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Your Coffee Can (and Should) Taste Better, Maurice Contreras at Volcanica Coffee
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Your Coffee Can (and Should) Taste Better, explains Maurice Contreras at Volcanica Coffee

By Marty Neehin — 1 year ago

Your Coffee Can (and Should) Taste Better, Maurice Contreras at Volcanica Coffee

Just about everyone has their coffee preferences.  But the truth is, most of us aren’t enjoying coffee the best it can be and we don’t even know it.  The beans, the grinding, the flavor (or lack thereof).

 

And before you ask, nope, good coffee doesn’t need to be expensive.  Actually most great coffee is more affordable than the bad stuff you’re currently drinking.  True story.

 

But I wanted to get answers and advice from a coffee expert, so I had a conversation with Maurice Contreras from Volcanica Coffee.

Maurice Contreras Volcanica Coffee

Maurice Contreras, Volcanica Coffee

Native Costa Rican Maurice Contreras started Volcanica Coffee to import excellent-tasting coffee from volcanic regions, such as his homeland, to consumers. He started the company in his garage and now operates a coffee plant near Atlanta with 20 employees, including his wife and two adult children.

 

What is your favorite thing about coffee?

 

My favorite thing I like about coffee is really the flavor. That actually was how I got started. I’m from Costa Rica and for a long time I would do annual trips with the family. It was a family vacation. One of our trips we did a coffee farm tour. And just got to learn about coffee. And this is back in 2004. One of the things that dawned on me is how coffee in Costa Rica was so much better than coffee in the United States. I just didn’t understand why a 3rd world country had better coffee. The quality of coffee in the United States has really come down over several decades. So that’s when I thought that there was an opportunity to bring better tasting coffee or specialty coffee as it’s known today to the United States. That was really how it got started. It really was more about the flavor and just enjoying the richness of a Costa Rican coffee.

 

Is there a simple reason why first world coffee just isn’t as good?

 

Yeah, the general sense was because it became more of a highly produced, big production, big coffee house; and I’ll tell you a quick story. A lot of people don’t know this, the word Maxwell House, it actually is a chain of hotels. Some of them are still in existence. And so Maxwell House started from the Maxwell House Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. They served breakfast and they had really good coffee and it became really popular. It became very famous, and then eventually it became its own brand Maxwell House, and then it ended up getting acquired by corporate conglomerates. And that really good tasting coffee just turned into [not-great] coffee.

 

So that’s really what happened to coffee in the United States. At one time, back in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, people would really appreciate good coffee and then just kind of lost sight of what good coffee was.

 

 

From a coffee lover’s point of view, what would you say to convince them to give your coffee a try?

 

That coffee really is an enjoyable drink to be appreciated and enjoyed for the flavor of what it is. It’s not just something to wake you up. But really coffee and all the different varieties, there’s a lot of flavor notes, a lot of different flavors to be enjoyed. A lot of it depends upon the different regions. My recommendation is try it out and get some good coffee with some flavor notes that you enjoy. Like, for example, Ethiopian coffees, they have a lot of berry notes, a lot of fruit tones, even red wine notes. Some of those things can really open up people’s perspective on coffee.

 

 

Before we jump more into coffee, I wanted to ask you about your background as far as the work you did before Volcanica Coffee

 

My career was in marketing specifically I was in the wireless telephone industry. It really was just about creating a brand. I was part of the startup team at TracFone Wireless which is now a part of Verizon. I was the National Director, I created the brand. In fact, there’s still a lot of things in the brand that I created. I had a passion for marketing.

 

It was kinda like, “Hey, gee whiz, what if I created my own brand and just created a business?”

 

And so I actually was on a hunt for a couple of years thinking what would be a good business? And then I just kind of stumbled on coffee because it was staring me in the face.

 

There’s such a message in there. The success you’re currently riding is because you took industry knowledge of marketing, a personal passion for coffee, and took the risk of putting them together in a business start-up.

 

Yep, that’s true. It was a risk because I was making a good living, I had a young family, I didn’t wanna affect any of that. It was something part-time, working nights and weekends, that’s how it all started out. I

 

How did your family feel about that?  Was there anxiety?

 

It was definitely a struggle and I loved spending time with them and being with them. But part of how I resolved that was I would just wake up early in the morning and spend 1-2 hours before I had to go to work doing this. I didn’t want to neglect my family and I didn’t.

 

There’s so many people out there who aspire to take those steps and they always find reasons not to, but you found a way.  When people are drinking your coffee, they’re not just drinking delicious coffee, they’re supporting someone who took a huge chance, who followed his passions.

 

So segueing to the actual coffee part now.

Your website mentions coffee regions and how the region’s soil contributes to the taste.  A lot of our audience who’s into food and wine will realize the terroir aspect is very familiar to that.

 

 

Can you pick two or three regions and explain their soil and how it contributes to the taste?

 

I’ll start with African coffees. Their soil is very unique. Coffees from Africa tend to have a lot of berry notes, a lot more flavor of fruit which is very unique and very different compared to coffees from Indonesia.

 

Indonesian coffees tend to be lower in acidity. Acidity provides flavor but they’re still very good tasting coffees, even though they’re lower in acidity.  

 

Also the coffee in Indonesia, Sumatra, for example, Papua New Guinea, and even Hawaiian Kona coffees, those tend to have a lot of boldness. When you taste the cup, your mouth just tends to [recognize] that bold flavor, which you don’t get in African coffees. So those are a couple examples.

 

So really it is like old world wine versus new world wine. A noticeable difference in mouth feel depending on what region you’re going after.

 

When people ask, Hey, what kind of coffee should I buy? I always ask, what kind of flavors do you like? Start there. Then for people that are experimenting, try different coffees from different regions.

 

 

 

 

You mentioned that you’re from Costa Rica.  So tell us more about the Costa Rican volcanic regions.

 

It’s the most popular coffee growing region in Costa Rica, the Tarrazu area, which is very mountainous, goes up to 5,000 feet above sea level south of San Jose. Very steep. 

