Upper Midwest Gourmet

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring!

Please check out our newest Brewsletter – Volume  37 – Spring 2009

Also, please go to the Brewsletters Page on our website to download and read previous Brewsletters. They contain lots of useful information!

Enjoy the new format and thanks from all of us!

As UMG finished our last show of the season in Milwaukee, it was in no means the end of the work to be done. There are many months of follow up to be completed. We look forward to contacting those of you who requested us to do so.

We wish to take a moment to offer our thanks and appreciation to those of you who took the time to stop by and say hello at the Wisconsin Restaurant Expo a couple of weeks ago in the lovely city of Milwaukee. As usual, this show was a great success for UMG. We especially appreciate the opportunity to meet with many of you face to face each year, and to meet some of you for the first time. It’s funny though how our mind can create an image of what you think someone is supposed to look like prior to ever meeting them face to face. Sometimes you are right on, and some times you are way off course! (I am usually the off guy). Either way, it makes a relationship that much more rewarding once you can actually place a face with a voice.

If you missed the show this year, here are some of the highlighted products that we were offering samples of; Zola Acai in Ready-to-drink, blender and concentrate formulas, Pro Bar meal supplement bars, Wally Biscotti (Mr. Wally himself graced us with his presence at the show this year), Dirty all-natural potato chips, Boosta shot pure all-natural energy, Cappuccine blender/frappe mixes, Rancilio Leve manual Lever espresso machines (this truly was the hit as we sold 2 of them off the show floor) and of course, our very own Flamenco Organic coffees. Jesse our Roast Master has been busy since last year and was offering some of our award winning coffees for sampling.

Without gloating, I believe that we were the hit of the show this year with our product offerings. We were just informed that we are to be on the front cover of next years Expo Info packet handout.

Take a look at this cover by clicking the following link;

http://www.wirestaurant.org/expo/exhibit/index.htm

You can also take a look at some of the photos we took ourselves at the show.

Again if you took the time to stop by, we say thank you a thousand times over. If you missed us this year, we say shame on you (OK, that might be a little harsh!), no, we do encourage you to try to make next years show if you are within 4-6 hours of Milwaukee. This show is definitely worth your time.

For all of our customers, we say thank you very much for your continued patronage and support. We would be nothing with out all of you! We strive to ensure the success of every customer that we have a relationship with. It is our goal to be able to always offer you the products and tools needed to meet that success. Please feel free to contact any one at UMG with any comments or concerns, we are ready to listen.

Your Bean Head staff thanks you

It’s show season again!  Look for Upper Midwest Gourmet at the shows this weekend, next month and all year:

Chicago, IL - Coffeefest 2009: Friday, Sat, Sun: Feb. 20th – 22nd:Look for Kevin and David, we’ll be mixing up all those yummy Frappes in Cappuccine’s booth

Minneapolis, MN - UP Show 2009: Monday, Tuesday: Feb. 23rd & 24th: Look for Kevin in the Vita Mix booth for some delicious smoothies.

Moorhead, MN (Concordia College) NACUFS Conference: Monday,Tuesday: Feb. 23rd & 24th: Michael and Jesse will be giving a presentation on the benefits of using Fair Trade, Organic Specialty Coffee. They will also be focusing on ’Going Green’ and how it can improve your profits and strengthen sales, all while leaving a better mark on the world.

Milwaukee, WI Restaurant Show & Expo 2009: Mon, Tue, Wed: March 9th-11th:  Jesse, Kevin and David will be demonstrating all the new products for 2009.

Minneapolis, MN - UMGWHQ 2009 (Upper Midwest Gourmet World Headquarters): February – December 2009: The show that never ends!  Come to our showroom and try out any product anytime. Our showroom is fully functional so you can brew coffee, extract espresso and froth milk, make gelato and sorbetto, prepare pastry or even bake bread! You can also see the latest equipment in action, watch training videos, see what’s new and exciting before anyone else or just come to play some foosball (beware, Michael can really run a table).  We’d love to have you here.  If your going to the UP show, stop by before or after the show?  David,  Sarah, Eric, Alan, Brandon and Charles will all be around to help you.

We hope to see you all soon!

Cheers,

David – Chief Beanhead

Happy 2009!

FREE S/H on 1st order made by new customer! No Minimums! Must be 1st order ever made with UMG.

