Perfecting the art of Sweet Tea

Today's blog will switch focus from alcoholic beverages to tea. Tea is one of my favorite beverages, which is practically the only thing I drink these days. After drinking tea from morning till dawn for the last five years, I now dub myself as a tea expert with the ability to draw upon my vast knowledge of previous tea tastings. Therefore, I feel qualified to criticize the most popular tea outlets and offer you the reader my tips on how to make the perfect sweet tea recipes.

Mcdonalds often advertises their sweet tea as this delicious liquid that will bring joy to the mouth. One great thing about mcdonalds might be the uniform recipes used at virtually every location. For example, a big mac in Cali should taste similar to the ones in Florida. Their tea recipe is less than spectacular. Someone with a lack of tea knowledge might disagree, but after repeated tasting you will begin to realize that McDonalds tea is more like sugary water. Burger King, Hardees, and Wendys all score even lower. The next time you taste one you may start to realize the truth that has been hid from your eyes by walls of sugar.

Catering outlets make tea in large batches for events like weddings and such. Some caterers get it correct, by I feel that this shear accident at times. Some use too little tea, too much sugar, and over steep.

On the positive side, I have found a few good spots with tasty tea. McAllisters Deli in powell seems to produce a good tea. Chik-Fil-A is in the middle as well with decent tea. I am going to guess they use a little less sugar or slightly more tea. I don't know for sure what the differen is, but maybe it's even the brand.

To figure out exactly what I could do to better make tea for events I have made around 20 different pitchers of tea over the last few weeks and began to sample the differences. Without getting into heavy details, it is obvious to me that making stronger tea is the most simple way to make better tea. One of my favorites used so far is Luzianne. They recommend one family bag per 32 oz. However, I used 3 family bags for 64 oz and it really makes a difference. Also, I have experimented with the sugar used and eventually found a new splenda product that I like. Splenda now makes a bag mixed with real sugar and their product. I used 1/3 cup per 64 oz. of tea. In short, I now believe that the secret to making great tea is using a the right amount of sugar (usually less than most recipes) and more of the tea (usually more than most recipes). Also, I did find that steeping is important. Generally, I found the amount of time to steep was exactly as described on the directions.

This recipe and a yummy flavored one I liked were as follows;

Perfect Sweet Tea
3 family bags Luzianne Tea per 64 oz. water
1/3 cup splenda sugar blend

Flavored Sweet Tea
2 family bags Luzianne Tea per 64 oz. water
2 bags of celestial tea seasonings
1/3 cup real sugar

Gift Ideas for Bride and Groom from a male perspective

While bartending is my area of wedding expertise there are numerous others facets that any event professional becomes familiar with like wedding gifts. Being a male I'm sure my wants are slightly different from the typical bride's, but I will attempt to be as unbiased as possible by not discussing x box 360's and the latest flat screen plasma. This blog will simply list some of the neat ideas I have seen.

First, I have to give credit to those couples who bring in a super nice bottle of wine. Occasionally, I see the $50 plus bottles of wine gifts. I have a few recommendations if you do this. Don't ask the bartender to put this bottle on ice and serve it for their toast. This seems like an excellent idea at the start, but most couples have already had a few by this time and will not have the time or concentration to enjoy your hard earned dollars. They may never even know it was your gift. If your spending big money on wine, champaigne, or liquor then wrap it, so the couple can enjoy and appreciate it at a later date.

Second, would be the typical ideas like luxury bedding and bedding sets. You'll see a lot of people buying these for new couples and it's something they probably need. However, if your going to do it, why not do it with style. Spacify.com is a great site that offers some cool modern furniture, bedding, and dining designs.

Third, I am going to have to say money. Who can't use more of that? Money can be used for virtually anything these days, imagine that. The only thing money can't buy is love, and they already have that, so why not give them a little? Many weddings even have the "tip the bride dance" where everyone is allowed to stuff a dollar bill in her veil. Those are always a blast.

