Irving Farm Coffee Roasters was founded in 1996 when David Elwell and Steve Leven opened a much-needed neighborhood café in Gramercy Park, hoping to provide a space where people could gather and drink great coffee. At a time before “handcrafted,” “organic,” and “fair-trade” had yet to enter the coffee drinker’s lexicon, the two trailblazing college friends distinguished their Gramercy shop from other java huts in New York by stocking it with specialty blends and single-origins. Shortly thereafter, they decided to convert a carriage house in bucolic Dutchess County into a roastery, determined to learn the craft of coffee roasting themselves. This proved to be more of a challenge than they’d anticipated: before the movement known as the Third Wave of Coffee revolutionized the industry in the late ‘90s, there weren’t as many resources available to novice roasters. But with help from friends and roasting mentors, as well as feedback from customers, they learned by doing and became pioneers in the exploding coffee scene in New York City. Fast-forward twenty years, and now Irving Farm is one of New York's most beloved hometown roasters with seven cafés, a bustling wholesale business, the only SCAA-certified Training & Education Loft in NYC, a brand new Roastery & Tasting Room, and a green coffee buying program led by Dan Streetman that focuses on direct relationships with farmers, sustainable practices, and a philosophy of quality over quantity.
"We drink tea to forget the noise of the world."
Founded in 2003, Tay Tea is the brainchild of a tea-obsessed New Yorker who comes from a third generation tea blending family.
Nini Ordoubadi loves tea and loves sharing it with people.
She muses. . .
"TEA is my art. It mirrors my soul , one that is steeped deeply in Persian culture and hospitality.
Through my tea blends, I tell my stories and connect to other’s stories. I invite new friends into my world.
"Join me -- drink tea and linger…"
Long gone are the days where the hills and dales of New York’s Hudson River Valley were bursting with majestic apple trees and the scent of ripening fruit. Though many of those orchards may be gone, there is a quiet renaissance going on all around us. A renaissance that is bringing life to new orchards and old traditions. There is one place not too far from you where the magic lives all year round.
Westwind Orchard is an historic apple orchard located in New York’s Hudson River Valley in the shadow of the Catskill Mountains. It has a story that starts in the 1930s when it was first planted by Chester Khon. The orchard was tended and farmed by Mr. Khon for 40 years or so before it was purchased by the Schoonmaker family of Accord. Westwind is the original name of the orchard, and we are proud we kept it.
In 2002, the Chizzola family bought the property with dreams of fresh air and country living. Well, we’re here to tell you it has not been easy and it’s certainly still a work in progress, but in 2016 we’ll add a few more pieces to the puzzle and focus our optimism on the coming year. When I first started out, everyone thought I was totally crazy. Well, after nearly a decade of reviving the farm and orchard, I have to agree, I WAS CRAZY, but not totally.
Westwind Orchard is more than just a hobby or avocation; it is a passion and a dream. One that I pursue daily with the same vigor and intensity with which I pursued rock-climbing (a little hobby of mine that first brought me to this part of New York) so long ago. Today, Westwind Orchard stands for more than just local, organic apples. We are a vision for local farming and the future of our region.
In 2005 we began renovating the orchards by clearing brush, reviving older trees, taking out dead ones, and planting new ones….all in anticipation of one day having a modern, organic orchard and farm. Then we got Honeybees, and are blessed to have 40,000 “free” workers to pollinate our trees and flowers. Then we built a deer fence, so we could keep those beautiful but disruptive creatures away from our trees. And finally, we started to diversify our orchard with new apple trees. But not just apples….we also planted pears, plums, cherries, paw paws, berries, garlic, winter squash, and grapes. The picture was becoming clearer. In 2008 we achieved our biggest accomplishment by becoming a Certified Organic farm!
Today, we make maple syrup, jams, apple sauce, honey, and raise chickens for eggs. Last year, we added a wood-fired pizza oven and planted more orchards – we’re like the bees, always busy. This year we’ll offer for the first time ever our very own, hard cider made with from our own apples and fermented in the wilds of Accord.
