Cupcake Recipe Contest!

Hello Everyone!

I have never been much of a baker. My grandmother was an amazing baker, her pies were so amazing that I've pretty much given up even trying to make pies because they never turn out the way gramma used to bake. And, for the most part, unless I'm really in the mood, or it's the holiday season, I don't really enjoy baking cookies, I find it tremendously tedious.

I used to enjoy making cakes, but, somewhere along the way, I fell out of love with it, perhaps because I could never make them look nearly as lovely as I would like to... I have never felt at ease with a pastry bag in my hands, fumbling nervously with trying to make a simple rosette.

But, I love cupcakes! Even though I still do not feel at ease with the pastry bag, I can use it to pipe a simple spiral of frosting onto the top of a cupcake and make it look nice. Of course, they aren't so fancy that you'd want to put them on the cover of Martha Stewart's magazine or anything, but, they're still attractive enough to entice someone to want to eat one!

Besides, what a great treat to enjoy with a cup of tea?

(Photo Credit: Courtney, from HeyLadyCards. You can purchase her beautiful Cupcake Bath Bombs here.)

A few months ago, I purchased The Cupcake Deck by Elinor Klivans. I've tried a few recipes in the deck, and I've been fairly pleased with the outcome, however, I found the cupcakes to be a bit "lighter" than I wanted them to be. Sure, the light texture does have it's positive aspects, but, I found them to be a bit "too light" in texture to support the creaminess of my buttercream frosting...

Which brings me to the subject of frosting... it took me quite a while to perfect my recipe for buttercream frosting. I wanted something delicious, smooth, creamy, but not too sweet... I still suffer from nightmarish memories of buttercream frostings that was sickeningly sweet, slathered onto a store-bought birthday cake, purchased as an afterthought when my birthday had been forgotten. And the canned frostings... should stay in the can! yuck!

So, after many, many attempts with different buttercream frostings, I learned that it's not only the recipe but the way you process the frosting that is important when making buttercream.


(Photo Credit: Maureen, from ARoseWithoutAThorn. You can purchase these lovely faux cupcakes here.)

So... I'm happy with my buttercream, and I don't want to change that recipe, so now what I need is a cupcake that can stand on it's own with my frosting and not taste like a fluffy cloud of air sitting under my delightful buttercream.

And, since I'm not much of a baker, I am not sure exactly how I would go about adjusting a recipe to create such a masterpiece of a cupcake...

And, well, I have tried mixes. And I DO like cake baked from a mix. However, I prefer to know what I'm putting in to the foods I eat, and I'd really like to find just the right "from scratch" recipe.

So, I'm turning to you, my dear readers, to help me in my endeavor to find the perfect cupcake recipe (or recipes!) -- And the winner of this contest will win a tea time gift from me, complete with a brand new chatsford teapot and 6 tea sampler tins, filled with your choice of teas from my collection.

To enter:

1. Get your recipe! The recipe can be any flavor -- vanilla, chocolate... or anything in between... Just please make sure that the ingredients are easily obtainable. And, since I am a tea fan, it's better if you don't have coffee as one of the ingredients. However, if you have a recipe that uses tea as one of the ingredients... you get extra bonus points!

2. Email it to me by December 10. (Click on the link to get to my email address)

I will be making these recipes and they will be tested by a panel of experts that I assembled myself (my two daughters and myself). The recipe that we like the best will win the tea time gift!

(Photo credit: Roz from RozArt. You can purchase this, or another of her lovely paintings, here.)

Now, there may be more than 1 winner! For example, if we happen to like a vanilla recipe and a chocolate recipe equally... then, I'll award two tea time gifts!

SPECIAL BONUS POINTS: Special bonus points will be awarded for cupcake recipes possessing one of the following qualities:

1. Tea in the recipe. This pretty much speaks for itself. However, one qualifying point, no INSTANT tea... that stuff is just really gross.

2. Butter Pecan recipe. I LOVE the Betty Crocker Butter Pecan cake mix. I add ripe, mashed banana to this recipe and make amazing banana cupcakes that my oldest daughter adores.

OK... so that's it. I don't know when the official winner(s) of this contest will be announced, because it really depends upon how many entries we receive... because, we can't bake all the cupcakes at once, because I'm sure that if I did that, my adoration of cupcakes would quickly fade into... something else.

