Are you a coffee connoisseur?

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

My husband has a retreat with his directors the first week of August every year. (He prefers to call it an advance, but that's a different thread for a different day    

Last year, the theme was coffee. The literal representation was coffee cups, beans, etc. The metaphor was "get your energy up". 
This year, he's decided to extend the metaphor. Literal: How do you make/take your coffee? Metaphor: no matter how you make/take your coffee, you're accepted and welcomed. 

So, I'm a very narrow-minded coffee drinker, and I need help knowing what to buy for  this gathering. (That's my wife-role.)

Most of this will be our own personal spending not the school district's spending. 

First: I'm not purchasing anyone a several hundred-dollar espresso machine. 

So, barring that. What do you have, could you have, have you eyed but not purchased, know others like, etc. 
for making coffee? Both consumable and non-consumable products?

Also, should we include tea as not everyone likes coffee?

Thanks! 

[billisonboard]

Without taking a lot of time to flesh this out:
Keurig pods come in wide array
Creamer flavors same.
Variex tea bags would be easy

EDIT: wife suggested different sweeteners

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I would include tea.  I am one of those people who cannot stand coffee.  Then there are the people who cannot have the caffeine in coffee.  I always appreciate it when events include free tea as well as free coffee.

It's pretty easy to find variety packs.

Something like this that comes in a pretty organized box:

www.amazon.com/Bigelow-Tea-Company-Products-Individually/dp/B001A3OADO/ref=sr_1_7?crid=24QQPYSDB3DB5&keywords=tea+variety+pack&qid=1687873691&sprefix=tea+vari%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-7


As far as coffee I agree with Bills there are hundreds of types of Keurig pods.  

Or if you don't want to do that maybe offer plain and decaf then purchase flavored syrups so people can customize their own.   Get some fancy sugar cubes, some honey sticks, a few different creamer pods.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

 We're thinking further out than K-cups. Not just providing coffee to drink.
I should specify that I make gift bags/baskets for each person attending the three-day event. 

I'll probably get four or five 2lb packages of whole beans. 

So, I'm thinking in each gift bag/basket could be 
Frothers, cold brew carafe, french press , etc. 
Mini-whisks? Fancy stirring spoons?

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

billisonboard, does your wife have preferences? Like if I were to buy a jar/container as a part of one of the gift bags/baskets? 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I'll be making 26 gift bags/baskets. I'll spend OOP probably $600. I might get a $100 to $200 supplement from the school district. 

I'm off to work now; be back this evening. 

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

deleted comment due to irrelevant to the topic.

[billisonboard]

Jun 27, 2023 8:54:23 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

 We're thinking further out than K-cups. Not just providing coffee to drink.
I should specify that I make gift bags/baskets for each person attending the three-day event. 

I'll probably get four or five 2lb packages of whole beans. 

So, I'm thinking in each gift bag/basket could be 
Frothers, cold brew carafe, french press , etc. 
Mini-whisks? Fancy stirring spoons?

Metaphor: no matter how you make/take your coffee, you're accepted and welcomed.

I don't use any of that fancy shit and feel left out when coffee snobs start in on all that. Just saying.


Actually overstating for effect. I obviously don't know the individuals but it sounds like a risky plan. 

[billisonboard]

Jun 27, 2023 8:55:27 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

billisonboard, does your wife have preferences? Like if I were to buy a jar/container as a part of one of the gift bags/baskets? 

She isn't much into coffee. Caffeine issue so only de-caf. I actually just made my second Keurig cup and confirmed what I thought was true. Her side of the drawer has de-caf, hot chocolate, and apple cider pods.

[billisonboard]

Jun 27, 2023 8:55:27 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

billisonboard, does your wife have preferences? Like if I were to buy a jar/container as a part of one of the gift bags/baskets? 

Whoops did you mean sweeteners? She was a server for a lot of years and was just thinking the various little packets you would find on a restaurant table. I don't see them as good gift bag items since most people use the one they like.

[TheOtherMe]

I have no interest in coffee and would probably not even bring the gift bag home.

I'm a tea person.

[Tennesseer]

I drink several cups of coffee each morning. Instead of a coffee machine, I use one of these plastic cones to hold the paper coffee filter. Coffee machines take up too much counter space (in my mind). Ground Starbucks user. Drink my coffee black. No sugar or creamers.

Several cups of tea in the afternoon. Again, no sugar or creamers.

