I know Spring is not officially here yet but I want to welcome it with a big bang! Starting today through 3/31/12 you can enter to win a $100 gift certificate good for any products at Culinary Teas! Tell your friends because if we get a big enough response we will be doing giveaways all the time.

Loving Spring!
Candie

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Just finished my first pot of iced tea for the year! Long Island Strawberry Sencha hit the spot and kept me awake and alert for a long and busy weekend!

Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick's death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock. 

St. Patrick's Day, although not a legal holiday anywhere in the United States, is nonetheless widely recognized and celebrated throughout the country. It is primarily celebrated as a celebration of Irish and Irish American culture; celebrations include prominent displays of the colour green, feasting, copious consumption of alcohol, religious observances, and numerous parades. The holiday has been celebrated on the North American continent since the late eighteenth century, prior to the American Revolution.

In honor of Saint Patrick, all our Irish Teas are 10% off this week. The Tea of the Week is Irish Breakfast and is 20% off. 

Thinking of the Holidays

The weather has been playing games on us here in the Midwest jumping back and forth from hot muggy weather to down right cold and nasty weather. The cold just reminds me that the holidays are coming up way faster than I want to think about. After Halloween, Thanksgiving will be here before I know it and then Christmas sneaks up on me before I have a chance to get ready. I am trying to force myself to think about it early this year and start thinking now about gifts and making sure that family traditions are preserved and celebrated during this busy time of the year. Last year we didn’t get to bake our Christmas cookies and this year I am planning to make a little family get together out of it. It is funny how many of my family members ask for tea for Christmas presents. I tend to discount it because I am surrounded by it almost every day. I know that every year one of our most given gifts is our Tea of the Month Clubs. They offer a chance to try teas that you may not have thought you would like but now you have come love and we make sure every months selections are memorable. Tea sets and teapots are also very popular for Christmas and general holiday gifts. This year when you are looking for the perfect yet budget healthy gifts keep tea in mind. This weeks featured tea Sugar Plum Cinnamon Spice is a tea that screams “Is it Christmas yet?”. Sugar Plum Cinnamon Spice tea has that fruity plum flavor and nicely spiced with cinnamon, allspice and clove which give it that warm and comforting tones. Personally I love this tea as a afternoon tea when your trying to relax and brush off the day. Save 20% on Sugar Plum Cinnamon Spice Tea this week only. 

Save 15% This Week!
Coupon Code: OCT112011
Expires: 10/18/11

http://www.culinaryteas.com

Hot Toddy Recipe with Brandy & Winter Peppermint Tea

This weeks warm up was kinda nice after that nasty wet cold week we had. I would have been fine with the cool wet weather had I not had to sit out in it and watch my daughters marching band. Those poor kids marched in pouring rain in chilling temperatures and still managed to get top scores. I made her day by bringing her a piping hot mug of our Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai. I personally was dying to get home and make a myself a hot toddy with our one of our new teas instead of just water. Well I could not make just one because my husband would disown me if I didn’t make him one also. Between the chai and the toddies we all recovered nicely and we were rewarded with this beautiful weather. I am hoping this weather holds out a bit longer for our next few weeks of competition. My daughter has been sharing her giant mugs of chai with her friends and fellow band members and I am starting to become inundated with requests for chai from the kids. I bet if I brought giant mugs of hot toddy I would get the same requests from the parents. My featured tea this week, Brandy & Peppermint Tea, is my current tea of choice for my hot toddies. The lovely spicy fruitiness from the brandy and the hot/coldness from the peppermint brandy manages to warm you up from the inside out. Other teas that are incredible in my hot toddy recipe are Orange Spice, Cinnamon Spice, Russian Earl Grey and Mulled Spice tea. This week our Brandy and Winter Peppermint tea is our featured tea of the week so you wave 20% if you purchase it this week!

Hot Toddy
1 ounce Brandy or Whiskey
1 tbsp honey
6 ounces hot tea
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
pinch of nutmeg
slice of lemon

Brew up your tea of choice. Stir together your your tea, honey, spices and brandy or whiskey. Let the flavors sit and meld for 5 minutes before you add your lemon slice and serve.

