Jim Barraud web designer

Customizable Starbucks Cards

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The holiday’s are coming up and you know what that means… gift card season. I’m actually a big fan of gift cards. Give me a Starbucks or Barnes & Noble gift card and I’m a happy man.

Starbucks is doing something cool this year with their gift card offerings and allowing you to create customized gift cards. You choose from four basic templates, then personalize the card for the person on the receiving end. Place your order to send off your holiday cheer.

This is all done on the Starbucks website (this isn’t a construction paper and glue stick operation). The interface is elegant and simple with much hand holding throughout the customization process. You can also buy gift vouchers within the store that allow the receiver to go online and customize their own card.

Tea Time

It’s well known that I’m a bit of a coffee fanatic. Ask anyone who was walked past me in the street. Passing any kind of fine coffee establishment requires stopping for a cup. Which really isn’t a bad thing. There’s worse vices in the world. But the caffeine that comes with the experience is beginning to take a toll. Sleeplessness, irritability, etc… Sure, there’s decaf. I’ve gone that route and it’s kind of pointless since it really doesn’t taste the same. Because that’s why I like coffee, for the taste, not the caffeine.

So it’s time for a change. I’m going to attempt to replace my coffee addiction with green tea. Or if not entirely replace it, supplement it. Green tea has half the caffeine of coffee. And even less if you go the loose tea route and do multiple infusions. Since most of the caffeine comes out in the first infusion. It also has a tremendous amount of health benefits, which when you start to get older, you start to pay attention to.

None of this is really new though. I’ve been drinking green tea for years and have quit coffee previously. I have no illusions about my inability to quit drinking something I love, but if I can reverse the roles of coffee and tea in my life, it would be a good thing.

So I’ve begun by ordering the Green Tea Starter Set from Adagio. We’ll see how this goes.

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