We are a Holistic Community Orchard and only use ecologically sensitive products like neem oil, Effective Microbes (EM), seaweed, kelp and compost teas to help us grow healthier soil, trees, fruits and vegetables. We strongly believe in LOCAL FOOD and in OUR COMMUNITY. Everyone needs farms (and farmers!), but more importantly they need good, wholesome, healthy food—what better place to get all that than right here. The Chizzola family hopes you’ll come visit Westwind Orchard soon. Come see what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and mostly enjoy the fruits of our labor, from us to you.
http://westwindorchard.com/
The Gingered Peach are no strangers to all things sweet! Founded in 2011, as Let Them Eat Cake Bake Shop, our mission was to bring hand crafted baked goods with a twist to NJ primarily focusing on cakes. However, after being in business for nearly two years, we heard our customer's call to dig deeper and expand our reach. So, we hit the test kitchen and really got to work. The result is The Gingered Peach! Hand crafted baked goods with soul.
Fruition is a small batch bean to bar chocolate workshop located in the Catskill Mountains of New York.With meticulous attention to detail, we slowly roast and stone grind carefully selected cocoa beans to accentuate their inherent flavor.
Our chocolate is made from fair trade and organically grown cocoa beans.
Bryan Graham is the founder of Fruition Chocolate Works and Confectionery. From a young age, Bryan has been passionate about both chocolate and food. He attributes his interest in the field of baking and pastry to his grandmother, an outstanding baker. Through visits to her farm in upstate New York, Bryan learned how to pick perfectly ripe ingredients, and how to transform them into pies, tarts, jams and jellies in the old world tradition only a grandmother can teach.
At the age of 16, Bryan began an in depth study of food through a mentor program where he became a baking and pastry apprentice at the renowned Bear Café in Woodstock, New York. Within the first week of working beside Executive Pastry Chef Heather Haviland, Bryan confirmed his love for pastry. After showing true commitment and dedication to the Bear Café, Bryan was offered a permanent position as Assistant Pastry Chef at the Bear Café. At age 18, he was promoted to Pastry Chef.
Five years later, Bryan decided to continue his education at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He completed his externship at Jacques Torres Chocolates in NYC. However, it wasn’t until Bryan made chocolate from bean to bar with Chef Peter Greweling that an interest in the history and science of chocolate and confectionery was sparked. Since, Bryan has educated himself on the science, technique, and craft of handmade chocolate.
We are bakers whose work expresses out commitment to patience, attentiveness and hand-craftsmanship. Since 1997 we have furnished bread for the tables of Balthazar – Keith McNally’s Parisian brasserie which opened that year in New York – and loaves, croissants, and pastries for our adjoining retail shop/
As our bakery has grown, we have not compromised our ideals or technique. We bake from scratch every day of the year. Using fine ingredients and traditional methods, we create products of uncommon character and integrity and deliver them fresh to discerning restaurants, hotels, caterers, and gourmet shops throughout the New York Metropolitan area.
AquaVitae was founded with a health mission, not a money mission, and have always kept that in mind. They want our product to be a manifestation of healthy values in every sense, and they work hard to make sure it lives up to our standards.
The Cold Pressed Juicery was founded with a spirited heart and an ambitious goal - to offer the purest, cold pressed juices, delicious superfood smoothies and nutritious food that help towards a happier mind, body, and soul, while leading the way for socially-conscious initiatives.
Dona Chai is Brooklyn’s chai concentrate. Their tea is handcrafted in small batches using fresh ginger, freshly ground spices and organic black tea. The slow steeping process builds complexity of flavor and preserves the purity of our ingredients. The result is a cup of bold and flavorful chai - fresh, natural, and Brooklyn-made.
In 2009, I spent a year doing research & traveling through Mexico to write my first book “My Sweet Mexico.”
That experience changed my life.
When I returned to New York, I knew I wanted to share and celebrate the amazing frozen treats & sweets of Mexico.
I wanted to have my own business, but I didn’t know what to do since I wanted to do it all. One day, I had a dream that I was going to open a Mexican ice cream shop in New York. That’s how I decided to start with paletas, the quintessential frozen treat in Mexico. I thought I could test the idea without spending money on an ice cream machine and see how New Yorkers liked the sweet flavors of Mexico.