 

The coffee beans, because of the volcanic soil, have a lot of flavor. It’s a very mild flavor, but very flavorful as well. And because of the elevations, the beans are also very dense. They’re a harder bean. In fact, there’s a designation strictly hard bean that is used in the industry because of that. 

 

Being from Costa Rica I came here [to the U.S.] when I was a baby.  My mom would tell stories about how she would assist with her father, which is my grandfather, in the harvest. Because my grandfather was a teacher, he would work out in the rural areas of Costa Rica where the coffee bean farmers worked. They would assist during harvest time with picking coffee beans off the tree. There was the connection going back a couple generations in our family.

 

There has been a coffee influence throughout generations of your family.

 

Yes. For decades, maybe even a century, coffee was the number one product for Costa Rica. Today it’s tourism.

 

I’m glad you brought up tourism. We cover a lot of travel. If somebody wanted to visit Costa Rica, maybe even a specific coffee lover, is there a place you can recommend to come visit?

 

One of the farms that we work with actually has an Airbnb right on their plantation. We’ve had several customers that have made trips there and have gone and stayed at the house. It’s gorgeous.

 

 

More people are working from home and making coffee at home. A lot of us making coffee wrong. Can you just walk us through step by step the best way to grind and brew your coffee?

 

The single largest improvement in the freshness of your coffee is by grinding your beans at home.  A lot of people don’t know this: buying ground coffee, because it’s in smaller particles, tends to deteriorate very quickly. So you’re not enjoying the best of what coffee can be. 

So first of all, grind at home and it’s the type of grinder.

We recommend a burr grinder. The other type of grinder is a blade grinder, which is a cheap type grinder, which does not do as well as a burr grinder. 

Second thing is you wanna match your grind type to how you’re brewing. So there’s different levels, how fine or how course you want the coffee.  If you’re doing a French press, you want to have a coarse grind.  The opposite spectrum is an espresso grind. It’s almost like very fine sand. So if you had coarse coffee and an espresso maker, you’d have a bad cup of coffee. And the opposite too.  If you had a French press where you’re using espresso ground coffee, you would not have a good tasting coffee. A lot of it has to do with the extraction and this is the chemistry behind coffee.

Then in the middle of that would be like a traditional drip grind, which most people have which is a medium coarseness of a grind type. That works best to pour over or a drip grind.

 

Once you buy the equipment, you’re saving quite a bit of money by doing this all at home. More value and quality out of doing it at home?

 

Oh yeah. A cup of coffee outside can cost $3-6. At home, 50 cents per cup. Plus you’re controlling the flavor, how hot it is and how fresh it is.

 

How many cups do you think the average coffee person drinks per day?

 

The average is between one to two cups per day. Wall Street Journal says 66% of Americans have had coffee within the last day.

 

 

So with volcanic, you’ve mentioned low acid. Tell us more.

 

Low acid coffee is actually a natural occurrence. There’s no additives that need to be added, at least we don’t add anything to our coffee. It’s just how it’s sourced. How it’s brewed also affects acidity. 

 

So for example, the cold brew method tends to lower the acidity of coffee. Even more than if you brewed it traditionally in a drip grinder. It benefits people who suffer from acid reflux; and different types of indigestion abnormalities can benefit from low acidic coffee just because the pH is a higher number. 

 

We have a lot of customers thanking us because they could not drink coffee before they heard about our low acid coffee, so now they can drink coffee again. 

 

We have a blend of different coffees called the low acid coffee, plus 12 or 15 other coffees that are also rated as low acid. We rated them, we’ve done the pH levels on all of them, and all of them fall into that category of being lower in acidity.

 

 

Volcanica has built up a really strong community on your social media avenues.  What have the results been like?

 

We’re on all the major socials: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok. It’s very easy to find us.  We take customer feedback really seriously. We’re always looking for input and ideas. 

We’ll get a request [to] carry a type of coffee or coffee from a region and we’ll always look into it. 

We offer 100% customer satisfaction. We take returns, even when the customer just didn’t like a coffee, which is no fault of ours.

 

When someone does suggest a new bean, a new region, is that an easy outreach to investigate, or is that a whole process?

 

It is a whole process.

 

 

 

What’s a great online shopping strategy for finding the right coffee beans?

 

Align yourself with a brand that has a quality product. Look at customer reviews, their roasting technique.   Then it’s a matter of what type of coffee do you like? What flavor notes? Something mild? Berry notes? Lower in acidity?

 

So I go onto your website to buy some beans.  What’s a safe way to pick a bean that I’ll probably enjoy?

 

We carry over 150 different coffees, which is a lot. Visiting our website you have to know your preferences. Having some [filtering/search ] tools out there would be beneficial to people helping the selection process, that’s actually on our roadmap for the future.

 

Part of the reason why we have 150 coffees is because we’ve been listening to our customers over the years.

 

Tell us something about Volcanico Coffee that not everyone knows.

 

We love to give back. We’ve been blessed, we’ve been very successful, so we donate 1% of our website sales to an organization called Charity Water. They build water projects in impoverished communities around the world. This year we’re actually sponsoring a well in Ethiopia for a particular town. We know that we buy a lot of coffee from Ethiopia and we’d love to give back to them.

 

 

What is the future of coffee?

 

The future of coffee is specially curated lots. We call them our “Private Collection”. Farmers that are actually fermenting their coffee with mango, peach, different types of fruits. We have a few of them right now. We’re hoping to be carrying more in the near future.

 

Our audience is listening right now. What would you like them to do?

 

If you’re interested in finding out more about coffee and experiencing coffee, start exploring. We offer a great cup of coffee. Great different flavors and varieties. We even offer decafs, flavored coffees, something for everybody.

