Our second Maker Moment event was a welcomed reminder of how to indulge in locally-sourced self-care. With calm and ease we share some of our favorite memories of the event here, and look forward to the special experiences yet to come in our future Maker Moments!
Tabbara Chocolates
The evening started off with fun mingling and delicious brews from Cinderlands. Kelly and I kicked off the night and introduced our featured artists starting with Nancy of Tabbara Chocolates.
Nancy shared her family's story of how they brought their chocolate-making business to the United States after leaving Beruit during wartime. You can read more about her background in Tabbara's Maker We Love. While the business had fallen idle, Nancy began to experiment with family recipes. After gifting her confections to family and friends, their praise led her to rejuvenate Tabbara into the brand we love today.
Chocolate is a complex ingredient that has varying flavor profiles depending on the region in which the cocoa beans are grown. We were the lucky taste testers that evening, as Nancy brought in samples of two different varieties of dark chocolate to compare.
Her decisions to pair each chocolate type with fruit, nuts, or soft decadent truffle interiors are influenced by flavor profiles, some of which are more fruit-forward, chestnuty, or that have vanilla flavors to name a few variations.
I adore the delicate nature of all of Nancy's creations, from her candy assortments to my personal all time favorite - her raspberry flavored chocolate (that we carry in the I Love You Bar).
Triple Moon Alchemy
Next up was Loukeisa Denise of Triple Moon Alchemy. As she introduced us to her brand, Denise shared her mission to help people find the time to care for themselves, whether it be through the process of brewing a cup of tea, or taking a soak in a bath, and for both occasions she has carefully crafted products.
As a trained herbalist, Denise taught us about a few of her favorite tea ingredients, and demonstrated how to blend your own tea that will not only look and taste gorgeous, but will have the health properties for what you are seeking, whether it be calming, respiratory support, or helping you find balance. Denise shares more about her background in her Maker We Love journal post.
I am inspired to give tea blending a try, which is a perfect way to more deeply explore my own self-care. Not only does Denise sell popular pre-blended teas, she has individual ingredients available for purchase on her website, so you can truly customize your tea.
Denise loves sharing her knowledge to help people find the right herbs for their personal needs. One way she does this is through her virtual course "Demystifying Herbs & Their Actions". Needless to say, we were all deeply interested in learning more about unlocking the potential of these ingredients!
As a lover of both baths and tea, I am a huge fan of Triple Moon's products, including her milky Love Craft Soak and grounding Peaceful Warrior Tea.
Cinderlands
Stephanie and Nick represented Cinderlands, our neighborhood brewery from down the street. They showcased new and classic beers including a go-to light beer called Lil' Cinder, Desk Pop - a West-Coast style hazy pale ale, and their newest release - Eliza Works. Eliza Works is a double milk stout with toasted coconut flakes. It drank easily and tasted like a milk shake, which made it the perfect pairing with chocolate!
Raffle
Our guests were entered to win a raffle, which included the lovely creations of our featured makers. Triple Moon Alchemy provided one of her most popular tea blends and Tabbara offered a box of assorted chocolates. love, Pittsburgh donated a few of our customer favorites, our camper mug, chocolate bar and gift card.
Next Event
We are loving the community and connections that these events are creating and are even more excited for the next one! Tickets are now available for our March Maker Moment featuring Abeille Voyante Tea Co and Pittsburgh Honey. Get your ticket before they sell out! And as always, ticket sales will be donated directly to the featured artists.