Pork Scratchings, Beard Oil, Tattoos & More: The Alternative Bunch of Adult Advent Calendars

Some weird and wonderful alternatives to chocolate, toy or beauty advent calendars, all on  Not On The High Street.

Pork scratchings

Pork scratchings

Beard oil

Beard oil

Ales

Ales

Ales

Ales

Tea

Tea

Chocolate sprouts

Chocolate sprouts

Seeds

Seeds

Beers

Beers

Temporary tattoos

Temporary tattoos

Biscuits

Biscuits

Charm bracelet

Charm bracelet

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Tea

Tea

Beer

Beer

Candles

Candles

Fortune cookie

Fortune cookie

Train set

Train set

Pillow

Pillow

Liquorice  

Liquorice  

tea

tea

Coffee

Coffee

family sized chocolates

family sized chocolates

Snap Before You Sip With Ground Espresso & Win a Holiday to New York!

Your next cup of coffee could be your ticket to the holiday of a lifetime in the city that never sleeps. 

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Northern Ireland's home grown, quickly expanding coffee chain Ground Espresso has launched an initiative that will invite their fans to submit themed stills for inclusion in a beautifully bound coffee table book, which will be sold and all proceeds given to The Ground Honduras Project.

Ground coffees are pretty as a picture

Ground coffees are pretty as a picture

The aim of this campaign is to capture shots that range from favourite Ground drinks, to a precious memory shared at Ground, and even quirky snaps of Ground’s coffees and signature tray bakes out and about at NI’s famous landmarks. The initiative welcomes participants at all levels of photography from smartphone users to professional shutterbugs.

Snap quickly before the Nutella cake disappears!0

Snap quickly before the Nutella cake disappears!0

Ground also provide free tap water in every store- a great help for families

Ground also provide free tap water in every store- a great help for families

The initiative will shortlist 12 runners-ups who will be announced in August 2016.

Each runner up will receive a premium prize package of Ground treats including a £100 Ground gift card, brew-at-home coffeekits, and some bespoke branded products. In addition to this, the overall winner will receive a complimentary weekend break in New York City with flights and accommodation courtesy of Ground Espresso Bars.

All winners will also have their submissions included in Ground’s first coffee table book, which will be available for sale to the public at the end of year.

For further information and to join the campaign visit www.groundcoffee.net.

Spot Ground, top right

Spot Ground, top right

Smix & I finally visited the new Ground Espresso Bar that opened as part of the big, new Next store at Bloomfields in Bangor. It's the town's second branch, with the first cafe along the ring road always a hive of activity, and this concession set to thrive also. 

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Previously the space was a department store, where you could get a light lunch, and Ground is the perfect replacement, with lots of good choices on offer from light bites to bagels, to toasties, to traybakes. 

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The salted caramel brownie is the stuff of legends

The salted caramel brownie is the stuff of legends

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Manager Chris was on hand on a hot Friday afternoon to show us the sparkly new store.  

Just as with the other Bangor branch, the Bloomfield cafe offers the whole  Brew Bar experience, which I covered in this blog post which is a must for coffee connoisseurs.

There's also a fabulous selection of Suki Teas, another local hero product, made in Belfast.

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Because it was so hot I didn't fancy a big mug of steaming hot coffee, so Chris made me a double espresso with a little foamed milk.  

Michael's favourite and what he has religiously every time we go to Ground, is the Nutella cake. It's as heavenly as you'd imagine. 

Coupled with a babycino

Coupled with a babycino

I tried their bacon & cream cheese bagel. I'd had their bacon bap before in their Sprucefield cafe, but the bagel is a total belly buster! So much delicious bacon. I needed a lie down after eating that! But it was worth it! 

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As with the other stores, this Ground also has a range of expert coffee paraphernalia to use at home. 

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Dont forget to sign up for the Ground reward scheme if you are a frequent visitor, and there are also gift vouchers available if you know someone who loves their coffee & would be interested in the brew bar experience they can't get elsewhere. 

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So thanks to Chris & the team, we had a fun first visit to our second local Ground. They sent us off with one of their special fruit & veg smoothies, as I was curious to taste the Kale Kick. It's an authentic superfood drink, icy cold in this hot weather, but a bit too healthy for me. The Oreo flavoured icecream milkshake is more my thing! 

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You can connect with Ground on social networks with the username @GroundEspresso

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