What is a Bar Mitzvah?
A Bar Mitzvah is a religious ceremony marking a Jewish child’s right of passage into adulthood. You’ve probably seen the term “Bat Mitzvah,” too. “Bar” is used for a boy.  ”Bat” is used for a girl.

Let’s Get the Party Started
Following the religious ceremony, many parents host a reception for family and friends to express their gratitude and joy. Some host a light meal or dessert event. Others put on luncheons or dinner parties. Through the years, Espresso Dave’s has been part of Bar Mitzvah events rivaling the finest wedding receptions. We’ve also served at backyard cookouts, house parties, social halls, seaside gatherings, and neighborhood parks.

No matter the venue, budget or theme, traditionally, a Bar Mitzvah party will have key elements: challah (bread) and wine blessings, wonderful food, the traditional Horah dance, and toasts.

The 11th Commandment
A tradition we’ve established, in the Greater Boston area, is offering custom, specialty coffee and hot chocolate bars at Bar Mitzvah parties. Gone are the days when plain coffee will do. Guests are used to drinking quality coffee.

Our coffee drinks are handcrafted by friendly, skilled baristas. We feature espressos, cappuccinos, lattes and, the ever-popular, mochaccinos. We offer hot, iced or frozen versions of these espresso-based drinks. We use only the finest chocolate and syrups to enhance the coffees. Our service can accommodate small or large crowds; we can set up our carts or provide service from a table, counter or bar.

The kids consider an espresso bar a beverage stop as well as part of the event’s entertainment. When there are large numbers of teens and preteens attending an event (Bar Mitzvah parties are in this category), we always have a large supply of decaf on hand for those soon-to-be-daily-coffee-drinkers.  We also serve many hot chocolates to the younger set. Why? We make our hot chocolates with thick, gourmet chocolate and steamed milk; powdered mix just won’t do! Adding flavors is hugely popular with the younger set; syrups of all kinds such as caramel, peppermint, vanilla, raspberry. If there is a flavor you’re craving, just ask.

If Kosher style and/or Kosher certified is required, our baristas can provide that.

Wow Factors
Espresso Dave’s Specialty Coffee Catering has the reputation for adding the WOW factor to Bar Mitzvah parties. If you are looking to create some buzz and have your guests talking about your event for many years to come, consider hiring us for the following:

• Customizing your menu to match the event theme
• Adding one of our fruit smoothie bars, with drinks in event colors, as an option for the pre-teen crowd during the cocktail hour
• Engaging Espresso Dave to design an exclusive Beverage Topper to “monogram” our specialty coffees
• Pairing our barista with the bartender to serve up amazing coffee cocktails such as Espresso Martinis and Irish Coffees
• Offering our specialty coffee service as part of a G’night Station (providing guests with a sweet treat and warm drink before they depart for the evening)

Indoors or out, large or small crowd, following dietary rules or not, a coffee caterer can warm your guests’ hearts and keep the party buzzin’! Contact us to find out if we travel to your area for your upcoming simcha.

January 29, 2013 – Boston, MA   Espresso Dave’s Specialty Coffee Catering is the first in New England to serve Torani‘s new, premium, all-natural syrups with distinctly delicious flavors and heady aromas.
Launched this month by Torani, the global industry syrup and sauce giant, each Signature flavor is crafted with a combination of pure cane sugar and either agave, maple or caramelized sugar; simple, real ingredients with no preservatives. These are the first syrups in the industry to be produced with unique sugar blends that allow baristas, like those on Espresso Dave’s team, to create perfectly balanced, specialty coffee drinks.

“We’re always looking for a better mousetrap. By that I mean a better way to deliver true, pure flavor cup-by-cup for our clients. Some artificially flavored syrups may leave you with an unpleasant aftertaste with each sip of coffee so we try to source products with that in mind,” says David Salzman, owner of Boston’s Espresso Dave’s Specialty Coffee Catering service, which is now celebrating its 20th year in business.

Torani Flavors and Sugar Perfectly Paired

Each natural flavor responds differently to sugars, which is why each Signature Syrup flavor uses a sugar blend specifically chosen to enhance that flavor’s unique properties. Agave sugar, used in Vanilla, imparts a honey-like sweetness with a clean finish. Maple sugar in Strawberry adds warm and creamy undertones with a lingering richness. Caramelized sugar used in Hazelnut, Caramel and Irish Cream enhances with the deep, rich warmth of brown sugar. Signature Lime, Blood Orange and other citrus flavors are featured in Espresso Dave’s refreshing line of individually crafted Italian Sodas. Espresso Dave’s Italian soda bars are especially popular for garden parties, cocktail parties or summer wedding receptions.

