Over 65 billion cups of tea consumed by Americans in 2010

Bewley’s, Ireland’s longest established tea and coffee company will strengthen their US presence this St. Patrick’s Day with another appearance on QVC, the home shopping channel .

According to the Tea Association of America, in 2010, Americans consumed over 65 billion servings of tea, 80% of which were black tea. On any given day, over 154 million Americans are drinking tea.

On 17^th March, QVC will once again showcase Ireland’s leading tea and coffee company Bewley’s to over 98 million US households

Mark Saunders of Bewley’s comments: “Given that over 98 million US viewers tune in to QVC, we are delighted to be asked back again for the third time to showcase Bewley’s to our US customers. Our export market is important to us and this appearance on QVC will enable us further strengthen our US presence. In recent years we have seen the demand in the US for Bewley’s tea continue to increase. The feedback we received from our previous appearances was tremendous and indicates that there is strong recognition of our standing as an iconic Irish brand

“We’ve been blending tea in Dublin for over 170 years and we continue this tradition day in and day out.  We’re really proud to be showcasing our award winning teas in the USA once again.”

Bewley’s Master Blender Paul O’Toole will appear live on QVC to present a selection of traditional Irish teas blended and prepared in Dublin including Irish Breakfast Tea, Dublin Morning Tea and Irish Afternoon Tea, in a specially designed presentation case for QVC customers.

Neven recently visited our Roastery here on the Malahide Road in his search for the perfect coffee to feature in his recipe. Neven met with our Master Roaster Paul O’Toole and his expert team of roasters and baristas. He received expert training from Paul in the art of coffee cupping and sampled Bewley’s extensive selection of filter blends, single origin coffees and espresso blends.

‘Amnesty’ declared for Instant Coffee’

Bewley’s Real Coffee Weekend

Friday 27th – Sunday 29th January 2012

Wednesday 25^th January: For the first time in Ireland an amnesty has been declared for instant coffee where anyone who wants to try the great taste of real coffee at home can surrender a jar of instant in exchange for a pack of Bewley’s fresh ground ziploc coffee.

Bewley’s Real Coffee Weekend kicks off on Friday 27^th January until Sunday 29^th January. The first 1,000 people to surrender instant coffee in Bewley’s Grafton Street will receive a Bewley’s Fresh Coffee Starter Pack which comes with 5 different varieties of coffee and an easy to use coffee maker (a one cup cafetiere) – so it has everything you need to make great tasting fresh coffee at home. After that, anyone surrendering instant coffee will get a pack of Bewley’s real fresh coffee in return.

To celebrate Bewley’s Real Coffee Weekend, Bewley’s Grafton Street will also challenge the public to take a coffee taste test on Saturday 28^th January between 2pm – 5pm.  Those who can spot the difference between instant and real coffee will be in with a chance to win hotel breaks, shopping vouchers, dinner prizes, Bewley’s fresh coffee selections and lots more.

Announcing the Instant Coffee Amnesty, Mark Saunders of Bewley’s said:  “Our research has told us that people love the great taste of fresh ground coffee.  They want to make it at home but they’re not always sure how.  We want people to be able to enjoy real coffee at home without any fuss. So they can now bring in their instant and get a delicious, fresh new taste in return.”

Bewley’s fresh coffee packs include a reclosable ziploc strip, an airtight freshness valve, foil packaging, coffee strength guides and an easy to understand three-step guide to real coffee making at home. They come in seven varieties including Gold Roast, Rich Roast, Java, Kenya, Organic Guatemala, Araku India and Panama  (all in 227g packs).

Bewley’s Café Barista’s Maeve Byrne and Blazenla Urbanova join Bewley’s Café General Manager Paul Dwyer in presenting the cheque of €5080 to Margaret Rogers, Chief Executive of children’s charity Heart Children Ireland. The money was raised through public donations to Bewley’s Christmas Street Exhibition.

Money raised will buy 8 CoaguChek machines, changing the lives of 8 families.

Wednesday 18^th January 2012: Sculptor Paddy Campbell’s Christmas Street Exhibition in Bewley’s Grafton Street has raised €5080 through public donations for the charity Heart Children Ireland. The money raised will enable Heart Children Ireland to buy eight CoaguChek machines, changing the lives of eight families across Ireland.

