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Monday, September 19, 2011

Interview with StageIt Artist Gayle Skidmore


 
CB: Are you a coffee or tea kinda girl?

Gayle: Tea! When I lived in England I would drink like 5-8 cups of tea per day just to stay warm. I also worked in a Victorian tea house in LA for a year. My family even makes their own tea. I'm a big fan of companies that participate in Direct Trade and are conscientious about the products they offer.

CB: When did you first discover The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf?


Gayle: I discovered the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf when a friend whom I hadn't seen in years invited me out for tea to catch up. We talked for hours and hours and had some kind of cherry tea, which was amazing. The one closest to where I live has a really nice patio that gets all of the best sunny hours.

CB: What is your favorite drink?

Gayle: I'm pretty fickle about favorites because I like to try new things, but besides tea, I've always liked vanilla lattes.

CB: If you could create a new drink, what would the ultimate main ingredient be?


Gayle: Hmm... the ultimate ingredient... I feel like that's something I'd have to go on some kind of harrowing journey to find. I think some kind of rich chocolatey drink with cayenne pepper would be amazing.

CB: Create your best tagline using "Stageit" and "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf".

Gayle: Stageit at the Coffee Bean-- Come drink brown, flavored water and fill your ear canals with sounds! (Don't worry, I'm going to stick to songwriting!)


September 19 - Gayle Skidmore -- 7pm
2081 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
http://www.stageit.com/gayle_skidmore/gayle_skidmore_live_from_the_coffee_bean/4446
Artist info:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gayle-Skidmore/15510309150
https://twitter.com/#!/gayleskidmore

Friday, September 16, 2011

Orange County Blends Coffee, Tea & a School Supply Drive

posted by: Cassie Piper - Social Media Coordinator for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®
You may already know that each of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® locations continually reach out to support their surrounding community. Well our Orange County stores have gone above and beyond to give back to the local schools.

David De Candia, Director of Tea and Jay Isais, Director of Coffee have even created a special blend inspired by Orange County and sold exclusively in our Orange County stores. $1.00 from the sale of these OC Coffee & Tea Blends will go to the local school that our stores have partnered with in their neighborhood.
It doesn’t stop there. Now through September 18th, these stores will also be collecting donations for a School Supply Drive. Check out the photos of these donation stations.

Brea’s Box for the OC School Supply Drive, on the right and Anaheim’s 3 R’s Robot for the OC School Supply Drive below.

There are five total locations in the OC area that will be participating in the School Supply Drive, please see list below.

We’re looking for: pencils, crayons, coloring books, paper, post its, markers, paper files, rulers etc.

JACK FM has even jumped in to support the drive. They will be on location at our Fountain Valley store giving away concert tickets and other prizes to encourage everyone to come out, enjoy some coffee and tea, make a donation and support the OC schools. We hope to see you there!


Also, don’t forget to nominate us for Best Coffee! – Item #39 in the Best of OC Weekly. Thank you!

Participating OC School Supply Drive Locations:


The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®

1080 E. Imperial Hwy, #E-2

Brea, CA 92821


The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®

2002 East Lincoln Blvd.

Anaheim, CA 92806


The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®

205 Orangefair Ave., Space 11A

Fullerton, CA 92832


The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®

Mall of Orange

2202 N. Tustin Street, Suite C

Orange, CA 92865



The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®

18503 Yorba Linda Blvd. #A

Yorba Linda, CA 92885

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

One for Me, One for You and One for – oh, Have You Met Aaron?

posted by: Cassie Piper Social Media Coordinator for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®
The last video in our Summer Iced Tea Video Series highlights what I think is our most visually appealing iced tea, the Swedish Berries Fruit Infusion.

Michelle uses orange and basil out of all things, which turns out to be surprisingly delicious and one of my favorites. I even had to fight over a taste test with our Product Development Coordinator Aaron Brewster.

You’ll get to meet Aaron in this video, and you’ll probably be able to tell what a great guy he is. Aaron prepped all of the fresh ingredients for our videos and played a major part in approving all of the recipes that Michelle has demonstrated for you this summer.

