[-] I haven't posted to rant and rave about how much I love Seven Cups lately, so I'm overdue for some tidbits about my favorite tea company. I asked awhile ago how their tea club works -- it's a bit difficult to understand and I could never quite grasp it, but the tea club is free and easy to use. So here's a note from one of the Seven Cups staff members explaining it:

It's free: you just have to sign up with a username, email and address. The easiest way to join, however, in from within the Tea Shop section of the site. On the right side of the Tea Shop pages, where the cart is, an option to login or join is also present. When you order tea, you'll receive a 10% discount on all tea and teaware not already on sale. Discount or no discount, for every (cumulative) $100 spent, a $10 gift certificate is emailed to you. You can keep it and use it yourself, or if you give it to a friend (or stranger) and they use it, you let us know and we'll send you another certificate. You can't lose with that deal: your friends will have great tea, and you can still benefit by receiving a replacement certificate once they've used it. The thought here is you give it to someone who isn't already a customer of ours, and you introduce them to what we have to offer. The last thing being a part of our Tea Club does for you is allow easy subscription to our Monthly Newsletter. When you sign up (unless you opt out) you are added to our subscription list. Monthly Specials are included in the newsletter, and any interesting goings on at Green Dragon or in China. So, I hope this is helpful, and you can somehow translate this nicely when you post it! Customers will find the tea login option here, and the direct link to the registration page here.

How the Seven Cups Tea Club Works... - http://authoritea.blogspot.com/feeds/2116801097896449261/comments/default

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This is the first interview in a series of interviews called Tea Company Spotlight that I’d like to do with tea owners from all the tea companies around the world. If you’re interested in being interviewed for this series, please contact me!

My first interview is with Mike Morton, the owner and founder of TeaFrog, founded in 2006 and based online out of Oakville, Ontario with distributors throughout Canada. I’ve spoken with Mike through reviewing many of his teas for the STeaP podcast since late 2007, and he was all too happy to answer a few questions about his company. Enjoy!

Tell us a bit about starting your company.

I have been a tea drinker for all of my life, and until about 4 years ago, the only tea I knew was Orange Pekoe Tetley Teabags. My daughter visited Japan in 2004 and the family that she stayed with sent back a gift package of good green tea. At the time I had no idea how to brew it, taste it, etc, and we could not even read the packaging because it was all in Japanese! We figured out how to make it eventually, and were surprised at how amazing it was compared to the teabag store bought that we had been drinking.

As I started to research and explore tea, I grew a passion for finding good tea, and sharing what I knew with friends and family. As I grew evermore - lets say, *obsessed* with it, I started to notice that tea was getting more popular, but the outlets for different varieties and flavors for experimenting with were limited. I just naturally took what I knew about business from previous experience, paired it with a passion, and lo and behold, TeaFrog was born!

What are your company’s specialties?

While we offer a wide variety of blends and single source teas, I think that most of my customers would say that we are best known for our friendly natures and willingness to educate! So many people are just not familiar with tea, but want to get into it from what they have heard of. They do not have a frame of reference or a starting point, and lets be honest, it CAN be a bit intimidating! So we provide education through tastings, and through talking to individuals one by one, be it on the phone, at craft shows, or online. So I would say that our ability to teach people how to explore and enjoy tea is what we are known for.

Oh, and our Rooibos Love blend - customers just cannot get enough of that!

What do you sell the most of?

Rooibos Love, by far and away is our most popular, tho our flavored white tea blends are quickly gaining popularity and nipping at the heels of our Rooibos blends! In particular the Blueberry White and Coconut Vanilla White teas are almost always out of, or close to out of stock!

What tea would you recommend to a novice tea drinker, and why?

