coffee and tea march 2007
coffee and tea festival
coffee and tea festival

coffee and tea

tavalon

chip n dipped

fresh cup mag

jalima

tay tea

pecopeco

local wine events

cup for education

- COFFEE:  Beyond the Cup -

Coffee is the beverage of choice for millions of Americans.  Hot, iced, or garnished with steamed milk and frothy foam, we love to drink our coffee.  Coffee loyalists make it a regular part of their morning routine and often make it the star of a social outing with friends. The more adventurous coffee lovers will use it to bake a cake or marinate a steak. Still others have found wild and wonderful new uses for this most beloved beverage.

From art to soap…from eye cream to fireplace logs…coffee-infused products offer consumers great innovation as well as environmentally friendly options.

logJava-Log
The Worlds Only Eco-Friendly Coffee Firelog!

Java-Logs are made from recycled coffee grounds and 100 percent renewable non-petroleum wax. The product produces 80 percent less carbon monoxide and particulate matters (air emissions) compared with wood. "Today’s consumers want quality products that are convenient, efficient and environmentally-friendly," said Karen Bennett, Java-Log Marketing Brand Manager. "Java-Log meets those demands with superior firelogs that burn brighter and cleaner than other firelogs on the market. This new formula allows us to offer our environmentally conscious consumers a new option they will feel even better about using in their home fireplace."

Named one of the Coolest Inventions of 2003 by Time Magazine, Java-Logs ignite more quickly and produce larger, more attractive flames than other fire logs. Java-Logs have a faint sweet scent arising from the mixture of molasses and coffee. Most people don't smell anything while others smell a faint sweet coffee aroma, not a chemical scent.  They crackle just like wood, they are easy to light, and they burn for 2-3 hours (the same amount of time as other 5 lb firelogs).   The logs can be purchased at Whole Foods, Kings, Sam’s cosmeticsClubs, Wegmans, Walgreens, and other national and regional retail stores.  Check the company’s website and store locator search to find out where java logs are sold in your area. www.java-log.com

Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream
100% Natural, 100% Vegetarian

Anti-inflammatory, caffeine rich green tea and coffee de-puff and reduce swelling while increasing circulation
to alleviate and brighten dark circles. Concentrated with potent anti-aging vitamins, antioxidants, and nourishing blackcurrant oil. Truly, 100% pure.  Ingredients include: Organic Green and White Tea, Blackcurrant Oil, Organic Green Coffee, Vitamin E (a-tocopherol), Vitamin C (ascorbyl palmitate), Chamomile and Lavender wax, Pure Vanilla Absolute, extracts of Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, Grapefruit Seed and Golden Seal.  For more information or to purchase a 1 oz. bottle ($19) visit www.100percentpure.com/facial10.html.

Coffee Art
Karen Eland

karen elandFor self-taught artist Karen Eland, coffee is a way to express her creative imagination—she paints with it.  Eland uses a slow and sophisticated process of building layers upon layers of espresso to capture the depth of the classic works she showcases.  She puts a modern and caffeinated spin on classic paintings by famous painters like Vermeer, DaVinci, Michelangelo, and Picasso, the most popular being Mona Latte. www.coffee-art.com

Coffee Break Mud Wrap
Shizuka New York Day Spa

spaThe invigorating aroma of ground Arabica coffee is at the heart of the Coffee Break Mud Wrap at the Shizuka New York Day Spa.  This therapeutic treatment simultaneously sloughs away dead skin cells while drawing impurities and cellulite-inducing water from the skin.  Wrapping the body under infrared heat lamps helps the body to release toxins.  After a refreshing shower, you will have had your caffeine fix while toning, detoxifying, and refining your skin (50 minutes/$160).  The Shizuka New York Day Spa is located at 7 W. 51st Street, 6th Floor, New York City.  212-644-7400.  Visit their website www.shizukany.com and explore their other spa services.

Coffee Soap
A Treat for the Senses and the Body

soapStimulate your senses with the wonderful blend of essential oils—spearmint, peppermint, clove bud, lavender and wintergreen—and ground organic coffee, cinnamon powder, vitamin E and sweet almond oil. This hearty, all natural soap suits the kitchen or any washroom. The 4.5 oz. bar sells for $5 at www.preciousprovisions.com.


