Tea Talk

Wow, it’s almost here. Just another couple of days and Christmas will be upon us. It seems time just flies by in the blink of an eye. I wanted to take this time to say how thankful I am for all of you who’ve embraced me, my family, and the Uptown Tea Shop. I enjoy all the decorated trees, holiday lights, and festivities, but these connections are what the season is all about. I’m truly blessed for everyone who’s in my life! If you have some last minute shopping to do, I will be open this week, Tuesday through Friday,...

Every day I get people who ask me how I make such good tea. I know that sounds like I'm bragging, but I'm not. People are genuinely interested in learning how to make good tea at home, so I will share my secrets with you. Making great tea isn't rocket science. You only need to follow a few simple steps and have a few basic tools. The Better Tea You Buy, the Better Your Cup of Tea The first thing I tell people is that the better tea you buy, the better your cup of tea. I also tell them...

Oh, the wonderful smells of holiday baking! I love walking into a house when someone has been baking. It always smells heavenly! The scents make my mouth start watering for the cakes, cookies, candy, and goodies loaded with cinnamon and other spices that are part of many family holiday traditions. But did you know that cinnamon is also one of those amazing spices that is so good for you? People have been using cinnamon in cooking and baking for hundreds of years. It has also been used as one of the most popular medicinal spices since ancient times. In fact,...

It’s official. The holiday shopping season is now well and truly underway, with Black Friday and Shop Small Saturday behind us. A tip that a good friend gave me years ago and that I have since adopted is to watch for gift items all year long. She is much better at this than me and is already done with all her holiday shopping. Annoying, right? Plus, she keeps reminding me how many days till Christmas...and so you can be in the loop with me, the count is now at 28 days. I’m never completely done early and always find I...

Tis the season for colds, flu, and other yucky things. There are lots of nasty bugs going around right now, and this is the time of year I start upping my game to try and help prevent catching something. On a daily basis, I drink a lot of tea with a lot of antioxidants, which in turn help boost my immune system. I rotate through the Power House Teas of green, white, rooibos, honey bush, and a few herbals, which are proven to have higher concentrations of antioxidants. The flavors depend on my mood and what my taste buds say...