Tea of the Week: Cream Earl Grey

I want to apologize for my sporadic posting, with the Holidays coming I have a feeling it will be like this until the first of the year. We are dragging our husbands in for packing so that will help. I am glad to see that people can still afford a little luxury like tea! The winner for 4 ounces of Pecan Pie tea is Kevin....Congrats hope you enjoy! I've sent you an email to get your snail mail addy. This weeks tea is one of our best sellers, Cream Earl Grey. Please leave a comment to win 4 ounces.

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.

As you can tell, this is a quick post, things are going very well here and we are busy as can be. The Holidays seem to creep up and come really fast this time of year. I hope everyone is doing well!

Tea of the Week: Pecan Pie

Last weeks post just totally got away from me, sorry about that! By the time I realized I was late, it was too late. This weeks tea is perfect for Thanksgiving, it's Pecan Pie a flavored black tea. It's 20% off this week. To win a 4 ounce bag please comment and let me know what is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition.

How do you pronounce Pecan? Pee-can or pay-cahn? If you live in Louisiana, Texas or any of the Southern States the debate can get red hot as both sides of the verbal divide try to claim the nut as their own. But really, there’s no need to argue, there are enough of the nuts to go round! The annual Pecan crop of the United States is usually between 300 – 400 million pounds. Like we said, there are enough to go around. Still, if you are going to argue about them, perhaps we should refer to you as a Pecan, a term that in parts of Louisiana has come to replace the word “nut”, as in crazy person. Ok, but what of Pecan tarts? Well if you’re Canadian, or have ever been to Canada, you may have tried the butter tart, a small round pastry found in every coffee shop from Vancouver to St. John’s. They’re great eh! It’s believed that the recipe found it’s way back into Canada via the Cajuns, French Canadians who long ago settled in and around New Orleans. The Cajuns are believed to have been the first people to concoct the deliciously nutty and buttery Pecan tart by using local nuts and adapting a traditional French tart recipe. We decided to further adapt the wonderful sweet, buttery and nutty flavor of the Pecan Tart and have blended what is slowly becoming one of our office favorites. Brew a pot and taste the sweetness of the Deep South, er, the Great White North. Delicious eh!

The start of the Holiday season, is anyone ever ready for it? I know some years I'm more ready than others and I can see this is going to be a bad year for me. But you have to love all the craziness! This year Thanksgiving will be a little different, my grandson will be going to his other grandparents house. They don't see him often and since his mom is still in jail we decided to let him go. So what will hubby and I do? We are going out to eat with our lovely neighbors! I won't be cooking but if you are, Candie has a wonderful Pecan Pie recipe on her blog you might want to look at. We wish everyone a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tea of the Week: Black Current

Congrats to last weeks winner of 4 ounces of Holiday Winter tea polwanacracker! Please email your snail mail address to me at denise@culinaryteas.com. This weeks tea is Black Current and don't forget it's 20% off.

Black Currant is also known as Cassis. It is both a propagated and wild grown berry which some claim originated in France. Cassis is a very popular beverage throughout Europe, known for being aromatic in smell and in taste. This particular aspect of Black Currant is very evident on this tea. Black Currant gained notoriety in 1712 for its beneficial properties, which were published by the Abbot Bailly inferring that Black Currant was indeed an aphrodisiac and should be consumed with great care.

Black currants were once popular in the United States, but became extremely rare in the 20th century after currant farming was banned in the early 1900s when blackcurrants, as a vector of white pine blister rust, were considered a threat to the U.S. logging industry. The federal ban on growing currants was shifted to individual states' jurisdiction in 1966, and was lifted in New York State in 2003 through the efforts of horticulturist Greg Quinn. As a result, currant growing is making a comeback in New York, Vermont, Connecticut and Oregon. However, several statewide bans still exist including Maine,Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Since the federal ban ceased currant production anywhere in the U.S., the fruit is not well-known and has yet to reach the popularity that it had in 19th century United States or that it currently has in Europe. Since blackcurrants are a strong source of antioxidants and vitamins, awareness and popularity are once again growing, with a number of consumer products entering the market.

My supplier notes the bulk teabags are selling like hotcakes this year! I wanted to let you know the Cream Earl Grey, Elderberry and Wild Blackberry bulk teabags are back in stock. Also I've added Caramel Cream Rooibos and Chai Rooibos back to the website, they are from a different vendor but just as good as I had before.