 

Website: https://volcanicacoffee.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gourmet.coffee.beans

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VolcanicaCoffee

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/volcanicacoffee 

 

The Magic of Honey is getting Rediscovered and Darko Mandich is leading the way
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The Magic of Honey (and its Health Powers) is getting Rediscovered and Darko Mandich is leading the way

By Joe Winger — 1 year ago

The magic and power of honey is getting Rediscovered and Mellody Food’s Darko Mandich is leading the way

Honey has been a staple in my people diets for their whole.  As a result, many of us take it for granted.  But that’s changing thanks now.

Let’s find out in an exclusive interview with Mellody Food’s Darko Mandich.

Darko Mandich is a food entrepreneur in San Francisco. After spending almost a decade in the European honey industry as a business executive, Darko committed to reimagining the honey industry to become sustainable. Darko immigrated from Europe to California to launch Mellody, the world’s first plant-based honey brand. Darko is an advocate of saving the bees and wild pollinators.

Mellody Food's Darko Mandich

Mellody Food’s Darko Mandich

 

Recently, I had a chance to talk with Darko.

Why honey? Was it a personal passion or where did the interest come from for you?

Honestly, at that time, it was a great opportunity and a very interesting company that had many different divisions all related to food and agriculture.

It’s my grandma’s fault that I got into the food industry because I remember when I was a kid, my grandma and my mom and dad, they were running a tiny tavern in the Mediterranean coastline.

Seeing people gathered around the food, seeing people running around prepping the food. In my family, whenever we would have guests visiting our home, there’s always gonna be like plenty of food. And I think that subliminally inserted in my brain. Even though I pursued business and entrepreneurship, that’s something that excites me. In the background of all of that was food. I don’t mind that because I’m a foodie myself.

 

Honey is being Re-Discovered. Why did honey become so important to us today?

 

There’s so many angles to that. If you ask consumers in the US their preferred sweetener is honey. Why? Because people understand that honey has the sugar part that gives you a kick, gives you energy; but honey also has a very exciting non sugary part to it, which makes it a better for you. I would say [it’s] the best sweetener out there.

Also, there’s something about the mythology of honey.

There’s this Greek goddess of honey. Honey has been presented as a divine product across many religious books in different religious and history is telling so many interesting stories about honey.

Around 200 years ago, they unsealed Egyptian pyramids, got inside, found a bunch of things, and amongst others there was honey in a pot. And you know what? That honey was edible. And no food in the world would actually stand against that shelf life because, [of honey’s ] special combinations of sugar acidity, pH. Now I’m nerding up.

 

But the thing is, honey is very special. It will never go bad. There’s kind of official shelf life to honey, but honey will actually never go bad.

And I think if you connect all these things and consumers looking for better solutions, looking for something that can satisfy them, not only on a taste, but on a nutritious level, honey [has] become so popular. I had a chance to witness this across my decade old career in the US and before that in Europe.

And look, I was very excited about honey. I didn’t know much about it when I joined that [first] company, but when I started learning about it, I was like, ‘Wow, this product is really amazing.’

 

Is the honey currently available at Eleven Madison Home?

 

This is the product from a direct to consumer collaboration. We just launched with three Michelin star, Eleven Madison Park in New York City.

Eleven Madison Home's The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

Eleven Madison Home’s The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

 

 

Yeah, the honey is currently available. The Specialty Tea and Honey Box launched for the Mother’s Day collection and Earth Month.

It’s a specially curated box of artisanal teas coming from different parts of the world with honey and also amazing, shortbread cookies. All plant-based, also made with our honey. That’s available right now

Sometime very soon a standalone jar [of honey] will also be available to Eleven Madison Home.

Eleven Madison Home's The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

Eleven Madison Home’s The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

 

Tell us again what’s available, how to find it; and how to follow you and support you.

 

Yeah, follow us on Instagram and TikTok at MellodyFoods

In terms of purchasing, head to ElevenMadisonHome.com and you can purchase it there.

Saving the bees is learning more about them. Learning more about pollinators and you can do that on our social media.

And finally, if you’re equally passionate about bees and plants as we are, ask your favorite restaurant to reach out to us to offer Mellody in your favorite restaurant. It can be a vegan restaurant on non-vegan.

We are gonna work with all the restaurants that reach out to us where people ask to see our product offered, either on the menu, either within a meal, or just if you order a cup of tea and you want a side of Mellody.

 

SoCal Wonders How Bees are Involved? How do they actually make plant-based honey?
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SoCal, Has a Bee’s Role Changed? How Science makes plant-based honey

By Joe Winger — 1 year ago

Southern California wonders how bees are involved? How do they actually make plant-based honey?

Traditionally bees have a massive role in producing honey.  So, removing their support seems unrealistic, or does it?  And sure, scientists can try to explain it.  But can someone explain it in simple terms, in a way that a curious foodie could understand it?

Let’s find out in an exclusive interview with Mellody Food’s Darko Mandich.

Darko Mandich is a food entrepreneur in San Francisco. After spending almost a decade in the European honey industry as a business executive, Darko committed to reimagining the honey industry to become sustainable. Darko immigrated from Europe to California to launch Mellody, the world’s first plant-based honey brand. Darko is an advocate of saving the bees and wild pollinators.

Mellody Food's Darko Mandich

Mellody Food’s Darko Mandich

 

Recently, I had a chance to talk with Darko.

 

From a science point of view, how are you creating plant-based honey products?

 

The process has to start with philosophy. When people think about science, engineering and process, what comes to their mind is what’s the science? What’s the engineering behind that? What’s the process of making something?

 

But I would argue that every process, every science starts with a philosophy in the first place. So for us, our philosophy was there’s honey made by the bees in the market, the real ones, that product quality-wise is amazing, but has negative baggage in terms of how it’s made. Next to that, there’s fake honey. There’s basically adulterated honey that’s made by people taking fraudulent activities and blending a little bit of real honey and a lot of rice syrup.

That’s done outside of the US by people trying not to get caught. The third group are vegan honey alternatives, made out of tapioca, dates, maple, pure sugar. These products are just not honey. Trying to impersonate honey, but it’s not honey. It’s a legit product. It’s in the market. People can buy it.

