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(NATIONWIDE SYNDICATION) - June, 2008-- By Francine Segan
Tribune Media Services

Coffee and tea were more than mere beverages. In fact,coffee was originally a food, not a drink. A thousand years ago in Africa, the birthplace of coffee, locals would mash the ripe "cherries" from wild coffee trees to create a dried traveling food packed with protein and nutrients -- like an early version of the breakfast bar. While the outer cherry fruit of the coffee bean has protein, it's the inner roasted bean that has the flavor. "Coffee's hint of bittersweet chocolate, touch of berry and whiff of roasted nuts and red wine make it a fantastic cooking ingredient," said Lynda Calimano, editor in chief of the monthly Coffee and Tea Newsletter.

"Perfect for imparting flavor into a variety of delectable desserts, coffee is often overlooked as an ingredient in savory dishes."

Melanie Mitzner -- co-owner of the hip, eco-friendly online store The Groovy Mind-- agreed. "Brewed coffee in a marinade is a wonderful way to tenderize meat, adding a delicious dimension to lamb, steak and ribs," she said. Mitzner said not to worry about an overbearing coffee taste. Instead, as an ingredient mixed with herbs and spices, coffee blends beautifully and is a seductive way to enhance the flavor of the meat.

Brewed coffee can substitute for stock or water in stews, sauces and even baked beans. Once you begin experimenting with coffee, you'll find hundreds of uses. You can even freeze leftover brewed coffee in ice cube trays to use later as a seasoning.

The grounds make a terrific dry rub. Coffee seals in the meat's juices and helps to caramelize it, which leads to a juicier, tastier piece of meat. Use finely ground beans, such as those for espresso or Turkish coffee, for rub recipes. One such recipe is Bobby Flay's Coffee Rubbed Steak from his Mesa Grill Cookbook - Explosive Flavors From the Southwestern Kitchen. Flay -- restaurant owner and star of award-winning cooking shows such as Boy Meets Grill, Iron Chef America and Throwdown With Bobby Flay -- is a master of grilling meats. Flay's rub calls for coffee grounds to be mixed with coriander, oregano and chili powder. The first bite is sweet and smoky, followed by heat, which is perfectly tamed by the recipe's brown sugar. "My inspiration for using coffee in a rub came to me when I was traveling in Texas for my Food Network show, Food Nation," Flay said. "I found a lot of coffee rubbed beef dishes during my visit and when I came back home to New York City I experimented and decided to add espresso into a beef and rib rub recipe of mine. I find that the aromatic, bold flavor of coffee pairs nicely with the red chilies in the rub and adds a savory richness to grilled meats."

Tea, too, is a valuable ingredient in a wide variety of recipes, both as dried leaves and as brewed tea. Tea has been used for centuries by the Chinese to steam or smoke fish, meat and vegetables as well as in marinades. The tea leaves also can be used in cooking. They're an ideal dry rub ingredient. Just grind the leaves in a spice grinder or mini food processor along with herbs and spices such as Sichuan peppercorns, lemongrass or ground ginger.
"Tea is a wonderful, all natural way to enhance the flavor of any dish without added fat or sodium," said newsletter editor Calimano, also producer of the annual Coffee and Tea Festival in New York. "The option for incorporating tea into recipes is limited only by the cook's imagination. I especially like using roasted green tea in rubs, as it adds a hearty, rich, smoky tang to all sorts of foods."

Save every drop of your leftover tea, said Mitzner, the online merchant. Freeze it in ice-cube trays. "Ice cubes made from herbal teas -- such as jasmine, rooibos, peppermint and hibiscus -- add a floral or spicy taste to cocktails or nonalcoholic drinks," she said. "Herbal teas add a subtle flavor to fruit dishes, jellies and grains. The Groovy Mind sells only organic, shade-grown Fair Trade coffee and seasonally harvested, organic, Fair Trade tea. Why? "Because organic coffee and tea grown without pesticides and harvested in season maintains quality, nutrients and protects your health and the environment," says Mitzner. "Fair Trade, which guarantees a fair wage and other benefits, makes farmers happy and happy farmers produce great harvests!"

ll drink and eat to that!

