Hosting a Gathering

1. Hosting a Gathering Top Things to Know!

2. Why we sell the products we do? • Our products focus around Grace Time. • What is Grace time is to bring friends and family around the table to spend quality time together. All our products can be used around the table during your grace time. • Who is Grace? (show a picture of Grace) and explain she reminds people of a simpler time in life, to get away from the craziness and ‘make’ grace time. • Our products have been hand selected after several rounds of product testing around the USA, we selected our products based upon several key qualities: • Best of the best , hands down, rated above excellence during our product testing • All our suppliers are small boutique mom and pop shops and American Serenade supports American Small Businesses. • Our suppliers believe in what we are doing and what we stand for and like us, they have similar values. We are like family. • Due to these relationships we are able to provide our customers we high quality products but not an expensive price tag. • Coffee, teas and wine are alike in that as they are grown, their taste profiles vary dependent on the altitude, rainfall, temperature etc.

3. Our Teas • Are all teas made the same?: • No, our teas are hand designed by true artisans that know how to bring out the best flavor profiles.  Due to their expertise coupled with being hand produced, they are also smooth and not bitter to the taste.  • Why do we only offer loose leaf tea? • Loose leaf teas simply offer the best variety, quality, and freshness.  While the tea bag is convenient and some very good tea can be found in tea bags in Europe, it is most often blended highly and goes stale much more quickly than loose tea.  Why? Because it is often “cut and sifted” to make it  easy to bag. • The smallest leaf particles and grades such as “fannings” and “dust” are used in traditional off-the-shelf tea bags allowing the tea to brew quickly and strongly, but also making it difficult to keep fresh. • Making a great cup of loose leaf tea at home is no more difficult than brewing coffee. • Brew the recommended time and separate the leaves from the infusion by pouring off into your cup, another pot, or carafe.  • We offer the Teaze Infuser which makes the steep and pour process very easy and an extremely enjoyable experience. • Common Health Benefits: • Black tea: good for bones • White , blueberry tea: High in anti-oxidants, great for memory, focus, white tea balances good and bad cholesterol • Ooolong:: Ooolong is good for eczema and weight control and ginger soothes your belly. • Ginger & Lime: good for stomach and green tea is great for your heart.

4. Coffee Facts • How are our coffee beans different? • There are 2 types of coffee beans Arabica & Robusta, most commonly used commercially are Arabica. • 10% of those Arabica beans are high enough grade/quality to be used in specialty coffee stores, the rest go to big box • Within that 10% only 2% are superlative. Our roasters use the 2% superlative beans. • What is micro-roasting? • Roasted by hand at no more then 25lbs at a time • Artisan roasts to ensure quality and is an expert at how to roast each particular type of bean from each growing region to bring out the best cup of coffee. • Why is our coffee different? • Due to the high quality and expert process used, there is no bitterness to our coffee. • Unique coffee experience, to taste the bean the way it was meant to off the plant • Flavored coffees, you can taste the flavor throughout the bag of coffee, vs. some other coffees are a hit or miss on whether you taste their flavors. • No preservatives added, no sugar, its all natural • We provide as many organic and fair trade coffees as possible. • Fair trade means the workers on the farm get a fair wage. • Are all roasters the same? • No, we scoured the country sampling coffees from multiple roasters and only provide the best-of –the best to our customers • Just because its hand roasted or roasted in a coffee shop, does not mean you will get the same taste our coffees provide. • Ex: Did you know that Guatemala beans are grown at high altitudes; therefore they are able to be dark roasted, not all beans are. • How is our coffee pricing compared to others? • Keurig: Most k-cups are $.48-$.52/cup our coffee is $.29/cup • Our coffee is sold in 1lb bags.

5. American Expressions Line • We provide our customers many accessories that are also hand crafted in the USA. • Our Dinnerware/Pottery • Our Expressions dinnerware is non-toxic, lead free, oven proof, dishwasher safe & microwave safe. Combining both practicality and beauty. • Each elegant piece in American Expressions is handmade in the USA by American ceramic pottery masters with unsurpassed craftsmanship.  The work of these American artisans has been featured in the Smithsonian Institute, Mt. Vernon & Monticello. • Our Expressions line amplifies true American craftsmanship by having each piece custom made at the time of order.  Our Nature’s Clay patina option using the earth from the site of production is finished naturally without color added during glazing. • Lightweight and beautifully crafted. • Our Monogramed glassware • We offer American made glassware for coffee and wine use, each piece can be personalized with your initial.

