Allergies aside, can you go wrong with gifting chocolate?
Got a java head? Some holiday gift ideas for coffee lovers
NEW YORK, Dec 5, (AP): For housewarming, hostess or the holidays, really can you go wrong with chocolate?
Gifty chocolate treats are an easy thing to track down in advance, throw in a shopping cart while on the go or seek out last minute on your way to the festivities. And if you don’t hit on just the right kind or combination, they’re easy for your recipient to regift. Presentation, after all, is everything. Some ideas: Money On Honey: All-natural line of caramels made completely of pure wildflower honey and devoid of corn syrups. Finished with Fair Trade certified Guittard dark chocolate and a sprinkling of French sea salt. Box adorned with festive ornaments for the holidays. Widely available. MoneyOnHoney. com. Portion of proceeds go to Project Apis M, a non-profit dedicated to enhance the health and vitality of honeybee colonies.
Dylan’s candy bar, the gold collection: Wrapped in a clear-and-black box with a gold ribbon, individual bars in brightly colored hues and a range of flavours, including chocolate molten cake, dark chili pepper, dark strawberry and Champagne, milk Madagascar vanilla bean filled and more.
Heifer international, Ecuadorian chocolate covered sea salt caramels: More caramels for a good cause, buy direct from Heifer, which is dedicated to ending hunger and poverty, and the non-profit’s cacao farmers will benefit directly. Heifer name with a luscious photo display on the outside of a grey box.
Fred’s at Barneys New York, chocolate mix tackle box: A trio of milk chocolate pretzel balls, chocolate toffee almonds and milk chocolate mini graham crackers in a lidded rectangular box with three compartments. Can go straight on a table.
MarieBelle New York, luxury book gift set: Comes in a box that looks like a vintage book. Inside, a maple pecan ganache cake in a smaller book box, along with a 16-piece box of colorful, holiday-themed chocolates, two tins of hot chocolate in different flavours, chocolate bar and container of chocolate-covered almonds. Bases covered.
Moonstruck chocolate, critter truffle collection: Artisan and cute box of four hand-formed and hand-decorated animal truffles from this dedicated Portland, Oregon, chocolatier. There’s a milk chocolate bunny, extra bittersweet cat, ivory toffee mouse and milk chocolate Labrador pup.
LA Maison du chocolat, flavoured truffles: These legendary French truffle makers have gone to colour with boxes of 30 and 48 pieces in toffee caramel, blackcurrant and citrus fruit.
Coffee lovers can also be lovers of other things, clearly, but the true java head surely wouldn’t scoff at a related holiday gift. coffee lover Clayton Alexander and his Ember team. On pre-order in November.
Little rocket ships: Speaking of technology, the 3D-printing loving folks at Shapeways.com offer the Rocket Espresso Cup. By designer Craig S. Kaplan, it’s the little java ship that could in porcelain that’s food, oven and dishwasher safe in a variety of colors, or in white plastic. Hey 1 percenters, you can get one of these printed up in platinum for $150,000. For the rest of us, the plastic is $40 and the porcelain versions.
Coffee and Espresso combo: Higher end and lower end combination machines are out there, so shop around if you’re on a budget or have a truly dedicated coffee fanatic who’s in search of the ultimate pour but looking to combine. Some have steam wands and brew at the same time. Some are compact. Generally, they take up less space than two or more machines. Look to DeLonghi for some nice ones.
Pods with a purpose: Oakland Coffee, owned by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, offers fairly traded organic beans packaged in plant-based rather than plastic bags. Oakland, based in Oakland, California, has partnered with San Francisco Bay Coffee Co. on fully compostable single-serve soft pods of arabica blends from small farms in Peru and Honduras. The pods contain no plastic. A 10-count costs $12.99 on Amazon but are currently out of stock. Worth waiting for.
It’s about the grind: Fancy automatic coffee grinders can make the taste and are abundant, but they can be pricey. Treat your java lover but do your research. Not looking to break your bank and got a DIY-er? Go for a manual grinder. There are plenty, including the Hario Skerton Ceramic Coffee Grinder. It promises burrs that easily adjust to produce a range of grind sizes, from super fine espresso to coarse for French press brewing. And it looks cool.