The back of the card reads:
Published by Sudeep Johnson
Doggie Paw Cards Inc.
www.dancimals.com
Many thanks to Toby, Paddington, Cooper, Fergie and Popcorn, without whom there would be no card.
Here is last year's card, and you can trace back through all the cards over the years.
]]>And then ... OH NO! Little Drummer Boy! A jazz version! How fast can I put the noise-canceling ear buds into my ears!
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Darth Vader
I just ordered mine so I don't have to worry about running out, so I feel safe letting you know about it.
I ordered the Tanzania Peaberry last year, and immediately after it arrived I ordered two more pounds! Here is Peet's description of this year's:
Bright and sweet, with the concentrated flavors of the finest peaberry crops and the fragrant blackberry notes characteristic of the region.Last year's Tanzanian Peaberry was my favorite Peet's coffee ever, except for their Kona, which I can't afford lately.
The India Peaberry is also spectacular - at least it was last year. Peet's describes it this way:
Rich and sweet, with warm, baking spice notes (think ginger and cinnamon), a caramel touch, balanced with hints of dark woods and the bold zing of top peaberry.
They are offering the two together in a Peaberry Collection with free shipping.
I'll let you know if it is as good as last year's after it arrives.
]]>Cool off with a refreshing iced beverage when you buy one for a friend.It excludes licensed locations like airports and supermarkets.Bring this coupon to a participating Peet's location today throught Friday, July 17th, to receive a free iced beverage with the purchase of and iced beverage.
Click here to get and print the coupon.
The fine print: Purchase one iced beverage and receive a second iced beverage of equal or lesser value FREE. Qualifying beverages exclude juice, kids drinks and bottled beverages. Valid at Peet's retail locations only. Excludes airport, supermarket, BART and other licensed locations. May not be combined with other offers. No cash value. Offer expires July 17, 2009.
]]>One of the first of life’s little luxuries to go for our house hold, would be the trips to our local coffee houses. When I had a job I used to pick up a Starbucks latte on the way to work most mornings, then weekends would find me at the local Peets. Sometimes twice in one day!
Now faced with the prospect of making my own drinks I realize there is was more to it than I thought. I have a cheap old Melita espresso machine so I’m all set to make the perfect latte – or so I thought!
Things to take into consideration are; flavor, body, foam.
I experimented to find that perfect Peet’s flavor, and even after two months, I still do not have it. I decided it was all to do with the coffee and I dabbled with Major Dickison’s (normally my favorite) ground as fine as I could get it, with half decaf. It did not hit the spot. I discovered that Peet’s sells an espresso roast which tastes better than the Major D. This is good, but still doesn’t compare to the flavor of one of their coffee house lattes.
A big element of a perfect latte is the milk product. I use soymilk and experimented my way through several brands. Trader Joe's non-sweetened is too – well – not sweet. So I tried vanilla soy which turned out to be – well – too vaniller-y. Yuk! This was sweeter than Starbuck’s! So I tried mixing it – some vanilla some Trader Joe’s. No. This was not it at all. I even went to Peet’s and asked them their secret. They told me they had special "steamer soy for coffee house use only". Well that was no help at all. I have since settled on Pearl un-sweetened which I get from Whole Foods. This particular brand tastes pretty good and makes the best, silkiest thick foam ever – yum.
I still have not found the way to make the latte of my taste bud’s dreams, but I have a way of making one that I like. If I go to Peet’s coffee house and buy one, it is now a delightful treat that I appreciate all the more. Sorry to Peet’s that I can’t spend more in your stores, but I do appreciate your products.
Isn't after noon when people want decaf, so they aren't kept awake all night?
I'm sure it makes sense to some MBA marketing weenie or bean counter somewhere when they're thinking up the strategery that gets them their big bonus, but in my humble opinion telling a third of your customers to get lost isn't the smartest longer-term cost-cutting move.
]]>There were coffee and scones this morning at Peet's Coffee & Tea at the corner of University Drive and Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park, but money did not change hands. The refreshments were free, following a devastating fire yesterday, but while the empty tables and chairs inside beckoned, you had to find a seat outside.Photos here.]]>. . . As to when the building comes back on line for regular use, it depends largely on when the owner obtains building permits to do the necessary repairs and how quickly the repairs are done...
... It's possible that Peet's could be up and running before the other activities, he said, because the water damage was slight compared with what happened to the boutique next door.
A fire burning in downtown Menlo Park Tuesday morning went to three alarms, a fire dispatcher said.There is video at the news website so click the link.]]>The blaze was reported at 7:04 a.m. at 1050 University Drive.
The building where the fire was burning contains several businesses, including a Peet's Coffee & Tea and the Calla boutique.
Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew instant coffee.
