Caza Trail & Grove Square Single Serve K-Cups (#MC)

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Sturm Foods, Inc. I received a promotional item and product samples as a thank you for participating. All opinions expressed are my own.

I love coffee (who doesn't?) and I cannot function without my one cup every morning. At work I drink coffee from an industrial machine and I don’t need to worry about doing anything more than pressing a button. At home however, I am the only coffee drinker in the house and making an entire pot is out of the question and frankly not worth it. Great K-Cup coffees for my single servings are mandatory.

Karen asked me if I was interested in trying some new K-Cups from Caza Trail and Grove Square . . . Well heck yeah!  I am always interested in trying new coffee. My pursuit for the ultimate K-Cup experience is ongoing.

We were sent the Caza Trail Dark Roast Coffee, Grove Square Hot Cocoa Variety Pack, and the Grove Square French Vanilla Cappuccino K-Cups to try. I started with the cappuccino for a change. I was a little hesitant as I am not always a fan of flavored coffee. Surprisingly, my fears were quickly removed.  The French Vanilla taste was very subtle and I enjoyed it very much. This K-Cup requires no sweetening or cream to enhance the taste or texture, just serve and enjoy.

Next, I tried the Caza Trail Dark Roast coffee. Dark roast coffee will always be my go-to beverage in the morning, so I was curious to try it. It was excellent, certainly as good as, if not better than, the brands I have been using.

I must admit I have not tried the hot chocolate yet, but Karen has.  Her favorite is the Peppermint Flavor Hot Cocoa.  She loves the flavor and not having to crush candy canes to stir into her cocoa to get it.  With all of this snow and these sub-freezing temperatures, the kids and I will be enjoying some very soon!  Its nice to see a K-Cup that my kids can enjoy for a change, adding even more value to our Keurig brewer.

If you are looking to try some new K-Cups, go ahead and try these and other varieties of single-serve beverages from Caza Trail and Grove Square, I am enjoying them very much and I think you will too.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

***PLEASE READ CAREFULLY*** This giveaway ends on 12/19/13. This giveaway is open to residents of the continental U.S. only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. A random drawing will be held shortly after the contest closing. The winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. If the winner does not respond on 12/20/13 by 5pm EST, a new winner will be drawn immediately in order to wrap up this contest before the Holiday.

The Keurig OfficePRO Single-Cup Commercial Coffee Brewer & My Favorite K-Cups Delivered Right to My Door from Staples.com

Thank you to Staples for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon.  All opinions expressed are my own.

I love coffee (who doesn't?) and appreciate a great cup freshly brewed. But, like many people, I really do not like the cleanup or the extra time that comes with conventional machines. I am also the only coffee drinker in the house and I waste so much coffee using a traditional machine.

Using coffee cartridges like Keurig and Tassimo are really the only option for me. They are easy, fast, and are virtually mess free. I used the Tassimo for a bit, but the quality of the coffee was not quite up to par with my traditional machine, but the Keurig coffee I have tried has always been an excellent alternative. So far, my favorite is the Coffee People Original  Donut Shop Coffee K-Cups.  When I had the chance to try the Keurig OfficePRO Single-Cup Commercial Coffee Brewer for myself I jumped at the chance.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

My Keurig OfficePRO came from Staples of all places. I always associated coffee and coffee machines with specialty housewares stores or department stores. Not only did the machine come from Staples, the assortment of K-cups available from Staples was impressive. I was able to find my favorite flavor and brand with ease. The price was superb. This Keurig OfficePRO, which comes with a sampler of 12 K-cups, at Staples is $129.99 with free shipping, while Amazon is selling the exact model for $142.77 shipped. Wow.

This Keurig OfficePRO is basic in operation and built solidly, exactly what you want in an office or commonly used coffee machine. The plastic is heavy duty and the lift arm made from a thick chrome plated metal.

