KUJU COFFEE — BASECAMP BLEND/ QUEEN CITY BELAFONTE BLEND/ SIMPLY GUM PEPPERMINT MINT POUCHES

With coffee, as with most other things, quality and convenience don’t often go hand in hand. Which is why we had to draw your attention to two easy and delicious exceptions to the rule.  

Kuju Coffees use 100% arabica, specialty-grade beans that are Fair Trade or ethically sourced and certified organic. The Basecamp blend you’ll find in your advent calendar is a stunning medium roast, with notes of oak, chocolate, and honey. Queen City’s Belafonte Blend is their flagship double origin coffee, with beans coming from both Colombia and Ethiopia. It’s quirky and layered but always dependable, with chocolate and sweet berry notes dominating.  

Delicious coffee is always a big deal, and a pair of delicious coffees are an even bigger deal, but but here’s what makes it a really big deal: You don’t have to grind the beans. There’s no measuring or waiting around for a drip filter to do its thing. You don’t even need to be at home. All you need is a mug and hot water to have some of the best coffee you’ll ever tasted. 

Kuju does it with their one-cup pouches featuring anchored pour-over filters. Simply open up the filter, anchor it to your mug using the built-in anchors, pour 8-12 ounces of not-quite-boiling water over it, and in a couple of minutes you’ve got a cup full of eye-opening goodness. With Queen City’s 100% compostable pouches, you can steep coffee the same way you steep tea. A few minutes in hot water, and like magic, a mug of full-bodied, flavorful coffee is ready for you. Whether you’re lounging at home, on the road, hiking, at a picnic… the possibilities are limitless.  

The only bad thing about coffee is having coffee breath after you’ve downed your cup. But worry not, we’ve got you covered in that department too! How minty are the mints in Simply Gum’s Peppermint Mint Pouches? So minty that Simply Gum had to use “mint” twice in the name. And after you try them, you might wonder why they didn’t shoehorn another “mint” or two in there. 

How did they get these mints to taste so minty? Simple — by using all-natural peppermint oil and cane sugar, and no artificial sweeteners or flavorings. They’re non-GMO certified, vegan, kosher, and a scant 3 calories each. And they’ll make your mouth feel as cool and fresh as the wintry air. 

Simply Mints come in pouches of two, so you can always have them handy in your bag or pocket — you never know when you’re going to need some emergency breath freshening, after all. They’re also great for parties and get-togethers, since each order of Simply Mints comes with 50 pouches. And for a little additional encouragement to place that first order — if you need any more encouragement after tasting these amazing specimens of mintyness — they’re offering 20% off your first order of mints (or their equally fabulous, all-natural gum) at www.simplygum.com, with the code VICES.