Well that’s it for us! If you are a lucky owner of the CBTL Single Serve Beverage System made by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, we have more videos just for you! You will learn how to make single servings of iced tea from a single tea capsule and get ideas on how to take them to the next level, similar to what you’ve seen here.

I hope you have enjoyed these videos, we are currently working on some fantastic recipes for the holiday and we can’t wait to show you! Thanks again for watching, your feedback, comments and tweets are much appreciated!

Blog Giveaway Q: Which of these Swedish Berries Iced Tea recipes would have you fighting Aaron over for a taste test? Leave your response below and we’ll pick 4 people at random to receive a tin of our Swedish Berries tea.

Blog Giveaway terms and conditions: The contest begins upon posting of the blog announcing the Contest and ends at 12 p.m.. PST the following Wednesday. To enter, you must post a comment and answer the question posed in the blog, providing a valid email address. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Contest limited to U.S. only., One contest entry per email address. Odds of winning depend on the number of valid entries received. Sponsors clock will determine winner. List of winners available upon request by contacting Sponsor. Prizes subject to change without notice. Sponsor may notify winner via email: if winner does not claim the prize within 48 hours of being e-mailed, Sponsor will pick a new winner. Prize shipped at no cost to U.S. Residents. Contest Sponsor: International Coffee & Tea, LLC d/b/a The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® 1945 S. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90038.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Easy Breezy Iced Green Tea for Summer

posted by Cassie Piper Social Media Coordinator for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Green tea may be my favorite type and making Summer Iced Tea out of it was easy breezy! Michelle demonstrates that with a few fresh cut strawberries and a splash of sparkling mineral water, you can really transform your iced tea into a tasty and truly beautiful summer beverage.

Also, side note - Michelle wanted me to mention that when brewing green tea, the optimal temperature is actually lower than boiling and should be closer to 185 degrees.

Something I also wanted to mention is that these recipes are great for full pitchers of iced tea. Michelle follows the recipe for a single serving, but all you need to do is triple the fresh ingredients and allow them time to infuse within the pitcher. You can pour each glass and top them off with the sparkling mineral water to keep the bubbles fresh.

Blog Giveaway Q: What’s your favorite base iced tea? Black, green or fruit? Leave your response below and we’ll pick 3 people at random to receive a tin of their favorite base tea.


Blog Giveaway terms and conditions: The contest begins upon posting of the blog announcing the Contest and ends at 12 p.m.. PST the following Wednesday. To enter, you must post a comment and answer the question posed in the blog, providing a valid email address. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Contest limited to U.S. only., One contest entry per email address. Odds of winning depend on the number of valid entries received. Sponsors clock will determine winner. List of winners available upon request by contacting Sponsor. Prizes subject to change without notice. Sponsor may notify winner via email: if winner does not claim the prize within 48 hours of being e-mailed, Sponsor will pick a new winner. Prize shipped at no cost to U.S. Residents. Contest Sponsor: International Coffee & Tea, LLC d/b/a The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® 1945 S. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90038.
*We picked our winners using the random number generator at random.org. Congratulations! We have your email address and we’ll contact you about your prize shortly.


Monday, August 29, 2011

StageIt Stands Up to Cancer

From the StageIt crew posted on https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=257763204248920


Come join us all day on August 30th as Stageit Stands Up To Cancer! Look for the green and pink ribbon show in the picture to see the artists that are participating!

Watch some of your favorite Stageit artists:

Rachel Platten
Jenny Owen Youngs w/ Everyone Is Gay
Don Schlitz
Stacy Clark

Jeremy McComb
Jenna Bryson

Larry Bagby
Evan Lowenstein
Eric Himan
Luca Longobordi
Louis Grassi
Noah Guthrie
Frank Palangi
Mike Pearce
Mike Vavrek
Celeste
Brian Hagene
Jack & Diane
David Martinez
And many more!!!

We're hosting the Stageit Stands Up To Cancer benefit night in honor of one of our coworker's mother just passing away from her fight with lung cancer.