But, I will keep you updated!!!

So, please... send in your recipes! I look forward to trying your best!

~Anne

What have you been up to?

Hello Everyone!

I've been incredibly busy. Yeah, I know, I say that a lot! It seems like I've been averaging about a journal entry per month, and really, it doesn't seem like it's been that few for me, it seems like I only just charted my last entry a week ago! Time has a way of slipping past you when you're busy doing... whatever it is that I've been doing!

I'm still doing quite a bit of unpacking... well, actually, that's not completely true... I guess it's more accurate to say that I've still quite a bit to do... but I've not spent a lot of time doing it. *sigh* I do need to get busy on it though, in the coming months, it's going to be entirely too cold to be out in the garage doing much of anything, and I can't hardly justify purchasing a space heater for the garage if one can hardly navigate amongst the rubble! So, it's time to get busy.

We also want to plant our fall bulbs for spring blooming! Now that we actually have a yard -- it will be so nice to be able to have some beauty to admire in the garden. It will also be a great opportunity for me to spend some time with my youngest, who wants to help plant her favorite flowers - tulips.

In the midst of all this contemplation of what I should be doing... I have actually been working on tea too... I am still working out the kinks with my Caramel tea. I think I may have found the right combination, but I must wait... I think that's the hardest part of the art of tea flavoring and blending, is the waiting after I've flavored or blended a tea, to see if the flavors are harmonious. It's very important to allow those flavors to mingle and marry... what tastes good now may not be good in three weeks. So, it's an art that requires a great deal of patience.

And I've been sampling too... I'm currently looking for the right Darjeeling and I've also been sampling Oolongs as well. I have been very fond of my Formosa Choicest, however, my supplier has granted me a nice supply of Oolongs to sample and I might just find another I favor. We shall see.

So, that's what I've been up to.

~Anne

What's in your cup today?

Hello, Everyone!

Well, it looks as though we'll be enjoying some warm weather for the next week or so, or so the weatherman tells us. I'm not sure if I'm pleased or not with that forecast, as I would love to be enjoying the cooler fall weather that I look forward to every year. I love to be able to cozy up to a hot cup of tea. Sure, I love my iced tea, and I've been enjoying quite a bit of iced tea this summer, but, there's nothing quite as satisfying to me as a cup of hot tea.

However, every morning, I do get myself a pot of hot tea... this morning, I enjoyed a pot of my yerba mate blend, Almond Mocha Mate. As I've mentioned before, I can't drink my favorite mocha drinks anymore, because my stomach just can't handle it.

That's why I do love this Mate blend. The Roasted Yerba Mate is somewhat reminiscent of coffee, and the addition of chocolate and almond flavoring brings it to life, and it tastes so much like my favorite mocha drink I used to order every morning... but without the ill after effects.

~Anne

Tea Treat Review!

Hello Everyone!

Well, I guess it's no secret that I love my tea, and sometimes it's nice to have a little something to go with my tea. Whenever I'm in a tea shop, I eventually check out the tea time treats they offer, and I usually pick something new to try. You never know when you just might stumble upon a favorite!

Recently, I visited a tea bar in Portland, and I found "Choclatea" bars from the chocolate chefs at smilechocolatiers.com. They blend fine chocolate with finely ground tea to create a unique kind of candy bar. They're a bit pricy ($5.95 for a bar!) but, as I was conducting important research, I felt that I should bite the bullet and fork out the 6 bucks for a bar. The tea bar featured several different flavors, but the one that appealed to me most was the Wild Raspberry Tea Milk Chocolate Bar.

Of course, I had to select just the right tea to sip along with my chocolate. Today, I decided to brew my Masterpiece Chai.

The chocolate is very smooth, and the raspberry tea flavor is subtle at first. Then you notice the tangy wild raspberry flavor dancing upon your palette. Very nice, indeed. And while the bar may seem a bit costly, the flavor is very rich, so you don't feel so bad about sharing the bar with a friend or two while sipping tea together. (Or maybe saving a bit for yourself for later!)

As I mentioned, Choclatea bars come in several different flavors. I'm now eager to try a couple of the other intriguing offerings, such as Pomegranate White Tea Very Dark Chocolate, and Coconut Greet Tea Dark Chocolate. And while white chocolate is not my favorite, I might even be enticed to try the Pistachio White Tea White Chocolate. Just for experimentation purposes, you understand!

