Lord Of The Froth

I did this post about great coffee gifts to buy when I didn't really know how my current boss best liked her coffee. As it turned out this gift idea was a great one to give her this year for the holidays, so that I could make her coffee the way she loves it at the office. The post is worth checking out if you need to get a gift for a coffee lover, but I also have a tip to share about making foam with a frother (like the one I suggested in the post or any one you buy) - FROTH it COLD! You can heat the foam afterward, but it will not froth nearly as well warm. I had no idea.

**See Your Name In Coffee**

If you have a coffee lover in your life and you're sick of buying them Starbucks gift cards, I recently read about these cute custom coffee stencils that would make a great gift. You could get a few other items with it to make it a gift with a bit more substance like a milk frother, beautiful coffee mugs/cups from Bodum or Nambe and a gourmet coffee like this one from Mariebelle

Things that make you go MMMMM

I do seem a bit fixated on the food gifts lately, but I get asked about them all the time and there are so many great and unusual things you can send now that I want to spread the word about some of the more interesting stuff.

One site that has tons of special things for the real foodie in your life is the Grateful Palate. One item from them that is a bit strange, but very popular is their Bacon Brittle (yes, I did say bacon brittle and no I have not lost my mind). For the person in your life obsessed with wine and/or coffee they do an incredibly unique thing that people have really responded to - they have well known winemakers come in and create a blend of coffee with their in house roaster. Right now they have five different blends and they aren't that expensive. You will not find this anywhere else and it is one of those things that is great to get for that person who has everything else already. If you can't decide what to pick, they have gift certificates.

In the last few years the combo of sweet and savory has really come into the mainstream. One company that has become even more popular because of this is Fran's Chocolates. Their signature item is salted caramels (caramel, chocolate and sea salt). It sounds odd, but they are really good if you like that combo of flavors. They have been featured in the New York Times and Obama is a fan of their chocolates.