I never recommend only one tea. We offer small, 10g sample packs, and if someone truly does not know where to start, I build them a pack of China Moon Palace, Kiyoto Lemon, Assam Banaspaty (when in stock…;0 ), 1001 Nights, Rooibos Love, Rooibos Caramel Cream, Stress Reliever, Hawaii Cocktail and Blueberry White to get them started. Inevitably they find a type of tea that they enjoy, and from there I can start recommending the direction that they take to grow their love for tea. There are so many different teas, and different experiences to be had, that there is never enough time for one person to explore them all!

What is your process? How does your company work?

We are always exploring all different avenues for different teas, and different blends, whether it is making our own blends, or sourcing and sampling blends and single estate teas from around the world. As a tea company we are always approached by different wholesalers to purchase their products. As such much of my day is spent tasting these samples, and evaluating quality for my customers.

Once we have found a tea or a blend that we think our customers will enjoy, we carefully scrutinize the source of these products to ensure that we can consistently get a high quality product, at a low price and that the company is a responsible business that is environmentally aware and works to preserve and protect through accepted methods of production. Whether this means they use only food grade blending materials, or that they follow standard and/or above standard fiscal practice for their region, we ensure that all aspects of that product are safe for our customers before we even consider selling it.

What is YOUR favorite tea?

Ahh, so many to choose from and so little time….

Let me see, in the mornings, I have been enjoying a brand new estate that is not even on the website yet (gimme about a week or so) - the Rani estate that will be listed as an Assam Organic/Biodynamic SFTGFOP - it is so tasty and complex that it challenges my tastebuds to get active for the day!

With lunch it is inevitably a white tea, specially in the summer, something light such as a Pai Mu Tan or a Coconut Vanilla. Dinner is green - Genmaicha most usually or maybe a Sencha.

This past summer, I have made a great deal of iced tea, it has been so darn HOT! The most refreshing recipe that I make is our Canadian Berry tea, brewed at double strength, then cooled, and blended 1/2 and 1/2 with a good lemonade - unbelievable.

Uhhhh, you just wanted one right?

Do you offer purchasable samples of your teas?

Yes. Each bag is 10g of tea, enough for between 3 and 4 cups of tea. The price for any sample is the same - $2 CDN.

Do you have anything new that you’re currently offering?

We always have tea on sale, anywhere from 25 - 50% off. We also offer promotions all the time to enthusiast sites or productions that never expire, and are always valid! Everyday customers can get free shipping in our local area (hand delivered by me, with a smile!!!!) and for all orders to anywhere in North America over $75 shipping is always free.

Oh, and we are now offering a similar product to the ingenuiTEA - the BrewT - similar in operation with an improvement in execution - higher quality body and filter that do not discolor as the ingenuiTEA does (very quickly with my rooibos consumption I may add )

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

STeaP ROCKS! I faithfully tune in every Monday, whether STeaP is reviewing a TeaFrog tea or not, and if you are, I even enjoy the not-so-positive reactions as much as the positive ones.

Thanks to Mike for a great interview and for the passion and enthusiasm he clearly brings to his tea company. Keep an eye out for more Tea Company Spotlight interviews in the future!

Tea Company Spotlight - Tea Frog - http://www.steaptv.com/2008/11/20/tea-company-spotlight-tea-frog/

[-] Yerba mate is a South American evergreen shrub that is used as an herb. The leaves and twigs are used to make an infusion that is consumed in several countries, including in Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Most mate infusions are made from green mate, but you will sometimes find a roasted variety. Sometimes people add milk and sweeteners. It's a common practice to drink mate from a hollowed gourd (sometimes covered with metal) through a metal bombilla (straw). It's a social drink often shared with friends.


Yerba mate is made with hot, not boiling water. It can be steeped for a long time without getting bitter. Even thought it is an herbal, it is unique in that it does contain caffeine and other stimulants. Many people believe that, like tea, the effects are not as jarring as coffee.



Yeba Mate - http://stephcupoftea.blogspot.com/feeds/8993639982772849637/comments/default

[-] The lovely ladies at Serendipitea sent me a sample of pu-erh a number of weeks ago -- I am not a fan of pu-erh, not in the least, so I sent it to my buddy Nikki at Teaescapade...well folks, her review is finally up, so if you're looking for a pu-erh review, look no further!

