Upper Midwest Gourmet

Check out an updated list of our coffee offerings!

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

We would really like to thank everyone that visited our booth at the Wisconsin Restaurant Expo this year in Milwaukee. We were very happy to be a part of this expo for our 16th or 17th year. Who can keep track anymore…

This, again, was a success and we owe it all to our customers, new and old. Here are some of the products we showcased and received most feedback on:

• Flamenco Organic Coffees and Espresso- per usual our wide array of micro-roasted Organic, Fair Trade, and Direct Trade coffees were very popular. The Nicaraguan Rio Coco and the Minnesota Mudd Blend were both talked about a bunch, but the Papua New Guinea, the Ethiopian Dara, and the Kona coffee (especially out of the Bunn Trifecta) were holding their own as well. The Matador Espresso Blend was also being pulled from the Casadio 2-group Espresso Machine and tasting just as sweet and smooth as ever!

• Amoretti Martini Mixes- yes, we are now carrying a martini mix line, and yes, it is awesome! David was making martini’s all show and everyone loved them. We will be bringing in the Apple, Blueberry, Cosmopolitan, Lemon Drop, Mango, Mojito, Passion Fruit, Pomegranate, and Raspberry flavors, with more coming soon. They are super easy to make, made with the finest ingredients, and very reasonably priced.

• Umpqua Oats Oatmeal- this product never ceases to amaze us! We knew we liked this oatmeal when we first tried it, but never imagined how fast our customers would agree. It is one of the quickest products to take off for us and works perfectly for cafes to get that extra sale with your morning rush customer. These oatmeals are nutritious, delicious, and fast to make and with eight flavors including the “Not Guilty” which is salt and sugar free, who can go wrong?

• Cappuccine Red Velvet Frappe Mix- not only did this product win 2010 “best new beverage” at Seattle Coffee Fest, it continues to emerge as the next “must have” flavor at every cafe. We see a lot of new flavor ideas for blended beverages in our industry, but none have had the steam that the Red Velvet Cupcake frappe is making. It only helps the cause that Cappuccine has their own EXCLUSIVE Whipped Cream Cheese topping recipe on their website that completes this delightfully different cupcake in a cup.

• Fabbri 1905 Pastry Ingredients from Italy- delipastes aren’t just for gelato anymore. Tom Trieschmann from Fabbri has been helping us learn about all the amazing pastry applications for many of the products we carry and have only used for ice cream and gelato in the past. Tom personally sampled out the famous “Amarena” cherry of Italy that Fabbri is known for and started the company over 100 years ago. These Fabbri Amarena cherries are sour and intense and are like nothing you have ever tried before!

• David Rio Chai- this is a brand new product for us that we just had to bring in after sampling. We have known for years that David Rio Chai’s had a great reputation, but it wasn’t until we made some ourselves that we really understood just how good it really is. There are eight amazing flavors including Tiger Spice Chai, Elephant Vanilla, and Tortoise Green Tea. This chai is easy to prepare hot, iced, or blended, it is Kosher Certified, Gluten Free, and has No Hydrogenated Oils or Trans Fats.

• International Paper Hold & Go “Flamenco” Design, Insulated Hot Cups- these cups are the ultimate hot cup in the industry. It was hard not to spot a Flamenco hot cup in someone’s hand when walking the show. With so many people trying our coffees and espressos you wouldn’t have to look far to see the beautiful dancer silhouette. Even many of the presenters and speakers at the show could be seen sipping from our snazzy cups during their presentations! These cups are part of the “Sustainable Forestry Initiative” which promotes sustainable forest management and is something we feel is very important. Not only are they double-walled which means no sleeve is needed, but the lids are universal meaning the same lid fits the 12oz, 16oz, and 20oz cups!

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

Upper Midwest Gourmet and Flamenco Organic Coffee Company will be in booth 748 for the 2011 WI Restaurant Show.

Where: Frontier Airlines Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Booth 748)

When: March 21st-23rd (11am-5pm Monday, 10am-5pm Tuesday, 10am-3pm Wednesday)

Here is a link to the show for more information: WI RESTAURANT EXPO

See you there!

We came across a very cool website the other day, www.CoffeeTrip.com. It is really great because you can search for independent cafes and roasteries all over the US many different ways. You can even search for cafes by what coffee they serve! We obviously had to add our roastery to the site right away.

Here is the link to our page on their site. Please check it out as there is a bunch of awesome links to a ton of Specialty Coffee sites and resources.

I would recommend that all cafes add themselves to this site and if you use our Flamenco coffee, please make sure to include that information.

After many requests over the years we have decided to bring in Monin Gourmet Flavorings and Sauces. We will even be stocking their organic line of flavoring syrups! Please click on the images below for more flavor information:

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

Upper Midwest Gourmet now has a Facebook Page!

