Long Live Queen Mary Tea

When Twinings discontinued Queen Mary they left so many of you dis-heartened that they had just lost their favorite tea. Recently we have had so many people trying to find a replacement for dwindling stock. Luckily for us we carry our own Queen Mary blend and it is very close to the original from Twinnings. So far all the Queen Mary lovers have proclaimed it an almost seamless replacement for their old tea. I hope that all of you who have lost your old love will give us a try.

~Candie

Back To School

My children started school today. I have this image of Autumn in my mind when I think about going back to school but we still have a little more than a month until Autumn officially arrives. My tea choices change as dramatically as the weather when Autumn arrives. During the summer my favorites are the flavored greens because they make such refreshing iced teas but when Autumn arrives I crave a stronger brew to help me wake up on those dreary Autumn mornings. I must admit that Autumn is my favorite season of the year so I always look forward to it no matter how wet and dreary it gets. I am already planning which teas I need to restock so that I am ready for that first chilly morning. The tea I can't live without at this time of the year is our Scottish Breakfast Tea, a blend of many different blacks that's resulting brew is rich, malty and smooth. Lapsang Souchong or Russian Caravan are two teas that have a rich smoky aroma that can sometimes be a bit over powering but the flavor is much more smooth and refined. I left the best for last, Chai, a tea that warms you with its blend of aromatic spices. The chai I will be reaching for is our White Chocolate Spiced Chai. Oh my! All this talk about these teas has made me crave then even more. I guess I will just have to break down and get me a cup right now.

~Candie

Big Mark Down in Clearance!

I spent most of the day yesterday marking down prices in the clearance section. All loose teas are 30% off, everything else is 40% or more off. We have some really good deals on some higher end stuff, it would be a great time to do some early Christmas shopping. I know I did! Everyone have a great weekend.

Clearance, clearance, clearance!

Boy have we really cleaned house around here! I wish my house was this uncluttered. Keep your eye on the Clearance section, I will keep marking things down until they're gone! We did get a new tea in this week Strawberry Tingle Rooibos...yummy. You all have a great weekend!

Scones, tea and accessories

It's a nice hot summer day here. These are the kind of days I love to come home and work, thank goodness the internet makes that possible! Hubby and grandson are out in the pool, great music is playing and I'm here working and sipping tea.

Just wanted to let everyone know scones are back in stock. I'm still putting stuff in clearance and some of our soon to be discontinued teas are 20% off. The Matcha Frappe Mixes are flying out the door, but we have plenty. Melissa and I have been looking at some real pretty tea cup and saucers to add but we haven't decided yet...there are so many. If anyone has any ideas on what you would like let me know.

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette ran an article on us last week. It's always awesome to see your business in print.

Well time to take a break by the pool then I will be back putting stuff in clearance!

Cleaning House

We recently realized that we have let our product lines grow to much and we need to trim them down. That means there will be a lot of products put into our Clearance section. Over the next couple weeks watch our clearance section for deals on items as we discontinue them.

~Candie

Recovering from the Weekend with Pear Sencha

Have you noticed that Summer Weekends are not very relaxing? I sure have. Between the extra dirt the kids drag in the house, yard work and gardening I am exhausted by the end of the weekend. This weekend was no exception. I am recoving here at the tea shop sipping a big glass of Pear Sencha. This tea sometimes comes off as banana instead of pear on my taste buds. Strange I know but it is good no matter what fruit I think it tastes like today.

Candie

It's so Good to be Green - Recipe Contest

Matcha is an incredibly versatile green tea that has an unlimited number of uses. Matcha continues to be our best selling product and is being used in a multitude of ways. We want to know what you are doing with it all. Are you making healthy smoothies, decadent desserts or other creative dishes? You are invited to enter your favorite Matcha recipe in our “It’s so good to be Green” recipe contest.
Contest rules and entry procedures are available here.

Swamp Water

What is Swamp Water? It doesn’t sound like something you would want to drink does it. In fact it is a delicious creation of our ladies here at Culinary Teas. We have been trying to find new ways to get more green tea in our diets and this was a great creation. Just add a half teaspoon of matcha green tea powder to your next cup of green tea while you are brewing it and voila – Swamp Water. Sure it has a deep green haze and looks like something you got out of the pond out back but it will keep you awake and moving like nothing else that I have found (that isn’t full of caffeine and sugar). On days that I am fighting to stay awake this is my saving grace. The anti-oxidant packed matcha is great for boosting your metabolism and helps keep you moving. I only have one warning – don’t drink swamp later beyond early afternoon otherwise you could find it hard to sleep that night.

Today I am drinking our Blackberry Green Tea with a dollop of matcha added for that much needed Monday boost.

