Upper Midwest Gourmet

Ciao Ciao everyone!  2013 is off to a great start at Upper Midwest Gourmet.  Bethany and I traveled to Italy last month.  Our first stop was Riccione where we met up with everyone from Fabbri in order to attend the SIGEP show.  SIGEP is the largest gelato and pastry show in the world!  While it’s a bit chilly in this NE coastal region in the winter, it was really warm compared to what was going on in Minneapolis, so the timing couldn’t have been better.  We spent three days touring the show and eating (and drinking) our way around the town.  SIGEP is always a great time and we were impressed with all the presentations put on by some of the best pastry chefs in Italy.  Fabbri presented a number of new items that we’ll be able to start importing sometime this Spring that we’re really excited to show everyone.  The pistachio and amarena cherry gelato pops in particular are going to be a great addition to many cafes in the USA.  Fabbri hosted a large banquet with top notch entertainment and the Italians really know how to put on a party!  Fabbri took that opportunity to present awards to some of their staff and distributors from around the world.  To my surprise, Upper Midwest Gourmet was presented with the award for Best Distributor in North America in 2012!  It was a complete shock, but we were honored to receive the award.  No distributor has ever won the award more than once so now I have a new mission for the future.

There are a bunch more pictures from the show at the end of the blog post.

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We had an awesome Holiday dinner at George & the Dragon this year!

Please enjoy some pictures of the crew:

Thanks again to David and Bethany for such a fun evening!

We had a great time at Coffee Fest in Chicago this year! We had four booths in a row which finally gave us enough space to truly showcase our wide array of offerings. From gelato made with authentic Italian ingredients from Fabbri to our huge selection of cafe products to our own Flamenco coffee to one of our favorite customers, The Growling Rabbit, chatting in our booths and bringing some of their amazing baked offerings, also made with Fabbri, it was a total success!

We had a blast showcasing our Flamenco Organic Coffees on our new Chemex and Hario pour-over gear and were giddy to be able to pull our Matador espresso on a beautiful Synesso espresso machine.

Here are some pictures to enjoy:

Thanks again to everyone that made it to the show and visited us while attending. It was our pleasure to meet you!

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

Only a week or so to go until Coffee Fest!

That is why we are reminding everyone that we are in booths 100/102/104/106 at Chicago Coffee Fest next weekend. We will be making gelato on a Carpigiani Coldelite batch freezer and displaying in one of the new Ciam Pozzetti display cases. We will definitely be serving our award-winning Flamenco Organic Coffee along with a ton of other great products for you to check out and sample. Also, be sure to stop by and check out our Synesso espresso machine pulling our very own Matador espresso shots!

Here are the basics:

When – June 8th-10th 2012

Where – Navy Pier, 600 East Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611

Registration Information

$30 per person.

Onsite Registration Hours: Trade Show and educational Classes
Friday & Saturday: 7:00am to 4:30pm
Sunday: 7:30am to 3:30pm

Show Hours:
Exhibition Hours:
Friday & Saturday: 12:00pm to 5:00pm
Sunday: 12pm to 4:00pm

Educational Training
Friday & Saturday: 8:00am to 6:00pm
Sunday: 8:00am to 4:00pm

If you have any questions about the trade show, please Contact Us.

It’s never too early to start thinking about the next trade show.

That is why we are already telling everyone now that we are in booths 100/102/104 at Chicago Coffee Fest in June 2012.  We will be making gelato on a Carpigiani Coldelite batch freezer and displaying in one of the new Ciam Pozzetti display cases.  We will definitely be serving our award-winning Flamenco Organic Coffee along with a ton of other great products for you to check out and sample.

Here are the basics:

When – June 8th-10th 2012

Where – Navy Pier, 600 East Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611

Registration Information

Early Bird is $20 per person if registered by Sunday, 5/20/2012. $30 per person after that.

Onsite Registration Hours: Trade Show and educational Classes
Friday & Saturday: 7:00am to 4:30pm
Sunday: 7:30am to 3:30pm

Show Hours:
Exhibition Hours:
Friday & Saturday: 12:00pm to 5:00pm
Sunday: 12pm to 4:00pm

Educational Training
Friday & Saturday: 8:00am to 6:00pm
Sunday: 8:00am to 4:00pm

If you have any questions about the trade show, please Contact Us.

Just wanted to say “Thank You” to everyone that came out and chatted with us at the Wisconsin Restaurant Expo last week.

It was a pleasure sampling our great products to all of you and we really appreciate your business!

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

At the Milwaukee Restaurant Expo, our Fabbri rep, Tom Trieschmann, asked the Bittercube Bitters Company if they would use our Amarena Fabbri cherries for their cocktail seminars (replacing Maraschino’s) and they agreed after sampling Amarena.

Just another great example of two great brands working together for the greater good.