To use the machine you simply power it on and wait a short bit for the machine to heat up. Once the machine is heated up you won't need to wait again unless the machine is powered down. Leaving the machine on in the morning is worry free. This Keurig OfficePRO will power itself off after 2 hours of inactivity. The reservoir holds 48 ounces of water or about 4 decent sized cup fulls. Refilling the reservoir is as simple as removing a cover and pouring the water in.

The machine has a 3 cup size selector, just choose the size and press brew. Making excellent coffee could not be easier to do with this machine.

Clean up is even easier than brewing with a Keurig. Throw out the used K-cup and that is it. My Keurig OfficePRO doesn't drip like some I have used, so I have not had to wipe up one drip yet. If I did spill or drip, the base pan/plate slides out and comes apart for easy cleaning.

Overall I love my Keurig OfficePRO and am glad to find a suitable replacement for my ground coffee machine. I have no hesitation to recommend this machine to heavy or light coffee drinkers. It is high quality, easy to operate, easy to clean, and makes good coffee at the office or at home.

Visit Staples.com to find out more about the Keurig OfficePRO Single-Cup Commercial Coffee Brewer or to view all the Keurig coffee brewers and K-cups available.  If you are a Staples Rewards member, then you will get 5% back in rewards on all your Staple purchases, plus free shipping on all orders from Staples.com.  Can't get more convenient than having your K-cups delivered right to your front door at no extra cost to you!

Flavored Iced Coffee

On August 26th, Folgers unveiled two new coffee products . . . Folgers Filter Packs Coffee and Folgers Instant Coffee Single Serve Packets, which are available in both Classic Roast and Classic Decaf.  The filter packs work with any coffee brewer that has a basket or cone filter.  Sold in two different sizes, one Filter Pack can make up to six 6oz cups of coffee without the mess of using paper filters and loose coffee grounds.

The Instant Coffee Single Serve Packets are the perfect thing for when you are on the go.  Each box contains 7 packets.  The box is so compact that you can easily store it in a kitchen or desk drawer, your purse, a briefcase, or your backpack.  All you need is a cup and some hot water or milk to turn one packet into a hot cup of Folgers coffee.

Recipe:  Easy Caramel Flavored Iced Coffee

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup warm water

1 (.7oz packet) Folgers Classic Instant Coffee Crystals

2 Tbsp half and half, creamer, or milk

ice cubes

whipped cream

2 Tbsp Smucker's Caramel Sundae Syrup

Step 1.  Pour water over coffee in an 8oz glass.

Step 2.  Add Caramel Syrup and stir until dissolved.

Step 3.  Stir in creamer.

Step 4.  Add ice cubes.

Step 5.  Top with whipped cream

If you prefer to drink unflavored coffee, simply replace the Caramel Syrup with 1 Tbsp of sugar.  This recipe was provided by Folgers.  For more coffee drink recipes, visit Folgers.com.

Thank you to Folgers for providing a gift basket full of complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional gift basket for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a Folgers Gift Basket containing the following:

• Samples of the two new Folgers products
• 1 Cuisinart Brew Central 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker (ARV $79.95)
• 1 Travel Mug
• 1 Coffee Travel Case
• 1 Bottle of Smucker's Caramel Sundae Syrup
• 1 Customized Boat Bag

Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Leave a comment telling me where would be a handy place to keep Folgers Instant Coffee Single Serve Packets. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1)  For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.


2)  For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3)  For 10 extra entries, join the Wakin' Up Club to receive Folgers coupons, special offers, recipes, and more. Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments telling me you did.

4)  For 1 extra entry, "Like" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here with the link to your Facebook profile.

5)  For 1 extra entry, "Like" Folgers on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.


6)  Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)  Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)  Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)  Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, September 26th, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Folgers to Reveal 2 New Products on August 26th at Noon EST

On Friday, August 26th, Folgers will be announcing two brand new additions to its coffee line.  This will be taking place at 12 o'clock noon EST and all those who attend this special event on Facebook will be receiving a surprise!  All you need to do to get on the guest list is to visit Folgers on Facebook and "like" their Facebook page.