So, if you happen across Choclatea Bars, I highly recommend picking up a bar for your next sweet tooth craving! If you like tea and you like chocolate... well, you're just going to LOVE these chocolate bars!

~Anne

I'm Back!

Hello everyone!

Well, as some of you probably already know, I've been in the process of moving... I'm not quite finished yet, still have a lot of unpacking and organizing to do (primarily in my garage aka the art studio!) but we are in the new house, out of the old place... it's just a matter of getting everything settled and finding a place for everything. It's a lot of work, and it's a big pain to have to move, but despite that, I'm glad we did, we really have needed a larger space for a long time now. The new house is so nice, and it's just perfect for us.

On to some new tea news!

Momoko Melon: IT'S BACK IN STOCK! This is one of my all time summer teas, it tastes amazing on ice! (It's also delicious served hot) So refreshing!

Sweet Caramel O'Mine: It's coming back! But only for a limited time! Here's the story: my supplier of flavorings discontinued it's caramel flavoring, however, they did have one bottle left of it, and because I had been bugging them they sent it to me. (Squeaky wheel gets the grease?) Anyway... I have one bottle of my special caramel flavoring left, so once it's gone, I don't know if I'll be able to get more!

So, what I'm trying to say, is keep an eye out, in the next couple of weeks, my first batch will be ready... so be sure to get some while you can! This is absolutely my very best seller... so it will sell out fast!

Creamy Irish Breakfast Blend: I have only a small amount of this left. I don't think I will be blending another batch for St. Patrick's day for 2009, so grab what's left while you can! (Oh, and it's clearance priced too!)

My Etsy Store: I haven't loaded any teas up there recently, as some of you may have noticed... well, that's because, as I said before, I've been moving... and the move has taken me from doing the things I need to get done! There are some teas there now... and within the next month, I plan to start uploading more teas... Once I get all my teas loaded to my etsy store, I will have my website automatically forward traffic to the etsy store... so when you head on over to my store sometime in the distant future, you'll be redirected to my etsy store. This change is very much for the better, it will help me streamline everything, and keep better track of my inventory.

That's about all from me for now... I need to make a newsletter soon!

~Anne

Website Changes

Hello Everyone!

I am in the process of changing my website over to be redirected to my etsy store. Currently, I have 2 teas available in my etsy store, my Potpourri Tea, and my new Breakfast in Bed Tea... both in tins. I will be hopefully adding the rest of my teas later this week. By the time I'm finished, you'll be able to buy your favorite LiberTEAS tea in reusable tins or in the refill bags.

Potpourri Tea

Breakfast in Bed Tea

In the meantime, if you experience any problems with the website and would like to place an order of a tea that is not yet available on etsy, please email me and I'll be happy to take your order via email.

Thanks to everyone for your support! I appreciate it!

~Anne

New Teas!

Hello Everyone:

Well, for a couple of months now, I've been telling you about my two new teas that I've added to my collection... and now, they're both finally available for sale!

The first tea is Green Apple Tea. I really love this tea, and it's delicious served both hot and iced! When I was younger, I remember a soda called "Aspen" -- it was an apple flavored soda, crisp and refreshing. I don't drink a lot of soda (usually only when I'm out to eat, as I usually do not care for the teas served at restaurants), but, if this soda was still available, I'd drink it. It was uncommonly delicious, and unlike anything that's out on the market today.

While my tea is quite obviously not a soda pop, the light, crisp flavor of green apples reminds me a lot of that flavor I miss so much from my childhood. It's also 100% organic! An absolute MUST try tea!

The second tea is Breakfast in Bed Tea, so named because it's a tea you want to linger over, just like a delightful, relaxing breakfast served to you in bed. It has a luxurious flavor and an amazing fragrance. Delicate Rose scented tea, with a creamy vanilla flavor and a subtle touch of cinnamon! This tea was inspired by a good friend and fellow tea lover.

~Anne

I'm the Mad Hatter!

What Alice in Wonderland Character Are You?

You are The Mad Hatter

One thing is for sure- you're as mad as a hatter. You have an obsession with time and if tea time were to ever cease, you would probably be even more confused.
Take this quiz!








