Its winter in New York, a time when I usually hibernate, but the Fifth Annual Coffee and Tea Festival lured me from the warmth of my humble abode. This is my third year attending the festival which is geared toward trade and the public, but there is definitely something for everyone here.

There are lectures throughout both days. Those geared to coffee lovers include Coffee Cupping & Tasting by Jalima Coffee; Think outside the Cup: Coffee and Tea Infused Desserts by Chef Melody McGinley Whitelaw; and Great Coffee: Brewing the Best at Home and Finding the Best in NYC by Anne Nylander-Tamp Tamp Inc.

Attending the Coffee and Tea festival can be an interesting experience regardless of your connection with coffee or tea because there are a wide variety of exhibitors. Helena Herbst of the Herbst Candle Company had an array of handmade scented candles including coffee. Theresa Kasun’s artwork was featured at the 2008 festival, an artist whose designs have been featured on products such as oven mitts, kitchen towels and the like in Bed Bath and Beyond as well as Linens & Things. The paintings of coffee and tea cups along with delicious desserts looked good enough to eat, and this year she returned with a few other artists from the Alumni Association of the New York Academy of Art including Isabelle Garbani whose work I also admired. There was jewelry, soap, a psychic reader and gadgets galore.


The Clever Coffee Dripper


The Turkish Cultural Center
offered cup and saucer sets.

Many of my old favorites were there. Like Cup for Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to bettering the lives of coffee growers in Central and Latin America through providing them with basic education needs. A few companies you may know are entering the coffee world in new ways. Baileys, makers of the famous Baileys Irish Cream liqueur, have come out with a new line of creamers, non-alcoholic of course. I had the opportunity to taste one at the Festival and it was delicious. Entenmanns, well known for their delicious baked goods that we enjoy with our coffee now have their own line of coffee. Varieties include Ultimate Cinnamon Crumb Bake Blend, Ultimate Vanilla Bean Blend and Ultimate Hazelnut Coffee Cake Blend. I can’t wait to try them all.



Jalima Coffee presented on coffee cupping and tasting, a presentation that left me well enlightened on the subject last year.


You can see more about the Coffee and Tea Festival on their website.

Disclosure: While I am able to attend the show as a member of the press with complimentary admission, the show is well worth its affordable price. Ways to save abound including a discount always available for BellaOnline readers.