Now, several months later, the Food Network show, Unwrapped will premiere their episode entitled “Caffeinated,” on April 9th. Check www.foodnetwork.com to confirm dates and times in your area. Also available for your viewing pleasure at the event website (www.coffeeandteafestival.com) is a video highlight of last year’s festivities. Don’t miss this year’s Coffee & Tea Festival: NYC—April 28-29. |
One of the farmers, Dante Tropea, took action—getting rid of insecticides and chemical fertilizers, selling his dairy cows to an organic farmer—he became a mint farmer. He sold the farm fuel tanks and operates the entire leaf drying process by corn burning furnaces; the corn ashes go back onto the fields as fertilizer and are also used as an insect repellent on melons for local fruit farmers. Today, Dante Tropea offers his quality herbs and tea blends via Mint Brook Meadow Teas—the only air-dried mint plantation in the United States that markets it's own estate herbs under it's own name.
Today, Mint Brook Meadow Teas grows and packages their own herbs in addition to offering teas of other planters throughout the world. In a market dominated by low end, low price oriented teas, “we aim to provide a tea crop of high quality, giving the consumer the same flavors in their cup of tea as in the cup of tea the growers have, with all the freshness and undertones only high quality tea can offer” said Mr. Tropea. According to Dante Tropea, “Mint Brook Meadow Teas is dedicated to upholding the standards of quality craftsmanship and respectful land use for which our countryside is known.” Two standards, by the way, that makes a very tasty tea! “Life is about relationships and people, not really about a cup of tea. But a cup of tea between friends can help them get closer. That’s what it is all about.” Tropea added.
Mint Brook Meadow Tea offers several tea and tea blend bags, including: Caffeine Free Peppermint & Spearmint Herbal Tea, Green Tea & Mint, Traditional Tea & Mint, Russian Spiced Tea (their best seller), and Garden Mint. If you prefer loose tea, then try these bestsellers:
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Coffee with a Cause -
Donna Funk, owner of Moon Doggie Coffee Roasters, has always been a connoisseur of fine coffees and in 2005, together with her husband Bob, started her own coffee roasting company in northeast New Jersey. Offering high quality coffee at competitive prices is a challenge Donna takes very seriously. “We buy from farms and estates that hand-pick and sort their beans. This is the only way we can guarantee that the coffee we sell is of superior grade,” said Funk. Turning beans into bucks for basset hounds…this is where the heart of Moon Doggie Coffee Roasters really shines. Each year, in the month of April, this New Jersey roaster donates proceeds from the sale of their custom blend coffee to the Tri-State Basset Hound Rescue—a group dedicated to the welfare and well being of basset hounds. Moon Doggie Coffee Roasters creates special coffee blends & flavors named in honor of rescued basset hounds like those shown here.
All proceeds from the sale of this coffee benefit homeless, abused and injured basset hounds. In just two years, Moon Doggie Coffee Roaster has donated more than $6000 to this wonderful charity. “Giving back to the community is something that is very important to us,” said Funk. The Retro Espresso Café—an eclectic East-Village style boutique coffee shop— is the storefront operation for Moon Doggie Coffee Roasters. It serves up quite an extensive menu of delicious coffees (and teas). Some of their bestsellers include: Half a World Away (a blend of organic, fair trade coffees from Colombia and Timor), Brazilian “Sweet Yellow” Estate (Rainforest Alliance Certified), and Dark Side of the Moon Doggie French Roast (another organic, fair trade blend). Pair your cup of joe, tea, or cocoa with one of many delectable goodies — muffins, cookies, brownies, pastries, ice cream …you can’t go wrong with any of them. Special treats are also available to purchase and take home for your “furry friends”. And to sweeten the deal, Moon Doggie occasionally shows free vintage cartoons and classic movies on their 100-inch projection screen. Moon Doggie Coffee Roasters is located at 108 W. Pleasant Avenue in Maywood, New Jersey. For more information about Moon Doggie Coffee Roasters visit www.moondoggiecoffee.com. For information about basset hound rescue, visit www.tristatebassets.org or www.dailydrool.com. Wonder
where the name Moon Doggie Coffee came from? |
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Tavalon Tea -
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The World’s First Edible Coffee - Coffee has taken on an extraordinary new form thanks to Mark Izzo and Kathy Niness, owners of Acapella Gourmet Foods. They have found a way to transform the delectable, robust flavor of coffee into the silky, smooth texture of chocolate and have produced the world’s first and only gourmet coffee bar!
Using their unique patent pending formulas and processes, Acapella Gourmet Foods is able to convert the beloved drink into a solid form. “We carefully control each step of the process, from selection of the finest green coffee beans to roasting, blending, milling, and finally shaping into bars,” said Izzo. “We use only the highest quality all-natural ingredients to create our products---from the finest Arabica coffee beans to the creamiest whole milk,” added Niness. Since their bars contain the entire bean, finely milled to gently release all the precious coffee oil, they are able to capture a truly authentic espresso flavor in each and every bar. It’s the delicate ratio of espresso beans to milk to sugar that determines the ultimate flavor experience of each bar. “We strive to remain true to the heritage of fine espresso drinks by gaining our inspiration from the way a barista would make various specialty espresso coffees at an espresso bar,” said Niness. The bars are all-natural and pack the same amount of caffeine as a really good cup of gourmet coffee. The bars weigh 2.25oz, retail for around $2.99 and come in these irresistible flavors:
The coffee bars were introduced last summer at the NY Fancy Food Show and have been popping up at local coffee and gourmet shops ever since. Caffe Acapella bars will be a featured at the Coffee & Tea Festival being held later this month at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City (www.coffeeandteafestival.com). For coffee lovers, there is no greater gift than these outstanding coffee bars. Treat yourself or a friend, perfect for moms, dads and grads! Shop locally or shop online at www.acapellafoods.com. |
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Beer Here! Chicory Stout -
Visit www.dogfish.com for
information on the Chicory Stout and their other spectacular craft
beers. Come
sample the Chicory Stout at the Coffee & Tea Festival NYC. www.coffeeandteafestival.com
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Book Buzz -
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Coffee & Tea Festival: NYC -
Funds
will be raised for the official event charity, The Freeplay
Foundation and its Coffee Lifeline Project
Don't
miss the
2nd Annual Coffee & Tea
Festival: NYC! |
Last
year, the Coffee & Tea Festival: NYC welcomed
a crew from the Food Network for a full day of filming. They
spent the day interviewing exhibitors, attendees, and the show producers.
Nestled
in Amish Country in Dalton Ohio is a farm that has been able to
blend tradition, culture, and community with entrepreneurial spirit,
ingenuity, and respect for the earth. It was back in 2003 when
two dairy farmers were overhauling an Oliver Tractor engine and
disheartened about the factory-style dairy farms that were starting
to surround their community that the conversation turned to building
a new business. Both were looking for a way to remain in agriculture
but because of the declining dairy market needed an alternative.
There
are three ways to dry mint: freeze-drying, sun-curing, and air-drying. “Freeze-drying
requires chemicals and sun-curing yields too much menthol. We
air-dry our mint to harvest all the fragrant and delicious undertones
of the mint,” said Tropea. 
Start
with a cup of outstanding Arabica Specialty grade coffee, stir
in a little milk and a whole lot of heart and you’re drinking
a delicious cup of coffee from Moon Doggie Coffee Roasters.
Getting
coffee in liquid form to the point where it takes on a different
physical property (a consistency similar to that of chocolate)
was no easy task, even for Mark Izzo who holds a doctorate in food
science. But he and Ms. Niness were determined to find a way. Happily,
after much trial and error they have perfected the creation of
a revolutionary and unique treat—a
cup of coffee in a unique grab-and-go bar.
Tracy Stern is passionate about tea. She has created wildly popular
lines of teas and tea-based beauty products and has hosted hundreds
of stylish tea parties to celebrate all sorts of occasions. She has
introduced a new generation to the pleasures of tea without any of
its traditional stuffiness. In Tea Party, she encourages everyone
to make their next gathering that much more special by incorporating
tea into the menu. 
Thousands
will gather for this New York event in Manhattan's beautiful Metropolitan
Pavilion to celebrate everything related to coffee and tea. The
Coffee & Tea Festival:
NYC will bring coffee, tea and confectionary vendors together and
introduce them to sophisticated enthusiasts. 