April 22, 2015
A delicious tea bread made with tea! Nothing says cozy more than this tea and the aroma of baking sweet breads. This bread is lovely and even lovelier when enjoyed with a cup of Simpson & Vail’s Cozy Comfort tea 🙂 Banana Nut Bread with Cozy Comfort Tea 1 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1 Tbsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup (4 oz) Cozy Comfort tea butter* 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 2 eggs 1/3 cup honey 1 1/4 cup mashed ripe bananas (3-4 medium)1 cup walnuts, chopped *Cozy Comfort Tea Butter 5 oz butter 2 tsp Cozy Comfort tea Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Add the Cozy Comfort tea and […]
March 16, 2015
Have you used tea as an ingredient in baking yet? If not, you’re in for a tasty surprise when you try it! The two most used teas in recipes are Chai and Earl Grey, and you’ll find recipes using both on our website. The Earl Grey recipes we feature are Earl Grey Tea Shortbread and Earl Grey Chocolate Truffles. Here’s another one that I just made – Earl Grey Almond Cookies: Earl Grey Almond Cookies 1 Âľ cups flour 1/3 cup ground almonds 1/8 tsp salt 6 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar 2 tsp Earl Grey tea leaves, ground 4 ½ oz butter, chilled and diced 1 egg ½ tsp vanilla extract thick jam for filling confectioners’ sugar for dusting Put the flour, almonds, salt, confectioners’ sugar and ground Earl […]
January 13, 2015
Chai Masala originated in the areas in and around India and Tibet thousands of years ago. There are a few legends surrounding the invention of masala tea. One is that an Indian king was made this tea by his chef and so loved the drink that he banned the chef from revealing the recipe to anyone else. After his death, the secret recipe was given out, whereupon it was changed based on the ingredients people had available to them. Another legend claims that the Tibetans were the originators of this recipe, using it as an offering and as a sign of hospitality. Their recipe used spices with salt and whatever dairy products were available (goat’s milk, yak butter, etc …). Whoever was the originator of chai and masala […]
December 31, 2014
Chocolate and mint … a perfect combination especially during the holiday season! We infused our organic Candy Cane Rooibos Holiday tisane in butter for a delicious, sweet mint flavor. “Tea” butter: 7 oz butter 3 Tbsp Candy Cane Rooibos organic herbal “tea” blend Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the Candy Cane tisane and steep on low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and steep for 5 minutes. Strain the leaves from the butter using a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Some of the butter clings to the tea leaves, so always make sure to use more butter than a recipe calls for when making infused tea butters. I strained the tea butter into a measuring cup to make sure I had enough […]
December 4, 2014
Can you achieve balance in your life with a cup of tea? Probably not. But you can start, with that first sip, on a journey of wellness, adventure, relaxation, joy. Sitting with a cup of tea and the intention to start your life right from this moment can be quite powerful.  From a simple intention can spring forth an entirely new perspective, a new reality. Why not give it a try? In 2007 we introduced a line of herbal tisanes, our “Yoga” line, that we designed to help people as they started on their new paths. The philosophies, principles and life styles of yoga have existed for 5,000 years in one form or another and are now easily available to the average person through books, dvd’s or the […]
November 14, 2014
Bring the aroma of Spring and Summer into your house this winter with some of our floral teas. Are you new to floral teas and how they are made? Here’s a little introduction. Our floral tea blends are a combination of either teas that are just blended with herbs or teas that are blended with herbs and flavorings. Jasmine Teas All of our Jasmine teas are produced by infusing the tea leaves with fresh picked Jasmine blossoms. The process of producing Jasmine tea started in China sometime during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) using tea blended with Jasmine blossoms. Jasmine teas are created using different types of tea: white, oolong and green predominantly. The base teas used are picked, depending on the type of tea, from March to June, […]
October 10, 2014
These Apple Cinnamon Tea Cookies are so scrumptious that we ate almost all of them right from the oven! To add the superb flavor to these cookies, we infused our Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake black dessert tea in butter then strained out the leaves. The butter was left with the most heavenly taste and aroma. Tea butter: 2 sticks (8oz) butter 8 Tbsp Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake Black tea blend Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the tea and steep on low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and steep for 5 minutes. Strain the leaves from the butter using a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Some of the butter clings to the tea leaves, so always make sure to use more butter than a […]
September 19, 2014
September 21st is the International Day of Peace. This “day” was established in 1981 to promote the concept of peace throughout the world through education and social events that highlight ways to bring peace to our planet. The United Nations also makes an effort to promote, to warring nations, the observance of a cease fire on this day so humanitarian aid can be supplied. At noon on the 21st there is a moment of silence for meditation and to contemplate offering peace outward. This year’s theme is the “Right of Peoples to Peace” which supports the UN’s resolution towards peace and “recognizes that the promotion of peace is vital for the full enjoyment of all human rights.” There are many ways to encourage peace in ourselves, our communities […]
September 2, 2014
September 3rd is the anniversary of the birth of Anna Russell, the Duchess of Bedford, and the woman credited with creating the tradition of afternoon tea. While tea drinking in England, and meals with tea, certainly existed before Anna was born, she has been credited as the inventor of this pastime for a few reasons. Anna Russell was born into a prominent family, both in terms of wealth and their position in society. She was a great friend to Queen Victoria and as such held an influential position in society herself. The ritual of afternoon tea began when the dinner meal in England started to be served later in the evening (around 8 pm). The time between lunch and dinner was so long that people began having a […]
August 20, 2014
Blueberry season is slowly dwindling to a close unfortunately but hopefully you were able to get out and pick some of these delicious berries to eat and to freeze.  I recently went blueberry picking on a lovely summer morning and picked 6 quarts. Yum! The farm handed out a recipe booklet when we left and, among the tasty treats they wrote about, I found this muffin recipe. It’s incredibly delicious and I hope you enjoy them! Ingredients: 1 1/2 tsp gingerbread tea 1 cup water 2 eggs 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup molasses 1/2 cup oil (canola, sunflower…) 2 1/2 cups flour 1 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cloves 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp ginger 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen) Preheat oven to […]