I am really anticipating drinking my first cup of Tully's Coffee Bellaccino Cinnamon Stick coffee! It will be available on Amazon in k-cup form soon. I've signed up to be notified as soon as it is open for ordering and you can, too.

I haven't found many coffees that have a good cinnamon taste to them which has been a bit of a disappointment for me.  From the reviews that I have read Tully's has not disappointed with this bold and sweet flavor. I've seen it compared to the taste of those fiery red hots I used to love as a kid. Makes my mouth water just writing about it.

So far every flavor and roast that I have tried by Tully's has been a superb cup of coffee. So, I'm really looking forward to the release of the Bellaccino Cinnamon Stick. 

Personally, I would enjoy cinnamon coffee all year round but I can see that some might enjoy it around Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. How about Valentine's day? I guess we don't associate cinnamon with the day for lovers but I'm thinking about those red hot candies and those make me think Valentine's Day. If you have a coffee lover in your house, perhaps a box of Tully's Bellaccino Cinnamon Stick would be a great gift idea.

For those of us who are fans of the delightful beverage of coffee, we generally have our favorite coffee mugs. Receiving a new mug as a gift for our birthday, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, or even at Christmas or Hanukkah are always appreciated. Coffee mugs are generally not very expensive. When giving a gift of a mug, it can be a stand alone or you can fill it with little treats like fudge or even a small bag of (what else?) coffee.


When picking out the coffee mug as a gift for that special someone we have all sorts of options. We can get a mass produced mug that follows a specific theme that our recipient will enjoy, that is pretty easy to do. We can also look for a coffee mug that is more unique and unusual, one that fits the personality of the person we are gifting.

The mug can relate to the time of the year we are giving the gift too. A winter scene, hearts for Valentine's Day, their zodiac sign, or something that really defines the person who will drink out of the coffee mug and think of us when they do. Perhaps your person loves birds, a coffee mug with an original drawing of a bird like the one below would really be a memorable gift.


The next time you have a gift to give, consider a cool coffee mug filled with something special.

As the holiday season is upon us we can enjoy special flavored coffees with specific flavors for this time of year. There are a few flavored coffees that we enjoy in our home this time of year. Candy canes are a favorite of ours so having Van Houtte Candy Cane K-Cups  near the coffee machine has become a tradition in our kitchen.

If you enjoy vanilla and caramel flavors then you might like Timothy's World Coffee Winter Carnival as a choice to have during the entire winter.

And if you are not certain which flavor might satisfy your taste buds you can always try a variety pack such as the Keurig Holiday Coffee Collection as an option.

The wonderful thing about having the K-cups available is that when company comes you can offer them coffee with flavors that are oh so special during the winter and holiday season. Then again, it is a nice treat for yourself on a cold winter morning or evening.

Two flavors that are a winning combination for me are coffee and chocolate. Not just regular old coffee or plain old chocolate but the good stuff. Now let me tell you, I've tried many a blend of coffee that was supposed to have a chocolate flavor but found them lacking. There wasn't a good chocolate body to any of them. In fact most of the time, I couldn't taste any chocolate at all. Not until I switched to drinking k-cups that is.

I've found a wonderful coffee that has a great chocolate flavor in Van Houtte Spicy Mayan Chocolate K-Cups. A medium roast combines the rich flavor of chocolate more like the Mayans drank some 2500 years ago. Oh the aroma of chocolate that wafts through the room while brewing. The added little spice is a touch of cinnamon. My goodness this is just the best dessert coffee I've ever had! Just about every night after dinner and my little chores are complete, I sit down with a cup of this luscious brew. It is simply divine!

I did promise that I would talk about all things Coffee on this blog and today I'm going to talk about a connection with coffee and my other favorite thing reading murder mysteries. A series of mysteries involving a Coffee House and of course our favorite brew coffee has been created by author Cleo Coyle and I'm hooked.

Coyle started this mystery series back in 2003 with the first book On What Grounds where we are introduced to Clare Cosi the manager of a coffeehouse in New York's Greenwich Village called the Village Blend. The mystery begins with her first day back on the job, after a 10 year absence, to find her assistant unconscious on the floor. To coin another author of mystery fame, "The game is afoot" and the mystery starts to unravel.

Second in what has now been deemed as the Coffeehouse Mysteries is Through the Grinder which was published in October of 2004. In this mystery Clare's female customers begin to die and Lieutenant Quinn is there again to help solve the mystery.

Currently there are 7 books in the series with No. 8 due to be released on August 3, 2010. Roast Mortem is the latest in Coyle's wonderful series. What I love about these books is the added information about different types of roasts of coffee that Coyle intertwines into the stories. As you are reading you can almost smell the aromas of brews being made in the Coffee House. She even goes so far as to tell the readers how to make spectacular cups of coffee in ways that we might not imagine. Not only is Cleo Coyle a fabulous mystery writer but you can tell that she is a true fan of our favorite beverage...coffee.

I encourage you to pick up one of these delightful books, sit down with your favorite brew and enjoy a mystery in the Coffee House. 

As much as I love drinking coffee, I love the art that I find with a coffee theme.I'm particularly fond of the print featured below showing indigenous mountain folk picking the coffee cherry off of the trees during the harvest time. It is inside this red little pod that turns the color of a cherry that the beans are found. The coffee cherry will be glossy and firm when it is time to be picked.

Although the coffee beans can be picked by a machine, it is better that they are hand-picked so that only the ripe coffee cherries come off of the tree. The unripe cherries can be left until they reach their full potential on the next round through. It is less cost effective to pick by hand during the harvesting season but the best coffee always comes from doing it the old fashioned way with people like the ones in the picture above carefully choosing the most ripe beans to put in their basket.

The art print above makes me think of  Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. I wonder if it, at least,  used to be harvested in this same manner. It would seem a real shame to have the beans stripped by machines and loose the unripe ones in the process.

I had a friend ask me about the difference between a coffee pod and a k-cup so I thought a post would help explain this to both her and my other readers. A coffee pod is basically ground coffee packaged between two layers of coffee filters. They look like this:


There are a multitude of companies who are now making these coffee pods to be used in different types of single serve coffee brewers. The pods are usually less expensive than the K-cups that only fit the Keurig brewing machines and the T-disks for the Tassimo coffee systems. Basically, many people interchange the word coffee pod, k-cups, and T-disks but they are birds of a different feather.

Not all coffee pods as shown above are even of the same flock. There are 3 different sizes so it is important to make sure when you are purchasing them that they will truly fit the single serve coffee system that you own.

There is a small coffee pod (44mm) that fits the Melitta single serve brewing system. The medium sized pod (55mm) is for the Juan Valdez brewer and the largest size of coffee pod (62mm) which fits the Senseo, Mr. Coffee, Krups, Bunn, and other single serve coffee brewing systems. To insure that you get the best cup of coffee from your machine, be sure to read the label to make sure the coffee pod is meant to be used with what you have.

My favorite cup of coffee in the morning is the Caribou Daybreak Morning Blend. I love the citrus tones that balance nicely with the mellow nutty undertones added to the delicate floral notes of this coffee in the morning.

I keep a couple of boxes of k-cups for my Keurig Brewing System as a standard in my pantry. Even my husband who generally doesn't like the lighter roasts prefers the Daybreak Morning Blend by Caribou for his first cup of coffee of the day.

Don't have a Keurig brewing system? Not to worry, you can still start to enjoy this wonderful morning blend with your regular coffee maker. Amazon will soon have the Daybreak Blend in 12 oz bags for you to purchase and have on hand in your kitchen or office.

I think you will be pleased with the great flavor of this light roast coffee for morning or all day long. It has just the right blends to tickle your taste buds.

A little history about Caribou Coffee. The idea for the company was conceived by newlyweds John and Kim Puckett on a trip to the Denali National Park in Alaska in 1990. The couple started their first store in 1992 in a Minneapolis suburb and now the chain is second only to Starbucks across the United States.

If you are shopping for a nice light roast coffee for your morning cup, try Caribou Coffee's Daybreak Morning Blend. You won't regret it!

Coffee Quote For The Day: Mothers are those wonderful people who can get up in the morning before the smell of coffee. ~Author Unknown

Until my husband and I switched over to the Keurig Coffee Brewing System, we made our coffee like many do with a 12 cup coffee maker. We usually made a half pot in the morning, each of us drank one cup and poured out the rest before we left for work. Now that just seems so very wasteful. Rarely did we ever make another pot of coffee when we came home.