“This weekend we introduced Torani Signature syrups at two Boston wedding expos, one on the North Shore and one on the South Shore, as well as at a late night, corporate hospitality suite held Downtown. Reaction to the drinks was sweet! Torani did their homework before launching this line; today’s consumer prefers natural over artificial,” says Salzman. “Brides commented how rich and flavorful our cappuccinos were with the new syrups. Torani products compliment our coffee creations and allow clients to enjoy an everyday indulgence, naturally!”

What was the most popular drink at this weekend’s wedding expos? Salzman says, “The Valentino Mochaccino, of course! Torani’s Signature Caramel syrup added balance to the rich, premium chocolate sauce we feature in this drink.” Many couples are opting for espresso bars at their wedding receptions. Specialty coffee bars enhance the dessert course. Salzman says one of the newest trends he is booking for wedding receptions is a G’night Station featuring an espresso/hot chocolate bar for couples to indulge in prior to leaving the event.

Salzman creates new drinks for his clients all the time. With the advent of Torani’s Signature Syrups, Salzman says he looks forward to experimenting with new recipes.

Photo by Blush Imagery

Espresso Dave’s Coffee Catering received one of the highest forms of flattery: being voted Wedding Vendor MVP 2012 by award-winning, event planner Melanie Bibbo Voros. Brides love Melanie of Blissful Beginnings Wedding and Event Design. Her business is based in Portsmouth, NH. Her events are creative, soulful and well-managed.

Weddings and Espresso Bars

Through Melanie’s event design genius, we set up espresso bars at the most wonderful venues, inside and outdoors, including the Atkinson Country Club, Mount Sunapee, Exeter Inn, Seacoast Science Center, Kennebunkport, New Castle, to name a few. It’s always a pleasure to work with Melanie, her staff and the array of vendors she has come to depend upon.  She’s the consummate wedding professional with a smile that warms couples’ (and vendors’) hearts.  Here is the link to her blogpost about our Vendor MVP 2012 Award. Thank you, Melanie, for the privilege to work with you and your clients! It’s great to be on your event team. We will work to the best of our ability to continue to be MVP.

Candy Cane Creative

If you’ve ever bellied-up to one of our espresso bars during the holidays, at a wedding reception or Christmas party, many times our baristas will add seasonal panache to your cappuccinos with mini candy cane stirrers. By placing a candy cane in your favorite hot coffee or cocoa drink and stirring gently, you, too, can create a drink perfect for a cold winter’s day.

Secret Candy Cane Crush

Decorate the rim of your mug with crushed candy canes. It’s simple to do. Dip your inverted mug or cappuccino cup into melted, white chocolate (either candy melts, white chocolate chips or, our favorite, Lindt White Chocolate bars), then onto a dish of crushed candy canes.

Now you’re ready to add hot cocoa or coffee for an elegant, steamy, winter treat!

If you’re in a creative mood, try rimming the mug with Lindt’s Touch of Sea Salt or Chili chocolate before adding the crushed candy. To go full-power with the mint flavor, rim the mug with Lindt’s Intense Mint chocolate.

Add crushed candy canes to frosting; sprinkle it on ice cream, cakes, cookies and cupcakes. How about adding it to cake or cookie batter?  And, if you’re feeling fancy, grab some pretzels, dip them into some melted chocolate (see above) and then into the crushed red and white dust!

Melted Marshmallow Madness

If you love the luxurious taste of melted marshmallows in your hot chocolate or coffee drinks, try going one step further: add a candy cane to your marshmallow to create a meltable spoon. With this method, the drink is not only enhanced by the marshmallow, but also by the essence of peppermint.

Be My Valentine?

If you are candy-caned-out from Christmas, but have leftover candy-canes, consider this cute idea for DIY Valentine’s Day treats: Candy Cane Hearts created by nestofposies.com.  Kelli does an amazing job describing the steps involved with this project. Check out her blog for other fantastic craft, home decor and party ideas.