To celebrate the two new products, visit us here on 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires starting Monday evening on August 29th, to enter a giveaway for a Folgers Prize Pack!


Click on the banner below to RSVP for the Folgers unveiling . . .

Klatch Award-Winning Gourmet Coffee

I love coffee. I really do, I need to have my one cup minimum each day or I truly believe I will cease to function. As much as I love coffee, I would classify myself as having simple coffee tastes. I want the taste to be the same every single time and I get quite disappointed when I need to make a change.

Unfortunately I end up changing the coffee I drink all the time. Either it’s an availability issue or my routine changes. I cannot always keep my routine from changing, but I have found a place where I can at least get some consistency where I buy coffee. Roaste.com is not only a place to buy fantastic world class coffee, it’s a place where you can learn more about coffee and keep up to date with industry changes and buzz.

One thing I am a sucker for is culture and stories behind the products I buy. I love to give my business to the small guy doing something different or the family business that puts quality above everything else . . . businesses that are in business because of passion for the products they produce. One such coffee maker you can read about at Roaste.com is Klatch Coffee.


Klatch travels the world looking the very best coffee beans it can find; only the top 1% makes the grade. They roast their beans in small batches to maintain control and flavor. Once the bean is done they aren’t finished, they take great care to use world champion baristas to train others to brew their product to perfection.

Learn more about Klatch Coffee and others at Roaste.com.

My Photos (W/E 6-25-11)

I took an abundance of photos on Father's Day.  I've shared many on Facebook and in last week's Silly Monkey Story, but the first two photos below stood out to me the most.  I can't wait to see some of the Father's Day moments captured by the other Weekly Winners participants!

"Awaiting Dinner"

"Drool-Worthy"

"Freshly Brewed"

Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus a.k.a. Sarcastic Mom.

Holiday 2010 Review: Dunkin Donuts Seasonal Coffees

Coffee is something that makes the perfect gift for many people all year round, but especially during the colder months. It is ideal for stocking stuffers, holiday gifts to relatives, co-workers, neighbors, teachers, your mail carrier, the school bus driver . . . the list goes on forever. My father always receives coffee for Christmas and Father's Day. In our house, however, my husband is the only coffee-drinker. He brews it, he drinks it, and I enjoy the aroma. That is why I asked my husband to share his thoughts with you about the 3 seasonal Dunkin Donuts coffee varieties . . .

"I love Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I mean I really love it. I would rather have a plain old cup of DD coffee than anything offered at Starbucks any day. So when I had the opportunity to try Dunkin' Donuts Flavors of the Season I couldn’t say yes fast enough."

"I usually don't drink flavored coffee, plain ole' joe is my thing, but I was excited to try the variety that I was offered. I was sent Vanilla Nut, Pumpkin Spice, and Mocha Mint. The first thing I noticed were the fun holiday themed bags, these would make a nice gift. The second thing that hits you (like a Mack truck) is the amazing aroma as I unpacked the bags. The Pumpkin Spice smells amazing.

The first flavor I tried was the Pumpkin Spice as that most intrigued me. As I mentioned the aroma is splendid and fills the house. The flavor was quite strong and tasted like pumpkin muffins or cake. Although pumpkin Spice tasted as I imagined it would, it was not my favorite of the three. The flavor was a little too intense for my taste, I usually drink plain after all!

The next flavor I tried was the Mocha Mint. I will say right now that this was by far my favorite of the three. The flavor was rich but not overpowering which suits my subdued taste.

And lastly the Vanilla Nut. This flavor was the one I was least interested in trying, but after making myself a cup I was pleasantly surprised. Like the Mocha Mint the flavor was rich but not overpowering and I enjoyed it.

Individual tastes aside, these coffees are very high quality and flavorful. I would certainly recommend these to anybody who is a fan of coffee, and especially to fans of Dunkin' Donuts. The Flavors of the Season packages are colorful and fun would make terrific gifts!" ~Todd

I cannot tell you how happy I was that the Mocha Mint is my husband's favorite of the three. That one gives off the most delicious aroma in my opinion.