Things are going great here at Culinary Teas! I'm starting to stock up on teas for the Holiday season and looking at new products to add. Speaking of that, check out the new Electric Travel Mug we added today. It has a USB and DC adapter great for the car and work! I know I'm grabbing one for my desk...now just to pick a color!

On the home front, leaves and more leaves! We've been raking all week, the trees are finally bare. Hubby says we will be winterizing and putting everything away this coming weekend. I actually had ice on my windshield this morning, I must remember to start the car and warm her up! Have a great week!!!

Tea of the Week: Holiday Winter

No winner for last week, Candie and I just plain lost track of time! You can tell the weather has turned cooler, we are getting much busier (yah)! This weeks tea is Holiday Winter (a flavored black tea). We've carried it in tea bags for years and our supplier finally came out with a loose tea version. It's wonderfully sweet and spicy; and at 20% off this week! Remeber to leave a comment to win a 4 ounce bag.

We've also put our popular Taste of Fall Sampler on sale this week, 10% off. Get yours while we have all the teas in stock!
It's finally dry enough for harvesting, big old farm machinery everywhere on the roads this week. Saw my dad out in the fields twice on my way to work, he's 75 and still loves doing it! I love this time of year, made a large pot of chili last night. Pretty soon we'll be able to light up the fireplace again. We have a lot less leaves to clean up this year, since the big maple in our yard fell on the house and car this summer...but I'm sure the neighbors leaves will still blow in the yard. Candie is bringing me in some winter squash this week, I haven't had any good squash in years. Everyone have a great week!

Tea of the Week: Buckinham Palace Green Tea

Congrats to Sharon for winning last weeks Sencha Decaf! Sharon I need your snail mail address, you can send it to denise@culinaryteas.com. We have a treat this week, a new tea! Our Buckingham Palace tea is such a good seller when I saw they had added a Buckingham Palace Green tea, I knew I had to add it. Be sure to comment so you too can try this new tea!

When I compared this tea with the regular Buckingham Palace, I think the Earl Grey and jasmine comes a little more to the forefront in this green tea base. When you taste it, let me know what you think! Can you imagine having tea in a Palace, maybe with the Queen? Wow, what a beautiful place! I'd settle with having a cuppa sitting by the statue just looking at the Palace. Here are some links to recipes for tea sandwiches that I like:

Cucumber Sandwich (from Candie's cooking site)
Watercress Sandwich (from What's Cooking America)
Savory Tea Sandwiches (from Great Party Recipes)

Thought we'd try something a little different this week. I searched You Tube and found this cool video on how to make a tea sandwich. Enjoy!

Remember that new computer we got a couple of weeks ago? Something in our system keeps crashing it and we're trying to figure out what. Poor Candie has spent many hours trying to keep the thing working. We had Scott (Candie's hubby and our IT guy) come in today, he thinks he found it...but we'll find out tomorrow! Other than that everything is going well at Culinary Teas. The trees here are starting to get a hint of color, I hope it's beautiful where you're at also. See you next week!

Tea of the Week: Sencha Decaf

Congrats to Marlena (she’s got a great tea blog) for winning last weeks Jasmine with Flowers tea! I need your snail mail addy to get it off to you. I have another one of our top selling teas to feature this week, Sencha Green Decaf. Make sure to comment for a chance to win 4 ounces of this wonderful tea!

Above is a beautiful Japanese tea field, I love the symmetry of it. One of these years I will actually visit one. Just picture the leaves in your cup coming from such a beautiful place. Below is a picture of a Japanese Tea Garden, another place to visit someday. I can imagine sitting there with a cuppa green tea!

All of our decafs are processed using the Co2 Process. The advantage of this decaffeination process is that no chemical solvents are used to remove the caffeine. Also, using the naturally occurring Co2 in a circulation process which carefully uses high pressure and temperature to extract the caffeine, the origin distinct character of the tea is retained in the cup. There is a slight change in the character of the tea due to the process but the end result is an uncompromising cup of tea with no chemical overtones.

On the home front, DH has been fishing every weekend…so there is plenty of fish for meals again. Ethan’s new school schedule is driving us crazy, I’ve never seen so much homework! It seems they want the parents (or grandparents in our case) to do more and more every year. Dogs are rotten as usual, they go to get groomed tomorrow (yah, good smelling puppies again). Leaves are starting to turn colors here, definitely feels like fall this week. They’re calling for frost tonight. You all have a great week!

