K-Cup Packs For Less

When it comes to holiday gifts, there are two schools of thought. Some people love surprises while others take a “wish list” approach. Either way, you want to make sure your presents are perfect. And we’re here to help.

Our team’s pulled together a great online holiday shopping guides that we hope will help you find the right gift for everyone on your list – holiday gift baskets for far away friends, artisan chocolates for the teacher with a sweet tooth, and Keurig® Single Cup Coffee Makers for just about anyone! With our carefully curated collection of gift ideas and stocking stuffers, you’ll find everything you need in record time.  Here are some of our favorites:

For Him:

We’ll admit it: Shopping for men can be tricky. Sometimes you find the perfect gift, only to learn he has already bought it for himself! That is less likely to happen with our unique selection of coffee mugs, rugged gear and high-tech single-cup coffee makers. If he’s particularly adventurous, our Coffee Tours are a great way to discover a new favorite coffee, and make a wonderful gift for coffee lovers who like to try new things. If your young man is still in college, the popular Keurig® Mini Plus has free shipping and is a must for all-night study sessions and early-morning classes.

For Her:

Whether she’s your mom or daughter, sweetheart or friend, treat her to something special from our collection of Gift ideas for Her. Chocolate is always a hit, and several of our offerings will fit easily into her holiday stocking. Encourage her to take a moment for herself with a handcrafted mug, or give her a few extra minutes with the convenience of a Cuisinart® Keurig® Single Cup Coffee Maker. If she likes to entertain, make it easy with our Keurig® K-Cup Carousel or Hot Cocoa K-Cup® Pack Gift.

For the Office:

A gift from our office collection is a perfect way to say “thank you” to everyone who has shared in your business success throughout the year. Chocolate dipped shortbread and biscotti make coffee breaks even sweeter! Thermal mugs keep desk-top coffee warm all morning long. Of course, the best gifts are large enough to share with everyone in the office, so choose from our wide assortment of gift baskets with plenty to go around.

For Everyone:

If time is what you want to give, consider a membership to our Café EXPRESS Coffee Club. Create an account and we’ll send bagged coffee or K-Cup® packs automatically to the address of your choice. They’ll never run out again! Treat your loved one to a coffee and beverage service with the gift of club membership. Send four or more boxes of K-Cup® packs and the shipping will be FREE.

With these ideas by your side, we hope your holiday shopping will be easy as pie!

For some, the Holidays Season just isn't complete without eggnog... whether theirs is the traditional, spirited milk and egg punch, or something with a little less nog.

We're all for holiday traditions, so we just couldn't help ourselves when this thought came up: How about twice the eggnog – our Limited Edition Spicy Eggnog^® coffee plus real, sweet and creamy eggnog?  As quick as you could say, “Saint Nick,” the Double Spicy Eggnog recipe was born!

Double Spicy Eggnog Recipe:

• Brew a pot of Fair Trade Certified™ Spicy Eggnog coffee.


• Lightly steam or warm ½ cup of eggnog.


• Fill a mug ¾ full with hot Spicy Eggnog coffee.


• Add warmed eggnog.


• Top with whipped cream and nutmeg finish it off!

K-Cup^® Double Spicy Eggnog Recipe:

• Brew a K-Cup pack of Fair Trade Certified™ Spicy Eggnog coffee for your Keurig^® brewer into a large (16oz. recommended) mug.


• Add lightly steamed or warmed eggnog.


• Top with whipped cream and nutmeg for a festive touch.

Doesn’t that just sing of the holidays?  Can’t wait to hear what you think of it!

Some days you just feel dark. Dangerously dark.  You look for thrills around every corner.  Never mind the path less traveled, you want to seek out places nobody’s dared to go.  A new trail?  In!  Fugu for lunch?  Done! Organizing the office supply cabinet? …well, we’ll see.

Point is, when it comes to finding a thrill during your coffee break, there’s no doubt you’re reaching for some Double Black Diamond^™ Extra Bold.  It's a heavy-bodied coffee with a dark and toasty flavor. On a darkness scale of 1 - 10, this one goes to eleven all by itself – add a little coffee mixology to the mix and we’re at twelve.

K-Cup^® Sweet Edge Recipe:

• Brew a K-Cup® portion pack of Double Black Diamond Extra Bold into a large mug.


