Tea Talk

As the weather heats up, I like to enjoy Green Tea and White Tea over ice. These teas are deceptively simple, refreshing, and have a wonderful flavor. My favorite method of making iced tea with green and white teas is a cold brew. This entails no hot water. You simply add the correct amount of tea to your container or glass, add the coldest water possible, and pop it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. If you don't want to wait, like me, this method is for you. It is fast. Cold brewing gives excellent flavors with no bitterness. Another...

I get lots of questions about what’s my favorite iced tea and how do I make it. I will tell you I’m a huge iced peach tea fan. I carry three black peach teas, Peach Perfection, Peach Mojito, and Decaf Peach Black, plus two white teas, Peachy Keen and Organic Ginger Peach. There are different ways to brew these two types of teas, so I’m going to focus on the black teas today. The first method is to do a hot brew, and there are two ways to do this. One way is to brew your tea just as you...

June 20th is Father’s Day. I was lucky to have had a wonderful Dad who was always there for me. Unfortunately, my Dad passed away, but I enjoyed making his day special when he was alive. I always made my homemade cheesecake with cherry or blueberry topping. I bought him a hardcover book — he loved spy novels — and then we would enjoy a tea cocktail on the porch while we ate the cheesecake. He had two favorite cocktails: Absolut Vodka mixed with Cranberry Orange Black Tea, or, if he wanted something more tropical, he’d go for the Organic...

Last week I talked about how I love my tea filters/strainers and how the right equipment really can make a difference in how your tea tastes. So, without further ado, here are 3 more things that I think every tea drinker should have in their repertoire. Personal Tea Bags - I use these every day in my store to brew cups of tea for my customers and friends. They’re made of bio-degradable material and designed for a single-use (not reusable). You open the bag up, put in your tea, flip over the top flap (think old-time sandwich baggies), and then...

A few simple tools can make all the difference in how easy it is to brew loose leaf tea. These tools can also improve the flavor of your teas. Two of the oldest tools I NEVER use anymore are a spoon infuser with a snap-on lid and a small round two-piece infuser that you clamp together. These used to be main staples for brewing loose leaf teas, but better options have become available over the years. What I use now and LOVE are my basket strainers or infusers. They are so easy to use and clean. I currently have a...