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But then, the result of this quiz should come as no surprise!

Just a quick update...

Green Apple Tea will be arriving later this week... please watch this blog for updates, or better yet, you can click here to subscribe to my newsletter!

Also... my new Rose/Vanilla/Cinnamon tea flavor will be ready for sale soon! This flavor is OH SO YUMMY!

~Anne

Spring is in the Air!

And... whoa... can my sinuses and eyes feel it! UGH! This is absolutely my least favorite time of year. I know a lot of people love Spring -- as the world re-awakens after it's cold winter's rest... the vibrant colors of the daffodils and crocus begin to bloom and the beauty of the cherry blossoms delight... I love these things too, don't get me wrong. As an artist, how could one not just love the bustling colors of spring?

But, as an allergy sufferer, I detest the coming of Spring! The itchy, watery eyes, the coughing, sneezing and the runny nose! The stuffy sinuses that constantly drain yet never seem to be clear! The effects of the over-the-counter options are so undesirable too. Of course, yes, the products WORK to clear up the symptoms, but, they leave behind side effects of their own -- one leaving me feeling so groggy that I can't function, and the other leaving me so dry that I can drink a gallon of water and not begin to quench the desert that my tongue and throat becomes.

Fortunately, I do have Allergi-TEA! It works wonders! I love that after I've consumed a cup (or, in my case, mug!) my symptoms begin to disappear. During this time of year, I drink at least 1 pot of Allergi-TEA each day... my one big problem is that I NEED that pot first thing in the morning... and that's the hardest time for me... my sinuses have made my head feel like it's a bowling ball set upon my shoulders -- it feels so heavy and clumsy that I just don't feel like making tea! ha!

Ah well, I do hope that this season passes by as quickly as it seems the Fall (my favorite season!) did last year... it seems like I hardly had time to enjoy the brilliant colors of Autumn before the leaves fell and winter took hold! Although, I must admit, I do love winter too. Especially here in the Pacific Northwest, where the skies are multiple shades of gray and the bare branches of the trees are dancing among the dark clouds... it's so breathtaking.

And... of course, it is so comforting to curl up with that hot mug of tea!!!

Happy sipping!
~Anne

A New Rose Tea Blend!

Hello Everyone:

a good friend of mine offered a new flavor idea to try... so I did. She wanted a rose tea with a touch of vanilla and cinnamon. As I'm not particularly fond of most rose teas -- I find them to be too floral for my taste -- I wasn't too positive about the outcome, but I still decided to give it a try.

Well, I'm happy to say that the flavor combination definitely works! The rose is prominent, but, not overpowering. The vanilla softens the sharp rose flavor, and the cinnamon is a subtle undertone. The fragrance of this tea is outstanding, and the flavor is divine! A very delightful tea.

Since my friend suggested the flavor, I'm going to wait until she tries it and names it, before I go ahead and start blending it in large quantities. But, I'm excited about this new flavor!

I am also expecting to have my new green apple flavor available soon, as well as the Sikkim tea! I hope that you enjoy these teas as much as I do! These will be delightful additions to my collection for the coming of spring! Both should make delightful teas to serve hot on those crisp spring mornings, and iced on those warmer spring afternoons!

Now, for a bit of bad news... I've decided to scrap the warm cookie flavor. I just can't seem to get the right balance of flavors that I have envisioned. I am still working on my winter wonderland flavor... and hopefully that will be ready for next winter!

Well, that's all for now.
~Anne

Tea Excitement!

Hello Everyone!

Well, I have some exciting news to share...

A few weeks ago, I received a sample from one of my vendors, and I tried it a few days ago. It's amazing! Usually, when I try a new flavor from one of my vendors, I experiment a little bit with it, try to see how I might improve upon it, see if I can "alter" the flavor a bit -- jazz it up, and make it uniquely "mine."

But not this time. This is one of only a handful of times that I've sampled a tea and have found it to be PERFECT just the way it is. The first time I experienced this sensation was when I first sampled Formosa Oolong - Choicest... it just tasted remarkable! Of course, since then, I've experimented a little with it, and found that the natural peach-like flavor of the Oolong pairs well with summer melon flavors, and hence, my Momoko Melon Oolong was born!