Save 15% This Week!
Coupon Code: OCT112011
Expires: 10/18/11

http://www.culinaryteas.com

Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai & New Chai Sampler

I live in a part of the country where I regularly see fields covered in beautiful pumpkins at this time of year. So when I start craving pumpkin it is not surprising. Not to mention suddenly everyone has pumpkin flavored everything. They all sound so good but I am trying my hardest to work on my waistline so I avoid them. This week we are introducing something that I will be enjoying the whole season, Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai. What I love the most about our chai teas is that they are whole leaf tea and natural spices and flavors with no sweeteners so I can add my stevia and drink as much of them as I like. If your not afraid of a few extra calories I suggest you try brewing your chai with milk instead of water because it adds a very luxurious creamy and rich texture to the chai. Our Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai contains a mildly spicy mix of chai spices that go so well with that hint of pumpkin. This morning I brewed this chai with milk then topped with some whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel and it was like heaven. If you enjoy chai at all I highly suggest you give this chai a try and you can now try it as part of our Chai Tea Sampler. Save 20% off Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai this week!

Save 10% This Week
Use coupon code: OCT0411
Expires: 10/11/11

Chai Tea Sampler

Do you enjoy real chai? Not the artificial stuff that you get at starbucks or most restaurants. Real chai is loose leaf tea with spices and natural flavorings. The word Chai means spiced tea and we celebrate traditional chai the way it used to be with a top quality tea base and chunks of fresh spices that really make them something special. Our new Chai Tea Sampler includes Cochin Masala Chai, Indian Spiced Chai, Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai, White Chocolate Chai and Vanilla Chai. This week 10% off!

Greetings Fellow Tea Lovers,

We have about 3 weeks until the official start to the Autumn season and I am looking forward to the cool, wet weather and absolutely decedent flavors and aromas. As the crops are harvested and the trees colors bloom the air is filled with the earthy rich smells of fallen leaves and ripe apples, wood smoke. Sitting out on my porch with a hot cup of tea or mulled cider in my hands enjoying the cool breezes and just breathing in the those heavenly aromas. I use large quantities of Mulling Spice all year long because I use them in my favorite brine to add flavor and moisture to poultry and pork but this time of year I keep a slow cooker filled with spiced apple cider. My guests head for the cider as soon as they take off their jackets and praise me like it difficult to throw cider, mulling spices, a bit of brown sugar and sometimes a shot of rum into the slow cooker. My favorite tea during the most beautiful weeks of Autumn before that the cold pushes in is Lapsang Souchong. Lapsang is a whole leaf black tea that is oak smoked which makes it very aromatic and surprisingly mild on the palate when brewed. I love watching peoples faces as they take their first sip of this tea because the smell makes you think the flavor will be harsh and smoky but the smokiness only remains in the aroma and the flavor is a wonderfully rich flavor with only slight hints of smoke. Even my daughter which calls this tea beef jerky tea because of the smell of the dry leaves thought that it was delicious when I brewed her a cup but it took quite a bit of cajoling to get her to take that first sip. This week I am featuring Lapsang Souchong and hoping that you will take this chance to try this much wonderful tea with a discount of up to 35% if you use this weeks coupon.

Summer Iced Tea Sale
This is the last week for our summer iced tea sale, all our one pound and 1 kilo bags of Flavored Black Teas and Flavored Green Teas are discounted by 10%. Anyone who drinks a lot of iced tea in the summer knows you go through large quantities of loose leaf tea. We want to make sure you have your iced tea without breaking your budget so all our loose leaf flavored blacks and green teas are available with the discount when you buy large quantities and this discount will stack with our normal coupons so you can save at least 20% off these teas.

I have to mention our Cold Brew Green Tea again this week because they are so fabulous. I this might be the fastest spreading tea fad I have started so far. I gave a packet to my daughter and a packet to my mother and the next thing I knew have my daughters softball team plus their mothers and half the people my mom works with are all begging for this tea. Thanks to those nifty little portable sweeteners even the sweet tea people are enthralled. These teas are in pyramid teabag with top quality Sencha with Matcha and natural flavorings. They are not cheap but you only need one teabag each day and just keep filling your water bottle. So far I have filled a single bottle 5 times and still had decent strength green tea after a few minutes. If you drink a lot of bottled water you should consider trying these teabags. Available in plain green, mango, peach and mint.

