Coffee and Tea Newsletter: October 2010
coffee and tea festival
coffee and tea festival

cup for education

NYC ULTIMATE
BARISTA CHALLENGE
Joins Coffee And Tea Festival
for 2011


The Ultimate Barista Challenge® is an action packed competition where baristi, someone who professionally prepares coffee, compete in a dueling stage of identical espresso stations to shake, not stir, their espresso cocktails, to prepare beautiful caffe latte art, blend espresso frappe and brew the best they have. Each barista has 10 minutes to prepare drinks in each category and serve them to a discerning professional tasting judges panel comprised of coffee specialists, trainers, food writers, chefs or sommeliers. The baristi perform to win the right to challenge the reigning champion and in turn become "The Ultimate Barista."

“The Ultimate Barista Challenge is a rousing coffee competition like no other, a little bit Iron Chef and a little bit American Idol. Fun and captivating for the baristi and audience members alike. We are absolutely thrilled to be featured at the Coffee and Tea Festival of New York," said Sherri Johns, Creator of The Ultimate Barista Challenge USA. “The coffee community there is buzzing. I am so impressed with local roasters and baristi we should see a great challenge. Existing Ultimate Barista Champion Mike Love of the local Coffee Labs Roasters will be on site to challenge local talent,” Johns added.

The 6th Annual Coffee and Tea Festival “will be our best one yet” says Joe Chierchie, show manager. “The Ultimate Barista Challenge adds a new educational and entertaining aspect to this popular NYC event.” In addition to the Ultimate Barista Challenge, the event will once again offer a variety of different programming seminars and demos. Back by popular demand will be afternoon tea, etiquette and lifestyle authority, Ellen Easton; celebrity chef Melody McGinley-Whitelaw; Tea Master Yoon Hee Kim, and the always entertaining Tavalon Tea Sommelier, Chris Cason. Ten different seminars/demos are offered at the festival and will be posted shortly to the event website.

Also new for 2011: Tea Certification Classes offered by Tea Association of the USA, Inc.’s Specialty Tea Institute.

The Tea Association will be offering two tea certification classes in conjunction with the Coffee and Tea Festival NYC: Level 1: Foundation Series and Level 2: Foundation Series. Visit the Tea Association website for more details.

For more information about the 6th Annual Coffee And Tea Festival NYC, visit www.CoffeeAndTeaFestival.com or call 631-940-7290.

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AlleyO Designer Gourmet Cookies Made with Organic and
All Natural Ingredients

They have been Rachael Ray’s Snack of the Day…they’ve been in the goodie bag for NY Fashion Week (yes, even models eat cookies)…and they have been at too many special events to list…We’re talking about Alley O’s gourmet cookies!

Allison Stephen-Oxner has created a fabulous line of cookies inspired by her grandmother's basic recipes and simple philosophy—make cookies made by hand, scoop them one by one, and use only the finest ingredients.

While going through chemo for breast cancer, Allison wanted to promote healthy living by eating responsibly. Armed with her grandmother's recipes, she found that baking eased her mind and body during her fight with cancer. Allison would bake so much that she found herself donating cookies to the church, friends, and neighbors. As a result, people spread the word and soon everyone from all different places wanted her fabulous cookies. Allison knew she truly had something special for the world; AlleyO Designer Gourmet Cookies became a reality.

Allison has put her heart into creating a cookie made with natural ingredients. She believes in eating healthy and organically. She wants to share with everyone the same cookies her grandmother made for her as a child growing up.

Alley O' specializes in creating fabulous homemade cookies made with organic and natural ingredients. They have a variety of cookies for everyone. Their signature cookies include:

Diamonds and Rubies: made with cranberries and white chocolate

Diva: made with milk chocolate, rolled oats, and oat bran

Jungle Chips: a perfect mixture of peanut butter, dark chocolate and white chocolate

Their specialty cookie line includes:

Sparkling Rainbow: inspired by cancer survivors, is an oat bran packed sugar cookie

Mother Nature: this is Grandma's original oatmeal raisin cookie recipe with a hint of cinnamon

Earth Cookie: a 58% cocoa dark chocolate chip cookie

And the newest additions include: Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin, Lime & Coconut, and Green Tea which uses organic rolled oats.

A big hit in this newsletter’s “test kitchen”, you can just taste the love baked into each cookie. To purchase or for more info, visit: www.alleyo.com.

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TEA TRAVELS™...
Hostess and Holiday Gifts
By Ellen Easton with Reva Paul©2010
All Rights Reserved

It's that busy time of year again when one wishes to give a tea party, but may not have the time to prepare an afternoon tea. Not to worry, for those of you who would still like to entertain or give a tea gift, but with ease, an elegant tea is just a click or phone call away. During these months of reverie, please do not forget to share with the needy and with those who may be alone. To all of our readers, we wish you a very happy, healthy holiday season and a bright New Year. Wishing You Happy Tea Travels!™ Ellen & Reva.