You probably don't pour your morning cappuccino or Earl Grey into a meatloaf or baked bean recipe. But top chefs -- including Food Network superstars Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse -- do. Creating everything from tea-smoked salmon to espresso custard, they join others nationwide in featuring tea and coffee on savory and sweet menus.

Celebrate World Fair Trade Day May 10

(NEW YORK, NY) - May, 2008 -- Did you know environmental sustainability and social responsibility go hand in hand? Protecting biodiversity and natural resources in developing nations is a very important part of social justice, and that's the cornerstone of The Groovy Mind. This World Fair Trade Day, celebrate justice for all.

(NEW YORK, NY) - March, 2008 -- At a recent tea seminar in New York City conducted by renowned Food Historian and Cookbook Author Francine Segan, a comparative cupping of organic Fair Trade Groovy Mind teas--Golden Halo, Whole Leaf Darjeeling Green, White Peony, Silver Tips, Roobois, Jade Rings and Emerald Flower Power was received with great enthusiasm. "Everyone raved about the quality of the teas," reported Segan. Seasonally harvested, whole leaf and high grade, teas from the Groovy Mind "enchanted the audience."

(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) February, 2008-- Buying green just got easier for consumers looking to be more Earth-friendly with their shopping habits. With the release of thepurplebook green, the definitive guide to exceptional online eco-friendly shopping, consumers can make smart, well-informed choices about sustainable products and services.
www.TheGroovyMind.com has been selected by thepurplebook Green Edition as one of the best eco-friendly retailers online.
"Consumers are eager to live a more eco-conscious lifestyle, but the complexity behind living green can cause an overwhelming sense of confusion that holds many people back from taking positive steps forward," said Hillary Mendelsohn, author of the thepurplebook series. "The goal with thepurplebook green is to simplify Earth-friendly shopping by focusing on the growing number of web shops that turn our good intentions into reality by offering environmentally sound products." According to the 2007 GFK Roper Green Gauge study, nearly half of all Americans would do more for the environment if they only knew how. Online shopping helps people minimize their environmental impact, and when consumers are able to back up their principles with their pocketbooks, they wield substantial power for change.

African Red Bush or Roobois tea grown in the Cedarberg Mountains of South Africa is a robust yet gentle herbal tea power packed with zinc, manganese, alpha-hydroxy, magnesium, copper, iron, potassium, calcium and vitamin C, great for replenishing electrolytes after a vigorous workout and to boost iron levels in pregnant women and breast feeding moms. For generations, South African mothers have used African Red Bush as a supplement to breast milk for its soothing effects on colicky babies and allergic tots. Even dads pulling all nighters can benefit from the vitamin and mineral rich content of African Red Bush tea. Best news yet, African Red Bush is wonderful as a hot or an iced tea, naturally sweet and delicious. To maximize the benefits, buy seasonally harvested organic Fair Trade African Red Bush tea.

The ground breaking documentary Black Gold clearly illustrates the horrific human cost for a cup of cheap coffee: starving children, the desperate decision to grow chit (a narcotic) rather than coffee beans, the abject poverty. Ethopia can't take it anymore. Host a Black Gold House Party! Join TransFair USA supporters nationwide for the PBS broadcast of Black Gold on April 10. Share the importance of Fair Trade with family, friends and colleagues. Buy Fair Trade and see "Black Gold."

The Suffolk Times, August 17, 2006 - Julie Lane

"We at www.thegroovymind.com would like to see Fair Trade become the norm for social and economic justice," said Melanie Mitzner, who operates the e-commerce site with her partner, Nicke Gorney. But she's concerned about the motivations of a big-box retailer like Wal-Mart latching on.Wal-Mart coined the term "trend right" to describe its move toward Fair Trade. But Ms. Mitzner sees Fair Trade not as a "trend, but a human right."
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Afternoon Tea With The Groovy Mind

- TreeHugger, February 16, 2006 - Erin Oliver

On a recent snowy afternoon a group of friends and I gathered beside the fire to experience three of the world's finest organic fair trade teas: Pai Mu Tan White, Darjeeling Green and Earl Grey. Called "Transcendental Tea" by tea traders The Groovy Mind, this collection represents the three most distinct members of the tea family: white -a relatively new arrival admired for its impressive antioxidant properties; green - which became popular in the late '90's and has since found its way into everything from ice cream to air fresheners; and black, a simple and elegant classic with a fascinating and sometimes sordid history. READ MORE >>

