Today is the last day to enter our Marley Coffee Giveaway! Be sure to visit the original post HERE and leave a comment to enter. Winner will be announced tomorrow!

Coffee lovers, listen up! I’m so excited to present our very first FOOD giveaway on the blog! And even more excited that it’s from the organic gourmet coffee line founded by Rohan Marley (son of legendary musician Bob Marley), Marley Coffee.

Rohan founded the company only a year ago. Marley Coffee features a collection of 5 coffees that are ethically farmed, certified organic and sustainably grown. According to their website, “Marley Coffee offers an assortment of shade-grown coffee blends from the finest coffee producing regions in the world, including Central and South America, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. They also offer an organic single origin java from Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. Marley Coffee is determined to deliver intoxicating aroma and rich, smooth flavor into every cup that bears the Marley name.”

Through this company, he also founded the Kicks For Cause Foundation, giving back to the community on which his company thrives. The Foundation helps provide soccer fields and soccer camps to children of the coffee producing communities around the world beginning in Jamaica. For more information on these fabulous coffees, please visit www.marleycoffee.com.

The Marley Coffee line

Now back to the giveaway . Each coffee retails for $14.99, but Marley Coffee is offering one (1) BATF reader a chance to win an assortment of coffees worth $45, which includes:

TO ENTER:

2) Tweet “RT @BeautyNDFeast Coffee lovers! Enter to win coffee from Bob Marley’s son, Rohan’s @MarleyCoffee by RT this post http://ow.ly/2sU1b”

Winner will be announced on Sept 1st! Good luck!

x
Shy

Recently, I had gotten to a scary-ish point in my work week that I had up until this point been able to avoid throughout college and four years in NY.

I was unable to function without my morning cup of coffee.

I would pride myself on following my rule of drinking lattes only for pleasure, during the weekend or in good company. Never because I needed it. That went out the window a few months ago when I was working days in the office and nights on the blog (hey, someone’s gotta do it). It’s weird how I think coffee starts to taste different when it’s a need and no longer a want. I needed to break out of the cycle and sleep-a-thons were not happening soon.

E Boost in Orange

It was no sooner that I found I received a package to try E Boost, a powder nutrition supplement infused with Green tea extract, vitamin B12 for energy; and vitamin C, zinc and selenium for immunity. It fizzes when you add it to your water and has only a light, non-intrusive flavor (at least that’s true for the orange and pink lemonade ones that I tried).

The first time I took it, I really felt like I could focus more and felt more awake. I didn’t feel as excited about it the second time I tried it, still feeling like I was falling into a coma that even a vitamin-packed drink couldn’t revive me from. But after only a few days continuing with this, I no longer craved my coffee. It was a welcomed side effect that I didn’t consciously realize would replace my morning cups of java.

It also saved me some nice pocket change — whereas a tall cup of Starbucks’ white chocolate mocha costs me almost $5, one packet of E Boost evens out to only $0.85 ($28 for a pack of $24). It does contain caffeine by way of the green tea extract, but significantly less — kinda like a Nicorette patch for the caffeine addict.

For more info or to order some for yourself, go to www.eboost.com/.

x
Shy

Here’s some awesomely free advice: If you ever see a Mud coffee truck, chase it.

I went to Mud cafe last summer in the East Village, so when I saw the actual Mud truck near the Astor Place subway stop last weekend, I had to try. We ordered two chai lattes and vanilla latte after brunch, and it was SO GOOD.

Definitely worth the stop if you ever see that lil’ orange truck o’ happiness.

www.mudnyc.com/truck.html

x
Shy

A yummy cappuccino I had while in Prague. A+ for presentation, although it could have been served a little hotter. The experience of the intimate, underground jazz club in Old Town Square more than compensated for it though.

Restaurant Info:
Agharta Jazz Club
Zelezna 16
Old Town, Prague 1
Czech Republic
Tel: 00420 222 211 275
Prague

x
Shy

Our daily cappuccino in Rome from Eola Cafe on Viale Dei Quatro Venti

The funny thing is, I don’t normally drink coffee to start my day. But when in Rome…

And I have to say, I REALLY miss my daily caffeine injections. So when I was invited to check out the coffee creations by Krups Nescafé Dolce Gusto this morning, I was more than game.

It was held at the sleek MEET at the Apartment lounge in Soho. I was quickly led to a machine to take a stab at the machine myself.

Krups Nescafé Dolce Gusto machine

It was pretty simple: Just stick in a pre-packaged capsule of milk that is dispensed warm and frothy in the cup; then another capsule of 100% Arabic roast and ground coffee that is mixed in and you have a warm cup of cappuccino in under a minute.

I made a little video of it too:

Some more features:

Design expert Stephen Saint-Onge, who has been named one of the top 15 designers in America and is a regular on TV appearances like Oprah and The View, was also at hand to give us some designing tips.

Stephen Saint-Onge

Here are some I found the most useful:

Back to the Dolce Gusto machine, the obvious question is price. It retails for $149.99 but they’re offering a $30 rebate until 12/31/09. The starter kit included in that includes a white cappuccino cup and saucer set; a tall macchiato glass, and a variety pack of drink flavors. To buy more capsules, it’s $8.49 for 16 capsules.

Check it out on amazon.com here.

Would you guys invest at a coffee/cappuccino maker at home, or do you not mind the daily coffee run?

x
Shy