I’ve been saying, “Cool beans,” or its derivative, “Cool beaners,” for as long as I can remember.

I occasionally still use that expression, along with this vintage image, in my Big Mouth Promotions newsletters when I find something very, very cool.

So you can imagine how excited I was to see the Fred & Friends Cool Beans Ice Cube Tray: an ice cube tray that molds as it freezes liquids into coffee bean shaped ice cubes.

The maker says that this is most useful to those who like their cold coffee drinks; you freeze coffee into little bean shapes to keep your drink iced while adding flavor to your drinks. But most importantly (at least to this non-coffee drinker) is the fact that you can use this to make any kind of cool beans you’d like — from regular ice cubes to fruit purees, all in the adorable little bean shape!

I need this. And I need it by the winter time because the most ice I seem to use at home is to cool down my hot chocolate so I don’t have to wait too long to drink it. Having a frozen little chocolate bean (made from the previous batch of hot cocoa) would be just the thing!