What I love about my Keurig Single Serve Gourmet Coffee System is that we are now drinking more coffee and less sodas. Our single cup brews in less than 60 seconds and we don't have to fuss over the type of brew we want. He has a tendency to like the stronger roasts and I usually pick a milder blend. Problem is solved with the k-cup pods.

Now in the mornings I can choose a mild roast and he has a stronger blend for himself with no waste. We are enjoying coffee so much more and find that we have at least one more cup of coffee in the evening. That is usually when I like to have a flavored coffee.

We have the B70 platinum model which also allows us to make a cup of hot chocolate or tea with the k-cup pods and we can make iced coffee with this coffee maker too.

We love the variety and we love our Keurig Coffee Brewing System.

The inspiration for my change of focus on this blog came from a lady that admire very much. Her "Morning Coffee" art that can be applied to coffee cups, invitations, posters, cards, and tee shirts woke me up just like the caffeine from my favorite brew would. I know that probably doesn't make a lot of sense but the way my mind works doesn't make a lot of sense to most people.

As you can see from the coffee mug above, Paula is a pretty terrific artist. Was it the painting that inspired this change? Well, partly. It did make something click in my foggy old brain.

Paula was giving advice to a group that we belong to and how that group could help all of us. She talks about her morning routine which involves a morning cup of coffee and that is when the idea became so clear in my head for the change of direction of this blog that had been floundering at best. How Professional Squids Can Benefit You might not be of interest to coffee lovers but it provided the right motivation for me to step out of my box just a little and write about something that I love...coffee.

So thank you, Paula, for the inspiration! I'm pretty stoked (probably has something to do with the amount of coffee I've consumed!) and am looking forward to sharing a lot of information about my favorite brew and the thing that go along with it.

Bevs Coffee Break started out as a blog where I was talking about just about everything other than coffee. So today, I'm changing the cup I've been drinking out of and starting over with a new method of using my break. Instead of talking about all sorts of things, the blog will now focus on something I have a passion for....coffee and all that goes with it.

From this day forward I'll be sharing my favorite coffee flavors along with coffee makers, coffee cups, and even some coffee art from time to time.

I won't erase the posts that came before this one as they do have some relevance in my life. I apologize to the people who have been following this blog for other information. If you aren't a fan of coffee, I understand that you may not want to follow this blog anymore.

But if you are a fan of coffee and all the things that go with it, please come back soon and see what things I've found to share with you about where to buy coffee, k-cup coffee, coffee machines, arabica coffee beans, and more.

Until next time, I'm off to drink my next cup of coffee.

Some of you are probably familiar with an article directory, sometimes referred to as an articles site and some of you may not know what I'm referring to. According to Wikipedia: "Article directories are websites where users submit unique articles to be categorized and included to a specific niche. Well-written content articles released for free distribution have the potential of increasing the authoring business' credibility within its market as well as attracting new clients."

A pretty handy tool to use for Search Engine Optimization for blogs, websites, Squidoo lenses, HubPage hubs, or other sites that you have. An article directory can help in branding your business or even your ability as a writer. Article Directories are also a great place to find articles that relate to a topic that you have interest in or want to write about yourself.

A new free Articles Directory has been launched and is ready for submissions. Shout Out Loud offers several categories to submit quality content articles to. Giving you the ability to define yourself in that niche you have worked so hard to show some authority in.

This new article directory is new but has the potential to grow well as the word gets out about its availability. Go on over and take at look. Be sure to read the Submission Guidelines before you register. Shout Out Loud is free to use, however you are required to be 18 years of age or older and to have a Gravatar account before you submit your articles to the site.

A couple of my internet buddies host a radio show every Tuesday at 5 PM EST called Giant Squid Open Mike. Each week a guest calls in to talk about a variety of topics that pertain to Squidoo lensmaking and general topics of interest to anyone writing on the internet today. Joan Adams and Kate Loving Shenk host this 1/2 hour show with such enthusiasm and joy. You can't help but have a good time while you also learn about the latest information about the community, new features, or a veteran giving tips of how to succeed.