UMG would like to extend a special New Year’s offer of FREE SpeeDee shipping/handling on the FIRST order made by any NEW customer in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Illinois.

Offer only good on 1st orders made between January 1st-31st, 2009.

 Please Contact Us to set-up a new account and make your first order with FREE shipping and handling today!

How about Holiday Coffee Bags (1lb) with your own personalized photos or pictures?

You choose the image, message, and type of coffee!

We make the label, roast the coffee, and ship it to you to be given as a great and thoughtful gift!

It’s that easy!

This is a great way to share the amazing Flamenco & Quarry coffees with your family and friends…

Simply email label@uppermidwestgourmet.net your family or holiday photo, with message and coffee/roast you would like to give and we can design and create a beautiful personalized label for you!

We do request that you order at least 1o / (1lb) bags per order.

Please Contact Us with any questions.

Happy Holidays from all of us at UMG!

Upper Midwest Gourmet & Flamenco Organic Coffee Company are extremely proud to be involved with the ECO and SOCIAL actions being taken by the University of Saint Thomas and Concordia College of Moorhead, MN.

Both schools are strong supporters of Flamenco Organic’s mission of only serving Fair Trade and Organic coffee. Coffee has historically been one of the world’s most exploitative industries. Fair Trade helps to insure the quality of life for workers and helps to prevent cost-cutting practices that hurt the quality of coffee. Coffee, which is the world’s second largest traded food commodity, is also one of the most unregulated and chemically treated. That is why Organic and Fair Trade coffee is SO important to all of us.

UMG, Flamenco, UST, and Concordia also strive for sustainability. That means that we are all working to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. We do this by only selling and using Eco-conscious supplies, like cups, napkins, etc.

Some examples of our sustainability are:

UMG has solar panels on our facility which help to power the roasting equipment of the Flamenco Organic Coffee Co. UST has switched to corn-oil based cold cups and 100% recyclable napkins on campus. Concordia, Moorhead has focused on five themes: food, water, waste, energy, and transportation and are working as a WHOLE campus to make serious “green” change.

Please check out this great article below about Concordia’s sustainability 

Please check out these pictures below from the new Concordia dining facilities

Please check out these pictures below from the UST Appreciation Day 2008

Thank you and please Contact Us if you would like to learn more or would like to get your Business, College, University, or Cafe on board with the Eco and Social movement!

7-Eleven, the national “quick-stop” chain, has implemented an interesting political tool to their service. According to a recent New York Times article, those who enjoy 7-Eleven coffee will be asked to choose a cup to correspond to their favored presidential candidate: Obama or McCain.

7-election.com says it all. The website shows an up-to-date tally of those states lucky enough to have a 7-Eleven residing within it.

Compromised coffee? To our standards, yeah. Far-fetched marketing campaign? Not quite; 7-election.com boasts that during the 2004 election, they predicted the national results to the exact percentage. Just something to keep you occupied…

Zoomski’s Coffee Shop located in Little Falls, MN does the independant cafe industry proud!

The staff and owner of Zoomski’s take immense pride in their coffee and espresso drinks. This is most evident by their attention to only serving Fair Trade Organic coffee and espresso, but by also being Golden Cup Certified!

Not only do they make great beverages, but their food is prepared with the same attention to detail and top-notch quality. They are a drive-through, but also have seating for enjoying food and drink inside the cafe.

They do a very nice job with their lunch catering and also host a small Farmer’s Market every Wednesday and Saturday on their property.

Here are some pictures from the cafe, of some of their amazing delicacies, and their Farmer’s Market.

Please click on picture to enlarge.

Please visit Zoomski’s next time you are in Little Falls, Minnesota.

Zoomski’s Coffee Shop
500 E Broadway
Little Falls, MN 56345

Owner/Manager: Gloria Kaliszewski - (320)632-4355

Please Contact Us for more information about Zoomski’s or about the awesome products they serve!

Next time you are in Northern Minnesota take some time to enjoy a beautiful cafe in Park Rapids called “Bella Caffe.”

Thom and Cathy Peterson are the owners and they did a great job of creating the perfectly authentic Italian motif for their cafe. They serve espresso and coffee, fruit smoothies, wine, beer, cheeses, antipasto, paninis, treats, and much more.

I truly enjoyed my experience at their cafe and am positive you will as well.

