China
For the Chinese culture, tea is synonymous with life. As the first people to discover the tea leaf, it has evolved into the beverage of choice and a lifestyle.
Long before the celebrated discovery, it was considered a medicinal staple. Tea was a general health tonic, said to promote long life and vitality, as well as a treatment for individual ailments. Even today, in traditional Chinese medicine, green teas are prescribed to relieve a variety of symptoms, especially as research continues to support many of the age-old healing claims.
For some time, only people of high standing in the imperial courts and select priests had the means and ability to drink tea on a regular basis. Over time, tea grew to become more accessible to all people, and the lower classes were finally able to enjoy tea more frequently.
Eventually, tea became a significant part of daily life and is now enjoyed solely for its own pleasures. Tea houses are all over China, and people of all ages visit at all hours of the day to drink tea and enjoy the company of fellow tea tasters. In this way, tea is not confined to a strict time of the day.
In China, green tea is consumed the most, with oolong tea a close second.
Japan
The spread from China to Japan took some time, but it’s widely believed Japanese culture perfected the art of the tea ceremony, or Cha-no-yu. Many tea ceremony schools were established, with influences ranging from samurai warriors to monks.
Humility and respect are expected of the guests and the host in a tea ceremony. The door to the sukiya, or tea house, is a low crawl space requiring all who enter to bow and humble themselves before entering the sacred space. Once inside, the first observation is a simple flower arrangement and a scroll of artwork or poetic calligraphy. The transitory nature of the flower serves to help guests understand the temporary nature of the present time and the forthcoming experience.
Every element of the tea ceremony exudes simplicity and balance. Nothing in the tea room is excessive or lavish, to not distract from the moment. Furthermore, the guest will notice neutral colors and modest design in clothing, art and floral arrangements. The ceremony can take hours to complete and a lifetime to learn.
India
India produces and consumes more tea than any other country in the world. Chai is the national drink in India and it is served on just about every street corner.
Tea in India gained recognition as a national beverage in the 19th century after the British began to create large scale tea plantations to ensure adequate supplies for their own growing thirst.
Due to its relatively young involvement in the Indian culture, tea has not had time to develop intricate rituals like in Japan or China. Although not ritualized, tea is a huge part of daily life at home, work, on the streets and while traveling.
Cha-ya is the favored style of tea throughout the country. Cha-ya is strong black tea, spiced with fennel, cardamom, cloves or other spices. It is mixed with milk and sweetened with sugar for a creamy and sweet beverage that many Americans recognize as Chai tea.
Typically, Indian Cha-ya is sold in small clay cups that are only used once, then smashed. Whether prepared by a street vendor, train station or personal tea kettle, enjoying Cha-ya is the perfect break from the chaos of daily life.
Return to America
Dreaming of an Asia-Pacific tea tour? So are we. Take a break from your daily work grind to turn your break room into a Chinese tea house. Aroma Coffee offers a full selection of green, black, white and herbal teas in bag, loose leaf and single cup offerings. Give us a call today at 800-448-9139 and let our teas take you around the world.
Five Reasons Why You Should Up Your Office Coffee Game
Coffee InterestAfter water, coffee is the most widely-consumed beverage on the planet. Here at Aroma Coffee, we deliver the leading coffee & tea products to offices and other commercial settings throughout the Tampa Bay area.
Our team believes in the power of the humble coffee bean to fuel productivity and wellness at work, and we work hard every day to deliver great service and products with a smile. Here’s why your company should upgrade your coffee offerings today by calling Aroma Coffee.
From a productivity standpoint, coffee is a great source of caffeine, which can provide that much-needed jolt for increased employee output. In an average cup of coffee, there are about 80mg of caffeine, and in two shots of espresso, that number rises to about 125mg.
Caffeine can enhance mental performance, alertness, and willpower, ensuring that employees can rely on coffee for that much-needed stamina and jolt of energy towards the end of the day.
