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.)

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.)

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.

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!

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.)

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!

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

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!