Oh, the Excitement of it All

Excitement is so much fun! Think of all of the exciting occurrences and adventures that have taken place in your life. Some excitement may be as simple as doing really well on a test or small project that you weren't sure would turn out properly and then it did. Maybe your excitement dealt with the anticipation of a huge event. Whatever your excitement has been, it's important.

We also have our own excitement right now. For me it is reminiscent of when I was a kid at Christmastime. I was always so excited about what I was giving to people as gifts and it was so hard keeping it a secret from them.

Our excitement is now being revealed to you, right now! We are announcing the new teas that are joining our tea lineup. First, we have a wonderful Earl Grey. Earl Grey is most widely consumed tea in the world and was also named after a Prime Minister of England. Our Sri Lanken tea is blended with oil of bergamot and cornflower petals. Our second tea, is our highly anticipated Christmas tea called Christmas Star. It too has hand picked Sri Lanken tea, as well as, cinnamon oil and orange peel. This tea really makes you want to sit down in an overstuffed chair, while everyone else is out in the hustle and bustle.

So make some time to kick off your shoes, find those fluffy slippers and put them on, and finally sink into a comfy chair with a great cup of tea. You'll be glad you did.

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Tea and James Bond

Last week I gave a talk on tea to a ladies guild at a local church. One of the women there had an extremely unique teapot and cup to share with everyone. As it turns out, it was a teapot and cup from the Queen Elizabeth, which had been purchased in 1970 when on a trip to England. She went on to say that the Queen Elizabeth had been taken over seas and turned into a school. Unfortunately, one day after the last group of students left, the ship caught on fire and was ruined.

Later on during the week, I was watching the James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun. As 007 is being whisked away in a boat, the boat he is in passes by a rusted and sunken ship. That ship as it turns out in the movie is the Queen Elizabeth.

It was interesting how in a weeks time someone could be holding a piece of nautical history in their hands and also have a reference about the vessel that held it in a movie.

But think about all of the history with tea and the vessels (both ships and teapots) that have served it and from which it has been supped. Maybe you have a teapot that belonged to your great grandmother or a teacup from an aunt. Most every piece of tea ware will undoubtedly have a special story behind it.

I know when I spoke to the ladies group, most everyone had a little story to tell about their own tea cup. You too, probably have history and stories to tell about your special tea ware. So that these stories won't be forgotten, be sure to use some of your tea time to quickly write out the history plus little stories of a particular teapot or tea cup. These stories can then be shared with other generations which will enrich them and their knowledge of the history of a particular item.

So be bold and write your tea ware stories down. Who knows, there may be other stories that will be added to the same item in the future. 

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Enjoying Blocks Dessert Style

Last week I spoke to the Herb Society, Frankenmuth Mid-Michigan unit on how to incorporate tea with cooking. Yes, I know I've discussed playing with your food before, but it really does make a difference if you get in there and experiment. It is understandable though that there may be time constraints, so here's one of the recipes I came up for the talk on cooking with tea.

The Herb Society gave me some green tea with rose and lavender to work with. So I sat and pondered what would be new and different for this group. The solution, gelatin blocks. Do you remember having those as a kid and thoroughly enjoying the? I figured that using gelatin was easy and that the green tea would add to the already refreshing characteristics of an already yummy dessert.  From the responses that were received, this is a real winner of a recipe.

Here is the recipe;

4 packets unflavored gelatin

¼ c cold water

1 cup sugar

33/4 cups hot water (180-186 degrees depending on the green tea, not boiling)

4 tsp. Green rose lavender tea (Our Cherry Blossom tea will work great in this recipe)*

*In using Tozy Tea Cherry Blossom tea, use two pyramids.

Using the first two ingredients of the recipe, follow the directions for starting your gelatin using the microwave directions on the unflavored gelatin box. I used Kroger brand. While gelatin mixture is standing, put sugar and loose leaf tea in a T Sac (or use 2 of our pyramids of Cherry Blossom Tea) of into a bowl. While holding the tea inside the bowl, pour hot water into bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolves. Let the tea steep for 3 minutes. Remove tea. Continue stirring gelatin in order to help it cool down faster. Pour into a 9x 13 baking dish. Chill.

If you like, you can add some of the tea leaves and rose petals before you chill this tasty dish.

This dish is truly refreshing and tasty. Enjoy!

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Kindness in a Cup

Hot tea is nice and warming to drink.  But think about how tea can also make people feel welcomed, comforted, and cared for.

If you have a neighbor who has just moved into your neighborhood, take them some,brewed tea, tea goodies, and introduce yourself.  Tea is the perfect ice breaker.  Make sure you also have a few tea cups with you, as you never know how much or how little they have unpacked.

Another idea, is to take brewed tea and goodies to someone who has recently suffered a death in the family.  A great cup of tea mingled with a friend's listening ear can be quite comforting, especially after everyone has left and things have quieted down.

Let's not forget the friend or neighbor that lives alone and may not get out much.  What a great idea to take some time out of your day and bring that person some brewed tea, conversation, and tea goodies.  Maybe you even invite them over to your own home for some tea.  It is nice knowing that people really do care.

Certainly, you can do this without taking tea.  However, it can make the visit and time together so much more memorable.  Not only will they have had a visitor, but also a wonderful warm treat of tea.

So be encouraged to take time out of your morning, afternoon, or evening and visit a friend while bringing along that special warmth and kindness in a cup.

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Tea at Mackinac Island

Here's a great write up on afternoon tea at Michigan's Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island.

If you're a tourist in Michigan and you aren't in Frankenmuth, Mackinac Island is a fine substitute.

How do Kids Take Their Tea?

Through the years I have known that there are kids that really enjoy drinking tea.  Unfortunately, I have only known a few kids over the years that really do enjoy drinking this wonderful beverage.  Recently, however, there have been more and more kids that like tea.. Growing up I was always a big tea drinker, but I never really thought that any of my classmates might also have been in the same boat. But now as these kids and their parents come up to our table at Farmer Markets all excited, I always have a multitude of questions that I want to ask:

1. How do they take their tea?
2. What kind of tea is their favorite?
3. When they drink tea, is just the tea itself, or is it consumed with food?
   a. If yes, it is consumed with food, do they have tea with snack foods e.g. cookies, scones, etc?
   b. Is it consumed with a meal? 

One girl I spoke to said she loves to have high quality tea when she is sick because it makes her feel better. Another girl was strictly an English Breakfast tea drinker. Then there was a boy who was good to go with green teas.

It's just a curiosity as to what kinds of teas kids like and how kids like to have their tea. So, I ask you, if you have kids or grand kids we would love to know how they take their tea and what kind of tea they like. Please take the time and send us comments. We really would love to hear from you.

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Picking Tea is not for the Feint of Heart

Where's my tea?

Some people have a stereotype that tea is for wimps or aristocrats.  Not so.  Four workers in India suffered injuries when wild boars invaded their tea plantation.

So be thankful for your tea, producing anything is a lot harder than one might think.  Feel free to say a little prayer for the workers and their families.

Thanks to Tony (@WorldofTea) for alerting us to this story.