Make a Difference with The Groovy Mind

- TreeHugger, Oct 13, 2005 - Kara, Newport, RI

For the past week, it’s been raining here in the Northeast and needless to say, we needed a cup of coffee pretty badly this morning. We brew our own at home instead of hitting up the local Starbucks and it seemed like the perfect time to dive into our “Groovy Gift Box” we received from The Groovy Mind. Melanie Mitzner and her business partner, Nicke Gorney, launched their Fair Trade, organic and eco-friendly online store to trade in higher consciousness and to further the movements of environmental sustainability and social and economic justice. The site sells delicious coffee and tea, luscious chocolate and yummy snacks in addition to handmade crafts and toys. People love to both give and receive socially responsible and environmentally sustainable gifts so in addition to the gift boxes they also offer “Gourmet Gift Certificates” and “Gourmet Gift Memberships” to either the coffee or tea club. So as we sit here and sip our Smooth Groove (delicious!), we read the information card that Mitzner and Gorney included for us: “change the world one sip at a time.” Today is already looking better.

Want to increase your brain power? Eat chocolate!

Megan Rauscher's article for Reuter's reports that chocolate contains "substances...previously been found to increase alertness and attention and what we have found is that by consuming chocolate you can get the stimulating effects, which lead to increased mental performance."
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L.I. @ WORK

- THE NEW YORK TIMES, September 18, 2005 - By Stacy Albin

Ask Melanie Mitzner what she and her business partner, Nicke Gorney, are doing, for example, and she answers, ''Trading in higher consciousness.''

Their company, www.thegroovymind.com, sells socially responsible gift boxes including organic coffees, tea, chocolate and eco-friendly goods online, stressing that no pesticides or chemicals are used in growing or manufacturing. The company makes an effort to buy many of its products from countries with ''fair trade'' policies meant to guarantee farmers a certain income regardless of fluctuations in world commodity prices.

The company's organic and fair-trade policies mean its costs are higher and its profit margins narrower than they might be otherwise, but the owners don't mind. Making a living is important, Ms. Mitzner said, but the main goal is ''buying, selling and promoting products that are socially responsible and environmentally sustainable -- because after all, that's all we've got as people on this planet.''
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Commercial Conscience

- THE SUFFOLK TIMES, August 2005 - By Julie Lane

"We in the free world live a life of luxury at the expense of others," explains Melanie Mitzner who launched the Fair Trade, organic and eco-friendly online store www.thegroovymind.com with her partner Nicke Gorney. By giving Fair Trade gifts of organic and Fair Trade products, everyone can make a difference.

Fair Trade workers receive triple the average wage for growing and harvesting organically Fair Trade coffee, Fair Trade tea and Fair Trade chocolate. By receiving educational and health care benefits, Fair Trade helps break the cycle of poverty while providing a healthy environment free of pesticides, herbicides and hormones. Americans are very shortsighted. Whatever is done to exploit the land in other countries will affect us here...
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by Melanie Mitzner. NFWFWF newsletter Winter 2006

Buddhist monks brought the first seeds of the tea plant to Japan from China in the eighth century A.D. after discovering that it kept them from falling asleep during meditation. Compressed tea became a form of currency in Asia by the 10th century. It wasn’t until the early 1600s that Dutch traders brought tea to Europe. And finally by the 17th century it reached North America. Not surprisingly, it took three more centuries before Western medicine acknowledged the health benefits of tea—its antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties have been widely used in Eastern medicine for millennia.

Black, green and white teas all come from the same plant Camellia sinensis but white tea is the least processed. The leaves and buds are picked and air dried whereas other teas are oxidized, rolled, bruised, steamed, aged and/or fired reducing their polyphenols or catechins, antioxidants with the powerful ability to fight virus and bacteria and stop the mutation process of carcinogens on DNA... (read more link)
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Small Planet

Founded by authors Anna Lappé and Frances Moore Lappé (Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet), the Fund supports courageous movements bringing to life on-the-ground, citizen-led solutions to hunger, poverty, and environmental devastation around the world. The volunteer-run Fund raises money from individual donations, book sales, and fundraising events. Their principles include: