Hello folks, I have been quite busy the past month or so developing a website devoted to the “how-to” setting up a blog like this.
At www.SaugaWebDesign.com, I try to describe in an easy step by step process, what you need to do to setup a professional looking blog.
Topics will include: choosing and setting up your web hosting, Wordpress setup, Marketing advice, and helpful tips and resources.
I hope that you will visit www.saugawebdesign.com and hopefully you will find it helpful.
Enjoy,
Ian
Tags: Blogs
I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!
Please come back and visit this blog in 2010.
Enjoy
Ian
Today Fair Trade Coffee Review is looking at another one of Reunion Island’s coffees, the Privateer Dark fair trade organic coffee.
When I opened the package, I first noticed a nice dark aroma, but also that some of the beans seemed overroasted.
It is a full dark roast, so I put that thought aside for now.
The coffee seems less full bodied and thinner than I was expecting. It had a full roasted flavor, however it was somewhat bitter, a little burnt, and slightly acidic. All things considered, it still is a reasonable cup of coffee if you are looking for a full roasted flavor with a thinner base.
Privateer definitely finishes behind Reunion Island’s French Roast fair trade coffee when compared side by side.
This might be a good coffee to brew for friends, after dinner and just sitting down for some cards.
Rating: 
You can buy this coffee online from Amazon.com or in Canada from CulturedCoffeeBean.com.
Enjoy
Ian
Tags: Fair Trade Coffee Review, Organic Coffee, Reunion Island
Today Fair Trade Coffee Review is looking at Mystic Monk’s Midnight Vigils Blend fair trade organic coffee.
The Carmelite Monks of Wyoming roast coffee, under the Mystic Monk name, to support their life of prayer. Brother Paul Marie was kind enough to send me a sample of one of their fair trade organic coffees, the Midnight Vigils Blend.
The beans are a dark french roast, a little oily, very rich smell. The flavor is pleasant and smooth. Its dark, but not too rich. There’s maybe a slight chocolate flavor and call me crazy, but a wonderful almost sponge toffee like aftertaste. I took many quick sips just to get to the aftertaste!
There are also many gift and sample packs, flavored coffee, monk hoodies, mugs and other gift ideas available.
Rating:
Midnight Vigils Blend fair trade organic coffee by Mystic Monk , a heavenly idea!
Enjoy
Ian
Today Fair Trade Coffee Review is looking at Shock Coffee’s fair trade organic blend coffee.
If you are dragging your butt out of bed and need a real kick start, try some Shock fair trade organic blend! This blend contains almost double the caffeine as a regular cup of coffee. They also carry an Energy blend contains even more caffeine (however, this is not made from fair trade coffee beans).
As Shock says: Whether you want to cram more stuff in your brain or add more hours to your day, you need some Shock therapy.
Admit it. Sleep is overrated. So brew up some Shock and crank it up a notch.
The taste is not overpowering and is certainly not bitter. I was half expecting something quite shocking, but it is quite smooth and enjoyable. If you need a rich creamy coffee, this is probably not for you, but it would be a great option for people that are looking for a more middle of the road, great tasting cup of coffee.
There are also gift sets for Christmas, canned iced latte drinks and for those that like to snack on their caffeine during the day (and who doesn’t), they have Shock-a-lots which are chocolate covered, candy-coated, hyper-caffeinated, Shock coffee beans.
All of their coffee is Kosher too.
Rating:
Enjoy
Ian
Tags: Fair Trade Coffee, Fair Trade Coffee Review, Organic Coffee, Shock
Today Fair Trade Coffee Review is looking at Reunion Island’s French Roast fair trade organic coffee.
You know those weekend mornings when you’d like to sleep in, but the birds chirping outside your window wake you up and you just can’t get back to sleep. You go downstairs and suddenly it hits you, that quiet no one else is up yet feeling. You go to the door and grab your crisp clean newspaper (funnies section not yet touched!) and that wonderful feeling knowing your next hour is comprised of only the newspaper and a mug of fresh coffee.
This is the perfect coffee for those mornings. Its dark, rich, aromatic and creamy. There’s even a bit of a sweet citrus taste too.
Rating:
You can buy this coffee online from Amazon.com or in Canada from CulturedCoffeeBean.com.
Enjoy
Ian
Christmas themes in stores, it must be October!
Its also a good time to stock up on calendars for 2010!
Espresso Calendar
Today, Fair Trade Coffee Review is taking a break from doing fair trade coffee reviews and bringing you a reminder about 2010 (as if you need one), plus a cool site with a great deal on calendars.
Calendars.com has a three day sale (20% off, plus free shipping for orders over $20, with the coupon code provided below). This is a great site with hundreds of calendars of all kinds. There are lots of selections in their Food and Drink category, as well as a dozen coffee/tea calendars and even a nice java kitchen towel calendar to choose from.
Java Towel Calendar
The three day sale is on until Oct 30, 2009. Get 20% Off at Calendars.com and free shipping with $20 purchaseand use coupon code AF1009FS2 when ordering. (After Oct 31st, its 15% off and free shipping for orders over $20 with coupon code: CJ1010)
Enjoy!
