And The Winner Is ...

Jenny On The Spot!!

I want to thank everyone for participating in my giveaway!

Congratulations to Jenny On The Spot!

Enjoy your Steaz Jenny!!!

GH is in Port Charles!

I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other General Hospital branded items to facilitate my review




Do you watch your "stories"??




Twenty-nine years ago I moved into Port Charles. Believe it or not, I was in 8th grade and it was all we talked about at lunch!

Poor us, no cell phones, there was one hand held basketball video game and Atari, and TV went off at mid-night! REMEMBER THAT??!!! When the stations played our anthem and faded to fuzz and we were all scared that the Poltergeist would POP OUT and "get us"!

It has been fun living in Port Charles New York!

From LUKE AND LAURA to Anna Devane and Robert Scorpio, GH has been exciting, endearing and a huge part of my life!

I am SO happy to announce that I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other General Hospital branded items to facilitate my review.

But make no mistake, I am a GH girl through and through! I catch my episodes each week on Soap Net and boy was this week a doozy! Sonny Corinthos is still HOT and HUNKY! He and Jason Quartermaine are "blood brothers" and Lucky STILL LOVES Elizabeth.

OH and EVIL HELENA CASSADINE has resurfaced! The next coming weeks are sure to thrill!

Stay tuned!

More Steaz Please

Eric Schnell of STEAZ was gracious enough to allow a few questions, THANK YOU!

HOUSE: Eric, what birthed the Steaz idea?

Eric: A lifelong passion for my business partner and I to make a difference in the world through a company that could use a mainstream “product” to bring to life the story of ethical and responsible business practices. We didn’t know the official words used to describe this type of thinking in early 2000, but now the corporate world calls this type of business one that is “Triple Bottom Line” and adheres to the founding principles of “People, Planet and ethical Profits”. We always knew it was just about doing what we felt was the “right” way to build a company and conduct ourselves as a brand. So what birthed the idea of sparkling water, meets green tea, meets organic and natural flavors and sweeteners? What better way to try change the world than to make soda “healthier” we thought. It is the classic David vs. Goliath story and we love being the underdogs to Coke and Pepsi! That is why we named our company “The Healthy Beverage Co.”.


HOUSE: Eric, what significance does the name "Steaz" carry?

Eric: We thought what a cool brand name came out of blending the words “soda” and “teas”, as that was really the concept for our first product. We ended with a “Z”, because it is a strong letter with a lot of energy, and called our new soft drink concept Steaz. Coincidentally, years later we met one of the founders of Snapple and he told us the story of how they came up with the word “Snapple”. We all had a good laugh when he told us they thought of what to call their unique concept for their first product, which was a carbonated apple juice. “Soda” plus “apple” and so they called it Snapple!


HOUSE: Tell us about the products? The ingredients? How the awesome flavors were blended to perfection?

Eric: Steaz is an organic and fair trade certified ready to drink tea brand that makes sparkling glass bottled soft drinks, lightly sweetened premium iced teaz and superfood based energy drinks and shots. All of these 4 product lines are formulated and marketed to be “healthier” and more earth friendly alternatives to their mainstream counterparts (ex. Coke, Lipton, Red Bull and 5 Hour Energy). All of our main ingredients share a common bond, the Steaz brand is “organic tea, creatively unleashed”. We use no artificial ingredients or preservatives and we heat pasteurize all of our products, which is more natural way to keep drinks shelf stable as well as allows the flavors to really taste their best andstand up better over time. Often mainstream soft drink brands have to add a lot of “junk” to mask the taste of their harsh chemical preservatives they use to keep the product’s shelf life long.


HOUSE: What are the benefits in drinking these products?

Eric: We do not make any formal “functional” claims as we instead focus on promoting where in the world our ingredients are sourced and how our company uses it’s drinks to promote the education of our mission statement and corporate values. We have been very fortunate that the media does a better job than we can ever do educating consumers as to the beneficial health benefits of drinking green tea each day. Most of our other popular ingredients, such as Acai and Yerba Mate, as well, are enjoying quite a bit of positive press and the manufacturers that we partner with to source those ingredients are dedicated to studying and promoting their ingredients and their notable health benefits.


HOUSE: Can you give us insight to the plant and processing?

Eric: After developing our concept we found a real challenge in securing a bottling plant (manufacturer) to actually make our new drink. The problem is, Steaz needed to be brewed in a plant that was able to use “heat pasteurization” to preserve our products and to bring out the full taste of our tea. There were very few of those bottling plants in the US at the time and they were mainly beer breweries. Being certified organic we could not, and did not want to, use harsh chemical preservatives like Sodium Benzoate and Phosphoric Acid to make our drinks shelf stable. In the end we found a 100+ year old regional beer brewery 2 hours from where we are based in Pennsylvania. The owners believed in our concept and fortunately were willing to invest to become organic certified by the USDA. Our very first full year in business, both of our companies won a joint Manufacturers Excellence Award from the state of PA!


HOUSE: I loved the tea, Energy drink (Diet too) and of course the Sparkling Water - but I also felt GREAT after drinking them, what has been other response to your healthy beverages?

Eric: We are very lucky, we make drinks that make people happy! Most all of our consumer feedback is positive. At our very first tradeshow in 2003, I’ll never forget, a woman came up to me to shake my hand and thank me for making a drink that could finally get her off her addiction to bad for you soda. I knew we had something very special with the Steaz brand right then.


HOUSE: Where can we find Steaz? What is your vision for Steaz in five years? Do you see the product available where they should be, ie schools, hospitals, day cares and city-state-federal facilities?

Eric: Steaz is available in most local health foods stores, natural sections of regional supermarkets as well as nationally sold in large name retailers like Whole Foods and Target. We are a small company still, but our goal has always been to eventually build a brand that is as easy to find as Coke and Pepsi’s products. We feel all consumers deserve to have an organic alternative to choose from when doing their everyday shopping for their families. I believe in 5 years we may actually be a household name if we keep growing the way we are!



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LOVE it!!! (disclaimer: Houseonahillorg participated in a dinner introducing the product. Houseonahillorg has not, however, been compensated for this endorsement, which is a true assessment of Houseonahillorg's feelings for the product Steaz)

LEAVE a comment and you will be entered into the 6 pack Steaz giveaway! (sorry, U.S. residents only)


COMMENTS FOR THIS GIVEAWAY ARE NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED! WHAT FUN!

STEAZ Today for a healthier you!

A few weeks ago my friend Kim Moldofsky extended an invitation to join her at Uncommon Ground to experience a new drink.






I drank my first STEAZ beverage and have been hooked ever since.

While the product offers no health claims, I feel much better giving my kiddo a Steaz energy drink after a game as opposed to a sugar laden sports drink. There are also a variety of teas and sparkling teas. My favorite is the Black Cherry. Once I purchase the sparkling teas, I must hide them from Mr. Kiddo who drinks them and flips the caps over (which reveal a message) and leaves them places to taunt me.

Because I enjoy the vegan, kosher, free trade concept, I feel Steaz is good for my entire family. I therefore asked the two people who moved me with their story to share it with my readership!

Thanks Kim & Eric!



HOUSE: How did you first hear about Steaz the product?


Kim: I first learned about Steaz when they contacted me about blogger outreach. I was impressed with what I learned about their triple bottom line philosophy and the fact that they are organic and fair trade, but I wanted to taste their drinks before I got too involved. Happily, they were a hit.



HOUSE: When you rave about Steaz, what do you say?

Kim: It's a product that people can feel good about drinking and a company they can feel good about supporting. I like that the teas aren't overpoweringly sweet and even the sodas seem milder than their traditional counterparts.


HOUSE: Tell us a bit about Kim and your endeavors

Kim: I started blogging way back in 2005 HormoneColoredDays and have been going strong ever since.

In 2008, a brand approached me looking for advice on reaching out to
mombloggers. Not only were they interested in my thoughts, they were willing
to pay me for my advice. Since then I've worked with several other brands
and just launched MomImpact to increase my visibility to brands and online moms. In some ways, I'm just formalizing what I've already been doing, but I'm going to two important blog conferences in February, so maybe I'll get a few new ideas!


That is great Kim, thanks!


Tomorrow we will hear from co-founder Eric Schnell! Stay tuned ~ Steaz would love to offer a 6 pack sampler to one of my lucky readers (sorry U.S. mailing addresses ONLY!)

Leave a comment telling how you strive for a Healthier, Happier, You! Be sure your profile has a valid email address or leave it with your comment. On Friday February 26th Random.org will choose a winner! GOOD LUCK!!

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED ~ THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED! WHAT FUN!