"Brooklyn1" <Gravesend1> wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:39:34 -0700 (PDT), Kalmia
> > wrote:
>
>>Just in case anyone was wondering...... I have ordered 8 types of
>>Peets coffee beans, a load of Penzey blends, and will arrange it all
>>in a large, decorator box (reusable) with some new dishcloths as
>>'excelsior'. The day before I present the gift, I will make a batch of
>>chocolate, almond biscotti and, if they are decent, I'll add those
>>too.
>>
>>Thanks for all your ideas.
>
> A Penzeys assortment is useful for anyone who cooks so long as it's
> seasonings they like, but what if they don't drink coffee, and most
> folks don't own a coffee bean grinder. I really don't see any
> connection between spice blends and coffee beans unless they're
> seperate gifts for a grab bag. Maybe I'm out of touch but I would
> never give comestibles as a wedding gift, especially not for people I
> barely know. Just last week aquaintences gifted me a two pound bag of
> coffee beans from their native land, Colombia. The next day I put
> some in my coffee grinder so they'd be reqdy for me to try. I gotta
> say, I was very disappointed, they produced a pot of coffee that
> tasted awful, after a few sips it went down the drain. I tried them
> again the next morning, but still they produced the most scuzzy brew,
> I dumped it. The beans are still in my grinder only because I'm still
> trying to decide if I'll toss them in my composter or in the trash,
> it's still too mucky outside to get to my composter. This was a gift
> for no occasion, but I would never consider giving coffee as a wedding
> gift... maybe you should have given a nice burr grinder, they are not
> very pricy, certainly would have cost less than the discombobulated
> assortment you bought. Maybe it's still not too late. I didn't reply
> to be mean, you made the post so must have wanted opinions so I gave
> my honest opinion, I'm sure most will give you their disingenuous atta
> girl.

I don't drink coffee at all. And I quit giving it as a gift because the
fancy stuff we drink here in the Seattle area is not the stuff people seem
to want elsewhere. Outside of this area, the people I know who drink
coffee, drink the stuff in a can from the grocery store. Here, people are
very picky. We have those little huts on almost every corner. Placing an
order can be quite an ordeal because of all the options available.

I would also most likely not use anything from Penzeys because they put
things in their spice mixes that I don't want in there. Like dairy in the
Taco seasoning.