Coffee beans in a Seinfeld-themed Festivus variety can be found at Booskerdoo. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By SUSAN ERICSON
Still searching for the just-right Christmas gift? How about something that’s as quick a grab as a coffee-to-go for the coffee or tea drinker on your list?
Iconoclastic caffeine lovers might appreciate a jar of Festivus, a Columbian blend of coffee beans from Booskerdoo on River Road in Fair Haven ($12 for 12 ounces).
Named for the Seinfeld holiday parody, it’s both useful and whimsical. Pair it with a single-serve porcelain drip cone to make the gift extra special.
We’ve got suggestions for tea and cocoa lovers, too, just around the read more corner. Christmas-themed tea mixtures are available at the Spice and Tea Exchange, along with some festive red teapots. Below, a molinillo, at Linares Grocery. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
On Monmouth Street in Red Bank, the Spice and Tea Exchange has some cheery red teapots and kettles that might make a tea lover whistle happily. Tea mixtures, too: they’re offered in flavors such as Chocolate Candy Cane, a black caffeinated variety, and Vanilla Fig, an herbal tea. One-ounce packets sell for $6.89 and make six- to-eight cups.
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Shop owners Lisa Prepon and Howard Bernstein also carry unusual sugar blends to sweeten your tea or coffee, including Peppermint Patty and Salted Caramel sugar.
For making your Mexican hot chocolate the old fashioned way, grab molinillo, a wooden whisk used to give cocoa extra frothiness by rubbing its handle between your palms. You’ll find one among the premixed cocoas at Linares Grocery on Monmouth Street in Red Bank, where you can also buy the ingredients for a make-your-own cup of hot satisfaction: bittersweet chocolate, cinnamon, and ground almonds.