2. Better coffee = happier employees
Coffee makes people happy… no data necessary to back up that fact! Anxiety is often diminished by caffeine intake and most who aren’t “morning people” can attest that they feel better and more equipped to deal with stress after just one cup o’ joe.
Improving the office coffee selection is also a great way to encourage positivity around your workplace, and build community around the coffee station. Let collaborations brew and ideas percolate (pardon the puns).
3. Attract young, hip employees
As far as the human resources team in your office is concerned, offering a diverse line-up of coffee is a fabulous perk for many millennial and Gen X employees, for whom intangible employee benefits are important. Millennials comprise 44% of America’s coffee lovers, and are interested in the source of the beans and the quality of the coffee. These young workers are so invested in coffee, they are spending more on java than their own retirement plans.
They are also curious about trying new things that could amp up their “Instagram street cred” like nitro cold brew or coffee tonics. Give the next generation of workforce what they’re looking for by upgrading your office coffee bar.
4.Save time & money
Hamilton Beach reports that on average, per worker, 24 minutes per day are spent making and drinking coffee… which means that on an annual basis, this amounts to about $400 per worker, per year lost to the quest for coffee. Over the course of a working lifetime, 190 days are lost to coffee. Almost an entire year!
Why not make your coffee process more streamlined and efficient, using state-of-the-art coffee machines that make caffeine consumption a breeze? Aroma Coffee has myriad options for single-cup systems that also ensure little product is wasted, saving you even more money.
5. Health benefits
Coffee consumption has been widely studied for links to health benefits. Healthline reports that daily coffee intake can lower one’s risk of Alzheimer’s, dementia, Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, and even certain types of cancers. There is also a possibility that coffee can extend one’s lifespan, burn fat and increase metabolism. For businesses and organizations concerned about wellness and overall quality of life improvements, offering a great coffee selection is a no-brainer.
Contact your Aroma representative about a free trial of our coffee service, a product/price sheet by simply sending an email to: phil@aromacoffee.net.
Say Goodbye to Office Shopping Lists!
New ProductsRunning a business is difficult. Running a household is difficult. What happens when your business turns into a household? Suddenly, you’re focused on restocking soap dispensers and paper towels instead of landing the next account and nailing your 2 p.m. conference call.
Aroma Coffee will help.
With over 10,000 products in our catalog, we can supply all of your paper and janitorial needs. Better yet, your Aroma Coffee representative will check your inventory on each scheduled delivery date and restock items as necessary.
When Susie in accounting turns 57 and you provide cake for the entire office, it’s important to rest assured that there will be sufficient styrofoam plates and plastic forks. We can’t have your employees eating cake like a pizza off of paper towels. Your local representative will ensure her birthday celebration goes off without a hitch… at least, as far as plates and forks are concerned.
You no longer have to worry about keeping up your inventory.
The responsibilities of running a business are endless. Your office supply to-do list doesn’t have to be. Aroma Coffee will handle it for you. The most popular items we supply include the following:
Paper Towels
Toilet Tissue
Dispenser Tissue
Multifold Towels
C-Fold Towels
Single Fold Towels
Center Pull Towels
Dispenser Roll Towels
Facial Tissues
Styrofoam Plates
Paper Plates
Napkins
Plastic Cutlery
Cups (paper, plastic, and styrofoam)
Can Liners
Soap (dispenser, bar dishwashing)
Contact Aroma Coffee to receive a price quote by calling 800-448-9139 or filling out the new service form HERE.
3 Asia-Pacific Tea Traditions
News, Coffee InterestChina
For the Chinese culture, tea is synonymous with life. As the first people to discover the tea leaf, it has evolved into the beverage of choice and a lifestyle.
Long before the celebrated discovery, it was considered a medicinal staple. Tea was a general health tonic, said to promote long life and vitality, as well as a treatment for individual ailments. Even today, in traditional Chinese medicine, green teas are prescribed to relieve a variety of symptoms, especially as research continues to support many of the age-old healing claims.
