Here you'll find past news items, articles and anything else that used to be on the 'news' page.
From April 2, 2008
A new trend is developing in high-end and progressive restaurants, which means that in a year or so it will trickle down to everywhere else - pairing cocktails with your dinner. The trend is fairly new and seems to be happening mostly in Chicago and New Orleans. One suggestion replaced a glass of Cabernet with a Manhattan to pair with filet mignon.
This is following a trend that has been going on for the past 2 years of pairing micro-brew and craft beers with dinner. Some restaurants are even hiring specialists, beer sommeliers, to suggest pairings and help diners choose something to compliment their meals. The term Cicerone is being applied to these folks in some places and it appears that there may be a course in the works for those who would like to learn enough about beer and food to have the skill of pairing the two.
Try pairing some coffee with your next dinner - this trend is just beginning to take root and will probably grow throughout the year. Don't be surprised this autumn when you get coffee pairing suggestions from your server. If you'd like to try it at home I would suggest a Costa Rican coffee to go with your poultry or fish or a Sumatra to pair with your pork or steak. This new trend seems to have originated in the Pacific Northwestern U.S. and has spread to N.Y.C. now. Maybe this will finally get people to learn how to brew coffee properly! I'll just have an espresso after dinner.
In the U.S. and in England there is growing popularity and demand for Pu-Erh tea. Pu-Erh is not new but it is quite unique. It is the only tea that improves with age, mostly in compressed forms. Pu-Erh is dried and aged in caves and underground in the Yunnan region of China. To read a bit more about this tea go to the 'tea' page on this website. More and more vendors are starting to carry this tea so if you'd like to try it in its many forms you should have no trouble finding some. (A couple of good sellers are - SpecialTeas.com and Adagio.com).
This is following a trend that has been going on for the past 2 years of pairing micro-brew and craft beers with dinner. Some restaurants are even hiring specialists, beer sommeliers, to suggest pairings and help diners choose something to compliment their meals. The term Cicerone is being applied to these folks in some places and it appears that there may be a course in the works for those who would like to learn enough about beer and food to have the skill of pairing the two.
Try pairing some coffee with your next dinner - this trend is just beginning to take root and will probably grow throughout the year. Don't be surprised this autumn when you get coffee pairing suggestions from your server. If you'd like to try it at home I would suggest a Costa Rican coffee to go with your poultry or fish or a Sumatra to pair with your pork or steak. This new trend seems to have originated in the Pacific Northwestern U.S. and has spread to N.Y.C. now. Maybe this will finally get people to learn how to brew coffee properly! I'll just have an espresso after dinner.
In the U.S. and in England there is growing popularity and demand for Pu-Erh tea. Pu-Erh is not new but it is quite unique. It is the only tea that improves with age, mostly in compressed forms. Pu-Erh is dried and aged in caves and underground in the Yunnan region of China. To read a bit more about this tea go to the 'tea' page on this website. More and more vendors are starting to carry this tea so if you'd like to try it in its many forms you should have no trouble finding some. (A couple of good sellers are - SpecialTeas.com and Adagio.com).
From April 20th, 2008
I attended the Northeast Regional Barista Competition in Ithaca, N.Y. on Friday April, 11th. I saw some baristi I recognized from local coffee shops. I could not stay long for several reasons but I will say that Nick Cho, representative from the board of the SCAA (specialty coffee association of America) and owner of Murky Coffee in D.C. hosted and was very lively and upbeat. The competition is not very fun to watch, in my opinion, but it is interesting and important. I heard that the crowd and the event itself were much more lively today (Saturday).
Starbucks has acquired the Coffee Equipment Company - a company that created and manufactured the Clover coffee maker for coffee shop use. This is a machine that makes a cup of brewed coffee on demand instead of a large pot being brewed and left to sit and go bitter and stale. I'm not sure exactly what this means for the future of the Clover, but I have a feeling we won't see the Clover in any shops other than Starbucks unless they bought one before the acquisition. This does, however, mean better drip coffee at Starbucks.
