teaspoons & petals

Tea Party Decor...the perfect centerpiece

While visiting one of my favorite home decor blogs, Apartment Therapy, I came across a nice little piece about what to do when a flower breaks off the stem. In the past, I've worn it as hair accessory and placed in a tiny vase, but Apartment Therapy offers a better idea that's more my style. AT suggests that you should cut the stem off the flower and place it in a tea cup, a fabulous idea. They even suggest making a centerpiece out of a few tea cups filled with flowers, what a lovely piece for a tea party, indoor or outdoor. I may purposely break off a few stems to make this decor dream a reality.  I recommend that you visit this Apartment Therapy piece, so that you can see how beautiful the flowering cup is.  This visual delight would really complement a nice floral tea and be a beautiful addition to a few pots of blooming tea. Celebrate nature's beauty! Happy Tea Party-ing!

real men drink green tea

According to Men's Health, the bottled green tea with the highest level of powerful antioxidants (catechins) is Honest Tea's-Honey Green Tea. I really enjoy the refreshing taste of Honest Tea. The blends with honey offer just enough sweetness to bring a sugary smile to my face, without rotting my teeth. Ok so now to get to the details of this discovery: Well, the lovely individuals at Men's Health had ChromaDex Laboratories scientifically review 14 different bottled green teas, seeking out the healthiest green on-the-go beverage. In addition to Honest Tea, Men's Health chose to take a closer look at various blends from Harney and Sons,  Lipton Pureleaf, Tazo, Snapple, Ito En, Arizona and Republic of Tea. Did they miss your favorite green tea? One of my personal favorites in that list is Ito En. I strongly recommend that you give all of Ito En's ready-to-go blends a try when you're in the need for a green tea fix. So, since we're paying a little attention to the men out there with this blog post, I'm curious to know some other teas that men enjoy. I wonder if there are any major differences between male and female tea preferences? I strongly doubt that a major difference exists, but I'd  still love to hear what the men enjoy drinking. 

Brew 5 minutes...add Beer

Ok, put down your tea cup for a second and pick up a bottle of beer (yes it is a Monday, but it's never too late to extend the weekend). Anyway, two of my friends created and host a fabulous weekly video podcast about beer, Two Guys on Beer. I really recommend that you check out an episode-or all ten-yeah, they're that good. After watching several episodes, I've learned that there's more to beer than frat parties and German festivals, and that this popular beverage is complex, delicious, and a true liquid craft. So with beer on the brain, I decided to do a quick search to see if any wonderful brewer had made a fantastic decision to add tea to beer (however part of me wanted to find nothing-so I could make a deal with a brewery tomorrow). After a brief scroll through the Google selections, I came across Blucreek Brewing, Home of Unique All Natural Ales. Blucreek brews Zen (Green Tea) IPA, which they describe as an "India Pale Ale brewed with Natural Green Tea! An intense infusion of fresh Chinook, Cascade, and Centennial hops combined with natural green tea imparts this traditional English-style Pale Ale (English IPA) with something a little beyond the ordinary... A little extraordinary!" Zen IPA was commercially produced in 2006 (how have I not known about this?) and was the first beer to be brewed with natural green tea. After a little more research, I noticed that Zen IPA had some pretty sour reviews, but I'm still excited to give it a try. According to the blucreek site, no stores in PA carry it, so I guess I'll have to travel to Wisconsin or order it online, unless blucreek wants to send me a sample to review (cough, cough). With the heatwave sizzling through the city, I look forward to relaxing at a BBQ and sipping on some Zen IPA (yes sipping, I'm still a tea drinker, so no chugging for this lady).

Talking Tea Contest

One of my favorite tea blenders, Summer Plum of Felicitea, is holding a very special contest for all the tea fanatics out there (raise your hand, OK raise both if you're that excited). Introducing the Coffee to Tea Convert Contest. How would you like to win four 1oz tins of Felicitea's hand-blended loose leaf tea, a special piece of personalized tea ware, and the respect of fellow tea enthusiasts everywhere? If those prizes make you jump for joy, than all you need to do is create a short video about why you think tea is better than coffee. Summer wants to know "what about tea makes you happy? Is it the health benefits or the taste?" If you switched from being a coffee lover to a tea addict, what made you stay on the good side? I encourage you all to enter soon, as the contest ends on the last day in June. And of course this contest has a second round for our confused coffee drinking friends, who are all missing out on the delicious tea blends. The winner of the tea lover contest will have his or her video passed around to promote the coffee convert part of the contest. Coffee lovers and friends of coffee lovers (you know you want to help them) can enter this round of the contest and win a coffee to tea makeover. The chosen coffee convert will win a sampler set of Felicitea's teas, a personalized piece of tea ware, and last but not least, his or her very own custom blended tea session (An amazing experience with Summer--She will work with you to find and blend your perfect and personalized tea). For more details and a video explaining the contest, please visit Summer Plum's blog. (note-the contest has been extended to the end June) Please pass this along to all tea and coffee lovers!! Let the caffeinated games begin!!

tea today: Remedy Tea Bar ' s Melon Drop

This morning I enjoyed a black tea caffeine shot to my mind, which was exactly what I needed before a morning meeting. I imagine the black tea to be little early morning runners sprinting throughout my body and blowing trumpets to awake my muscles and mind (what can I say, I have an active imagination). By now my mind is completely awake and vibrant, but I'm still craving tea. I ordered a cup of Remedy Tea Bar's Melon Drop White Tea (honeydew melon/pure white tea), so not to send my body into a caffeinated shock. After steeping for two minutes, the tea paints the water a light golden shade. The incredibly fresh aroma sends my mind out of the humid city and into an open field. First sip, my taste buds are blanketed in melon as if I had just taken a juicy bite of the honeydew and let the sweet nectar drip from my chin. I added a dab of honey to intensify the natural sweetness, but am positive it would be just as perfect without it. The white tea is incredibly delicate and is a wonderful partner to the melon.  I really enjoy all of the teas at Remedy Tea Bar,a fabulous tea spot in Philadelphia, but have to say I have a new favorite now. What a wonderful introduction to warm summer weather! An iced version of Melon Drop would compliment any backyard barbecue meal. I would also love to freeze the the tea in popsicle molds and cool off, a melon drop pop! What a refreshing summer treat, drink it up!