My husband is one of those people who has to have his gallon few cups of coffee in the morning when he gets up or it is like living with a drowsy grizzly bear. I’m normally a tea person myself, but in the last year or so have gotten into the habit of having a cup or two of coffee every other day or so. I think it came about because of the convenience of things like K-Cups. I wasn’t feeling like I was wasting coffee by making a half pot and not even finishing that much. So when the lovely people at Hamilton Beach contacted me and asked if I was interested in doing the first Brand Ambassador Campaign of 2015 by receiving and reviewing one of their 2-Way FlexBrew Coffee Makers , I was thrilled. I thoroughly enjoyed working with them last year and hope to continue to do so for a long time. Their products are wonderful and this coffee maker was no exception.

Hamilton Beach 2-Way FlexBrew Coffee Maker

The 2-Way FlexBrew Coffee Makers is so darn convenient! It works for the coffee guzzlers like my husband because on one side you have a 12 cup carafe and can make a full pot to get going. On the other side is an individual brewer where you can make it one cup at a time using a K-Cup pod or the coffee reservoir that comes with it. Using the reservoir, you can use whatever type/flavor of coffee you prefer, not just a prepackaged pod. Better for the environment and less expensive. This side of the brewer works wonderfully for someone like me who does it one cup at a time  So far, we are loving the FlexBrew. There is a bit of a learning curve with the K-Cup side as you insert the pods a bit differently and it can be tricky getting the insert in until you get used to it. But once you do, it’s easy peasy. The K-Cup side can brew up to a 14 ounce cup of coffee and like I said, you can use the insert it comes with to use your own coffee and not a pod. Another feature I love is that you can make the coffee regular strength or, as they call it, “bold”. Basically, bold has the coffee stay in the filter for a bit longer, thus draining out every bit of flavor and making a stronger cup of coffee. This works great for me on the days when I’m needing a bit more of a caffeine jolt.

As usual when I review one of their products, Hamilton Beach is letting me offer one of these Flex Brew Coffee Makers to one of my readers. That reader could be you! The entry form is down below *points down*

With the weather heating up, it was a natural choice for me to make a yummy coffee milkshake using coffee made in the FlexBrew. Oh my, this puts those drinks from a certain national coffee chain to shame. I used a chocolate caramel gelato (imagine that…me…using caramel :-P) and instead of plain old milk, I used chocolate milk in this. Then I topped it off with a cocoa whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup. With the coffee brewing time included, this takes maybe 7 minutes to make. You can be sitting on your porch with this not particularly diet friendly drink in hand, enjoying the weather. And if you were really feeling froggy, you could throw a shot or two of Kahlua or Baileys in this to give it an adult flair. 😀

You know the drill… and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!!!!

Caramel Mocha Shake With Cocoa Whipped Cream

• 1/2 cup freshly brewed coffee (throw a couple of ice cubes in it to cool it down quickly)
• 2 cups chocolate or chocolate/caramel gelato (I used Breyers Chocolate Caramel Gelato)
• 1 1/2 cups good quality chocolate milk (please don’t use something like a Yoo-Hoo. I’ll cry. Those are just chocolate flavored water.)
• 2 cups ice cubes
• 2 tablespoons caramel syrup
• Cocoa whipped cream-
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• dash of vanilla extract

1. Make your whipped cream while your coffee brews- simply combine all the whipped cream ingredients in a medium bowl and use a whisk to beat until firm peaks form, about 4 minutes. You can do it… work those arm muscles!
2. Combine all the shake ingredients (and don’t forget to add that shot of Kahlua if you’re wanting to go that route) in a blender. Cover and blend on high speed until thoroughly blended, about 2 minutes.
3. Pour into 3 glasses and top with the cocoa whipped cream. Drizzle with some extra caramel syrup.

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Hamilton Beach provided me with a 2-Way Flexbrew Coffee maker for myself and will send one to one winner of my giveaway, 18 years or older, in the United States. I received no other compensation for this and all opinions are my own.

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Product Info for the Hamilton Beach 2-Way FlexBrew Coffee Maker-

• Single serve side: