It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, well at least in the next two days it will. And what better way to celebrate the holidays than by waking up to 12 different flavors of coffee for each of the 12 days of Christmas.

Robert Francisco of Boyd’s Coffee recently came up with a dozen holiday flavors that are unlike many of those available.

Francisco’s coffees are a delight not just for their aroma but also for their taste.

I have been a flavored coffee fan for years. Unfortunately there are many brands that do not allow you to enjoy the whole experience. Some  just  have luscious aroma but have lackluster taste.

This is how Boyd’s coffee is different.

I had the most wonderful time tasting some of the variants during the  World Food Expo; each one stayed true, in character and form—the Cinnamon Ginger Bread, Crispy Oatmeal Crumble and Hazelnut tasted exactly as they should (the hazelnut was earthier, nuttier, muskier than those I’ve tried). Each is well rounded, full—in flavor, with its own identity and not acidic.

The other flavors I have yet to try are Butter Rhum, Caramel Nut, Roasted Caramel, Irish Crème, Butterscotch, Caramel Kettle Corn, Toffee, Caramel Hazelnut Cream and Cinnamon Hazelnut.

I learned from Francisco that he makes his coffee with only high-grown Arabica, which is sweet, nutty balanced and clean, with mild sharpness, perfect for flavoring.

“All our coffee varieties are freshly roasted. We roast, and, in the case of our Christmas coffees, flavor the beans only when you order.”

Francisco’s coffee uses oils based on the quality and their capacity to make their coffee taste as close and as natural to their respective flavors as possible.

Let us enjoy the first of our many Christmas cups of coffee. They’re best enjoyed with milk and sugar, lalo na kung walang true love!

Odor-free ref mat

Aside from flavored coffee, another Christmas gift idea is a refrigerator mat.

My refrigerator smells so good, thanks to Klin-Tec mats. It smells so antiseptic. I am checking how long the mats help  make fresh produce last. I’ve found them effective in reducing odor.

According to the literature, the mats absorb ethylene gas coming from the ripening fruits and vegetables. The mats also have anti-bacterial properties that help food stay fresh longer.

Klin-tec mats slow down the ripening process and thus, allow the fruits and vegetables to retain their nutrients.

The distributor’s webpage (www.sweetlinkph)  explained: “Klin-Tec mats take advantage of the zeolite properties and uses it in conjunction with other antibacterial agents to produce the “Zeolith mix.” This mix is  embedded in the surface of the Klin-Tec mat, where it absorbs the moisture from the surrounding air as well as odors. The anti-microbial agents inhibit the growth of bacteria both on the surface of the mat and in the adjacent areas.”

Nelson Co, its distributor, says that the best way to use it is to cut the Klin-Tec mat to size and use it anywhere you store fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy (refrigerator crisper, fruit bowl, where the dairy products are, and even the potato and onion baskets). The mats add one to three days to shelf life.

They also eliminate the need to wrap everything in newspaper.  The mats are good for 24 months, based on the studies.

Pinipig suman

I recently tried a fantastic pinipig suman when I went to the Northeast Greenhills Sunday market.

It was pleasantly sweet, chewy and stuffed with ube and leche flan. It was nicely packaged too.

Kudos to Aging Mercado for her fantastic homemade suman.

Another discovery I made that Sunday and a must-try is Glen’s tinapang bangus. It is to-die-for!

It is everything you want a tinapang bangus to be—salted just right, firm yet soft and moist, smoked yet done mildly. Super!

His other tinapa are also good—the salinas, galunggong, tamban and tilapia. What I just learned and must savor is his tinapang salmon.