Earth Day- Santa Barbara

Finally, for the first time, Teeccino was able to attend Earth Day here in Santa Barbara, CA. One would think that a local Santa Barbara herbal coffee company committed to environmentally friendly practices and creating new trade worldwide would be a shoe-in for something like this but the health department had its own reasons for keeping us away time and again. Not this year!!! With a little help from our newest team member Kelly we got ourselves into the event and into the hearts of thousands of Santa Barbara residents.



The day got off to an interesting start as the streets surrounding the event site were loaded with cars and vans needing to unload their supplies for the day, with hardly enough parking to accommodate them all, and disgruntled residents coming out to let the volunteers know that they were upset about vehicles blocking them from leaving their home. Let's just say I found a driveway that was ok to park in and right near our booth! A miracle to say the least. The clock was now ticking and I needed to get a move on! Since I arrived on the scene alone I roped in a couple of volunteers to unload the van and was on my way to a great event.



The weather was unseasonably HOT for Santa Barbara and I was breaking a sweat by 9am. Can you believe that?! I actually brought a sweater and a pair of jeans just in case I got cold as the evening rolled in. Not today folks. I think I can speak on behalf of everyone at the event and say that it was hot as hell out there (90 degrees is hardly warm for some people but for us by the beach, it was uncomfortably warm. Call us spoiled). The shade was everyone's best friend.



The Teeccino booth was happening from the time the event opened to the time we started to close down. I'm actually shocked at how many people were tasting hot coffee as sweat rolled down their foreheads and they were gasping for water. True coffee drinkers right there! We had some iced Teeccino available at our booth, which went in a matter of 2 or 3 hours, but the rest was steaming hot. Adults, children and students alike were all pleasantly surprised by our product and really interested in drinking it for several different reasons. Yes! This has been a goal of ours for years as we knew the hippie-folk in Santa Barbara would love the stuff if they only knew it existed. It was fun to see the reactions on people's faces too when I told them we had been around for 14 years. Jaws on the floor for sure!



Outside of our booth there was lots of activity going on. Food, live music, and tons of other vendors were all there to celebrate the Earth and all of the ways that we can come together and make a positive change in this world. It was nice to be surrounded by so many like-mided people, including small children. Tye die shirts were everywhere, or no shirt at all, and the theme of "One Love" was all over the place. A great time!



The Earth Day event was definitely a success for Teeccino. Despite the team being a little thrown off by the heat, we were at the top of our game. Caroline, our fearless leader, was a brewing goddess and kept our Teeccino supply stocked all day. Elizabeth and Galen kept a smile on their faces throughout the day and successfully spread the word to again thousands of Santa Barbara locals. Fingers crossed that they all incorporate Teeccino into their daily brewing ritual. As for me, I was definitely hot and exhausted by the endbut walked away from Alameda Park feeling great about my efforts and the impact that I hope I made on many Earth Day supporters. Go TreeHuggers!

Check out pictures of the event on Teeccino's MySpace and Facebook page.