What was missing is the fourth group, which is the category that we pioneered.

Honey, the product that has the composition of real honey but that doesn’t have any rice syrups, nothing that doesn’t belong to honey. But, it’s not made by the bees and therefore by default is vegan and plant-based. So that was the category that we started, and we didn’t start it only for vegans. Obviously vegans are our early adopters. They love what we’re doing. I’m vegan myself. But I want this to be an inclusive company and brand, and therefore we launched this for everybody. For everybody who likes delicious and nutritious foods. By choosing this you’re basically voting for those little creatures to survive on this planet.

You asked me about the process.

You wanna make honey only from something that in nature that touches bees and honey, it’s very strict. Our team studied a lot of different honeys, the different anatomy of the bees, the science behind honey production. Bees land on a flower, they suck up nectar. And there’s a couple of things in a bee’s anatomy. We came up with this proprietary process where we interact with the plants, we take different parts of the plants.

 

What’s really exciting and cool is we can take the whole plant, break it into different ingredients, and take parts of the plant that maybe bees don’t have access to, like its roots. So we take different ingredients from different plants. We have more than 30 different plants in our product that we launched and we created this process that is basically mixing all those ingredients in a food facility in a regular culinary approach, and basically create a product that looks, tastes, and behaves like honey.

Is your honey currently available at Eleven Madison Home?

 

This is the product from a direct to consumer collaboration. We just launched with three Michelin star, Eleven Madison Park in New York City.

Eleven Madison Home's The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

Eleven Madison Home’s The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

 

Yeah, the honey is currently available. The Specialty Tea and Honey Box launched for the Mother’s Day collection and Earth Month.

It’s a specially curated box of artisanal teas coming from different parts of the world with honey and also amazing, shortbread cookies. All plant-based, also made with our honey. That’s available right now

Sometime very soon a standalone jar [of honey] will also be available to Eleven Madison Home.

Eleven Madison Home's The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

Eleven Madison Home’s The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

 

Tell us again what’s available, how to find it; and how to follow you and support you.

 

Yeah, follow us on Instagram and TikTok at MellodyFoods

In terms of purchasing, head to ElevenMadisonHome.com and you can purchase it there.

Saving the bees is learning more about them. Learning more about pollinators and you can do that on our social media.

And finally, if you’re equally passionate about bees and plants as we are, ask your favorite restaurant to reach out to us to offer Mellody in your favorite restaurant. It can be a vegan restaurant on non-vegan.

We are gonna work with all the restaurants that reach out to us where people ask to see our product offered, either on the menu, either within a meal, or just if you order a cup of tea and you want a side of Mellody.

 

LA Foodies Want to know: What does Plant-based Honey Pair Well With?
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LA Foodies Want to know: What does Plant-based Honey Pair Well With?

By Joe Winger — 1 year ago

LA Foodies want to know, what does Plant-based Honey Pair Well With?

You keep reading about plant-based honey. The environmental story, the nutrition.  But how does it taste?  What can you pair it with?  Let’s find out in an exclusive interview with Mellody Food’s Darko Mandich.

Darko Mandich is a food entrepreneur in San Francisco. After spending almost a decade in the European honey industry as a business executive, Darko committed to reimagining the honey industry to become sustainable. Darko immigrated from Europe to California to launch Mellody, the world’s first plant-based honey brand. Darko is an advocate of saving the bees and wild pollinators.

Mellody Food's Darko Mandich

Mellody Food’s Darko Mandich

 

Recently, I had a chance to talk with Darko.

 

You said you are a foodie. What are some incredible food pairings that you recommend with this honey?

 

When I like to talk about food, I always like to join food and beverage.

What does Plant-based Honey Pair Well With?

What does Plant-based Honey Pair Well With?

 

I’ll start with beverages first. I think this honey is perfect for mocktails and cocktails. It gives just enough of sweetness that someone is looking for in their alcoholic cocktail or non-alcoholic cocktail.

 

Will Plant-based Honey pair well With baklava

Will Plant-based Honey pair well With baklava

 

In terms of food, I would split it into savory and sweet. Sweet applications are my favorite, I just have a sweet tooth. My favorite dessert is Baklava because it comes from the part of the world where I come from. My wife, who’s a home chef, [used our honey to make] baklava and it was amazing.

 

We did an amazing collaboration with an upscale Italian plant-based restaurant in San Francisco Baia. They created this amazing, vegan panna cotta with our honey on top. It was culinary mastery developed by Chef Joshua Yap, who started working with Chef Matthew Kenny, who is also a well-known, plant-based chef.

 

Will plant-based honey pair well with a burger

Will plant-based honey pair well with a burger

In terms of savory applications, that opens a whole new world of opportunities. How we interact with stuff like pizza and honey, burgers and honey. Obviously honey and vinaigrette and olive oil, used as a dressing for salads, honey mustard, just name it.

 

What’s next for Mellody? What are the next steps out there for you?

 

Getting into as many restaurants as possible in this country. People are inquiring about the standalone product [separate from the speciality box] get it very soon at Eleven Madison Home.

Working on getting this product to as many people as possible, and just to invite everybody to participate in this mission of creating the sustainable future of honey.

I’m just excited about every tiny step in this journey until melody becomes the word for honey.

 

Eleven Madison Home's The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

Eleven Madison Home’s The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

 

Is the honey currently available at Eleven Madison Home?

 

Yeah, the honey is currently available. The Specialty Tea and Honey Box launched for the Mother’s Day collection and Earth Month.

It’s a specially curated box of artisanal teas coming from different parts of the world with honey and also amazing, shortbread cookies. All plant-based, also made with our honey. That’s available right now

Sometime very soon a standalone jar [of honey] will also be available to Eleven Madison Home.

Eleven Madison Home's The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

Eleven Madison Home’s The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

 

Tell us again what’s available, how to find it; and how to follow you and support you.

