Fresh Cup Magazine
Sunday, January 11th, 2009One of my favorite beverage magazines is Fresh Cup.
About Fresh Cup (from freshcup.com):
Since 1992, Fresh Cup has been delivering in-depth analysis of the specialty coffee and tea industries, helping you to make informed business decisions and deliver first-rate products and services. We know that coffee and tea is not just your business but your passion. We devote the same energy to giving you the most vital, up-to-date information you need to enrich and improve your business.
Over 15 years, coffeehouses and tearooms evolved from obscurity to the norm while their suppliers - from roasters and blenders to syrup companies and cup manufacturers - went from small entrepreneurial ventures in closet-sized offices to today’s sophisticated coast-to-coast businesses.
Fresh Cup’s Editor is Julie Beals. I was fortunate to meet her and some of the FC staff at the 2008 World Tea Expo. I could tell they were a down-to-earth crew doing an out-of-this-world job. Julie Beals’ “From the Editor” page (Jan. ‘09 edition), that kicks-off the magazine’s quality content, describes the new standards that the magazine is currently making a norm. A stronger online presence will be a focus for the magazine.
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Earlier in the month I was reading Fresh Cup Magazine when I found out about Samovar’s efforts to create videos to promote tea’s ability to unite. At last, the video series has started.
At the 2007 World Tea Expo, I stopped at the booth of Tea District. As I’m strolling along the showroom floor, the booth caught my eye. I read over some of their product information and grabbed a couple of samples that I blogged about last year. During my blogging of their teas, I discovered that Tea District is a locally owned manufacturer and importer of tea in St. Paul, MN. The one thing that stuck in my mind about this company was the fact that it was started by one woman’s passion to bring quality teas and tea related products to consumers. In an industry with a ton of competition, it requires a lot of guts to take the “bull by the horns” and start a new tea company. The Tea District offers a wide variety of tea products. They carry 12 blends of black, green, red, and herbal teas. Tea District’s teas are contained in bio-degradable round tea pods and packaged in a 100% recyclable tea canister. Note: with every purchase of Children’s Tribute Citrus Green Tea, five percent of the sales is donated to the Children’s Cancer Research Fund - 