Below is a message from Laura McDonald, a Stageit employee:

As you may or may not know, on July 2nd I lost my mom to lung cancer. She was my hero, my best friend, and my #1 fan. She fought an incredibly hard battle, and for one year after she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, she got to live an almost normal life. Through lung cancer research, they developed a drug called Tarceva, which was a chemo pill that my mom took daily to shrink and maintain her cancer. She was able to drive, travel, live, and take care of everyone in her life, especially her grandchildren and also, well, me. My mom was adamant about donating to cancer research, and encouraged others to do the same, as that’s where she felt that our money had the most direct effect.

To honor my mom, and everyone else who has been affected by cancer of any kind, we are hosting a Stageit Stands Up To Cancer night on Tuesday, August 30th. We are inviting artists to play a show, whether it’s one song or ten, from wherever they are, whenever they can, to help raise awareness and funds for lung cancer research. I would be honored if you would participate. Proceeds from the show will be donated to the Lung Cancer Colorado Fund in my mom, Debbie McDonald’s, name.

We all have been affected in some way by cancer. We all can make a difference. Thank you for lending your talents to this important cause close to my heart. It means everything to me.

With love,
Laura

====================================

If you are an artist who would like to participate in this event, please feel free to contact artists@stageit.com!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

The Coffee Bean Newbie - Chris Kirby Performs LIVE!

He's a witty, spitey, pasty white kid from the woods whose style is simply addictive. With his new record, entitled Vampire Hotel, Chris Kirby gets down to business playing funky piano, saucy guitar, and singing as if the fate of his own mother hangs on every word.
After a quick interview with Chris before his StageIt performance tonight, we came to find out, he's also a Newbie!
CB: Coffee or Tea?
Chris: Coffee! Unless I have a cold... then it's tea with honey in it.
CB: When did you first discover The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf?
Chris: I'm about to make my first trip to LA, and thus have my very first Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf experience! I discovered The Coffee Bean through my friends at Stageit.com.
CB: What is your favorite drink from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf?
Chris: Since I'm about to have my first experience, I'll have to get back to you on this! I will make it a point to try as many drinks as I can!
CB: If you could create a new drink, what would the ultimate main ingredient be?
Chris: The main ingredient in my drink would be Screech - that's a famous dark rum from my home in Newfoundland. In cocktails, deserts or hot beverages, Screech is the tastiest ingredient I know of!
CB: Create your best tagline using "Stageit" and "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf"
Chris: Wake up your soul with Stageit and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf!
August 25 - Chris Kirby -- 7pm
445 N. Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills CA, 90210

Artist info:

"What's Steeping" with David De Candia


By David De Candia - Director of Tea for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
From The Tea Specialist Newsletter, August Edition
I have been asked to judge many US based tea competitions over the last 14 years. It is always a great honor to be a part of a very special and important event.

Recently I was asked to Judge my third Hong Kong International Tea Fair for 2011.

I was part of a panel of six judges: the Director of The World Tea Union, Asst Director of the Sri Lankan Tea Board, Professor Chinese Mainland, President of the Taiwan Tea Science Society, and the President of the Chinese Tea Association. Two of these judges started with me three years ago in this competition.

The categories we judged are as follows: Black Tea, Aged Tea (Pu-er), Green Tea and Oolong Tea. We had one hundred and twenty samples to taste. The judging criteria was dry leaf shape, steeped color, steeped aroma, steeped flavor and steeped leaf shape. Each criteria carries a different percentage weight in the judging. This judging is a blind competition of course. I was selected as the chief.

There is no question that I love doing this type of competition. In addition, as usual I was given a translator to communicate with the other judges.

Winners of the competition were announced at a reception the next day at the Tea Fair.

Many tea professionals will tell you that there is something very special about tasting and discussing tea with fellow tea professionals. Whether you’re a Tea Guru or Tea Master or Director of Tea, the connection is there. When you see your fellow judges you’re reminded of last years’ experience and in-depth discussions of tea that tend to go on for hours into the night.

I’m looking forward to 2012.

– David De Candia

David De Candia - second in on the right, stands with the panel of judges for the Hong Kong International Tea Fair