New Hampshire may be a small state, but lots of things are made here. Perhaps its the Yankee creativity or just plain boredom from seemingly never-ending winters.
You can check out a selection from dozens of businesses who make cool stuff in the Granite State next weekend at the Made in N.H. Expo at the Manchester Downtown Hotel.
The expo will be held Friday from 1 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tickets to the expo are $9 for adults, $8 for seniors and $3 for children.
The theme this year is “Try it and Buy it.” Monitor staff got a sneak preview of just a few of the hundreds of items you can sample.
New this year – and something we couldn’t sample in advance – will be a libation station where adults of age can sample New Hampshire produced beer, wine and mead.
This chocolate coconut popcorn was a hit in the newsroom. The fluffy popcorn keeps its crunch even under a thick layer of chocolate, and the coconut shavings deliver a hint of pina colada that sneaks up in the aftertaste. The best part is when you reach into the bag and get four or five pieces Frankensteined together in a super-choco-coco-popcorn cluster – a sweet surprise that you didn’t expect.
Michele’s Sweet Shop, michelesweetshoppe.com, 425-2946
Nick Upton
The Maple Nut Kitchen’s Eastern Apple Pecan granola blend is a gluten-free trail-mix featuring pecans, sunflower, sesame and pumpkin seeds, dried apples and just a hint of maple syrup. I thought I’d snack on it at my desk and wound up eating the whole pack in one go. It was delicious, really well balanced and extremely filling. Because this blend is grain-free, what really stands out is the spiciness of the nuts. If you’re like me and prefer granola with as little sugar as possible, I’d recommend it with fat-free Greek yogurt to cut the sweetness. Besides, it’ll last longer that way.
Maple Nut Kitchen, maplenutkitchen.com, 561-621-6361
Lola Duffort
Coco’s Coffee is a small batch coffee roaster out of East Kingston. Their single origin coffee comes in small brown paper bags with built-in zip-closers for easy resealing. A sample of their Guatemala-Antigua Rainforest Alliance certified variety smells delicious and brewed a mild but super-smooth flavorful cup with zero bitterness, even out of an auto-drip coffee maker. Personally I like my coffee a little bolder, and expect a coffee/water ratio change would make a quick difference. Guatemala-Antigua is just one of 11 varieties currently listed on the website.
Coco’s Coffee, cocoscoffeenh.com, 930-3174
Elizabeth Frantz
Port City Pretzels Ranch and Dill are twisted sticks about 3 inches long covered in a powdery flavoring and studded with coarse salt. They are crunchy without splintering into a bajillion pieces when you bite into one. The taste is good, the ranch is more pronounced than the dill and the salt was a nice touch without going overboard like some other types of pretzels. They are packaged in a resealable bag of thick plastic, you’ll probably want scissors to neatly remove the top. But in my case, co-workers and I cleaned out the bag in one sitting, so resealing was unnecessary.
Port City Pretzels, portcitypretzels.com, 525-7946
Sarah Pearson
There’s a distinct but light peanut butter taste. The beer grains do little to add flavor but do give the cookie a substantive, albeit dry, texture, so keep some water handy. They’re pretty skimpy on the sugar, and the bone shape is a strange choice for a cookie. Not quite my cup of tea. I might just give the rest to my dog; he loves this kind of thing.
Gunther’s Goodies, gunthersgoodies.com, 305-7398
Nick Upton
The Contoocook-based Blackwater Mustard Co.’s maple mustard is sweet and spicy. I tried it by itself and with a couple pretzels. First, you taste sweet – the maple taste is subtle – and then the strong mustard kick sets in. I’d recommend as a snack, with pretzels or with Italian sausages.
Blackwater Mustard, blackwatermustardco.com, 746-2349
Lola Duffort
Remember in elementary school, or maybe an upper-grade foreign language class, those posters with a bunch of faces labeled with different expressions written out. John Wills plays on this with his postcard “Guide to Understanding New Hampshire Expressions.” On it, you see nine images of a bearded man wearing a hunter green ball cap and red check flannel shirt and sporting – spoiler alert – all the same facial expression. It’s cute and clever. The paper is a good quality for the mail with a glossy photo finish front and matte back for easy writing. I can easily see someone getting a kick out of receiving this in their mailbox.
Of Moose and Mountain, ofmooseandmountain.com, 942-2486
Sarah Pearson
There’s no doubt New Hampshire Magazine makes the state look good for locals and tourists alike. While only provided last year’s offering to peruse, it’s clear the makers know their state – pictures are high quality and have a distinct slice-of-New-Hampshire-life feel to them, and the regional breakdowns give love to several locations, not just the big names.
I’m particularly fond of the “5 Days” approach to exploring what’s good in the state, although I would have appreciated a few traditional articles on what’s trendy nowadays – a few hundred words exploring why you should consider an ATV tour or go whitewater rafting would have rounded out all the pretty pictures.
N.H. Tourism, visitnh.gov, 271-2665
Caitlin Andrews
Totes with Tales is all about the memories. Owner Nancy Roy is in the business of creating one-of-a-kind tote bags just for you.
Using things like dad’s old sweatshirt, a tablecloth that mom used to serve Christmas dinner on or your first born’s baby blanket, Roy will take those items and transform them into a creative new way to transport your things.
The small jean tote with a newborn onesie attached as a pocket on the outside is perfect for the toddler in your life, who will use it to store knick-knacks and teeny-tinys in one convenient spot.
Totes With Tales, toteswithtales.com, 675-9317
Tim Goodwin
The first ingredient may be pear juice, but it’s the habaneros that will sear themselves into both your memory and your tongue. George Beck of Bow’s Afterburn business includes this green variety that he labels “Sweet Ass Hot Sauce.” (There’s a donkey on the label. What were you thinking?) Transposing the label’s adjectives may give me a better sense of the taste – and the sweat-inducing feeling – you’ll have when you try them on your eggs, your carnitas, or really anything else that could use a stiff kick. You’ll appreciate the sweetness. But you’ll respect the heat. Consider yourself warned.
Afterburn Hot Sauce, afterburnhotsauce.com, 781-254-1068
Steve Leone
On the back of Irene Dupont’s card it says, “think outside of the can.” For her thank you card, a car image has been somehow punched/cut from the side of a beer can and affixed with foam spacers to a double thickness of paper (white inside for writing and navy blue as a border). It’s unique. I think this may be a deliver-in-person card though, otherwise you’re apt to pay extra postage.
Irene Dupont, ireneedupont.com, 622-9532
Sarah Pearson
There’s a bit more texture to it than your typical mainstream ketchup, and the heat rating on the bottle – two out of four peppers – is probably about right. I tried it with cajun fries, and it seemed to amplify the heat, but not so much that I had to grab a glass of milk. If something about halfway between a traditional ketchup and a spicy salsa sounds good, then this is the condiment you didn’t know you wanted.
Little Acre Gourmet, littleacregourmet.com, 617-8434
Nick Upton