Category Archives: News

Illy offering complimentary samples of their new Italian Coffees in a can

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Illy isn’t calling it “Italian Coffee in a Can”, that is just what I thought of when I saw it.

In my email inbox this morning was the below offer. It appears that Illy is adding to their line of Issimo line with 2 new drinks… Mochaccion and Caffe No Sugar. As you can see in the screenshot of the email below, use the code to get a free sample when you make your next purchase through Illy.

I will be doing research and report back here any caffeine and flavor information I can find. Let me know if you take them up on the offer how you enjoyed your Issimo.

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Espresso with the speed of a puck machine but still real frothed milk!

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You love the speed of a puck coffee maker but don’t like the ‘pucks’ of so called milk. You enjoy espresso but have a time keeping fresh beans in the house. If this describes you, I have a find you will be interested in. Personally, I was excited.

Illy has several pre-packaged coffee ‘pucks’ options. Their new style, I have mentioned here before are little plastic single use Capsules. And, the long term solution are their E.S.E pods, which are individually wrapped coffee in what looks like filter material. The E.S.E Pods can be purchased from a variety of stores and online suppliers. E.S.E Pods come in Medium, Dark and Decaf.

Their new machine, Mitaca POD1 Espresso Machine, uses these E.S.E Pods. And also has a milk frothing steam nozzle! This is big if you like the speed of the k-cup style machines but don’t want to use the ‘milk’ pucks like in the Tassimo or Dolce machines. The manufactures make an attempt at filling the need of frothed milk but it tastes very different from the milk in your fridge. Interesting enough, from the circle of friends I chatted with about the new Mitaca POD1, they all found it easy to keep fresh milk on hand but difficult to store and grind beans for a quick espresso or cappuccino.

The Mitaca POD1 has the option of the monthly service too. Currently, the machine is just under $400 dollars, but if you go for the monthly coffee delivery option they sell you the machine for $175 US. They also throw in four of their Illy espresso cups on the monthly package.

Particulars from the IllyUSA site:

  • Electronic low water level alarm
  • Steam nozzle makes frothing milk easy
  • Hot water dispenser
  • Adjustable tray for small and large cups
  • Automatic pod ejection
  • Aluminium thermoblock
  • Pump pressure: 18 bars
  • Water tank: 50.7 ounces
  • Weight: 8.6 lbs.
  • Available colors: Red, and Silver

Measures: 8.6” w x 11.4” d x 10.2” h

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Coffee Joulies – A new idea to keep coffee the perfect temperature

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Looking around Kickstarter this morning, I noticed a new project called Coffee Joulies. The end product from the project is Stainless Steal ‘Beans’ with a chemical inside that melts at 140 degrees, absorbing excessive heat out of the coffee. Then, they hold that heat to keep the coffee warm beyond what would be a normal length of time. I am in no way involved with this project, but it seemed interesting for my readers that might suffer from their coffee being too hot or for folks that take their time drinking their coffee which gets cold before finished.

There is a time limit to the project (29 days left as of the posting of this). After that date, the project folks go off and manufacture the Coffee Joulies and start to ship. So, if you read this after the project ends and are interested, you may still want to jump to their project to see where you can buy.

The Coffee Joulies developers had a few FAQ items:

How do I use Coffee Joulies?

Pop a few Joulies into your coffee as soon as it’s poured. The hotter the coffee, the more energy Joulies can absorb, and the longer they can keep your coffee the right temperature.

Are Coffee Joulies really safe to put in my coffee?

Yes! Joulies are perfectly safe when used properly, and in fact make drinking coffee safer than usual by reducing the risk of burning your mouth. They sink in your coffee to keep them away from your lips, they won’t ever be hotter than 140°F when used properly (meaning they’ll never burn you), and all the materials used in their construction are food-grade.

What are Coffee Joulies made of?

