Starfish Junction Productions

Tea Master Comes From Japan To Perform Tea Ceremony At Coffee And Tea Festival NYC

March 31, 2008 - New York, NY. Starfish Junction Productions proudly announces today that Japanese Tea Master, Yoshikazu Tafu, will journey to New York City to perform The Art of Japanese Tea at the Coffee and Tea Festival NYC. The tea ceremony will be performed at noon each day of the 2-day festival being held on April 12th and April 13th at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18 Street, New York, NY. "We are excited to be selected for this extraordinary honor," said Lynda Calimano, Starfish Junction's event producer. "Festival attendees are in for a wonderful experience," she added. The ceremony is made possible through sponsorship provided by TAFU NY who runs a retail outlet in New York City's Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel.

The Tea Master will, as a special show exclusive, freshly roast whole leaf hojicha to order at the TAFU booth. "Freshly roasted hojicha is not available at our retail shop," said Nob Inomata, General Manager at TAFU, and offers festival attendees a rare and special treat. Using TAFU's original Hojicha Roaster, called Houroku, the unglazed and beautiful Shigaraki Yaki pottery will be used by the Tea Master to turn green tea into house-made hojicha in minutes.

To accompany their outstanding tea, TAFU offers beautiful sweet treats that are as much a treat to the eye as the palate. To celebrate cherry blossom season, or "Sakura", TAFU is introducing limited edition sweets. The Sakura tea truffles will be available at the Coffee and Tea Festival while supplies last. The cherry blossoms have deep significance in Japanese culture and are a traditional motif in art, literature and cuisine. The ephemeral blossoms only last for about 2 weeks before fluttering to the ground, recalling the vibrancy and impermanence of life.
"The two day festival will be a celebration of everything related to coffee and tea," said Ms. Calimano. The festival is open to the public and the trade and includes an international lineup of exhibitors providing samples of their best coffees and teas.

Included among the featured exhibitors for the 2008 show: TAFU NY, ITO EN, Café La Paz, serendipiTea, micro-roaster Real Coffee Corp., Tay Tea, Nestle, Mighty Leaf, Sympatea, Ceylon Treasures, Chassom, and Tavalon. A list of the exhibitors and show partners can be found at the event website. The list is updated regularly as new exhibitors sign on to be part of the show. The event also offers two days of programming including classes/lectures/demos from well-known industry pros and pioneers.

In addition to being at tremendous exhibitor and sponsorship opportunity, and a delightful way for visitors to spend the day, the 3rd Annual Coffee and Tea Festival: NYC will help raise funds and awareness for Cup for Education, the official event charity. Cup for Education helps the poor and rural coffee communities of Central and Latin America build schools within their communities and provide the basic tools needed to educate the future generations of coffee farmers.

Goodie bags packed with coffee and tea samples will be distributed to the first 1000 attendees each day. Tickets are $20 for an all day pass that includes sampling as well as attendance at the classes/seminars/demos. Tickets can be purchased at the event website www.coffeeandteafestival.com

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MEDIA: PRESS RELEASES Tea Master Comes From Japan To Perform Tea Ceremony At Coffee And Tea Festival NYC March 31, 2008 - New York, NY. Starfish Junction Productions proudly announces today that Japanese Tea Master, Yoshikazu Tafu, will journey to New York City to perform The Art of Japanese Tea at the Coffee and Tea Festival NYC. The tea ceremony will be performed at noon each day of the 2-day festival being held on April 12th and April 13th at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18 Street, New York, NY. "We are excited to be selected for this extraordinary honor," said Lynda Calimano, Starfish Junction's event producer. "Festival attendees are in for a wonderful experience," she added. The ceremony is made possible through sponsorship provided by TAFU NY who runs a retail outlet in New York City's Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel. The Tea Master will, as a special show exclusive, freshly roast whole leaf hojicha to order at the TAFU booth. "Freshly roasted hojicha is not available at our retail shop," said Nob Inomata, General Manager at TAFU, and offers festival attendees a rare and special treat. Using TAFU's original Hojicha Roaster, called Houroku, the unglazed and beautiful Shigaraki Yaki pottery will be used by the Tea Master to turn green tea into house-made hojicha in minutes. To accompany their outstanding tea, TAFU offers beautiful sweet treats that are as much a treat to the eye as the palate. To celebrate cherry blossom season, or "Sakura", TAFU is introducing limited edition sweets. The Sakura tea truffles will be available at the Coffee and Tea Festival while supplies last. The cherry blossoms have deep significance in Japanese culture and are a traditional motif in art, literature and cuisine. The ephemeral blossoms only last for about 2 weeks before fluttering to the ground, recalling the vibrancy and impermanence of life. "The two day festival will be a celebration of everything related to coffee and tea," said Ms. Calimano. The festival is open to the public and the trade and includes an international lineup of exhibitors providing samples of their best coffees and teas. Included among the featured exhibitors for the 2008 show: TAFU NY, ITO EN, Café La Paz, serendipiTea, micro-roaster Real Coffee Corp., Tay Tea, Nestle, Mighty Leaf, Sympatea, Ceylon Treasures, Chassom, and Tavalon. A list of the exhibitors and show partners can be found at the event website. The list is updated regularly as new exhibitors sign on to be part of the show. The event also offers two days of programming including classes/lectures/demos from well-known industry pros and pioneers. In addition to being at tremendous exhibitor and sponsorship opportunity, and a delightful way for visitors to spend the day, the 3rd Annual Coffee and Tea Festival: NYC will help raise funds and awareness for Cup for Education, the official event charity. Cup for Education helps the poor and rural coffee communities of Central and Latin America build schools within their communities and provide the basic tools needed to educate the future generations of coffee farmers. Goodie bags packed with coffee and tea samples will be distributed to the first 1000 attendees each day. Tickets are $20 for an all day pass that includes sampling as well as attendance at the classes/seminars/demos. Tickets can be purchased at the event website www.coffeeandteafestival.com -###- Back