JenEric Designs will be at Ottawa Comiccon booth 2501!
Each day this weekend we’ll have two different coffee flavours for you to try. Come by and say hello.
coffee
Coffee Testers Club Results
Hello Coffee Lovers,
A few months ago I asked a special and wonderful few to test out four flavours and fill out a survey on which they liked best. Two were extremely close, but the following flavour won out in the end. It will be available at Ottawa Comic Con, and after that on JenEric Coffee.
My Neighbour Marshmallow
Along with this flavour we will also have the following available:
I look forward to seeing all the coffee and crochet lovers in two weeks (May 12-14) at Ottawa Comic Con.
Later Days,
Éric
EEP! Still Busy
Hello My Imaginary Friends,
I’ve made headway on my to-do list. It’s now… *Goes to check on list and adds three more things* less than ten items. I got a lot of stuff done yesterday, but it felt like I was walking through molasses. Everything took three times longer than it should.
My publisher is moving full speed ahead with Parasomnia. They sent me a mock-up of the cover and it looks great. I can’t wait to see this book in print! I’m going to send them back the edits soon.
I’m still fighting with this cold. Mostly it’s at night where I go from feeling OK to unable to stop coughing. I hate coughing!
I think I should probably go quality test the coffee I roasted on Tuesday. It’s a hard job but someone has to do it.
Later Days,
Éric
All Work and no Sleep Makes Éric something something…
Hello My Imaginary Friends,
Have you ever gotten to the point where you’re so busy, or your to-do list is so long, that you feel like you’re drowning? Well I’m almost there. The ocean of stuff is turbulent and I’m barely dog paddling. All of it is made worse by lack of sleep and this stupid, unending cold.
I’m starting to realize I might have taken on too much too quickly this year and certain things have been suffering because of it. Mostly my writing, or lack thereof, and other creative endeavours like FADDS.
What am I going to do about it? I’m going to get as much done of what I have already promised and try to stop taking on more projects. Both publishers I work with are going to settle down into a slower routine and after Ottawa Comic Con, conventions will slow down too.
All that said, I’m going to try and take a week off to relax after OCC. Maybe play Skyrim with the little Dragon.
I have a lot of coffee to roast and not much time so I’ll see you later.
Éric
Return of the Geek Market
This weekend JenEric Designs, Aspiring Something, Blush, and JenEric Coffee will be at Ottawa Geek Market. Over the past 5 and half years it’s quickly become a staple of the geek scene in Ottawa. If you want something geeky, but don’t want to pay to get into Comic Con this is the place to go.
Come see us at booth 306
We’ll be next to Renaissance Press so you can get your crochet, coffee, books, and games all in one place!
Come say hi!
Geek Market Coffee
Hello Coffee Lovers,
We will be debuting our newest coffee flavour at the end of the month at Geek Market.
Introducing our newest coffee flavour:
Snow White’s Wake Up Potion
A Green Apple medium roast that’s recommended by Six out of Seven Dwarfs.
Now available for order at http://coffee.jeneric-designs.ca/
What coffee would you like at Geek Market
Select all the coffee you want to buy at Geek Market in the following poll and we’ll make sure the most popular ones will be available at the end of March.
Loading ...Thank you and good coffee drinking,
Éric
Coffee Testers Club
Hello Coffee Lovers,
Last week I sent out emails and made a few facebook posts for our new Coffee Tester’s Club. It’s been way more successful than I expected and that’s great.
We need your help in deciding what our new flavour will be. Our team of professional testers has narrowed it down to 4 options. We need you to help us narrow it down further.
For the low price of $5 you’ll get four 25g bags of coffee. You’ll drink them and then fill out a survey. The flavour that is everyone’s favourite will then be added to our regular rotation.
It’s not too late to help us decide on our next flavour. Sign up for the Coffee Testers Club!
The deadline for signup will be February 19th at noon.
Yay Coffee!
Éric
I’m not busy, I’m temporally deficient
Hello My Imaginary Friends,
When I told someone I was going to take paternity leave, they jokingly said, “Wow! A nine month vacation. Lucky you.” At least I think they were joking. This isn’t a vacation.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the time I’m getting with Dragon. She makes me smile and ache with love every day, but she’s a lot of work. I have no idea how one parent handles a baby on their own.
It might be easier if Jen and I weren’t both freelancers. Working from home takes twice as long with a baby. All of which to say we’ve been really busy both with work and enjoying the little Dragon.
That means there are a few things that I haven’t told you, so it’s update time! WOO!
Coffee
I’ve been working hard on research and development for new flavours to join JenEric Coffee’s roster. I’ve settled on one flavour that will be debuted at Geek Market at the end of March.
I have another 4 flavours that I’m asking people to test. If you’re interested, check out our Coffee Testers Page.
