While I have sung the praises of many delicious and beneficial coffee brands, including explosively good Atomic, brain-builders like IQBAR and Kickstarter, and our Veteran friends at Fire Dept. and Military Java Group, I am still a fan of Steeped Coffee as their pre-measured, fully-compostable, teabag-inspired packets of craft-roasted, ethically-sourced, nitro-sealed coffee allow me to have fresh-brewed coffee flavor with just water and no mess.

And while I have often enjoyed waking up with Sunrise Blend or downing some Odyssey before an excursion, I am extra excited about the new partnerships that Steeped Coffee has entered with other industry-leading coffee makers!

Steeped Coffee recently brought its satisfying single-serve technology to the community-minded minority owners of BLK & BOLD and the oak wood-roasted Italian team at Mr. Espresso. So even if you do not know how great Steeped Coffee’s own coffee blends taste, you can be introduced by way of brands that are already established favorites and award winners.

The BLK & BOLD hearty medium roast introduces flavors of toffee to your morning coffee and Mr. Espresso’s famed Seven Bridges variety can help get you over any daytime challenge with a caress of caramel and a waft of smoke.

If you are still reticent, use code COFFEE15 for 15% off your first order! Once you are ready to go, their Barista Bundle gives you all you will need for great coffee any time of day or night.

Though the delivery system is new to many and admittedly unorthodox, it has never been a steep climb to come to love Steeped Coffee and, as they grow their menu of flavors and partners, it will be even easier to enjoy the easiest-to-make coffee around.

I have been talking a good deal about fermented foods of late and how good they are for you. Unfortunately, many people have been led to understand that fermented foods taste bad or that they fizz and tingle on your tongue in an unpleasant way.

Apparently, these people are not fortunate enough to have Gloucester’s Pigeon Cove Ferments nearby!

I mentioned Pigeon Cove before – introducing their amazing krauts and kimchis (all of which also act as great inroads to the fermented field). But as winter sets in and fresh fruit is harder to get, I wanted to focus on their kombuchas, which offer amazingly authentic fresh fruit taste even when the source ingredients may not be in season.

As kombucha involves fermenting which involves aging, the fresh ingredients that come in summer are ready to be enjoyed in their new fermented forms right about this time of year. This is apparently why Pigeon Cove’s recently-released batches of spiced pear and orange cranberry Hibiscus are so darn refreshing and can not only make your tummy feel better but help overcome seasonal doldrums with a tasty reminder of brighter days ahead (or at least behind).

Another great way Pigeon Cove can brighten your day is with their lion’s mane coffee kombucha, which adds brain-boosting nootropics to delicious coffee flavor. I have a few a week and love the tasty tingle!

Fermented foods are good for you, but that does not mean they have to taste bad. You just need to know where to look. I suggest Gloucester!

When I first saw a product called “Pep” that claimed to offer clean energy and helpful probiotics, it seemed like something out of a movie that did not want to use a brand name.

However, after I interviewed health expert Dr. Shawn Talbott from Pep’s producer, Amare Global, I was convinced to give the vegan, dairy-, gluten-, and soy-free beverage a try.

I must say that my body, my brain, and my bowels felt pretty peppy indeed!

In addition to offering its titular burst of energy (thanks to organic green coffee), Pep also supports alertness and concentration through a proprietary ingredient called Suntheanine® AND supports a healthy gut microbiome which ALSO helps your brain and body function better! According to Dr. Talbott, it can even help with digestion issues thanks to its combination of pro- and prebiotics, organic live kombucha, and another proprietary ingredient called Sunfiber®.

Unlike most other so-called “energy drinks,” the special blend in Pep delivers its natural energy in a way that strikes an attractive and sustaining balance between energy and relaxation, allowing you to be alert without feeling wired so you can continue to do what you need and want to do efficiently for a long period of time.

Now you may be thinking- “Can a drink that does all this taste good?”
And I am here to answer- YES!

Despite having no sugar, Pep is as sweet and refreshing as strawberry soda and offers a bubbly burst that tickles your tongue and keeps the party going all the way through your gut.  

