Can you imagine a Holiday without Coffee?

Gift Sets!

For many people coffee is an essential part of their holiday traditions. I know that we here at Coffee Ambassadors couldn't imagine a Christmas morning without a warm cup of coffee. That is why we are pleased to offer coffee gift sets to help bring a little cheer to your holiday season, and to the coffee lover in your family!

+Stocking Stuffer Price: $16.00 More info ►	+Coffee and Truffles Set Price: $30.00 More info ►	+A Bit of Everything Set Price: $60.00 More info ►
+Coffee Press Set Price: $70.00 More info ►	+The Everything Set Price: $110.00 More info ►

Christmas traditions

Coffee and Christmas have gone together for a long long time. Here are a few Christmas traditions, and fun Christmas facts associated with coffee:

• In the 19th centuries there were families who roasted coffee together at Christmas. Coffee was a special treat that brought the family together.
• If you are a fan of the Ballet "The Nutcracker, you may notice coffee is consumed in the drawing room scene. This is because coffee was considered a Christmas beverage in the Victorian era
• The book "The Ultimate Christmas" talks about the aroma of coffee setting the stage for a perfect holiday. Give it a try!
• Maxwell house had an ad campaign in the 1940s that used the centrality of Coffee at Christmas as a major selling point for their coffee
• For many families talking over coffee is a more precious tradition then eating the holiday meal itself. Coffee helps bring people together in meaningful ways
• Italian Christmas cookies are actually designed to be dunked in coffee

What Christmas or other holiday traditions do you have with coffee?

Brew Methods: Clever

People often wonder how they should make coffee at home. There are literally dozens of different methods of brewing coffee, and each one has it's advantages, disadvantages, and particularities. This week I would like to talk about a brewing method that we think of as one of the best ways to brew.  Introducing: the Clever.

The Clever is a neat little device that steeps the coffee until you place the whole dripper on a cup. The cup triggers a valve to open allowing the coffee to pour into the cup. This allows you to control the steep time, and gives you the ability to create a cup of coffee that has significant body, without loosing out on having good clarity.

There are lots of ways people make Clevers. Each way highlights a different aspect. Today I would like to post how our sister store Ipsento does it. If you are using our coffee this is a good place to start, since Ipsento uses Coffee Ambassadors' coffee too! If you are interested in how other people use the Clever, let me know and I'll post some other parameters.

1. Heat:  Pre-Heat the filter as placed in the Clever with hot water.

2. Weigh:  Measure out 21 grams of coffee, grind on a slightly courser setting than the traditional pour over brew method.

3. Pour/Stir/Lid:  Boil water and let it sit for 15 seconds (reaches 206F), Start the timer and begin pouring 360 grams of water over the 21g of coffee, give a slight stir during pour and cover with a plate.

4. Stir/Drop/Stir/Lid:  Once the timer reaches 1 minute and 10 seconds stir the coffee then at 1:15 place on top of your pre-warmed mug and stir again and replace the plate.

5. If your grind/water temperature/coffee freshness and quality is correct then you

should have an excellent cup of coffee in around 3 minutes total. Some coffees will

do better with a finer or coarser grind, and of course the water chemistry plays a

huge factor in the whole brew ratio.