- SoFo is So Fine -
While other children warmed up from the snow with hot cocoa, the Forlano brothers requested a steaming cup of tea with honey from mom.  This passion stayed with John and Justin as they morphed through the teen years and entered adulthood. While they chased different careers, one in the medical field and one in finance, it was their love for tea that really excited them.  In 2005 they launched SoFo Tea and entered into the competitive e-tailing arena.

sofoIt wasn’t an easy or quick decision to make. At first John and Justin thought about opening a retail store but quickly realized that they didn’t have enough money for a start up storefront business. With consumer confidence in online purchasing on the rise, they decided that the time was right to start their new venture and picked the internet to serve as their storefront.

Justin’s training in Oriental medicine naturally made him the partner that would concentrate sofoon the teas, and John’s background in finance would complete the partnership. “It works out really well. John’s the numbers guy and I’m the product guy,” said Justin. “Launching any business, it’s important to clearly define the roles at the beginning, it’s especially important when you are working with family,” he added.

Today their passion translates into sales as the two brothers from Long Island have turned SoFo Tea into a profitable online tea business. They proudly offer a variety of loose tea, catering to both the purist and the curious selling quality loose teas imported from around the globe and packaged in their Long Island facility.

SoFo Tea offers a wonderful variety of teas drawing from Green, White, Oolong, Black, Flavored, Rooibos and Herbal varieties—some pictured here.  They offer four different package sizes so that you can sofotry something new without committing to a big quantity, then come back for more once you find one you like.  They also offer a selection of tea accessories including flavored honey sticks, which are a great complement to the tea. 

Visit their website for more information and a look at the wonderful teas they offer.  www.sofotea.com.


- Used Tea Bags Lift Women -
from Poverty

The artists from Original T-Bag Designs live in an informal settlement located in Mandela Park, South Africa, just outside of Cape Town. Their homes are nothing more than bits of tin and wood nailed together and they have had no formal schooling. But what they do have is grit, imagination, talent, and a desire to make a better life for their families. Leading them on their self-improvement journey is Jill Heyes.

tbagAfter suffering a brain aneurysm at the age of 35, Jill Heyes, an art teacher was just lucky to be alive.  Not long after Jill’s struggle and recuperation, her husband’s job transferred him from England to South Africa. So, with her two small children in tow, the family was now on their way to a new life in a new country.

Driving through town on the way to her beautiful new home, Jill was shocked by the poverty she witnessed and was determined to do something to help. Thelma, a neighbor's maid, saw an opportunity for additional work when Jill and her family moved into the neighborhood.  Jill wanted to help Thelma, not by hiring her to clean, but by teaching her a craft to market and sell.  Thelma gathered five women and started meeting weekly with Jill at the community center.  The group started working with paper mache, moving on to potato printing, and finally, after three years, to creating crafts with used tea bags. Original T-Bag Designs was created!

tbagUsed tea bags come from individuals and groups from all around the world—most come from South Africa where drinking a cup of tea is a ritual that takes place about five times every day.  The bags are then dried in the African sun, emptied of their leaves and carefully ironed. Finally, each tea bag is painstakingly hand-painted with warm shades of bronze, gold, silver, and black—colors that celebrate African culture. 

Finally, the group gathers together to assemble the finished products to create greeting cards, notepads, journals, ornaments, candles, coasters, trinket boxes, and tea light holders. They'll make special designs by request, but ordinarily they just paint "what is in our heads". 

  tbag

One of the artisans, Nomsa, recently earned enough money from painting tea bags to move from an inadequate shack to a solid new house. Nomsa said, “The most wonderful thing in the world is hearing the rain on the roof and knowing that my children are warm and dry.”

tbag“Everyone earns a very good daily wage,” says Heyes. “We can see the difference in many of their lives as they begin to gain confidence and have pride in themselves.”

