New coffee- and tea-based products are brewing over and you're going to want to taste them!
New coffee- and tea-based products are brewing over and you're going to want to taste them!
Natural Product Expo West—the largest natural products tradeshow in the world and which happens to be put on by Delicious Living’s parent company, New Hope Network—is a great place for trend spotting. Food makers in this industry are driven by their passion to make the world a healthier, better, more sustainable place to live and eat, so it’s no wonder we’re often blown away by their innovation and mission-driven philosophies.
One trend that perked me up at this year’s Expo West was all of the new coffee and tea products I spotted on the show floor. Young companies are disrupting the coffee and tea categories, bringing new opportunities to growers, farmers, retailers and shoppers. At the show, I spotted everything from coffee soda, coffee leaf tea, coconut coffee and pour-over coffees to Kenyan purple tea, caffeine-free kids’ tea, bamboo leaf tea and compostable pods.
Here are a few new beverages you’ll want to brew soon:
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Here's something you probably haven't tried: Coffee soda. Rebel Racer was developed by a Michelin-awarded chef in Chicago who discovered he could use fruit juices such as Granny Smith apple concentrate and pineapple juice to cut through the bitterness of the flavor, creating a caffeinated effervescent beverage that tingles the taste buds. |
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The colorful packaging of these coffee bags caught my eye, but it's the mission at Level Ground Trading coffee company that touched my heart. This company trades fairly and directly with small-scale farmers in developing countries to import coffee, tea, cane sugar, dried fruit, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, heirloom rice and spices. I applaud their transparency in supply chain and fair pricing, as well as their commitment to farmers. "We shake the hands that farm the land," is their respectable motto. |
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You have been living under a bag of beans if you haven't heard of the cold-brew coffee trend (either that, or you just don't like coffee). The technique requires a lot of time and space to achieve the less acidic, frothy beverage that aficionados adore. Fogdog utilizes a hydrodynamic process that, they say, allows for complete extraction of the top qualities in coffee beans. A simple combination of dark roast coffee beans and ice cold water, this product is dense, natural sweet and creamy, plus it is never heat flash pasteurized like other cold-brew products are. |
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Owl's Brew has been creating tea-based cocktail mixers, perfect for the at-home entertainer, for a few years now. But just recently they introduced the first-ever canned Beer Tea, a line of premium beers blended with fresh-brewed organic teas infused with real fruits and botanicals. It could be your refreshing shandy this summer. That's when the company will launch two distinct flavors: Wicked Watermelon (wheat beer with white tea, watermelon and pomegranate); and The Blondie (wheat beer with black tea and lemon). Rumor has it Owl's Brew will also have a fall release: Jam Shandy (amber ale with black tea, hibiscus and strawberry). |
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Tired of seeing kids drinking sugar-full juice boxes and soda? Bossi sure was. The company also recognized that the ultra benefits of tea should be available to the youngest of us, as well. Their tea boxes feature organic Rooibos tea harvested from South Africa and lightly sweetened with organic cane sugar. The boxes do not contain any caffeine, artificial flavors or juice. It's available in three kid-friendly flavors: mango, strawberry and watermelon. |
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There is seemingly no limit to the innovation happening at The Maple Guild in Island Pond, Vermont. Recognizing the need to create more products from harvested maple sap beyond the standard maple syrup (both to extend the production season and to create jobs in their community), this company has launched such winners as maple cream, maple vinegar and maple water. Their newest launch is maple-sweetened black and green teas in nine tantalizing flavors. |