For some time, only people of high standing in the imperial courts and select priests had the means and ability to drink tea on a regular basis. Over time, tea grew to become more accessible to all people, and the lower classes were finally able to enjoy tea more frequently.
Eventually, tea became a significant part of daily life and is now enjoyed solely for its own pleasures. Tea houses are all over China, and people of all ages visit at all hours of the day to drink tea and enjoy the company of fellow tea tasters. In this way, tea is not confined to a strict time of the day.
In China, green tea is consumed the most, with oolong tea a close second.
Japan
The spread from China to Japan took some time, but it’s widely believed Japanese culture perfected the art of the tea ceremony, or Cha-no-yu. Many tea ceremony schools were established, with influences ranging from samurai warriors to monks.
Humility and respect are expected of the guests and the host in a tea ceremony. The door to the sukiya, or tea house, is a low crawl space requiring all who enter to bow and humble themselves before entering the sacred space. Once inside, the first observation is a simple flower arrangement and a scroll of artwork or poetic calligraphy. The transitory nature of the flower serves to help guests understand the temporary nature of the present time and the forthcoming experience.
Every element of the tea ceremony exudes simplicity and balance. Nothing in the tea room is excessive or lavish, to not distract from the moment. Furthermore, the guest will notice neutral colors and modest design in clothing, art and floral arrangements. The ceremony can take hours to complete and a lifetime to learn.
India
India produces and consumes more tea than any other country in the world. Chai is the national drink in India and it is served on just about every street corner.
Tea in India gained recognition as a national beverage in the 19th century after the British began to create large scale tea plantations to ensure adequate supplies for their own growing thirst.
Due to its relatively young involvement in the Indian culture, tea has not had time to develop intricate rituals like in Japan or China. Although not ritualized, tea is a huge part of daily life at home, work, on the streets and while traveling.
Cha-ya is the favored style of tea throughout the country. Cha-ya is strong black tea, spiced with fennel, cardamom, cloves or other spices. It is mixed with milk and sweetened with sugar for a creamy and sweet beverage that many Americans recognize as Chai tea.
Typically, Indian Cha-ya is sold in small clay cups that are only used once, then smashed. Whether prepared by a street vendor, train station or personal tea kettle, enjoying Cha-ya is the perfect break from the chaos of daily life.
Return to America
Dreaming of an Asia-Pacific tea tour? So are we. Take a break from your daily work grind to turn your break room into a Chinese tea house. Aroma Coffee offers a full selection of green, black, white and herbal teas in bag, loose leaf and single cup offerings. Give us a call today at 800-448-9139 and let our teas take you around the world.
Aroma Coffee’s Office Supplies Include Paper & Janitorial Products
NewsRunning a business can sometimes feel a lot like running a circus. Performing to the best of your ability for customers, jumping through hoops to keep employees happy, and balancing finances are just a few of many acts the manager performs daily. Juggling toilet tissue and paper towels should not be on the list of business administration tasks to manage!
We’re here to handle it for you.
Aroma Coffee not only offers coffee and tea services, but also carries a full line of paper and janitorial products. Your Aroma Coffee representative will check your inventory on each scheduled delivery date and restock items as necessary. You no longer have to worry about keeping up with office supply inventory… and did we mention, we deliver?
As your one-stop-shop for office supply needs, we understand the importance of accessibility. You will have one service representative to maintain your water filtration equipment, manage your inventory of sugar packets, coffee K-cups, paper towels and everything in between. We offer a friendly, convenient, time-saving service with only one point-of-contact and one invoice for all your office supply needs.
Listed below are some of the most frequently used products. We carry over 10,000 products and will be happy to give you a price. Please contact your local representative to receive a price quote.
