Gift giving can be a tedious process at times, especially if the person you are trying to buy a gift for seemingly has it all. A classic gift that never goes out of style, however, is a personalized coffee cup. You can purchase one of these personalized mugs for just pennies on the dollar; yet they will continue to bring a smile to the recipient’s face for many years to come.

A good coffee cup can outlast generations of coffee makers, coffee shops, and even the famous coffee brands we’ve all come to know and love. If you’ve been looking for an extra special gift for that special someone who has everything, just take a look at the many ways that you can personalize one of these extra special gifts.

Personalizing Your Mugs

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Coffee cake falls into two categories; cake that actually has coffee in it and coffee cake that is eaten with coffee. The latter is most associated with the term coffee cake and is usually flavored with cinnamon, nuts and apples. Apple coffee cakes are quite common and often have a crumbly topping. Whichever you decide to make, there is sure to be a delicious coffee cake recipe that you can whip up to have with tea or as a luxurious breakfast food.

Apple Coffee Cake

This apple coffee cake recipe is very easy to make and ideal if you don’t often bake. There are no fancy baking techniques when you make this coffee cake recipe. First cream a half cup of butter with one and a half cups of sugar. You can use a hand mixer or good old fashioned elbow grease and beat it all up till it is pale and smooth. Then add two eggs and one cup of milk and blend it till everything is mixed together.

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Cake historians suggest that coffee cake was not invented by a pastry chef along time ago but rather it evolved; beginning with tasty honey cakes then progressing to French galettes which inspired fruitcakes which led to creating the sweet yeast rolls which inspired the Danish cakes which contained coffee. Eventually the cakes were made in mass production and have become very common.

Recipes Brought To America

The idea of a coffee cake, which in the early years was simply consuming some sweet types of cakes while sipping on a cup of coffee, probably began in Europe during the seventeenth century. Historians have come up with this hypothesis because countries in Europe were well known for serving sweet yeast breads and when coffee arrived on the scene they made a great combination in the morning. Historians have noted that the Germans, the Scandinavians as well as the Dutch immigrants brought with them their various recipes for the tasty pastry and therefore introduced coffee cake to America.

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When you think of coffee beans, is the first thing that comes to mind a prepackaged bag of ready to grind beans? Most people have little or no idea of the process that actually brings those bags of beans to their kitchens, and are completely unaware of where the makings for America’s favorite beverage actually comes from. This article is geared to give you a better understanding of just what it takes for you to have those wonderfully rich beans in your kitchen cupboard, day after day.

Types

There are basically four different varieties of coffee beans sold today. Coffea Arabica is by far the most popular, and accounts for roughly 75% of the coffee currently sold. Also available are Coffea Robusta, Coffea Liberica, and Coffea Excelsa, which are grown mostly in areas where Coffea Arabica cannot be cultivated.

Where Do They Come From?

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As funny as it may sound, coffee addiction affects millions of people around the world. And it’s not just adults who face the terrible consequences of this terrible addiction; with a glamorous coffee house on every corner of the civilized world, teens are more likely now than ever to also suffer from a coffee addiction.

Coffee addiction symptoms are much like those of any other recreational drug use. From sleeplessness to nausea, those who are experiencing caffeine withdrawals often find themselves suffering form shakes and other symptoms normally thought of as reserved for drub abusers going through the detoxification process.

Signs To Look Out For

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Go ahead, get that world globe spinning, and throw a dart at it. Wherever it lands, you can bet if you opened a shop called “Coffee & Tea,” your first customer would want one or the other.

Other than water, coffee and tea are the most popular drinks in the world. Come to think of it both coffee & tea consist mostly of water. But why would anyone want to drink coffee or tea instead of just water?

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While many may not know it, Caribou Coffee is the world’s second leading coffee house operator; second only to industry giant Starbucks. Caribou Coffee was developed by John and Kim Puckett in Edina, Minnesota; and then later bought out by Atlanta-based Crescent Capital. They have expanded a small, single store into a chain of more than 450 stores across the country.

What Makes It Special

Caribou Coffee sells many different gourmet products, including ready-made coffee and coffee beans, various loose-leaf teas, blended drinks, cold coffee drinks, and even clothing and accessories. They even have a line of flavored lattes and non-coffee smoothies which have become wildly popular.

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Braun makes a variety of quality, easy to use coffee makers which make an excellent cup of coffee. Braun coffee makers are durable; they are designed with an attractive appearance and they are typically easy to clean. Let’s take a look at two of the popular coffee makers that Braun has to offer.

Braun KF510 – BK Aroma Deluxe

This model makes ten cups of coffee and is designed with a built in Brita water filter which improves the taste of your coffee by removing unwanted contaminants as well as chlorine and it also stops calcification from occurring. The unit is provided with a mark situated on the top portion of the water tank which gives you an indication when it is time to replace the water filter. This Braun coffee maker was built with a fast brewing process which captures the flavor from the ground coffee.

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Over the years, black coffee is making a resurgence in spite of the number of flavorings and the influx of coffee shops offering European blends. Coffee is one of the most popular beverages around the world and many different types and blends have been introduced from many different parts of the world as coffee producers continue to increase their market share. However, with the varied brands and flavors on the market the majority of consumers still rely on black coffee to help them get their caffeine fix.

The drink has become synonymous with attempting to wake up when the night before was filled with little or restless sleep. It is also black coffee that many attribute to their functionality the day following a night of the heavy consumption of alcohol. The strength of the brew, determined by the time the hot water spends mixing with the grounds, is a matter of individual taste, but the perception of strong black coffee being a way stay awake has been a long-held belief.

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Coffee is an essential part of many people’s morning routine. It’s that first cup of coffee that gets you going and running through the day. Coffee is also the perfect drink to relax over with friends after a long day or the perfect end note to a great dinner with a special someone. Coffee is a quiet feature of many social rituals, whether a first date or as the fuel for the night before a final exam. Something that is so prevalent in our culture should be enjoyed at its best. Artisan coffee is coffee that is prepared and tested by the finest in the business, giving you a cupful of everything coffee should be.

Remember the days when you drank instant coffee or generic coffee from the supermarket? It was probably all right with lots of cream and sugar, or you didn’t really pay attention because you just needed to drink it to wake up and get on with your day. Artisan coffee doesn’t rely on sweeteners to make it taste good. Artisan coffee is coffee that tastes good right from the beginning. The beans that go into artisan coffee are selected because they produce the best tasting coffee.

The Process

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