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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