Most of the time though, I'll try something, and look for ways to improve upon it... and in doing so I'll create a blend of tea that is uniquely my own. I think that this is what differentiates me from many other tea vendors... I mean, if I'm selling all "stock" teas, and nothing uniquely my own, what's the point? Most tea vendors have their own retail business as well as wholesale, so why try to compete with that?

This is how my unique tea blends, such as Liberteas Breakfast Blend and Masterpiece Chai came to be. I'm very proud of these blends, as well as my other unique blends, because they're truly unique, my own recipes, and something that nobody else can duplicate.

However, every once in a while, a tea comes in to my radar... like my Formosa Oolong, that I just fall in love with and I must add to my collection! Green Apple is just such a tea! This is a flavored green tea blend... 100% organic, that is absolutely amazing! This tea will come available in my store sometime in March -- just in time for St. Patrick's day, I should think!

In addition, I will be adding my Creamy Irish Breakfast blend back to my collection -- it's nearly ready to be added to my shelves! Watch for it in another week or two!

I am so excited about these two teas -- one, making it's annual, seasonal return, and the other, making it's grand debut to my collection!

~Anne

January 31, 2008

Good afternoon, and I hope that this new year has been treating everyone quite well!

It's been a while since I've updated my blog on my tea happenings, so I thought it was high time I did so!

What I've been blending:

I have a new batch of my Almond Mocha Mate that will be ready to roll in about a week. I'm looking forward to this batch, because I've missed my mocha flavored fix! As much as I do adore tea, sometimes, I want something with the edge and bite that coffee can deliver, but, unfortunately, coffee and coffee products (like mochas) just do not agree with me! My Almond Mocha Mate is the perfect answer! I get all the flavor and enjoyment that I miss from my favorite mocha flavor from the local coffeehouse, but none of the disagreeable ill-after-effects. I can have my cake and eat it too!

My Red Velvet Tisane should be ready around February 11. This blend combines the flavors of pear and blood oranges to create a sweet, invigorating beverage! I just love it!

Do you suffer from seasonal allergy symptoms, but hate to take the OTC medications that leave you feeling groggy and just... out of it? I developed my Allergi-TEA for people like me, who wanted something to help alleviate those symptoms but didn't leave me feeling half asleep all day! My newest batch will be in stock in about a week.

Other happenings: I have 2 chatsford teapots (6 cup size) available! I will be posting them to the website soon...

That's about it!
~Anne

Be good to your tea kettle...

And with a little luck, it will reward you.

Don't ever attempt to heat milk in your electric tea kettle. (Don't ask me how I know this, just rest assured, I know...)

*sigh*

I'm finally getting myself caught up after the artisan fair from last weekend. Preparing for this and my tea for soap trade with Rebecca pretty much wiped my inventory out of teas... so I had to do a bit more blending!

My Earl Grey Creme IS back, and on sale!

My Starry Night is BACK too!

~Anne

The Return of T-Sacs and Earl Grey!

Happy Autumn, everyone! To be truthful, it's beginning to feel a bit more like Winter than Autumn here in the Pacific Northwest... we've been experiencing some rather chilly weather indeed! Most of the leaves have fallen, although there are a few trees till holding on to their lovely Autumn display for a bit longer... and they're still quite breathtaking!


I do love the "nude" winter look of most trees too, I must admit. I do love to see the line, the curve, the movement of the branches... it's very inspiring to me artistically.


I recently got more T-Sacs in stock! I know that one or two customers were asking about them, I'm going to have to review my archived emails to see who so that I can notify you!


Earl Grey Creme tea will be back in stock within 10 days too!

On a more downbeat note, I've had to take the 3 mini-tin samplers off the website for the time being... Not only will I be offering my sampler tins along side my full size tins at the Artisan's Fair in December, but I am also sending a large quantity of full sampler tins to Rebecca of Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen to offer at her own similar type craft fair. We traded equal amounts of tea to soap... so I'll be selling some of her delicious smelling soaps, and she'll be selling some of my delicious teas! It's a very wonderful arrangement, one I'm very excited about!

But not to worry, sampler fans, I will have the 3 tin sampler back up after the holiday season, if not before! I just need as many tins as I can get my hands on at this point!