Tea Travels™ For the Holidays provides concise information on how to create the perfect afternoon tea for the autumn and winter holidays. A complete holiday menu includes 21 color photos, 25 easy to prepare recipes; theme teas, decorating & gift ideas; invitation template & secret sources. Learning from one of the tea industry's leading experts, both the novice and experienced afternoon tea lover will benefit from Ellen Easton's excellent compendium, making it a wonderful gift for any tea enthusiast. See below to order.

TRUMPTEA.com: Finally, a tea gift that you can also give to the man in your life! Luxury blended full leaf tea sachets in a handsome reusable tin: Union Square, Park Avenue, Mar-a- Lago and Westchester. “Living richly is about enjoying the best of the best. You won’t find a more lavish tea drinking experience in the world than with my exclusive collection of premium blends.”-Donald Trump

StonewallKitchen.com: New & delicious all natural Ginger-Fig Spread; Raspberry-Peach-Champagne Jam; Dark Chocolate Toffee Sauce and scone mixes. (888) 326-5678

Monacobaking.com: Traditional & contemporary Gingerbread houses, cookies & gift packs.(800) 569-4640

Dufour Pastry: All natural chocolate puff pastry sheets, perfect for making teatime treats. (800) 439-1282

Divinedelights.com: All natural, decorated petit fours (800) 4- HEAVEN

Hammondscandies.com: Old world style hard ribbon candy, pillow puffs, candy canes & caramels. (888-CANDY-99)

Brownfamilyfarmmaple.com: Maple products- candy, sugar and syrups. gift packs available. (866)254-8718

Walkersshortbread.com: holiday shapes and many flavored shortbread cookies.

ELLEN EASTON, etiquette authority and author of AFTERNOON TEA...TIPS,TERMS and TRADITIONS; TEA TRAVELS™ FOR THE HOLIDAYS and Good $ense For $uccess™, a consultant to leading hotels and tearooms, including The WALDORF ASTORIA, the PLAZA and LADY MENDL’s, is a speaker and designer of related products to the hotel, food service, retail and special event industries. teatravels@aol.com

REVA PAUL, an internationally acclaimed confectionery artist, hand decorated holiday themes, floral sugars and mints are available by special order for teas, weddings and special events. Wholesale/Retail - Bulk & Gift boxed. Prices on request. (212) 722-7981

AFTERNOON TEA...TIPS,TERMS and TRADITIONS By Ellen Easton: 72 pages of how to’s, history, etiquette and FAQ about afternoon tea, serving styles and more. TEA TRAVELS™FOR THE HOLIDAYS By Ellen Easton: 64 pages, 21 color photos. A complete holiday menu includes 25 easy to prepare recipes; theme teas, decorating & gift ideas; invitation template & secret sources.(Each 5" x 7" paperback book fits into an A-7 envelope for easy mailing, great gift or party favor item) Each book is $20.00 post paid. Continental US Only. Final sale. (Wholesale and Fundraising accounts are welcome. Call for Special Prices) Please include your name, address and telephone number for shipping. Please make check or M.O. payable to: RED WAGON PRESS and send to: RED WAGON PRESS, 45 East 89th Street, Suite 20A, NYC, NY 10128-1256

"Ellen Easton's book is packed with great tea tips. The book's very essence is to help its readers feel comfortable and familiar with the experience of afternoon tea. Enjoy!” -Peggy Post-Director, The Emily Post Institute.

TEA TRAVELS™, Wishing You Happy TEA TRAVELS!™, Manners Do Matter™and Good $ense For $uccess™ are the trade marked property of Ellen Easton/RED WAGON PRESS. (212) 722-7981. Ellen Easton/RED WAGON PRESS does not approve of the unauthorized the use of the name TEA TRAVELS™ or other trademarks to any persons, electronic sites or otherwise.

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ZEN™ And the Art of the
Sophisticated Cocktail

As cultural influences from Asia continue to influence Western palates and the cocktail culture expands to include exotic herbs and interesting new flavors, a distinctive, spirit has made its mark. ZEN™ Green Tea Liqueur, a unique blend of the finest Japanese green tea leaves, premium herbs and natural flavors is the first super-premium green tea liqueur ever introduced in America.

The fresh and original taste of ZEN Green Tea Liqueur, which is primarily derived from the ceremonial Japanese Green Tea, results from the use of the finest ingredients available. The perfection of the final product is the result of time-honored Japanese traditions of quality and craftsmanship combined with a modern sense of elegance and style.

ZEN is primed to meet the growing demand of today’s sophisticated cocktail culture -consumers who have enjoyed a few cosmos or apple martinis but are searching for the next cool cocktail concoction. ZEN draws you in with its distinctive green color, unique flavor and pleasing aroma that stands up well chilled straight, on the rocks, or mixed. With an alcohol content of 20 percent, ZEN Green Tea Liqueur is light and refreshing. Some of New York City’s top bartenders have developed ZEN cocktail recipes, included among them: the ZENtini (a twist on the martini) and the ZENito (a twist on the mojito).

ZEN uses carefully selected Kyoto green tea leaves of the highest grade grown by one of the most famous producers of fine teas in Japan, Marukyu-Koyama-En, which has been cultivating tea for more than 300 years. Infusing neutral spirits with whole and ground green tea leaves, ZEN is then blended with lemongrass and other herbs and natural flavors according to a propriety recipe to achieve its unique flavor.

