Tea Talk

You love your loose leaf tea and want to keep it fresh, but what's the best way? The simple answer to store your teas correctly is in air-tight, non-see-through containers. They protect your tea from sunlight, heat or freezing temperatures, moisture, or any other place where there could be strong odors. Your pantry would probably work well to store your tea. It is usually cool and dark. But keep your tea away from your spices. They can develop strong smells that can be transferred to your tea, changing its flavor. You should also avoid leaving your bags or containers on...

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...