[laterbloomer]

What I find most important about coffee is what you add to it. The choice is wider than most people think about. Milk, 5% cream, half and half, 35% whipping cream (my favourite), flavored creamers, white sugar, other sugars, artificial sweeteners...I don't know what that can add to your theme. Just brainstorming with you a bit.

[laterbloomer]

Jun 27, 2023 10:13:48 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I drink several cups of coffee each morning. Instead of a coffee machine, I use one of these plastic cones to hold the paper coffee filter. Coffee machines take up too much counter space (in my mind). Ground Starbucks user. Drink my coffee black. No sugar or creamers.

Several cups of tea in the afternoon. Again, no sugar or creamers.

I need to get one of those for my camper!!!

[Tennesseer]

Jun 27, 2023 10:16:59 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

Jun 27, 2023 10:13:48 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I drink several cups of coffee each morning. Instead of a coffee machine, I use one of these plastic cones to hold the paper coffee filter. Coffee machines take up too much counter space (in my mind). Ground Starbucks user. Drink my coffee black. No sugar or creamers.

Several cups of tea in the afternoon. Again, no sugar or creamers.

I need to get one of those for my camper!!!

I have used the same one for maybe 15 years? Quite useful.

[Bonny]

I'm not a coffee snob but I do like good coffee. Best coffee "investment" was a Burr grinder we got as a wedding gift from my office. They are up to $50 now so I'm sure that's outside of your budget.

Maybe gift cards to a local coffee shop?

If you're doing little coffee bag samples one of the best values out there is the San Francisco Bay coffee beans at Costco. Our contractor roasts his own beans and swears these are some of the best beans out there.

Good luck, sounds like a fun project!

P.S. For a bit of fun you might throw in Nescafe or Starbucks Via instant coffee. I have friends who love it!

[geenamercile]

For a coffee gift basket I would add some dipping biscuits or cookies.   Biscotti is one of my favorites.   Also maybe some printed off coffee recipe cards?   

[Cookies Galore]

I think I'm a connoisseur of life.

I'm a tea and coffee person. I enjoy my evening tea, even in the summer. I like bagged tea, I like loose leaf.
My husband and I have different coffee preferences so we typically buy different coffee for our home use, unless I stock up on La Colombe or Counter Culture beans, then we share. But even so, he just dumps piles of grounds into the coffee maker and I prefer a more precise measurement. He likes his coffee like his alcohol - to taste like poison; when are out he orders two shots of espresso in his black coffee. I prefer something a little more enjoyable to the palate.
We have a glass French press for hot coffee, a fridge-safe press for my cold brew season, and a regular ol' drip maker. We do have a burr mill for the beans, which is super important. I like almond milk with hot coffee and oat milk with cold brew. There's different flavor profiles between hot and cold so you need to complement them with the right addition (if you don't drink it black).
Maybe a little display of different dairy and non-dairy mixers (and even sweeteners) to showcase how taste can be affected with the slightest tweak? Like making a French 75 with orange instead of lemon. 😀

ETA: Buy yourself a break and make husband buy the gifts since he's the coffee guy and it's his event.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

How much can you spend per person?  

As Bonny said, a good burr grinder will never go unappreciated.  Most coffee drinkers grind their own beans, and never with a blade grinder.  In our house, the lifespan of a burr grinder runs 3-5 years.  I’d also suggest a French press too.  We have an Oxo press that has a way to lift out the grounds afterwards.  

I think you might find difficulty in finding a middle ground for coffee beans as each person tends to have their favorites.  A gift card to a local coffee roaster good for a lb of coffee might be better.  

ETA:  looks like a max of about $30.  That’ll get you the perfect coffee mug and maybe a lb of coffee.   

[weltschmerz]

Jun 27, 2023 10:02:44 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I have no interest in coffee and would probably not even bring the gift bag home.

I'm a tea person.

Have you ever had tea from Mariage Freres? OMG!  Best tea on the planet. They've been in business for 130 years.
You don't have to go to Paris tto get it. It's available on Amazon.


www.mariagefreres.com/UK/welcome.html

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jun 27, 2023 10:02:44 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I have no interest in coffee and would probably not even bring the gift bag home.

I'm a tea person.

Right, that’s why I said I’d also include tea as an option.

I’m not sure I’m explaining this well.

[thyme4change]

How about a recipe book that shows different ways to make different coffee drinks. Or a book that has the cultural history of coffee. I know everyone is bagging on coffee - but you have already made that the theme so if you try to expand it to much, it will be ineffective. If people are annoyed with the theme of coffee, throwing a tea bag in the gift bag won’t make sense or compensate for the theme.

