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Panera launches a new $8.99 a month unlimited coffee subscription

For coffee drinkers, the cup has never quite looked so half-full. A daily cup of coffee can be an expensive habit, but thankfully, now it doesn’t have to be. Panera Bread announced its new unlimited coffee subscription, and if you’re a caffeine addict, it’s likely to save you hundreds. Beginning March 2, the popular bakery-cafe will offer unlimited cups of coffee at its nearly 2,200 locations to MyPanera+ Coffee subscribers. To join, you need to sign up for the free loyalty program and pay the $8.99 monthly subscription fee, plus tax. Yes, you read that right. For $8.99 a month, you can enjoy nearly unlimited cups of coffee at Panera. If you usually get at least four coffees per month, you’d be getting your money’s worth. If you stopped once a day (per month), you’d be paying about $0.30 per cup. The promotion offers one cup of hot drip coffee…

10 mistakes you probably make when brewing coffee

You drink a few cups every day, so naturally, you consider your coffee making abilities above average. But regardless of how long you’ve been making morning coffee, you probably often overlook a few of these steps. Fix these 10 flaws with your process and you’ll make the best, boldest, most delicious cup of joe you’ve ever brewed. Mistake #1: You don’t use water that is hot enough Professional coffee shops always reach the ideal 195º to 205º temperature window for brewing, and that’s part of the reason their product tastes so great. Water temperatures in this range extracts the most flavor from the grinds. While you probably can’t make your commercial pot get any hotter, you can switch to the French press/pour over method, where you basically just pour hot water over ground beans and steep for four minutes. A French press will only run you about $30, but it…

5 gifts the ‘crunchy mama’ would totally love

Crunchy. Granola. Earth Mama. These labels aren’t usually insults, rather, they evoke an image of someone who does things a little less conventionally for the health of his or her family. Sometimes people who get labeled as “crunchy” don’t even think of themselves that way! They’re just living their best life. Whether it’s an obsession with organic groceries (and hand creams, and clothes, and diapers, etc.) or a chicken coop in their backyard, they’re down to live life the most wholesome way they know how—and that’s by DIY with many of their own foods right at home. Shopping for someone in the crunchy camp can be difficult if you don’t know their personal rulebook. But you can bet they’ll actually use—and actually appreciate—any one of these great 5 DIY in the kitchen gadgets below. 1. Buttercup Homemade Butter Maker ($12.99) Just add fresh cream to the Buttercup Butter Maker by Chef’n,…

Starbucks releases 2019 holiday cups

And the holiday season has officially begun. Starbucks announced the much-anticipated return of its annual holiday cups, just days after Dunkin’ came out with its new decked-out designs. The new designs feature a modern block letters, polka dots and pops of holiday colors. Coffee lovers across the U.S. and Canada can kick off the holiday season beginning Nov. 7 with the four brand-new designs: Polka Dots, which is basically a traditional red cup dotted with green circles; Merry Dance, has red and green letters spelling out ‘MERRY COFFEE’ overlaying a white cup; Merry Stripes uses a dark green cup and features small white lettering spelling out ‘MERRY COFFEE’, and Candy Cane Stripe is adorned with red and white stripes and large, green letters spelling out ‘STARBUCKS.’ According to the official press release, they’re meant to “evoke mini moments of joy for our customers and partners — it’s fun, festive, and…

Dunkin’ unveils holiday menu for 2019, including return of Peppermint Mocha

Pumpkins still adorn our porches, but already we’re thinking about the winter holidays and the next crop of seasonally-flavored drinks we’ll soon sip. Starbucks hasn’t announced cold-weather menu yet, but at Dunkin’ the holidays have officially arrived. On Friday, Dunkin’ announced its new seasonal lineup, which includes a return of the beloved Peppermint Mocha, beginning on Nov. 5 if you order though Dunkin’s On-the-Go Mobile Ordering app only. If you’re not a super fan touting Dunkin’s mobile app, then you’ll have to wait for the Peppermint Mocha and the rest of Dunkin’s holiday drinks for one more day. Beginning Nov. 6, customers can try two new flavors (for a limited time) as well: Gingerbread S’mores and Winter White Chocolate. Both flavors can be made into nearly any drink you would like including hot, cold, or frozen coffee, espresso drinks (like cappuccino or macchiato), and frozen chocolate. Make your own Winter…