Well not lot to it in my opinion. While researching this topic I saw articles on buying items like jewelry and other items, but I felt that most of those items only appealed to the bride. Personally, I dont want one of these contraptions called a vacuum. I don't even know what they do! Also, what would I do with an expensive glass vase. Sure they look beautiful and cost a ton of money, but I would rather have the ton of money.

Bartending jobs at risk!

Well it's the end of an era. The days of getting served by your favorite bartender may soon pass. I stumbled upon robo-bartender tonight online. This robot can serve 24/7 for only 30 cents a day as reported by the website. If that's the case then Im toast. Anyways, as a huge sci-fi fan, I thought some of you would get a kick out of this.

I have already thought out some good ideas they can incorporate in their next model. Patrons should be able to blow into his finger for a BAC reading and insert a quarter in it's chest for popular hangover cures like aspirin.

Fun New Years Toasts

Here is a collection of fun New Years toast I have compiled.

-Stir the eggnog, lift the toddy, Happy New Year, everybody. ~ Phyllis McGinley

-Then sing, young hearts that are full of cheer,With never a thought of sorrow;The old goes out, but the glad young yearComes merrily in tomorrow. -Emily Miller

-Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” -Oprah Winfrey

-The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year's Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you're married to. -P.J. ORourke

-I raise a glass to days that passed and greet the hands of time. May you all be first and never last in the year of 2009 ~ Andy Lakatos
Got a fun new years toast? Be sure to leave it in a comment below.

LED bars and stands light up your event

BarBop's lighted LED bars can display solid or changing light patterns with any of the colors in the RBG spectrum. These bars are DMX controlled offering them the ability to match your wedding reception or D.J.'s light scheme.

We offer several glow bar styles to choose from. Our smallest piece is meant to serve as a branded podium, bar extension, or table. This is the green lighted mini-bar in the left photo.

The purple bar on the right is actually a semi-circular bar that is about 7' in length. This piece offers full bar capabilities. Use these in tandom with one another, or mix and match, as in the photo above. If you would like more information and to see a video of these bars in action visit www.BarBop.com/barstyles.html

In the future, BarBop will be offering a full array of additonal LED glowing tables for banquets. Stay tuned for details. For high profile events we can even custom build lighted bars and backdrops to interface with each other.

What is BarBop?

The easy answer would be that BarBop is a bartending and espresso bar service. They offer certified and insured bartenders for any event and can bring along a huge selection of party rentals like glassware, tables, linens, keg chillers, frozen drink machines and more. However, the aim of this blog is to explain why were called BarBop.

BarBop was the result of 2 dictionary explanations resulting in our new term. We define BarBop as "One who brings the bar to you".

If you look up the word Bop, it's defined as slang for, move the party on down the road. So our idea was to move our bars on down the road. Thus you have the word BarBop. To view our fancy flash logo visit our home page.

Each BarBop bartender is specifically trained to set-up and serve using mobile bar equipment.

Be the bar star!

Bartending is not for the bashful. In the past, I have seen many employees come and go. There is an obvious trend with succesful bartenders and even party hosts. They have great personalities. Personality allows marginal bartenders to out perform many with superior bar knowledge, and sky's the limit for experienced ones who utilize them.

Many personality defecits seem to be a lack of communication. Bartenders are often the center of a good conversation and should be prepared to communicate. By learning their trade and remembering a few key points anyone can be a good entertainer.

Here is a list of things I do to prepare myself for some events. Some of these items are now a routine for me.

• Every time you have an event learn a few good clean jokes. Google em or subscribe to an online joke a day blog.
• If serving wine, read the label, so you can describe it with confidence. Also, increase your knowledge with some tips like these.
• Read the news. World news or sports are great items to discuss when all else fails. I usually glance at AOL's front page.
• Learn how to pour beer correctly.
• Impress people with your bar trivia knowledge.

Hopefully, these ideas will help spark your imagination. The next time you need a topic you'll be prepared and ready to entertain by remember some of these tips. Always be ready to switch it up! I am currently working on my acting imitations for example, but only time will tell if it's a success.

Goodluck and be sure to visit BarBop the next time you need great bar service at your event.