Tea of the Week: Huckleberry Tea Bags

Wow, I can't believe we don't have a winner for last weeks Jasmine with Flowers Tea! Looks like I need to try harder to tempt your taste buds. This week we are trying something different...tea bags! Our fruit teas are summer favorites, and Huckleberry Tea is a customer favorite and hard to find. Just leave a comment on this post to win 50 tea bags. If it goes well we will feature tea bags again soon.

First a bit of huckleberry history. When European settlers arrived in the New World, they found several plants that provided small, dark-colored sweet berries. The berries reminded them of the English bilberry and similar fruits and they gave them the dialect term, hurtleberry, whose origin is unknown (though some say it has something to do with hurt, from the bruised color of the berries; a related British dialect form is whortleberry). Very early on — at the latest 1670 — this was corrupted to huckleberry. The berries are small and round, usually less than 5 mm in diameter, and contain 10 relatively large seeds. Berries range in color according to species from bright red, through dark purple, and into the blues. In taste the berries range from tart to sweet, with a flavor similar to that of a blueberry especially in blue/purple colored varieties.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July this weekend! We will all be at the annual Yoder fish fry. Sat on the deck last evening watching the humming birds and knitting with a cuppa Segovia Muffin Rooibos, does not get any better than that. Have a great week!

Tea of the Week: Jasmine with Flowers Green Tea

I want to congratulate Tameka on winning 4 ounces of Raspberry Tea! To win 4 ounces of our wonderful Jasmine with Flowers Tea this week, leave a comment on this post. More about this tea. An extra added goodie this week, Candie has extended the 10% off coupon until 6/30/09. Use coupon code J16F09 for 10% off your order!

I don't usually care for floral teas, but any Jasmine green tea I love. Jasmine production is quite interesting. Spring fresh green tea is layered between early spring jasmine blossoms (these blossoms have the most aroma). Air that is slightly warmer than ambient temperature air is passed through the layers of blossoms and tea. The fragrance of the blossoms permeates the new fresh tea resulting in a concentrated heady bouquet of a garden in full bloom. Following this process, some of the jasmine flowers and petals are blended into the tea to enhance the flavor and visual appeal.

I hope everyone had a great Fathers Day weekend. We had a little excitement at my house on Friday and a weekend of cleaning up! About 5:30am Friday morning a storm came through and took down half of a maple tree in the yard. Nobody was hurt thank goodness! It did get the corner of the house, the garage roof and my car. Everyone thought the car was totaled, but it is just really dented up on top and has a cracked windshield. We spent the weekend raking leaves and sawing logs! Could have been worse, we were blessed no one was hurt. Everyone have a great week.

Coupon this Week

This week we have a coupon available to use that will save you 10% off your order. We don't post coupons that often so you should make sure you take advantage of it.

Coupon Code: J16F09
Expires: 6/22/09

Tea of the Week: Raspberry

I want to congratulate Kristin for winning 4 ounces of Mango Tea. I will be emailing you today to get your snail mail address. To win 4 ounces of Raspberry Tea leave a comment on this post! If you would like to learn more about this tea, click on the link.

When my son was young, we did not have a lot of money for extra activities. We spent a lot of time just walking down the country roads and exploring, one of the things we discovered was wild berries! Raspberries were my favorite. Sometimes there were not many left by the time we got home Shane ate so many. I love adding sparkling water to my tea, and I also came across a recipe for raspberry ice cubes that I think I will try. Sometimes we need to be reminded to try something different.

Recently there has been new research looking at raspberries as an antioxidant. Couple this with the known natural goodness of the antioxidants in tea and you have a healthy winner! This tea is particularly refreshing with ice – another reason to try raspberry tea. (Add a pinch of sugar as the sugar binds with the raspberry flavor molecules, intensifying the distinctive taste.) A favorite summer iced tea.

Everyone have a fantastic week!

Tea of the Week: Mango (naturally flavored black tea)

I want to congratulate Katrina for winning 4 ounces of Canadian Ice Wine Tea! I will be emailing you today to get your snail mail address. To win 4 ounces of Mango Tea leave a comment on this post! If you would like to learn more about this tea, click on the link.

Mangos originated in Southeast Asia and India, where references to the fruit are documented in Hindu writings dating back to 4000 B.C. Buddhist monks cultivated the fruit and in fact, the mango is considered to be a sacred fruit in the region because it is said that Buddha himself meditated under a mango tree. The mango belongs to the same family as the cashew and the pistachio nut.

Mango seeds traveled with humans from Asia to the Middle East, East Africa and South America beginning around 300 or 400 A.D. Mango trees need a tropical climate to thrive, and today a majority of the mangos sold in the U.S. are grown near the equator in countries like Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Guatemala and Haiti.

The fruitiness of the mango blends well with the black tea resulting in a cup that is refreshing iced or hot. Here is a great recipe to try! This has gone over great at some of our family gatherings.

Ingredients
1 1/2 quarts cold water
6 heaping teaspoons Mango Tea or 6 teabags
Sugar
1/4 cup mint leaves
Thinly sliced mango
Directions
Bring water to a boil, put tea leaves in an infuser or tea sac and steep until tea is dark, about 5 minutes. Remove tea. Add sugar to taste and stir until sugar is dissolved. Place in pitcher and add mint leaves. Pour over ice and garnish with mango slices.

