Search for A Perfect Coffee Gift Bag - Part 5 (Sweet Marias Gold Valv Coffee Bag)

This coffee bag from Sweet Maria's which is quite similar to the clear one but has gold on the back which is quite stylish. Their quality is pretty much identical to the clear one which I reviewed earlier.



There are two sizes available for gold back coffee gift bag:

Foil coffee bag - 1 lb value bag Gold - 0.95c

• Using Nesco CR-1010-PRR Coffee Bean Roaster, 800-watt, the bag is big enough to contain 4 roasts each bag and a pot for myself to try.  

• Link: https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/gold-foil-1-lb-valve-bag

Foil coffee bag - 8 oz value bag Gold - 0.75c

• Using Nesco CR-1010-PRR Coffee Bean Roaster, 800-watt, the bag is big enough to contain 2 roasts each bag and a pot for myself to try.  

• Linke: https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/gold-foil-8oz-valve-bag

and here are pictures of them:  

 

If you like this, you might also want to check the clear one which I reviewed earlier. You can see my previous post about clear bag, click here.

Thermos Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug (16 Oz) - Enjoy hot coffee all day long

Thermos Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug is my most favorite travel mug cups of all the time. I have been using this mug for more than 5 years now.  The original one was from Bed Bath and Beyond which was given to me as a gift; I fell in love with it and have been using it for a very long time.  The old was is amazingly still in good condition after 5 years of every day use, but I decided to purchase a new one online, so here is un-boxing of this amazing travel mug.

Thermos Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug (16 Oz) - comes with Black or White Lid

Heat Insulation is the Key

What I like about this mug is how long it keeps the heat inside.  Their vacuum insulation technology is the best in the industry, and you know it when you use it.  When  you touch the bottle, you do not notice that there is hot beverage inside because the heat is insulated so well that you do not feel any heat outside. The hot coffee I make in the morning, I sip all morning long, and is still burning hot at lunch time!

Durability

This mug does not break period.  I have dropped this mug for so many times in the past on a hard concrete, it just gives a little dent; the reason this mug lasted for 5 years and still standing is the durability.

Dishwasher Safe

One of the parts I may not like the most is cleaning the mug by hand.  The sophisticated insulation comes with cost of having a bit of complex lid which comes apart in 4 pieces.  It is easy to take a part and put together, but washing those little piece isn't the greatest when you wash it by hand.  Good thing is, this mug is dishwasher safe.  Even the four small pieces get washed very easily with dishwashers.

Popular Among Coffee Lovers

Mercedes Benz puts their logo on the mug to give to their customers.

When you go to specialty coffee equipment shops, you will almost likely to see this mug on the shelves. As you know the Northwest especially Seattle and Portland are known for coffee culture where you find coffee shops all over the town, and there are quite few shops which sell equipments and specialty items for Batista and coffee lovers.  When I go to those shops, almost always I find this mug cup on their shelves.  This mug was also used by Mercedes Benz as a thank you gift for customers who purchased their cars.  They printed Mercedes Benz logo on this very mug cup to give out to their customers.



Un-Boxing!

And here are pictures of un-boxing.  I got this from Amazon (here is a link).

Comes in a regular Amazon box

Nice packing with air bubble

OK.  Warning....

There it is!

Beautiful.

For the tea lovers, there is a little built-in tea hook on the side.

Taking the stickers off.

Taking the stickers off.

This is how the inside look

This is the tea hook

This is the tea hook so that a teabag can be hooked easily.

I truly recommend this Thermos Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug (16 Oz) for the coffee lovers who want to keep their coffee hot for long time during a day. (Here is a link to purchase from Amazon).

If you are looking for a nice travel coffee mug, you might also want to see my earlier reviewed Double Shot French Press Travel Mug (14 Oz) as well.

Trying Chicory - New Orlean's Style Coffee

You might have heard about "chicory" especially when you visit Southern US.  I first tried chicory in New Orleans where chicory coffee is famous for.  Chicory is quite a delicacy that goes well and along with coffee.

Picture from Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans, where they are famous for their chicory coffee

Chicory is herbaceous plant with bright blue flowers originated in Europe and common in North America and Australia.  The roots of the plant is baked, ground and used to drink as coffee substitute or mixed with coffee.  (My personal preference is to mix with coffee.) Chicory is consumed with coffee in Mediterranean, India and Southeast Asia and very commonly in Southern US and New Orleans.   In history, chicory was substitute for coffee in prison in the US; during civil war, coffee was cut off the port of New Orleans which created the tradition. Sad history aside, now New Orleans’s style coffee is very popular and quite a delicacy.  I love their style coffee, and here is my attempt to try out their style coffee at home.

You have probably seen a can of Café Du Monde Coffee mix in some grocery store (Southeast Asian grocery shop tends to have this very often). Café Du Monde is famous for their beignets and the coffee and chicory.   The picture above is my picture of their beignets and chicory coffee when I visited New Orleans.  (Oh boy, it was good!)

Cafe Du Monde mix sold at Japanese Grocery Store Uwajimaya in Beaverton, OR

I thought of trying out Chicory at home to see if I can recreate the New Orleans drink at home. There are some chicory available through Amazon but what I tried was Orleans Coffee's 100% French Chicory directly shipped from New Orleans.  Here are pictures of un-boxing Orleans Coffee's 100% French Chicory.    The one I got was 1 lbs bag; with shipping it costs me $15.45.

The ordinarily box shipped via FedEx

Packed with paper packing

Here is how it looks.  It looks pretty good

Backside doesn't have any writings

Comes with one way valve which is always nice.

Opening the package

Here is how it looks.  I am already enjoying the aroma

When I ordered online, I asked them if they can ship chicory without grinding them, but they did not do that; that is ok.

Chicory is supposed to be brewed with coffee rather than roasting together.  What I tried was to boil milk with chicory and coffee (like Café au lait style).  I first tried with couple of spoons, and it was too much and become very spicy.  After few attempts, I found out that that about half of tea spoon of chicory with one cup of milk and coffee is what I liked.  This way, the coffee is dominant flavor with just a hint of spiciness from chicory.

My attempt was surely a success. I am enjoying my New Orleans style coffee at home with vivid image in my mind of streets of New Orleans.

Picture of New Orleans morning

Double Shot French Press (14 Oz) - Dream mug for a coffee lover

You are going to love this if you love coffee. Here is un-boxing of 14 oz. Double Shot French Press - Green!   There are two secrets to this amazing mug.  You see below...

Double Shot French Press (14 Oz)

Since I took too many pictures, I am going to narrate in each image to explain about how awesome this travel mug is.

Box from Amazon

It is well packed with light air package.

It is already looking good.

Un-covering

Here are the lid and the body.

and here is the first secret.  This works as french press!  It is a travel mug which you can have french press.  How smart!

This is the filter which presses down the coffee

Nice Fine Mesh

Instructions

More Instructions

and here is the second secret

  The bottom comes off!! It's like the one in a spy movie and hide diamond in this to smuggle on airplane...

and what is inside?

It is a container to keep fresh coffee (or diamond) for your second cup!!

I have been using this every day, and loving it. It has great insulation  to keep heat pretty well so the coffee lasts longer.

If you are interested in getting one, here is a link from Amazon where I got mine.