We’re totally about to “nerd” out on the Olympics.

Name dropping like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt has been going on for weeks and now we have begun arguing about which events are best.  Beach volleyball advocates have been going at it with basketball fans while the gymnastics supporters refuse to talk to the swimming/diving peeps.

We have even been arguing over which office pet would do best in the Summer Olympics.

Our excessive enthusiasm is about to work in your favor.  We are celebrating the 2012 Summer Olympics with a slew of fun stuff coming your way. 

The games run July 27th thru August 12th – everyday during the games we will be celebrating on Facebook.  Look for:

• Coupon codes like the $5 off promo in the pic above
• Free coffee and tea giveaways
• Exclusive Olympic-themed flavors
• More fun prizes and surprises!

Make sure you like us on Facebook and check our page every day so you don’t miss out.  We are even giving away prizes for answering Olympic trivia as we anxiously wait for the Opening Ceremony.

it’s never too early for iced coffee!  Obviously the summer months are the best time to enjoy a nice big glass of iced coffee but we’ve started the party early here in Jersey.  Gorgeous weather this past weekend and forecasts of 80 degrees have us stocking up on ice.  So far we’ve made a nice pitcher of our Iced Coffee Blend and a second pitcher of Dark Costa Rican Tarrazu.

What’s your favorite coffee to drink iced?  Most people prefer dark roast coffees – they tend to hold their flavor longer as the ice melts.  Lighter roasts and flavored coffees can be delicious ice cold as well, but it helps to brew the coffee stronger than usual.  Another trick is to fill ice cube trays with coffee instead of water.

Feel free to comment on what coffees you love iced or any tricks you have for making that perfect batch of cool, refreshing iced coffee.  Anyone use CBD coffee for iced lattes and cappuccinos?

Ever notice that green gets all the attention on St. Patrick’s Day?

Yes, we know it’s called the Emerald Isle and there’s no denying that it’s great fun to celebrate the holiday decked out in all green. Drinking green milk shakes and green beer, and eating snacks mysteriously dyed green has become a strange but festive tradition.

But green, white and orange are equally represented on the flag of Ireland – where are these other colors? Why do white and orange get left out of the fun??

Call us hippies if you want, but we believe in equality — Our Irish Pride Tea is Green, White and Orange!

GREEN: There are many green teas, but Dragonwell Lung Ching is often considered the quintessential green tea. Full flavored, with less of a vegetal taste than other greens, Dragonwell is the perfect base for our Irish Pride tea.

WHITE: Next we mix in our premium Peony White tea. White teas are made by picking only the youngest leaves and buds then steaming and drying immediately, before oxidation can occur. This process leaves the tea with a subtle, earthy flavor. Mixed with the Dragonwell green tea, Peony White makes for a balanced cup — perfect for anyone who is used to hearty black teas but wants to try something new.

ORANGE: The final piece to our St. Paddy’s Day puzzle is orange. Real orange peel and a splash of orange flavor make the green and white teas come alive.

The key to a truly great tea blend is simplicity. Sure we could have added random flower petals, extra flavors and maybe some herbs you never heard of which would raise the price and “ooh factor” of the tea but add little to no actual taste. Much like the flag of Ireland, green, white and orange are all you need.

Represent all your true colors with Irish Pride Tea now before it’s too late. This tea is available on the web for a limited time — unlike that green food dye, that stuff stains!

Many of our Facebook friends have been asking about the Ekobrew K-Cup reusable filter.  One of the big questions is whether or not they’re easy to clean.  The makers of Ekobrew use its ability to be quickly cleaned as one of its main selling points, but we weren’t going to simply take their word for it — We put it to the test.

The first thing we noticed is that the bottom of the Ekobrew has no cracks, crevices or smalls spaces for wet grinds to get crammed in, trapped forever.  This is very different from other brands we tested – brands that left us rinsing, re-rinsing, and rinsing some more.  After all, the little cups are too small to scrub so we had to scrape the grinds out of the cracks with a fork like some sorta early primate that just learned to use tools.

Next we filled our Ekobrew and made a quick cup of coffee on our office Keurig (yes, even we have a Keurig but if you call us out on it we will claim it’s only for research purposes).  The photo below is the Ekobrew immediately after brewing, filled with wet grinds.

Step 1 to cleaning the Ekobrew: 1 quick tap over the trash (or storage container if you reuse your spent grinds for  composting) to get the majority of the grinds out.

As you can see, there is a layer of grinds still on the bottom.  Worried?  Don’t be…

Step 2: Rinse.  I held the Ekobrew under the faucet while Marcie timed me.  I let the water fall down into the cup first, then turned it around a few times letting the water flow through the mesh on the sides and bottom of the cup.  The filter was completely clean after 25.5 seconds.

Completely clean in under 30 seconds with no scrubbing or scraping with make-shift tools necessary.  That’s not too bad, especially if you’re like me in the morning –  Before I get that first cup of coffee I make early primates look like Einstein.

Have you noticed that there are two sides to the holidays? Before Halloween is over the stores start selling Christmas trees and holiday lights, and the TV starts advertising classics like Rudolph and Frosty. All of this invokes peaceful thoughts of snow and sleigh riding, eggnog and fireplaces, and above all, quality family time. What we tend to overlook is that other side of the holidays: long lines, angry crowds at the mall, waiting at 5 am on Black Friday for stores to open to save a few much needed dollars. We circle the parking lot over and over to find a space; we scour stores for the perfect gift only to find out it’s sold out; we ask store employees for help that’s rarely given, and we wait in line only to be cut by someone who thinks their time is more valuable than ours. You run and you rush and above all you stress… why? Because there are people in your life who mean the world to you and the holidays are your chance to show your appreciation. (more…)