SerendipiTea's Pu-erh Mini Tuo-Cha Tea @ Tea Escapade

Serendipitea Pu-erh Review up on Teaescapade! - http://authoritea.blogspot.com/feeds/5890913423488436837/comments/default

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A sunrise teapot by Andy Titcomb from 1991 on eBay for £100.

Sunrise Andy Titcomb - http://teapotsteapotsteapots.blogspot.com/feeds/7892078242723367530/comments/default

[-] La semaine dernière, durant le séjour de mes parents à Taiwan, je les ai conduits dans le comté de Hsin Chu. Il faisait gris et un peu pluvieux à Taipei, mais un ciel bleu éclatant là-bas, à seulement 1 heure de voiture. On a commencé par visiter Bei-Pu, le village voisin d'Emei.
Ces 2 villages ont une rivalité de clocher (ou de temple) typiquement campagnarde concernant l'Oriental Beauty.
Les fermiers de ces deux bourgades en produisent et chacun dit que le sien est le meilleur. La querelle s'étend même aux compétitions d'Oriental Beauty: Bei-Pu et Emei organisent chacun leur compétition de Pong Fong Cha / Dong Fang Mei Ren (OB) au lieu d'en faire une commune.
(Note: Pong Fong Cha signifie thé du vantard! C'est un nom qui lui va bien! Au départ, ce nom provient de la fin du 19e siècle, lorsque, pour la première fois, un fermier de cette région ne s'est pas découragé face aux criquets qui mangeaient les récoltes d'été. Il fut le seul à quand même produire du thé malgré les feuilles abimées. John Dodd, un marchand anglais, finit par lui payer un prix élevé pour son thé. Le fermier n'arrêta pas de se vanter de son exploit et c'est pourquoi ses voisins appelèrent ce thé Pong Fong Cha!)

Je profite alors de cette excursion pour comparer les thés des 2 villages. Celui de cet été de Beipu (niveau de prix du moins cher de ma sélection) ne me plait pas. Trop sombre et amer. Je ressens de nombreux défauts dans le goût et une fragrance qui sent plus la terre que le fruité acidulé caractéristique de l'OB. Le niveau au-dessus (top) est meilleur en bouche, mais les fragrances n'arrivent pas à me satisfaire. On me propose alors du niveau top de l'an dernier. Il en reste encore un petit peu. Cette fois, je suis assez séduit. Cet Oriental Beauty commence à donner une odeur rafinée et profonde semblable un peu aux vieux Oolongs. Le producteur me confirme alors que le cru de cette année est inférieur à 2007 (j'avais fait la même observation et cela m'avait conduit à sélectionner un OB d'un niveau de prix plus élevé cette année). Mais je me rappelle ausi que l'an dernier j'avais pu trouver un OB carrément parfait...

On va maintenant chez mon producteur (à Emei) et on y goûte un OB de cet été très similaire au moins cher de ma sélection. Mon père s'exclame alors que celui-ci a un goût très fruité, parfumée même, et que c'est le meilleur qu'il a bu aujourd'hui! J'explique au fermier qu'on vient de goûter à du OB de Beipu. J'aurais pu lui dire que j'avais mis du sucre dans mon thé, sa réaction aurait été la même. Quelle mouche m'avait piqué! Tout rentra dans l'ordre lorsque je lui assurai que son thé (à niveau égal et à saison égale) est meilleur que celui du village voisin. Un producteur est toujours sensible aux compliments, surtout s'ils sont sincères.
Je suis content d'avoir pu confirmé que j'ai fait un bon choix en sélectionnant ses thés. (Ce choix n'avait pas été du au hasard, mais c'est toujours bien de comparer pour obtenir confirmation).