Receiving the cheque this morning, Margaret Rogers, Chief Executive of Heart Children Ireland said, “We’re very grateful to Paddy Campbell and Bewley’s for all their help in raising these much needed funds. The generous voluntary public donations made by people visiting the exhibition will enable us to purchase eight Coaguchek machines.”

“These machines will change the lives of eight families who will no longer need to travel constantly to hospital to have blood tests done. They allow a child or teenager to check their warfarin levels in the comfort of their own homes and just a quick phone call to the hospital with their reading confirms the dosage they should be on.  Children and young adults will not miss school or work days and can take some control over their own health”.

The Christmas Street Exhibition by sculptor Paddy Campbell featured six scenarios with 100 life-like Lilliputian figures hand-made and dressed in contemporary style.  Admission to the exhibition was free with all donations going to Heart Children Ireland.

Bewley’s Café General Manager Paul Dwyer said: “We’re delighted to be able to present Heart Children Ireland with this cheque today on behalf of all our customers who generously made donations when visiting the exhibition over Christmas. It is fantastic to hear that the money raised will make such a difference to so many children’s lives”.

Heart Children Ireland is a voluntary charity supporting children with congenital heart defects and their families.  The organisation operates local groups, buys medical equipment, provides financial assistance, funds specialist posts and arranges special events for children and their families.

Miriam O'Callaghan and Paddy Campbell with Emily Sreenan Cassidy, aged 4, Ava Sreenan Cassidy, aged 6, Christopher Lysaght Walsh, aged 2, Hannah Petterbridge, aged 4 at the launch of the Christmas Street Exhibition by sculptor Paddy Campbell in aid of Heart Children Ireland at Bewley's Café, Grafton Street.

The Christmas Street Exhibition in aid of Heart Children Ireland, runs every day until 6th January and all are welcome to visit.

Christmas Street features six scenarios with 100 life-like Lilliputian figures hand-made by Campbell and dressed in contemporary style. Each realistic set depicts scenes from everyday Christmas life and each piece is an original. Heart Children Ireland is a voluntary charity supporting children with congenital heart defects and their families. The organisation operates local groups, buys medical equipment, provides financial assistance, funds specialist posts and arranges special events for children and their families.

Miriam O'Callaghan is joined by Ava Sreenan Cassidy, aged 6 to launch the Christmas Street Exhibition by sculptor Paddy Campbell in aid of Heart Children Ireland at Bewley's Café, Grafton Street.

“Margaret Rogers, Chief Executive of Heart Children Ireland said: “This is a delightful exhibition which will captivate everyone’s imagination around the enjoyment of a more traditional and family centred Christmas. We’re delighted that Heart Children Ireland will benefit from voluntary public donations made throughout the period.”

Christopher Lysaght Walsh, aged 2 pictured at the launch of the Christmas Street Exhibition by sculptor Paddy Campbell in aid of Heart Children Ireland at Bewley's Café, Grafton Street.

Sculptor Paddy Campbell said: “Christmas is a time for family, community and giving. My exhibition aims to provide a cheerful and uplifting experience for everyone who visits and I’m very happy to support Heart Children Ireland which is an excellent charity.”

Bewley’s Café General Manager Paul Dwyer said: “Christmas is the most special time and we’re delighted to give something back for free to all our customers and visitors to Dublin. People will really like this exhibition which captures the spirit of Christmas on Grafton Street and it is great also to support Heart Children Ireland.”

Christmas Street Exhibition

The scenarios include a lively view of Bewley’s and Grafton Street with crowds on the street, Teach Mor – a peek into Christmas morning in a suburban home, Bethsebea’s Bath – a modern day take on an old testament parable, The Train – homecoming passengers with parcels on a Christmas Train, and a scene showing ‘Santa asleep on the job’ – the great man’s elf helpers try frantically to wake him up as he snoozes in someone’s house on Christmas morning and children are entering the room.

There is also a delightful second-take on Jonathan Swift’s novel Gulliver’s Travels, as ‘Jilliver’, a life sized sculpture of a 17th Century shipwrecked girl is captured on a beach by 21st Century holidaymakers.