Save 15% This Week
Use coupon code: AUG302011
Expires: 9/6/11

Getting Ready for Fall and Irish Breakfast Teas

Last night the temperatures dropped into the 50’s. I was shocked we haven’t had a night below 80 in months. I knew fall was coming but I did not expect it to come and tease me with its looming presents. I also had the last bit of back to school preparation to finish up so my poor son got 3 shots and I had to take all 3 to get their school supplies. Buying 6 pairs of shoes is painful enough but then add the rest of the necessities and I find myself begging for mercy. I was so happy to get back home to a big mug of tea on the deck. I must admit the days have been beautiful lately so they make my attempts to relax and forget my day to day stress that much easier. I feel that change in my taste buds coming on as I start eye balling my tin of Scottish Breakfast on the counter. Soon I will be drinking nothing but traditional blacks and chai. I keep a pot on the island in the kitchen and laugh because my kids sneak cups of tea like I would mind sharing it. With that end of summer looming I want to remind everyone that there are only 3 weeks left in our summer iced tea sale and I know all of those tea are just as good hot as they are cool it is also a good time to stock up for winter. And don’t let your college kids head off without a pound or two of their favorite teas so they won’t be spending as much money at Starbucks. This week our featured tea is Irish Breakfast which is 20% off this week and combine it with the current 15% off coupon for an amazing 35% off the regular price.

Summer Iced Tea Sale
Only 3 weeks left in our summer iced tea sale by discounting all our one pound and 1 kilo bags of Flavored Black Teas and Flavored Green Teas tea by 10%. Anyone who drinks a lot of iced tea in the summer knows you go through large quantities of loose leaf tea. We want to make sure you have your iced tea without breaking your budget so all our loose leaf flavored blacks and green teas are available with the discount when you buy large quantities and this discount will stack with our normal coupons so you can save at least 20% off these teas.

I have to mention our Cold Brew Green Tea again this week because they are so fabulous. I this might be the fastest spreading tea fad I have started so far. I gave a packet to my daughter and a packet to my mother and the next thing I knew have my daughters softball team plus their mothers and half the people my mom works with are all begging for this tea. Thanks to those nifty little portable sweeteners even the sweet tea people are enthralled. These teas are in pyramid teabag with top quality Sencha with Matcha and natural flavorings. They are not cheap but you only need one teabag each day and just keep filling your water bottle. So far I have filled a single bottle 5 times and still had decent strength green tea after a few minutes. If you drink a lot of bottled water you should consider trying these teabags. Available in plain green, mango, peach and mint.

Save 15% This Week
Use coupon code: AUG112011
Expires: 8/17/11

Strawberries & Long Island Strawberry Sencha Green Tea

I have a love hate relationship with my strawberry patch. I love the strawberries at first as I make fresh strawberry pie and strawberry shortcake. Then suddenly they all ripen at the same time and I am making strawberry jam and preserves until I can’t stand the sight of another strawberry. That cycle is just starting as just a trickle of strawberries ripen and we pick just enough to blend with some rhubarb for crisps and cobblers. The flavor of these strawberries have forever ruined my ability to buy a grocery store strawberry because they taste nothing like my juicy sweet berries. The only strawberries I enjoy during the rest of the year are the ones I have frozen or preserved and the strawberries in our Long Island Strawberry Sencha Green Tea. This tea is the favorite of my family and friends. More people ask me for this tea than all the other teas combined. Once you try this tea you know why it is so favored. The tart and sweet flavor of fresh strawberries pairs so well with the sweet green tea flavor of the Sencha green tea base. This week we start offering this tea in pyramid teabags. This week Long Island Strawberry Sencha Green Tea is our featured tea and is priced at 20% off and you can win a 4 ounce bag of this weeks featured tea by leaving a message here or on Facebook and leaving a comment on this weeks giveaway. Make sure we have access to your email address so we can contact you.

Save 10% This Week
Use coupon code: 02JN2011
Expires: 6/14/11

I have to mention our Cold Brew Green Tea again this week because they are so fabulous. I this might be the fastest spreading tea fad I have started so far. I gave a packet to my daughter and a packet to my mother and the next thing I knew have my daughters softball team plus their mothers and half the people my mom works with are all begging for this tea. Thanks to those nifty little portable sweeteners even the sweet tea people are enthralled. These teas are in pyramid teabag with top quality Sencha with Matcha and natural flavorings. They are not cheap but you only need one teabag each day and just keep filling your water bottle. So far I have filled a single bottle 5 times and still had decent strength green tea after a few minutes. If you drink a lot of bottled water you should consider trying these teabags. Available in plain green, mango, peach and mint.

Giveaway Ends: 06-13-2011
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.