Candy Cane Factoid

Wondering about the origin of this time-honored confection? The story goes that in 1670, the choirmaster of Germany’s Cologne Cathedral gave children sweet sticks with bent handles resembling shepherd’s crooks to quiet them during the church’s lengthy Christmas ceremony. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that the sticks were adorned with red stripes and flavored with peppermint.

Espresso Dave’s Coffee Catering inspiration from Ann Curry’s tweet for #20Acts and #26Acts of Kindness

Twitterverse Reveals #26Acts

While monitoring our Twitterfeed this morning, we noticed the hashtag, #26Acts, taking flight. #26Acts, a concept first tweeted by NBC’s Ann Curry, is now a national campaign to have folks, like us, perform random acts of kindness to honor the memories of the 26 innocent adults and children who died in Friday’s horrific school shooting.

An act of coffee kindness spotted on Instagram today. #26Acts

Even though this movement has gone viral, you don’t need a Twitter account to do random acts of kindness; nor do you need money. In our line of work, these acts might be as simple as listening to a guest who needs a sounding board after a tough meeting with his boss, or holding a door open for the grandmother-of-the-bride, or serving a steamy espresso to an event planner who needs a boost at midnight as guests depart.

Sometimes random kindness takes courage. It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone or meandering from your daily routine to think about someone other than yourself. It’s being human. If you need help, there’s a Wiki How To Guide to provide suggestions.

Random Acts of Coffee Kindness

Several years ago we posted easy ways to express your love of coffee AND make the world a better place. The gift suggestions might cost a few dollars, but the Espresso Dave’s Coffee Catering team believes these causes are worth your consideration.

#26Acts May Change the World

Let us know how you will honor the memories of those who lost their lives in Newtown. List your #26Acts in the comment section.

This month, Boston’s Espresso Dave’s Coffee Catering supported an important fundraiser for children fighting cancer at Boston Children’s Hospital. Today, we’re excited to report the result of this campaign.

iPads connect hospital patients to their worlds

Rob Tourville, father of a lovely, talented, young cancer survivor, and iPad Initiative fundraiser organizer, wrote this week, “Our heartfelt thanks to everyone for helping us achieve our goal of providing iPads for the kids being treated at Boston Children’s Hospital. We have just placed the order for 12 iPads and covers. Each iPad is being engraved with the message “BELIEVE.” Thanks to all of you, the kids can stay connected to their friends and family and maintain a vision of a future beyond the walls of the hospital. I cannot even express how important this is in their healing process. We, and they, are all grateful for your generosity and compassion. Happy Holidays!” To date, they’ve raised $3,629.

Congrats to Rob, his family and all of you who supported this effort. Merry Christmas!

#26Acts

Until every child is well

Karmic bang (like the feeling you get from an Espresso Dave’s coffee!)

In honor of the people who work at Boston Children’s, and in appreciation of how they helped our friend, Sierra, get well, Espresso Dave’s will be supporting a special fundraiser. This project raises monies to purchase iPads for children to use during extended, in-patient cancer  treatment.

Sierra’s family explains that the gift of an iPad “…provided hours of entertainment, distracted her during some very scary procedures, enabled her to Skype in to pep rallies at school, virtually attend much cherished and anticipated Halloween and Christmas parties, be present at a benefit concert given in her honor and to stay connected to her friends and to the world beyond the confining walls of the oncology floor.”

In the spirit of the season, we encourage you to find a project, like this one, or a special cause to support with a donation or volunteer hours. “That’s a huge karmic bang for your holiday giving buck,” says Sierra’s family.

Photo: Greg M. Cooper

We love coffee.We adore Lindt Chocolate. So when the Lindt Chocolate USA sought our expertise this summer to serve custom chocolate beverages to a crowd of 600+ at their first-ever “World’s Largest Chocolate Party,” we jumped at the opportunity.

Whether for a corporate client or a bride, we’re all about creating delicious, handcrafted, coffee drinks.Our menus feature hot, cold and furiously-whipped, frozen beverages boosted with rich espresso.Through the years we’ve expanded our menus to include fruit smoothies and Italian sodas. Regular customers know that we love to experiment. Some of our most innovative drinks have incorporated unusual ingredients (not all at once): Devil Dogs, Cap’n. Crunch, peanut butter, Oreos, Kit Kat Bars, and bacon syrup, to name a few!