Go to Amare.com/g10/442395 or amare.com and use promo code 442395 for $10 off your first purchase!

We all know how hard our soldiers and first responders work and how much support they deserve.

That is one of the many reasons I have long been a fan of Fire Dept. Coffee – a Veteran-run business that offers some of the best-tasting coffees around and delivers them in ways that are convenient and that also support their fellow Veterans and life-savers.

To add to their already impressive menu of alcohol-infused coffees, ready-to-drink cans, and even donut shop-worthy flavors that will give you other things to run on, Fire Dept. recently released some additional options that combine things that most of us need and want to help us all make it through a challenging day.

Their new instant coffee protein powder contains 225 mg of natural caffeine per cup along with 20 grams of eco-friendly upcycled protein that is naturally vegan and soy free and derived from plants. Sustainable and sustaining, the coffee is easy to make and can be enjoyed hot or cold, before or after a workout, a meeting, or anytime you have a “fire” that needs putting out.

Another brave combo is Fire Dept.’s Camo Blend coffee, which combines the rich and smooth flavors of their most popular light and dark roasts, offering a delicious combination that stands out in the jungle of coffee options.

Whether you are a first responder or a weekend warrior, caffeine and protein are vital to get you going and keep you moving. If buying them can help support those who support us all- all the better!

If they were just a Veteran-owned company, I would be a fan of Fire Dept. Coffee.

If they just had flavors like vanilla sprinkle donut, skull-crushing espresso, and rum-infused coffee, I would be a fan of Fire Dept. Coffee.

If they offered only a Coffee of the Month club that lets firefighters and other fans enjoy their single-origin and other fantastic flavors with every super-charging sip, and not their first responder-supporting t-shirt club, I would be a fan of Fire Dept. Coffee.

But when I learned that Fire Dept. Coffee now comes in nitro-charged ready-to-drink cans that feature such favorite flavors as Irish coffee, vanilla bean Bourbon, and shellback espresso (which offers a special tip of the pull tab to the Navy), the ability to take their life-enhancing flavor and life-saving energy with me almost anywhere took even my fandom to a new level.

Not only does this stuff help keep firefighters up and at ‘em (both with its flavor and energy and also with donations to the Fire Dept. Coffee Foundation), it does it with one-of-a-kind flavors that are as special and worthy of praise as every first responder who enjoys them and that can help get you up the ladder every day as well.

The alarm bell is ringing. Will you answer?

www.firedeptcoffee.com

While I am still very much enjoying IQJoe and Kickstarter coffee as nutritious and brain-supporting ways to help start my day, sometimes I want something a little bit sweeter that brings back memories from childhood and works better for my own children as well.

That’s why I’m so enjoying MOCO (short for “My Original COco”) – a delicious, hot cocoa mix that is organic, vegan, allergy-friendly, low in sugar, dairy-, gluten-, and soy-free, packed with nutrition, and processed without chemicals so you can enjoy the flavor and nutrition and not have to worry about unwanted ingredients that may take some of the fun out of this favorite treat.

Created by two Vermont-based moms who wanted to bring more nutrition to their families’ favorite drink, MOCO comes in three varieties – traditional classic, bold Mexican, and their award-winning peppermint hot chocolate – so that any cocoa-phile can find a flavor to love. No matter which flavor you try all of the cocoa is ethically sourced and each pack is made by hand with lots of sweetness and love.

MOCO is also great in shakes, on oatmeal, and also mixed with coffee, so you can enjoy each of the three flavors as well as the versatility that MOCO brings to your table- whether in a mug, a bowl, or elsewhere!

While cacao is already respected as a superfood (as we have discussed when talking about FlavaNaturals and other favorites), MOCO adds Maca – cruciferous plant (like broccoli and kale) that is filled with antioxidants and has been shown to improve mood and support energy and memory without the crash of caffeine.

MY girls clamor for hot chocolate all the time, but I am often wary of giving them too much as I am not always sure about what is in the packets. With MOCO, I can feel good about giving them what they want knowing that their favorite treat is also giving them a lot of what they need to grow.

www.MOCOVT.com