Coffee Played Starring Role in Chicago

Joyce Wadler wrote a clever story on this week’s International Housewares Show in Chicago, from the perspective of aliens visiting earth. One of their main observations would be that Earth people, 60,000 of whom attended the show, love coffee – and cupcakes - and colorful machines in which to prepare their brew. It could also be deduced that Earth people love to walk and shop, as the show included thirteen miles of aisles. Coffee items were big at the show, especially the “Single serve” coffeemakers. They were shown in many colors and also feature slide-in panels so the color can be changed for $20. The dealer commented that the machines have “exploded” in popularity, having moved from “fad to a phenomenon”. A travel French press - a tumbler which doubles as a brew-in-your-cup coffee maker - was a popular giveaway, and new sleek coffeemakers made their debut. Robots who do the floors were demonstrated by cleaning up a coffee spill – what else? It was probably a common occurrence during the show, as free coffee was offered by many demonstrators. Though not necessarily related to coffee, the color predicted to be most trendy this coming year is honeysuckle, a pink shade somewhere between hot pink and light pink – think ice cream shoppe pink. It was picked because it’s seen as bold, refreshing and rejuvenating. It could be popping up on coffeemakers and accessories soon, but it’s already in bedroom fashions and clothing. Tabletop fireplaces, the ubiquitous colorful silicone items, recyclable toothbrushes, colorful cookware and a DIY soda-making kit were some of the other hits of the show. The items will soon be hitting the shelves of your favorite Target and other houseware stores. Some of the coffee products, such as the popular single serve items, can be found at ROASTe right now.