To learn more about Dunkin Donuts coffee products you can purchase for gifts and for your home, visit DunkinAtHome.com . Look for these and other Dunkin Donuts coffees at your local supermarket. Just pick up a couple, throw them in a gift bag, and you have an easy affordable last-minute gift!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Smuckers and received necessary products to facilitate my review. In addition, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Giveaway & Review: CafePress Mug (Custom or Pre-Made Design) [CLOSED]

Our oldest is going into the first grade this fall. To go along with his "big boy" status, he has graduated onto using stoneware dishes and bowls from plastic ones. I also decided he was old enough to have his own special mug. What better place to find a special mug than CafePress, one of the leading sites for selection as far as personalized gifts go?

Take some advice from me . . . never let a 6 year old try to choose a mug design when there are thousands to choose from. Even when we tried to narrow the categories down with a keyword search, there were still so many options. We started off with dragons, then skateboarding, then Spongebob, and then skateboarding dragons (don't ask). That is how we ended up finding this Cool Salamander Mug.

As you can see, the printing is flawless. This coffee mug is the perfect size for my son's first mug. It is both microwavable and dishwasher safe. It will be used quite a bit come winter for hot chocolate.

There is also the option to design your own custom mugs, but I decided it would be opening a whole other can of worms with my 6 year old. He does love the mug that he chose and is so very proud to have his own special mug that nobody else in the house can use.

To view the full line of pre-designed or custom products available, visit CafePress.com, where you will find clothing, shoes, drinkware, posters, stationary, home decor items, camcorders, and more.

Thank you to CafePress for sending us a sample mug free of charge to base this review upon and for providing a second mug for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive one custom or pre-designed coffee mug from CafePress.

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. & Canadian entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Browse the selection of Custom Personalized Gifts offered by CafePress. Then leave a comment telling me which item you would personalize and what you might have printed on it. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND CafePress.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry each, follow CafePress on Twitter and/or "Like" CafePress on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.

6)

Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)

Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)

Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)

Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10)

Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

<br /> <a href="http://www.3garnets2sapphires.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd206/Busymonkeez/Graphics4Me/NEWBlogButton125x125.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, August 2nd, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

7-Eleven's "Cup With a Cause" Supports Celebrities' Charities

Throughout the year 2010, 7-Eleven's campaign Cup With a Cause will be supporting various charities chosen by the celebrities who have designed a line of limited edition 20-oz coffee cups. These celebrities include Nicole Richie, Joel Madden, and Benji Madden.

A portion of the proceeds (up to $300,00o) from these coffee sales at 7-Eleven locations nationwide will go to a worthy cause. The minimum dollar amount dedicated to this coffee campaign is $250,000.

The cup below was designed to benefit the Richie-Madden Children's Foundation . . .

To learn more about this charitable campaign, visit CupWithACause.com . You can also find more information from 7-Eleven on Facebook and 7-Eleven on Twitter.

Thank you to Ketchum for providing images and information on behalf of 7-Eleven for me to share in this article. No compensation was received for sharing this information with my readers.

Review: BRUGO Travel Mug with Temperature Control Chamber

My husband loves taking hot coffee or hot cocoa in the car with him on cold mornings. We have not had much luck with travel mugs over the past decade. We've tried ceramic ones, stainless steel, plastic, and even disposable to-go cups. None of them seemed to be able to keep the hot beverage off my husband's clothes or the dashboard of our car.

The BRUGO Travel Mug is the first one we've found that neither leaks around the seal nor has a flow that is too fast, which could cause the hot beverage to run down the side of the mug or my husband's chin. In addition to this, the BRUGO mug was designed with a patented Temperature Control Chamber, which is a separate section in the mug. This chamber allows your coffee to not be scalding when you sip it.


What my husband and I thought about the BRUGO Travel Mug:

1) The first thing I noticed about this mug was that it is attractively designed. The stainless steel finish gives it a modern look, plus there are 12 colors to choose from.