Tea of the Week: Jasmine With Flowers Green Tea

Congrats to Jason Witt for winning last weeks 4 ounces of Earl Grey tea. This weeks tea is Jasmine with Flowers Green tea, which I have an over abundance of due to a mistake from my supplier (nobody's perfect). Go to the website to get yours at 20% off this week! Don’t forget to comment for your chance to win 4 ounces of this wonderful tea!

Jasmine which is from the Persian (yasmin, i.e. "gift from God", via Arabic) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae), with about 200 species, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World. Most species grow as climbers on other plants or are trained in gardens on chicken wire, trellis gates or fences, or made to scramble through shrubs of open texture. The leaves can be either evergreen (green all year round) or deciduous (falling in autumn).

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.

It’s been a busy week for us here. Candie and I are by ourselves packing tea again. Actually it’s great to get back to that, but re-organizing everything we do around that has been a challenge. Yesterday our shipping computer died (it’s our oldest), small funeral service for it. Candie and Scott are busy right now getting the new computer set up. My big supply order just came in and I’m off to unpack and do the back orders. Have a great week!

Tea of the Week: Earl Grey Tea

Congrats to silvermage2000 for winning last weeks English Breakfast tea! You need to get your snail mail addy to me so I can get it out to you. I had so many requests this week for our Earl Grey Tea, so that is the tea for this week.

For the past month The Tea Review Blog has been reviewing our teas, look for their button on our teas. Click the button below to go to their review on our Earl Grey.

Since I did the history of Earl Grey in a previous post, I dug up some recipes on the internet that uses Earl Grey tea. Links are below.

• Earl Grey cookies
• Earl Grey pudding
• Earl Grey cupcakes
• Earl Grey ice cream
• Earl Grey rice
• Earl Grey gelato
• Earl Grey shortbread cookies

Earl Grey seems to be a very popular tea to cook with, there are a lot more recipes out there but these are the ones that looked the best to me.

Here’s my scout (Ethan) heading off to sell popcorn this year. It’s been a busy week! Candie and I are getting in the swing of things here at work, since Jen is gone. Hope you all have a great week, I’ll be back next week if the mosquitoes don’t carry me off before then!

Tea of the Week: English Breakfast

Wow, the English Breakfast has gone over so well we are extending it another week! Candie has put up a coupon for an extra 10% off this week, be sure to put in the code SP9909 when checking out.

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. I went to my sisters for a family cookout. My cousins from Illinois came down, what a surprise that was! It was a great time and we got to meet some of her husbands family as well. Below is a picture of my cousins Sharman and Gloria, in the background are Daisy and Apollo two my sisters three Rotts. Man those are huge dogs!

I told you guys I was going to put you on the internet. (Big smile)

Tea of the Week: English Breakfast

Congrats to Katherine Indovina for winning last weeks Summer Punch Rooibos! Katherine I need your snail mail addy to get it to you. This weeks tea is a traditional favorite, English Breakfast. It is robust, full-bodied with light floral undertones (sometimes referred to as "coppery"). When blended with milk, it produces a comforting aroma eerily similar to warm toast and honey. More about this tea.

Today the habit of tea drinking is inexorably linked to the British despite the fact that the British were fairly late on the tea scene in historical terms. Ironically the first mention of tea in English literature is a translation of a Dutchman’s travels to the east. Tea was first brought to England via Holland on Dutch ships. Since tea was becoming an ‘in’ beverage the British government became quite incensed that a tiny nation such as the Netherlands would control the shipment of tea to the UK. In 1651 the British government passed the Navigation Acts which forbade the importation of any products on non-British ships. Traders and Dutchmen, being resourceful continued the trade in the usual manner but for one little wrinkle - The tea was transshipped in Holland onto British ships!

Early in British life tea was known as a health beverage and claimed all sorts of curative powers. Afternoon tea was the invention of Anna, wife of the seventh Duke of Bedford. At that time custom dictated only two planned meals per day: a hearty breakfast and a late evening dinner. Anna in a effort to ease the “sinking feeling” began instructing her servants to prepare tea and cakes in the late afternoon. Thus began a fashionable habit which still exists today.

On the home front, everything is getting back to normal since school has started. The last two mornings I’ve gotten up to less than 50 degrees outside, definitely sweater weather! I’ve been researching old teapot cozy patterns this week, seriously thinking about knitting some. If all goes well I might put them up for sale on the website. You all have a great week!