 

Yeah, follow us on Instagram and TikTok at MellodyFoods

In terms of purchasing, head to ElevenMadisonHome.com and you can purchase it there.

Saving the bees is learning more about them. Learning more about pollinators and you can do that on our social media.

And finally, if you’re equally passionate about bees and plants as we are, ask your favorite restaurant to reach out to us to offer Mellody in your favorite restaurant. It can be a vegan restaurant on non-vegan.

We are gonna work with all the restaurants that reach out to us where people ask to see our product offered, either on the menu, either within a meal, or just if you order a cup of tea and you want a side of Mellody.

 

SoCal is Curious about Plant-Based Honey Taste? Mellody's Darko Mandich reveals the Surprise
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SoCal is Curious about Plant-Based Honey Taste? Mellody’s Darko Mandich reveals the Surprise

By Joe Winger — 1 year ago

Los Angeles is known for its adventurous foodies and curious eaters.  Plenty of people are already in line to try plant-based honey, but what does it actually taste like?

People might worry there’s a “laboratory” flavor?  Has it lost its texture? Vibrancy? Is there a “diet” feel to it?

Exclusive Interview with Mellody Food’s Darko Mandich.

Darko Mandich is a food entrepreneur in San Francisco. After spending almost a decade in the European honey industry as a business executive, Darko committed to reimagining the honey industry to become sustainable. Darko immigrated from Europe to California to launch Mellody, the world’s first plant-based honey brand. Darko is an advocate of saving the bees and wild pollinators.

Mellody Food's Darko Mandich

Mellody Food’s Darko Mandich

 

Recently, I had a chance to talk with Darko for nearly an hour.

 

Let’s talk about the honey. What’s the taste profile?

 

There are three aspects of products that people care about. Number one by far is taste. Number two is price, and number three is nutrition.

In terms of the taste, what we’re really after is the best tasting honeys that are made by bees. 

The taste has to match rare honeys that you would find in parts of Europe; France, Italy. Very high quality Acacia honey, specifically.

If we talk about New Zealand, Australia, that’s Manuka honey; and we’re matching that.

So no compromise there.

Moving to the price, I grew up in poverty and I really want to make sure that everybody has access to this product at some point. But it’ll take us some time. So right now it’s premium quality, but it’s also premium price.

In terms of nutrition, we wanna do better than honey coming from bees. How? First and foremost, honey made by the bees contains a certain bacteria that’s called Clostridium. With our product, without the bees [there’s no Clostridium] bacteria.

I’m really proud to say that our product is allergen free; and that for people with allergies to honey and pollen, this is gonna be neutral.

Finally in terms of super ingredients or superfoods, our honey has more than what’s usually found in some of the honey types made by the bees.

The sugar profile is the same, the calorie content is the same, but the twist is there’s a little bit more of certain powerful active compounds that come from the plants.

 

That’s absolutely incredible. It’s enhanced honey. Is there a better word?

 

I like to call it a plant-based honey. And that category of plant-based honey is already elevated to the level of being enhanced compared to bee-made honey.

 

I’m really happy that Melody is starting this category. We are the world’s first plant-based honey.

There’s exactly one same sentence that we get to hear across 5,000 people that were involved in tasting this before it hit the market.

That sentence is: It’s honey.

People taste it, they’re amazed with it, and they say, “Oh my God, it’s honey.”

There are certain plant-based products that have their heart in best place in terms of mission and impact, but are just not delivering on [flavor] expectations. We just want to make sure that people across different categories of nutrition say that this is honey and that they love it.

Eleven Madison Home's The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

Eleven Madison Home’s The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

 

Is the honey currently available at Eleven Madison Home?

 

Yeah, the honey is currently available. The Specialty Tea and Honey Box launched for the Mother’s Day collection and Earth Month.

It’s a specially curated box of artisanal teas coming from different parts of the world with honey and also amazing, shortbread cookies. All plant-based, also made with our honey. That’s available right now

Sometime very soon a standalone jar [of honey] will also be available to Eleven Madison Home.

Eleven Madison Home's The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

Eleven Madison Home’s The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

 

Tell us again what’s available, how to find it; and how to follow you and support you.

 

Yeah, follow us on Instagram and TikTok at MellodyFoods

In terms of purchasing, head to ElevenMadisonHome.com and you can purchase it there.

Saving the bees is learning more about them. Learning more about pollinators and you can do that on our social media.

And finally, if you’re equally passionate about bees and plants as we are, ask your favorite restaurant to reach out to us to offer Mellody in your favorite restaurant. It can be a vegan restaurant on non-vegan.

We are gonna work with all the restaurants that reach out to us where people ask to see our product offered, either on the menu, either within a meal, or just if you order a cup of tea and you want a side of Mellody.

 

Popular Host Shares his Tips, Comic Con and Geek TV’s Chris Gore - See his new Doc 'Attack of the Doc' Available April 24
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Comic Con Legend Shares his Hosting Tips, Geek TV’s Chris Gore – See his new Doc ‘Attack of the Doc’ Available April 24

By Joe Winger — 1 year ago

Popular Host Shares his Tips, Comic Con and Geek TV’s Chris Gore 

Chris Gore is a frequent host on Comic Con and Geek Culture stages around the world, plus on dozens of TV shows.

On a weekly basis, he battles publicly to keep a panel of personalities in line, with egos and eccentricities, from world-famous filmmakers and comic book artists to eager up-and comers in pop culture.

Today I sat down with Chris Gore, the writer / director / producer of  “Attack of the Doc!”  to ask him all about his hosting tips.

“Attack of the Doc!” is written, directed & produced by Chris Gore.  

This deep dive documentary features pop icons including Wil Wheaton, John Cena, Joel McHale, Peter Jackson, Kumail Nanjiani, Whitney Cummings, Danny Pudi, and many more! 

Attack of the Show! was unique, way ahead of its time and was a milestone that had a huge impact on geek culture.  Available for streaming and more as of April 24, 2023.

