Dessert!

It's always nice to have a mom who "travels" with coolers, dry ice and body boards in her boot (trunk) or rather had all of the above because she's finishing up her catering order tomorrow.  Hence, we took a little trip out to visit the barn swallows in Mt. Moreland with friends and dessert was Qhuma Pops! Yum and refreshing on a hot summer night...

Looking out for barn swallows.

Yum. 8 happy kids.

Wonder Market Take 2!

We had our second Wonder Market on Sunday. One of the great things about living in a "small town" or rather a suburb of a rather large metropolis is that at community gatherings like the Wonder Market, you feel like you see nearly everyone you know.  It was great to see so many friends, acquaintances and familiar faces and most of all that everyone seemed to enjoy our refreshing pops.

We are constantly learning new things with each day and market -- how to streamline things, how long dry ice lasts, what flavours seem to be the most popular (Summer and Wonder), which ones aren't as huge of a hit (Grove and Hluhluwe), that many people don't really understand my American pronunciation of banana and sample, kids like colour -- doesn't matter the taste, they like red and bright colours.  We are always learning and observing new things which is oh so fun.  We are enjoying the ride and looking forward to another I Heart Market on Saturday.  First though, we have our little catering gig to finish up... Back to the pop making factory I go!

Menu for the Wonder Market

These are my best employees and customers!
Luckily they work for pops.  

Samples!

We are busy today at the Qhuma Pop factory getting ready for Wonder Market tomorrow.  One thing we offer at the market is free samples so you can taste each pop before you decide which one you want to buy.  Here are some Summer Pops getting popped out of their ice cube container. The weather looks to be amazing on Sunday so we are hoping for a record selling day...

A Tribute to the Talbot Pop

All of our pops are named after a memory, place or thing that is significant to us.  Talbot is a small town  outside of Salem, Oregon, USA where Stephanie's father lives.  It's a beautiful rural area with many vineyards and mint fields.  It's also a place where we've picked plums from the side of the road!  Here's the evidence...

Little cutie picking plums September 2009

Not as little of a cutie eating a Talbot pop 

February 2013

Cutie's sister eating a Talbot Pop

February 2013

The Freezers Are Filling Up!

Qhuma Pops has started off with a bang and we are working with a catering company, Food Matters, to provide pops for one of their events, which is the launch of a new Chevrolet car.  We are pretty excited to be a part of this and are busy figuring out logistics of deliveries, how long dry ice lasts, and just how much we can cram in our limited freezer space! It's all just a bit crazy with markets in between all of this and an extra 1000 pops to get out.  But hey, better busy than sitting around eating our pops!

After School Snack

This whole business started because I regularly offered my kids smoothies and frozen fruit popsicles.  Now, my kiddos are pretty excited to have an almost unlimited supply of pops available to them.  I'm pretty happy to give them a Qhuma Pop because I know exactly what's in it and rest assured knowing that the treat they are enjoying has minimal sugar and sweeteners.  I think these are pretty lucky girls to have a mom in the business. 

A's enjoying a Talbot pop (plum and mint) and S's enjoying a Wonder Pop (mango and nectarine)

I Heart Market

We woke up to rain this morning and were quite disappointed -- not as disappointed as our son, whose cricket match was cancelled, but sad because well Qhuma Pops are best eaten when it's hot out.  So, we knew it might be a slow day at our first I heart market.

We arrived and set up our little display and while we didn't sell loads and loads of pops, at least we made some new friends and fans.  We had five people come back for second pops because they loved the first ones so much.

Next market is on Sunday, 26 February at the Wonder Market.  We've got some new plans for our display so stay tuned and hope to see you there!

The Talbot Life Cycle

Here's how the Talbot Pop is made. We start with fresh juicy bright red/purple plums, cook them up and add a little mint. And voila, fresh and flavorful refreshment on a stick. Yum!

Back from the Market!

There is a lot of fruit ripening around here with lots of new recipes being worked on!

It's a Family Affair!

Here's Elliott, age 7, working on the sign for a market.  

Qhuma Pops is definitely a family affair!