Hosting and Toasting

Lately, there's been a lot of hubbub about Hostess Brands and their products flying off the shelves at grocery stores.  It's amazing how quickly things get scooped up and purchased when people are told that certain things will no longer be available.

I admit that after I posted my blog last Friday about hosting a Hostess party, that I too made a trip to our local grocery store in hopes of picking up a few boxes of sweet treats from my childhood.  However, I was not going to enjoy them myself.  I called some friends and invited them to a Hostess Tea Party.  The responses were of sheer joy and excitement. 

So yesterday, a few friends dropped by for tea and we all had a great time drinking Christmas Star tea and eating Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, Mini Crullers, and Donettes.  The Christmas Star tea paired very well with the Hostess treats, and so much so, that we had four teapots of that tea. 

Now the question is whether or not Hostess will be around.  Currently, both sides are meeting a with a mediator.  We will just have to wait and see what the outcome is of the situation.

I hope some of you were able to Host a Hostess Tea Party.  If you did, we would love for you to share your tea party story with us.

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Hosting With Hostess

This morning I was saddened to hear and see that Hostess Brands will be gone for good. What a shock! Hostess has been around for such a long time and now they will cease to exist.

Imagine all of the children who have squealed with delight only to find some delectable Hostess delight in their lunch bag at school. Maybe for others, it was a treat that magically appeared when staying with Grandma and Grandpa. Oh, think of all of the fun and delights that went along with these wonderful little sweet cakes of joy.

But what about now? Here is an idea, so that your children or grandchildren never forget Hostess. Put together a children's tea party. Remember, sweets and tea have been together for along time and compliment each other very well.  As you plan your tea party keep in mind the simpler the better. Using Hostess products makes the tea party easy as pie to put together. Ho-hos can be sliced using a serrated knife and arranged on a plate that will bring intrigue to most anyone. Twinkies, Ding- Dongs, and Zingers can be nicely stacked on a separate plates. Now all that's left to be done is to pick the tea and set the table. For this occasion, I would recommend either our Up North! or Christmas Star tea.

It is quite possible too, that you might want to have your own party with your own friends, who want to have a nostalgic moment. What fun to have a whole bunch of your adult friends get together for an afternoon of smiles and laughing while enjoying Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, and Ho-Hos. Chances are the little kid in you will come out once again. As for tea recommendations, the sky is the limit. For adults any black tea goes well with chocolate, especially Earl Grey. Since we are near the holidays our green tea Moroccan Mint with peppermint would pair well, as would our other green tea,Cherry Blossom.

So take some time out of your hectic schedule and bring a little joy to some children or yourself and friends through tea and Hostess treats.

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Starbucks Buys Teavana

I was surprised to learn today of Starbucks' acquisition of Teavana.  Price:  $620m or $15.50 per share.  

Starbucks says it will continue to sell Tazo, a conventional bagged tea found in many grocery stores.  In addition, Starbucks has been developing Tazo tea shops and says they are a laboratory for the Teavana merger.  Teavana's stores and product lineup are so much more upscale than either Tazo or Starbucks, it's not clear to me where Starbucks will take the Teavana brand.

Starbucks says it will introduce the Teavana brand into grocery stores.  I wonder how the Safeway management will react to Monkey Picked Oolong that sells for $25 for two ounces?  The price and quality of Teavana's products do not seem to me to directly translate to most grocery stores, so my guess is that they will move Teavana more downscale.

So for us little guys, this is both good and inspiring news.  It took Teavana's founders 15 years to build the company for this acquisition, so it's nice to know it can be done.  Also, if my hunch is right that Starbucks will have to reposition Teavana to a cheaper and lower quality target market, it opens the door for those of us who sell the high end product.

How will Teavana's loyal customers react?  Some may not like the deal at all.  Starbucks is a good company but it no longer has the mystique it once had or Teavana had until today.  It will also depend on how much Starbucks changes the Teavana stores, product, and overall vibe.

If you're a Teavana fan and you're looking for that "little company" that will take care of your tea needs, look no further than Tozy Tea.  We'll work hard to earn your trust and satisfy your needs.  And you can always check us out on Facebook or Twitter, we try to have some fun with people there.

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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