Upper Midwest Gourmet is excited to announce that we will be exhibiting this year at Coffee Fest Chicago being held at the Navy Pier on the shore line of Lake Michigan.

This year’s event is being held the weekend of February 18th-20th, 2011. The show hours are Friday and Saturday 12:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. and Sunday from 12:00 P.M. to 4:00 P. M. Upper Midwest Gourmet and our Flamenco Organic Coffee Company will be showing off our goods in booths 101 & 102. You may also find one of us assisting one of the many vendors and/or manufacturers in their various booths throughout the show floor on any one of the open days.

We would love to have you stop by and visit with us, take a look at some new and exciting products and sample some goodies. If you would like to attend this show, please contact us as we have a limited number of FREE PASSES for up to four persons per business. You will need to obtain a pass code from Upper Midwest Gourmet in order to receive this free admission. You only have until January 30th to take advantage of this offer so act soon if you are planning on attending. Please Contact Us for more details.

You can go to www.coffeefest.com for more info on this show and to see who will be exhibiting this year.

As always, we greatly appreciate our customers continued patronage and support and always look forward to a face-to-face opportunity to visit with you.

Hope to see you at the show!

UMG Staff

Yeah right. I hear it many times a week from coffee shop owners who wonder why their sales are going down and their shop isn’t going to survive. They continue to offer non FTO coffee because it costs less money and kid themselves into believing that they have the only consumers in America that don’t care about FTO products.  I argue that they are not saving money but driving customers away from their store.   Sales of Fair Trade Certified Coffee in grocery stores alone rose 30% this year to $140 million dollars! Fair Trade is growing despite the bad economy. Why? Fair Trade is 100% consumer driven, that is why. If you think your customers don’t care you are flat out wrong and don’t understand Americans philosophy on Fair Trade. Three fourths of respondents in a 2009 BBMG conscious consumer report stated that they believe they can make a difference by buying products from socially and environmentally responsible companies. Two thirds said buying products with social and environmental benefits is important in tough economic times and MORE THAN HALF SAID THEY WOULD PAY MORE!!!!! If grocery stores are adding more Fair Trade it’s only because consumers are demanding it. Nobody wants to sell products that cost more. They do it because customers are leaving their stores and going somewhere else to buy what they believe is as good a product if not better and they are making the world a better place at the same time. Stop kidding yourself, your customers care and you should too. The specialty coffee customer is the number 1 buyer for FTO products. If you own a Specialty Coffee Store and don’t sell Fair Trade Organic coffee what are you waiting for?

Winter is upon us! Warm up with a blanket next to a fire and enjoy our newest brewsletter.

Please check out our newest Brewsletter – Volume 42 – Winter 2010

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

Enjoy and thanks again from all of us at UMG!

Yes, it is finally that time of year again to evaluate coffees from all of Minnesota’s roasteries and vote for your favorite. Please come out to Calhoun Coffee Festival at Calhoun Square in Uptown Minneapolis on November 20th, 2010 from 10am to 3pm to help support Second Harvest Heartland and vote for the best coffee in the Twin Cities! Flamenco Organic is proud to be a part of this great event every year and can’t wait to see all of our fans out in full force. Feel free to contact us for more information, thanks for your support.

Please follow Flamenco on Twitter — @FlamencoOrganic

Summer is almost over with Fall on the way!

Please check out our newest Brewsletter – Volume 41 – End of Summer 2010

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

Enjoy and thanks again from all of us at UMG!

Next time you are making your way from the Twin Cities down to Rochester or if you are just enjoying Southern Minnesota make sure to stop in Pine Island at the Better Brew Coffeehouse! They are preparing the best coffee drinks in their area and are always happy to meet someone new.

If it is high quality ingredients prepared perfectly that makes you happy, then this cafe is sure to put a huge smile on your face.

The owner, Marie, along with her other awesome ladies on her staff, know what they are doing and take pride in every drink, baked good, or meal that they create. They care about being organic, fair-trade, and eco-concious which is right up UMG’s alley. If you want a great experience with some yummy treats then you need to go to Better Brew Coffeehouse today!

Better Brew Coffeehouse
Owner/Manager: Marie Hlava
301 North Main St.
Pine Island, MN 55936

507-356-2100

We are always open to bringing in new products that our customers request, especially when those products are right in line with our social and ecological values. These are some of the newest items that we are now stocking because you asked for it.

PureVia (Stevia) “100% Natural, Zero Calories” Sweetener

CE Organics “Fair Trade / Organic” Chocolate Sauce

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

UMG now carries the 1lb and 5lb CoffeeVac “Vacuum Sealed Containers!”

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)