Peet's Ethiopian Super Natural is out again this year. My experience is this is the most unique, flavorful coffee I have ever tasted. Last year there was a hint of blueberry, other years lemon.

A captivating cup from the birthplace of coffee. Only the finest coffee cherries, picked ripe and naturally sun-dried. Complex with abundant fruit flavor and generous floral aroma.

But they don't have it in stores, only available online. OK. I'll order online.

But it's $20.95 a pound. OK. Worth it.

But then they try to add an $8 charge for shipping!. Forget it. I'll miss it, but this is outrageous. Peet's loses a long-time customer and future orders.

But the CEO's pay was cut to "only" $1.8 million this year. His "unexercised options" are valued at $9,529,744.00.

Also "O'Dea also could receive $13.5 million should a change in ownership of Peet's transpire."

Peet's used to give samples of different coffees and teas. Those samples are what helped me appreciate many of the coffees and teas I drink today. But samples are not profits this quarter. Yes, samples and reasonable shipping charges boost business later, but that's not this quarter that needs his millions, and we've got a CEO, so forget it.

$8 to ship a pound of coffee? Gotta pay that CEO somehow.

Posted by Dave Johnson at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Link Cosmos

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Finally - a whole year without having to hear parum pa pum pum over and over and over again at Starbucks!

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Our little white dog Paddington does a "ballet" with his back legs, and this card shows him doing a holiday Nutcracker ballet.

Here is last year's.

Posted by Dave Johnson at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Link Cosmos

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I recently tried Lipton Pearl long-leaf tea. It's good. But it comes in those pyramid-shaped teabags, and it turns out they're made of NYLON! You can't put that in your compost bin because it does not break down.

What a disappointment. Of course, I can't recommend this tea, and can't buy it again.

What is the matter with these companies?

At RateTea.net they get it, too, Review of Black Pearl Tea,

Surprisingly different from Lipton teabags, and surprisingly high quality. Rich, malty aroma, some bitterness in the aftertaste but smoother up front. A remarkably pleasing, full-bodied tea. I recommend brewing for about 3 minutes...more and it becomes too tannic.

My main complaint about this one, like all of Lipton's pyramid teas, is the nylon teabags that are not biodegradable. Why can't they get this right?

Posted by Dave Johnson at 8:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Link Cosmos

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There is a ton of news about the coffee business and the stock market. "Dunkin' Brands" -- see if you can guess which coffee and donut company they own -- went public yesterday and their stock went up 46% from the opening price. (FYI this means the investment bank cheated the company by mispricing their stock.)

Next, Green Mountain Coffee jumped 20% to go over $100 a share after a great earnings report. Share prices have more than tripled in a year. This is about deals with Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts for coffee in K-Cup portion packs that are used in Keurig single cup coffee makers for home and office. This is the latest tulip that Wall Street is bubbling up.

Peet's stock has been soaring. Motley Fool has an earnings report preview.

And Starbucks reports later today. The Street says,

Analysts are calling for Starbucks to have earned $258.8 million, or 34 cents per share, on revenue of $2.85 billion in its fiscal third quarter. In the year-earlier period , Starbucks earned $207.9 million, or an adjusted 29 cents per share, on revenue of $2.61 billion. If Starbucks meets expectations it would be a 24.5% profit increase year over year.

None of which has anything to do with the taste of the coffee.

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This is cute:

But why is it cute? What is it about dogs? Esp sleeping dogs?

P.S. his name is Paddington.

Posted by Dave Johnson at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Link Cosmos

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The back of the card reads:
Published by Sudeep Johnson
Doggie Paw Cards Inc.
www.doggiepawcards.com
Many thanks to (from top clockwise) Darwin, Fergie, Paddington & Poppy without whom there would be no card.

Click here for last year's card, and you can trace back through all the cards over the years.

Posted by Dave Johnson at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Link Cosmos

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A great post by Matt Goldich over at Write On, the new Writer's Guild of America East blog, titled Coffee,

I never really drank coffee until December of 2007. Sure, I would occasionally have an iced vanilla something in the afternoon if other people were making a Starbucks run, but more often than not it was a soda or an iced tea with lunch. But over that Christmas my then-girlfriend (now wife) and I traveled to Mexico for a few days. At the place we were staying, they didn’t ask you if you wanted coffee for breakfast, they just poured you some. And, being a good guest, I drank it.

Suddenly, mornings were a lot more fun. A light went on inside my head. So this was what everyone was raving about! Upon arriving back in the States I started hitting up Starbucks for coffee in the morning. When my girlfriend and I moved in together the following summer, we started making coffee at home.

Go read.

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You've hear about the Tea Parties. Everywhere you go you have to hear about the Tea Parties. Well, guess what, there is an alternative - and it actually has more members and holds more events. You just don't hear about them...

Coffee Party | Wake Up and Stand Up,

The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.

Posted by Dave Johnson at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Link Cosmos

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Peet's is selling their Holiday Samplers at half price. You get a half pound of each of Holiday Blend, Major Dickason's Blend, Arabian Mocha-Java and Garuda Blend for $14.95 in the red metal holiday container. That's about $7.25 per pound! I picked up one of these at the local shop. You can order it online.

Posted by Dave Johnson at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Link Cosmos

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The back of the card reads:
Published by Sudeep Johnson
Doggie Paw Cards Inc.
www.dancimals.com
Many thanks to Toby, Paddington, Cooper, Fergie and Popcorn, without whom there would be no card.

Here is last year's card, and you can trace back through all the cards over the years.

Posted by Dave Johnson at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Link Cosmos

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It's that time of year again. I come into a local Starbucks, get my latte, sit down at a table and log into the wireless.

And then ... OH NO! Little Drummer Boy! A jazz version! How fast can I put the noise-canceling ear buds into my ears!

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A popular post from 2006:

Darth Vader

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Peet's Coffee & Tea has two peaberries available for special orders only.

I just ordered mine so I don't have to worry about running out, so I feel safe letting you know about it.

I ordered the Tanzania Peaberry last year, and immediately after it arrived I ordered two more pounds! Here is Peet's description of this year's:

Bright and sweet, with the concentrated flavors of the finest peaberry crops and the fragrant blackberry notes characteristic of the region.

The India Peaberry is also spectacular - at least it was last year. Peet's describes it this way:

Rich and sweet, with warm, baking spice notes (think ginger and cinnamon), a caramel touch, balanced with hints of dark woods and the bold zing of top peaberry.

They are offering the two together in a Peaberry Collection with free shipping.

I'll let you know if it is as good as last year's after it arrives.

Posted by Dave Johnson at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Link Cosmos

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