Sculptor Paddy Campbell pictured in front of his Christmas Street Exhibition in aid of Heart Children Ireland at Bewley's Café, Grafton Street.

The exhibition offers a voyeur’s eye view into other people’s Christmas and is already stopping passers-by in their tracks.

‘Christmas Street’ by Paddy Campbell takes place in Bewley’s Café Theatre, Grafton Street, Dublin 2, until  6th January inclusive.

Darlington’s is a successful and growing business, with annual sales of approximately Stg£4.5m (€5.2m), supplying high quality fresh coffees and coffee service equipment along with barista training to long standing customers in the hotels, restaurants, cafes and catering sector, particularly in Greater London, the Midlands and southern England. Bewley’s is the market leader in this sector in Ireland and sees considerable growth potential for the Darlington’s business in the UK.

John Cahill, Chief Executive of Bewley’s said: "As one of the largest coffee roasters in the combined Irish and UK market, Bewley’s currently supplies a range of well known UK-based customers in the foodservice and retail sectors. The acquisition of Darlington’s will help us to greatly expand the range of services we offer in that market."

"Both companies share a passionate commitment to offering the highest quality coffees to our customers by delivering comprehensive sales, training and equipment support programmes, and we are looking forward to working with Darlington’s management and staff to grow the business in the future. We will support the further development of Darlington’s through our overall coffee expertise along with ongoing investment in sales and marketing."

The Darlington’s name will not change and the deal will see Darlington’s management team and staff being retained. The company employs 25 people.

Local fundraising for hospice services is now more important than ever before. Hospice care, like other areas of the health service, has been affected by cutbacks and local fundraising is essential to ensure that vital hospice services are maintained.

Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning, launched at Bewley’s Café Grafton Street on Sunday September 3rd by RTE’s Joe Duffy, Vivienne Connolly and Noel John McLoughlin of Bewley’s, is an all-island fundraising event. The event has been sponsored by Bewley’s since it began in 1993 and this year aims to raise €2 million for local hospice services, that’s over 1 million cups of Bewley’s coffee.

Pictured launching Ireland's Biggest Coffee Morning at Bewley’s Grafton Street were RTE’s Joe Duffy and Vivienne Connolly with Noel-John McLoughlin of Bewley’s

People in workplaces, homes and local organisations across Ireland are being asked to hold a coffee morning and to collect €2 for each cup of Bewley’s fresh coffee consumed. Complimentary Bewley’s fresh ground coffee packs will be provided to all coffee morning hosts. All money raised locally stays locally and goes directly back to fund local Hospice care services.

Hospice or palliative care involves the total care of patients and their families at the stage in a serious illness, where the focus has switched from treatment aimed at cure to ensuring quality of life. Almost 30,000 people die annually in Ireland and over 6,000 people use hospice services every year. It is estimated that this will have doubled by 2016.

Kevin O’Dwyer, Chairman of the Hospice CEOs group, stated: “Hospice care in Ireland enjoys unique grassroots support where individuals volunteer to develop or support their local service. This commitment has shaped the care that their communities, neighbours, friends and loved ones receive at the most vulnerable time in someone’s life. We who deliver hospice care hugely value and rely on this public support. We would appeal to the public to support Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning, every cup of coffee counts.”

Noel John McLoughlin, Marketing Manager of long term sponsor Bewley’s said: “We’re delighted to be involved with Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning, celebrating its eighteenth year in 2011. As in previous years, over a million cups of Bewley’s coffee will be served on 15th September. We want as many people as possible to take part all over Ireland. We’ll provide Bewley’s fresh ground coffee free of charge to all coffee morning hosts. The more cups of coffee that we can give away, the greater the benefit that will be achieved for hospices and communities all over Ireland.”

Anyone can host a coffee morning and Bewley’s provides the fresh ground coffee free of charge. Registration advice and details on how to get your special complimentary Bewley’s fresh ground coffee pack can be obtained by contacting your local hospice group or by calling the Irish Hospice Foundation on (01) 679 3188. Details are also available at www.bewleys.com/hospice