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.
Starbucks And iTunes Show Love
Starbucks and Apple are perhaps the two brands that I like the most – well, perhaps is the operative word here. In any case, these two groups have teamed up to bring more pleasure to their customers. Sometime last week, Starbucks proudly announced its new program – the Pick of the Week.
Yes, it is true that the name for the promotion could have been more creative. (Come on now guys, you make millions! You can surely pay someone to come up with something more than “Pick of the Week!”) However, the idea is quite an interesting one.
Imagine yourself sitting at your favorite spot in your regular Starbucks hang out. You spend a relaxing hour or so sipping your favorite coffee drink, doing whatever you are doing, and listening to your favorite music on your iPod all the while. Perhaps you don’t even need to imagine this – it is reality!
YOU are the target clientele of Starbucks and Apple. With the Pick of the Week, loyal Starbucks and Apple customers can enjoy free downloadable content. How?
I don’t know the exact details (obviously the Starbucks nearest me does not seem to have this promo running yet) but the idea is that people who buy coffee from Starbucks will receive a Pick of the Week download card. This card can then be used to redeem a free song or music video from the iTunes store. Users have up to 60 days to claim the song or video but can also download on the spot with WiFi access.
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.
Coffee Rush!
I don’t remember if I have shared about my passion for video games, which is, I think, at the same level as my passion for coffee. Those two go hand in hand as far as I am concerned. Anyhow, I recently finished playing this casual game called – you guessed it – Coffee Rush. The moment I received an e-mail from one of the popular casual game sites informing me of this new game, I got all excited. What do you get when you put gaming and coffee together? Coffee Rush!
I know that some of you may not share my passion for video games but humor me for this post, please.
Coffee Rush is a fine blend of puzzle action (finding patterns on the board) and eye and hand coordination (it’s a time management game as well). Your role is an up and coming coffee shop owner set on bringing down an evil coffee chain which cares only for profit and does not care about its customers. You have to serve your customers their favorite drink by finding the ingredients on the board and forming combinations in order to complete the number of needed ingredients. You can upsize drinks and serve side dishes in order to earn more money. The bottom line is to serve your customers what they want as fast as you can – basically what we coffee lovers want in real life, right?
So anyhow, if you feel like spending some of your time on an easy but fun video game, I suggest you try Coffee Rush. You’ll definitely be wanting some java while you play!
Senseo Coffee Maker Up For Grabs!
Coffee lovers and suckers for freebies – this one is for you! I was looking at blogs that could help me save some money and guess what I found? Someone giving away a free coffee maker! Catherine at Frugal Homemaker Plus posted this entry saying that she did a review on the Senseo Coffee Maker. However, since she and her husband do not really drink coffee that much, she’s giving away hers. Here are the details from her post:
The Winner Will Receive:
• One Senseo coffee maker
• One tin full of coffee pods
• Money saving coupons for new coffee pods
• Two coffee filters- one for one cup brewing and one for two cup brewing. (These are reusable)
• If you have a blog or an online business, I will link it when your name is announced.It’s free to enter, and I will pay all shipping costs!
To enter, simply comment to this entry with a way to get in touch with you. If you’re a blogger, your blog link will be fine. An e-mail address is okay as well. That’s it- you’re in! I will close the contest at noon (central time) February 27th. I will contact the winner via e-mail on Wednesday, Feb 27.
One entry per person, please.
Note: Due to shipping concerns, this contest is open only to those who live in the United States.
The winner is to be announced on the 28th of February so if I were you, I’d head on to her blog now and try to get this coffee maker.
Coffee Grounds for the Garden?
Now I would be the first to admit that I do not have a green thumb. Living in an apartment, I don’t really have too many opportunities to try out gardening. I do have several potted plants – oops, make that HAD. For some reason, one of them died, so I am left with two and they do not seem to be in good shape. Anyhow, the point of this is that I ran across a gardening blog detailing the use of coffee grounds for the soil.
If you remember, I wrote an entry on some alternative uses of coffee way back in December. My ideas were quite different from what this blog, Gardening and Yardening, is talking about, though:
For the past ten years, Nancy and I have saved our used coffee grounds each day and when we had a gallon or so, we spread them on the garden someplace. Special attention was given to the acid loving azalea, rhododendrum and tomatoes. In my mind the coffee grounds were not a major soil amendment, but rather a kind of tonic made available from time to time.
The fact that this has been a practice for ten years amazes me – there is so much to find out out there! Here’s more:
Some basic facts: the pH of coffee grounds can range from 3.5 to 5.0, but are not a problem if used is thin layers up to 1/2 inch thick. Fresh used coffee grounds contain about 3% nitrogen, about the same as grass clippings. Earthworms consider coffee grounds to be the ice cream of their diet. Coffee grounds are bite sized for earth worms.
Aha! I may not have the knack for gardening but I do love these little bits of information.
Coffee for the Skin
I depend on my morning cup of coffee. I’d rather have brewed coffee, of course, but when on trips, sometimes, I have had to settle for the instant kind. It does not matter, as long as I have my morning dose of caffeine – taken orally in the form of a hot cup of coffee.
I was pleasantly surprised and amused when I read about skin care companies experimenting with coffee-based products, though. Does coffee have skin care properties? Though I have not really seen or tried these products, it seems that in the US and other world markets, coffee-based skin products were released last year.
The idea is that caffeine perks you up – thus my dependence on that morning cup. Skin care companies think that if applied topically, their coffee-based products could perk you up as well and make your skin look and feel better. I don’t know about this, but it could work.
Then again, if you are thinking of using coffee-based skin products to perk you up, I doubt that it will be as effective and as enjoyable as simply brewing a pot of coffee and drinking a cup or two. For one, though the products may contain caffeine, I doubt that there is enough there to give you a jolt. Another thing is that these products are applied topically. That means that if the caffeine is to enter your blood stream, it has to go through the skin – that takes a while and the amount is probably small. The bright side is that you will smell like coffee all day long!
In any case, these products should be worth a try, don’t you think?
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!
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.