The original group of five artists now numbers 23 and supports 125 people. They still make the coasters and greeting cards but continue to expand their offerings. They recently finished a private commission for Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy. They hope to open an on-site teashop where tourists can visit while they paint; eventually, they plan for other craft groups to work at the location.

To learn more or to place an order, visit www.originaltbagdesigns.com.


- 92nd Street Y Hosts -
Coffee Class & Tea Tours

If you are looking for something fun to do in NYC this fall, look no further than the 92nd Street Y and their great Fall lineup. Check out the exceptional programming designed just for coffee and tea lovers. 

coffeeFrancine Segan's World of Tasting: Coffee—Tasting & History
Join exalted food historian and expert Francine Segan and discover coffee's origins and checkered history. Learn why it was eaten and not drunk in ancient Africa, why it was first considered a wine and how it traveled to Java and beyond. Learn to make a perfect cup of brewed coffee and even how to cook with it. See raw and roasted coffee beans, taste several types of coffee and sample various roasting methods.

Francine Segan is a food historian, lecturer and the author of The Philosopher's Kitchen, Shakespeare's Table and Movie Menus. Her most recent book is The Opera Lover's Cookbook. She has appeared on numerous radio and television programs.

Date & Time: Tue, Oct 16, 2007, 7-9 pm
Location: Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street
Code: T-LP3FW21-01
Price: $35
Click here for more info

teaWaldorf-Astoria Tour and High Tea  
Get a behind-the-scenes view of one of the world’s most luxurious hotels, home to the city’s most ornate banquet halls and guest suites. Explore the hotel that world leaders and the president of the United States have long called their home away from home in New York. Afterward, enjoy a lush tea service on the hotel’s fabled Cocktail Terrace.

Date & Time: Fri, Oct 19, 2007, 12 pm
Location: 301 Park Avenue
Code: T-LP3CW12-01
Price: $55.00
Click here for more info

Gracie Mansion Tea Tour  
Spend an afternoon exploring New York's most celebrated residence! Called home by mayors and merchants for more than 200 years, Gracie Mansion is among the oldest structures in Manhattan. Enjoy a private tour followed by tea service in the grand ballroom. Afterward, relax in Carl Schurz Park or take in the magnificent views along the East River promenade.

Date & Time: Tue, Nov 20, 2007, 1-3pm (additional dates available)
Location: Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street
Code: T-LP3CW14-01
Price: $35
Click here for more info

Interested in taking one of the tea tours or the coffee class? Don’t wait too long—these programs require advance registration and sell out fast, so book early to guarantee a spot!  (www.92Y.org)


- Recipe for Healthy Skin-

COFFEE BODY SCRUB
2 cups of coarsely ground coffee
1/2 cup raw sugar or sea salt
2-3 T massage oil

Mix all ingredients together. Take a hot shower to moisten your skin and open your pores. Using wide, circular motions, rub the coffee exfoliant onto your skin with strong, even pressure. Shower off, pat skin dry, and apply a thin layer of your favorite body lotion. 

Recipe courtesy of SpaIndex.com: Guide to Day Spas and Stay Spas. The web's most comprehensive resource for Spa Enthusiasts. www.spaindex.com


- LocalWineEvents.com -
The World’s Largest Food & Drink Calendar

wine

Looking for a cabernet class in Connecticut? A beer bash in Boulder? A food fest in Fresno?  Look no further than LocalWineEvents.com. They offer a complete calendar of events taking place around the world with an easy to navigate search function that permits the user to sort by date, city, category or event.

Great to use when planning a trip or simply looking for something to do, you’ll find listings for wine tastings, wine dinners, cooking classes, beer festivals, homebrew competitions, coffee festivals, single malt scotch tastings, and so much more.

For a comprehensive calendar of wine, food, spirits and festivals around the world visit www.localwineevents.com.
- Coffee & Tea Festival: NYC -
April 12-13, 2008

coffee and tea festival

Don't miss the 3rd Annual Coffee & Tea Festival: NYC in 2008! CALL FOR 2008 EXHIBITOR INFORMATION.  631-957-7035
Exhibitors SAVE BIG when they book early!
Click here for exhibitor information
www.coffeeandteafestival.com


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