#Coffee Lover’s Gift Giving Guide : Great ideas from $25
By · CommentsIf you are like me then you absolutely detest having to put up with the huge crowds and endless searching from store to store for the perfect gift for the loved ones on your list. I know I really benefit from online gift shopping, especially since I don’t live anywhere near an urban center where I can even find what I’m looking for. If it’s not at WalMart, then I have to buy it online 
Also, if you’ve never purchased gifts online, then you are in for a treat. It is super easy and you always get what you want. In addition, it is very secure. Some folks are afraid to use their credit/debit cards online (and with good reason with all of the identity theft nowadays), but do you honestly feel better handing your card to a store clerk that makes $6/hour, or a waitress who makes $4/hour? I have been using the same credit card online for 10 years and haven’t once experienced any issues. So check out my recommended gift ideas for the coffee drinkers on your list. I have broken it down by price range, and there is something for everyone from the regular joe coffee drinker, or the snobbiest of coffee snobs!
GIFTS UNDER $30
Bodum Chambord 3-Cup French Press
The French Press is a must have for ANY coffee drinker. Even the most sophisticated coffee snobs hold the press pot in high regard! I personally love this method because it allows you to experience coffee in its barest form, ground beans + hot water…nothing else to get in the way of the rich flavor! The 3 cup size is perfect for a single cup, but larger sizes are available too.
AeroPress Coffee & Espresso Maker
The AeroPress looks like a giant coffee syringe, but it really is a coffee brewer. It is a unique design that uses a combination of pressure extraction, steeping, and paper filtration. It produces a very smooth and clean cup of coffee that is reported by some to be easier on the digestive system than other brewing methods. I have yet to meet someone who has tried the AeroPress that did not agree that it makes a super cup of coffee. The AeroPress is likely not in your local store, but you can purchase it online for less than $30.
Planetary Design Double-Shot Stainless Steel French Press Mug
A travel mug and a french press coffee brewer all in one! The lid has a plunger attached to it, you simply scoop some coffee right into the mug, add hot water, put the lid on, and push the plunger down 4 minutes later. Now you have a flavorful cup of coffee, and you don’t have to share This particular model has a compartment in the bottom with a little cup that you can store another cup’s worth of coffee grinds in. These mugs are available in many fun colors and will be sure to be a hit. This is an updated version with a much improved handle and storage compartment. The customer service at Planetary Design is super! The handle fell off of my original mug a year after I had purchased it and they replaced it with the updated version NO CHARGE! Now that is standing behind your product.
Bialetti Moka Express Stovetop Espresso Maker
The Moka pot is yet another excellent, yet inexpensive, brewer. You’ll find my instructional video here. The moka pot, also known as the stovetop espresso maker, brews a concentrated cup of coffee…not espresso. I love the flavor filled cup that it makes and it is nearly dummy proof. I’ve seen these in stores for almost $100, but it is much cheaper here.
TightVac Coffee Storage Container
Coffee freshness is impacted negatively by heat, light, moisture, and oxygen. The TightVac coffee storage containers can help with all of the above (unless you store them in the oven). What I found really cool about the TightVac is the pressure release valve, quite similar to what you find on bags of coffee. This allows the CO2, produced by the roasted beans, to escape the container without allowing oxygen to enter. These containers start a just a few dollars and can keep up to 5 lbs of coffee fresh! See my post on this product.
GIFTS UNDER $100 Read More→
Camano Island Coffee Roasters Review
By · CommentsHave a coffee question…ASK COFFEENATE!
This month I received 3 bags of coffee from Camano Island Coffee Roasters, a Washington based coffee roasting company. I had no idea what to expect, and considering the string of not so good coffees that I have been shipped lately, I wasn’t really expecting much. Much to my
Keurig K cups : Pros and Cons
By · CommentsDo you know what a Kcup is? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t, but by the time you finish reading this, you will know more about K-cups than most people do! Kcups are the ammunition for the Keurig single serve coffee brewer. The concept and design were birthed by Green Mountain Coffee in Vermont. These brewers pump out one cup of coffee 
at a time, and they do it by way of a unique brewing cup, known as the Kcup. Each Kcup holds a single serving of coffee grounds, and a filter that is nestled inside of a cocoon of plastic and tinfoil. The Kcup is placed inside of the brewer and when the brewer lid is closed, a metal spout pierces the foil lid of the kcup. Hot water is then injected into the K cup and out comes the coffee. Seems like an ingenious concept. The Keurig brewers are enjoying a huge wave of popularity, with the estimated total sale of Kcups to be in excess of 5 billion units this year! But is the Kcup the right choice for your daily brew? Here are some pros and cons to help you decide… Read More→
The 5 Worst Coffee Gift Ideas Ever
By · CommentsHave a coffee question…ASK COFFEENATE!
If you are a coffee snob like me, then you have gotten some coffee themed gifts from people who have no business buying coffee stuff unassisted. I’ve gotten some things that I have to say, “Gee…thanks!”, but of course it is the thought that counts and I really don’t expect anything special, but some of this stuff makes me laugh 
Here are a few items that I have found that some people actually spend their money on, although I can’t figure out why…
WORST COFFEE GIFT IDEAS EVER
Toilet Bowl Mug
Perhaps this is a great gift idea if you know someone who drinks nasty coffee. Who would actually use this thing though? Really, who wants to be seen drinking from a toilet bowl?! LOL
The Clover Coffee Brewer :: Great Northern Roasting Company
By Nate · Comments (14)Have a coffee question…ASK COFFEENATE!
A couple of months ago I was griping about never having tasted coffee brewed in the Clover. Now that the Clover is owned solely by Starbucks appeared to make my quest to taste superb coffee brewed by this method in vain. Even if I wanted to experience the Starbucks coffee brewed in the Clover, I would have to drive more than 400 miles to the nearest Starbucks that offers Clover brew. I was lamenting this sad fact on Twitter one day and I was surprised by the response I got.
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