Baskets And Brew

chamlo asked:


Hello,

For gift baskets, I am trying to purchase 2 oz gift packs of Kona coffee. Can anyone recommend a coffee company/plantation in Hawaii that produces the best Kona coffee in Hawaii. I am looking a pure Kona coffee not a blend.

The company MUST be Hawaiian since these gift baskets are Hawaiian themed.

Thanks

Thanks Lori

itn asked:

For the ultimate Obama-philes, Krispy Kreme have produced the Barack Americano, with the new president’s face smiling out of the foam.

Trix_R_not_4_kids asked:


My in laws and my parents have done a lot for me, and I want to give them a homemade gift basket as a thank you gift. They both like drining coffees and teas. What kinds of things can I put into the basket? And I don’t want to buy a ready-made basket, because I know both my parents and in laws really appreciate it when I give them homemade stuff.

Steve Dubin asked:


           

DATELINE:  BOSTON; BROOKLINE; CAMBRIDGE; JAMAICA PLAIN; NEWTON CENTRE; SOMERVILLE AND WEST ROXBURY, MA…

The handsome gift baskets and bags can be customized to recipients.  Items that may be tucked into a basket or bag and given to an adult include:  fresh roasted whole or ground coffee beans, mugs, travel cups, a J.P. Licks T-shirt and/or hat and gift card.  For a child’s gift basket or bag, a cool nylon cinch pack, hat or T-shirt, travel cup, gift card or other items may be selected. 

The gift baskets and bags come in a variety of price points ranging from $10 to $100.

                                                                                                                        

Black Friday Bonanza

Shopping on Black Friday?  Stop by J.P. Licks on Friday, November 28th (the day after Thanksgiving) and enter the Black Friday contest for a chance to win a Holiday Gift Basket.

The contest winner will be drawn on Monday, December 8, 2008.

                      

Thanksgiving Cakes & Pies

J.P. Licks has ultra rich Pumpkin Pies and Carrot Cakes available for purchase throughout November.  These items must be pre-ordered.  Their rich, homemade ice creams for November include: Wild Turkey Bourbon ice cream, French Vanilla*; Peanut Butter Oreo; El Diablo (a spicy chocolate); Pumpkin Cheesecake*; Vermont Maple lowfat yogurt; Cranberry Orange Sorbet; Pumpkin Lactose Free* and Lime Sherbet.    * Items contain eggs.

J.P. Licks Holiday Blend coffee will be available through November and December. It is a syrupy, smooth blend, with strong spice notes and very warming for the holidays.

Visit jplicks.com for all locations.           

Best of Boston and Beyond                 

For more than 25 years, J.P. Licks has been serving homemade ice cream and other specialties in their eight Kosher-certified shops in and around Boston.  Locally owned and operated, J.P. Licks has won many awards over the years for their intensely-flavored homemade ice cream and frozen yogurt.  Most recently, J.P. Licks was named “Best of Boston” and “Best Location – Jamaica Plain” by Boston Magazine and also made WBZ’s “A-List” for the second year in a row.  Known for their high quality, scrumptious treats and their knack for “treating people right”, J.P. Licks was named Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s “Small Business of the Year”.

In addition to their frozen creations, J.P. Licks roasts their own fair trade and organic coffee beans on-site at their Jamaica Plain store, which ensures the best and the freshest, full-bodied cup of coffee around.  Decadent hand-packed ice cream cakes as well as breakfast & ice cream sundae catering are also available. 

Isabel asked:


The coming of Christmas feels our hearts with hope and joy. It’s a festival of exchanging good wishes with our near and dear ones. Are you looking for a special gift for your special friend? What better way can you think of other than gifting your family and friends with Christmas gift basket. A Christmas gift basket is the best way to portray your feelings to your family and friends.

Christmas gift basket is one of the best ways through which you can express your feeling for your dear ones. Christmas gift baskets are uniquely designed for different consumer. You can get these candles in different categories and prices as you think it fit for your budget. Gifting candles in Christmas is one of the latest fashions, which is followed by many people.

There are different gift shops where you can find Christmas gift basket. These Christmas gifts basket are seasonal and are specially designed for Christmas. A simple online search can help you find a reliable Christmas gift outlet online. You can find different varieties of Christmas gift baskets to portray different feelings mainly

• Corporate Christmas gift basket

• Gourmet Christmas gift basket

• Christmas cookie gift basket

• Christmas food gift basket

• Christmas candle gift basket

• Christmas chocolate gift basket

• Christmas wine gift basket

• Christmas holiday gift basket

• Christmas coffee gift basket

Today one can find different types of online gift basket stores. These online outlets provide you with different varieties of gift baskets. A proper search can help you find a reliable store. These outlets provide you with number of value added services like free home delivery, packing services and so on.