Hope everyone had a great week! Our new babysitter is working out great, Kaitlyn is 12 and lives across the street...this is her first sitting job away from home. Ethan is thrilled she plays video games with him and is helping on his reading this summer. I don't know what the weather is like where you live but it's been a pretty cool summer here so far. There's been a black lab puppy mix running the neighborhood for a couple of days and Ethan found him yesterday, made for an interesting afternoon. He got along great with our dogs and you know what comes next....of course Ethan wants to keep him. We were very lucky though the neighbors son came and got him for their kids, they live in the country and the puppy will have a very good home. Have a great week!

Tea of the Week: Canadian Ice Wine

I want to congratulate Polly for winning 4 ounces of Strawberry Tingle Rooibos! I will be emailing you today to get your snail mail address. To win 4 ounces of Canadian Ice Wine Tea, leave a comment on this post!

This weeks tea is Canadian Ice Wine, I've been having a glass of wine after dinner lately and a cup of Ice Wine tea before bedtime. I encourage you to try this unique tea. Ice wine is produced when the grape is frozen solid on the vine and harvested at a maximum temperature of -10 deg Celsius. The frozen grapes that make up ice wine are then pressed and the resultant nectar exudes aromas of apricot and honey with a fine overall balance between fruit flavors, sweetness and acidity. Ice wine ends up a golden color, or deep rich amber and has a very sweet taste. The flavor is a combination of apricot, peach, mango, melon or other sweet fruits. The rules of true ice wine (governed by VQA) state that the grapes must be naturally frozen – no artificial freezing allowed. Ice Wine is typically made of Vidal (a cross between European and North American white grapes). Normally used to produce a table wine, Vidal yields well. It also has a relatively thick skin enabling the grape clusters to withstand the elements better. Ice wine is difficult to produce – not only do the grapes have to withstand the elements – but crows and other birds find Vidal grapes particularly tasty. After the ‘fight’ with the elements and birds, the grapes go through weeks of fermentation followed by a few months of barrel aging. More about this tea.

Hope everyone had a wonderful week! The kids get out of school on Thursday, then I think summer will officially begin for us. I started getting things ready for the yard sale this summer, time to make more room in the house....of course it's been 15 years since I did one, so there is quite a bit to do. My hubby is busy fishing for his annual Yoder fish fry on the 4th of July, so we're not seeing a lot of him these days. See you next week!

Tea of the Week: Strawberry Tingle Rooibos

First I want to announce last weeks winner of a 4 ounce bag of Orange Pekoe! Kevin (k3jane@excite.com), Kevin please email me at customerservice@culinaryteas.com with your snail mail address. I also want to thank Candie for filling in for me last week, I had an awful flu. I'm still sounding a little froggy but am great otherwise.

New Tea of the Week is Strawberry Tingle Rooibos. If you have kids that don't like regular tea this is a great one to try on them. Not only is it extremely fruity, it's naturally caffeine free. Makes an excellent iced tea also! For more information on the health benefits of this tea, click the 'More about this tea' link on the website or here.

If you would like to win a free 4 ounce bag of out Strawberry Tingle Rooibos Tea just leave a comment on this post.

Here is picture of the actual Rooibos bush.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We got the pool up, grandkids been in but I will be waiting until the water warms up! We spent most of the weekend just enjoying being out in the yard, the dogs were having fun barking at all the people walking down the road. And I actually got a little knitting in.

Tea of The Week - Lovers Leap Orange Pekoe

If there was ever a tea that was perfect for making good old fashioned Sweet Tea it would be our Orange Pekoe. This Orange Pekoe will not cloud when you ice it and it has brisk and crisp flavor that makes it perfect for a hot day.

Sweet Tea Recipe

6 teabags or 3 tablespoons of loose tea
1 cup of sugar
Ice

Brew tea in 1/2 gallon of boiling water. Let the tea infuse for 5 minutes than remove tea. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add enough ice to finish filling a one gallon pitcher and serve.

If you would like to win a free 4 ounce bag of our Lovers Leap Orange Pekoe Tea just leave a comment on this post.

Tea of the Week - Cream Earl Grey

Ok everyone time to enter (leave a comment with your email addy) for a 4 ounce bag of Cream Earl Grey this week! We want to thank Heidi for requesting it. I actually love all our earl grey blends and will be taking this one home this weekend. It will be a nice break from painting the house foundation! :)

Earl Grey is world reknown as a classic English tea – probably as famous as Tower Bridge or Big Ben, and if you are fan of Earl Grey and have not tried this, you are in for a treat. Cream Earl Grey has a taste that is smooth with vanilla overtones, which stand out above the premium bergamot flavor – the signature taste of Earl Grey. This is a tea that would complement a meal or any aristocratic occasion for that matter! One has to think that Charles Grey (1764-1845) would have approved of this delicacy. Contrary to popular belief, Earl Grey is not a kind of tea at all. It's actually plain black tea, infused with the citrus flavour of bergamot (similar to orange blossoms). This gives a bright, tart and refreshing tea that is unlike other black teas.

