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Aussie water product makes U.S. debut

Not enough domestic or imported bottled water brands for you? Well, on Balance one company agrees with you.

The Balance Water Co. that makes a product combining American spring water with homeopathic Australian flower essences designed to bring about peace of mind and relieve stress, has debuted in the U.S. at Hannaford Supermarkets in the Northeast and various Whole Food Market stores. It made its debut in 2005 in Australia.

"We'd like to do complete national coverage," says Martin Chalk, company co-founder and head of its U.S. operations.

The company says its water contains floral essences designed to help calm and focus body and mind in a variety of ways. The "Water for Traveling" flavor, for example, is equipped with essences designed to combat typical travel-related stresses and the "Water for the Mind" flavor is claimed to help with focus and concentration. The company also sells "Water for Women" and "Water for Children."

Of course, the use of the word "flavor" should be regarded as merely separating one formula from another since the various waters are flavorless.

"We tried very hard not to change the flavor of the water," Chalk told Beverage World magazine. "Even though we put up to eight flowers in a water we use an organic and natural process to do so. We don't use any chemicals. We use some non-invasive methods in order to sterilize the product and remove the flavor. Non-flavored water is the most popular drink in the world." he added.

The company has established bottling stations in New York State's Catskill region and California's Sierra Nevada range so it can use local water, and therefore can avoid shipping large quantities of water across the world. Only the floral essences are shipped, from Australia.

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Japanese flocking to vinegar drinks

Vinegar is used in this country for everything from a marinade base to a salad dressing ingredient to folk medicine. But as a beverage? Not really.

Web Japan, however, reports that the Japanese liking for vinegar -- or o su -- has grown well beyond the condiment stage to become a sought-after beverage.

Buoyed by reports that rice vinegar is effective in promoting weight loss, a wide range of vinegar-based drinks has made its way to market.

Fruit vinegar beverages, diluted with water, lead the parade. They're made primarily from grapes, apples and raspberries. These are like juice but are made from fermented fruits, such as apples, grapes, or raspberries and found favor with women and young people of both genders. Another popular drink is black vinegar ("kurozu"), which has an older customer demographic.

Here's a link to the full story.

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An old shape for a new tea bag

OK, we've seen square tea bags, round tea bags, flow-through tea bags ... and now we have pyramidal tea bags.

They're the newest marketing idea for Celestial Seasonings' line of Saphara teas.

Says CS's public relations folk, the "silken pyramid bags are specially designed to allow water to flow around the ingredients, giving them room to expand and revealing the depth and complexity of the flavors. The entire Saphara package is made from biodegradable materials including the pyramid bags, string, tag, overwrap and carton."

Saphara comes in six flavors:

• White tea with schizandra, a Chinese shrub that produces small, red edible berries.
• Mango ginger green tea.
• Gen mai cha, which is made with toasted brown rice.
• Premier Estate assam.
• Tropical rooibos, a South African shrub.
• Black currant hibuscus.

For more detailed descriptions of these teas, go here.

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Introducing, the self-stirring tea cup

Americans, take heart. We're deep into an age of self-loathing because of our propensity for being overweight. However, the United Kingdom has overtaken us on that score according to recent scientific studies.

That may get worse if a new gadget made by the French design firm Ana Gram catches on.

Their self-stirring teacup was unveiled at the recent London Design Festival. Its designers plan to introduce the cup, called Ceramic For Mix, to bars and restaurants in Europe as well as the U.S..

As shown in the illustration above, obtained by the London Daily Mail, a ceramic ball is placed in a slightly protruding base to keep it in place when stirring and drinking. The user gently moves the cup, like swirling wine in a glass, and the movement moves the ball around, mixing sugar, milk or whatever with the tea.

Will the ball drop out when the user is sipping rather than swirling? Nope. That's where centrifugal force and gravity come into play to keep the ball in place.

So, how lazy are we that stirring needs to be automated? Stay tuned to find out.

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Check these two tea blogs

I've been periodically looking in on a pair of tea blogs I think you might enjoy.

They are "Tea Scoop" and "The Tea Addict's Journal," and you can access them by scrolling down at the right and finding "More Refreshing Links."

Enjoy.

A little water project goes a long way

The Discovery Channel called it the best spring water in the world.

If that seems a bit hyperbolic, consider that it also was awarded the gold medal for best non-carbonated bottled water in the Berkeley Springs (WVa) International Water Tasting regarded as the Super Bowl of water competitions.

No matter the venue, it's pretty heady stuff for Tumai Water, a product that has been on the market only four months.

"The Discovery Channel honor might be overdoing it, but we'll gladly take the praise," said Bob Downey, a co-founder and president of Spero Group of Martinsburg, WVa, which bottles Tumai in nearby Alton, VA, source of the spring that is flowing gold for Spero.

Spero, Swahili for "to hope for," is an apt name for the company and both its commercial and philanthropic ventures. The company literature says it "was founded with the commitment of providing safe water, shelter, essential nutrition, and proper healthcare to those in need around the world."

While living in upstate New York, Downey teamed up with James Maddalone of Albany and Dan Magid of Schenectady to come up with a business model. Even though Downey left the area to return to West Virginia a year ago, the trio continued their collaboration. Downey runs the day-to-day operation for bottling and sales.

Spero's mission statement says portions of the profits from its water sales "will be alloted to non-profit organizations that share like-minded goals. This is done with the purpose of supplying those specific organizations with needed finances to enhance and expand their own mission and goals.

"Initially, at least 15% of profits will be channeled directly to these non-profits with additional donations made as Spero Group is able based upon net profits."

The company already has a strong presence in Africa, targeting improvements in communities living in abject poverty and people suffering from HIV/AIDS, the biggest health scourge on the continent. It is working with other charitable organizations, including Tumai: Bridge of Hope, the South African-based organization for whom the bottled water is named, Engineers Without Borders and Hands at Work.

Downey, who attended the Calvary Tabernacle Church in Schenectady with his wife, Michele, said he became aware of some of the needs of African communities through a sister church in Johannesburg, South Africa.

"There is so much to be done to help less fortunate people in other countries that we felt this was a way we could create a steady flow of assistance and work with organizations who had looked into situations and knew who was legitimate," Downey said.

Downey said Tumai Water was being sold in only five local outlets before the recent honors. That number now has jumped to 35.

"We're getting inquiries from all across the country, and even from the U.K.," he said. "We're about to finish discussions with a major distributor that will mean we have major availability in a three-state area" -- Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, which come together in the Martinsburg area.

Current recipients of aid from Spero include the Mpumalanga Christian Network orphanage in South African and Mozambique, and villages in South Africa and Kenya. Among the activities are resconstructing cyclone-damaged structures, providing educational supplies, medical equipment, sanitation facilities and drinking water wells.

The United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) last week reported that as many as a million Central Africans "do not have access to clean water and, therefore, are highly vulnerable to threat of deadly waterborne diseases because of the conflict threatening their country."

Only three of 10 projects designed by U.N. agencies or by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to improve access to clean water and sanitation across the northern Central African Region this year have received any funding. The situation is particularly acute because the dry season normally ends in April, and so does the window of opportunity for projects to be implemented.

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The world needed a bottle opener/USB stick

Interested in combining beer or soda and a flash drive? Who isn't?

The Trekstor USB Bottle Opener offers precisely that with a new gadget you can out on the chain with your house and car keys -- an 8GB flash drive unit plus a bottle opener feature.

Trekstor is a German design firm specializing in electronic storage and audio devices. It already has won several awards for developing the USB stick.

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New brewed chocolate a mystical potion

PHOTOS BY WILLIAM M. DOWD
(Double-click to enlarge images)

Mara Krausz of Cabaret Foods doesn't view her Cabaret Brewed Chocolate as just any hot chocolate drink. She views it through more of a mystical prism.

A taste test of the product certainly verifies that it is far removed from the usual Swiss Miss, Hershey's or other such mass-produced hot chocolate drinks. I found it reminiscent of the beverages of childhood, longer ago than I care to admit and well before the U.S. market went on a sickening-sweet drinks kick delivered through sucrose-laden powders.

The company's whole bean brewing method, the result of two years of research, is credited with the new product.

"Brewed chocolate is nothing like conventional hot chocolate, primarily because it contains almost no fat," Krausz said. "It's a clean, delicate water-based hot beverage based on the recipes of the ancient Mexicans -- the first people to recognize the psychic pleasures of brewed chocolate -- but modified to appeal to modern tastes and demands for convenience."

Historians generally believe cocoa, from which chocolate is created, originated in the Amazon region of South American 4,000 years ago. It became a favorite of the Mayan culture in the 6th century A.D. Their word "xocoatl" -- bitter water -- became the word "chocolate."

The Mayan culture eventually covered Central America and parts of northern South America. In the Yucatán peninsula of what now is Mexico, the Mayans cultivated the earliest know cocoa plantations. The Aztec civilization also used cocoa for a thick, cold unsweetened health drink known as "xocoatl." Because sugar was unknown to the Aztecs, they flavored the drink with spices and cornmeal. In 1502, Christopher Columbus landed in what now is Nicaragua and found cocoa being used as currency as well as a drink.

Convenience is a byword for today's Cabaret style drink. The product is made from whole cacao beans, water and organic evaporated cane juice. Stir a teaspoon of the concentrated product into a half-cup of hot water and you have the drink. Even though each teaspoon is made with nearly a full ounce of whole cocoa beans, it is surprisingly light.

The Oakland, CA, company recently ran a Web-based call to test its beverage. A number of the respondents reported an energy lift "without any jittery quality," Krausz says.

I waited the recommended 30 minutes to see if I felt any energizing rush. I didn't. However, my companion taste tester and I did spend a relaxing quarter-hour discussing the drink. We agreed it had a vaguely coffee look to it, was far from the usual cocoa-y hot chocolate drinks, and was a pleasing change of pace.

Krausz said Cabaret Foods is trying to get a handle on "whether this product makes sense as a non-alcoholic alternative for bars and/or wine stores."

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Everyone in Waco is a Pepper this weekend

Waco, TX, is the gathering point for fans and collectors of all things Dr Pepper this weekend.

The nation's oldest major soft drink company, founded in 1885 when the soft drink was invented at a Waco drugstore, is being celebrated at the Waco Convention Center during the 24th annual convention.

According to the Dr Pepper Museum, the drink was first offered to the public at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store. Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist working at Morrison's, is believed to be the inventor of the now-famous drink.

"Alderton spent most of his time mixing up medicine for the people of Waco," the museum says, "but in his spare time he liked to serve carbonated drinks at the soda fountain. He liked the way the drug store smelled, with all of the fruit syrup flavor smells mixing together in the air. He decided to to create a drink that tasted like that smell. He kept a journal, and after numerous experiments he finally hit upon a mixture of fruit syrups that he liked.

"To test his new drink, he first offered it to store owner Morrison, who also found it to his liking. After repeated sample testing by the two, Alderton was ready to offer his new drink to some of the fountain customers. They liked it as well. Other patrons at Morrison's soda fountain soon learned of Alderton's new drink and began ordering it by asking him to shoot them a 'Waco.'

"Morrison is credited with naming the drink Dr. Pepper (the period in Dr. was dropped in the 1950s). Unfortunately, the origin for the name is unclear.

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Bite me

We've all heard the expression "putting a bug in your ear" when someone is trying to implant an idea. But the folks at Stella Espresso Coffee has gone to a different orifice to tell coffee drinkers in Italy just how strong their coffee is.

Curious to see the big picture? Or, pictures?

Just click here.

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Pick your fruit waters, with or without calories

You can have it in no-calorie or 50-calorie versions. Whichever you choose, the Cott Corp. is counting on you liking its new Emerge vitamin water instead of just plain zero-calorie flavorless water.

Emerge contains water purified by reverse-osmosis then infused with such additives as B vitamins, vitamin C, zinc and antioxidants, the company says.

Emerge is available in five natural flavor varieties with such names as Strength (dragonfruit), Clarity (tropical passion fruit), Immunity (mandarin orange), Protect (blueberry, acai and pomegranate) and Relax (green tea with berry). They come in single-serving 20-ounce bottles.

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Snapple adds yet more drinks to its line

Keeping up with the variety of soft drinks these days requires a calculator and a very large supply of batteries.

Among the latest from Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages, for example, is a line of “good for you” juice drinks.

Snapple Super Premium Juice Drinks now offers flavor combinations from “superfruits” and contain all-natural ingredients with added vitamins. The line includes four flavors: Goji Punch, Peach Mangosteen and low-calorie Noni Berry and Kiwi Pear.

They are packaged in tall, slim 17.5-ounce bottles, retailing at a suggested price of $1.39 per bottle.

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Vimto marks its centennial year

It certainly doesn't have the name recognition of Coke, Pepsi or 7Up, but Vimto is a favorite soft drink among English consumers. Favorite enough that it is celebrating its centenary year with a limited edition bottle (seen here).

The limited-edition bottle will be debuted to the United Kingdom beverage trade industry at the Food & Drink Expo scheduled for April 6-9 in Birmingham. The 6,000-bottle project was designed to emulate Vimto's original crock bottle. Purchasing details are available online or on Vimto's own Web site.

This drink, born in Manchester, England,has survived the economic shambles of two world wars and the globalization of the beverage industry. While the container has changed over the years, the drink still is made from the original secret recipe. At first, it was sold as a health tonic called Vim Tonic, which soon contracted to Vimto.

By 1920, the drink became carbonated and began being marketed throughout England and several British colonies. Today, the brand is sold in 65 countries, and its most recent sales figures show a 6.7% growth year-over-year.

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Medals go global in prestigious WV water test

Entries from three different countries took gold medals in the prestigious 18th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting in the West Virginia town.

The event was part of the annual Winter Festival of the Waters.

A total of 188 water entries from around the world were tasted by 10 judges on Saturday. They were trained by water master Arthur von Wiesenberger, an international water expert from Santa Barbara, CA.

What are water judges supposed to look for? Said Von Wiesenberger, entries should have a nice sweetness, be fresh and thirst quenching, and have a balanced feel with the correct minerals.

The medalists:

Municipal Water:

• Gold: Tie between Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Clearbrook Waterworks District, British Columbia, Canada
• Silver: Tie between Desert Hot Springs, CA; Village of Montrose, British Columbia, Canada
• Bronze: Rutland, VT

Non-Carbonated Bottled Water

• Gold: Tumai Water, Martinsburg, WV
• Silver: Eldorado Natural Spring Water, Eldorado Springs, CO
• Bronze: Prairie Spring Water, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada

Purified Drinking Water

• Gold: Great Blue, Federalsburg, MD
• Silver: Clear Creek Water Co., Farmington, NM
• Bronze: Tie between Blue Moon Water, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada; Saskatchewan Clear, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Carbonated Bottled Water

• Gold: Salvus Mineralwasser Medium, Emsdetten, Germany.
• Silver: Zema Voda, Tesanj, Bosnia.
• Bronze: Waiwera Artesian Water, Waiwera Infinity Thermal Spa Resort, Auckland, New Zealand

People's Choice for Package Design

• Gold: Mist Premium Spring Water of Vanleer, TN, based in Atlanta, GA
• Silver: Aquadeco, Gold Mountain, Ontario, Canada, based in New York
• Bronze: Tumai Water, Martinsburg, WV

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An intimate tea for 32,000 friends

What its organizers are claiming is the world's largest tea party ever took place in the Indian city of Indore over the weekend when 32,681 people attended the event.

"From an industrialist to the man on the street, a cup of tea is a major bonding factor in India," said Sanjay Mani, general manager of the Dainik Bhaskar newspaper, which helped arrange the event.

A representative of the Guinness Book of World Records, which judges such claims, was in attendance. Nearly 1,000 volunteers served the tea at Nehru Stadium.

The largest prior such event was held in Nishio, Japan, in 2006 when 14,718 people participated.

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A wake-up call for coffee

From Brandweek magazine:

Are consumers giving up on coffee? The evidence is all around us: Procter & Gamble last month announced it was spinning off its Folgers brand because the brand's sluggish sales were depressing (rather than stimulating) growth.

Super-investor Nelson Peltz has been pressuring Kraft to do the same with its Maxwell House brand for the same reason. Meanwhile, the coffee industry's big dog, Starbucks, has been doing what many once thought impossible—closing stores.

Just about the only brand that seems to be benefitting from the shakeout is McDonald's, whose success with its coffee (and its heralded better-than-Starbucks ranking in Consumer Reports) seems overstated. After all, McD's franchisees aren't required to install coffee bars, so it seems unlikely that the Golden Arches will set off a caffeine junkie's radar the way that mermaid does.

So, are people abandoning coffee? Maybe. ...

... There's not all that much mystery as to why growth at Maxwell House and Folgers has slowed: Its user base is either dying off or, on doctor's orders, is cutting back.

(Get the whole story here.)

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Quenching an ecofriendly thirst

From New York magazine:

Almost a year after Alice Waters, Chez Panisse founder and national ecogastronomic conscience, banished bottled water from her menu, New York restaurants have started to follow her lead, installing filtration systems and carbonating on the premises.

But as it turns out, just because it’s “tap” (or from New Jersey) doesn’t mean it’s free. Introducing the “sustainability surcharge.”

See the whole story here.

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Letters: Becoming a water sommelier

Mr. Dowd:

Nice to meet you. I'm Emiko Nagai, a university student in Japan.

I read your story about water sommelier (Aquaman at the Ritz-Carlton) written on August 08, 2002. I do want to know how to in be qualified as water sommelier. If you have any information, please let me know.

-- Emiko, Tokyo, Japan

Dear Emiko:

Because it is such a new field of endeavor, there is no official organization that qualifies water sommeliers.

I suggest that in addition to making your own intense study of the many types of waters and what foods they would pair well with, you make an arrangement with a chain of restaurants or hotels to support your efforts and agree to grant you the title of their water sommelier once you prove your knowledge and ability to work with customers in making selections.

Best wishes in your venture.

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Letters: Drinks list for a new restaurant

Bill:

I am opening a "global" themed restaurant North of Boston in two months and am attempting a beverage/whiskey list that represents accordingly, and strays from the norm of same ol' menu selections.

Any direction you could provide would be appreciated. Thank you.

-- Scott Plath, Lowell, MA

Dear Scott:

I'd suggest keeping really "up" on what is going on in emerging markets such as the tequilas of Mexico, the sochus of Korea, the caçhascas of Brazil and neighboring lands.

Each can do wonders for cocktail recipes when used with always-fresh ingredients (fruits, herbs, the occasional veggie like cucumber) and creating such a list not only would pair nicely with global cuisine, but would be a great selling point in getting noticed.

In addition, for the non-cocktail portion of your drinks list, I'd strongly suggest getting into a wide range of teas. They're becoming extremely popular all over the U.S. and wildly popular in many European and Asian markets.

Good luck with your project.

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Cutting salt may cut soft drink consumption

The hunt for cures to the childhood obesity problem plaguing many nations goes on. The latest report comes in the Journal of Hypertension, published by the American Heart Association.

Lead author Dr. Feng J. He of St. George's University in London says reducing children's salt intake may lower soft drink consumption and lower the risk of obesity, He said studies have shown that dietary salt intake increases fluid consumption in adults but this study was the first to examine whether the same was true in children.

The researchers analyzed data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey in Great Britain, conducted in 1997 in a nationally representative sample of more than 2,000 children ages 4-18.

"If children ages 4 to 18 years cut their salt intake by half -- i.e., an average reduction of 3 grams a day -- there would be a decrease of approximately two sugar-sweetened soft drinks per week per child," the study said.

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Welch's ad campaign takes a licking

Scratch-and-sniff lives!

Welch's, the grape drink giant, has initiated a new marketing program that includes a lickable ad for its grape juice. The first such appears in the current issue of People magazine in the form of a full page ad that lets the customers peel to taste.

What about if someone gets to the ad before you do?

Says Full Flavor, the company that created the campaign, if someone doesn’t rip off the whole sticker the flap can’t reseal, which gives you an easy way to know whether the ad already has been licked.

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'Diabetes friendly' drink spreading out

Sweet Success Enterprises, maker of the diabetes-friendly beverage GlucaSafe, plans to begin shipping newly-produced product to fulfill purchase orders to the Los Angeles, Portland, Dallas, Bloomington, IL, and Albany, NY markets.

Says William Gallagher, Sweet Success CEO:

"With the completion of our clinical trial by the end of the year, we are going to be well-armed to begin a stepped-up local area marketing campaign beginning in the Chicago area including most of the major markets in the North where our product is being sold."

The drink is targeted at supporting healthy glucose levels in consumers with diabetes. However, product statements have not been evaluated by the federal Food and Drug Administration and the products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.

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'World In a Teacup' at UC Berkeley

The growing popularity of a wide variety of teas makes the Hearst Museum's "World in a Teacup: Tracing the Global Journey of Tea" symposium and tasting especially appealing.

The event is scheduled for March 1 at the Bancroft Hotel in Berkeley, CA. A companion vendor event and exhibit talk will be across the street at UC Berkeley's Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. A map of the event is available online.

"Experts will explore tea from its ancient origins in Asia to its spread to Britain, India and the rest of the world," say the event organizers, "as well as tea's contemporary production, preparation, retailing and role in popular culture.

"Seven vendors will offer samples of their wares after the symposium, and a curator will talk about the museum's tea exhibit that features sample bricks of tea, tea sets and information about tea's cross-cultural evolution and its ceremonies."

The program is part of an ongoing series of public events at the museum that examine the culture of food. Tickets ($18-20) include admission to the symposium and the vendor event.

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Barista Championship set for Minneapolis

The title of the nation's top barista will be decided at the four-day U.S. Barista Championship scheduled for May 2-5 in Minneapolis.

The event is sponsored by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), the world's largest coffee trade association, and Krups, the title sponsor of the event and a leading manufacturer of premium home espresso and coffee machines.

During the competition, the nation’s best baristas come up with their own coffee concoctions. Challengers prepare and serve 12 orders -- four espressos, four cappuccinos and four original signature drinks of their own creation -- in a 15-minute timeframe. As they ready their coffee beverages, contestants engage the audience, explaining their actions and selections, while expertly working the competition’s official espresso machine, a three-group La Marzocco.

Last year, Heather Perry of the Coffee Klatch in San Dimas, CA, took the top spot and went on to represent the U.S. in the World Barista Championship in which she took second place. The world event is scheduled for Copenhagen, Denmark June 19-22.

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Pepsi Raw makes its UK debut

It took less than a year after Pepsi-Cola registered the name "Pepsi Raw" to put out a soft drink product by that name in the United Kingdom.

Britvic, the British soft drinks giant, has launched the new Pepsi, made from natural ingredients exclusively for upmarket pubs and style bars. It contains cane sugar, caramel and apple extracts, and is free of artificial colors, preservatives, flavorings and sweeteners, and has a lower level of carbonation than standard colas.

There is no wword when Pepsi Raw will be available outside the U.K.

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Drink calorie listing nears in NYC

Food calories have been getting most of the coverage in news about New York City's new regulation requiring chain restaurants to display calorie information. However, the rule includes cocktails, sodas and other beverages that appear on menus as well.

The law is scheduled to go into effect March 31, in place of a different version that was struck down last year by a judge.

However, the New York State Restaurant Association has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the latest regulation which would require restaurants with more than 15 outlets across the country to be in compliance.

Giving consumers information about the calories in what they're drinking can help them make better choices, Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told Business Week.

"We've gotten to the point in our food culture where people expect to have a sweetened beverage with their meal," she said. "People end up drinking a lot more calories than they think."

An 8-ounce margarita on the rocks has 290 calories. That size is the equivalent of a cup, but in many restaurants, drinks come in much larger sizes.

"It's really a shock to see a drink is 500, 600 calories," Nonas said. "That's almost a third of what you should eat for the day."

New York City, which banned trans-fat-laden cooking oils from all restaurants last year, is the first U.S. city to enact a regulation requiring calories on menus.

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Nothing new for NYC's top tea shop

The Ito En Tea Shop has been named New York's "best tea emporium" for the fourth consecutive year in the Zagat's 2008 New York City Gourmet Shopping & Entertainment Guide (formerly the New York City Marketplace Guide).

The shop, located at 822 Madison Avenue, is owned by Ito En (North America) Inc. The company's KAI restaurant, which serves traditional Japanese kaiseki cuisine, is located above it.

The Zagat's review:

"Ranking as the best tea emporium in NYC, this Upper East Side sanctuary has no peers in its superb selection of authentic Japanese, Chinese and Indian leaves both traditional and exotic, packaged and treated as works of art in a so-civilized boutique space that's also stocked with one-of-a-kind accoutrements; run by one of Japan's premier producers and staffed by sophisticated sorts who can make neophytes experts, it's very expensive but worth it to steep in tea as spirituality."

Ito En (North America) Inc. was founded in May 2001 to introduce its line of green tea products and establish a culture and interest in authentic green tea in the U.S. and beyond.

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NYC water without the NYC hub-bub

If you can't get to New York City, you can bring a taste of it to you. Sort of.

A company called New York Spring Water Inc. has begun bottling water from sources in the Catskills that also supply the Big Apple's municipal water system. The product is called New York Springs Natural Spring Water.

The company's 12,000-square-foot bottling facility draws water from a natural spring adjacent to the 300,000-acre Catskill Preserve, puts it through three separate filtration systems and it then is "ozonated" before being exposed to an ultraviolet light to destroy any possible bacteria.

In addition to coming in recyclable plastic bottles in 8-ounce, 16.9-ounce, 1-liter and 1.5-liter sizes, it also is available in a 6-gram plastic cup offering 8 ounces of New York Spring Water. Called "Cup-A-Water" it uses less plastic than conventional bottles, the company says.

The suggested retail prices are $14.16 for a case of 24 8-ounce bottles and $18.96 for a case of 12 1.5-liter bottles.

Richard Zakka, president and CEO of New York Spring Water Inc., said in a statement:

"There is no need to bottle and ship water to the United States from all over the world when the best tasting water is right here. New York City water is renowned as some of the best tasting water in the world, but that's not due to the municipal water system or New York City plumbing.

"It's due to the source of that water. We have gone directly to that source to produce a water that is superior in flavor and purity to not only New York City water, but to truly any bottled water sourced from throughout the world."

The company also markets a series of fortified waters called IntelligentWater.

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Cheers awards go to top chains

Fourteen awards were handed out as part of the 2008 Cheers Awards for Beverage Excellence, sponsored by the industry magazine Cheers, at its recent annual beverage conference in Miami.

Twelve program awards and two individual awards were presented by editor Donna Hood Crecca. They were:

Best Chain Beverage Menu: Outback Steakhouse
Best Chain Beverage Merchandising: Hard Rock Café
Best Chain Drink Program: Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Best Chain Signature Drink: Walt Disney World Resort
Best Chain Adult Non-Alcohol Drink Program: ESPN Zone
Best Chain Spirits Program: Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern
Best Chain Beer Program: Buffalo Wild Wings
Best Chain Wine Program: Carrabba’s Italian Grill
Best Chain Hotel Beverage Program: Hilton Hotels
Best Chain Multi-Concept Beverage Program: Back Bay Restaurant Group
Best Chain Overall Program: Walt Disney World Resort
Best Chain Responsible Alcohol Service Training Program: Applebee’s International
Raising the Bar: Patrick Henry, Patrick Henry Creative Promotions
Industry Innovator of the Year: Ann Rogers Tuennerman, Tales of the Cocktail

They were selected from a field of 110 entries from 47 restaurant chains. The competition was open to all chain restaurants, defined as an operation with five or more locations in two or more markets. The chain must be in existence for at least three years. Awards criteria include the program’s creativity, originality and impact on the sales and profitability of a full-service restaurant operation. Other factors considered are the level of marketing support, staff training and overall operator commitment to the initiative that lead to its success.

The entries were evaluated by a judging panel that included previous Cheers Awards for Beverage Excellence winners and other leading operators.

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Top 10 worst drinks; one view

The Web site "Nutrition by Natalie" deals with all sorts of foods and drinks.

Its author, identified simply as Natalie, says she is "a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University" and "is an experienced nutritionist with a holistic view of nutrition and health."

She's not a polished videographer or speaker, but she usually has some interesting points to ponder. Such as this offering.

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The power of Purple is spreading

When a new product hits the Big Apple market, it usually takes off. So, buckle your seatbelts for Purple.

The Purple Beverage Co. has signed an agreement with Big Geyse, Inc. for the distribution of its beverage, Purple, throughout New York City’s five boroughs, Westchester County, and Long Island’s Suffolk and Nassau counties. Big Geyser is one of the largest independent, non-alcoholic beverage distributors in New York state and is the largest such distributor in New York City.

Purple, which came on the market last year, is a fusion of seven antioxidant-rich juices from the acai berry, black cherry, pomegranate, black currant, purple plum, cranberry and blueberry.

Big Geyser already distributes Glacéau’s Vitaminwater and Smart Water, Muscle Milk, Perrier, Mistic Beverages, Crystal Light, Poland Springs and Tazo Tea, among others.

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Super Bowl water ad a winner, of sorts

I don't know that the Sobe Life Water commercial shown during the Super Bowl last Sunday would induce me to buy the product, but I'll readily give the company credit for paying for an entertaining spot.

Take a look and see if you agree.



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Your tax dollars in action

Have you ever wondered how you could drink tea with chopsticks, in zero gravity?

Of course, you have. And here, courtesy of the taxpayer-funded National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), is a lesson just for you.

In it, Science Officer Don Pettit of Expedition Six demonstrates how the International Space Station crew prepares and consumes this treat.



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Dunkin' Donuts spreading out in China

If you're bound for Asia but concerned that you simply can't get your day going without your Dunkin' Donuts fix, relax.

The first DD, seen here, opened 12 months ago on Taiwan and 10 more shops were added in the ensuing 12 months. They're doing so well the company has decided to open 10 more on the island nation and 100 on mainland China.

In fact, the gang of 100 will be clustered in the sprawling city of Shanghai, population 20 million, and take 10 years or less to complete.

Franchise partner Mercuries & Associates of Taiwan has been given the franchise rights to Shanghai as well as two the mainland provinces of Jiangsu and Zhijiang, which abut Shanghai.

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WVa bans soft drinks in schools

The West Virginia Board of Education has voted 8-1 to ban the sale of caffeinated beverages in the public schools, part of a new nutrition policy.

The policy also sets limits on other items that are high in sugars, fat and sodium. The nutrition policy is similar to a bill recommended several days earlier by a legislative interim committee.

An