Coffee & Tea Festival Opens This Weekend In NYC
Open to the public and the trade, New York City is gearing up for another great show this year, the 4th Annual Coffee & Tea Festival. Selected as one of the 10 Best New York Events for April 2009, this international extravaganza will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 18th and 19th, 2009 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18 Street, New York, NY.
Selected as one of the 10 Best New York Events for April 2009, the 4th annual Coffee and Tea Festival NYC will be held on April 18th and 19th, 2009 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC. It will be host to a spectacular collection of coffee and tea companies from around the country. What makes this show unique is that it is open to both the trade and the public.
Included among the featured exhibitors for the 2009 show: Omoma Coffee, SerendipiTea, Café La Paz, Tay Tea, Tavalon, Starbucks, Harney & Sons Tea, Green Mountain Coffee, Keurig, Guayaki Yerba Mate, El Pedral Gourmet Coffee, Hancha Tea, Zen Green Tea Liqueur, Srina Tea, Vittoria Café Coffee, TeLight, Sacred Rose Tea, and Jalima Coffee.
The event will offer two days of programming including classes/lectures/demos from well-known industry pros and pioneers. Programming highlights include:
• Home Roasting 101, Presented by Donny Raus, President of Northeast Roasters Group
• Korean Loose Leaf Tea Ceremony, Presented by Yoon Hee Kim, Korean Tea Culture Foundation
• Chocolate Tasting, Hosted by Dina Cheney, author of Tasting Club
• Afternoon Tea: Tips Terms, and Traditions, Presented by Ellen Easton
• The Art of Coffee Cupping & Tasting, Hosted by Marcela Zuchovicki of Jalima Coffee, Sponsored by Gillies Coffee
• From Garden to Cup: Journey With Tea, Presented by Yoon Hee Kim, Korean Tea Culture Foundation
• Think Outside the Cup: Creating Coffee-And Tea-Infused Desserts, Presented by Celebrity Chef Melody McGinley Whitelaw
• Turkish Coffee & Culture, Presented by Sule Akoglu of The Turkish Cultural Center
• Korean Powdered Green Tea Ceremony, Presented by Yoon Hee Kim, Korean Tea Culture Foundation
• Green Teas of China, Korea and Japan, Presented by Yoon Hee Kim, Sponsored by TeaClassics
• And back by popular demand, Chris Cason, Tea Sommelier at Tavalon Tea, who will lead a spirited tea demo, Tea Cocktails.
In addition to being at tremendous exhibitor and sponsorship opportunity, and a delightful way for visitors to spend the day, the 4th Annual Coffee & Tea Festival: NYC will help raise funds and awareness for Cup for Education, the official charity of the event. Cup for Education helps the poor and rural coffee communities of Central and Latin America build schools within their communities and provide the basic tools needed to educate the future generations of coffee farmers.
Goodie bags will be distributed to attendees each day and include samples from Adagio Tea, Celestial Seasonings, Wholesome Sweeteners, The Tea House Times, Glee Gum, Choice Organic Tea, Chopsticks Magazine, and others.
An all day pass includes sampling of the international lineup of coffee and tea exhibitors as well as attendance at the classes/seminars/demos. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the event website by clicking here: www.CoffeeAndTeaFestival.com. Limited exhibitor opportunities remain, call for details.
__________________________
Espresso Yourself
Celebrating the coffee art of Karen Eland
For
self-taught artist Karen Eland, coffee is so much more than a steamy
beverage that delivers her morning buzz, it is a way to express
her creative imagination—she
paints with it.
“I
first thought of the idea of painting with coffee while watching
rich, red-brown espresso pouring perfectly into my cup.” Eland
said. “It
occurred to me that perhaps I could take my passion for coffee to
a deeper level. So
I dipped my brush and began painting.”
We drink
coffee, use it in recipes, and can even marinate a steak with it.
But, paint with it? You’ve go to see it to believe it. Coffee
art is a truly unique art form. It requires a thoughtful and
delicate touch. Eland
uses a slow and sophisticated process of building layers upon layers
of espresso to capture the depth of the classic works she showcases.
Putting
a modern and caffeinated spin on classic paintings by famous painters
like Vermeer, DaVinci, Michelangelo, and Picasso, you’ll enjoy
each of
Eland’s interpretations--the most popular being Mona Latte
shown here.
The
local coffee house provides great energy for Eland and locals often
find her there sipping coffee with paintbrush in hand. “Immersed
in the delicious aroma of freshly ground coffee and the sounds of
low conversation, steam, and grind, I get inspired” she says.
Each painting
contains 100% pure coffee on watercolor paper with no preservatives
or additives. Giclee prints are available in different
standard sizes, prices vary. Eland’s coffee art is also
available in limited edition 16” x 20” prints (unframed,
$45) and greeting cards ($3.75 each). To view the spectacular
collection by Karen Eland visit www.coffee-art.com.
