Tea Talk

I don't know about you, but my days start early and are jam-packed with family, business, dogs, and activities. I can't imagine getting through the day without my teas. In the morning, I look forward to my first cup of tea. It sets the tone for my whole day. I rotate between a smooth cup of black tea, like Imperial Breakfast, a blend of Darjeeling, Keemun, and Assam. If I feel I need more of a pick-me-up, I'll head toward Breakfast Cuppa or Organic Rise & Shine. Breakfast Cuppa has Ceylon black tea with roasted Mate and hazelnut flavoring. It's...

Sunday, May 14th, is fast approaching. On this day, we get to celebrate all the wonderful and special Moms and Grandmas in our lives. We wouldn’t be who we are without these special ladies. I feel very blessed to have had an amazing Grandma and Mom in my life. Unbeknownst to them, they actually started me on my tea journey all those years ago. When I was a child, my Grandma would make a pot of tea and add some shortbread cookies to a plate. Then my Grandma, my Mom, and I would drink our tea out of her special...

I’m always on the lookout for new teas I can share with you. There are so many options out there, and it’s loads of fun to get samples, brew them up, and taste-test them. After the samples arrive, the first step is to open the package and literally smell the tea. After taking in the aroma, I look closely at the tea and its ingredients. What I can see visually is also important. It will tell you a lot about what’s in the tea. Plus, it’s fun to guess what’s blended into the tea if I don’t cheat and look...

Ever wondered what to do with your tea leaves besides throwing them out? Well, I’ll share one of my secrets. I use them all over in my garden and around my trees. When I’ve finished brewing my tea (and the flavor doesn’t matter), I take the used tea-leaves (no need to dry them out) and add them to my potting soil, garden soil, or compost bin. This gives me an acid-rich, nourishing compost that I use all over my garden to fertilize and grow my plants. Another great thing about using tea leaves in your garden: it keeps pests, slugs,...

A lot of people ask me about matcha - what it is, what it’s good for, how to drink it or use it, and what it tastes like. The Organic Matcha I carry is a high-quality, single-origin green tea from Japan finely ground into a powdered form from shade-grown tea leaves. Japanese farmers grow matcha by covering their tea plants 20–30 days before the harvest to avoid direct sunlight. Doing this increases chlorophyll production, boosts the amino acid content, and gives the plant a darker green color. It also increases the naturally occurring levels of antioxidants, l-theanine, caffeine, flavonols, and...