bought Clover machines! I am not so sure just how many they got but I am sure that they would not be having these machines in ALL of their branches at once. Boston coffee lovers would be delighted to know that three Boston Starbucks will be launching their Clover machines on February 11.
I still haven’t had a taste of coffee brewed on Clover but I am sure the chance will arrive. For those of you who have had a taste, let us know – is it really the perfect cup of brewed coffee?
What Do You Put In Your Coffee?
Many people like their coffee strong and black. I appreciate this brew, I really do, but I also like my coffee to have a blend of sweetness and creaminess. So assuming that you put sugar in your coffee and that you like something to make it creamy as well, my question to you is this: do you prefer some sort of creamer or do you prefer milk?
I personally prefer Coffee Mate as a creamer. It gives you that creamy texture and taste without overpowering the taste of the coffee. I use milk sometimes – especially when I run out of Coffee Mate, which is as rare as a blue moon really – but it doesn’t seem to be the same. The coffee still tastes good but the texture and taste are quite different.
Maybe I have just gotten used to having Coffee Mate in my coffee. Anyhow, this poses a problem for me sometimes when I go out of town. I remember visiting friends and all they had was instant coffee (it’s ok I can take it) and no Coffee Mate at all! There was this other time when my hosts did have creamer but it was of a different kind and it was just not very good with coffee.
Am I being particular and too finicky? I think not. If you take your coffee seriously – like when you cannot function normally until you have had that cup, with Coffee Mate of course – then you would probably understand how I feel. So what do you put in your cup?
Unique Gifts for Coffee Lovers
There’s nothing like getting a gift that you would really love, is there? I know I recently posted something about gifts for coffee lovers but I thought that you can never have too many gift ideas – it is Christmas after all! Here is a list that I ran across the other day. I think you’ll all love it.
Barista Action Figure
This is perfect for people who love action figures – combine their two passions together and you will surely have a hit in your hands! You can get this action figure here.
Java Logs
Do you have coffee lover friends who are environmentally conscious as well? Here’s the perfect gift for them – logs for the fireplace that are made out of coffee grounds (mostly made up of grounds, I should say). Check them out here.
Just Coffee Art
For friends who appreciate art – paintings, in particular – will love you for giving them paintings made out of coffee. Don’t believe it? Visit their web site here.
A Coffee Tree
Alright, not everyone may have a green thumb, but for those who do, a coffee plant will be a unique gift. You can ask around your local garden supply store or look online.
Coffee Jewelry
Beads are always in – yet have you heard of coffee beads? Well they are simply coffee beans turned accessories. This web site sells cool and fashionable stuff.
I don’t know about you but I sure would love to receive any - or all - of these gifts for Christmas!
Everyday Gourmet Coffee
I was talking about Starbucks the other day and I realized how much people spend on their coffee. I am sure that many of you would agree with me. Yet how can I resist that aroma and taste that I need to jumpstart my day?
A cheaper – yet just as good – alternative would be to brew my own coffee at home. I’ve always thought that this would be too much of a hassle and it could be quite expensive as well, especially since you would have to buy all that equipment. The more I thought about it though, it would still save you money in the long run.
The biggest expense would probably be the equipment. Lucky for us coffee lovers, there are a lot of options to choose from when it comes to coffee makers. Though they do cost a considerable sum, there are models which are meant for home use which are more affordable.
Single cup coffee makers would be our best bet, I think. Compared to the equipment they use in cafes such as Starbucks, these single cup coffee makers are way cheaper. Even better, the cleaning up is not at all that difficult. When it comes to the coffee itself, it is quite easy to get hold of coffee pods or K-cups, which are small packets of coffee grounds which you merely insert into the coffee maker. This is what makes clean up a breeze. Also, the coffee remains fresh – that is how these pods are designed.
I really like this idea and I am sure some of you already have your own method of brewing gourmet coffee at home. Care to share?
The Starbucks Christmas Planner
I don’t know if this promo is being offered in other parts of the world but in the Philippines, Starbucks is currently giving away a Christmas planner – and a nice one, too. The idea is for customers to fill out a special card with stickers – 24 in all. Once the card is full, you can exchange it for the Christmas planner.
So how many cups of coffee do you need to buy to get all 24 stickers? Twelve regular flavors and 12 Christmas blends (of course the latter costs more). On first thought, one might think that this is just a scheme to get more money due to increased sales. This might very well be true. You should see the long lines in all Starbucks branches! Yet if you look at it deeper, you’d realise that more than just a sales ploy, Starbucks is actually giving money to charity from the sales during this period.
They have partnered up with UNICEF and with every planner that you get, a certain amount will be donated to Spark of Hope, a charity that helps out the less privileged children in the Philippines. Not bad, huh?
This activity has actually become a tradition for Starbucks Philippines and its countless customers. It has been going on for several years and though the planner changes every year (or maybe because of that fact), more and more people are getting into it.
So if you are in the area or you know someone from the Philippines, ask them to buy more cups of coffee to get that planner for you.
Vietnamese Coffee
The other week, a friend of mine went to Vietnam for a weekend trip. Every one of my close friends go on trips, I look forward to their coming back because they normally bring presents. Not necessarily big expensive gifts but unique tokens of their destination. This time, she brought us some Vietnamese coffee.
She knows I am crazy about coffee – most any kind of coffee, in fact. When she presented the bag of beans to us, she was all excited about it. She was raving on and on about the aroma and how it would drive us coffeholics crazy. Skeptic me, I just said yes, ok, thank you, I’ll try it later, I’m busy – or something to that effect.
Of course, she couldn’t be stopped and went on to grind the beans. I had a short whiff and I was in love. I have never heard of Vietnamese coffee before then. I didn’t even know that they had a special kind of coffee beans. The smell was awesome - thick and strong yet creamy and sweet at the same time. I believe they call it mocha coffee beans.
The way it is brewed is quite particular as well. They have this tin strainer like things that you place the grinds in. You then need to place some hot water and the cover the tin and wait for the coffee to “brew.” The special thing about Vietnamese coffee is that they use condensed milk instead of sugar. The result is a very sweet and creamy concoction.
In this characteristic lies the coffee’s success and failure at the same time. If you are in the mood for something really sweet then you’d love Vietnamese coffee. On the other hand, if you prefer it black then I suggest you skip it.
As for me, I just had a huge tall glass with lots of ice.
