This weekend is the beginning of the annual International Home & Housewares Show in Chicago. We’ll be there looking for interesting new products to use at home and on the road when you travel, but to give you a quick preview, we thought we’d share a couple new products we were lucky enough to snag before the opening of the show.

Touch  Beverages Carafe  

I’ve been using a Touch Brewer since last year and love the speed with which it brews, as well as the flavor it extracts from any K-Cup.  Not wasting electricity with a “constantly on” brewer is huge; yet your first cup in the morning starts brewing in about 15 seconds.

But now, I’ve added the Touch Beverages Carafe and Refill Jumbo Cup.  This lets me brew 26 ounces of my favorite ground coffee in just minutes.  Not having to buy K-cups saves money and the refillable jumbo cup lets me select whatever blend I want for the day.

To use the refill jumbo cup, pop out the red single serve cup holder from your Touch Brewer. After filling the jumbo cup with your coffee grounds, simply drop it in the opening, select your quantity, and start brewing. When I’m done brewing, the refillable cup quickly rinses clean at the sink and is ready to go again.

I’ve got an older model brewer (T414S) that only brews 14 ounces at a time; so to completely fill the 26 oz. carafe, I brew 14 ounces, open the top to reset the machine, close it again and press 12 ounces to complete the brew.  Literally, it’s done in just a matter of minutes and I’ve got enough coffee to take to the office. The newer T526B brewer lets you set 8 cup sizes: 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 oz. and Carafe (26 ounces.)

Whichever model you use, you’ll be amazed how quick, how hot and how flavorful coffee can be from a K-cup style brewer. Check out their whole line at Touch Beverages website:  http://www.touchbeverages.com/

reCAP FLIP lids

Got a bunch of old mason jars in the kitchen cupboard?  Who doesn’t?  Now you can reuse them and repurpose them for today’s lifestyle.

With the reCAP FLIP lid, you have instant access to the contents of the jar. Forget unscrewing the lid and maybe leaving it behind somewhere.  Just a quick flip and you’ve got instant access to whatever you are storing inside. A reverse flip and the jar is sealed again; keeping out dust, bugs and whatever else tends to accumulate in an open jar.

The FLIP lid is just one in a series of different tops that will all fit your classic mason jars and allow you to use them for purposes never dreamed of before.  We’ll hopefully be bringing you even more examples after the show.

See the whole line of reCAP’s and order more mason jars if you need them at Mason Jars website: http:/masonjars.com.

Got any other gadgets that make for an easy upgrade to your kitchen?  Share them below in the comments?