Starbucks tea bar Teavana
25-10-2013
Starbucks has opened its first tea bar named Teavana in Manhattan New York. The tea bar has a simple design with a ‘zen’ atmosphere. A totally different concept than we are used to from Starbucks. The assortment consists of series of artisanal teas and the famous Starbucks sweets, sandwiches and salads. There is a ‘wall of tea’ where you can buy loose tea for home consumption and there is a wide range of tea sets. Starbucks bought the Teavana brand last year to expand to the global tea market. The chain is planning to open more tea bars in the coming years.
Biodegradable champagne packaging
24-10-2013
The French designer Cédric Ragot has designed an innovative packaging for Veuve Clicquot champagne. The packaging is completely biodegradable and made of potatoes and recycled paper. The packaging is elegant and can be carried by the integrated handle. It will keep the bottle of champagne chilled for two hours after it has been in the fridge.
Clean and safe drinking water by Coca Cola
18-10-2013
More than 1 billion people don’t have access to safe drinking water and more than 2.5 billion to adequate sanitation, making billions of people around the world vulnerable to disease. To help these people, Coca Cola started a pilot from the project EKOCENTER™ in South Africa, in collaboration with DEKA R&D and other partners. EKOCENTER™ is a small kiosk made of containers and offers clean and safe drinking water to the local population. The kiosk also offers other services like wireless communications, electricity, vaccination storage and more. The goals is to open around 1,500 to 2,000 EKOCENTERS™ in 2015 in Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America to provide clean and safe drinking water to developing countries. The EKOCENTERS or ‘Downtown in a box’ provided with the Slingshot water purification systems will be managed by local women entrepreneurs.
Fruity lemonade Gazosa La Fiorenzana
17-10-2013
Gazosa La Fiorenzana originates from the Swiss Misox valley, in the south of the Alps. Since 1921 the fruity lemonades by Fabbricca are produced from original recipes. The Swiss Stephan Keller tasted the lemonade for the first time in 2002 in a small bar in Zurich and decided to import the drink to the Netherlands. Gazosa La Fiorenzana is available in eight fruity flavors: bitter orange, lemon, alpine blueberries, raspberry, bitter lemon, tangerine, sweet orange and dark orange with alpine herbs. The lemonade is bottles in a swing-top bottle of 0.35L and is reusable and recyclable. Up to now, the fruity lemonade is exclusively available in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany.
Algae bubbles filled with syrup
17-10-2013
The German company Döhler has introduced bubbles based on algae at the Anuga fair in Cologne which can be used in dairy drinks or as a topping for ice cream. The tapioca pearls, we all know are made from starch and a bit hard, the bubbles created from algae are softer in texture and take the flavor of the syrup. These bubbles burst in the mouth causing more syrup to be released. They were developed in the flavors mango, strawberry and raspberry. Döhler Holland is currently looking for distribution partners to deliver the bubbles to the hospitality industry.
Winter Warming Cocktails
14-10-2013
Wine brand Barefoot shows that you don’t have to drink cocktails during the summer months exclusively. For the cold winter period, the wine brand has introduced two Winter Warming cocktails; the Choco-tini and Mull-licious. The base for the Choco-tini is the Barefood Merlot, a wine with notes of raspberry, blackberry and chocolate. The Mull-licious is made with Barefood Cabernet Sauvignon with notes of ripe berries and currants. The ideal cocktails for the winter.
Brugal Refreshingly Dry Bar
9-10-2013
Brugal rum from the Dominican Republic is celebrating their 125th birthday! To celebrate this they have challenged bartenders from the Netherlands to create their own Brugal Dry cocktail recipe and to create a concept for a Brugal Refreshingly Dry Bar. From all entries 10 bartenders were selected from witch the jury will taste their cocktail. Three finalists will continue and decide who makes the best cocktail and came up with a great concept on the 21st of October in hotel Droog (Amsterdam). The winner wins his or her own Refreshingly Dry Bar for a night in hotel Droog. They can invite their friends and Wyane Collins – an internationally renowned and award winning bart trainer – will join as colleague.
Badoit transforms the Rue de Rivoli in a Rue de la Gastronomie
2-10-2013
In September 2013 the French water brand Badoit did a sequel on the marketing stunt Badoit express of 2012. In cooperation with Chef Thierry Marx** the lucky drivers of the Rue de Rivoli were surprised with a first-class gastronomic performance. The travelers of the street were treated to a 4-course dinner consisting of a ceasar salas, a veal ossobucco, a pastrami pressé and a Paris-brest. Chef Thierry Marx himself walked in the middle of the street collecting views and comments of the drivers. The action promotes Badoit water as the water that best accompanies meals.
Casa Barcardi
2-10-2013
Bacardi organizes cocktail parties in a classy art-deco building along the Rue Defacqz in Brussels. These cocktail nights are from 27 September to 19 October and limited to 70 guests only, who are chosen from registrations through a special phone number. The lucky few can prepare themselves for world class bartenders like Roman Falton (Artesian, Londen), Shingo Gokan (Angel’s Share, New York) and Elizaveta “Lizzy” Evdokimova (Delicatessen, Moskou). The concept refers to the exclusive cocktail parties in ‘El Edificio Bacardi’ at the Avenida de Bélgica (Havana) during the beginning of the 20th century.
Bello Limoncello measuring card
1-10-2013
There are Bello Limoncello bottles with a measure card on the tables at café restaurant Braque and Mata Hari in Amsterdam. This makes it easier to pour a glass of Limoncello (or a few more) and you don’t have to buy a whole bottle. The idea for this service sprouted in Italy, where limoncello producer Natwerk found out that local restaurants estimate the amount of booze you’ve had from the limoncello bottle on the table. Thus they’ve made small addition to adapt the service for the Netherlands: a measuring card to ensure a fair price if you ‘Go Dutch’.
