Gourmet Coffee and Gift Mugs

Coffee gift baskets are the perfect item for someone who has everything or a long distance gift. A must have for those die hard; have to have it as soon as I wake up in the morning person. A coffee package complete with a mug and coasters for someone's birthday or holiday gift, is one present that won't be returned.

Coffee is more exciting these days with rich flavors added; like French Vanilla, Kenya AA, Decaf Colombian Supremo, Chocolate and Italian Roast Espresso.

But how did it all begin?

As the story goes, around 850 A.D, a goat herder named Kaldi, noticed his goats were acting more active after chewing on some beans. He chewed on a bean and felt an instant rush. The goat herder took the beans, grounded them up and brewed them in water. He instantly felted a renewed burst of energy.

News of these magical beans spread to a nearby monastery, and they too began consuming the beans that helped them meditate and pray for longer periods of time. This soon spread to other monasteries.

It didn't take long for the powers of the coffee bean spread world wide.

Coffee bean farmers, over the years experimented with the beans to improve on the taste. Different blends of the beans brought more robust flavor. Eventually gourmet coffee was formed.

In 1955, Alfred Peet, a son of a coffee trader, moved from Amsterdam to America. He was used to drinking gourmet coffee and couldn't find any around. At the time United States was selling low grade ground coffee. Often this would sit on supermarket shelves for several months.

Knowing what real gourmet coffee tasted like, Peet opened up a small store in Berkley, California. There he began to sell his dark roasted coffee beans. Three of Alfred Peet's customers decided to open up the same type of store in Seattle, Washington.

The Seattle store that owners Gerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Ziv Siegel opened I 1971 was the first Starbucks store. Waiting for their first roaster, they bought their coffee beans from Alfred Peet. It began as a small store that also sold tourist items. Today, it is still a small store based in Pike’s Market, where a group of specialty shops exist. But now has franchised to thousands of stores, all over the world.

Today different flavors are added to coffee, making it a specialty gourmet drink.

Here is a simple recipe with instant coffee. One of 89 recipes found in No Ordinary Coffee Recipes (view here)

Ingredients:
• 1 cup Cold water
• 2 tb Ground espresso coffee
• 1/2 Cinnamon stick (3" long)
• 4 ts Crème de Cacao
• 2 ts Brandy
• 2 tb Whipping cream, chilled
• Grated semisweet chocolate to garnish

How To:
Break out your espresso machine for this one or just make really strong coffee with a small amount of water. Break cinnamon stick into small pieces and add to hot espresso. Allow to cool for 1 minute. Add crème de cacao and brandy, and stir gently. Pour into cute demitasse cups. Whip the cream, and float some cream on top of each cup. For looks, garnish with grated chocolate or fancy chocolate curls. Multiply proportions by six and it's perfect for a party. Serves 2.

The copyright to this article is owned by Sandy Mertens (sandyspider). Permission to republish this article in print or online must be granted by the author in writing. (You can, however, freely use the opening introduction and photo with a link to the article here on HubPages to read the remainder of the article.)