I hope everyone has a lovely Mothers Day weekend! I will be working on painting the foundation and putting in some flowers. I'm thinking petunias and pansies this year. Are you planting something special this year?

No winner this week :(

Our blog was down last week when the newsletter went out, so we had no entries this week. Heads up for this weeks tea, one of our best sellers Cream Earl Grey! The newsletter will go out tomorrow, then I will post here for the contest.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! The weather here could not have been better.

Tea of the Week - Blue Lady

Looks like the blog is up and running again, we will be having our drawing this week after all! To last weeks winner (Kelly) you need to call me, seems like my emails are not getting to you.

Since we're gearing up for Mothers Day, I thought Blue Lady would be an awesome Tea of the Week. Please leave your first name and email in the comments for Mondays drawing for the contest, a free 4 oz bag!

Of all the recorded ghost sightings in North America, more people report seeing a blue lady than any other apparition. Often appearing only for brief moments these spirits materialize, show their hauntingly beautiful forms, then disappear. We’ve named this blended tea in honor of this representative of the spirit world because of its hauntingly sweet flavor. Passion fruit, grapefruit, orange, and grenadine all mix together to create a citrus flavor that is almost as delicate as the ghostly shadows of the spirits. The sweetness of the citrus mélange blends perfectly with the astringency of our high grown Ceylon tea. Brew yourself a pot, pour it hot, or over a glass full of ice and prepare to be mesmerized.

I think this is the perfect blend for this wonderful spring weather we've been having! Pair this with our new Raffles Collection porcelain (20% off this week) for your special Mothers Day tea.

Do you have a special Mothers Day tradition? I will be out planting flowers and sprucing up the deck for summer. I've been looking at a solar fountain for the deck (hint, hint hubby).

Our first winner is Kelly!

Our first winner is Kelly! Kelly I will be emailing you for your snail mail address today. I want to thank bell-dragon, Beth, Lisa, Melissa, Polly and Kelly for entering. The kids had a day off school today, so Miss Morgan got the honors of picking the first winner.

It was such a beautiful weekend here, we got lots of yard work done! It was so nice relaxing on the deck with a glass of tea when it was all done.

Let's do a little teaser for tomorrows newsletter. Mothers Day is fast approaching and I found a set of Porcelain called Raffles to feature this week. Wanted to give you guys a sneak peak, it won't be online until sometime tomorrow. We will start another tea drawing tomorrow, Tea of the Week will be Blue Lady.

New Contest - Free Tea

Good morning fellow tea lovers! This week we will kick off a new weekly contest. I will be giving away a four ounce package of our Tea of the Week....every week! You need to comment here with your first name and email address. Drawings will be held on Mondays and I will contact winners via email.

The weekly newsletter comes out on Tuesdays. I will also post a write up on the new Tea of the Week here on Tuesdays. I love talking about tea, if you have any questions please contact me (Denise) at 866-799-4005. I'm in the office from 9:am to 2:30 pm EST.

This week we will be featuring Bourbon Street Vanilla Rooibos. Rooibos has been getting an amazing amount of press recently. As people begin searching for healthy alternatives to soft drinks; rooibos with its polyphenols, iron, zinc, fluoride, calcium and magnesium fits the bill. Enjoyed in South Africa for centuries, rooibos was first made available to Westerners by a Russian named Benjamin Ginsberg. He recognized that its benefical properties and wonderful taste made it an excellent caffeine free alternative to traditional caffeinated teas.

Our all natural flavored Rooibos is excellent on its own, but why not try making Red Lattes or Red Cappuccinos? These cutting edge options are the hippest new things in South Africa's coffee shops and cafes. For the kids try half Rooibos and half fruit juice, my grandson loves it. If you google Rooibos recipes you can find a lot of great ideas for this wonderful leaf!

Denise

Green Tea - The Springtime Cure All

Spring is officially here but it can't make up its mind if it wants to be spring or not. In the same week we had 60 degree temperatures and then had 3 inches of snow. Right now outside it is sunny and beautiful but it is only 49 chilly degrees. I have this urge to go out and enjoy the sun but the temperature and frigid breeze forces me back inside pretty quickly. I have brought a bit of the outside in by starting a bunch of my seeds for my garden. Watching those little sprout grow are just making crave some fresh spring greens. I think I will start some lettuce next. I am also thinking about the upcoming shorts weather. Time to trim off a few pounds. That goodness that is easy as brewing up my favorite green tea and replacing my soda and water with nothing but green tea. Sounds simple but it never fails to help me trim away the pounds. And the energy I get from it helps give me the nudge to spend some time with the Wii Fit. So far I have been able to trim off 2lbs a week with very little effort. Both green teas and oolongs give the same energy and metabolism boost. I am sure many of you heard of the Wu-long craze and there was some truth to it but they tried to fool you into thinking you had to buy their tea. The truth was any green or oolong tea would have done the trick but they can't make money off you if you can just run to the grocery store and buy it so they renamed it Wu-long. If you are looking even more results you can blend in some Matcha green tea powder and hope you can sleep that night.

Off to make more tea....