The 2017 holiday season is here. We are so excited to present our first ever 12 Days of Christmas Holiday DIY’s. However, while the original 12 Days of Christmas actually start on Christmas Day, we thought we would reverse that and begin to celebrate the 12 days leading to Christmas Day. After all, our DIY’s are perfect for doing prior to Christmas.
Our DIY’s include gift giving ideas that truly meet the specific needs and interests of some of your loved ones. And thrown in too are a coupla great recipes and one or two just because’s. So check us out every day, until December 25th to see what awesome DIY’s we have in store for you.
For our First Day of Christmas, I thought we would target a coffee drinker in your life. In my case that would be me. I have been a lover of coffee for most of my adult life. While I have weaned myself off coffee for several periods throughout the years, one time for about 2 years, I have always returned to this addictive yumminess. I love the bitterness of a dark roast as well as the sometimes fruitiness or creaminess of a light roast.
One of my big learnings in the last few years was how roasting the beans affects the caffeine content. The darker the roast the less caffeine the beans have. So think about that when picking the beans. Does your loved one like the flavor of coffee, that deeper taste and bitterness? Then a dark roast will be most ideal for them. If they drink coffee for the caffeine or prefer the more smooth and creamy textures, then a light roast will be perfect for them.
Since I like coffee for both the caffeine and the flavor, I have started to custom blend mine. Some grocery stores are able to give you the option of customizing your coffee. I live in the NYC area so my go to places are Fairway Market on 74th and Broadway on the Upper West Side and Whole Foods on Columbus Circle. Both places have decent options although how much variety is available depends on the size of the location, of course.
I recommend talking to your loved one to see what flavor profile they like in their coffee. The go have fun at the grocery store. Most of the time, there are flavor descriptors next to the names of the coffee, which makes it easier to figure out what to buy.
For this batch, I picked a medium roast: Guatemala Antiqua and Italian Roast. I picked half a pound each of both beans and had them ground for paper filters. At Fairway, the employees do the measuring and grinding while at Whole Foods, each person is responsible for both tasks.
So I think that this is a great gift for someone who loves coffee.