Kokeicha: Something Different In Green Tea

There are very few really unique teas. Pu-erh is unique because it gets better with age instead of staling like other teas. Matcha is unique because the tea leaves are ground into a fine powder that is brewed by simply adding water. Our featured tea this week is another unique tea, Kokeicha.Kokeicha is an extruded tea made from Matcha and a bit of rice flour which binds it and adds just a hint of extra sweetness to the brew. This tea also does not brew like other green teas. You can either brew Kokeicha with boiling water for 1 minute or 180 F degrees for 3 minutes. The brew has a delicate aroma with a hint of spinach and the flavor is smooth and complex with hints of minerals and leafy greens with a sweet and slightly mineral finish. The unbrewed tea makes a crunchy addition to rices, salads or ground and used to season seafood. This week Kokeicha is our featured tea and is discounted 20% and you can win a 4 ounce bag of this weeks featured tea by leaving a message here or at Culinary Cafe and leaving a comment on this weeks giveaway. Make sure we have access to your email address so we can contact you.

Giveaway Ends: 05-03-2011
Number of Prizes Available: 1
Max Entries Per Week: 1

OFFICIAL RULES: Your email will not be shown and will be kept private. Giveaways open to readers 18 years or older with U.S. or Canada shipping addresses only, unless otherwise stated. For my international friends, you may enter and if you win, I am happy to send the prize to person of your choice with U.S. or Canada shipping address.

Tea Garden Herbs, New Teapots and Vienna Opera Ball Tea

I anxiously await the coming of the spring flower because we have had so much rain that the flowers when they finally come in May it should be quite a show. The delayed spring has given me plenty of time to get all my gardens cleaned out and do a little extra planning for my herb garden. I try to pack in as many culinary herbs as I can that not only are good for cooking but make delicious additions to my summer iced teas. I usually don’t make teas out of just herbs instead I throw them in my green or black iced tea to add extra flavor. Some of my favorites are lemon balm or lemon verbena and the many variations of mint like chocolate mint, and sages. Last year I found a pineapple sage and it was an incredible addition to tropical fruit teas. Next time you go to the Nursery to find some new plants smell them, maybe give them a little taste and think about how wonderful they would be in your tea. 

New Products
This week we introduced our new ceramic teapots with fitted stainless steel filters, Grimaldi 2 cup and San Remo 6 cup. These teapots are made so that the top of the teapot can be on while the filter is in the teapot and the filter has a very fine mesh which will let you brew even rooibos without debris in the bottom of your teacup. We are starting out with these teapots in just white but they are available in the same colors as our other teapots so let us know if would like one in another color.

Save 20% This Week
Use coupon code: 10YRANN
Expires: 4/26/2011

Featured Tea Giveaway
This weeks tea is our Vienna Opera Ball Tea is a sophisticated blend with a lovely black tea base highlighted by jasmine. Leave a comment on this post and you have a chance to win a 4 oz bag of Vienna Opera Ball Tea. Make sure we have access to your email address so that we can contact you.

Giveaway Ends: 2011-04-26
Number of Prizes Available: 1
Max Entries Per Week: 1

OFFICIAL RULES: Your email will not be shown and will be kept private. Giveaways open to readers 18 years or older with U.S. or Canada shipping addresses only, unless otherwise stated. For my international friends, you may enter and if you win, I am happy to send the prize to person of your choice with U.S. or Canada shipping address.

Celebrating 10 Years And The Sakura Festival

It is Sakura Festival time which is one of the most beautiful times of the year. Sakura or Cherry Blossoms are one of the very first trees to flower and have such an abundance of flowers that the trees often look like they have tiny pink leaves on them. Even the fall leaves can’t compare with such a beautiful sight. We have carried our Sencha Kyoto Cherry Rose Festival tea which celebrates the Sakura festival in Kyoto for quite a long time. This year we have added Cherry Rose Rooibos which also celebrates the sights and smells of the Cherry Festival. This week it is our featured tea.

We have another celebration this week our 10 year anniversary for Culinary Teas. It is hard to believe that it has been that long since we started out in my garage with a website and a dream. I remember packing tea with my middle child sitting in his walker watching us work and sometimes running over my feet. We were the first tea company to offer all our teas as sample sizes and as many as you wanted which now is the standard for all tea companies. We tried our hand at a tearoom and soon found that even Red Hat groups in Indiana don’t care for tea. We then migrated back to what we did best selling you tea over the Internet. In celebration of those 10 wonderful years we are giving you a 20% off coupon.

Save 20% This Week
Use coupon code: 10YRANN
Expires: 4/19/2011

Leave a comment on this post and you have a chance to win a 4 oz bag of Cherry Rose Rooibos. Make sure we have access to your email address so that we can contact you.

Giveaway Ends: 2011-04-19
Number of Prizes Available: 1
Max Entries Per Week: 1

OFFICIAL RULES: Your email will not be shown and will be kept private. Giveaways open to readers 18 years or older with U.S. or Canada shipping addresses only, unless otherwise stated. For my international friends, you may enter and if you win, I am happy to send the prize to person of your choice with U.S. or Canada shipping address.

Rooibos & Spring Break Sun

Spring Break has arrived and warmer temps should be following so this is this is the time when tea drinking habits change from just hot to tea to mostly iced tea. In the united states 80% of all the tea we drink is drank as iced tea. Some teas are more than just good to drink they are also useful. So many of you returning from Florida will have painful sunburns to deal with and in your tea cupboard is one of the best things to take the sting out. The first thing to use if you have it is aloe vera and Jewelweed but if you don’t have it brew up a batch of iced rooibos and wet a towel with it and lay it across the affected area. Rooibos works to reduce the swelling with reduces the pain. I have heard the tannins in black tea can also help but I have never seen the same results I get from Rooibos. Rooibos also works well for migraines, sore throat and acid reflux. I personally enjoy it most just as a beverage but it is good to know that I am also doing something good for myself.

Leave a comment on this post and you have a chance to win a 4 oz bag of Rooibos. Make sure we have access to your email address so that we can contact you.

Giveaway Ends: 2011-04-12
Number of Prizes Available: 1
Max Entries Per Week: 1

OFFICIAL RULES: Your email will not be shown and will be kept private. Giveaways open to readers 18 years or older with U.S. or Canada shipping addresses only, unless otherwise stated. For my international friends, you may enter and if you win, I am happy to send the prize to person of your choice with U.S. or Canada shipping address.