6. Key Coffee & Tea Accessories • Tea Infuser: easy to use, great for people new to loose leaf or just want a couple cups at a time • Dishwasher safe, BPA free • Chemex Coffee Makers: does take a bit of hand holding while brewing, but creates a delicious cup of coffee. • We offer 2 sizes: 4-6 cup and 3 cup • Made in the USA • Great for people that: • want another way to brew coffee, • have a keurig but would like to make a pot of coffee from time to time but do not want to invest in expense of coffee maker • Cute and easy to store away if needed • People that do not drink coffee, but have guests that do, they can bring out when guests come over. • Re-usable KcupSolofill filter: • Best way to get a great cup of coffee from your Keurig. Taste like you are brewing pot of coffee, easy to use and clean, saves you money in long run.

7. AMERICAN SERENADE WINE EDUCATION

8. Tasting Wine • — STEP ONE CoLoR • Observing a wine’s color can tell you a lot about the wine. Note the color by holding your glass up above a blank sheet of white paper. Young, red wines tend to be more brilliant while older reds tend to darker and opaque. • Young white wines are usually vibrant and paler in color as compared to an older white that turns to a richer gold color. • Of course, this varies and is dependent upon the grape composition and aging techniques. • — STEP Two BoDY • To gauge the body of the wine, simply tilt your glass so that the wine glides up the side of the glass. Stand the glass upright and watch as the wine falls back into the glass. Alight-bodied wine will fall immediately and practically leave no trace of touching the side of the glass. Conversely, a full-bodied wine will fall slowly and will leave streaks — otherwise referred to as the “legs” of a wine. • — STEP THREE NoSE • Otherwise known as the “bouquet” the nose of the wine expresses what the wine smells like. To do this accurately, you should do it in two steps. • First, sniff the wine as it is in the glass. Observe the subtle aromas. • Second, swirl your glass by placing it on a flat surface and hold the stem securely as you move the glass in circular motions. This allows the wine to aerate (or breathe). Take a second sniff and observe the more pronounced aromas. • — STEP FoUR TASTE • This is the best part! Take a sip of the wine, swirl before swallow. Note the flavors. When you take a second sip, try to breathe in air as you do so. Hold the sip in your mouth for a moment or two before swallowing (you can swish it around to really bring out the flavor). Note the more pronounced flavors. • You should also take note of the finish or aftertaste. Notice how long the flavor lasts in your mouth or note the tingle on your tongue from the acidity.

9. Wine Basics • Why is the wine red vs white? • Believe it or not, a wine's color is not dependent on the color of the grapes used in its production. When making red wine, the skin is left on longer than with white wines. During the fermentation period of white wines, the skins are not in contact with the liquid; skins are immediately removed. Wines that have a pinkish tint to them are called blush or rosé wines; blush wine production leaves the skin in with the crushed grapes longer than white wine, but not as long as red wine. • Why do red wines have more of a bite or stronger taste than whites? • This is especially true of wines fermented with tannins, a natural chemical released by the skins of the grapes during red-wine fermentation. These tannins allow red wines to be aged longer than white wines. White wines tend to be sweeter than their red counterparts, because they are not tainted by bitter tannins. Because of this difference, beginning wine drinkers usually prefer white wines. • What determines the alcohol content? • A variety of factors including tanins, sugar pre-fermentation etc. • The sugar added before wine fermentation = alcohol • Sugar added after wine fermentation increases > sweetness of wine • What does Merlot vs Cabernet vs Riesling mean? • They are the grape variety names. • Health benefits • Red wine is packed with antioxidants and resveratrol (rest-ver-a-trol), a compound that can prevent damage to the brain and the heart. This is because the most nutritional part of grapes, the skin, is left on much longer when producing red wine. Red wines are also said to help the colon. • Why different glass sizes? • Because red wine reacts differently when exposed to air. Red wine has more of a "nose" than white, and the aromas are magnified and more prevalent when the red wine is swirled in the larger glass bottom, thus releasing the aromas into the bell of the glass. It is also larger so you can stick your nose right into the glass after swirling to smell the aromas • Why do you swirl? • Allows wine to release flavors and stick your nose in and prepare your palate to take in the wine aroma. • Wine taste by region? • A cabernet will taste different from CA, OH and France because of climate, rainfall, temperature and wine maker. All these variables create a different taste in the exact same grape. • Storing an opened bottle of wine? • When you push in cork or a bottle stopper you are trapping oxygen so your wine begins to oxidize as soon as its opened. By using our air pump and stoppers you pull out most of the air and therefore extend life of your wine.