Starbucks has found a way to offer a truly great cup of coffee that you can prepare by just adding water. Other instant coffees taste flat and lifeless. Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew is different – it’s full-bodied and flavorful, just like the Starbucks® coffee you know and love.OK, what?
I mean, OK, what? Starbucks instant coffee?
OK, I'll head down to a Starbucks and get a sample. I'll bring it home, mix it up and report here -- so you don't have to.
OK, what?
Forte Promotions, a company that offers custom printed apparel and promotional products, recently sent me their "Coffee House Cafe Set" for a review.
It's a nice set, including a small French press and two matching glass cups with a very classic look. It comes packaged in an attractive black box with plenty of foam to prevent breakage. The materials aren't as heavy as one would find on more expensive sets, but for the price ($20-25, depending on volume), it's a good value. The size is perfect for brewing a small serving for two, say as an after dinner coffee, or for a larger cup for one.
I've been using the press to make my morning coffee for a few weeks now. On my initial brew I had a problem with sediment slipping past the filter into the cup. Unfolding the edges of the mesh filter a bit to give it a tighter seal against the edge of the carafe helped minimize this. I've had better performance since then, though still find an occasional bit of coffee slipping through along with the usual sediment one finds in a French press. Making this filter tighter or adding a second filter to the lid would improve the product.
I was happy to get this as a sample and I think any coffee drinker would be glad to receive it; it's certainly a step up from the usual promotional coffee mugs, of which most people already own plenty anyway. Recipients who don't already have a French press will hopefully be encouraged to try out a new brewing method. If they use it properly, they'll likely find they get a better cup than with their drip brewers.
]]>I have taken advantage of these special online-only offers, and they have been wonderful. They ship immediately in a special package that keeps the beans fresh. Here is their email message:
Indonesia Flores]]>Nice ripe fruitiness and earthy finish. A memorable coffee from one of the least known coffee islands of Indonesia.
We are only offering Indonesia Flores on two roast dates - Jan 21st and Jan 28th.
The island of Flores, 200 miles east of Bali, lies in a vast archipelago of some 18,000 islands stretching from Sumatra, Indonesia to the eastern sovereign nation of Papua New Guinea.
A blessing to Flores' rugged terrain is its numerous volcanoes, the ashes of which create soils for coffee to thrive in. In this remote origin, coffee has traditionally been natural processed – which is to say, dried whole in its "cherry" – and sold into anonymous supply chains for relatively small amounts.
That all changed in 2005 when the Indonesian Coffee & Cocoa Research Institute set out to work with small farmer groups to improve coffee quality and shorten the marketing chain from farmer to supplier. Farmers were taught the lengthy value-added way to process their coffee with the semi-washed method, both transforming the cup quality and returning them a greater piece of the value supply chain.
To start, only two farmer groups participated in this project but by 2007 the price incentive motivated four more to join. In our supplier’s words: coffee quality improvement for smallholding farmers is not only a question of technology, but also social and economic awareness.
We love seeing these examples of quality delivering farmers a better return. We also particularly enjoy introducing you to new coffee origins which deliver such quality beans. The cup has nice ripe fruitiness and that slightly funky, earthen aftertaste of the most interesting Indonesian coffees. If you like these full-bodied, full flavored coffees, try this newly styled cup from one of the least known coffee islands of Indonesia. After a few sips, we think you'll find Flores very memorable.
We are only offering Indonesia Flores on two roast dates - Jan 21st and Jan 28th.
The IWW Starbucks Workers Union has issued a statement in response to Starbuck’s expression of its corporate values by purchasing a new $45 million jet for CEO Howard Schultz. Starbucks workers recently won a court victory when the company was found guilty of violating labor laws.Go read the rest.]]>
Before you start thinking that you have to move somewhere else to grow your own food, take another look around. With a couple of notable exceptions, American cities sprawl. They are full of wasted space. As a homesteader, you will begin to see any open space as a place to grow food. This includes front yards as well as backyards, vacant lots, parkways, alleyways, patios, balconies, window boxes, fire escapes and rooftops. Once you break out of the mental box that makes you imagine a vegetable garden as a fenced-off parcel of land with a scarecrow in it, you'll start to see the possibilities. Think jungle, not prairie. The truth is that you can grow a hell of a lot of food on a small amount of real estate. You can grow food whether you're in an apartment or a house, whether you rent or own.Do you have 4' ? 8' feet of open ground? If you don't have a yard, do you have room on a patio or balcony for two or three plastic storage tubs? If you don't have that, then you could get a space in a community garden, a relative or neighbor's house, or become a pirate gardener, or an expert forager -- some of the tastiest greens and berries are wild and free for the taking.
-- Sudeep
Update - This post inspired the creation of a new blog: Growing the Garden
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