The holiday season is a magical time full of family, refreshment, and reflection on another year gone by. But it would be remiss not to mention the white elephant in the holiday living room: gifting – or, to be specific, finding the perfect gifts for everyone on your nice list.
While neckties and tube socks certainly have their time and place, last minute Christmas gifts like these often end up deep in your friends’ and family’s dustiest dresser drawer. The key to proper gifting is understanding what separates memorable holiday merriment from office party re-gift fodder. Here are five reasons to put a bag (or three) of freshly roasted coffee on your holiday shopping list this year.
1. Coffee keeps for quite a while.
Fancy cheeses grow mold, deli meats eventually spoil, and even the sweetest confections become stale. Those delicious holiday dishes you gift your favorite co-workers could flop into the trashcan without so much as a wistful bite taken, so why not give a gift that won’t ask you to compromise flavor for shelf life? Properly stored coffee grounds will keep their flavor and aroma for up to five months, and whole bean coffee can stay fresh for nine months before drying out. For maximum freshness, all you need is an opaque, vacuum-sealed container and a secure, climate-controlled space, away from excessive heat or light exposure, to squirrel it away in.
2. Coffee is pretty darn versatile.
You don’t have to know exactly how your stepdad or grandma takes their morning cup – the best way someone can drink coffee if the way they like it. Black or with milk, sugar or cinnamon: coffee is like a blank slate your friends and family can project all your flavor hopes and dreams into. Of course, if Dad has been taking his coffee with two sugars and milk for thirty years, you can always browse for a coffee that compliments his sweet toothiness. Learning the coffee flavor wheel goes a long way in finding the right brew for the java hounds on your shopping list.
3. Coffee tastes great at all times of the day.
Coffee has made its reputation as the world's most popular morning cup, but that doesn’t mean your friends and family are relegating their favorite pick-me-up to the start of the day. Open your coffee horizons a bit this holiday season, from sunrise to sunset. Depending on a given coffee’s roast, flavor profile and brewing temperature, that hot cup could taste even better as a cool refresher on a sunny afternoon or a sumptuous evening aperitif. Once again, coffee’s versatility sets it apart as a marvelous holiday gift.
4. Coffee is an awesome travel buddy.
We like to say that home is where you set your mug, but with holiday vacations and travel plans coming down the road, don’t forget that coffee makes for a great companion in the passenger’s seat (or cup holder). Whole beans and coffee grounds alike fly and ship well due to its vacuum seal. Think about snagging an insulated thermos or travel mug, as well, to keep your friends’ and family’s brew as hot (or cold) as they’d like.
5. Coffee drinkers enjoy some nice health benefits.
Winter will soon be upon us — and, with it, cold and flu season. No matter how thoughtful it may be, a bottle of cough syrup may not glow with the holiday spirit, but a cup of coffee on a cold morning might do the trick. While coffee’s caffeine content, perhaps its most beloved attribute, is well-known, the health benefits of drinking coffee extend beyond the beverage's peppiness. A morning cup can boost brain power during a mid-day office slump and help raise metabolism before an early workout. The tart cherries your coffee is brewed from is also chock full of a delicious source of antioxidants and nutrients crucial for improving overall mental health and well-being.
