Holiday Coffee and New Producer

Tis the season for many flavored holiday coffees. If you check with your favorite suppliers you will note the flavored coffees that are now availble.

Also please note a new producer in the K Cup enviornment with Kuerig coffee. I have not tried any of these but will in time. If anyone does please let us all know how you feel about them - Barista Prima Coffeehouse -

http://www.keurig.com/shop/k-cups/all-k-cups?hdnCategoryFacets=Brand%3aBarista+Prima+Coffeehouse%e2%84%a2&hdnBaseFacets=Brand&cm_mmc=email-_-Customer-_-111710-_-ShopNowTxt

Efficient Purchasing

Just a quick note today - I was able to purchase five boxes of 24 K Cups each for $50.02. This was through 11thstreetcoffee.com. They had a 5% and 10% promotion plus free shipping over $50.00. If I did my math correctly this works out to be about .41 a cup which is on the less expensive side these days. One word of caution is that they are somewhat limited in their choices, but for me have all the bold, strong, full bodied coffees that the Mrs. and I enjoy.

I also found that Pete's Coffee is looking around again to purchase a distributor which could be very good for us. Nothing better than getting that good Pete's Coffee in the K Cup enviornment.

Coffees we would never order

Since we are pure coffee drinkers I thought I would show you how that some folks enjoy coffee that in fact is unhealthy.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-11-09/coffee-ranking-the-40-most-fattening-and-unhealthy-brews/?om_rid=DfBDTC&om_mid=_BM2UuxB8Vnnp-Z

All the best and enjoy the coffee of your choice

Old Favorites Revisited

Lots of blogging lately - Too much time with too little to do - Below you will find some opinions about five coffees that I procured through my "make your own box" account with Bigcatcoffee.com

1. Coffee People's Tree Hugger - It is fair trade and organic. It comes highly touted but for me without much flavor, aroma, or enjoyment. I was expecting to be wowed but left me flat and looking forward to another brand.

2. Caribou Coffee's Mahogany - Think I got caught up with the name as for this K Cup lacks spirit, taste, and follow through. Could hardly finish my cup. Again my expectations were high and wanted to fully enjoy this coffee. Bland, tasteless, soft, and I am moving on.

3. Tully;s Coffee French Roast - Promoted as an extra bold coffee that lacks after taste, original bursting of flavor, and of many French Roasts out there found this to be lacking intensity.

Next you will find two that I could and would recommend that you try if you enjoy a good flavored full bodied and enjoyable morning respite with good coffee.

1. Timothy's Parisian Nights - A real nice coffee that I have tried prior but had been sometime since tasting. I like the aroma, taste and follow through. It is a dark roast but I did not find it overwhelming. Feels like a nice smooth jog through a park. Refreshing without being overbrearing.

2. Green Mountain Coffee's Sumatran Reserve - Fair traded and certified organic - An extra bold coffee that delivers. Nice aroma, good initial taste that, in fact, stays with the entire cup as you finish. Good enough to have a second or third cup that same morning. Not overbearing but a good strong bold cup of coffee.

I know this is alot of to read but you have the choice of not doing so. I would love to read your comments and more importantly let me know of K Cups you have tried and have an opinion.

Van Houtte Eclipse Blend

OK Folks - This K Cup blend is one of my favorites. It is a bold yet a wonderful tasting coffee with little after taste but a nice aroma and flavor from the first taste to the last.

How to buy it: If you go through Van Houtte.com directly or one of the distrubutors (ie Kuerig.com) you can expect to pay at least 57 cents per cup This is without shipping costs which will add to your cost per K Cup - Expensive -

One of the few brick and mortar stores that carry this blend is Bed Bath and Beyond and every month they put out a gift certificate of $5.00 or percentage off each purchase. I just bought two boxes (18 K Cups per box) for a total of 41.6 cents a cup. While I did have gas costs driving to and fro there was no charge of parking or a handling or delivery charge. Let me also state that BBB also carries many more K Cup brands and coffees.

New K Cup Producer

Haven't tried it but we have a new main stream coffee producer getting into the K Cup enviornment -

Folgers Makes K-Cups
Folgers K-Cups - WATERBURY , Vt., and ORRVILLE, Ohio, Feb. 24, 2010 – Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR) and The J.M. Smucker Company (Smucker) (NYSE: SJM) today announced a multiyear manufacturing and distribution agreement under which GMCR will manufacture certain coffee brands owned by Smucker, including Folgers® Gourmet SelectionsTM and Millstone® in single-serve K-Cup® portion packs for Keurig® Single-Cup Brewers. Smucker is a leader in the U.S. retail coffee market with its brands Folgers, Folgers Gourmet Selections, and Millstone. Smucker also manufactures and markets the Dunkin Donuts® coffee brand through retail channels in North America.


Under terms of the agreement, Smucker will have the ability to market and sell a variety of Folgers Gourmet Selections and Millstone K-Cups to consumers in the U.S. and Canada through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, drugstores, and wholesale clubs, as well as through Smucker retail websites. GMCR’s Keurig business unit will have the ability to market and sell Smucker coffee brands of K-Cups direct to consumers via its website: www.keurig.com.


Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. will be the exclusive manufacturer of Smucker coffee brands of K-Cups using roasted and blended coffee beans provided by Smucker. A select offering of Smucker coffee brands of K-Cups are expected to be available to consumers beginning in the fall of 2010.

The last note of the day – By the way I feel that Van Houtte’s Eclipse Coffee is one of the best out there –

Green Mountain Coffee to buy Van Houtte

Published: Sept. 14, 2010 at 10:43 AM

• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

WATERBURY, Vt., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in Vermont said Tuesday it would purchase all the outstanding shares of Canadian rival Van Houtte for $890 million.

The deal with Van Houtte, currently owned by equity firm Littlejohn & Co., is subject to regulatory review, but is expected to close by the end of the year, Green Mountain said in a statement.

"We have had a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with Van Houtte since 2001 when they first became a Keurig licensee and we're confident that the company and its well known Canadian brands … are great additions to GMCR," said Green Mountain President and Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Blanford.

The deal gives GMCR a stronger presence in Canada, where Van Houtte sells Van Houtte, Brulerie St. Denis, Les Cafes Orient Express Coffee and Brulerie Mont Royal brands.

GMCR said Van Houtte President and CEO Gerard Geoffrion would stay on to lead the Van Houtte brand business north of the border after the deal closes.

GMCR did not mention layoffs in its press release, but said Van Houtte currently employs 1,700 people in the United States and Canada.

Yank

yeppinger@comcast.net