Special Requests? Office Gift Giving? I am doing a couple of special requests from customers who want to give their co-workers the gift of tea this Holiday season. I put together little samplers -- like the samples you get with every order -- in a little package, and it makes a wonderful little gift. Pair it with a tea mug from the dollar store and you have a great gift that will remind them of you throughout the year!

Interested? Just email me at anneliberteas@yahoo.com and I'll work with you to put together something that will knock their socks off!

The Winter Wonderland tea may be put on haitus for the time being, as I mentioned before. I just can't get the flavor I was hoping for with it... so I'm going to need to work on the recipes a bit more. I did, however, get some pleasing ideas for an Autumn Harvest tea... which with a bit more tweaking of the recipe, I may just have a seasonal offering for Autumn next year!

So, that's all for now. Thanks for reading along! For those of you who catch my newsletter, I'll be posting one within the next day or so with some intriguing offers!

~Anne

Well........

After testing the first batches of my Winter Wonderland blend, I am not completely happy with either outcomes... so, sadly these will probably not be ready in time for the tea of the month for December, but possibly it will be ready for January's tea...

It's a bit of a disappointment, really, because I had hoped to have the blend ready for the Homecoming Celebration in December, as I will be hosting a table at the artisan's fair. But, oh well, I suppose I will just have to be content to serve the Breakfast Blend and the Candy Shoppe at my table...

I will also be featuring soaps from Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen at my table. I received the box of soaps in the mail yesterday, and let me tell you, if you haven't been to Rebecca's website yet, you should make your way there NOW and try some of her delicious smelling soaps. I strongly recommend the Spiced Cider Soap -- this one reminds me of those cold, wintery nights when I was a kid, and gramma would make a hot, steamy cup of apple cider. Yummy!

I also recommend the Spiced Cranberry Soap & the Peppermint Cocoa Soap. Both of these smell oh soooooo good too! I don't think I could select just one favorite!

In addition, I will have some lovely teapot cozies to sell, and some altered domino ornaments that I've been making. Let's hope we have a successful trip to the artisan's fair!

~Anne

it's been a while!

Well, I'm sorry about that... I have neglected my tea journal once again!

I've been working on several new blends... well, one of them is not so new... It's one that I had been working on for a while a year or so ago, but, I shelved it as I wasn't getting quite the flavor I was looking for... so I thought I'd try again.

That flavor is what I will probably call "fresh cookies" or "warm cookies" ~ a tribute, so to speak, to my gramma... or more specifically, my gramma's kitchen. There are few flavors and scents more comforting than the smell of cookies baking in the oven... nothing transports me back to being a young girl, helping my gramma in the kitchen, than the fragrance of cookies, freshly baked! This blend will probably not be done until around February, because, I have another tea priority at the moment, and that is...

My Winter Wonderland blend. I have a couple of different recipes "brewing" as we speak, and in about a week, I will be sampling them both and seeing which I like best (well, I'm hopeful that I will like at least one!) and it will be my special wintery flavor that I blend only one time a year. I wanted something that was very reminiscent of those flavors that remind one of the holiday season -- cinnamon spice, orange, vanilla, and possibly cranberry. We shall see how the recipes work out... more on that when it's ready for production!

Anyways, so that's what I've been up to. I need to get busy now... and get my daughter off to school! Thanks for reading along!

~Anne

What's new at Liber-TEAS?

Hi Everyone: It's been a while since I've posted an update here, and there have been some changes!

First, my Masterpiece Chai is back in stock! And NOBODY is happier about that than I! I have missed my delightfully spicy Chai tea! I love chai lattes! And it's been quite enjoyable served iced as well as hot!

Second, I finally am offering my tea of the month club memberships once again! I'm so glad that I can offer these again, they've been very popular, and even while I wasn't offering them, I kept my existing memberships active... and have developed quite a following with it!

Speaking of tea of the month, my tea of the month for August is La Vert Pear! My batch of La Vert Pear isn't yet ready for shipment, but you can pre-order it now. It will be ready for shipping just after August 20th! Yum! This is one of my very favorite teas to serve as an iced tea. The flavor profile is absolutely refreshing and stimulating for those hot, lazy days of summer!

Well, that's all for now, thanks for checking in on me!

~Anne

Iced Tea Time!

I have been enjoying a lot of iced tea lately. I still love my hot tea, of course, but, when it gets warmer in the afternoon, the iced tea sure is refreshing! I've been playing a lot with the flavors of my iced teas... in other words, I've been more bold in what I'm willing to try iced! Before, I wouldn't have dared to use my chai teas or my breakfast blends in my iced teas, but, I'm getting more daring!

It kind of happened by 'chance' -- I had made a pot of breakfast blend for my morning hot tea. And I only drank one cup from my 2 cup pot (well, actually, it's a 4 cup pot, but I use larger MUGS for my hot tea most of the time, and my large mug can accomodate the same amount of tea as my smaller tea cups), and rather than wasting my now cold, brewed tea, since I was making a new batch of iced tea, I decided to just add that tea in to my tea pitcher.

And... since I had only brewed those tea leaves once, I decided to go ahead and brew them a second time, and add that freshly brewed tea to the tea pitcher too. Then, I brewed up some fresh strawberry tea (which is now sold out ... sorry!), and filled the same tea pitcher with the strawberry tea. The resulting iced tea was just amazing! The strawberry flavors mingled with the light vanilla flavors from the breakfast blend... lending it a sort of strawberry and cream flavor! So delightful and refreshing!

Since that particular batch was so successful, the next batch I tried was my Masterpiece Chai (I'm blending a new batch and I needed to sample it to make sure I was on the right track!) ... and wow! I love the spicy flavor to the iced tea. I was unsure of this at first, because I LOVE chai, but, my love had been just for the hot tea, blended with milk. But ohhh... the spice in the chai when it's chilled without the milk is very nice too!

So many yummy flavors -- only 2 iced tea pitchers! haha!

~Anne

June 22, 2007

Hello Everyone:

Just a really quick update to let you know what teas are available (and, I guess, more to the point, which ones aren't!)

Red Velvet: (June's tea of the month) I sold out of this delicious tisane this morning, not sure when I'll be restocking it!

Creamy Irish Breakfast Blend: I have one more package of this left! If this is one that you've been wanting, better get yours NOW! I won't be restocking this one until late next February.

Momoko Melon Oolong: This one is IN now, and ready for shipment. It's the PERFECT tea for this hot weather! It's so deliciously refreshing when served over ice! YUM!

Cherry Almond: This is one is so luxuriously smooth and delightful. Only 1 package left!

Formosa Oolong~Choicest: Is still on special... but not for long! I put this on temporary 'clearance' to help clear out some over-stock... and then it will go back to it's regular price.

So that's all of this update for now. Enjoy!

~Anne

June 19, 2007

Hi Everyone! It's been a while since my last post, but now that I've decided to dedicate this blog to my tea blending activities and create a new one for my art, I'm only posting in this one when there are events concerning tea!

And tea blending can take a lot longer than artwork!

But... it's well worth the wait! Case and point: My Momoko Melon Oolong Tea is HERE and ready for shipment now! This is one of my very favorites served iced... and it's rare when I can say this, but, I actually prefer it iced! Most teas are enjoyable served iced, but few are EVEN MORE refreshingly delicious served iced than served hot. My Momoko Melon Oolong is an exception... smooth Oolong flavor blended with the sweetness of summertime melons! So good!

In the Blender:

I'm currently working on my Masterpiece Chai. I expect that it will be ready by mid-July.

Tea of the Month:

June's tea of the month is Red Velvet Tisane! This is a favorite of mine served iced too! Nice and fruity! It's a blend of Pear & Blood Orange ~ sweet and juicy ~ and naturally caffeine free!

July's tea of the month will be my Momoko Melon Oolong.

Other Specials:

I'm having a Clearance Special right now -- 30% off the regular price of the following teas:

Cherry Almond Tea ~ Smooth, Luxurious, and just the right touch of sweetness make this a tea that's difficult to resist! but you better hurry, at the time of writing this, I only have 1 order left!

Creamy Irish Breakfast Blend ~ Creamy Caramel Vanilla Flavor blended with the traditionally bold flavor of Irish Breakfast. It's so good! Hurry -- just 1 left!

Formosa Oolong - Choicest ~ This is the PERFECT Oolong! I have plenty of this available, but only a few packages on sale!

That's all for now! Thanks for reading along!

~Anne