“Green tea is one of the fastest-growing drinks in America today,” said Shin Adachi, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Suntory International Corp. In recent years, green tea has crossed over from “Asian specialty” to the mainstream, with green tea products from soft drinks and ice cream to chewing gum. Suntory has already been marketing several green tea liqueurs in Japan, but developed ZEN especially for the U.S. market and tailored it to suit the American palate.

ZEN is stylishly packaged in a tall, elegant 750ml bottles. For more information and more great recipes visit: www.zenliqueur.com

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NYC SPECIAL EVENT!

A Lady Mendl's Walkers Shortbread Tasting
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Seatings from 12 Noon to 4 PM
A Five Course Afternoon Tea & Walkers Shortbread Tasting
$35.00 pp, plus tax & gratuity
Lady Mendl’s - The Inn at Irving Place
56 Irving Place, New York, NY
Reservations required- please call (212) 533-4600

Lady Mendl's and Walkers Shortbread are delighted to invite you to join them at a special event for tea and cookie connoisseurs. Lady Mendl's first Walkers Shortbread tasting is presented by afternoon tea authority Ellen Easton, author of Afternoon Tea- Tips, Terms and Traditions and Tea Travels™ For The Holidays {RED WAGON PRESS}. Each guest will enjoy a full five course afternoon tea, as well as learn about the history of shortbread and taste eight different shortbreads Fingers, Rounds, Triangles, Highlanders, Thins, Mini Rounds, Vanilla, and Petticoat Tails.

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A CLEAN MACHINE
From Urnex

With an innovative collection of organic coffee and espresso machine cleaning products, Urnex leaves java lovers with a delicious and fresh-tasting cup of joe. Whether it’s working to prevent coffee oil residues (which lead to bitter taste) or helping to eliminate water-build up and clog flow in coffee equipment, Urnex is the essential coffee companion.

The Urnex Collection includes:

  • Cleancaf® Home Coffee & Espresso Machine Cleaner and Descaler − The only organically listed home coffee machine cleaner on the market; Cleancaf® is an odorless, non-acid scale inhibitor and detergent in one. Cleaning away old coffee in primary drip coffee brewers to prevent a bitter coffee taste, it is specially designed to clean coffee decanters and filter baskets and inhibit mineral deposits. To be used be used bi-weekly or monthly, Cleancaf® may also be used on home espresso equipment and to clean a French press.
  • Dezcal™ Activated Descaler − Designed to breakdown and remove the mineral build-up that can impact the performance of your coffeemaker, Dezcal™ is a citric acid based , non–toxic, biodegradable descaler solution used to decalcify brewers, espresso machines, pod and capsule machines. To be used quarterly or semi-annually.
  • Grindz™ Grinder Cleaner − Offering the serious coffee enthusiast grinding beans at home with a burr grinder a chance to clean and maintain their high priced equipment. The Grindz™ Grinder Cleaner is the first product developed to clean the burrs and casings of a coffee grinder without disassembly. Providing quick and easy cleaning, it eliminates all chance of old coffee oil residue co-mingling with fresh coffee –even flavored coffee odors! To be used monthly or quarterly. Grindz™ Grinder Cleaner is Star-K Kosher Certified.
  • Cafiza® Home Espresso Machine Cleaning Tablets − Formulated for controlled solubility, easy rinsing and powerful cleaning of home super automatic espresso machine, Cafiza® Tablets are the only NSF certified home tablet and are conveniently packaged on a blister card.

Prices vary. Urnex products are available at Bed, Bath and Beyond and at www.urnexathome.com

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SAVE THE DATE for NATIONAL COFFEE BREAK
January 20, 2011

The National Coffee Association (NCA), which is among the nation’s oldest trade associations, is celebrating a century of service to the industry and coffee consumers by organizing a nationwide coffee break on Thursday, January 20, 2011.

To mark the NCA’s 2011 Centennial Anniversary, the Association will encourage consumers to share with friends, family and colleagues the honored perks of the coffee break, an American staple since the 1880s. National Coffee Break is also part of a week of industry-wide activities celebrating coffee tradition and culture from Monday through Friday, January 17-21, 2011. www.ncausa.org

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Coffee and tea lovers will unite once again at the 6th annual Coffee And Tea Festival NYC on February 19th & 20th, 2011. The event is open to the public and the trade. This international extravaganza will offer the consumer attendees an opportunity to sample different coffees and teas from around the world and will introduce the coffee and tea retailer attendees to the industry’s major players. Chocolates and sweet treats will offer a wonderful compliment to the spectacular collection of coffees and teas.

Featured on the Food Network’s hit show Unwrapped, the festival will offer an educational aspect as well. The event will offer two days of fun and interactive classes/lectures/demos from well-known industry pros and pioneers.

Click here to request exhibitor information.

coffee and tea festival

Exhibitor Kits Available Now!

www.CoffeeAndTeaFestival.com

 

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