 

You’re a world-class host, whether it’s in front of a camera or on a stage. What do you feel is the key to being a great host?

 

I want people who disagree with each other to be on a panel together, because I wanna come to some [agreement]. I want everyone to shake hands at the end. And ideally, maybe even hug, even though I’m not much of a hugger. Shake hands, walk away, have a sense of sportsmanship. You debated your point. I debated mine. The audience can decide how they feel about something. 

 

Whenever I’m moderating a panel or doing something like that, I try to make sure everybody gets a chance to talk. And if I see somebody dominating too much, I’ll get them to pull back. I’ll say, ‘Hey, everybody, for two minutes, give me your opinion on this, and then I’ll go down the line.’

 

I also want people to feel welcomed, even whether I personally agree with their opinion or not, doesn’t matter. I want people to feel welcome in that space.

 

When it comes to doing TV, I had no TV experience when I started doing television. My first real TV job was on a show called “The X Show”, which was a show on late night on FX. It was like “The Man Show”, but kind of like “The View” with guys, and I was the movie guy. 

 

So I had to learn, but I didn’t care about being on television, whereas everyone else I was surrounded by really wanted to be on TV. I think because I didn’t care, that helped me because I didn’t care if I got the job or not.  I’m a stay-at-home dad writing a book right now about movies. I don’t have time. The TV thing is kind of interrupting my schedule. The less I cared about being on TV the more jobs I got offered. 

 

I didn’t realize this [at first]. But truthfully, to be on television, you need to learn how to walk up to your spot, which is usually a piece of tape on the floor. So you gotta ‘meet the spot’, okay? 

 

You’ve gotta look at the teleprompter and you read what’s on the teleprompter, but you pretend you’re not reading; you pretend you’re actually talking to a person. So you read, but act like you’re actually not reading. 

 

And that’s pretty much it. 

 

I just told you everything. You could go to college and learn how to be on TV.  I just gave you the 30 second summary. Walk up to a piece of tape and be able to read where it sounds natural.

 

I was fortunate enough that some of the stuff was scripted for me, but when it came to my opinion, that was me talking off the top of my head. And I always felt like whenever I did DVDs Day on ‘Attack of the Show’ or other television that I did, I always felt like I was in a race.  ‘I’ve got four minutes. I’m gonna give you as much information in four minutes as possible. We’ll come to a conclusion: buy, rent, or pass. Then, see you next week [where] I’ll be on for another four minutes.’

 

“Attack of the Doc!” is written, directed & produced by Chris Gore, produced & edited by Bobby Schwartz, co-produced by Walter Areas, with additional co-editing by Anthony Ray Bench and Phillip H. Eubanks, and with an original score composed by Austin Smith. This deep dive documentary features pop icons including Wil Wheaton, John Cena, Joel McHale, Peter Jackson, Kumail Nanjiani, Whitney Cummings, Danny Pudi, Eric Andre, Jerry Stiller, Joe Rogan, Jimmy Fallen, Kel Mitchell, Anne Meara, Stan Lee, Sara Jean Underwood, Carrie Keagan, Riley Steele, Tom Green, Anthony Daniels, Michael Winslow, Joey Kern, Joan Rivers, Chris Hardwick, Robert Kirkman, Greg Nicotero, Jessica Chobot, Tony Hawk, and Alison Haislip, among others as we search for the truth.

“Attack of the Show! was unique, way ahead of its time and was a milestone that had a huge impact on geek culture. Its core audience is one of the most coveted around the globe. I think viewers of the original show will be down for learning the history of the network and the show which helped usher in the age of nerd culture. Frankly, G4TV and Attack of the Show! are responsible for making it cool to be a nerd,” states Gore. “And at the end of the day, I hope the documentary entertains fans and reminds them of a time when a TV show could be dangerous and provide some laughs without fear of being canceled. Everyone who worked on the documentary is a super fan, so this movie was made by fans for fans.”

 

 

Attack of the Doc! Synopsis

 

Before the rise of big tech, social media and Marvel movies, Attack of the Show! chronicled nerd culture’s unlikely acceptance as mainstream. G4TV’s flagship show launched the careers of hosts Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira and was beloved by fans – a unique celebration of geek culture before it was cool. Diving into colossal cream pies, wearing fat suits for comedy and putting internet servers where the sun don’t shine – anything could happen on an episode of Attack of the Show! It’s been years since the show went off the air and one question has lingered: what really happened to G4TV and Attack of the Show? Enter Attack Of The Doc! — the new film written and directed by Chris Gore, promises to answer one of pop culture’s longest running mysteries.

Available now and watch the trailer here.

Follow the documentary and its journey available on Video on Demand and TVOD/Digital platforms on April 24th, 2023, which is the 21st Anniversary of the launch of G4TV.

 

Actress and model Eugenia Kuzmina at Owen Wilson's at red carpet Premiere of his new movie Paint:
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See Actress and model Eugenia Kuzmina at Owen Wilson’s red carpet Premiere of his new movie Paint

By Kelsey Ridley — 1 year ago

Actress and model Eugenia Kuzmina at Owen Wilson’s at red carpet Premiere of his new movie Paint.

Kuzmina wore a unique hand made dress with silk screen portrait to support the film’s theme.

Fans of film and art came out in full support of the must see movie ‘Paint’ starring the talented and unique actor Owen Wilson.

Owen Wilson stars in Paint

Owen Wilson stars in Paint

Actress and supermodel Eugenia Kuzmina took the red carpet fashion to the next level wearing a wool dress with a silk screen painted portrait,  inspired by Veruschka von Lehndorff who was featured  in the British Film Blow Up, a movie that inspired designer/stylist Veta Horwitz to create the stunning wearable art.