Raspberry Rooibos and a Coupon

The weather this spring has been pretty icky for us humans but I have to say that my fruit plants look like they have never been happier. My property is a mini farm. I have grapes, blueberries, cherries, apples, peaches, apricots, strawberries and rhubarb. I must admit we have put a little extra effort into all of them this year but they have never been half this abundant in past years. I think they enjoyed all the rain and mild weather which made is so miserable for the rest of us. One fruit I did not mention because it just grows wild and I have little control over how well it does is raspberries. Along the wooded edge of my property is just thick with raspberry plants and some years they are full with luscious berries and some years the berries dry up before they ripen. Raspberries are one of my favorites but not my favorites to pick because of the brambles. I really enjoy our Bohemian Raspberry Green tea and our Raspberry black Tea but my favorite of our raspberry teas is our Raspberry Rooibos. Our Raspberry Rooibos has that tart sweet raspberry flavor and aroma with that beautiful sweet and smooth rooibos flavor. Unlike most teas where I clearly like them better iced or hot this tea seems equally delicious either way. When I am trying to get my kids to drink rooibos for sore throats or upset tummies this is my go-to tea because even they will drink it. This week Raspberry Rooibos is our featured tea and is priced at 20% off and you can win a 4 ounce bag of this weeks featured tea by leaving a message here or on Facebook and leaving a comment on this weeks giveaway. Make sure we have access to your email address so we can contact you.

Save 10% This Week
Use coupon code: 02JN2011
Expires: 6/7/11

   

I have to mention our Cold Brew Green Tea again this week because they are so fabulous. I this might be the fastest spreading tea fad I have started so far. I gave a packet to my daughter and a packet to my mother and the next thing I knew have my daughters softball team plus their mothers and half the people my mom works with are all begging for this tea. Thanks to those nifty little portable sweeteners even the sweet tea people are enthralled. These teas are in pyramid teabag with top quality Sencha with Matcha and natural flavorings. They are not cheap but you only need one teabag each day and just keep filling your water bottle. So far I have filled a single bottle 5 times and still had decent strength green tea after a few minutes. If you drink a lot of bottled water you should consider trying these teabags. Available in plain green, mango, peach and mint.

Giveaway Ends: 06-06-2011
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.

Memorial Day Weekend and Pineapple Tea

Memorial Day weekend is here again and I always have to have a party. It usually involves lots of food, drinks and friends. I usually load up the smoker and make magic from some type of meat but the current weather has me wondering if I should make a backup plan so we don’t all go hungry. Oh sure I make sides and desserts but the meat is always the main event. Well sometimes the drinks are the wind beneath the meats wings and this year will be no different as we tap our first keg of homemade beer. Beer you say? I bet you thought I was only good at blending and flavoring teas. I actually have many hobbies that I am very good at including being a musician, chef, fisher, gardener and most recently beer crafter. The one thing people always count on at my party beside the excellent food is lots and lots of delicious iced tea. My tea selections are always a topic of conversation and I usually have to send a few ounces home with guests who now have a new favorite tea. This year’s selection is my featured tea this week at Culinary Teas our Pineapple Tea. Pineapple is one of those great fruit that just seems to pair with everything and is also a culinary wonder because the acid in it will tenderize any meat. I use pineapple juice in many of my grill marinades or brines and the flavor is a nice addition to everything. This Pineapple blend has a black tea base which brews smooth and flavorful and pairs so well with the sweet and tart flavor of pineapple. To bring out the full flavor add just a bit of sweetener and maybe serve with some pineapple mint as garnish.  This week Pineapple Tea is our featured tea and is priced at 20% off and you can win a 4 ounce bag of this weeks featured tea by going to our Blog or like us on Facebook and leaving a comment on this weeks giveaway.

Giveaway Ends: 05-31-2011
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.

Blue Mango Green Tea and Cold Brew Teabags

Last week I realized that the last few weeks of school for the kids is a gauntlet for me. For some reason the 

schools schedule 50% off all the events for the entire school year in the last 3 weeks of school. Those events plus my eldest is in track and softball means I get to make at one maybe two trips each night if I am lucky. It feels like I am on the go constantly. I am not a soda drinker and I can’t stand bottled teas because I don’t like my drinks sweetened and if they are not sweetened you can taste the nasty preserved tea flavor. I typically just carry a couple bottles of water with me or start will a travel cup of tea and then switch to a bottle of water. Last week we got in these new Cold Brew Green Teabags and I immediately grabbed a 10 pack of each type and stuffed them in my purse. So far my daughter has stolen one of the packets and I have given another to my mom. Last week I had a zoo trip with my youngest so I added a teabag to my water first thing in the morning and ended up filling that water bottle 4 times and still had delicious green tea. I was so happy to find that I could make one teabag last me all day long which makes them very cost effective. I cannot live without my green tea to keep my energy levels up during they day so the discovery of these teabags have made me very happy.