Joulies are made of the hightest grade stainless steel used in silverware production, ensuring that they are completely safe, will last forever, and will keep their polished finish for a long time.

What’s inside of Coffee Joulies?

Joulies are filled with a proprietary substance called a “Phase Change Material” (PCM) that melts at 140°F and is 100% edible food-grade magic.

How long will my Coffee Joulies last?

Coffee Joulies are made using the same materials and a very similar process as table knives, and will last a lifetime.

If you are new to Kickstarter.com. It is a site that people can present their projects to accept funding from anyone. There is a set amount that must be reached for the project to be considered ‘funded’, if that isn’t reached the people committing money will not be charged. Generally, the project pay off is the product as if you had purchased it at a highly reduced price, mentions and other ways of saying thanks. Money put into a project does not result in any ownership of the project product and is generally not tax deductible.

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News: Starbucks, Starbucks and Personalized Coffee Bags

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Starbucks has two news items worthy of a mention and there is also the new ‘personalized coffee bags’. We had mentioned late last year that Starbucks was raising their prices. We got a lot of emails stating that folks didn’t see the increase in their area. We do not know if the increase was delayed or if it was just being rolled out across the states a few stores at a time. We did see specialty drinks go up 30 cents in Ft. Worth and then a week later go up in Dallas. While we still hit a Starbucks when we have a espresso need and no small shop is available, this price does put the drinks just over our comfort level. We’ll report back on what we end up doing.

Another Starbucks news item was the announcement that the beta for smartphone payments of in store purchases was successful so they are rolling it out to more stores. Currently, there is just over 7,000 stores around the US that you can pay for your coffee and snacks using your smartphone. There is an app for the iPhone (free on the iTunes store here) and there is a BlackBerry app too.  There are most likely Android and Microsoft solutions but we don’t have links to those yet. The iPhone version of the app has a way to ‘reload’ your card and a location finder too.

And to wrap up the coffee news is an offering we found from Boca Java: Personalizing Your Coffee is as Easy as 1-2-3! Choose from either 8oz. bags or 2oz. bags. Fun for Weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Grand Openings, Holiday Gifts, In-Room Coffee Service, Invitations & Announcements, Reunions, Conventions & Trade Shows and Corporate Gifts. You can see their offerings on their site. Personalize Boca Java Coffee with Your Own Image!

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Don’t get hooked on the Keurig Donut Coffees at Costco

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While the Keurig is not as sophisticated of a coffee system as the Tassimo, they do have an impressive line of K-Cup coffee offerings. The system treats each pod the same so the many providers of the coffee options pick and choose which of their line will work best with the system. Several brands offer many of their regular drip coffee versions, while others may offer just a regular and decaf.

Costco carries the standard machine, packaged with a few of the coffees on the market to sample which you may like best. They also offer large 80 K-Cup boxes of a few coffees. Most notable has been the Folgers Gourmet Lively Colombia (medium roast).

Also in the ‘big’ box is The Donut Shop Coffee from Coffee People. Well, they ‘did’ offer it, for a couple months.

Many times at Costco, things appear and then go away a short time later. Sometimes this is because the offering isn’t as popular as hoped but many times it is because the product manufacture was just getting folks to try. Then, they pull the bulk product and the only place to buy is in smaller quantities for more money in regular retailers.

There is actually still ‘Donut’ K-Cup coffee at Costco, but it is “Donut House” Coffee.

There is nothing wrong with the Donut House compared to the Donut Shop coffee… we just found it interesting that Costco stopped a coffee and replaced it with a very similarly named product.

For those that care, the Donut Shop is a bit ‘stronger’ tasting, while the Donut House is more ‘bold’. Both are fine… and it’s always great to have new options to try.

As a side note, if Donut Shop did do a bit of test marketing at Costco, it worked. In a visit to Crate and Barrel this weekend, the K-Cup area had only the Decaf version of the Donut Shop coffee left. The counter person said the regular option is always out of stock due to popular demand, now.

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