__________________________
Dressed to a Tea
Initially inspired by the works of local Australian textile artist Jennifer Hawkins who made wall hangings using used teabags, it wasn’t long before Ashleigh Evans had the idea to try to design a gown made from used tea bags. The gown is pictured here with second year Australian fashion design student Ashleigh Evans.
“First off I needed to collect copious amounts of teabags,” Ashleigh told her hometown newspaper. After enlisting the help of her parents to drink as much tea as they possibly could, she soon decided that there had to be a better way and soaked hundreds more in the bathtub. The dress was designed using approximately 2,000 dried, dyed, and ironed teabags in all. “There were teabags drying on every window sill in the house and when there was no more room inside I started leaving them to dry outside the house,” Ashleigh said.
“I began the dress in preparation for my HSC two years ago but didn’t finish it to my liking, so I have treated it as a work in progress pulling it out whenever I felt like working on it,” Ashleigh said. To create the stunning design, Ms. Evans “sewed the teabags in lines a lot like quilting and then sewed the lines together to produce the fabric that was about six metres long by a metre and a half wide.” For strength, she then ironed the fabric onto a piece of interfacing to create her Victorian era style design. Quite a remarkable task and talent, Ashleigh Evans may just be the ultimate recycler!
__________________________
Tea-Infused Chocolate Bars
Two New Organic Bars from The Tea Room
The Tea Room, Napa Valley, CA, has introduced two new luxurious chocolate bars into their oh-so-satisfying tea-infused chocolate collection—Milk Chocolate infused with Jasmine Green Tea and Tangerine; and Dark Chocolate of 58% Cacao infused with Red Raspberry Rooibos Tea. To coincide with this launch, the company also updated the product packaging for its entire line—delivering a satisfying treat for the eye and the palate.
The two new chocolate bars join the existing decadent lineup, which includes Chamomile and Honey, Bedouin's Mint, Honeybush Caramel, Black Masala Chai, Green Earl Grey, and Maté with Nibs. With their two latest additions, The Tea Room's chocolate bar line now expands into a well-balanced and unique selection of organic chocolate and organic tea from across the globe.
The new line of packaging, through its bright colors, thoughtful insight, and playful designs, reflects the fun flavor profiles of The Tea Room chocolate bars, all unique combinations of organic tea and organic chocolate.
“Eating chocolate is a fun experience,” said Ethan Ash, for The Tea Room. “Whether traditionalist or not, all chocolate lovers enjoy the act of consuming chocolate for varied reasons, from taste to comfort to indulgence or reward,” he stated. Certain that any chocolate lover can appreciate the intricacies of a tea infused chocolate if they try it, The Tea Room's main challenge has been alleviating the misconceptions between the traditional chocolate experience and the new wave of specialty chocolates with varied ingredients.
Originally a purveyor of loose leaf teas, The Tea Room has taken its extensive knowledge in all things tea and transferred it to their love and passion for chocolate. They truly believe that the combination of tea and chocolate is long overdue and makes perfect sense; that regardless of ones affinity or aversion to tea, the taste overtakes all else and introduces the chocolate lover to a gourmet eating experience unlike any other. www.thetearoom.biz
__________________________
|
Guayaki Introduces First-Ever Fair Trade Certified Yerba Mate |
Guayakí, a leading creator of organic yerba mate beverages, just announced it is the first company in the world to offer fair trade certified yerba mate through the Institute for Marketecology’s (IMO) Fair for Life certification program. Through its efforts, Guayakí has become pioneers in the yerba mate industry by establishing fair trade certification of its producers.
“When people purchase Guayakí Yerba Mate, they are buying a product that adheres to the highest environmental and sustainable business practices,” said Chris Mann, chief executive officer for Guayakí. “Being the first to establish fair trade certification for our yerba mate reflects our dedication to the quality of our product, our environment and the yerba mate farmers and artisans in South America.”
Since its founding in 1996, Guayakí has been paying more than double the commodity price directly to small-scale farmers and responsible growers for its yerba mate. By paying a premium price and now through fair trade certification, Guayakí drinkers can be assured their purchases are a driving force for conservation, community development and reforestation. Like coffee and cocoa, yerba mate is now a fair trade certified global commodity.
“It is a testament to Guayakí’s devotion to its mission that it has succeeded in becoming the first Fair for Life social and fair trade certified yerba mate company,” said Wolfgang Kathe, IMO. “Guayakí will be the catalyst to drive the principals of fair trade for the entire yerba mate industry.”
For more information on Guayakí’s fair trade certification, its products or on Market Driven Restoration, visit www.Guayakí.com. |