Starbucks has acquired the Coffee Equipment Company - a company that created and manufactured the Clover coffee maker for coffee shop use. This is a machine that makes a cup of brewed coffee on demand instead of a large pot being brewed and left to sit and go bitter and stale. I'm not sure exactly what this means for the future of the Clover, but I have a feeling we won't see the Clover in any shops other than Starbucks unless they bought one before the acquisition. This does, however, mean better drip coffee at Starbucks.
Summer is near and most beverage and drink related trends will be geared toward outdoor gatherings such as barbecues and backyard parties as well as beach trips and even road trips.
For your party you may want to stock some red Zinfandel to pair with barbecued meats like chicken, burgers, ribs and steak - for these you may also want a young Napa Cabernet. It's always good to have some crisp white wines around like some Sauvignon Blanc from Chile or Torrontés from Argentina - these are good wines you can usually find at good prices coming from South American producers who are trying to get their wine out into the world. Look for inexpensive Australian Chardonnay like Jacob's Creek, Yellow Tail and Alice White - these are crowd pleasers that won't hurt your wallet.
Curious about making your own iced coffee drinks? Here are a couple of simple methods you can try. Use a Press Pot to steep room-temperature water in coffee grounds for 12 hours and then pour over ice - this method is time consuming but will yield a less acidic brew. The other simple method is to get yourself a pour-over pot (an hourglass shaped glass pot that takes a paper filter on top) and measure out your water with ice included. Use enough ground coffee (2 tablespoons per 6 ounces of water) to match the amount of water you have (with the cubes in it). Then separate the ice from the water and place it in the bottom half of the pour-over brewer (Chemex and Bodum make some great ones). Heat the remaining water to boiling, let rest for a moment and pour over the coffee grounds in the filter slowly. This will create a full extraction that is instantly cooled and because you measured the water with the ice in it you won't have an overly watery iced coffee. Look for beans from Central and South America when making iced coffee - the chocolate and nutty tones will stand out.
For your party you may want to stock some red Zinfandel to pair with barbecued meats like chicken, burgers, ribs and steak - for these you may also want a young Napa Cabernet. It's always good to have some crisp white wines around like some Sauvignon Blanc from Chile or Torrontés from Argentina - these are good wines you can usually find at good prices coming from South American producers who are trying to get their wine out into the world. Look for inexpensive Australian Chardonnay like Jacob's Creek, Yellow Tail and Alice White - these are crowd pleasers that won't hurt your wallet.
Curious about making your own iced coffee drinks? Here are a couple of simple methods you can try. Use a Press Pot to steep room-temperature water in coffee grounds for 12 hours and then pour over ice - this method is time consuming but will yield a less acidic brew. The other simple method is to get yourself a pour-over pot (an hourglass shaped glass pot that takes a paper filter on top) and measure out your water with ice included. Use enough ground coffee (2 tablespoons per 6 ounces of water) to match the amount of water you have (with the cubes in it). Then separate the ice from the water and place it in the bottom half of the pour-over brewer (Chemex and Bodum make some great ones). Heat the remaining water to boiling, let rest for a moment and pour over the coffee grounds in the filter slowly. This will create a full extraction that is instantly cooled and because you measured the water with the ice in it you won't have an overly watery iced coffee. Look for beans from Central and South America when making iced coffee - the chocolate and nutty tones will stand out.
From May 12th 2008
From May 24th 2008
In the world of wine, over the past year or so, Greek wines are becoming more popular. This has become quite evident and whether it is a fad or not is yet to be determined. These wines are not readily available everywhere but they are more widely available than every before and if your local shop doesn't carry any now, they may soon. If you try some Greek wines please hit our Forum page and let us know what you tried and what you thought of it. You will see some bottlings with grape varieties you recognize but many will be made with native Greek grapes you probably have not heard of.
Negociant (neg-o-see-ant) is a French term for (my definition) someone who takes the leftovers from wineries whether it be grapes or actual wine itself and uses it to create a wine that is usually a bargain-style wine. This is nothing new, but it is sort of new in America.
Negociant (neg-o-see-ant) is a French term for (my definition) someone who takes the leftovers from wineries whether it be grapes or actual wine itself and uses it to create a wine that is usually a bargain-style wine. This is nothing new, but it is sort of new in America.