Putting together the right Gourmet Coffee service gift basket doesn't have to be a grind.

Gourmet coffees are a great idea for a gift and gourmet coffee gift baskets can truly make for a wonderful gift - if properly thought out, otherwise it can be a waste of time for both the one giving it and the one to whom the gourmet coffee service is being given. This is because if you dont take into consideration an individual's particular preferences and tastes ahead of time, you could be giving them a collection or assortment of items that they will never really work their way through. And really, one of the most disheartening or dissapointing things that we can hear is that the gift we so carefully picked out for another was not really appreciated and eventually regifted or just discarded by the recipient.

Before putting together such a gift assortment as fine or gourmet coffees, you need to ask yourself 'what does the intended recipient like? What are his or her preferences when it comes to coffee?' If you have a pretty good idea of this already, great, but if you don't or find that you are really only guessing, then take the time and make the necessary effort to find out their taste prefernces. Before assembling anything you need to know if they prefer bolder, darker blends, or if their palate is more favourable towards the more medium or smoother, milder blends of coffees. In addition, do you know if the person that you are planning the gift for has a regional prefernce for their coffee tastes? Do they lean more towards blends originating form South America or the Sudan? Do they prefer espresso blends over more standard blends? How about gourmet flavored coffee? Is that something that they enjoy or are they something that is met with a traditional coffee drinker's disdain? Another question which you would think should be quite obvious but often is neglected, is that of beans or grinds? Will the person that you are gifting be someone who prefers to buy their coffee preground and so would be most appreciative of receiving their gift coffees likewise? Or conversely, are they someone who always prefers to be the one doing the grinding of the gourmet coffee beans at the time when the coffee is going to be used to get that feeling of enjoying fresh gourmet coffee? Speaking as someone who until recently used to always buy his coffee ingrounds form, but who now refuses to buy ground coffee, this can really matter. True those of us who only want to brew beans in our coffeemakers that have only just been freshly ground might come off sounding like some sort of coffee-snobs or somesuch, yet that is definitely a strong preference for us and apotentially touchy subject. In the past, if I was given a gift of fine coffee which was still unground whole beans, there wasn't much I could do with it unless I found someone with a grinder. This kind of frustration is not exactly the kind of feelings that you want to impart with your gourmet coffee gift, is it? Remember that you arwe not going to be pigeonholed by staying within one range of blends; there are a variety of very good dark blends, medium blends, milder blends, as well as a decent variety of specialized blends from which to choose for any potential gift basket you might be formulating. Of course a choice of good quality companion food items can also be included, presuming that they have been chosen in such a way as to make sure that they are complimentary to the chosen coffee blends. Various selections of coffee cakes, biscotti and either dark or milk chocolates are all worthy of consideration. As for including any gourmet coffee cup or mug in the basket? You should always keep in mind that the serious coffee drinker will usually already have amug to which they are loyal, unless you were to offer them something appealing and unique enough so as to motivate them to actually give your gift mug a try. (and remember that big is not always better when it comes to coffee mugs...)

A final thing to keep in mind whenever you might be contemplating giving anyone a gourmet coffee assortment as a gift, is to ask yourself, 'is that person really enough of a coffee drinker - a coffee afficianado, if you prefer, to warrant the giving of such a gift? Like I suggested before, it is one thing to give a well thought out gift and know that it is much appreciated, but it is quite another to know that they really couldn't have cared less and will probably never make full use of it. So there you have it, a few easy pomters to help you make sure that your gift of a gourmet coffee gift basket selection isn't a grind to put together and that it hits the spot...

For more information on the subject of gift baskets, feel free to check out some of my other hubs on the subject; I have posted a hub about different themed gift baskets including such unusual creations as candy or popcorn gift baskets.  I have also posted a hub on the subject of organic food gift baskets and what variety and selection is out there.  As well, I have posted about gourmet food baskets, including suggestions for gourmet cookies and Italian gourmet gift baskets.