Posts Tagged coffee
Christmas in July! Stocking Stuffers for Travelers Under $12
I’m fully aware temperatures have been a-blazin’ across many parts of the United States, and folks aren’t particularly feeling holly-jolly in the heat and humidity. But, I’ve happened to come across a few gifty travel-related items, and couldn’t help but pull them together to share with PracticalTravelGear.com readers now — rather than waiting for the holidays to kick off in November.
So, if the steamy summer weather has gotten you down (unless you live in the Pacific Northwest, where I hear it’s been unseasonably cool), go to your happy place and meditate for a bit while envisioning yourself amidst a pile of fluffy snow. Then open your eyes and read some of my picks for inexpensive travel gifts under $12. Because, trust me stocking-stuffer season is just around the corner.
Dr. Drip Coffee
Dr. Drip individual coffee packets aren’t instant coffee, but rather, cardboard-and-filter contraptions you place on top of a coffee mug to brew one cup of coffee at a time, using the classic drip brewing method. I tried a couple of different versions of Dr. Drip — The Ultimate Pick-me-up (Dark Roasted Sumatran Blend) and The Organic Tonic (100% Organic Blend) — here at home and on the road, and this java tasted much, much more like brewed Maxwell House than any Folgers instant.
The cardboard “stand” that you put on top of the mug, and the accompanying filter, are totally recyclable, compostable and biodegradable. How great is that? And the process for brewing couldn’t be easier — just pour hot water through the filter. Note, however, that the notches in the cardboard that sits on top of a coffee cup are too small for your oversized 20-oz mug (and since this only makes an 8-oz cup, you won’t want to put that puny amount into a big mug anyway).
At $8.99 for a box of five packets, this is some expensive coffee — nearly $2 a cup. (And since I drink 2 or 3 cups in the morning, that’ll add up quickly.) But for times when you — or your giftee — might like good coffee while camping, or as an alternative to the ridiculously watery coffee offered in most moderate hotel rooms, consider Dr. Drip.
Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes
My favorite hotels are ones that have make-up remover wipes as an amenity in the bathrooms. Few do – we’re talking upscale properties like the Ritz-Carlton. Still, I think it’s smart. Better to have a female guest take off their makeup with a disposable cloth, than risk staining bright-white washcloths with tan foundation.
Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes come in a packs of 25 pre-moistened wipes to get all the gunk off your face before doing a full cleanse. I like that these are TSA-friendly; no liquid to take up space in your clear quart-sized bag. The towelettes I sampled — Night Calming — have a pleasant scent, and remove makeup easily — including waterproof mascara. In a pinch, say, while camping, I supposed they could take the place off a full face-wash with cleanser; still, I’d want to wipe my face with water afterwards, then moisturize well.
This is an item retailing for $6.99 that I might not buy myself, but I’d be excited to receive as a gift. Consider pulling together a bunch of travel-sized toiletries in a toiletry bag for a thoughtful present for that female traveler on your list!
UNO H2O To Go Portable Card Game
Even if your kids already have the card game UNO, this portable, water-proof version could come in handy on your next camping adventure or trip to the beach. Cards are sturdy, clear acrylic, and attach via punched holes to a “take-along clip,” which you can latch to a beach bag or backpack. It’s not particularly easy to take all 108 cards on and off the clip — you can only remove perhaps one-fourth of the cards at a time. So, if you have a metal carabiner with a fastener with more leeway, I’d consider threading the cards on that.
Still, I like the idea of the portability of this game, as well as the durability of the wipe-clean, waterproof cards. (They are also super easy to shuffle.) Plus, UNO is such a universal, easy-to-learn game, kids can share it with others they meet in the campground, at the airport or in the lobby of a beach resort! I found UNO H2O To Go on Amazon.com for $11.99, but I bet you can find it in the toy aisle of your favorite big-box discount retailer, too.
Posted by Kara in General Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on July 26th, 2011
GSI Personal Java Press for Good Coffee Wherever
If you’ve gotten used to drinking good coffee at home made with a French Press, coffee on the road can be a major disappointment. And what do you do when you’re camping?