Last week, veteran lensmaster AJ2008 talked to us about etiquette on Squidoo and how important that is. She gave some great tips on how to leave a proper comment on a lens that will truly help the person who wrote the lens.

One very special guest last year was the one and only PotPieGirl that so many people have learned internet marketing from.

This afternoon, Tuesday January 26th, I have the honor of being Joan and Kate's guest speaker. Come join us with a fun conversation on Giant Squid Open Mike. Log in and join in the Chat Room too!

Don't fret if you miss today's broadcast...you can always listen to an archive version after the show.

Tenfinity, a group of 10 like-minded lensmasters, have just released Squidoo: Step by Step a guidebook that explains in easy terms what to do when creating your lenses, how to promote your work for the short term and the long term to aid in better traffic. The group gives advice on researching keywords and keyword phrases to use within the content of your lens for better search engine optimization. The guidebook gives good information about Affiliate Marketing, Social Bookmarking, and Social Media and how you can use them to your benefit.

Want to hear the best part? It's free! That's right, it is a gift to Squidoo lensmasters from the members of Tenfinity. So, how do you get your free copy? It is very easy! Just pop on over to Squidoo Step By Step where you can dowload your free copy today. Oh, and by the way....Happy Holidays from the members of Tenfinity! We wish you the very best success in the New Year.

I think most people have at least started to think about Christmas already. With the state of the economy many of us are looking at paring down our list of people to buy gifts for. Perhaps our list can't be shortened any further but the amount of money avaialable to spend for each gift has dwindled much lower this year. I think this is on everyone's mind right now. I ran across a lens today that gives some wonderful ideas for Christmas on a Tight Budget. Now this lady understands the true Spirit of Christmas!

Indiana in the fall is just so delightful to witness. The lovely colors of the trees just looks like an artist visited overnight and painted a breathtaking picture for the world to enjoy.

I recently wrote an article that tells of a few of my favorite spots to visit during the autumn season here in Indiana and thought I would share it with my readers today.


Fall Festivals In Indiana

One of the things that all of us need to do for our website, our blog, our hubpages, or Squidoo lenses is to get the word out about them. Help people to find out about what we have to say or what we have to sell.

The internet is not one of those places where the addage "If you build it - they will come" works. Promoting yourself and your ideas is a task that we all need to do.

I can recommend one place to get that very job done. She Told Me offers a place to submit your website, blog, hubpages, ehow articles, and Squidoo lens. There is a bonus...you can earn money from the advertising that shows on your content. How cool is that?

If you have a small business today, you probably know that you need to have an online presence of some sort. Many owners of businesses just don't know where to start. The internet is so massive and creating something that will get you noticed can be daunting to say the least.

One lady in Rock Hill, SC has decided to give her local businesses a boost by opening a business of her own to help create an online presence for them. Joan Adams has opened the doors to Granny Geek. She plans to create little mini websites for Rock Hill merchants and business showcasing what they have to offer to the community and the world.

Granny Geek, Joan Adams, is already a master at this technique on Squidoo having created over 100 quality lenses. She is a Giant Squid, member of the Giant 100 Club, a Giant Greeter, and a Squid Angel. If you are not a member of Squidoo, you might not realize that these are not easily earned titles. Joan is remarkable in all she does.

If you would like to know more about Joan's services, read about Granny Geek....

We wish you much success Joan!

America is supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world, if not the richest. Yet poverty in the United States is growing by leaps and bounds. Tom Stone created a photo essay on the homeless in our country that is so moving, so heartbreaking, and unfortunately a reality that we should all be thinking about.

A dear friend of mine has written a piece honoring Tom's work and also calling attention to this problem that grows each day. The black and white photos will tear at your heart and I believe that you will never be able to look at a homeless person the same after you read Mimi's work.

One of her readers said this, "probably the greatest gift Tom ever gave these people was acknowledging their existence" and that is so true.

I would love for you to visit Homeless in America and leave a comment for both MiMi the lensmaster who has such a loving heart that she chose to feature Tom's work and for Tom the man who acknowledged the people in the photos.

It just may be the most powerful thing you have read in a very long time.