Actress and model Eugenia Kuzmina at Owen Wilson’s red carpet Premiere

 

Eugenia Kuzmina

Eugenia Kuzmina attends the IFC’s Paint World Premiere in Los Angeles on Mar 23, 2023

Paint tells the story of Wilson’s character, Carl Nargle, the leading public television painter in Vermont, who is beloved by audiences who are drawn to his lovable chill character, (much like Wilson’s own personality) his quirky  perm that only Wilson can make look cool and Nargal’s dedicated love of the arts.

The movie captures and ensures as the official synopsis says, Wilson’s character has all of his fans “hanging on his every stroke.”

Then much to his dismay, another artist who is extremely gifted and younger appears on the scene called Ambrosia, played by the talented Ciara Renée. Upon this new talent’s arrival and welcomed presence in the art world, Nargle finds himself in uncharted waters and not so secure of his own place anymore.

Paint is a terrific entertaining gem of a movie  written and directed by Emmy Award winner Brit McAdams, (known and respected for his talent commercials and short films)  in his feature directorial debut.  The brilliant  cast of Paint also features scene stealer Stephen Root (True Blood and the award winning Barry), Michaela Watkins (Werewolves Within), Wendi McLendon-Covey (Bridesmaids), Lusia Strus (Search Party), and new talent Lucy Freyer. Producers on the film include Sam Maydew of Silver Lining Entertainment and Peter Brant. Wilson also executive produced this gem of a flick with  Joel David Moore and Richard J. Bosner.

Paint will be released in theaters on April 7, and will stream exclusively on AMC+ later this year.

LA Financial Guru Michael Dodo is Living His American Dream with The Dodo Group
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LA Financial Guru Michael Dodo is Living His American Dream with The Dodo Group

By Contributor — 2 years ago

LA Financial Guru Michael Dodo is Living His American Dream

Los Angeles based financier Michael Dodo is fast becoming one of the most sought-after venture capitalists for a range of businesses in need of private equity investment and acute corporate leadership. The Founder and CEO of both The Dodo Group, and beauty brand conglomerate Luxury Brands LLC., he successfully identifies, restructures, nurtures, and drives formerly struggling businesses into financially stable, sustainable, and successful global companies. 

Born and raised in Johannesburg South Africa, Michael Dodo earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of South Africa before launching his career in finance at the Mercantile National Bank of South Africa.  With his eye sharply affixed on immigrating to America, and with a mere $300 in his pocket, he arrived in Los Angeles and was soon recruited by Tag-It Pacific, a garment hang tag and label production company, first as their Controller and then quickly promoted to VP of Finance and Operations. He was not only instrumental in taking the company public, but also ran both their Hong Kong and Mexican divisions before parting ways in 2001.

Financial Guru Michael Dodo

Financial Guru Michael Dodo / photography by David Christopher Lee

He, and a business partner, then purchased Triple L Distribution, a company which soon became the second largest redistributor of dry grocery and equipment supplies to the food service industry in the West. Under Michael’s direction, TLD successfully maintained a fleet of 70 tractor trailers and 5 fully stocked warehouse locations, and the company grew from $16 million to $128 million in annual revenue.  He was then approached to step in as CEO of FHI Heat, a prominent professional grade hair tool company, to restructure and cultivate the brand. Shortly thereafter, he purchased West Central Produce, later known as West Central Foodservice, growing the company into one of the largest premium wholesale food, beverage, and restaurant supply distributors on the West Coast, with sales topping $300M per year.

In 2017, he launched his first of two conglomerates – Luxury Brands LLC., positioned as a parent company for beauty, luxury, and lifestyle consumer brands.  FHI Heat, and sibling haircare brands STYLUS, NEO BOND, Hair Veil and Daily Beauty, were strategically placed under the Luxury Brands LLC. corporate umbrella., and last spring, Michael’s latest acquisition Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics and Skincare was purchased out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and added to his growing beauty brand portfolio. 

Financial Guru Michael Dodo

Financial Guru Michael Dodo / photography by David Christopher Lee

Michael’s namesake conglomerate – The Dodo Group, has focus in F&B, a space which Michael has significant career experience.  Lodi Canning Company, a 100-year-old plus, farm-to-table vegetable canning company, and Wateria, a 25-year-old, 15-step Drinking Water Purification System both sit under DG and are currently scaling at a tremendous rate.

To say that Michael Dodo has optimized the “American Dream” is an understatement, and we look forward to acutely following his success for many years to come.

 

 

Jill Scott Tours Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl June 22 with 'Who is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds Vol. 1 23rd Anniversary"
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Jill Scott Tours LA’s Hollywood Bowl June 22 with ‘Who is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds Vol. 1 23rd Anniversary”

By Contributor — 2 years ago

Jill Scott Tours Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl June 22 with ‘Who is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds Vol. 1 23rd Anniversary”

Jill Scott is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, New York Times best-selling poet, critically acclaimed actor, and multimedia entrepreneur.

She released her much-anticipated debut record, “Who is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds, Vol. 1,” in July 2000, which became a double platinum album that earned Scott several Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist.

“Who is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds, Vol. 1,” Los Angeles’s Hollywood Bowl June 22

What started as the 20th-anniversary tour of Jill Scott’s chart-topping, genre-defining album, Who Is Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol I in 2020 ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But good news prevails: in 2023, the tour will resume

But good news prevails: in 2023, the tour will resume, electrifying auditoriums, theaters, and music halls throughout the nation in celebration of a moment and movement that continues to enthrall music lovers of all ages and backgrounds.

Scott will play the iconic album front to back, with hits from her iconic debut album, such as “Gettin’ in the Way,” “A Long Walk” and other musical stories. The tour, produced by Live Nation Urban, will play in over 20 markets across the country, with special multi-show residencies in Washington, D.C. at the MGM National Harbor on Mother’s Day weekend and Scott’s hometown of Philadelphia at The MET Philadelphia, marking the first time the North Philadelphia native will play at the storied North Philadelphia venue.

The Philadelphia stop also includes a fundraiser at the Arden Theatre in support of her non-profit, the Blues Babe Foundation.