On a fini par une promenade à travers les plantations de théiers Qingxin DaPa d'où provient mon Oriental Beauty (les photos de cet article - remarquez qu'il y a beaucoup d'herbe entre les théier, signe que l'on n'utilise pas de désherbant-). Et j'ai même pu prendre une photo de notre petit criquet vert croqueur de bourgeons!
Ci-dessus, une vue du comté de Hsin Chu. Vous remarquerez qu'on y produit aussi des oranges!

Voyage dans le pays du Oriental Beauty - http://teamasters.blogspot.com/feeds/206226309370314651/comments/default

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There are a number of perks associated with having a tea blog.  Perhaps my favorite one is having the opportunity to sample innovative new products.  The folks at Ceramcor sent me one of their gorgeous new ceramic Tea Potles, part of their Xtrema teaware line.  This ain’t your grandma’s kettle.  I was immediately drawn to its stylish appearance.  Its dark gray metallic surface is a pleasure to look at and touch.  This is definitely an example of advertising that is honest and accurate.  I was intrigued when the literature mentioned that the “non-stick ceramic teapot clearly addresses today’s growing desire for a healthier heating and boiling alternative to metal and porcelain teapots”.  The icing on the cake was “Xtrema teapots are made of inorganic non-reactive natural minerals that makes the product environmentally friendly.”

Having one of those ceramic cook tops that glows red when on, I’m always concerned about placing new objects on the cooking surface for the first time.  The Tea Potle worked like a charm.  In fact, the company offers a 50-year warranty from breaks due to hot/cold temperature variations.  This puppy can even go into the microwave -  but please don’t heat your water for tea that way.  I found the Tea Potle to be a pleasure to use.  It retained the heat very well - reminding me of the Tetsubins from Japan.  It poured beautifully - a priority for me - and the elegant handle stayed cool to the touch.  Who could ask for anything more?   It’s a good bet that you’ll soon see these wonderful kettles at our T Ching store.  But no discounts on these winners, I’m afraid.  The company insists the price must remain consistent: $79.99 retail, which includes a snappy red silicone trivet.   I’d say it’s a great price for a sturdy kettle that looks like a piece of art. That makes it $1.59 per year, assuming that you are still able to pay for the cost of electricity or gas each year, and that you outlive the pot. You might consider putting it in your last will and testament.  I look forward to using mine for the next 50 years.

Who could ask for anything more? - http://www.tching.com/index.php/2008/11/20/who-could-ask-for-anything-more/

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Thanksgiving has become quite the extravaganza at my house. Since getting married six years ago, my husband and I start planning our huge meal weeks in advance. Me searching through tons of recipes looking for that new sparkler to add to the ever growing menu, and Drew trying to choose the perfect 15lb turkey.

I’m sure you’re imagining at least 12 people around my holiday table, but in reality it’s just the two of us… and the dog. We just love food and a big celebration - and I think that I’ve found this year’s perfect addition: Starbucks Thanksgiving Blend.

The Thanksgiving Blend was created in a collaboration between Starbucks and Tom Douglas, renowned Pacific Northwest chef and culinary entrepreneur and the 2008 Bon Appetit Restaurateur of the year. I was lucky enough to chat with Chef Douglas and ask him a few questions about his life as a chef and how this amazing new coffee blend came to be…

You have so many amazing restaurants. Do you have a favorite?
I don’t have a favorite per say, but I use them like any customer might. When I have friends from out of town I take them to the Dahlia Lounge for dinner. Many times we drop into Palace Kitchen for a sexy late night plate of plin after a catering event in our space next door, the Palace Ballroom. I eat lunch at Etta’s when I’m down in the Pike Place Market. I love going to Lola because serve the most interesting palate of Greek, Turkish and Moroccan inspired food. I often have cravings for the cherry bomb and fennel sausage pizza at Serious Pie. And who couldn’t resist a coco pie bite from the Dahlia Bakery at 4 o’clock in the afternoon with a shot of espresso?