Tea of the Week: Summer Punch Green Rooibos

No winner for last weeks Blue Lady, looks like I need to tempt your taste buds a little more this week. Since summer is going and fall is at our door, I think a great summer tea is in order. Summer Punch Green Rooibos, it's absolutely brilliant with its natural sweetness and the fruity explosion that happens in your mouth. The ingredients that make up this tea include: Rooibos, orange peels, strawberry bits, peach bits, sunflower blossoms and cornflowers. Don’t forget to leave a comment to win a 4 ounce bag!

What is green Rooibos? Regular Rooibos is the oxidized version and green Rooibos is non-oxidized; kind of like white tea vs. black tea. I always tell people that Rooibos health benefits rival that of green tea. So if you’re looking for a healthy caffeine free tea, this is it! Here are the nutrients in Rooibos.

Nutrients	Function in the body	Per 200ml
Iron	Essential for transport of oxygen	0.07mg
Potassium	Metabolic functions	7.12mg
Copper	More metabolic processes	0.07mg
Calcium	Strong teeth and bones	1.09mg
Manganese	Metabolic and bone development	0.04mg
Fluoride	Healthy teeth and bones	0.22mg
Zinc	Normal growth and healthy skin	0.04mg
Magnesium	Healthy nervous system	1.57mg
Sodium	Fluid and acid base balance	6.16mg

There are a lot of studies on the benefits of Rooibos. I drink it in the summer when my ankles swell and it works wonderfully. Hubby likes it in the evening because it doesn’t keep him awake at night.

Sad news at Culinary Teas, my daughter-in-law Jen will soon be leaving us. She has moved to Fort Wayne, so her special needs son can have a better education and doctors. She is still working here until she finds another job, we all wish her the best. Have a great week!

Tea of the Week: Blue Lady

Congrats to Fay for winning last weeks Hermes Orange Green! This weeks tea is Blue Lady, the history of the Blue Lady is amazing! I had no idea that the Blue Lady was such a popular historical figure. I've been putting discontinued items in Clearance this week and will continue to do so for awhile. Next week we will start adding new products again! This is one of my favorite things to do, I get to test out new teas and accessories. Next week I will be adding something to replace our popular Brew n Touch, can't wait to show you.

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, and then disappear. There are many Blue Lady legends and this is one of more predominant ones. "The Blue Lady" of Moss Beach Distillery was featured on a episode of "Unsolved Mysteries".

According to the Coastside legend, some 72 years ago a beautiful young woman met a handsome dangerous man and fell in love. The naive young woman, always dressed in blue was already married but made many trips to the restaurant to be with her lover. She died in a violent automobile accident and it is here at Moss Beach you will now find her searching for her lover.

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.

On a personal note, school started today! I'm so glad to be back to normal, summer vacation is nice but what a relief when Ethan goes back to school. Hubby is finally getting more hours at work, it's been a slim summer this year. Hopefully the economy will recover soon. Have a great week!

Tea of the Week: Hermes Orange Green Tea

Congrats to Gina for winning last weeks Sencha Decaf Tea! This weeks tea is Hermes Orange Green Tea, this one is excellent iced!

Orange trees originate in in India, with some varieties being found in the south east of the country and possibly the island of Ceylon, while other smaller varieties may have originated in forests of the north east of the country or Bangladesh. The varieties of the north east were used as long ago as 7,000 years ago in traditional dishes. Apart from desserts, orange peel and juice has also been used in Indian savory dishes for thousands of years, sometimes to flavor rice, or add an orange tang to certain vegetable dishes.

Archeologists and historians believe that by the beginning of the first millennium Chinese farmers were setting aside land for orchards and growing oranges, apples, figs and a variety of other tree hanging fruit. Certainly at the height of the Zhou dynasty, and in the times after when the states were warring against each other, many of China’s greatest administrators were writing about the virtues of keeping orchards rather than relying foraging for fruit. Oranges and apples in particular were very popular amongst the nobility and orchardists were known to compete with each other for the pleasure of their lord by growing ever larger, sweeter, or more perfectly rounded fruit.

I love doing the research part of this blog, I never knew the history of the orange. I guess we never stop learning!

On a personal note, for the last two weeks Ethan has had summer school for half a day....which has really cut down my work time. School starts next Tuesday and I will be back to my regular hours. Wow hard to believe Fall is coming, the dogwood tree is losing leaves! Have a great week!