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

Yes, it’s that time of year again when the trade shows begin. We are exhibiting in a couple of them that we would love to invite you to attend.

Our first show of the year is the Wisconsin Restaurant Expo being held in downtown Milwaukee on March 12-14th. That’s a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday show. We have been exhibiting at this show for over 10 years now and will have our usual spot on the floor with a 20 foot end booth. This year we will be highlighting our Flamenco Organic Coffees, Dr Smoothie 100% crushed fruit smoothie mixes, Mozo Chef shoes, Cappuccine, Big Train and a host of fine products from Amoretti including flavoring syrups, 100% fruit smoothie mixes, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar and Martin mixes. We will have many other items on display as well including a 2 group espresso machine. We would love to see you there this year so stop by for an espresso, smoothie or martini (maybe all 3 mixed together!). We have a limited amount of FREE passes for Wednesday the 14th. Please contact us if that is a day you can make it.

Go to http://www.everythingfoodservice.org for more info on this fantastic show.

The second show of the year for us is Coffee Fest Chicago being held at the Navy Pier Convention Hall. This show is on June 8-10th (Friday-Sunday). We will have another 20 foot booth there highlighting many of our products including Flamenco Organic Coffee and are hoping to have a full display of Gelato on hand. For more info on this show and to register to attend, please visit http://www.coffeefest.com for more details.

Please stay tuned for more details on this show as we comprise them.

Hope to see you at one or both of these shows. We love to meet with our customers rather it may be the first time, or an annual routine. We truly appreciate your continued business and support and feel these show are a way for us to convey that to you.

Feel free to contact us for any further information on either of these shows.

Upper Midwest Gourmet and Flamenco Organic Coffee Company will be in booth 748 for the 2012 WI Restaurant Show.

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

When: March 12th-14th (11am-5pm Monday, 10am-5pm Tuesday, 10am-3pm Wednesday)

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

If you would like more information or possibly a FREE pass to the show please Contact Us.

See you there!

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!

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

Hooray for Spring!

Please check out our newest Brewsletter – Volume 40 – Spring 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!

UMG/Flamenco was able to go to Dominican Republic last month for a coffee origin trip. It was a blast overall! We all learned a ton about coffee and a whole lot more about the island and its history.

Please check out our Flamenco Origin Trips Page to view pictures and videos. We will have some stories and more information soon. Enjoy!

Wisconsin Food Expo Milwaukee, WI; March 8th through the 10th, 2010 - Booth 748

Ah yes, the show season is soon to be upon us. For starters, Upper Midwest Gourmet will be showing off our duds again this year in Milwaukee Wisconsin at the Wisconsin Restaurant Associations annual Expo to be held at the Airline Center in downtown Milwaukee on March 8th trough the 10th (Mon-Wed). Go to www.wirestaurant.org/expo/ for more details on this show and to register. As in the past years, UMG has a boat load of FREE PASSES for Wednesday the 10th, the last day of the show. Please contact us direct at 612-728-7208 or contact Kevin direct at 612-250-8277 or Kevin@umgcoffee.com and we will mail you the tickets. You will need to register them once you have the ticket code. This can be done the day of the show at the door. This year we will be highlighting our new line of Ce Organic and Fair Trade, all natural flavoring syrups, our new International Paper Insulated Hold & Go Hot cups, Angela Marie’s Mega Marshmallow Munchies crisp rice bars, Pacific Foods Organic Simply coffee & tea ready to drink products, Deep River all natural chips and snacks, and our new Flamenco Organic Coffee Direct coffees. We will also have a new espresso machine on hand for your review, use and sampling of our espressos.

This is one of those shows that our staff ALWAYS looks forward to because of the amount of you that take the time to visit with us there and the many new customers we are lucky enough to meet each year. Of the many food & coffee shows that we show at, this has always been the best run and most fun to attend so I encourage you to try to make it if you can, you will not be disappointed!

Coffee Fest Minneapolis, MN, June 04 – 06, 2010

We are very excited to announce that the folks at Coffee Fest have scheduled one of their 2010 show right here in Minneapolis this year in June. Coffee Fest is still one of the better coffee focused shows in the industry so we expect nothing less at this show. We among many other local, regional and international companies will be showing. This Upper Midwest region of the country is finally getting the recognition we have so rightfully earned in the coffee world so this show should be full of useful information for any café owner in this market. As more details come in, we will continue to pass them on to you so please stay tuned or go directly to www.coffeefest.com for more details and to register for this show.

We always love to see our customers at every show we attend so please do come and say hello at one or both of these shows. Upper Midwest Gourmet will also be announcing our annual picnic/open house very soon so please stay tuned for that date to be made.

We thank you all for your continued support and patronage. We are nothing without our great customers and we are driven by your support to continue to improve our services and offerings to you!

See you at the shows!