As the first winner of a free gift from the HB wishlist 2009, I wanted to thank all of the sponsors, but especially Stefano at Espresso Care whose prize I won. I've always appreciated Stefano for all the help he gives us on the message boards and on the phone. When I've dealt with Espresso Care, it has been obvious that they are more interested in happy customers than in maximizing profits which is rare indeed. Grazie mille!

Thanks also to Counter Culture for a holiday coffee "delight" - I've bought more coffee from them than anyone in the last few years and the obvious reason is that they make great coffee (but if you ever get to visit them the people there are another excellent reason to support them)!

As a future gift winner (one can hope, right?) I'm happy to second what da gino says. For what it's worth, the contest has exposed me to several coffee-oriented sites that I hadn't visited in the past. I've only been actively seeking out espresso info for a few months so being forced (relatively) to check out different unexplored sites has been great.

A huge thank you from me to all the sponsors (especially Seattle Coffee Gear for the surprise+--the Bonsai espresso blend is on its way as we speak!), HB for putting this on, and the ever-so-helpful members of the site. You've made my initial experience as a home barista a joy, and quite a bit more delicious than if I were faring all on my own. Thanks!

I'll echo the thanks here - one problem, however, with this contest, is that I tend to end up with more coupons in a 1 week span than I know what to do with, and I am forced to spend too much time picking the lucky blend/bean. This time should be spent on studying for exams.

(Just kidding, of course. I appreciate the sponsors efforts here, both during and outside the contest!)

As a hopeful future winner, I too thank this year's sponsors. I really enjoyed the items I won from last year's wish list which helped expose me to a wider variety of SO coffees as well as getting into espresso. I look forward to seeing what this year brings.

It is easy to compare the prices vendor's offer, but frequently the prices are the same and even when they aren't often the price is less important than the customer service, which is much harder to compare, so I like to draw attention to outstanding customer service when I encounter it and I certainly found it (again) from Stefano and Kathleen at Stefano's Espresso Care.

In this case, I think customer service isn't quite a strong enough term because I am not even technically a customer - as noted above, I was the lucky winner of the Le'lit grinder in the HB giveaway. Most people would just be grateful to win a grinder that had gotten such high praise, but instead I decided to be a pain and ask if I could pay the difference and upgrade to a more expensive grinder. I'd read people on HB raving about the Baratza Vario with great curiosity, but couldn't justify its price when I already had a nice grinder at home. Winning this prize seemed like the perfect solution.

The catch was that the Vario wasn't on Stefano's website and it turned out they didn't even have it in stock. I have to admit that asking to upgrade to a grinder they didn't have on the website or in stock was an unreasonable request even though I was happy to pay the difference between their cost on the two machines. I think most vendors would have laughed at me, or at best politely turned me down, but instead when I made the request Kathleen told me she'd look into it and call me back. To my surprise they were more than happy to let me upgrade. This took quite a bit of added time and effort on their part, which I thought was amazingly generous since they were already losing money by giving me a grinder in the first place and the new transaction was still going to be the same financial drain for them even before taking into account their added time and effort.

Finally I'll add that although Espresso Care doesn't currently have the Vario on their website or in stock, it is possible to buy it from them and should take less than 2 weeks to deliver from the time you order (they said 2 weeks yesterday when I confirmed I wanted it, but they got it in stock already today - the very next day - and are inspecting it and shipping it out tomorrow so I think they were being very conservative). They've also ordered one for themselves that they are going to test out and if they like it as much as HB's poster's seem to, I think they will have it in stock regularly in the future.

Grazie mille a Stefano e Kathleen

Again - I'd like to thank the sponsors! I haven't won anything major (yet) this year, but this is a great program and I think it's a winner for everyone.

If any sponsors doubt the upside...y'all need to know that the program is effective for marketing. I made a ~$100 order from Seattle Coffee Gear the other day and I had never before visited the site. I also purchased about $60 of roasted coffee from Klatch...and I rarely buy roasted coffee at all.

So - thanks again to all of the sponsors and thanks to HB to hosting the event!!

Jon Rosenthal
Houston, TX

Agreed - thanks to all of the sponsors. I wanted to particularly thank Jon at Caffe d'Bolla. I had won a holiday surprise from them (free shipping), but as I am local (well, within 35 miles) and I wanted a cappuccino this morning, I stopped by. While I was there, I purchased a freshly roasted SO for home use and a very nice custom blended Earl Grey (in a beautiful little Caffe d'Bolla ceramic jar with a special stopper to preserve the tea) for my wife. Jon graciously discounted my coffee bean purchase in lieu of free shipping.

Jon is a true roasting and coffee aficionado. If you haven't tried a blend from Cafe d'Bolla, contact Jon (here, let me help you: http://www.caffedbolla.com) and ask what is on the list - everything is freshly roasted in small batches . And if you are into tea or know someone who is, the Caffe d'Bolla jar with 8 oz of fragrant tea is a great stocking stuffer. Cheers, Jon!

Enjoy your experience, James

Address7 wrote: Jon graciously discounted my coffee bean purchase in lieu of free shipping.

I've never been to Cafe D, and I've never met Jon, and we've chatted here and the occasional PM, but just that has instilled me with a desire to get to Utah to try his shop out. I'm still hunting up an excuse, and considering a week of volunteering in Kanab, but that's still about five and a half hours to drive for a coffee...
I almost wish that the skiing wasn't to darned inexpensive right around the corner...

To stay on topic, the gift-mas portion of the sponsors support is really nice, but the year-round gift of H-B is the true treat. Thanks, y'all!

Hi guys,

yup agreed, awesome thing this wish list and kudos to the sponsors!!

Too bad the European folk can't win anything

Regards,
dsc.

For those who are interested, The HB Wish List Giveaway Outside the US explains why.