Coffee enthusiasts have proven themselves time and time again to be charitable, giving members of society. Today we ask that you consider giving to two worthwhile charities: The Sandy Hook School Support Fund, set up by the United Way of Western Connecticut, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Thank you. Hug the people you love.

NYC: Bikini Bar Cafe: Bikini Bar Cafe has opened in New York, and it has nothing to do with scantily-clad girls serving awful coffee in a drive-through espresso stand in some suburban strip mall parking lot. Work of 2010 NERBC champion and longtime Cafe Grumpy employee Danielle Glasky, the new cafe serves Counter Culture Coffee on a Faema E61 Legend espresso machine and Beehouse ceramic drippers. The shop will soon serve raw food and organic juices. We’ll definitely be adding this one to our NY Coffee Crawl list!

Cupcake Royale x Gay Marriage: We love small businesses who serve good coffee and support great causes! Seattle’s Cupcake Royale, a popular cupcake shop serving Stumptown Coffee, has donated hundreds of cupcakes for gay marriage festivities at Seattle’s City Hall to celebrate the state’s first day of legal gay marriage. If you’re getting married in Washington, Cupcake Royale can help you with that! And if not, they have delicious cupcakes either way.

8 Coffee Must-Haves For The Mayan Apocalypse: Forget shipping deadlines for Christmas Eve package delivery; we only have six days left to gather together the proper coffee gear for post-apocalyptic brewing! Your Sprudge editors have put together a handy guide for coffee drinkers who survive 12-21-12, and essentials include the gold Ablew Brewing DISK filter, which, “with the right amount of thrust, can also double as a self-defense weapon,” and the new Zassenhaus hand-grinder, which “will look great in anyone’s bug bunker.”

Even More Holiday Coffee Gift Guides: Sprudge staff writer Alex Bernson shares seven hot designer coffee mugs, including one that doubles as an ashtray, and one that floats above a built-in coaster. A few more mugs to add to his list:

Super affordable and cute monogramed mugs for the A-Zs of your life.

Adorable Finnish Moomin mugs, which look fantastic when hung in color order on a Grundtal rail.

PANTONE espresso cups in every color you can imagine.

Penguin classics mugs, which will delight your smart literary coffee-drinking friends.

Joanna Han is Sprudge.com’s unpaid intern – she blogs here and tweets here, and we think she’s swell.

The post Unpaid Intern: Weekly Weekend Week In Review For 12/16/2012 appeared first on Sprudge.com.

Cupcake Royale, a baked goods boutique serving Stumptown Coffee, have donated hundreds of cupcakes to Seattle’s City Hall in celebration of Washington’s first day of legal gay marriage. They’ve also donated cake treats to the big Gay Marriage celebration at Q Bar. (Above image via Mayor Mike McGinn’s Twitter)

Back in June, Cupcake Royale was lauded for raising $7,000 to support gay marriage. Royale sold a cupcake called “The Gay”, with $1 of each sale going to support measure R-74, which passed in November. Cupcake Royale’s owner Jody Hall has also supported the anti-gay bullying campaign “It Gets Better”.

The Gay

Planning on getting married in Washington soon? Cupcake Royale can totally help with that. And they make a mean affogato!

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Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples … This important legislation is aligned with Starbucks business practices and upholds our belief in the equal treatment of partners.

Go Starbucks! Now, we’ve been a little hunty to you in the past, but we gotta give it up for Starbucks getting on the gay marriage train in their home state. Good job, Howie and Co.

Unfortunately this sort of political support opens you up to all kinds of attacks, like from the gaycists at Opposing Views:

Coffee isn’t the only thing brewing at Starbucks. So is controversy–as customers learn about the company’s bold blend of liberal politics. This week, the coffeehouse jumped into a fierce battle over marriage in Washington State, home to the Seattle-based company. While the state is still sharply divided over same-sex “marriage,” Starbucks has decided to sweeten the pot for homosexual activists and join the attack on local families.

There’s no shortage of this sentiment on the web following that statement from Starbucks, but it’s okay, folks at Opposing Views and the Family Research Council – it’s your American right oppose to marriage equality for homosexuals. Just be aware that these homosexuals are the very same people who foam your cappuccinos, steep your Tazo Tea infusions, and whup that 3,000 calorie Frappuccino of yours within an inch of its life. If you’re really all that anti-gay marriage, we suggest that you forgo the convenience of your local Starbucks, and order your beans elsewhere.

Look for more from us in the coming weeks, as we organize the specialty coffee community to support marriage equality in the great state of Washington. #YesEqual onwards.

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