The green shirt is my youngest

Save 15% This Week
Use coupon code: MA17Y11
Expires: 5/24/2011

My eldest daughter loves the flavor of mango more than anything else. She will beg for one every time she sees one. Anytime a new mango product is introduced she has to try it and can list off all the good and bad products she has tried. One item that I have to keep stocked at the house is our Blue Mango Green Tea for her. The flavor is not quite as sweet as most mango teas but the slight bite compliments the sweet sencha base quite well. I must admit I don’t care for this tea hot very much but when it is iced it becomes wonderful. This week Blue Mango Green Tea is our featured tea and is priced at 20% off and you can win a 4 ounce bag of this weeks featured tea by going to our Blog or like us on Facebook and leaving a comment on this weeks giveaway.

Giveaway Ends: 05-24-2011
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.

Cold Brew Green Tea Teabags and Mint Green Tea

We are based in Indiana and once the heat finally kicks in around here it will be paired with horrible humidity. I am rarely seen in the warm months without a bottle of water or tea in my hand. Last year I just added a scoop of Matcha to my water bottles but this year I have something better. One of our Japanese vendors introduced Cold Brew Green Tea Teabags and after trying them, I fell in love. They are silk pyramid teabags filled with premium Sencha and Matcha that brew in cold or cool water. You just pop one of these beauties into your bottle of water and give it a shake and within a few minutes you have delicious green tea. I have tried plenty of bottled teas and they all taste flat or have artificial sweeteners and preservatives that just destroy the flavor and negate all the health benefits. What made me even happier was that these teabags are available in Plain, Mango, Mint and Peach flavors without any sweeteners added. I have loaded up my purse with a pack of each so I am just a bottle of water away from delicious green tea.

One of my fall back green teas is our Mint Green tea. The base tea for this blend is a light gunpowder green that is made from whole leaves of tea that fully unfurl when brewed. The older whole leaves brew a fuller flavored cup of tea that is complimented very well by the bright flavor of the mint. This tea is aways a great after dinner tea but iced it becomes a delightful anytime tea. I had several friends who chose to serve our Mint Green Tea instead of Mint Juleps at their Kentucky Derby Parties.
This week Mint Green tea is our tea of the week and that lets you save 20% off the normal retail price and you can win a 4 ounce bag of this weeks featured tea by leaving a message here or on Facebook and leaving a comment on this weeks giveaway. Make sure we have access to your email address so we can contact you.

Giveaway Ends: 05-17-2011
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.

Bad Water and Long Island Strawberry Sencha Green Tea

 I was reminded again this week how important good water is to good tea. I have a triple osmosis filter in my house so my water is usually great for tea or just drinking pure. This weekend one of filters decided it was time to die and the system is putting out like a cup of water per hour and the flavor of the water has gone off. All the little faults in your water will have a huge impact on the flavor of the tea. II must admit that the off tasting filtered water is still better than the unfiltered water but as soon as my replacement filters arrive today my husband is going to get the orders to put them in immediately. I am craving a good cup of tea so bad and when I try to make it with this water I can still taste that off-ness and it seems to stale the flavor of the tea. There is just no way around it bad water makes bad tea so if you don’t enjoy drinking your water fresh from the tap then I don’t suggest you make your tea from it. If you have any doubts about the quality of your water than you should get some good bottled water and do a test brew of your favorite teas and see if you notice a difference.

This week I need to work on transplanting my runaway strawberries into a new row. If you have grown strawberries than you know they are almost as invasive as mint. Strawberries put out runners that start new little plants and they can quickly overtake any other vegetation including weeds. My currant strawberry bed consists of two rows that are 50 feet long and about 3 feet wide and they have almost over taken the row in between them. All of those plants came from 3 plants I planted 10 years ago. Those plants grow some of the sweetest most flavorful strawberries I have ever tasted and they always make me thirsty for our Long Island Strawberry Sencha Green Tea. That lightly sweet Sencha base pairs so well with the sweet and tart flavor of the strawberries. This tea is the favorite of our family and our neighbors and I have already had to bring home 3 pounds of it to fulfill the requests. This week Long Island Strawberry is our tea of the week and that lets you save 20% off the normal retail price 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: 05-10-2011
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.