illy's Canned Coffee and Teeccino Tea at Natural Products Expo East 2013

Hands down, the greatest coffee in the world is Illy (which is not really open to debate here, unless you're roasting it daily, 5 minutes walk from where I'm staying).

And so Illy is putting it in a can and cooling it down, and promoting it unashamedly as an energy booster, like those energy drinks that taste like something you'd take for a cough, or maybe even around 4am to help you capture a sex partner at some disco-nightclub- rave scene, since Cocaine is both illegal and taboo.  Either one, it's probably not the taste your too too concerned about with some of these drinks. 

illy on the other hand tasted great-- rich, light, nuty, sublime.  I generally avoid the new cold canned coffees I see out there, highly sweetened, with a Green and White Mermaid label, staring me down from cold shelves of every Deli in NY for example.  

See,  http://www.illy.com/wps/wcm/connect/en/home

Were it playing in a Quick Stop Deli near me, I'd do a quick march to buy this illy product in a heart beat, which is fitting, since illy's marketing people have chosen to emphasize heart rates, the same quality that made that Ethiopian goat jump for joy thousands of years ago to the bewilderment of his goat handler, who in turn just had to try some for himself, all leading to the discovery of coffee and the subsequent battles over it, both commercial and military.   

It's interesting to point out that illy only uses Ethiopian beans, as I recall from a 60 Minutes interview with the CEO of illy as he talked about the profiteering and inequity in coffee markets, despite the existence of coffee futures contracts intended to mitigate these things.  Since about Jimmy Carter's defeat (the founding father of Craft beer), I'd say you can always count on CBS 60 Minutes to vilify the biggest fish in the smallest dirty pond they can find,

while ignoring even the guppies in a sea of oil (and some of its investors who happen to swim there too).

Teeccino is another story, a caffeine free herbal alternative to coffee, that was also featured at the Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore.  It offered big taste in a sea of flavor options, ranging from coconut water in disco bottles, to sodas intended to meet demands of bar tenders in cocktail culture, and some suspect Kombuchas, flavored with awful non sugar sweeteners, albeit on draft and in nice bottles.

Teeccino call themselves "America's Number 1 Coffee Alternative" (now that Postum has all but bitten the dust, except for limited release, mostly in Utah, which is probably where Teeccino also does quite well).  

And Teeccino has a nice decorated truck, which is how I was introduced, while parking outside the Expo, via giant vehicle decal.  And while I know, defining yourself as what you are not is not the most appealing pitch, in this case it undersells what's really great about Teccino's products, which is both flavor and nutrition.  Unlike Postum, which was basically wheat bran, wheat, molasses and corn sugar, Teeccino has a variety of natural, nutritionally superior ingredients to Postum's wheat and corn based carbohydrate formula.

They include great flavors from things like real and actual vanilla, nuts, figs, almonds, dates, in addition to natural carob and barley base (some are barley free).  But apart from the flavor notes you imagine from the actual ingredients (unlike the notes brewers fake to achieve "nutty" flavor), Teeccino has generous amounts of chicory in every cup, which is said to have medicinal qualities, likely way more beneficial than the ethanol based beverages we discuss most often here.

The Teeccino booth was well appointed, and the salesman seemed almost too knowledgeable about the company and the sourcing of the ingredients, until it became clear that his mother started, owns and runs it. 

The Teeccino products were also a standout at the Expo that should appeal to anyone looking for big, bold flavor while alternating their coffee intake with something "amazing and delicious" (two qualities we lament and parody as we celebrate them here) and oh so nutritious (something we don't so much).  


I had the new dark roast dandelion, which was epic. Good for late nights, when you really need to sleep.  You can see it here: http://teeccino.com/ .