Paper Towels
Toilet Tissue
Dispenser Tissue
Multifold Towels
C-Fold Towels
Single Fold Towels
Center Pull Towels
Dispenser Rolls Towels
Facial Tissues
Styrofoam Plates
Paper Plates
Napkins
Plastic Cutlery
Cups (paper, plastic, and styrofoam)
Can Liners
Soap (dispenser, bar dishwashing)
…and more than 10,000 additional janitorial and other paper products
We’d love to send you a catalog! Fill out this quick form, and our sales team will send a price book with our office supply product selection right away.
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Lavit Cooler Water Cooler – refresh your office break room!
News, New ProductsAre you tired of simple, boring water? At the touch of a button, choose from chilled, filtered, or sparkling water and delicious better-for-you beverages. With the revolutionary countertop Lavit Cooler Water Cooler, you can add variety and flavor to your office’s water.
Lavit gives you the option of both flat and sparkling water in a variety of flavors with state of the art Lavit flavor capsules. The products are 100% recyclable, have low or no sugar, 10 calories or less, natural flavors, gluten free options and they are preservative free.
Enjoy Arizona Teas, energy drinks and healthy sugar-free beverages with the option of flat or sparkling. Of course, if you want plain still water or sparkling water, you can still have that too. The choices are almost limitless.
There are three flavor categories:
Originals: a flavor for every taste.
Supernaturals: lightly sweetened with Stevia.
Unsweetened Supernaturals: a hint of flavor for still or sparkling water.
Lavit also partnered with Juice Press, the East Coast’s fastest growing organic food and beverage retailer, to create two infused water capsules for Lavit’s Cooler Water Coolers.
The partnership includes Juice Press’s highly popular Rose Water, as well as a new functional energy offering, Cinnamon Guarana Water, which debuted exclusively for Lavit’s patented, single-serve cold beverage water coolers.
Lavit was conceived in the Swiss Alps where the water you drink is as pure as the air you breathe. Lavit set out to create an alternative to the massive trucking of water and bottled beverages and were committed to offering only healthy drinks. By design, no beverage in the Lavit system can be high in sugar.
Try it still, try it sparkling or even add more water to get it just as you like it – that’s refreshingly personal! All we do is hook up your Lavit to your water source and add the filter system of your choice (Carbon Filter or Reverse Osmosis) and you’re ready to enjoy a limitless supply of cold refreshing drinks.
Contact your Aroma representative about a free trial of this incredible cold beverage system or simply send an email to: phil@aromacoffee.net
Kahwa Coffee – Perfect Company Coffee
New ProductsKahwa Coffee Roasting Company opened its doors in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida in 2006. Aroma Coffee is proud to now carry Kahwa products for your office and commercial space!
Where was Kahwa Coffee Discovered?
Coffee was first discovered in the wild in Ethiopia in the Kaffa region. The Turkish name given to coffee, “kahve” evolved to “qahwa” in Arabic. The spelling differs according to the different countries but Kahwa is the original name for coffee throughout Africa. It evolved to café (in French) or caffe (in Italian) and remains common slang for coffee in France.
Where is Kahwa Coffee Roasted?
All Kahwa Coffee roasting is done at the production site in Tampa Bay, infusing a local taste to the beans. With over 15 years of experience in the coffee industry, Kahwa combines passion and expertise in their process. Kahwa Coffee roasters go through intensive training to make sure each bean will eventually become a cup coffee worth savoring!
The first Kahwa Coffee café opened in downtown St. Petersburg, FL to showcase their enthusiasm for great coffee and high quality coffee drinks. Sarasota has already begun to embrace the Kahwa brand as there are two Kahwa Coffee locations in the Sarasota area, one in Lakewood Ranch as well as one coffee shop in downtown Sarasota.
With a focus on the local community, Kahwa Coffee takes pride in working with and supporting nonprofit organizations in the Tampa Bay area, such as Big Cat Rescue.
Can You Supply Kahwa Coffee For My Company?
At Aroma Coffee, we are thrilled to now carry Kahwa fraction packs for traditional coffee brewers, K-Cups for Keurig single-cup brewers and whole bean for bean-to-cup brewers.
We supply offices in Southwest Florida with the finest beverages and locally roasted coffees. Give us a call today to bring Kahwa and our other products into your office space >> 239-481-7262.
Featuring: Hurricane Coffee & Tea
Coffee Interest, New ProductsAroma Coffee is proud to be the exclusive provider of Florida-based Hurricane Coffee and Tea in west, central and southwest Florida. We offer a variety of Hurricane Coffees in both regular, decaf, and flavored fraction packs for traditional coffee brewers and in K-Cups for Keurig single cup brewers.
Hurricane Coffee and Tea celebrates the laid back spirit of the south with rich, smooth coffees which are best when savored slowly. At the same time, it’s not always smooth sailing along the coast… with roast strength measured on a scale of “Generator” to “Category 5,” you should never underestimate the power of these beans.
We are thrilled to carry Hurricane’s newest roast – Cuba 1910. Inspired by the Cyclone of the Five Days, Cuba 1910 celebrates the spirit of Cuba and its coffee-roasting heritage. Discover the intense and distinct flavor of this dark-roasted Cuban style coffee, crafted to perfection using only 100% Rainforest Alliance beans.
Let’s take a closer look at Hurricane Coffee’s regular roasts…
Category 5: Dark Roast
The biggest and boldest of them all! This dark, heavy-bodied blend features the smoky notes of a traditional French roast crafted with beans from 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.
Volcanic Sumatra: Dark Roast
Lush volcanic soils forge the essence of this rich, full bodied coffee. Roasted deep and dark to reveal it’s distinctly earthy character, this single origin Sumatran is 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified.
Aftershock: Dark Roast
Distinctive high-grown Rainforest Alliance Certified beans from Central and South America are dark roasted to help develop a full body and deepened notes of toasted walnut with a trace of smokiness.
Nor’Easter: Dark Roast
This classic dark roast is a blend of Rainforest Alliance Certified coffees from high-altitude farms in Latin America. With its full body and toasted nut notes, it offers a bold, satisfying cup.
Colombia El Niño: Medium Roast
Famous for its aroma, this medium roast 100% Colombian coffee also offers a full, rich flavor. Each bean is handpicked from select Rainforest Alliance Certified farms in the Colombian highlands.
Big Wave Kona Blend: Medium Roast
Hawaii is known for more than just its big waves; it’s home to Kona coffee, one of the world’s most sought-after origins. Grab your mug and pull up a chair on the Lanai while you enjoy this Kona blend’s excellent balance and notes of chocolate and caramel with a honey-sweetness.
Tremor Blend: Medium Roast
Balanced and aromatic beans from Costa Rica complement coffees from Central America in this popular Rainforest Alliance certified blend. Look for notes of toasted nut with a bright finish in this medium roast.
The Generator: Light Roast
This blend of light-roasted Rainforest Alliance coffees from Latin America is mild & mellow with a smooth flavor and clean finish. The perfect start to your day!
We love supporting Florida brands in an effort to help local businesses grow. By incorporating Hurricane Coffee and Tea into the break room of your office, you will also play a valuable role in the mission to support small business.
Hurricane Coffee and Tea is helping people affected by disasters like floods, fires, tornadoes and hurricanes as well as countless other crises at home and around the world, by donating 3% of the purchase price of every pound of coffee produced to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
Their commitment to community doesn’t stop there. The coffee blends are 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified and have been harvested from progressive coffee farms around our globe. Now that’s something to feel good about.
So brew it up and enjoy your favorite roast of Hurricane Coffee. It’s good to know you’re making an impact at the office with your hard work and your cup of coffee… no matter the conditions!