Tea of the Week - Sencha Decaf (again :))

Congrats to Beverly for winning last weeks Sencha Decaf! Because I've been under the weather this week and the Sencha Decaf went really well last week, it's still Tea of the Week. Look for some close-out and new items to start coming next week.

Tea of the Week: Sencha Decaf

Congrats to the P. Steele Family who won last weeks Organic Texas Iced Tea Blend. This tea went out the door fast and I have more coming, guess I should add new teas more often! This weeks TOW is Japanese Sencha Decaf, a great staple to have around. More about this tea. It's great to have on hand for people that are sensitive to caffeine and I like it for my grandson, he can drink as much as he wants and isn't bouncing off the walls! Remember NOT to boil your water for any green tea.

A beautiful picture of a tea field with Mt. Fuji in the background. Sencha is a Japanese green tea, specifically one made without grinding the tea leaves. Unground tea was brought from China after Matcha (a powdered green tea). Some varieties expand when steeped to resemble leaf vegetable greens in smell, appearance, and taste. More than seventy five percent of all tea grown in Japan is made into Sencha. Developed in 1738 by merchant and tea-maker Soen Nagatani, Sencha was made by steaming then hand-rolling and drying the leaf on a large, flat, heated pan. During the Meiji period (1868 to 1912), much of the extremely labor-intensive tea-making process was mechanized. However, each step of the mechanized process mimics the traditional handcrafted method and takes the same amount of time from start to finish. Handcrafted Sencha is now extremely rare and found only among competition grade teas. History of Japanese Tea from Wikipedia is an excellent read to learn more. Sencha is very popular in Japan, and is drunk hot in the cooler months and usually chilled in the summer months.

This is what I see sitting on the deck in the evening. The humming birds are always a source of amusement. I think the older I get the more the little things in life amuse me. Sitting with my knitting, listening to the neighborhood kids play, watching the birds, and of course my dogs antics. Less than 3 weeks before school starts, time to start my lists and start shopping this week. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Tea of the Week: Organic Texas Iced Tea Blend

Congrats to Jason Witt who won last weeks Earl Grey tea! Visit Jasons blog Spirituality of Tea. I have a real treat this week, a brand new tea. My supplier says this one has been selling like crazy this summer, it's Organic Texas Iced Tea Blend. More about this tea.

The oldest known recipe for sweet ice tea was published in 1879 in a community cookbook called Housekeeping in Old Virginia by Marion Cabell Tyree. The recipe called for green tea. In fact, most sweet tea consumed during this period was green tea. However, during World War II, the major sources of green tea were cut off from the United States, leaving them with tea almost exclusively from British-controlled India which produced black tea. Americans came out of the war drinking predominantly black tea.

So, just what do they do in Texas that makes their iced tea so spectacular? To find out, we went straight to the source - or rather, our Master Blender went straight to the source: Brownsville, the southernmost city in the State. Down in Brownsville he met with an elderly woman who claimed to posses the best iced tea recipe in all of Texas. Who was he to argue? He went with her to her home, settled into a porch swing and took out a pad of paper and pencil: “To make one and a half quarts of tea”, she began, “put one quart (4 cups) of fresh cold water in a kettle and put it over heat. When the water comes to a boil, infuse 5 grams of black tea in a teapot.” (We recommend measuring the tea with the Perfect Cup Tea Measure.) “Now,” she continued, “Here comes the tricky part. Don’t pour the hot water gently, really let the water splash down and agitate that tea - get it mad y’all! Then, set the tea aside and let it steep for at least an hour. Once it’s done, strain it out into a pitcher, add ¾ cups of sugar and stir that tea until it’s dissolved. Finally, add a couple of cups of cool water and set it in the fridge until it’s nice and cold. When you’re ready to serve it, garnish with a big ol’ slice of lemon…big enough that y’all can squeeze the juice right out of it! And that’s that!”

To complement that fantastic recipe, we’ve developed what we think is the world’s greatest tea blend for brewing world famous Texas iced tea. Brew a pot for you and yours today. Enjoy y’all!

On the home front, Candie is back from her vacation in Gatlinburg. Her sister renewed their wedding vows and they had a wonderful time. A pretty uneventful week for me, plugging away at de-cluttering and cleaning the house. I knit and sew in the evenings to relax and of course my days are filled with tea! Have a great week.