Ian
Tags: Calendars
Last week I talked about How to Make a Good Cup of Fair Trade Coffee and pointed out the benefits of using freshly ground beans. Today Fair Trade Coffee Review is providing its opinion of coffee grinders in its coffee grinder review. There is a diverse price range when it comes to coffee grinders, so I am going to start today by just looking at grinders under $200.
Before I get started, I have to preface this review by stating that I did not obtain and test with these grinders (I only looked at the 30 most popular models and there are many more in the under $200 category). I researched 8 common retailers and product review sites for the 30 most popular grinders and analyzed the ratings information along with pros and cons provided in comments. Based on that analysis, here are the results:
Please keep in mind that prices can change.
Best buys are marked with an *
Under $100 Category:
I found three coffee grinders rated almost identical. All three are just under the $100 limit and they all weigh approximately 4 lbs. The Baratza’s Maestro has more grind settings and was rated higher for grinding espresso than the others, but comes in black. The other two come in a more attractive stainless steel finish:
- *Baratza’s Maestro
- Jura-Capresso’s Infinity 560 (black)/565 (stainless steel)
- Breville’s BarAroma BCG450XL
($99.95 at either Amazon.com or Cooking.com)
(560 is $89.99 at Amazon.com and 565 is $99.99 at either Amazon.com or Cooking.com)
($99.95 at either Amazon.com or Cooking.com)
There were a couple of popular blade grinders in the $20-30 range, however, the Cuisinart DBM-8 (and a similar Cuisinart Supreme Grinder) are fairly rated burr grinders at $49.99 (At either Amazon.com or Cooking.com). The better uniformity of grind and the ability to store beans in the hopper, makes the blade grinders obsolete.
$100 to $200 Category:
I found two coffee grinders in this range that stood out from the crowd. The Virtuoso has 40 grind settings and weighs in at 9 lbs. The ProLine has a variable grind setting and weighs 12 lbs. The Virtuoso is probably a slightly better grinder in a more compact frame, compared to the ProLine which is more stylish and slightly cheaper. The Maestro Plus is a very popular model, but seems to be similar to the Maestro. There are many reviews suggesting to just buy the Maestro or move up to the Virtuoso.
- *Baratza’s Virtuoso
- *KitchenAid’s ProLine
- Baratza’s Maestro Plus
($199.00 at Amazon.com)
(There are different finishes but most are around the $159 range, at either Amazon.com or Cooking.com)
($149.95 at either Amazon.com or Cooking.com)
Please support my work on providing this review by viewing Cooking.comor the category that I have set up on Amazon.com with the reviewed coffee grinders.
I certainly hope that you have found this helpful.
Enjoy
Ian
Tags: Coffee Grinders, Product Reviews
Today Fair Trade Coffee Review is looking at William Spartivento Kona Blend fair trade coffee. This is not a Kona coffee, but a blend with South American fair trade beans done to a full city roast.
Rich and creamy! There are mornings when you need a thick, rich, creamy coffee, well this coffee can certainly fill that bill. Full bodied, wonderful aroma, a very good deal for around $19 for a 1.75 lb bag.
Rating:
For those of you that would like to try some, updated William Spartivento roadshow dates are at the following Costco locations:
- Until October 25th: Chicoutimi PQ, Pointe-Claire PQ, St Catherines ON, and Etobicoke ON.
- October 27th to November 8th: Sainte-Foy PQ, Laval PQ, Ancaster ON, and Brampton ON.
- November 10th to 22nd: Brossard PQ, Boisbriand PQ, Burlington On, and Vaughan ON.
They still have the free shipping promotion in Canada with a $35 purchase. Click here for more info on their roadshow or to purchase online.
Enjoy
Ian
Tags: Fair Trade Coffee Review, Organic Coffee, William Spartivento
On the weekend, I stopped at a bakery/cafe that I had never been to before. I was in the neighborhood, in a hurry and needed a coffee. They had several airpots with different blends of the same brand of coffee.
The large of the fair trade coffee blend was 40 cents more than that of the non fair trade blends. I had never really thought about it before, but how much more, if any, should you pay for a cup of fair trade coffee over a similar cup of non fair trade coffee?
I was assuming that a pound of fair trade coffee goes for about a dollar or two more than its non fair trade counterpart. I went to several online coffee sites and priced them out and I was approximately right. Keep in mind, this is also retail. I would imagine that the wholesale prices would be slightly less and the differences between them even smaller.
Assuming that you get approximately 24 x 12 oz mugs per pound, that leaves us with the conclusion that for every dollar more per pound a coffee is, it would add about 4 cents per mug.
There’s little likelihood that the fair trade coffee is costing anymore than about 8 cents more to make than the non fair trade coffee. Is the difference going to cafe profits? Is there higher waste (possibly, since the price is so much higher, their sales of it are lower)? Any ideas?
I brought a travel mug in, as I always try to do, and got a discounted price, so it didn’t really register until I left the cafe, but I certainly have a question or two for my next visit.
Enjoy!
Ian
Tags: cost per cup, costs