Travannah asked:


I am looking at starting a Gift Basket business, how would I go about this… I am thinking something like… pet baskets, christmas, halloween, wine, pasta, chocolate, coffee, beer lovers, and cookies, stuff like that, but I dont know how I would go about starting it.

Any suggestions!

Pencil Writer asked:


Well known for its taste and aroma, coffee is a widely consumed beverage throughout the world. The best coffee is made from freshly roasted and ground beans. Traditionally crude methods were adopted to brew coffee. The beans were dried, roasted and powered before boiling in water to make the decoction. It was a time consuming process. Much of its aroma or flavour will be lost because of the exposure and improper heating. Later coffee making methods underwent many changes. In an endeavour to make tasty coffee, using hygienic methods, machines were introduced. Today there are many types of coffee machines available in the market. Machines adopting different technologies and with varying capacities are introduced in the market to cater the needs of the consumers.

Dip brewing is a very common method. To make a few cups of coffee at a time, a machine with one to four cup capacity can be preferred. Uniform heat will be applied to attain the required temperature for the brewing. In some models, the water holder is detachable. It will facilitate to remove the water holder for the purpose of filling water. In some other models burr grinders are used in the place of blade grinders, to avoid the beans getting burnt due to inherent friction. Some of the machines will provide for detachable grinders, but it will occupy more counter space. To store the prepared coffee for a longer time, it is better to go for a thermal pot. The Insulated pot will retain the heat and aroma of the coffee. Glass pots or carafes are also available. Many new features are incorporated in modern coffee machines. Cone shaped filter baskets will facilitate water to flow evenly and to make the coffee more consistent. Timers are provided in the machines for the convenience of the user. Coffee can be ground and mixed with water before going to bed. The timers which are programmed will enable to start brewing process in the early morning automatically.

Similarly, extra large pots for making several cups of coffee at a time are available. Stainless steel body will help to maintain uniform temperature throughout. Stainless steel products are easy to clean and can be maintained hygienically. Latest models of coffee making machines are more energy efficient and equipped with facilities to collect residual substances after brewing. A special purpose tray will be provided for the purpose. In a bean to cup model, the beans stored in the hopper will be ground in the inner chamber. In the espresso models an electric pump will emit hot water forcefully to the ground coffee. In another model known as lever coffee machine, a hand operated mechanism will pump hot water to the ground beans. The pod coffee machine has the provision to store ground beans in the pod and hot water will be pumped with sufficient force to make a very consistent beverage.

Modern markets are flooded with coffee machines with special features and capacities. The consumers can visit the websites of the dealers to choose from the various models. In the changed lifestyles, people prefer coffee machines which are easy to operate, energy efficient and also easy to clean after use.

Peace asked:


So… I am a very crafty person. I love to give homemade gifts for Christmas. Last year was coffee, homemade Kalua, Homemade chocolate dipped spoons, all inside homemade fabric gift bags. Everyone loved them.

This year I’m doing gift baskets with homemade pickled Garlic (if you have a great recipe for that I’m open to new ones), Homemade bread, 2 flavored butters (honey butter and rum butter), homemade candy (or rice crispy treats) and i want to do one more thing. I thought about flavored olive oil but cant find a recipe and there are a lot of warnings about flavoring olive oils, they may grow bacteria and such. I dont want to make anyone sick! Then I was going to make bread and butter pickles but i think that will take too long, maybe cost too much. Unless you have an easy recipe for them???

If you have any semi-unique inexspencive ideas let me know please…

Brian Connors asked:


Time is that precious asset that seems to slip away when we most need it. This is particularly true when we seek to complete our gift-shopping duties with success. So why are unique gift baskets a way to achieve an excellent end result in the least amount of time and hassle?  

First off, unique gift baskets are ….uh….well…you know.….unique! There are many themes to gift baskets – one of which may fit the beneficiary of your generosity perfectly. Like what? How about hobbies such as gardening, bath spa, movies, golf, NASCAR, or casinos? There is a variety of such gifts that have these topics to hit a bulls-eye regarding anyone’s specific interests. 

And who doesn’t like food? – Or love gourmet food? There are gift treasures packed with everything from chocolate, coffee, tea, as well as Italian food, healthy food, spicy food, and gourmet goodies as well. How could you go wrong with sending someone a gorgeous container chock full of something that makes their life more enjoyable to the palate? 

Is there an event such as a birthday, new neighbor, wedding or birth of a baby that you need to celebrate? How about a desire to thank someone for a favor given? Need to send a positive message at the corporate level? Want to send your thoughts with a romantic theme to it? Or send someone under-the-weather a gift to raise his or her spirits? 

Guess what? There are unique gift baskets for each and every one of these themes and more. Take a moment to imagine the look of anticipation in someone’s eyes while tearing open the package. Or better yet, the smile and gaze of satisfaction when the secret of its contents are revealed! The odds are deeply in your favor that there is a gift basket that will do exactly that! 