For Lindt’s World’s Largest Chocolate Party, held at it’s USA headquarters in Stratham, NH, we served major quantities of White Chocolate Strawberry Frappés and European-style Iced Mochas.

Lindt master chocolatiers created these delicious beverages just for occasions like this or for you to enjoy at home.Both drinks are very easy to prepare in your own kitchen. We recommend using the exact chocolate specified in the recipes below for the best results.

Photo: lindtusa.com

White Chocolate
Strawberry Frappé

Ingredients
2 cups milk (we used 2% milkfat)
1 bar (3.5 ounces) Lindt Swiss Classic White Chocolate, chopped
5 fresh strawberries (Local’s best!)

Steps

1. Heat the milk in a saucepan, and add the chopped chocolate.
2. Remove the saucepan from heat and stir until completely melted.
3. Refrigerate until completely cooled.
4. Clean and chop the strawberries.
5. Combine the white chocolate milk mixture with the berries in a blender. Blend until combined.
6. Strain small pieces of hardened chocolate.
7. Serve in chilled glasses or old-fashioned mason jars.
8. Try substituting raspberries, if you like!

Yields 2-3 servings.

Photo: lindtusa.com

Iced Mocha

Ingredients
2½ cups milk (we used 2% milkfat)
1 bar (3.5 ounces) Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate, chopped
1 cup strong coffee (dark roast or espresso)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Steps

1. In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup of the milk.
2. Add the chopped chocolate, stirring until completely melted.
3. Stir in the coffee and cinnamon; remove from heat.
4. Cool to room temperature.
5. Add remaining milk  and chill until ready to serve.
6. Shake and strain into a tall glass with ice, or,  for a more elegant presentation, use a martini glass.
7. Garnish with a spring of fresh mint and a cinnamon stick.

Yield: 4-5 servings.

Photo: Greg M. Cooper

Lindt made international headlines that day! During the World’s Largest Chocolate Party, the company earned a Guinness World Record for the most people unwrapping a candy simultaneously—590 to be exact.Check out the bird’s-eye view of the actual “unwrapping.”Congratulations! It was fun being part of the team!

Pre-event milk run fun!

“Wow, that’s a lot  of milk! Why don’t you just buy the cow?” says a woman glaring at my shopping cart which is packed with 24 gallons of freshly-dated, low-fat, cold milk. This delightful dairy will supply several Espresso Dave’s Special Coffee carts for the first day of an upcoming trade show at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. This is a typical encounter whenever I buy milk for an event.

Frothy milk heaven!

Yesterday, after such an encounter, I recruited my teenagers and their friends to develop a list of comeback lines:

Supermarket Shopper says: “Wow, that’s a lot of milk!”
Espresso Dave says:

1. “So, I eat a lot of cereal.”
2. “I made too many chocolate chip cookies…”
   

   Got milk? We sure need it! Photo: Scout-PR.Com, the agency behind the Great Cookie Dunk, Burlington, VT, May '12

3. “I bought the double-stuffed oreos.”
4. “Cows may go extinct…stock up now!”
5. “Moooo-ve on!”
6. “Cow-a-bunga!”
7. “These prices are un-spottable.”
8. “I dairy-you to buy this much.”
9. “Man-uer out of the way!”
10. “I’m past-ure comments.”
11. “You, dear sir, are a bully!”
12. “I’m from the Hood.”
13. “I bought this milk just because I cud.”
14. “Heard there was an earthquake…I want to make a milkshake.”
15. “I’m a cat person.”
    

    All we need now is a B.I.G. Bowl. Photo: Ron Sher Photography.

16. “Don’t worry…I’ll tip the cow.”
17. “I left a good tip.”
18. “Got milk?”
19. “I’m lactose tolerant.”
20. “I’m searching for a prize.”
21. “I’m working for the government.”
22. “I just hoof to have it.”
23. “I’m milking it.”
24. “I’m utterly amoozed, are you?”
25. “I’m preventing osteoporosis.”
26. Stocking up in case the cows don’t come home.
    

    We love dairy cows. Photo: keeplocalfarms.org

Help me out here… I need a few more comebacks. Post your best lines!

Once you’ve completed your party planning, take a minute to enjoy one of our all-time-favorite ways to celebrate Independence Day, by viewing the annual Boston Pops July 4 concert on the Esplanade, complete with spectacular fireworks!

Special thanks to Mel at the The Crafty DIY Bride who’s post inspired us to create this board.