Thanks to all who entered, and congrats to Torrie whose blog comment was randomly selected.  Happy Holidays to all!!

I love coffee -a strong, bold, deep cup of coffee any time of the day is, well, it’s my cup of tea.  Usually, I grind  fresh beans, make sure the water is cold, and turn on my beloved  (and ugly) Technivorm Mocca Master to brew my cup of coffee at exactly the right temperature.

Today, I tried something a little different – a coffee pot that brewed one cup at a time, using one of those little pre-ground-coffee disks…and I was surprisingly quite pleased with the results! The  Tassimo T20 Brewbot looked great on my counter, and took about 5 minutes to set up for the first use.

The box I received came with 2 kinds of coffee to try – a mild pre-ground regular coffee, and a bold cappucino set of coffee disks. I like big, bold coffee, but tried the milder coffee first.  It was, as I thought, not to my taste, although it was SUPER quick to brew, and nice and hot.  The cappucino was better for me – and was brewed just perfectly, like I had just gotten it from my local barrista.

You have to buy the coffee pre-packaged in something called “T-Disks” which you can buy in a variety of styles, flavors, and options, like tea, macchiato, cappucino, hot chocolate, and plain old regular coffee. You can buy 24 T-Disks of Starbucks Columbia coffee (Medium) for about $1 per cup – which is half of what you pay for a cup of coffee at Starbucks (plus, you have to get dressed to go out to your Starbucks – you can whip this baby up in your PJs – special thanks to Tassimo for that!)

GIVEAWAY – HOW TO WIN…..

The folks at Tassimo were nice enough to not only send us one to try, but offered us one to GIVE AWAY!!!  One lucky U.S. reader will get their very own Brewbot to have and to hold.  Do you want one?

All you have to do is comment on our blog with your favorite first-cup-of-the-day coffee story. The winner will be chosen at random, and we will announce the winner on December 22, 2010 at 11 a.m. EST.

And if you’re not our lucky winner, but still want a Tassimo T20, click here for $25 OFF.

So, what is your favorite first-cup-of-the-day coffee story?

Awarding Winning Cupcake Recipe

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Chocolate and peanut butter is a winning combination. And when you bite into this cupcake from Chocolate Pink Cafe in Atlanta, GA you’ll know why members of the Atlanta Food Bloggers’ Alliance voted the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake (click for pdf of recipe) their all-round favorite cupcake at a recent tasting.

Executive Pastry Chef Christian Balbierer is passionate about flavor – complex flavor layering in his sumptuous desserts. On a recent Sunday afternoon, he opened the upstairs social space at Chocolate Pink Cafe to over a dozen food bloggers to learn more about his fresh approach to using best quality chocolate and unique flavor combinations to make one of a kind delicacies — and to vote on their favorite cupcake.

Judging cupcakes is no easy task. We were asked to consider: Flavor. Texture. Presentation. Uniqueness. Best Overall. The 1st Annual Chocolate Pink Cupcake Contest was a workout for the senses and the taste buds. Here’s a sneak peak of the tasting fun!

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Round 1 Tasting Plate (L – R): Dulce de Leche, Strawberry Pop Tart, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cookies & Cream

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Round 2 Tasting Plate (L – R): Chocolate Nutella, Chocolate Fudge, Sweet Potato Brown Butter, Pumpkin Maple w/ Bacon

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Like cupcakes?  Chocolate Pink Cafe invites you to personally sample a cupcake along with their other treats with this printable coupon or call to arrange an online order.

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Which were my favorites?!!  Strawberry Pop Tart, Cookies & Cream and Sweet Potato Brown Butter

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Meet some of our friends from the Atlanta Food Bloggers’ Alliance:

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• The Self Trained Chef
• Maggie Cubbler
• Ultra Foodie
• Red Velvet Confections
• Food Victorian
• Ever so Sweet
• The Constant Gobbler
• What’s 4 Dinner Tonite

May your holidays be filled with the sweet laughter of family and friends.

We recycle do YOU?

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Did you know that November 15 is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to the promotion of recycling programs in the United States.  Since 1997, communities across the country have come together on November 15 to celebrate America Recycles Day with informational and and educational programs.  Get involved this year. Spend one day with your neighbors and friends to see what can be accomplished when we all work together.

One day to make recycling bigger and better 365 days a year.

To find an America Recycles Day event in your community click here and input your zip code.

One of the most common reasons Americans give for not recycling is that they don’t know how, when, where and what to recycle in their communities. Here’s a link to some informative recycling sites and resources. Check these tips and resources out, share them with friends, and get your personal recycling plan going.

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