There is a best time to drink your morning coffee, study shows

If you’re like most people, you love to have a hot cup of coffee as soon as you roll out of bed. But if you’re looking to maximize the effects of your morning cuppa joe, you might want to wait a while, science says. It turns out, the best time for your coffee fix is one hour after you wake up. This is because your body’s production of cortisol has one of its three peaks by this time, according to researchers. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone because our bodies received an influx of it when we feel tension in a situation. But perhaps cortisol would be better known as the “alertness hormone” because when we’re under stress, it creates the alert feeling which determines our “fight or flight” response. So why wait an hour? You want to wait an hour after you wait up because delivering a jolt…

Where to get free coffee on National Coffee Day 2019

What’s better than an aromatic, rich, invigorating cup of coffee? When that same cup of coffee is free, of course! Sunday, Sept. 29 is National Coffee Day and many restaurants are rolling out freebies and discounts. If you’re looking to celebrate your caffeine habit with a cozy cup of joe next Sunday, here’s where you can head for the best deals and steals. 7-Eleven Download the 7Reward app and pick up any-sized coffee at 7-Eleven for just $1 all day (from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.). The coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Guests get a free 16-ounce brewed hot or iced coffee with any food or bakery purchase (minimum of $2). Limit one free coffee per guest. Offer value all day. Cumberland Farms Enjoy any size of coffee on Sept. 29, hot or cold on National Coffee Day. Just text FREECOFFEE to 64827, and you’ll receive a coupon to redeem…

This is why Starbucks’ drink sizes are Tall, Grande, and Venti

Forget small, medium, and large. If you frequent the coffee mega-chain Starbucks, you know these sizes aren’t a menu option. When you’re ordering at Starbucks, you better know your tall, grande, or venti. So what’s the story behind this unconventional naming convention? Well, it all started in Italy. On a fateful trip to the coffee-loving country in 1983, Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, became “captivated with Italian coffee bars and the romance of the coffee experience,” the Starbucks website says. So much so, in fact, he wanted to emulate that experience in the United States with his own coffee shop, Il Giornale. You may have never heard of Il Giornale, but it was a mini-coffee chain Schulz started in 1986 — a year before he purchased a tiny Seattle brand called Starbucks and turned it into the coffee behemoth we visit today. In her book, Grande Expectations, author Karen…

Love working at coffee shops? This coffee chain has the fastest Wi-Fi

By now, we know coffee shops are for more than just coffee. We might go there for a group meetings, for a date, or just to hang with friends. And just about everyone has used a coffee shop as a temporary office at some point. Besides a good cup of Joe, knowing a shop has reliable Wi-Fi can be the deciding factor in which shop you choose. So which coffee shop has the fastest Wi-Fi in the United States? PCMag looked at nearly 100,000 Ookla Speedtests results taken from smartphones over the past 12 months. Coffee chains with at least 100 tests over that period were considered for the final analysis. In the end, 11 chains were included: Caffe Nero, Capital One Café, Caribou Coffee, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Dunkin’, Joe & the Juice, Krispy Kreme, Peet’s, Philz, Starbucks, and Tim Hortons. And the coffee shop with the fastest…

10 things you never knew about Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte

Forget about changing leaves, cozy sweaters or football games, the official signal of fall has arguably become the arrival of the Pumpkin Spice Latte to Starbucks cafe menus nationwide. But before you take a sip of your first PSL this season, here are 10 fun facts you need to know about everyone’s favorite fall beverage. Also read, how Americans became so obsessed with pumpkin in the first place.  1. A smashing pumpkin success Starbucks sells about 20 million Pumpkin Spice Lattes every year. Considering how many I personally purchase … yeah … that sounds about right. It remains the store’s best-selling seasonal drink of all time. And more than 200 million have been sold worldwide. 2. It’s all thanks to Peter Dukes Peter Dukes was the director of espresso Americas for Starbucks back in 2003. He led a development of the Pumpkin Spice Latte. His team of employees ate slices of…