“My band and I were so excited three years ago, but that damn COVID shut us down,” said Scott.

“Now, we outside! Come see me. Come feel again. Relive your favorite moments.

Ya’ll ready to settle down and get with this?!? It’s a lot of love here.”

Though Scott had to pause performances during the pandemic, she celebrated the milestone virtually and continued building her brand as a multimedia entrepreneur, launching “Jill Scott Presents: J.ill the Podcast” in November 2020 alongside co-hosts Laiya St.Clair and Aja Graydon-Dantzler. The universally-loved podcast currently has 80 episodes and continues to grow in popularity and influence. Scott also participated in the first woman vs. woman Verzuz battle in May 2020, starred in Lifetime’s Highway to Heaven and BET+’s The First Wives Club, and in September 2021, she became the face of Nationwide, bringing a fresh take on a familiar campaign and putting her soulful spin on the iconic jingle.

Scott released her much-anticipated debut record, Who is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds, Vol. 1 in July 2000, which became a double platinum album that earned Scott several Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist (2001), Best R&B Album (2001), and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for three years in a row (2001-2003). The album also cracked Billboard top 10 for R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (2001).

Pre-sales for the Who is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds Vol. 1 23rd Anniversary Tour begin on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, and public on sale begins on Friday, December 9, 2022 at 10am local time.

Visit missjillscott.com for tickets and follow @MissJillScott on social media for the latest updates.

WHO IS JILL SCOTT? WORDS & SOUNDS VOL. 1 TOUR DATES:

Tue Feb 28 — Augusta, GA — Bell Auditorium

Thu Mar 02 — Macon, GA — City Auditorium at Macon Centreplex

Sat Mar 04 — Columbia, SC — The Township Auditorium

Tue Mar 07 — Jacksonville, FL — Moran Theater

Thu Mar 16 — Philadelphia, PA — The Met

Sat Mar 18 — Philadelphia, PA — The Met

Thu Mar 23 — Brooklyn, NY — Kings Theatre

Mon Mar 27 — Newark, NJ — New Jersey Performing Arts Center

Wed Mar 29 — Boston, MA — MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Fri Mar 31 — Detroit, MI — Fox Theatre

Sat Apr 01 — Cleveland, OH — MGM Northfield Park

Sun Apr 23 — Nashville, TN — Nashville Municipal Auditorium

Wed Apr 26 — Memphis, TN  — Orpheum Theatre

Fri Apr 28 — Chattanooga, TN — Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium

Wed May 03 — Savannah, GA — Johnny Mercer Theatre

Fri May 05 — Greensboro, NC — Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts

Sat May 06 — Atlanta, GA — Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park

Thu May 11 — Washington DC — The Theater at MGM National Harbor

Sun May 14 — Washington DC — The Theater at MGM National Harbor

Thu Jun 22 — Los Angeles, CA — The Hollywood Bowl

Steve Lutz of Oregon Wine's Lenne' Estate sells his iconic vineyard
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Oregon Pinot Noir News: Steve Lutz of Lenne’ Estate Sells Iconic Vineyard

By Joe Wehinger — 2 years ago

Steve Lutz of Oregon Wine’s Lenne’ Estate sells his iconic vineyard as he eyes: what’s next in wine career.

  • Steve Lutz, vigneron and founder sells his iconic estate after 22 years
  • Peavine soils certified worst in Yamhill County, proved to yield distinctive Pinot Noirs
  • Lutz is said to be setting up next phase of his idiosyncratic wine career
  • Purchasers Jory, LLC will release next stage brand name and concept for the estate

Lutz’s wine career spans 4 decades and includes hospitality management for part of the Mondavi Wines Group in Napa Valley among other Napa brands and heading up hospitality at Chateau Benoit (now Anne Amie) in Carlton, Oregon culminating in the discovery of his unique 20.9 acre estate vineyard.

Lenné is French influenced wordplay of Lenny, Steve’s father-in-law

The brand name Lenné’ was derived as a French influenced wordplay of Lenny, Steve’s father-in-law who reportedly was a chicken farmer in a suburb of London.

Having achieved cult wine status for over 20 years

Lenné’ produces only estate wines, with annual production ranging from 1,600 – 2,000 cases, most of which is allocated to local wine club and out of state wine enthusiasts. Having achieved what is essentially cult status over 20 years as a craft producer

Lutz quips:

“…Most people think that wine is a lifestyle business,

it most assuredly isn’t, although, of course,

we do enjoy some perks!”

When queried about what’s next, Steve offers “Lenné’s unique programs and experiences will exist in new formats for years to come, although you’ll have to get on our mailing and membership lists to take advantage of what’s coming up next.”

you’ll have to get on […] mailing and membership lists to take advantage of what’s coming up next

The Lenne’ tasting room closes at the end of 2022.

Steve Lutz of Oregon Wine's Lenne' Estate sells his iconic vineyard

Steve Lutz of Oregon Wine’s Lenne’ Estate sells his iconic vineyard

Jory, LLC had been searching for a bespoke Pinot producing site and were delighted when approached by Steve.

Jory intend to further develop the existing property with a new brand name, marketing concepts, and larger facilities. Co-owner Eugene Labunsky has admitted to being thrilled to finally acquire a property he has had his eye on for years.

Lenné’ Estate

Lenne’ Estate grows death-defying Pinot Noir vineyards on steep slopes in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Steve Lutz planted his first vines in 2001, expanding the vineyard property to 20.9 acres. The estate is planted with five clones of Pinot Noir (Pommard, 777, 115, 114, and 667), and most recently Chardonnay.

Jory, LLC

Jory, LLC is a partnership between grower and wine enthusiast Eugene Labunsky and Jared Etzel, winemaker and co-founder of Domaine Roy, and son of Mike Etzel of Beaux Frere fame. The partnership was formed with the intent to grow a portfolio of fine wine brands produced from singular estates of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Additional information will be released in the upcoming months.

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