I have always been an on and off caffeine drinker since college, but for the past year coffee has been one of the most important parts of my morning. I love the boost it gives me- and even more-so the flavor and options there are to choose from. I am teaming up with Starbucks today (and a few more times throughout the year!) to talk about some of their coffees, products and up and coming things to look for in their stores. 

I truly couldn’t be happier to have this collaboration because it’s something I am passionate about and I know that coffee is also very important to so many of you as well. I want to start off by saying that this Christmas I invested in a Jura Impressa F50 (this thing is the bees knees) and I haven’t looked back ever since. I have saved money on running to the store every day to buy coffee and honestly, if you get good beans, it can be just as good at home.

My rules to the perfect cup? Get yourself a good coffee machine, use Starbucks coffee beans & grounds, and of course start the coolest mug collection (below are some of my favorites). I really love the Veranda Blonde blend because it’s on the lighter side, and very mellow. The medium blend is very balanced and smooth. The Cafe Verona dark roast features a fuller body and a more robust flavor. This is the roast I didn’t use in our machine because the bean itself is a little bit oilier. Oilier beans tend to clog the Jura so I opted out of doing that and used the pour over brewer for that cup of coffee.

To use a pour over brewer you need to make sure you have the proper materials, and cone filters. You also have to make sure you use coffee grounds (not the full bean) for this. It’s pretty cool, and I had never heard of this technique before but it’s definitely a different-fun way to brew. There’s a tiny hole in the white mug that filters the coffee right into the mug you put it over.

In my package from Starbucks I also received this awesome little coffee passport book. This book explains everything a coffee lover needs to know. It describes the four steps of tasting coffee, the fundamentals of brewing and more information about the coffee and how it is produced.