Candie

Spring and Matcha Recipes

Spring keeps teasing me with one day of warm weather and then two or three of cold. When I order my plants I always have them shipped at the end of May. This always seems extremely late at the time of the order but it never fails that the weather does not stabilize until then. Temperature swings are notorious her in Indiana. About a month a go we had a 60 degree temperature swing in a 24 hour period. I am pushing forward with spring even if the weather is unsure. Soon we will be introducing a new line of Green Tea Frappe mix that will have you enjoying them iced, in minutes. The girls here have been experimenting with matcha and creating all kinds of wonderful beverages and desserts. We have decided to run a Matcha Recipe Contest. Next week you will be able to submit your original recipes for matcha. There will be two categories beverage and other. The Winner in each category will receive a gift certificate and all submissions will receive a coupon code for discount on future orders. Next week we will outline the details and allow entries to begin.

Candie

Tea update

Just a little inventory update here. The Mulled Spice and Mulberry teas are finally back in stock! Also the bulk teabags of Passion Fruit and Earl Grey are back. Spring has finally kicked in here, my trees are finally throwing some shade. I'm looking forward to sitting outside and knitting tomorrow. Working on my second pair of socks. Everyone have a great weekend!

Spring and Iced Tea

Spring stuttered there for a week or two but it has finally established itself here in the Midwest. As the weather warms our taste buds change and it seems that we prefer fruitier teas that are more suited to being iced. Did you know that 80% of all tea consumed in the USA is consumed as iced tea? Those of use who insist on a hot cup of tea are a few but growing number and even rarer are those who insist on a daily cup all year round. I personally pull out the Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker as soon as the weather warms. I love that it brews loose tea with the help of a coffee filter and makes pitcher after pitcher of perfectly brewed iced tea.

I am currently enjoying our Bohemian Raspberry Green tea iced. I have been going thru pitchers of it a day.

Spring Break & Tea Cosy Update

I just got an email from my tea cozy supplier, seems this last batch of fabrics went quick. All of the cozies except the Burgundy Brocade, Burgundy Rosebuds and Evening Lilac now have counts on them. This is probably the last you'll see of these fabrics. I will call her the end of this week to see what we have coming and give you all an update.

It's spring vacation week here and people are coming and going. I took a long weekend and went up to Lake Michigan with my family. Candie is currently away at a water park hotel with hers. Melissa is taking her daughter (age 17) and some of her friends to Chicago shopping thursday...brave woman! Jen will be taking Friday off and hopefully going up to her parents cabin in Michigan for the weekend. Weather permitting her mom says five inches of snow and black ice are what they're calling for up there. Hope everyone else has a nice spring break.

Spring with Red Tea

Spring has sprung! Spring and fall are my two favorite times of the year. Something about the change makes everything more interesting. I love wandering my yard looking for signs of new life. Spring and fall are also when I go thru and refill and refresh my stock of tea at home. My tastes tend to tilt to the fruitier side this time of the year as we move into the iced tea season. With spring comes the resurgence of my spring allergies but luckily I have a new weapon in my arsenal, Red Tea. Lately you see red tea every where including bottled in your local grocery. Many of you know that red tea also goes by the African name of Rooibos. Rooibos has many wonderful health benefits and is naturally caffeine free. I must say that bottled anything just doesn’t appeal to me so I will be sticking to my freshly brewed rooibos. Our selection of Rooibos has grown to 24 flavors including both red and green versions of this wonderful herbal. The red may not appeal to everyone but the green is very similar in flavor to green tea. I will be making a refreshing pitcher of iced Summer Punch Green Rooibos tonight and trying Tuscany Pear Rooibos tomorrow.

Mid-week update

I'm drinking Apple Spice tea this morning! Feeling kind of off kilter today, went and got new glasses yesterday. My one eye has gotten a lot worse and she warned me I might be feeling nauseous for awhile.

OK some updates on inventory. I still don't have a date for the Mulled Spice tea. Two new things this week We now have Orange Spice tea and the Orange tea in the bulk teabags. These are a much more economical option for our tea bagging people.

Hope all is well in the world and look to see what's in your cup!

Denise

Update on inventory

We've had a hard time getting a few things in from our main supplier, well today I found out why. Seems their ships are now being re-routed to their third port. They have went from Vancouver to Seattle and now to somewhere in California. They say it's definitely weather related. Things affected so far are Irish Breakfast teabags, mulled spice loose tea and the perfect cup spoons.

The deep freeze is letting up some here it will actually be around 17 degrees today! My son's car would not start all week, so we had it towed here and put it inside the warehouse last night. Guess what....it started this morning! Cold blooded I guess.

Today I'm enjoying some Formosa Oolong, I love wrapping my hands around a warm cup of tea while I'm working.

Back in Stock!

Long time no post!

We really had a time of it on the Holidays, running out of teas that is. Almost everything is back in stock or will be by the end of the week. The only tea I'm still out of is Apple Spice with no ETA as of yet.

I'm already on the prowl for new products for this year. I found an excellent source for floral and chintz teapot sets. I would love to hear feedback on interest in this or anything else you would like to see us add to our store!

Actually it was a very good Christmas season for us and I want thank our customers!

Enjoy a cuppa,
Denise