EDITOR’S NOTE: Okay, so there was Black Friday, and there was Cyber Monday. Pretty soon, every day will just be Buyday up until Christmas. With that in mind, and knowing your taste for the unique, we’ve curated a shopping list of some pretty sweet items that are equally cool and equally useful.
As we’ve mentioned here before, don’t stress too much about getting that excellent gift to your little kaboodle on time. Everyone from Amazon to well, Amazon, will deliver that gift you’re looking at this morning to your giftee by dinner tomorrow.
And by the way, if nothing grabs you on this go-round, we will be updating this gift list every few days from now until the Big Day itself. Shop on.
Get Your Chocolate On
Chocolate is such a great gift for any occasion. Whether it’s a chocolate skyscraper from some luxury conglomerate, or a small, boutique shop making chocolate in small batches by hand. Like Monsoon Chocolate in Tucson, Arizona, of all places.
The company works directly with farm workers who grow, harvest, ferment, and dry their cacao, purchased from suppliers all over the world, and then process the cacao “as minimally as possible to reveal the beautiful and complex flavors inherent in the beans,” we’ve learned.
Small batches are made in a former tortilla factory building in the historic Santa Rita Park neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona, using cocoa beans from all over the world.
Among the numerous chocolate delights that we sampled this year was the Rincon Collection. Named for the Rincon Mountains to the east of the factory, the collection features agave-based spirits and flavors characteristic of the Sonora Desert, where the company is based.
The yummy bonbons included Mesquite White Chocolate, Mezcal Caramel, Chiltepín Caramel, and Reposado Sweet Orange Margarita, and yeah, all pretty much as delicious as they sound. We also tasted their Cashew Brittle with dark chocolate, their dark chocolate Sonoran Sea Salt, and their Peppermint Bark, a blend of white and dark chocolate, topped with crumbled peppermint bits.
Thinking about chocolate? Maybe think about the desert.
More yum is available at monsoonchocolate.com.
Planking It
Need a quick workout spot and don’t have the wallet for a full home gym? No problem. Express your minimalistic nature with the Plankpad Pro, Studio, or Kids fitness device. The pro plank provides games and workouts on your smartphone or tablet, and despite its convenient size, works to train your whole body. Planking can help get you in shape, lose fat and gain muscles, perhaps even prevent back pain.
The nature of the plank exercise strengthens the entire body. Arms, shoulders, back, abs, glutes and legs are trained simultaneously.
Plankpad comes with a synchronized app, thus the movements you perform, control the games and workouts. The Plankpad can, according to the makers, also be used as a basic balance board for working your lower muscles out, increasing your body balance, better motor coordination, faster reaction time, and increased stability.
Work it out at plankpad.com.
Let’s Get Mozy
The day might begin sunny, but when you’re at the Rose Bowl come New Year’s Day to watch the Yet to be Named battle it out against the other Yet to be Named, the temperature will drop as soon as the sun does.
We understand, of course, that it’s really only California cold, but that’s cold enough for you. You reach for mittens and a scarf when the temperature sinks below 68.
And that’s OK. A company called Mozy just might have your number.
The “Mozy” is a skirt-like thermal wrap. It fits around your lower body with a patented warmth technology that’s scientifically tested, say the makers, to keep you 500% warmer than a stadium blanket. Apparently developed by an engineer named “Charlie,” who got tired of sitting in freezing bleacher seats to watch his kids’ soccer games, and having to run to the car heater every 30 minutes.
Mozy’s design utilizes the principles of heat transfer and thermodynamics to seal in your body heat, preventing convective heat loss, the process of cold air molecules replacing warm air molecules nearest the skin’s surface.
Mozy prevents this as its technology doesn’t allow for the molecular transfer of cold molecules, therefore sealing in your own warm air molecules.
It’s constructed with a nylon exterior and a fleece lining, to keep peeps dry and warm. You’ll sit comfortably all game or concert long, and the warmth is fully adjustable for changing temperatures.
You can warm it up at Getthemozy.com
Espresso Yourself Wherever You Are
Light at just over a pound, you can take the travel-sized-shaped OutIn Espresso Machine anywhere for a quick, hot espresso. One tap, and you’ll be brewing coffee with a bottle-sized OutIn at home, in your office, or your car or boat.
It heats up in just over three minutes, eventually reaching 198°F. That’s hot.
The 7500 mAh Battery will make five cold water brews or more than 200 hot water brews with its rechargeable battery. The machine also features universal charging, and you can recharge this little dynamo back up with a 12V or 24V Car Charger, or a basic USB Charger.
Now, a lot of coffee machines only support brewing with hot water, so you have to have another bottle of hot water on hand, or start a fire for your coffee, if you’re out in the pretty great outdoors. The OutIn heating blade heats up a half-quart of cold water to 198°F, in just 3 minutes! OutIn takes care of all the temperature settings and timing for you.
The two-in-one brewer is also compatible with either ground coffee or coffee capsules. Currently brewing at outin.com.
Coffee in A Tube? Of Course.
And speaking of coffee when you need it: There you are in the wilderness of the Angeles National Forest,some sleepy morning, and you’re jonesing for a mug of deep, dark joe, but you didn’t invite a barista along on your weekend camping adventure, with your book club.
Maybe you’re not quite awake enough to actually start a fire and begin the coffee process yourself, but some over-achiever in your posse has already lit the morning campfire, and you at least have hot water.
Now what?
Maybe if only you could just squeeze a spoonful of sweetened, dark roast coffee into that boiling water, from a tube, and stir it up?
That would be crazy. Why, yes it is.
But that’s what No Normal coffee is—a dark roast, presweetened coffee paste that squeezes onto a spoon and then into your cup of boiling water. (The website also shows the paste being squeezed onto a slice of bread. We’re gonna pass on that action.)
But we tried it at home, and it tasted like coffee. It’s certainly convenient enough, and takes up very little room in your backpack .
Pack up some of those creamer packets from the office, and this could actually be a thing.
We’ve been around the block, and then across the street, and down to the corner and then down a few more blocks, and we know coffee.
This Swiss-made coffee crafted from 100% Fair trade Arabica beans and sweetened with organic Swiss beet sugar, makes a pretty satisfying cup of java, whether you make it in your kitchen, or alongside a still lake at the foot of a mountain range.
Just don’t brush your teeth with it.
Each tube makes 20 cups of coffee, and has up to a 12 month shelf life.
You can percolate it at nonormal.com.
Not Just a Pepper Mill
Black Rain’s precision-crafted pepper mill brings professional-grade seasoning to your kitchen table.
Black Rain’s mills meld functionality with a touch of flair.
You can easily easily stir, toss, or mix with one hand while grinding with the other, as the ergonomic design keeps you in full control. Its precise settings ensure the perfect grind every time, with easy adjustments. The built-in LED light also helps you see exactly how much seasoning you’re adding, so you get perfect results every time—even in low romantic light. Ahem.
Get your pepper on at Blackrainpepper.com.