2) This mug holds 16oz of liquid, which is more than enough for my husband.

3) My husband was thinking that he would not like a travel mug without a handle, but he actually found that he did not need one and this ergonomically designed mug was very comfortable to hold.

4) This mug's double-wall insulation does a very good job of keeping my husband's coffee hot.

5) When ordered online, this mug comes in a ready-to-wrap box. When purchased locally, it may be sold with or without a box depending on how the retailer displays their BRUGOs.



6) This mug comes with 3 sensible settings. The "lock" position prevents any liquid from coming out of the main section of the mug, but still allows it to come out of the cooling chamber. The "Tip & Cool" position allows the user to tip the mug so some of the hot beverage can enter the cooling chamber. The "Sip" position allows the user to bypass the cooling chamber and to sip their beverage freely.

7) Both my husband and I thought that the dial was tight. We both could turn it, but neither of us could do it without using two hands. This is something to keep in mind if you are operating a vehicle.

8) Ultimately the "Tip & Cool" feature does work. The user must tip the cup away from himself to fill the chamber with hot liquid and then tip it towards himself to sip. My husband says the beverage does not cool down instantly, but you should be able to sip from the cooling chamber after about 5 to 10 seconds or so.

The BRUGO is definitely a gift to consider for anyone who commutes or travels regularly. It would even make a great gift for someone to use at their desk.

You can order BRUGO mugs directly from the store on BrugoMug.com or look for them locally at a dealer near you.

Thank you to BRUGO Mugs by JOLEX for providing us with a review product free of charge.

Review: POMx Iced Coffee

My husband sometimes turns to energy drinks to give himself an extra boost and has wondered why nobody has come up with one that tastes better than just acceptable. I'm sure others have often wondered the same thing about both energy drinks and health drinks. Well POM has come through for all those people by bringing us POMx Iced Coffee.

This new POM product has all the content of antioxidants (650mg) of the other POM Wonderful drinks, but also contains 175mg of caffeine for an extra boost of energy. It is made of hormone-free milk, organic sugar, and is fat free/low-fat (depending on which variety you choose) and contains no preservatives. That is why this product is called the "healthy buzz."


What my husband thought about POMx Iced Coffee:

1) He was excited to try this product because he is already a fan of POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice. Out of the 3 varieties available, he tried the Cafe au Lait and Chocolate, but did not try the Vanilla because he is not a fan of vanilla in general.

2) Even though this product is labeled "iced coffee", my husband thought it tasted more like an iced latte.

3) Although the Chocolate variety was his favorite, my husband thought that the Cafe au Lait was very pleasant and smooth to drink. He prefers it over other drinks that have an overpowering mocha flavor.

4) He said that the Chocolate POMx Iced Coffee tastes like coffee-flavored chocolate milk rather than chocolate-flavored coffee. It actually tastes so good to him that he would choose this beverage over others even if it did not offer any health benefits or an energy boost.

5) Compared to canned Starbucks coffee, this product was smooth, creamy, and fresh tasting rather than thin and watery.

6) Since my husband is one of those people who orders the largest tubs of iced coffee available, he does wish that the serving size of a single POMx Iced Coffee were a little bit larger.


It appears that it is safe to say that POM has succeeded where few (if any) have succeeded before. That is to create a delicious healthy energy drink that one would want to drink even if it did not have those extra side benefits. To learn more about POMx Iced Coffee, visit www.HealthyBuzz.com .

Thank you to POM for providing us with a review product free of charge.

My Photos (W/E 8-29-09)

We actuall tried to clean our house this week. My allergies have been out of control ever since. Anyways, I've been too busy cleaning and sneezing to take too many photos this week (that's my story and I'm sticking to it), but here are a few that I have to offer . . .

"Caffeinated Goodness"

"Fee Fi Fo Fum!"

"Golden Goodies"

Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus at Sarcastic Mom.