This handy little Personal Java Press from GSI Outdoors gets about as compact as one of these presses can get, but brews up an excellent 20-ounce batch of coffee. It also has its own mug—complete with an insulating wrap—all put back together afterwards in one well-designed package.
The total footprint of this device is the carafe part, with the mug going inside and the plunger parts going inside that and on top. The hardest part is getting it all apart as the plastic pieces create a great seal while in use, but that seal is tough to break when you don’t want the pieces together. Once you manage, the shaft goes through the top cover and screws into the plunger. You put coffee in, pour in water, stir the coffee, then use the plunger to push the grounds to the bottom (after letting it all steep a few minutes).
In my tests the coffee making part has been performing admirably, brewing up a mug and a half of java that’s on par with what I get out of a regular home French press, even though this is mostly made out of light (BPA-free) plastic. The plunger is a good one too: it doesn’t leak out grounds or leave you with a muddy brew from the “blow-back” you get with some versions. There’s a small spout opening from pouring from the carafe into the mug, then a nicely-sized sipping hole on the mug itself.
I’m not sure I’d want to carry this on a business trip or a regular vacation unless I knew in advance I was going to be in a place where Nescafe is considered coffee or when I was in a car and space wasn’t an issue. For future camping trips, however, this Personal Java Press from GSI is going to be a permanent part of my packing routine. If you’ve got a camper or coffee lover on your list, this is a good gift to pick up, retailing for around $25. Get it here:
GSI Outdoors Personal Java Press Coffee Maker at REI.
GSI Outdoors Personal Java Press at Backcountry.
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear on December 1st, 2010
Starbucks Debuts Via Ready Brew Instant Coffee
It’s n0t only “Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month” and “National Chimney Safety Week,” (I swear I am not making this up), but it’s also National Coffee Day. Starbucks took advantage of the media buzz about this “national holiday” to roll out it’s brand-new, instant coffee: Via Ready Brew — available beginning today at the 10,000+ Starbucks stores throughout the country.
My buddy SoCalGal over at The Vacation Gals, who is a freak fan of Starbucks, got a sneak peek of the product as one of the company’s “Beta Tasters.” She gave me some to sample when we were together at a conference in North Carolina this weekend. While I don’t think it compares to a fresh-brewed cup of regular Starbucks coffee, it is a world above the weak coffee packets that are typically found next to the four-cup coffee maker in most hotel rooms these days.
You know what I’m talking about — those coffee-in-its-own-filter discs, that when brewed, turn out a drink that’s not much more than hot brown water. I typically fill the hotel coffee pots no higher than the “3 cups” line in an attempt to get a decent brew. But with Via Ready Brew this weekend, I just ran water through the coffeemaker to heat it up and poured it over the “microgrounds” of coffee, stirred, and added my non-fat dried milk (I hate those packets of coffee creamer, too).
Indeed, I found my mug of Colombia Via Ready Brew refreshingly strong with a slight nutty flavor. Starbucks says it makes this product with highest-quality arabica beans, which are ground finely and therefore “fresh roasted” flavors and aromas are fully preserved. Indeed, my cup up instant joe smelled like coffee should.
At $2.95 for a three-pack of Via, sold at Starbucks nationwide starting today, the product is not inexpensive — and it certainly costs more than Folgers crystals or Nescafe instant coffee (of course, it tastes better, too). I would not hesitate to buy some to bring along on my next trip. The slim, four-inch-long packets are made for slipping into a purse or pants pocket — super-easy transport. Not only is Via Ready Brew infinitely superior to most hotel-room coffee offerings, but it would be great to use while camping or even on the plane (ask for hot water, and voila, a fabulous cup of coffee). You might even find some already on your next flight: Starbucks says that starting October 25, Via will be available on select United routes.
Via comes in two roasts: medium Columbia, which I tried, and bolder Italian Roast. Keep an eye out for Via at your local Starbucks later this week, when participating shops will offer free taste-test samples, October 2-5.
Posted by Kara in Travel Light on September 29th, 2009
