August 6, 2014
We all know that the best cup of tea starts with good water. If your water contains chlorine or heavy minerals, it’ll be impossible to achieve the tastiest tea brew. I am fortunate that I have access to clean, delicious water at home and at work. Most of the time I take it for granted. When I turn on the tap, I expect that I’ll receive decent, healthy water. Every once and awhile though we need to step back and look at these things we take for granted. Imagine if when I turned on the water I did not enjoy good water. Imagine that when I turned on the taps brown water came out, or water with harmful chemicals, or bad tasting water . Imagine if I turned […]
July 10, 2014
Are you like me? Do you still have rhubarb in your fridge that is waiting for you to decide what sweet it will end up in … crisp, pie, jam? Our friend Kat, the lovely kindhearted Ms. Katness, has brought us lots of goodies this Spring – asparagus, rhubarb, wonderful baked treats! I’ve already made 2 pies with the rhubarb but I was looking for something new. I voiced my desire one night in a restaurant and a man named Johnny Carr said he had just the thing. Off he went to his truck and came in with his mother’s hand written recipe for Rhubarb “Tea”! Johnny said the tea was so good that he made photo copies of her recipe to hand out to people he’d meet. […]
July 3, 2014
Well it’s the heat of Summer again, which means my garden is going crazy and my herbs are ready to pick. I’m sure I’m not alone in my love of fresh dried herbs during the winter months. I don’t know where I read this but I found a great article last year on a homesteading website about drying herbs. It worked so well I thought I should pass it along. Pick your herbs in the morning when the flavor is at its maximum. I like to cut long stems of herbs so they hold together better when drying. Place the herbs on a mesh screen. If I’m drying a small leafed herb (like dill) I place a broiler pan or cookie sheet under the screen. Then place the […]
May 26, 2014
I have to confess, when prompted to try a recipe for tea jello, I wasn’t sure I was interested. I’m a vegetarian, so the thought of a dessert with gelatin was not appealing. However, a quick search on the internet showed me that a vegetarian option was really quite easy. So off I went to the store and bought agar-agar to make this dessert. Fun Agar facts: It sets at room temperature Agar makes you feel full, so it may be helpful to consume when dieting It’s not from an animal! I found quite a few fun websites with jello recipes. One, The Jello Mold Mistress , has beautiful looking recipes. Most are not vegetarian, but I’m sure they can be adapted, and the ones that are vegetarian […]
April 11, 2014
I finally flipped over the calendar to April and realized that Spring is upon us and Easter will be here soon. So I let my fingers do the walking through some search engines to find information on tea dyed eggs. We love hard-boiled eggs in my house, so why not tea color them for extra fun! The first site I came across had some great information about different foods you can use to dye eggs. It’s called Natural Easter Egg Dyes. Perfect! There was definitely enough information to start me on the path! I subsequently found the All Natural Easter Egg Dyes page from Better Homes & Gardens. Also great information! So I hardboiled a dozen eggs. We found that the best way to do this is: Place […]
March 28, 2014
We’re excited to be launching our latest beautifully packaged line of herbal tisanes …. Our Herbal Wellness line. This line of 12 tisanes contains 6 of our most popular Wellness blends along with 6 new concoctions. Our line of Herbal Benefits blends are: Detox Pomegranate Detox Echinacea Blend Energy Moonlight Snooze Men’s Herbal Tonic Women’s Herbal Tonic Sniffle Slayer Tonsil Tamer Lemon Tonsil Tamer Calm Turmeric Ginger Citrus As with all herbal tisanes that we sell, we recommend that everyone research the herbs themselves and definitely check with your doctor prior to drinking, especially if you have a specific health concern or are taking medication. It’s easy to think that because it’s “just a plant” it is safe for use all the time regardless of one’s medical history. […]
March 3, 2014
The internet is amazing. There are all sorts of things you can find. For instance, did you know about some of the holidays and days of importance in March? Of course, we have Fat Tuesday & Ash Wednesday (although these don’t always fall in March), the Ides of March, St Patrick’s Day, and the First day of Spring. But here are a few you may not have heard about…. March 3rd is I Want you to be Happy Day! Well that’s awesome! I think that’s the perfect holiday to share a cup of tea with a loved one. Or take a friend out for tea. Or, for long distance friends, raise a cup of tea in their honor and maybe send them an email, a letter, or give […]
February 12, 2014
Are you planning a Valentine’s Day tea? Here are a couple of menu ideas. Try pairing our Rose Congou black tea with: Chicken salad finger sandwiches Onion and cheese tartlets Fresh fruit & cheese platter Butter cookies (cut into heart shapes and dipped in dark chocolate) Chocolate covered strawberries Tartlets filled with lemon curd and topped with fresh raspberries Another delicious menu option features our Violet Rose black tea blend: Smoked salmon sandwiches Cheddar scones with cream cheese Tomato and egg salad sandwiches Sponge cake with fruit and cream Red Velvet cupcakes Mini cinnamon buns
February 6, 2014
Looking for some sweet Valentine’s Day ideas try some of these fun pairings! Lavender Cream Chocolate Truffles will taste great with Simpson and Vail’s Victorian Earl Grey dairy, soy, and gluten free, vegan makes 12 large truffles, 20-22 regular size 8 ounces dark chocolate, divided 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk (canned)* 2 1/2 tablespoons** culinary lavender, chopped fine *Without shaking, open can of coconut milk, spoon out 1/2 cup of the thick portion at top of can for this recipe. **While this seems like a large measurement (and if you taste the infused coconut cream it is strong), once you add the dark chocolate the result is a subtle hint of lavender flavor. Chop 4 ounces chocolate. In saucepan, bring coconut milk and lavender to a boil, reduce to simmer […]
February 3, 2014
TEA BASICS Everything you need to know to begin your journey into the wonderful world of tea! The word tea comes from the Chinese local Amoy dialect word t’e (pronounced “tay”). In Cantonese it became ch’a (pronounced “chah”) Legend places the introduction of tea drinking to the reign of Emperor Shen Nung about 2737 BC. The first history book (and handbook) of tea was written in 780 AD, called The Ch’a Ching, by Lu Yu. The most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water, tea can be served hot or iced at any time and for any occasion. In the late 1700’s the United States protested high taxes and staged many protests (like the Boston Tea Party). This resulted in tea losing popularity in the US […]