6.13.2011

swank|review & giveaway: Salt Spring Coffee Co.

UPDATED 6/28:  The winner of the 3-month subscription from Salt Spring Coffee Co is Andrea Firmani!!  Congratulations Andrea!

True Random Number Generator










4
Powered by RANDOM.ORG


 

Ok.  I am so not a morning person.  I need my coffee first thing in the morning.  And I'm not talking any kind of coffee.  It has to be dark and strong.  It has to have that zing! so I can actually wake up.  Because, as you moms all know, babies and toddlers often have the tendency to want to play in the middle of the night.  Enough said.

So when I received a tweet from local BC company Salt Spring Coffee Co. advising that they wanted to send me a package, I immediately replied, ‘Yes!  Please do!!”.  I didn’t even think twice about giving them my information – I just needed that coffee.  And who doesn't want freshly roasted, organic coffee sourced from the highest quality, most favourable and equitable coffee growing regions in the world?!  Boy, was I ever in for a nice surprise.

After a long and tiring day of work, I came home to this big package waiting for me at my doorstep:



Inside was this:



Absolutely perfect since I was about to retire my old coffee mug and get a new one from Starbucks.  Glad I didn’t because I’d much rather be walking around with one from Salt Spring Coffee Co. that actually closes properly.  Plus I like to be unique.  And special.

And special this coffee is.  The coffee was a Nicaragua French (Very Dark) Roast blend that came in a package of whole beans so I had to hunt for our coffee grinder that I didn’t even know we had, and have never used, since I am so used to making espresso in the mornings.  I ground some up and put two and a half scoops into our French press which can be found at Ikea and poured water about 1/3 full and let the coffee mixture steep for about five minutes before I pressed the lid down:



I would recommend using your descretion as to how much coffee/water to use depeding on your desired taste and number of cups you wish to have.

On the package, the coffee flavour is described as bittersweet, roasty and smoky.  For me, the coffee itself is very smooth and not too bold, which is very appealing to most coffee drinkers.  Even though I prefer my coffee really strong, this was perfect.  I drank it black – no sugar, no milk/cream – and I could say that it is comparable to Blue Mountain Coffee from Jamaica (for those of you who don’t know, Blue Mountain is one of the smoothest tasting coffee I’ve ever had.).



The thing I admire about Salt Spring Coffee Co. is that they always consider the impact of their operations on the environment, which is why they recently converted their Viking Roasting Facility (in Richmond, BC) to green energy.  Their new facility is fully fueled by green electricity and green natural gas.  You can read more here about their choice to convert their facility.

Salt Spring Coffee Co. as generously offered to give one of my Canadian readers a 3-month coffee subscription (value $110.00 CND).  The subscription service ensures that you receive Salt Spring coffee, perfectly timed and freshly roasted right at the peak of its harvest season. They'll also include a note with each of your deliveries detailing the specifics of the brew.



How to Enter:

The mandatory entry must be done first before any other entries will be considered.  Please leave a comment below with your email for each entry.  If we cannot verify your email address, another winner will be chosen.  Winner will be picked via random.org.

MANDATORY 1st Entry

Go to Salt Spring Coffee Co's website and tell me which coffee you would choose!

Extra Entries

  • Follow Salt Spring Coffee Co. on Twitter (1 entry
  • Follow SwankMama on Twitter (1 entry)
  • "Like" Salt Spring Coffee on Facebook (1 entry)
  • “Like” SwankMama on Facebook (1 entry)
  • Tweet (up to 3x a day, 2 hours apart) “Enter to win a 3-month coffee subscription from @SS_Coffee & @SwankMama (http://bit.ly/maVnXn) #giveaway #contest #swankreview (1 entry each, up to 3 entries per day / 2 hours apart)
  • Subscribe to Salt Spring Coffee's newsletter for special offers, exclusive products, contests and news (2 entries)
  • Follow SwankMama via GFC (Google Friend Connect) on the right-hand column of our blog and be sure to leave your user name in your comment (2 entries)

You can enter this contest until June 27, 2011 at 9:00pm PST.  You must respond by email within 48 hours of being notified by us.  If you do not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.  This giveaway is open to Canadian residents over the age of 18 years old.


The views expressed in this review are my own and do not represent the opinions or views of Salt Spring Coffee Co.

32 comments:

  1. I don't even need to go to the site! I would choose the Blue Heron. IT'S MY FAV!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dark Decaf Peru is what I would choose. DH always says we don't have enough Decaf in the house.
    lsleegs-kids@yahoo.ca

    ReplyDelete
  3. We are fans of the Peru blend in whole beans. We grind for each use and always use a french press. Coffee snobs!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I also follow you on GFC as Mama in the City!
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hands down I would choose Saltspring's Village Trade coffee for its sweet almond flavor -- gotta love nutty. I recently dined at The Red Wagon Cafe (East Hastings) and was happy to see they serve Saltspring. Thanks for running this contest, Swankmama!

    ReplyDelete
  6. They all sound good - but I think I'd pick Waka Jawaka (just because I like the name!)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I follow you on twitter (@1byspike)

    ReplyDelete
  8. tweeted
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/81127772503801856

    ReplyDelete
  9. tweeted
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/81169996943863808

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey! I would totally choose Saltspring's Village Trade coffee. Gotta love it's nutty almond nature. Thanks Christine!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi again. Just to let you know: I became a fan of SSCoffee on fb and followed them on Twitter, plus I now am a fan of you on fb too! X

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am now a fan of SSCoffee on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  13. I just followed SSCoffee on Facebook too!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am now following Swank Mama on facebook

    ReplyDelete
  15. 6.17 tweet
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/81904492618072064

    ReplyDelete
  16. 6.18 tweet
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/82251473660035072

    ReplyDelete
  17. oops just saw that GFC followers count as 2 entries, and I only did 1 - this is #2

    ReplyDelete
  18. 6.19 tweet
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/82621309246377984

    ReplyDelete
  19. http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/82995830797242368

    6.20

    ReplyDelete
  20. I would choose the Papua New Guinea Single Origin Espresso. riptheguard@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'd probably have to go for the same - French Roast Nicaragua - love it. Following you on Twitter, Liking SS Coffee Co on Facebook.

    ReplyDelete
  22. 6.21 tweet
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/83351233603182592

    ReplyDelete
  23. 6.22 tweet
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/83716259618881537

    ReplyDelete
  24. 6.23 tweet
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/84080047669002240

    ReplyDelete
  25. 6.24 tweet
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/84458113763246080

    ReplyDelete
  26. 6.25 TWEET
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/84793165265125376

    ReplyDelete
  27. 6.26 TWEET
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/85164837948227585

    ReplyDelete
  28. 6.27 tweet
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/85273943287664640

    ReplyDelete
  29. 6.27 last chance tweet
    http://twitter.com/#!/1byspike/status/85497490706669568

    ReplyDelete