So, you’re giving books to friends and family this holiday season, and the wrapped package maybe looks a little…lonely. Or you need something for the stocking. You know what goes great with a book? A cup of coffee or tea! Buying coffee out can seem like such a guilty indulgence when you’re trying to manage the budget—there’s nothing like a gift card to defeat the guilt part of the equation, because when you have a gift card it’s like you’re being forced to buy a gingerbread latte. Yay!

Now, on the shop local topic, I have to confess here that I’m not one of those people who sees national chains as the Evil Empire (unless we’re talking about Best Buy, where I’ve never in my life had a positive experience, or chain restaurants that claim to give you an authentic ethnic dining experience but are in fact as American as apple pie, but that’s a topic for another day). When it comes to coffee, especially, one could make a pretty good case that the Starbucks revolution basically created a market that was not there before, and that has benefited local coffee shops. Unless it was a local coffee shop across the street from where a Starbucks opened in the mid-nineties when S-Bucks was still new and exciting and the customer base was not as huge as it is now…

Anyway, I am more than certain that your neighborhood has a number of locally-owned cafes that offer gift cards or certificates. I know, I know, Starbucks gives you a consistent product with speedy service, and those are two things sometimes hard to find at your local joint. There are some cafes here I avoid because of the consistency issue, or the slow service, or the snotty you-are-invisible-to-me-if-you-don’t-have-a-tattoo attitude. But there are still plenty of good options left, and, dang, I’m in Utah! So I bet your town has even more options, and it wouldn’t hurt you to walk in and drop $5 or $10 or more on a gift card to go with that book you are already buying for someone. And, I’m a little sentimental about local coffee shops. A cafe (and any small business, really) is someone’s dream. The same way you want someone to buy your book so that you can have a writing career, the owners of these shops would love for you to patronize them even 25% of the times you buy coffee.

A few of my favorite local shops where the product and service are good: Raw Bean, local chain Beans & Brews (cheapest au lait in town), Salt Lake Roasting Company, Cafe Expresso drive-through/walk-up hut, and my neighborhood favorite spot for beans and when not in a rush, Jack Mormon Coffee Co. Jack Mormon seriously does roast its coffee one pound at a time, and brew it one cup at a time. The owner is knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Today he roasted a half-caff blend for me while I went out and did other errands, ground it for my office coffee pot (I don’t have a spare grinder there!), and had it ready for me to pick up on my way home. I’m calling it Sara’s Special Revision Blend, because I’m going to be at my office, um…a lot…in December. A girl needs a little pick-me-up in the afternoon, but also wants to sleep at night. And I hope there is a magic bean in there because lord I have a mountain to climb and need all the help I can get.