If the theme was “not my cup of tea” than you could include all kinds of thinking outside the box and accepting people that have different taste - but it starts negative.

Another idea is to find some of the new “coffee alternatives” like Mudwtr or whatever.

Travel mugs with custom printing on them are great - especially if you get Yeti’s (or a yeti knockoff) then people can use them for hot or cold.

Chocolate covered espresso beans or coffee flavored caramels or other coffee candies would fit them theme. If people don’t like them, they can find someone who will.

You could go with “coffee cake” which doesn’t have any coffee but has coffee in the title. You could probably find a bakery that could pack them for individuals. You might have to poke around to find someone willing to do that. Biscotti is also very linked with coffee and since that shit is rock hard at all times, you can keep it around for years. They sell a big box of individually wrapped biscotti at Costco.

[thyme4change]

Jun 27, 2023 10:46:01 GMT -5 geenamercile said:

For a coffee gift basket I would add some dipping biscuits or cookies.   Biscotti is one of my favorites.   Also maybe some printed off coffee recipe cards?   

Whoops - I didn’t see this before I posted. [mention]geenamercile [/mention] and I are on the same page - snacks that invoke coffee and recipes to make different coffees seem to go best with the theme to me.

I am not sure what exactly your husband is doing, but it sounds like corporate bullshitterary. If so, it doesn’t have to be that thoughtful or meaningful. It just has to thematic.

[azucena]

I think her husband is superintendent of a school district and might be going into his second or third year at this district since they moved. Sounds like he hosts a week of meetings and team bonding with his reports before the school year starts. And Chloe helps him with gift baskets which I think is a nice touch to show that he values his team.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jun 27, 2023 15:06:00 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Jun 27, 2023 10:46:01 GMT -5 geenamercile said:

For a coffee gift basket I would add some dipping biscuits or cookies.   Biscotti is one of my favorites.   Also maybe some printed off coffee recipe cards?   

Whoops - I didn’t see this before I posted. [mention]geenamercile [/mention] and I are on the same page - snacks that invoke coffee and recipes to make different coffees seem to go best with the theme to me.

I am not sure what exactly your husband is doing, but it sounds like corporate bullshitterary. If so, it doesn’t have to be that thoughtful or meaningful. It just has to thematic.

Ouch, especially because I stated I was spending my own personal money on this. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

So, I didn't realize I was going to get such odd responses from people. I do grasp that it's impossible to make everyone happy, but I didn't realize that a public employee trying to be nice was so abhorrent.

I'll try to explain this again, but I'm likely not going to respond further. I know I shouldn't take everything so personally, but I was just seeking ideas like Mich, Bonny, and Weltz suggested. 

My spouse and I spend our own personal funds each year to welcome everyone back in autumn to our respective work places.
We've done this a few different ways. 

1) individual swag bags for everyone.
—Some years, when DH knows the team well enough, we will actually buy specific gifts for each person based on what they like and who they are.
—Some years, I’ve followed a theme like color or kitchen and made two more gift bags than there are people. Each gift bag is different but follows the theme. So the color year, one gift bag and everything in it was yellow; another was red; and so on. The year I did kitchen stuff, there was non-perishable interesting food, kitchen utensils, etc. in each bag. One year I did an office spruce up theme--wall art, fancy stuff for pencil/paper holders. 

I always make two extra so that everyone gets a choice when picking. If you pick last, you at least get to choose from three remaining options.

Regardless of the above options, No two bags are ever exactly the same.


2) lots of items following a theme. Generally at least four items person. However, they're not bagged/wrapped. They're intermittently set out during the three days.  Throughout the three days, the items are either a prize for some fun competition (last year they had a corn hole tournament) or a raffle item. There will be moments throughout the three days when one of the administrators does or presents something professionally insightful, and my husband will say “hey, that’s exactly the type of philosophy, creativity, or goal we’re aiming for” and let the person choose something.


So, yes there would be a coffee and tea bar anyway.
And now I’m thinking that what if someone prefers their caffeine as soda? That could be available also.

But the prizes/gifts are part of the “welcome back to work” and setting the tone for the year.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jun 27, 2023 9:08:46 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Jun 27, 2023 8:55:27 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

billisonboard , does your wife have preferences? Like if I were to buy a jar/container as a part of one of the gift bags/baskets? 

She isn't much into coffee. Caffeine issue so only de-caf. I actually just made my second Keurig cup and confirmed what I thought was true. Her side of the drawer has de-caf, hot chocolate, and apple cider pods.

de-caf and hot chocolate is a good idea. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jun 27, 2023 10:46:15 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

I think I'm a connoisseur of life.

I'm a tea and coffee person. I enjoy my evening tea, even in the summer. I like bagged tea, I like loose leaf.
My husband and I have different coffee preferences so we typically buy different coffee for our home use, unless I stock up on La Colombe or Counter Culture beans, then we share. But even so, he just dumps piles of grounds into the coffee maker and I prefer a more precise measurement. He likes his coffee like his alcohol - to taste like poison; when are out he orders two shots of espresso in his black coffee. I prefer something a little more enjoyable to the palate.
We have a glass French press for hot coffee, a fridge-safe press for my cold brew season, and a regular ol' drip maker. We do have a burr mill for the beans, which is super important. I like almond milk with hot coffee and oat milk with cold brew. There's different flavor profiles between hot and cold so you need to complement them with the right addition (if you don't drink it black).
Maybe a little display of different dairy and non-dairy mixers (and even sweeteners) to showcase how taste can be affected with the slightest tweak? Like making a French 75 with orange instead of lemon. 😀

ETA: Buy yourself a break and make husband buy the gifts since he's the coffee guy and it's his event.

Thank you for suggesting a burr mill. I've never heard of that. I have a regular blade grinder. I'll get one or two for this enterprise. 
My husband no longer drinks coffee either. It's not about him. It's not even about coffee. It's about unequivocally expecting that the administrators in a school district in an incredibly conservative area accepts all students for who they are regardless of socio-economic status, race, gender, or sexuality. 

Are there glass French press designs or brands you prefer?
Do you use one of those tamper things when measuring grounds? 


What's a French 75? (I suppose I could google it   )

[Cookies Galore]

Jun 27, 2023 16:19:25 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Jun 27, 2023 10:46:15 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

I think I'm a connoisseur of life.

I'm a tea and coffee person. I enjoy my evening tea, even in the summer. I like bagged tea, I like loose leaf.
My husband and I have different coffee preferences so we typically buy different coffee for our home use, unless I stock up on La Colombe or Counter Culture beans, then we share. But even so, he just dumps piles of grounds into the coffee maker and I prefer a more precise measurement. He likes his coffee like his alcohol - to taste like poison; when are out he orders two shots of espresso in his black coffee. I prefer something a little more enjoyable to the palate.
We have a glass French press for hot coffee, a fridge-safe press for my cold brew season, and a regular ol' drip maker. We do have a burr mill for the beans, which is super important. I like almond milk with hot coffee and oat milk with cold brew. There's different flavor profiles between hot and cold so you need to complement them with the right addition (if you don't drink it black).
Maybe a little display of different dairy and non-dairy mixers (and even sweeteners) to showcase how taste can be affected with the slightest tweak? Like making a French 75 with orange instead of lemon. 😀

ETA: Buy yourself a break and make husband buy the gifts since he's the coffee guy and it's his event.

Thank you for suggesting a burr mill. I've never heard of that. I have a regular blade grinder. I'll get one or two for this enterprise. 
My husband no longer drinks coffee either. It's not about him. It's not even about coffee. It's about unequivocally expecting that the administrators in a school district in an incredibly conservative area accepts all students for who they are regardless of socio-economic status, race, gender, or sexuality. 

Are there glass French press designs or brands you prefer?
Do you use one of those tamper things when measuring grounds? 


What's a French 75? (I suppose I could google it   )

Bodum is a good French press brand with many styles and price points.
A French 75 is just a delicious gin and champagne cocktail.

[wvugurl26]

I think it's nice that you try to do something to welcome them back. I know you've spent a lot of your own time and money on these bags in the past.

As someone in the public sector I would appreciate it. I get zero. I think it has a lot to do with my office in particular and that culture. Other offices in other regions seem to find ways for management to express appreciation even if it does come from their own pocket.

The one director came from a different region. Last summer when we had in person meetings, he paid the pizza costs for his 2 direct reports. It was a small thing but nice. We aren't getting big bonuses so praise and small things are the only tools they have.

My DH works at a different agency. The executives and directors will buy lunch a few times a year. They have a summer cookout and a Thanksgiving pot luck. We had nothing until I did birthdays and monthly pizza lunches. That all ended with covid and now there aren't enough people around to bother. Today there were fewer than 10 people present. The culture just sucks.

I have no original ideas but I like the food related ones and the cup idea. If a person doesn't like coffee they can always use it for something else.