Hundreds of people came out to witness the 6th Annual Coffee and Tea Festival: Valley Forge on December 1 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. Over 50 cafes, roasters, and distributors from all over the region were present at the event to let coffee enthusiasts know a little bit more about their business.
Philadelphia’s own Greenstreet Coffee Co. was one of many vendors at the event. The small-batch roaster takes great pride in their work, making sure their coffee is sustainably sourced, self-roasted, and cupped to guarantee great flavor. “We’re trying to establish our brand further and introduce it as a sustainable business,” said co-foudner Chris Molieri. Molieri first gained an interest for coffee while living in Portland, Oregon, and his brother, Dave, and he opened Greenstreet in 2013.
Valerio Coffee Roasters had an elaborate stand with a slew of different roasts for sale, along with drip and pour over coffees made fresh for fans to enjoy. Based in Audobon, Pennsylvania, the cafe and roaster’s owner, Anthony Valerio, first opened his cafe back in 1996. “I saw a couple cafes our on the West Coast,” said Valerio.” It was something I really enjoyed.”
Valerio began to roast their own coffee in 2006 and began selling tea in 2012. “My wife’s a tea drinker,” said Valerio on why he began to sell it, “and we sell so much wholesale to coffee shops, and they had a need for tea…so we had something we were missing.”
Among the tea vendors at the event was Philly-based Craft Tea, a company that sells tea blends with an unusual twist: Craft Tea suggests a vinyl record pairing with each of its teas. “My parents had them when I was a kid,” said the company’s owner, Mike O’Brien, reminiscing over childhood albums like those by Simon and Garfunkel. “I got back into them during the traveling gig.”
O’Brien discovered his passion for tea while traveling the globe on business, being exposed to a world of new herbs he had previously been unaware of. After his long treks, he would often come home and share his stories with friends over music. “That’s where the idea [came from] to tell them where I’ve been, put on a record, and drink some tea.”
O’Brien even has a tea called “Psycho Kitty” that was developed for Kawaii Kitty Cafe in Philadelphia. This tea pairs with the Talking Heads 1984 album “Stop Making Sense.”
Among distributors present at the event was Origin Coffee Traders. The business aims to partner with roasters to put an emphasis on sustainable practices, and currently operates in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S.
“We import green coffee from various coffee-growing nations and distribute it to mostly…small- or medium-sized roasters.” said Thim Ponnappa, head of U.S operations.
Origin Coffee Traders works closely with Audobon, Pennsylvania’s Wake Coffee, who just opened last year. “We’re looking for people to try our coffee [and] let them know we’re local,” said Alec Satterly, owner of Wake Coffee.
Wake strives to serve the highest quality coffee possible. In fact, Satterly and Ponnappa held a joint seminar at the festival titled “The Process Behind a Cup of Coffee.”
“We want people to know what the process is,” said Satterly, “Where it’s been [and] who touches it.”
Representing New York at the event was Jailhouse Coffee. The roaster was founded in 2015 on what was allegedly the site of an 18th Century jailhouse in Queens. “We operate in 30 states,” said Jailhouse owner Robert Flam. “We’re in Canada and we recently launched in Japan.”
Jailhouse uses organic, fair trade ingredients and can be found in supermarkets across the country, including Shoprite and Whole Foods. “We just keep growing and growing,” Flam commented on the success of his business. “Everybody loves coffee.”
The Bean 