Writing
I have unfortunately not been writing as much as I should have. Other then the blog, I’ve written half a story and a few thousand words in Copper Tarnish. It’s going to be shorter than my average book, but I’m still only a third of the way through.
I’ve talked to my publisher and they’re considering covers for Parasomnia. I’m really excited to get the next round of edits on this one.
A Study in Aether is eligible for both the Nebulas and the Auroras. Both are fan voted awards. If you feel like nominated it, I’d be very happy.
The Ed Greenwood Group
If you don’t know about TEGG, let me tell you. It’s a new publishing company for games, role playing games, genre novels, and general awesome.
If you’ve played the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons setting, you’re familiar with the breadth of creativity that Mr. Greenwood has shown over the past thirty years.
What he’s done is bring together many amazing creative types to create new games, settings, and stories.
I have the honour of working with them on the book formatting side of things. I’ve been given the title of Print Production Manager, fancy term for layout artist. It’s a freelance thing and I’m really excited to be working with such amazing people.
And Jen, whom I’ve often referred to as “the weditor”, has been given the title of Lead Editor for the Hellmaw line of novels. She is just as honoured and excited to be working with this awesome group.
Secrets
I have two other pieces of news, but I don’t have permission to divulge one, and the other will be a surprise. You should know both next week.
Later Days
Éric
Coffee at Disney World and Universal Studios
Hello Coffee Lovers,
It’s no secret that I love coffee. So when I go on vacation I look for good coffee. It’s a weird obsession that my wife, thankfully, tolerates.
When I first went to Disney World and Universal at 28, I expected that they would either have their own coffee company or have Starbucks everywhere. I was half right. The coffee at the parks and resorts can be split into three categories: Terrible, Starbucks, and Gourmet.
Coffee at the Parks and Resorts
Terrible
I’m pretty tolerant of bad coffee, but the stuff they sell in Disney World and Universal Studios is terrible. It varies from booth to restaurant from being weak to sludge and everything in between.
If you’re at any Disney Park, except Magic Kingdom, skip the coffee at the restaurant and get some Joffrey’s.
If you’re at Universal Studios or Magic Kingdom, get Starbucks.
Universal offers coffee in their rooms and it’s passable, but you’re better off waiting for Starbucks.
Starbucks
Both Disney World and Universal have Starbucks in their parks. Disney World has a location in Epcot and a location in Magic Kingdom. Universal has a Starbucks in each of their resorts.
Both have them in their shopping districts (Universal Citywalk and Disney Springs.)
Gourmet
Starbucks is, unfortunately, the best you’ll get at Universal.
Disney World has an arrangement with Joffrey’s coffee. They are a gourmet roaster from Tampa Bay. They supply coffee to Disneyland, Disney World, and Disney’s Hawaiian resort Aulani. The coffee is good. It’s not revolutionary but it’s definitely worth looking for around the parks.
Joffrey’s also supplies the resorts and the rooms with coffee. Staying at a resort that has good coffee is always a treat. They have kiosks in Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Springs, and Hollywood Studios that sell good coffee.
They are also the coffee used for the better sit down restaurants, including Belle’s Castle. Some of the sit down restaurants have pour over or French press that is to die for and certain resorts have unique blends.
A notable mention for coffee is the Moroccan Pavilion at Epcot that sell a Moroccan coffee that is both yummy and packs a punch.
Bringing Home Coffee
If you enjoyed Joffrey’s coffee, they have a store in Disney Springs that sells both Tea and Coffee. The selection is limited here though. If you try a coffee from a kiosk or your resort and love it you can normally buy a bag from them. (I regret not buying some Kenyan coffee from Animal Kingdom.) They also have an impressive selection on their website with decent shipping costs to Canada.
Disney itself sells Mickey’s Really Swell Diner Coffee. The regular roast comes in large cans and the flavoured ones come in packs of eight small cans. You can also get a small can with a Disney Coffee Press. The coffee itself is exactly as it says. It’s good diner coffee (I’m drinking some now). Some of the flavours are better than others, but overall the flavoured coffee is good.
You can also bring Starbucks beans home with you, but they’re what you’d buy almost anywhere, with the exception of the light roast beans that vary from country to country.
Overall the coffee at the parks is worth drinking and definitely worth experimenting with.
Enjoy your Coffee,
Éric
Results: JenEric Holiday Contest – Win $25
Hello Everyone,
Last month we ran a contest where you needed to match the picture with either Jen, Eric, or Dragon.
The winner was Roseanne B, who was chosen at random from the 6 people that guessed correctly.
They can use the $25 for anything from:
Answer
- Éric
- Baby Dragon
- Jen
We expected everyone to get it right but we had a success rate of 40%.
Stay tuned, we will have more contests.
Éric