The next challenge to overcome is getting one of these ideas physically in your hands to give to the lucky guy or gal – or perhaps delivered to their very doorstep. Just two words are needed to get this accomplished – Buy online! Why not sit back and let technology do all the labor for you? Life is too short to do otherwise. How to? 

Go to Google, Yahoo, MSN or other search engine of your choice and type in the keywords or keyword phrases that best fit the type of unique gift baskets that you are looking for. Check out the selections given and choose the best one that’s within your budget. Fill out the shipping, billing, safe credit card info and optional personal message and you have completed your mission with honor – and with time to spare for other items on your daily check list. Piece of cake, or what? 

Let’s sum it all up….You can get a gift with a theme specific to someone’s interests with instructions to have it shipped anywhere at any time…even overnight! The whole process can be completed in mere minutes at your home or office. So what’s not to love about that? 

Take the advice of aGiftBasketParadise.com and buy unique gift baskets online as a brilliant strategy to get the best with the least amount of effort.

Stephanie Larkin asked:


Ah, espresso! It’s been called the nectar of the gods and the elixir of energy. Properly prepared, the perfect shot of espresso is an unparalleled sensory experience, encompassing four of the five senses – five, if you include the sound of this delicious drink as it is prepared and consumed. A perfectly turned out shot of espresso is an incredibly refreshing hot beverage and has been termed ‘the god shot’. There has been a great deal written about how to achieve a perfect shot/cup of espresso every time. Brewing the perfect cup of espresso consistently is a talent to which most baristas – both professional and at-home – aspire. What does it take to brew a perfect cup of espresso? Here are ten tips to help you make every shot of espresso a perfect shot.

1. Start with a clean machine. That should go without saying, but far too many people neglect the necessary maintenance needed to keep their espresso machines scrupulously clean. A film of coffee oils on your filter basket or group head can mar the flavor of your coffee, and mineral buildup in the various parts of the machine that hold and carry water can give your espresso a tinny or metallic flavor.

2. Choose the right coffee. It’s not necessary to choose an ‘espresso roast’; in fact, espresso roast is often darker than the roasts suggested for making espresso. Because espresso brewing extracts so much rich coffee flavor, you will get incredibly good results with coffee in the medium to medium-dark roast categories. Of course, you want to use GOOD coffee, but the variety is less important than the perfect grind.

3. The perfect grind is almost impossible to achieve with a cheap bladed grinder. The right grind for espresso is very fine, almost as fine as talcum powder. Aim for a grind somewhere between sugar and flour in consistency, and you will have it about right. You CAN get that consistency with a blade grinder, but you will generally ‘burn’ the coffee in the attempt. A burr grinder can be adjusted to exactly the right grind for espresso without damaging the flavor of the coffee.

4. Use the right amount of coffee. The “Espresso Rule of Thumb” calls for 7 grams of coffee for a single shot and 14 grams of coffee for a double shot.

5. Use good water. Filtered water is best for making espresso because you will leave behind all the little impurities that can affect the flavor of your coffee. On the other hand, distilled water can leave your coffee tasting a little flat. If you are lucky enough to have a semi-automatic machine with a built-in water filter, be sure to keep the filter clean.

6. Heat the water to the correct temperature. Espresso is defined as a coffee beverage brewed by forcing water heated to between 190 and 195 degrees through finely ground, packed coffee under high pressure. If the water is colder than 190, it will not extract enough flavor. If it is hotter, it can ‘cook’ the coffee.

7. Run a ‘blind shot’ through the group head before you make your shot to heat the group head to the right temperature. To make a perfect shot of espresso, the temperature should remain consistent all the way through the brewing time. If your group head is at room temperature, it can rapidly cool down the coffee right in the middle of the brewing process, resulting in weak coffee.

8. Tamp the coffee in the filter basket to pack it tightly. The “Espresso Rule of Thumb” says that you should get 1.5 ounces of espresso in 20-25 seconds. There are two major factors that affect how fast the water goes through your ground and packed coffee. The first is the pump pressure on your machine. The second is how firmly packed your coffee is. If the water is flowing through too fast or too slow, try adjusting either the grind of the coffee or the pressure that you use to tamp the coffee into the filter basket.

9. Use the right size tamper. This is a surprisingly simple solution that is often overlooked. If the tamper that you use is too small, the coffee around the edges of the filter basket won’t be packed firmly enough. The water will take the path of least resistance through the coffee – right down the sides of the filter basket, missing most of the coffee flavor in your basket.

10. Use the right pump pressure setting. The correct setting for your pump pressure is 8-9 BAR.

Making perfect cup of espresso is not much different than making a perfect cake. Once you learn the recipe – which in the case of espresso includes pressure and temperature – you will be able to produce consistently excellent shots of espresso even when you start experimenting with different kinds of coffee.