Be Nice to Your Green Tea

This morning, while I was enjoying my breakfast with some of our Cherry Blossom tea, I pondered the thought that some people may be unaware that they are hurting their green tea. Shock! What? Hurting green tea? How is this possible? As these thoughts and questions go racing through your head, trust me, you can hurt your green tea. Green tea likes water temperatures that are cooler than those for black teas. Essentially, boiling water will ruin your green tea and you do not want to do that.

Personally, I believe this is one of three reasons that people if they have had green tea, say that they do not care for it. They will say it is bitter. So be sure your water temperature is correct for the tea you are using. The second reason is that people steep their tea way too long. The third personal theory is that people may be using inferior tea. We use gourmet teas and the flavors are phenomenal.

To make sure people can have the best cup of tea possible, we at Tozy Tea have made the water temperature and steeping times as easy as possible for the customer. All of the water temperatures and steeping times are highlighted on the front of each and every canister of tea.

So take a little extra time and be sure you have the perfect water for your great gourmet tea.

Please note that the label above is not for any of our green teas. It only shows where to find this information on our labels.

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Who Owns that Tea Company?

A common strategy for a big company with a brand suffering from overexposure is to come up with a new name not associated with itself. This is especially true of a company trying to enter a premium market where people want the cache of buying something more exclusive.

Just for fun, here's a list of a few common tea brands with the parent company. Some people may find some of these a bit surprising. It's possible that many people who thought they had found an exclusive little mom and pop brand are really buying from one of the biggest companies in the world.

Lipton. Unilever.

Tazo. Starbucks.

Nestea. Nestle'.

Celestial Seasonings. Hain Celestial Group.

Honest Tea. Coca-Cola.

Tea Forte'. Sara Lee.

Stash Tea. Yamamotoyama Tea Company.

Talbott Tea. Jamba Juice.

Twining's. Associated British Foods.

As for Tozy Tea, it's that corporate behemoth known as Chris and Heidi.

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Cooking with tea - II

If you are looking for a way to play with your food for dessert here is an idea. Brew, cool down, and chill some Northland Blueberry overnight. When you are ready for dessert, say fresh berries of some sort, prep them and have them ready in bowls. Then add Northland Blueberry to heavy whipping cream with a little sugar or sweetener. Next, whip the cream and Northland Blueberry together. Put on berries right away. Don't let the cream mixture set overnight as the water from the tea will separate from the cream. 

 This topping combination also works well on raspberry pancakes. However, since this mixture does not have all sorts of preservatives, it will melt on your pancakes. It's not like the whipped cream in restaurants that stay in perfect form. But don't let the appearance of melting cream fool you. It is sooooooooooooooo good!

Another quick and equally easy recipe is Northland Blueberry cream cheese.  Using softened cream cheese, add some of the Northland Blueberry infusion left over from the whipped cream recipe. Add the infusion to the cream cheese and mix with a hand mixer.  This cream cheese is great on English muffins, bagels, and toast.  Enjoy!!!

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Getting Tea Steeping Times Right

I noticed the other day on a package of lower end tea that it recommended a steep time of 8 minutes. That's a lot more than the 3-4 minutes on our black teas.

Similarly, my dad sampled Up North and said that it was way too strong. When asked how long he steeped it, he said maybe 12 minutes. That's a bit too long, sorry Dad.

Because premium teas are stronger, you don't have to steep them nearly as long. So avoid making your tea too strong by following the instructions and using a timer.

We make that easy by featuring the time and temperature in the top right corner of every package.

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Cooking with tea - I

When you were young and at the dinner table, you may have heard an adult say, “Stop playing with your food!"  Maybe right now you conjure up images from either personal experience or stories that you've heard or read about children playing with their food that would just make parents roll their eyes. But playing with your food is not always a bad thing. Rather, it can about discovering new and wonderful flavor combinations by mixing different foods together that one might not normally put together.

Recently, I've jumped back in to playing with my food full speed. It's a natural thing for me to do, but recently, I've delved even deeper.

A few weeks ago, I decided to make a dish that I used to make a lot while in college, rice with sauteed mushrooms and onions. This time I decided to step it up a bit. Chicken broth was used instead of water (that's normal in this household) and then I cut open a pyramid of our Up North! Tea and dumped it in the broth, followed by the brown minute rice. Meanwhile, I sauteed the small to medium onion in olive oil and then added the mushrooms. In the end I combined both the rice and mushroom mixture and served it with a salad using lettuce and other vegetables from the garden. It was really, really, really good. The earthiness of the mushrooms was complimented by the tea. It all went together so well. I'm getting really hungry thinking about that yummy meal.

So be bold and play with your food!

More cooking ideas to come in future blogs.

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Gift of a Passion Flower

Yesterday, I saw a woman wearing  a flower that I knew would normally not grow in Michigan, at least during the winter. This woman had a knife handle that had been fashioned into a vase and then made into a pin with a passion flower in it. She seemed surprised that I knew what kind of flower she had with her.

At the end of our conversation she gave me the flower to keep. Thank you! I immediately took pictures of it, as I am not sure how many people have ever seen a Passion Flower.

This lovely flower also happens to be one of the relaxing and soothing ingredients in our Brahms Lullaby Tisane. When you look at it closely, it is a very intriguing flower. There may even be people out there that might even classify it as being something that looks like some alien being from outer space,but it's not. In fact, it is a delicate flower that blooms for a day and then it's done.

Originally, I thought Passion Flower grew in tropical and sub tropical regions such as Hawaii and California. However, after further research, I discovered the passion flower grows in many places and climates. According to www.passionflow.co.uk there are 587 different known species of passion flower. Many of the plants produce a fruit from the flower, Passion Fruit. However, not all are fruits are edible. So if you are unsure as to whether or not the fruit is edible, proceed on the side of caution and do not eat it. If you ever have the opportunity to head to the Hawaiian Islands, be sure to try some Passion Fruit or at least some culinary treat that is made with this delectable fruit.

The Passion Flower was given its name by missionaries in Mexico, as it reminded them of Jesus Christ's death. Various parts of the flower remind us of the disciples (minus Judas and Peter), the crown of thorns, the five wounds, and finally the vine reminds us of Christ being scourged.

To learn more about the passion flower, please visit www.passionflow.co.uk. They are a great source of information and their website was invaluable to the writing of this blog.

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