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The Matty Macchiato 4th Annual Holiday Gift Guide

This year I’m taking a slightly different approach to my previous gift guides (2018, 2019, and 2020). While some of the models may have been replaced by newer iterations, pretty much all the recommended items in those posts would still make for great gifts. This version, however, is for those of you who just thought, “Oh $#%@!, it’s five days to Christmas and I haven’t ~~written my annual gift guide post~~ finished my shopping yet!”

So if the calendar is not your friend, supply chain worries are making you pull out your hair, and you’ve got a coffee lover in your life, here are a few suggestions.

Oregon redux

Made a quick trip back to the Pacific Northwest to drop my son off at college. Some coffee stuff and some non-coffee stuff to report.

Matty’s Pacific Northwest Coffee Adventures: Part Two

see Part 1 and Part 3

The second leg of the trip was in Portland, Oregon. The city is still scarred from a year of political violence, and there was a sense of uncertainty of when or if some kind of normal will return, and what it will look like. But the attractions of the Rose City are still clear.

loving coffee in the time of COVID-19

As we transition into what we all hope will be a temporary new normal, it’s natural to expect an impact on cafes and the coffee industry as is the case with pretty much every business in every industry.

Here are a few changes that have already happened:

the totally unofficial mattymacchiato power rankings

top five preferred coffee roasters, ranked (ask me tomorrow and this list might be completely different)

well what have we here

I was wandering around my neighborhood supermarket today when I came upon the coffee aisle. Much to my surprise, there was a very nice selection of coffee beans from high quality roasters.

byootiful

spectacular milk art at Kittie’s in Bexley, OH

mini-review: Otto’s Market, Germantown, NY

It gives me great joy to write this post, about finding great coffee in my hometown.

Matty’s Holiday Coffee Gift Guide

this is the original 2018 version; also see my 2019 holiday gift guide

You can do better than a Starbucks gift card.

Here are a few suggestions for showing a little holiday love to the coffee drinker in your life. Prices are as of this date and, like much in life, subject to change. Shop around for best deals.

mini-review: La Tabatiere

Some places are more about the coffee. Some are more about the food. This one falls into the latter category, but they get the coffee right as well.

Gorgeous small bakery in a suburban town in northern Bergen County, NJ. Founded by a baker with a formal French background, and the display case proves this in spades. Not a good place to visit if you’re trying to avoid sweets or breads, because everything looks amazing.

Continue reading mini-review: La Tabatiere