Bella Caffe – 116 3rd Street West, Park Rapids, MN 56470 / (218)732-7625

Please Contact Us for more information.

Thanks.

A big congratuation to Grandpa’s Ice Cream for being listed as one of the “Twin Cities” Top 10 favorite desserts with their Black Licorice Ice Cream.

Click here to check out the article;

http://twincities.metromix.com/home/photogallery/sweet-cities-best-desserts/332357/content

We wish to personally thank Grandpa’s Ice Cream for using the Fabbri ingredients to assist with the production of this award winning flavor. Check them out, click here; http://www.grandpasicecream.biz/hoursdirections.htm

Upper Midwest is a full supplier of Gelato & Ice Cream supplies and ingredients, give us a call with your questions or needs.

Thank you for your support!

The next time you are in Norwood Young America, Minnesota, please stop in and visit the historical Young America feed mill that has been beautifully restored and renovated using recycled building materials from the Upper Midwest United States!

The huge historic building houses three different businesses that work together in perfect harmony.

1) The Flower Mill is a full-service florist specializing in wedding, funeral and all-occasion floral needs.

2) The Mill House offers home furnishings (old and new), antiques, candles, gifts, soaps and lotions and much, much more!

3) Millstone Pantry offers specialty cakes for all occasions and is a full-service specialty coffeehouse and cafe.

The Millstone Pantry offers top-notch baked goods along with fresh coffee, perfect espresso drinks, tasty paninis and pizzas, and a whole lot more. One of the nicest features of the three businesses under one roof is how well it all goes together. Feel free to shop or look around the multiple floors of products offered by The Flower Mill and The Mill House while you wait for your food and drinks to be freshly prepared by Millstone Pantry’s friendly staff.

Please click on this link if you would like to schedule a consulation for a cake to be made by Millstone Pantry for your next celebration.

Please Contact Us if you would like further information about any of these businesses.

Comments are open on this blog post, so please feel free to add any positive experiences you may have had at The Mill.

Look for the Big Red Roof!

18 3rd Ave SE

Norwood Young America, MN

(one mile North on County Road 34 from 212 West)

Thank you.

Next time you make the trip to Grand Casino, Hinckley please stop in and visit our friends at the Velvet Bean Coffee Cafe.

They make the best coffee, espresso drinks, frappes, and smoothies in town!

They also have yummy gelato among with many other tasty treats like panini’s and pastry.

Here are some pictures of the beautiful cafe.

Please Contact Us if you would like any other information about Velvet Bean Coffee Cafe.

Comments are OPEN if you would like to ask questions or give a personal review of your experience at Velvet Bean.

Thank you.

Here are some pictures from the 2008 UP Show. Enjoy!

Please click on the links below to open pictures.

Gelato Display

 UMG Booth

Eric Serving Gelato

Jesse in His Coffee Area

Michael Serving Gelato

Kevin & Jesse Talking to Attendees

We had a blast talking with and seeing everyone at the show.

We hope you enjoyed our new products!

Please Contact Us for any future inquiries or orders.

Thanks again to all the attended.

Upper Midwest Gourmet and Flamenco Organic Coffee Company would like to congratulate the following cafes for receiving the “Golden Cup Award,” which is a certificate of coffee brewing excellence!

• Flamenco Organic Coffee Co. – Minneapolis, MN
• Mae B / MaeBean Coffeehouse – Hartley, IA
• Munkabeans & Sunshine Cafe – Hopkins, MN
• Sisters Sludge – Minneapolis, MN
• Velvet Bean – Hinkley, MN (Inside Grand Casino) 
• Zoomski’s Coffee Shop - Little Falls, MN

These cafes have a commitment to quality and proven their ability to brew coffee according to the standards prescribed by The Specialty Coffee Association of America.

Please visit these cafes for an amazing coffee experience!

Please Contact Us if you would like your cafe to be “Golden Cup Certified.”

Congratulations to Gloria and her staff at Zoomski’s Coffee Shop in Little Falls, MN for receiving the “Golden Cup Award,” a certificate awarded for coffee brewing excellence by the SCAA!

Please check out the most recent ad in their local paper announcing their award.

Please visit Zoomski’s to experience excellent coffee and Contact Us if you would like to learn how your cafe can get “Golden Cup Certified!”