Get karma points from Coffee Bean!

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf invited bloggers to an event last Wednesday. See L-Robot's report for a recap.

The event was the launch of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's innovative holiday charity program. Well, it's not really that innovative--my sister told me that Starbucks is running a similar program. But I prefer the taste of Coffee Bean products, so... screw Starbucks and whatever charities they're supporting.

The mechanics for the Coffee Bean program are fairly simple. Just get a stamp card from them and buy the 12 cups of coffee indicated on the card on or before January 18, 2009. You get a stamp for each purchase, and once you fill up all 12 boxes on the card, Coffee Bean donates money in your name to a charity of your choice--as long as you choose from their list of advocacy groups: Kababaihan Gabay ng Bayan, Philippine Business for Social Progress, Bahay Tuluyan, PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center, Haribon Foundation, Cartwheel Foundation, Caritas, Kythe, Autism Society, Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc., Philippine Band of Mercy, and Help Resources for the Blind.

If the karma points you gain from giving to charity aren't enough to satisfy you (you selfish ass), you also get a nice limited edition Coffee Bean notebook for free. Um, does anyone not see the irony of giving away free notebooks while you support a group that advocates against deforestation? But hey, the notebooks are pretty, so I'll give them a pass.

There's also a special challenge for hardcore caffeine addicts. If you manage to fill up 12 cards and donate to all 12 charities before the promo period ends, you get free coffee for a year. Yay! That's a great reward provided that you don't die from caffeine overdose first--144 cups of coffee in two months is... a lot.

Still, free coffee for a year sounds good. Go for it, people.