A Cup of the Valley Coffee and Tea Festival

Brianna Valentin

Coffee and tea enthusiasts indulged at the Culinary Institute of America’s Marriott Pavilion Saturday for the first annual “A Cup of the Valley” coffee and tea festival. Guests were immersed in the world of beverages and treats provided by vendors in the Hudson Valley region.

It’s hard to appreciate a rich, bold cup of coffee when everyone regularly drinks the convenient chain brews. Dave Kozuha, a roaster at Greenwood Lake, said consistency has ruined craft coffee. “With coffee, people have no idea where comes from, and they are so used to large companies promoting consistency that they settle for low quality coffee,” Kozuha says.

Hario V60 pour over system created in Japan. Sumatra coffee.

Various tea vendors were no competition to the coffee roasters. Paul Harney, founder of Harney & Sons Master Tea Blenders in Millerton, said the secret to making a perfect cup of tea is making sure the water temperature is not too hot, or the tea will be bitter. For white teas, he recommends water to be heated at 175 degrees for three minutes; for black teas the water should be boiled for five minutes.

Harney’s teas are packaged in nylon bags, which are BPA free. The tea blends include corn flowers and marigold petals to make the sashe pretty. He says his company is working on a biodegradable option to replace their nylon bags.

Irving Farm, a Millerton coffee roastery, participated in a latte art throwdown in which seasoned baristas competition to pour the best latte. The coffee artists competed for a cash prize, coffee gear, and bragging rights. Eric Guzman, a young coffee enthusiast from Beacon who works at the CIA’s The Egg Cafe, won the competition with his leaf design. “It’s all about the way you steam your milk, your technique, and the amount of crema in the coffee,” Guzman said, “You really have to tilt the cup the right way to perfect the design.”

Eric Guzman

The latte artists said it took them several years to be able to perfect the art of pouring. They are able to pour swans, elephants, hearts, and rosettes.

After consuming an insane amount of caffeine, guests were treated to a calming Japanese Tea ceremony to concluded the festivities. The ceremony involved three guests and one host. The guests enter the area, view the scroll, and are seated on the floor. The host brings in all the materials to make the tea. She purifies all the tea elements, heats the bowl that the water will be placed in, and whisks in the powdered tea. The tea is then presented to guest for them to enjoy. Once all have been served, the host cleans all instruments used during the ceremony and puts them away signaling the end. The ceremony was completely silent and lasted about 30 minutes.

Sponsors included Irving Farm, Greenwood Lake Roasters, Dutchess Coffee Roastery, Hudson Valley Fresh, and Harney & Sons. Other vendors included: The Luscious Little Dessert Co., Bear Mountain Coffee Roasters, Wicked Good Tea, Coffee Lab, The Poughkeepsie Grind, The Crafted Kup, The Ugly Mug, The Pantry, Big Mouth Coffee Roasters, and more.

This event was presented by the Poughkeepsie South and Wappingers Falls Rotary Clubs. All profits of this event went to the Hudson Valley communities.