International Coffee Day on Monday, September, 29th – is there anybody among us who can get up in the morning and head to work as a functional human being without their morning cup of coffee? Trying to talk to someone without their morning cup of coffee is like encountering a gorilla in the wild – dangerous and scary. In fact, there is nobody that loves their morning cup of coffee more than celebrities. Look at paparazzi photos of celebrities, and note how many of them have the celebs carrying coffee, or buying coffee, or even standing in line at a coffee place.
There’s a reason that coffee has become one of the most prevalent expenses in our daily expenses, and most people I know, including myself, make sure to splurge on our coffee makers for this very reason. Sure, many of us have coffee makers at our work places, but they’re usually gross, break down often, and don’t necessary give us the quality of coffee we desire. And spending $5 a day for a cup of cappuccino from a coffee shop? No, thanks – especially not when we have the Keurig 2.0 K400 coffee maker which is available for purchase at Staples Canada.
The name may be complicated, but I assure you, the actual machine is not. There’s a 70 oz [illuminated] water reservoir, a color touch display, strength control, brewer maintenance alerts, and even an energy saver mode to conserve the battery. The controls are all programmable, and easy to use. There’s an accessible easy-fill flip-top reservoir lid, not to mention fun little add-ons like customized user interface wallpaper. It’s like having your own laptop-coffee maker combo. Eh, maybe that wasn’t the right analogy. But there’s no denying that the Keurig 2.0 is impressive, especially since it’s so sleek and shiny. In my experience, sleek and shiny doesn’t necessary equate user-friendliness, just as an attractive package doesn’t necessary mean quality. But with the Keurig, you get it all – a nice, sleek coffee maker that actually WORKS. Seriously, was that so difficult? Well, I guess it was – if it wasn’t, I’m sure more people would be doing it.
The package also comes with a 4-cup starter carafe, a 2 K-CarafeTM packs, and 4 K-Cup packs. In addition to that, there’s a one-year manufacturer’s warranty, so if the machine suddenly stops working, Keurig will have a new one over to you pronto.
Basically, it’s all a matter of how important your morning coffee is to you. I mean, wouldn’t you rather splurge on a nice machine that makes delicious coffee, or spend a ton of money buying coffee each morning? Or the other alternative, which is to drink horrible office coffee – unless you work at a company that already has the new Keurig, in which case where do I sign up?
For International Coffee Day to make my day special I will be making one of my favorite recipes for, “Iced Cafe au Lait.” I know most people think you can only get those at an expensive coffee shop, but you can actually make them yourselves. What will you be doing?
Iced Café au Lait
1 cup very strong coffee hot from your Keurig
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp hot chocolate powder
1 cup milk (or half and half cream)
2 to 3 cups of ice cubes (about 20)
Pour coffee into a blender. Add sugar and hot chocolate powder. Blend at medium speed for 30 seconds. Ad milk (or cream). Add ice cubes, a few at a time. Blend on high speed for 1 to 2 minutes, or until smooth and frothy. Pour over ice in tall glasses. Serve topped with whipped cream and shaved chocolate or cinnamon. Serves 4.
And voila, you have your Iced Cafe ay Lait. Simple and effective, delicious, AND cheap! And best of all, it’ll taste that much more delicious when you’ve made it in your Keurig at home. It’s good with all flavors of Keurig coffee, try different ones for a different iced coffee each day!
There’s also a sense of style that comes with the Keurig that you really don’t get with many other coffee machines. I mean, how many of these can boast CUSTOMIZABLE screensavers? Imagine looking at puppies and kittens before going to work..? Or pictures of your kids, if cute animals isn’t your thing. Totally improve your mood, right?
Plus, the color touch display and illuminated water reservoir definitely add some attractive elements to the machine. Even if you’re strictly utilitarian when it comes to your coffee, there’s no denying that having something like this at home can actually make you look forward to drinking coffee.
Basically, what I’m saying [in a very long winded way] is just buy the Keurig, you guys. You won’t regret it, and it’s a short burst of spending for a long, long time of savings. The quality is guaranteed, the packaging is attractive, and best of all, it’s fun. Fun + coffee = YAY.
You can get the product at Staples, and you can find out more about it at the Staples website. The product tends to sell out pretty fast, so get your hands on one of them before it’s too late. Also, there’s plenty of amazing coffee recipes that go along with this Keurig, and you can research them online.
Also on International Coffee Day you can tweet for a chance to win a Keurig brewing systems .
On Monday September 29th, 2014, Staples Canada will be hosting 3 “Pick Me Up Hour” Twitter giveaways for the brewers during the times when people tend to reach for a cup of coffee: 9 AM (EST), 12 AM (EST), or 3 PM (EST). All you have to do is Tweet @StaplesCanada with the hashtag #CoffeeBuzz for a chance to win a Keurig on September 29th.
Good Luck!
Disclaimer: Celeb Dirty Laundry has not received any payment as a result of this review. We received the product in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are our own and not those of Staples Canada or Keurig.