Tea of the Week: Earl Grey

Congrats to gypsiesthread who won last weeks Blackberry Green Tea! I will DM you and get your snail mail address. This is the first time one of my twitter peeps has won. I want to thank Beatrice, Jason and teatotaler for commenting...you guys are awesome! I've never been much of a writer but I am learning, and your comments are so appreciated! This week we need to kick it in high gear with one of our best sellers Earl Grey Tea. More about this tea.

Earl Grey is a tea blend with a distinctive flavor and aroma derived from the addition of oil extracted from the rind of the bergamont orange. The bergamont (citrus bergamia risso) is a small and roughly pear shaped citrus fruit which is a variety of sour orange native to Asia. Today it is commercially grown in Italy, Argentina, Brazil and the United States.

The Earl Grey blend is named after the 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister in the 1830's, who reputedly recieved a gift of tea flavored with bergamont oil. According to one legend, a grateful Chinese mandarin whose son was rescued from drowning by one of Lord Grey's men first presented the blend to the Earl in 1803. The tale is likely to be a marketing ploy, and has no documented basis in fact, as Lord Grey never set foot in China. Jacksons of Piccadilly claim that they originated Earl Grey's Tea, Lord Grey having given the recipe to Robert Jackson & Co. partner George Charlton in 1830; according to Jacksons the original recipe has been in constant production and has never left their hands. I thought this little bit of history was interesting and I love learning from researching . Captain Picard from Sat Trek always reminds me of Earl Grey Tea.

Well how was your week? My house is back to normal (well fixed anyway), get my car back tomorrow evening (YAH) and hubby is back to work (quiet mornings again). Took my sewing machine to get fixed (it's been in the basement for a few years), so I can hem the grandchilds jeans this year. He's got such short legs and it cost me $8 per pair to get them hemmed last year. Wow, only 4 more weeks until school starts! Summers go by so fast. Remember to take time out for the little things in life and have a great week!

Tea of the Week: Blackberry Green Tea

Congrats to karma_k who won last weeks Huckleberry Tea! I need you to get a hold of me so I can get your address. Karma_k found me on twitter and you can too, just twitter @culinaryteas. I want to thank Karen R. for her kind words about the blog. Kevin you can win the contest once a month. This weeks tea is Blackberry Green Tea.

Usually prickly, fruit-bearing bush of the genus Rubus, in the rose family, native chiefly to northern temperate regions. The blackberry is abundant in eastern North America and on the Pacific coast; in Europe it is common in thickets and hedges. Oregon is the leading blackberry producer in the world. Its usually biennial prickly, and erect, semierect, or trailing stems bear leaves with usually three or five oval, coarsely toothed, stalked leaflets; white, pink, or red flowers in terminal clusters; and black or red-purple aggregate fruits. Blackberries are a fairly good source of iron and vitamin C.

This tea has a Japanese Sencha base, most commercial green teas have a Chinese tea base. If you've never tried a Sencha tea this would be a great introduction. And lets not forget tea is a healthy alternative to some other summer time drinks. I'm still amazed how many people I talk to that don't know the right way to brew green tea. Do not boil your water! Heat your water to the point you see the tiny bubbles and you will have an excellent cuppa. For ice tea I use an ice tea maker I picked up from WalMart and it's perfect for making green tea, I get three quarts in about five minutes. And another method is refrigerator tea, put tea and leaves in pitcher leave in fridge overnight, strain leaves and it's ready to drink. Wow, I'm a little long-winded today.

Hubby is on vacation this week, so I'm home working today. Drinking a cuppa Queens Oolong at the computer with the dogs sleeping at my feet. Hubby and brother-in-law are putting a new roof on the part of the house the tree fell on a few weeks back. I get to take my smooshed car in to get fixed later today. Ethan is at his dads house until tomorrow, so I'm enjoying a couple of kid free days! Yippee!!! Everyone have a great week!

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....

Back in Stock 1-16-09

We are finally getting things back in stock after the Holiday rush.

• 618B Indian Spiced Chai
• 618B Cinnamon
• TB500 Passion Fruit
• TB500 Cranberry Orange
• TB500 Cream Earl Grey
• TB500 Vanilla
• TB500 Green Tea
• TB500 Buckingham Palace
• TB500 Monks Blend

• Stevia Sweetener

I will say our tea bag sales have been great this year.

Hope everyone had a great Holiday season and is staying warm through this artic blast.