Introducing Lavit – The Cooler Water Cooler
New ProductsAre you tired of just plain old water? With the revolutionary Lavit countertop water cooler you can add variety and flavor to your office’s water. Lavit gives you the option of both flat and sparkling water and alot more……. with Lavit you can flavor your water with the state of the art Lavit flavor capsules. Enjoy Arizona Teas, Energy Drinks and Healthy and Sugar free drink options in either flat or sparkling. Of course, if you want plain still water or sparkling water, you can still have that too. The choices are almost limitless. All we do is hook up your Lavit to your water source and add the filter system of your choice (Carbon Filter or Reverse Osmosis) and your ready to enjoy a limitless supply of cold refreshing drinks. Contact your Aroma representative about a free trial of this incredible cold beverage system or simply send an email to: phil@aromacoffee.net
Lavit Demo
Coffee and Health Benefits
Coffee InterestIs Coffee Good For You?
Like so many of the beverages we enjoy today, coffee was once prescribed as a tonic for what ails you…
Provided that what ails you is a lack of alertness or a sour mood,coffee and health it’s good on its promise. Let’s leave patent medicines aside for the moment, though, and ask:
Is coffee good for you? The answer is, quite simply, yes!
Coffee has been a frequent subject of scrutiny by the medical community… perhaps because it’s so widely consumed, yet offers no apparent nutritive value. Or, maybe doctors are just looking for a really good cup of coffee!
Despite some 30 years of study, the field of medicine has yet to draw a direct correlation between moderate consumption of coffee and any medical disease or chronic health condition. Studies that have suggested worrisome links between coffee consumption and reproductive health, for example, have been put to rest by subsequent studies – larger, and more thorough – that have exonerated our favorite beverage.
More recent studies by the medical science community are now finding numerous positive benefits of moderate coffee consumption! These studies suggest that drinking coffee may reduce risks of colon cancer by 25% and cirrhosis of the liver by 80%, and may reduce the onset of Parkinson’s disease by up to 80%. More, brewed coffee has been found to have 3 to 4 times the amount of cancer-fighting anti-oxidants as green tea.
Still, we don’t recommend drinking coffee as a tonic – we think it tastes good and we enjoy how a great cup of coffee makes us feel. If you have specific concerns about coffee, please, talk to your family physician.
(Source: Green Mountain Coffee.com)
Preparing Coffee
Coffee InterestPreparing Coffee
The question of how to process just-harvested coffee is answered only in part by geography, and by the resulting natural resources… it’s also a question of tradition.
A farmer of high-grown coffees on a finca or co-op in Central America wouldn’t dream of dry-processing his hard, dense and fruity beans… he’d probably sooner leave them on the tree (which, in countries like removing coffee stemsYemen is a not an altogether unusual practice).
And while it might occur to the farmer in Sumatra to wet-process his beans, to gently ferment them to loosen the sweet pulp, and then to carefully sun-dry the result (precisely as that finca in Costa Rica or Guatemala has done for generations) it’s likely our farmer in Sumatra wouldn’t find much of a market for his beans. While there’d be nothing wrong with the resulting coffee, neither would it have the cup characteristics long associated with the origin.
But even tradition can’t begin to explain why coffee growing regions that may not have an abundance of water resources – Kenya, say, or Ethiopia – have come to rely on wet processing for their specialty ethiopian coffeecoffee crop. It can be argued that these regions have an ample natural resource… the sun! As it happens, there are regions within Ethiopia that that dry-process and sun-dry their coffees, to wonderful effect… it’s just this process that gives us the celebrated Ethiopian Harrar coffee.
Ultimately it’s all about the coffee itself, and the potential found within. Dry-processing yields lovely mocha-like flavors in an Ethiopian coffee – winey and wild and fruity – but wet-processing yields something altogether different: explosively perfumed aromatics, sparkling citrus, vibrant, flowered fruit… flavors and aromatics that make Ethiopian Yirgacheffe arguably the most distinctive coffee in the world.
While geography and tradition still play a role, theirs is a bit part compared to the starring role commanded by the coffee crop, itself.
(Source: Green Mountain Coffee.com)