10. WINE TERMS • Here are a few terms to help you describe a wine. • ACIDITY: describes a fresh, tart or sour taste • CRISP: describes a wine with a high acidity • FLABBY: describes a wine that lacks acidity • HERBAL: fresh cut grass • MINERALS: wet stone or flint-like character • TOAST OR FRESH BREAD: yeast or fresh dough scent

11. Wine Terms (Continued) • Acidity • Of course, acid has a tart flavor. Incidentally, if you refer to high-acid wine as sour you’re going to get a very sour look from the winemaker. In wine parlance, sour means spoiled, as in gone to vinegar! • If you want to become acquainted with the tart flavor of relatively high-acid wine, some common white examples are sparkling wine, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. Northern Italy turns out a lot of lean, zippy reds. • Why do you care? Acid is important because it keeps the wine fresh and lively on the palate. It has a cleansing effect and makes the wine easy to pair with food. Acid is a great, natural preservative! Wines that are high in acid (but balanced) will have fairly long lives and a better chance of retaining their fruitiness and freshness as time goes by. • Tannin's • Acid accentuates the hardness of tannin, so high-acid wine that’s also tannic can be hard to enjoy when it’s young. As the wine ages, the tannin enlarges with oxidation and gradually falls out of the wine as part of the sediment. So, the wine gradually softens and the texture becomes more velvety over time. • Why do you care? Tannin is an important part of the texture of red wine – when managed properly it gives it a nice chewiness. Like acid, tannin is a natural preservative. It's part of a group called polyphenols, which are anti-oxidants that prolong the wine's life. The more tannic the wine, provided it's well made and well-balanced, the longer its life in the bottle when stored properly. • The source: The biggest source of tannin in wine is the grape skins. Other sources are the seeds, stems and oak (wine barrels contribute wood tannin if they're relatively new). Red wines are almost always higher in tannin than white because the winemaker must ferment the juice and skins together to get the purple color. Whites receive little or no juice to skin contact. • Alcohol • The mouth-feel: Do you notice that your mouth feels warmer than it did before you sipped the wine? That's the alcohol talking and in a very pleasant way. If it's quite warm, or almost hot, the alcohol content is on the high side. If you actually taste the alcohol or feel like a fire-breathing dragon, it’s too high, not balanced. It seems to be most noticeable in the back of your throat. The alcohol also adds an oily, viscous sensation. • Why do you care? Alcohol gives the wine a great deal of its body or “heft.” A wine that’s meant to be robust in style feels thin and unsatisfying on the palate if the alcohol is too low. Alcohol is yet another preservative, which explains why Port-style wine can live so long in the bottle and actually keeps better than table wine once it’s opened (sugar also helps in that regard). • Sweetness • Why do you care? Who doesn’t love something a little sweet from time to time? Plus, besides its rounding effect on overly tart wine, a bit of sugar can cover a lot of sins in the production of inexpensive wine, and it’s another of Mother Nature’s natural preservatives.   • The source: The grapes. In most cases the sugar in wine is residual, unfermented sugar because the fermentation was stopped before the yeast converted all of the sugar to alcohol. In some cases, the winemaker ferments to dryness and adds back grape juice or grape-juice concentrate to sweeten the wine.

12. STORING WINE • How should you store those two cases of Cabernet Sauvignon you just ordered? Unfortunately, most homes are not equipped with wine cellars, but following a few basic guidelines can help maintain the integrity of your wine collection. The principles behind storing wine are nei­ther difficult to understand nor to achieve. Just remember these essentials: • TEMPERATURE – the ideal is 50 - 55°F; however, any constant temperature within 40 - 65°F will do. Consistency is key. • HUMIDITY – a relative humidity of 50-80% is the acceptable range, but about 70% is recommended. • DARKNESS – light will prematurely age a bottle of wine. If your wines are kept in areas of direct sun­light, cover them with a dark blanket. • CALMNESS – store wines so that you don’t disturb them all when you select a particular bottle. Also, it’s important to remember that vibrations caused by excessive sound (loud music, for example) may harm your wine.