• Brew a K-Cup® of Caramel Vanilla Cream into the same mug.


• Add sugar and half & half to taste and stir.


• Live on the edge-- add whipped cream and enjoy the thrill.

So, will the Sweet Edge be your coffee break drink of choice today, National Coffee Break Day? Or are you feeling so extreme that you’re going to mix up your own brew?

UPDATE:
A brief update…the Celestial Seasonings® Honey Lemon Ginseng Green Tea in the paper-based K-Cup will be discontinued and no longer available for purchase as of 1/31/11.

In keeping with our “pilot” philosophy of new product introductions, the product was launched exclusively in our consumer direct channel. This allowed us to collect feedback from consumers on the K-Cup.

Those consumers who tried the tea were very pleased with its taste attributes.  But we have determined that when manufactured at mass-produced levels, the current packaging design is not performing up to our standards.

The current design of the paper-based K-Cup was developed in concert with our ongoing efforts to develop more sustainable alternatives to our product packaging. We continue to identify new suppliers who may be able to help us source packaging materials that will meet our standards.  We believe we are making meaningful progress and look forward to sharing new innovations.  Please visit our Brewing A Better World web site for updates.

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We’re super excited about today’s announcement and introduction of our new Honey Lemon Ginseng Tea by Celestial Seasonings^®.  Of course, we think all our products are special, but this one is extra-special as it is packaged in our new paper-based K-Cup^® portion pack.

We’ve been researching more environmentally-friendly alternatives to our current plastic-based K-Cups^® for a while – bringing this product to you is a big milestone for us!

This new portion-pack is 90% paper.  The rest of the portion-pack is polyethylene, which is necessary to both protect the tea and help the package withstand the intense heat that is applied during the brewing process – currently, no biopolymers (including polylactic acid or PLA) can live up to the demands of our brewing system.  Unfortunately, the added polyethylene means the K-Cup is not yet recyclable or compostable but we believe it is still a big step forward.

Why?

Because it reduces our reliance on non-renewable plastics and will help us learn as we continue to research more environmentally-friendly alternatives to our current portion-pack.

All companies have sustainability challenges, a tension between where they are at today and where they want to be with respect to sustainability issues. We’re no different than other companies in that respect and as a consumer-products company, packaging is a big focus for us.  What we believe makes us different is how we address that challenge – by embracing it, by running towards it, and using that tension to drive us towards new solutions.

And we will keep driving towards more and more reduced environmental footprint with our K-Cup packaging.

Stay tuned for more developments in 2011!

Finances keeping you from taking a vacation this summer?  Then it's time to create your own affordable backyard alternative: bring out your lawn chairs, kiddie pool, sunscreen, plastic flamingos, and let your taste buds whisk you away to exotic places with the latest Brew Over Ice K-Cup® portion packs for your Keurig® brewer.

We are introducing two new varieties of Brew Over Ice Perfect Iced Teas from Celestial Seasonings® to help you choose your destination. First is Sweet Berry Lime Iced Green Tea—a sweet and citrusy fusion of smooth green tea and juicy berry flavor with a splash of lime.

Second is Sweet Tropical Breeze Iced White Tea—a refreshing fusion of delicate white tea and the tempting tropical flavors of passion fruit and papaya.

If you want to go for something a bit less tropical, then our Perfect Iced Tea Variety Pack might just be the ticket. This pack lets you try our four classic iced teas: lemon, raspberry, peach, and unsweetened black tea, all in one place. Sample them all and find the one you love!

Whichever one you choose, you will find a paradise of flavor, right in your glass. And with our limited time price discount, you can afford to travel to both places, as long as you remember to enter the keycode BREW-ICED in your shopping cart when booking your iced getaway.

This just in: we are extending our discount for $1.00 on ALL boxes of Brew Over Ice K-Cups through 10/4/10! Stock up and save!

Remember, Brew Over Ice is simple: Fill a tall (16 oz.) cup (do not use glass) with ice and place under brewer. Shake K-Cup and place in brewer. Choose your brew size (6 or 8 oz.) and press "brew." Add additional ice as needed. To see how easy it is to brew these coolly refreshing beverages, click here:

Our Perfect Iced Teas are a convenient way to serve up the quintessential summertime beverage—one cup at a time. Click below to see our entire selection of Brew Over Ice products.