Gifts for the Coffee Lover

This list is for someone who wants a good cup of coffee and appreciates good quality kitchen appliances to achieve that end. Although these are excellent products, they are not so expensive they are out of the average consumer's reach. They are not commercial grades that are dependably overpriced for typical home use. They are designed to give coffee lovers what they need, an exceptional cup of coffee! A good coffee grinder and coffee maker are only as good as the beans you put in them, so buying an excellent coffee is just as important. Almost every coffee drinker I know enjoys a cup (or two...or three...) of delicious Starbucks coffee. I include myself as a coffee lover, so I would certainly not give someone gifts that I would not enjoy. Let's get right to the heart of the gift, the coffee!

Starbucks has quite the variety of coffees, but some are substantially more popular. This gift set includes two Starbucks favorites. The Caffe Verona is the one they call their most popular coffee. This is a versatile coffee, and can be used in a coffee press, drip brewer or as espresso. Starbucks describes The Caffe Verona as a " complex blend combining great Latin American and Asia Pacific coffees with a touch of Italian roast". The next coffee in this gift box is the French Roast. This is the darkest roasted coffee and one of my favorites. This is also a best seller at Starbucks. If you love a good strong cup of coffee, I highly recommend French Roast. Starbucks says about this coffee, "despite its bold flavor profile, French Roast contains no more caffeine than any of our other coffees". Well, I won't hold that against it, I still love it! This gift box contains one pound of each of these fantastic coffees for $23.35. It is available in ground coffee or whole beans.

The coffee connoisseur is going to want whole coffee beans, so they will need a good coffee grinder. This coffee mill will be an excellent one to start with. It doesn't cost a fortune but will deliver great results. The Cuisinart Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill is regularly priced at $59.00 but I found it on sale for $49.00 at Kohls just recently. Cuisinart guarantees this automatic burr mill to uniformly grind the coffee beans for the best flavor. It has eighteen grind-level options. It can be set to grind from four to eighteen cups and has a timer built in to turn the mill off when the chosen amount is ground. The extra large, removable chamber holds enough ground coffee for thirty-two brewed cups of coffee. It features a stainless steel design with the 18 position grind selectors, an 8-ounce bean hopper and cord storage. It has a limited 1 ½ year manufacturer's warranty. The model number is "DBM-8."

It's time for the new coffee maker to brew that delicious cup of Starbucks coffee from freshly ground beans. Cuisinart Brew Central 14-Cup Coffee Maker will deliver great results. This is an extra large capacity coffee maker and is fully automatic. It has 24 hour programmability and a "brew-pause" feature that allow for getting a cup of coffee before the brew cycle is complete. It will automatically start the brewing process again after 60 seconds. It has a modern black and stainless steel design with an automatic shut-off and a beeper will indicate the brewing cycle is complete. The Cuisinart Brew Central retail for $119.00 but I also found it on sale at Kohls for $99.00. You can find these appliances in their stores or on line at: www.kohls.com/