I read that you were born back east. What made you decide to move to the Pacific Northwest?
Yes, I was born in Cleveland and raised in Delaware. After graduation I was looking for “the next big thing” that wasn’t scholastic. So I hopped into my ’67 Chevy, traveled across the country and ran out of gas in Seattle. It has become my adopted hometown, and vice versa, Seattle has adopted me.

I am always interested in how people come into their careers… What made you want to become a chef?
Something about being a chef has always been natural to me. I’ve enjoyed it form the day I started doing it, but I also just love restaurants. From the minute you walk in the door to a smiling hostess, great lighting, a manager who’s in control of the situation, and smells wafting from the kitchen – they all just kind of make me melt into, what I consider to be, the best business in the world. And I still love it 30 years later!

What made you want to create a Thanksgiving Blend? Most people would have assumed that Christmas is a more common holiday to create for.
Starbucks has a Christmas blend, which I’ve been buying forever. The idea of a Thanksgiving blend possibly becoming an annual tradition like Christmas Blend was appealing. I look forward to drinking it for years to come.

Do you imagine this coffee being drunk with the meal, or more of an after dinner “finisher?”
I think I was as surprised as anyone else how well coffee pairs with a savory meal – and I’m not talking bacon and eggs! I’m talking about the herbs we infuse into the turkey, the aromatics from the gravy and stuffing that ended up working perfectly with this Guatemalan and Sumatran blend.

I’m not going to lie to you… I’m a huge coffee drinker, and this was, hands down, the best coffee I’ve ever had. But how did you know this particular blend was “the one?”
When we were tasting the coffee we were looking for something that had spice, chocolate notes and acidity to cut through the flavors of a savory meal while maintaining its character. We actually didn’t realize we hit the jackpot until we actually made a Thanksgiving dinner, sat around the table and tasted it with the final two coffees in the running. The Starbucks team and our team looked at each other as we were supping the coffee and shoving sweet onion and sage gravy soaked turkey in our mouths, and it just hit us that we had been successful in our efforts in creating a match. While it was delicious with the pumpkin pie, the flavor of the coffee just exploded with the turkey.

What is your favorite meal to pair with coffee?
Since Thanksgiving is almost here, I would have to say that my favorite meal to pair the coffee with would be the following:

o Roasted turkey with sweet onion and sage gravy

o Cranberry hazelnut and oyster mushroom stuffing

o Candied sweet potatoes with a little red chili

o Butter braised green beans

o Pickled peaches that we canned last summer from our farm.

Like I mentioned to Tom, this is THE BEST coffee I have ever had. It’s the kind of coffee you always imagine classy characters drinking in diners in those old black and white movies. Rich, flavorful, never bitter. You just want to cradle the cup in both your hands, inhale the aroma, and let the creamy richness flow over your tongue. Whether you drink this with Thanksgiving dinner or the exhausted morning-after breakfast, you will be thankful to have this Starbucks Blend in your cup.

Bon Appetit!

Photo from TomDouglas.com.

Give Thanks for a New Starbucks Blend - http://anicecuppa.net/2008/11/20/give-thanks-for-a-new-starbucks-blend/

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My Evening Tea Tray - http://uniquelytea.blogspot.com/feeds/8578728953349510686/comments/default

[-] Eating Royally by Darren McGrady is a great book to add to the libraries of Anglophiles and "Royal watchers." Darren McGrady was in royal service as a chef for the Royal family for 11 years then Princess Diana's private chef at Kensington Palace until her death. He includes recipes and remembrances from Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, HMY Britannia, Balmoral Castle, Sandringham House and Kensington Palace. This beautiful book has over 100 delicious recipes and more than 150 beautiful photos. The cost is $25.00 including shipping and Darren McGrady will autograph and personalize the book if you purchase it here.


Eating Royally - http://friendshiptea.blogspot.com/feeds/8473908718984421128/comments/default