Day 2 Strawberry - 25 Days of Tea Sampling

A beautiful winters morning to you and welcome to Day 2 of Teaporia's 25 Days of Tea Sampling.

Today's Teaporia tea sampling will be from our tea bag selection in Strawberry. Not to be confused with our loose leaf Wild Strawberry.

I do love berries so I was looking forward to this mornings cup of tea more than usual. As I was sipping this brew, wrapped up in my Snuggie at 5:00 a.m. the soft aroma of this delicate tea was comforting.

Our strawberry tea is mild, light, with an airy fruity flavor (not to be confused as I said with our Wild Strawberry which is a fuller bodied strawberry flavor) and I sweetened it with a 1/2 teaspoon of raw honey.

Strawberry tea has plenty of trace minerals, high in calcium, iron in abundance as well as one of the highest naturally occurring sources of vitamin C and adding the honey verses sugar gives you even more health benefits.

This made for a wonderful morning cup tea and would go well with breakfast or an afternoon snack of fresh fruit and cheese with crackers or try one of our bakery mixes and preserves!

Comes in tea bags only for $2.49 12 bags per package.

Until tomorrow,

Raising The Tea Cup,

Day 1 Vanilla Cream - 25 Days of Tea Sampling

Ahhh good morning. Today's tea sample is from our Teapoia black tea category, Vanilla Cream.

Teaporia Tea Description: Vanilla Cream

A delicious synergy between excellent high grown tea, rich fresh vanilla and a lovely cream character. You'll enjoy the decadence!

Consultant assessment: Very rich in vanilla flavor that lingers on the top of my palette. Not over powering but the presence of vanilla is not missed with a creaminess that calms the vanilla down and that is what keeps it from being over powering.

The Vanilla Cream truly is a decadent tea and flavor that I would recommend for afternoon tea with cookies or an evening dessert tea.

Try a sample of Vanilla Cream (in loose tea) today for only .50 cents. Also available in tea bags comes 12 per package at $2.49.

Until tomorrow,

25 Days of Tea Sampling

Good morning and happy Tuesday to my tea-loving readers!

Today begins my kick off of the 25 Days of Tea Sampling with Teaporia! Boy, that should be hard, NOT! Being the tea drinker that I am, gosh, I guess I will have to twist my own arm in trying out flavors...grins...

We have a lot to choose from (about 150 flavors) and I am a creature of habit like many and get in a "rut" drinking my favorite flavors only and not expanding my horizons beyond my daily norm, how silly is THAT? Hence the 25 Days of Tea Sampling and giving a critique on each flavor I try.

So, follow along for the next 25 Days with me and let's get to the tea tasting (hard part lol) of it all! Hey, and don't be afraid to leave your comments, thoughts, suggestions or whatever is buzzing through your tea loving mind, I'd love to hear from you!

PS. Why 25 Days? Because I carry a sampler pack of tea bags with a 25 count and thought it best to start there :-)

Raising The Tea Cup,

The Raspberry Tea Leaf

Intro

Raspberry tea is very popular, especially here in the states and more so during the warmer seasons of the year. Nothing like a tall glass of cool, refreshing raspberry tea when lounging by the pool or a piping hot cup to relax with by the fire during winter.

Whether hot or cold this tea leaf holds many benefits besides tasting good.

The Raspberry Leaf is known by several names such as: Rubus idaeus, Red Raspberry, Raspberry, and Wild Raspberry.

This is a very pleasant tasting tea that carries herbal remedies along with it. It tastes very similar to black tea but has no caffeine content. The dried leaves are gathered in the springtime just before the plant flowers have the highest antioxidant benefits.

How To Prepare

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1-2 teaspoons of raspberry tea leaves and add to your teapot. Allow leaves to steep for approximately 8-10 minuets based on how strong you care for your tea. Sweeten to your liking and enjoy!

Learn more about the benefits raspberry tea here

Don't forget for the month of February Teaporia is offering 25% off select raspberry teas, get yours today while still on sale!

Have a Tea-riffic Day!
Jamie

Frequently Asked Questions: Teaporia Teas

Teaporia Tea Frequently Asked Questions

I always take customers questions and concerns to heart and make them a priority in getting them answered. Here are the most common ones asked, should you have any questions not listed here please feel free to email me, Jamie Volner at teatimejamie@yahoo.com and I will answer them promptly for you!


Q. Can I store tea in the freezer?

A. No, While coffee can be safely stored in a freezer, tea cannot do to the delicate nature of the tea leaf. When tea is frozen and then thawed the ice crystals that form on the tea leaves will melt and in turn wilt your tea leaf. This not only weakens the tea but will spoil it entirely.

Q. My Earl Grey appears to leave a residue on my containers. Is this normal?

A. Yes, actually it is perfectly normal! Teaporia uses a very high-grade natural flavoring oil in making our Earl Grey that is totally harmless.

Q. What is the best type of tea to use when making iced tea?

A. Great question. The greatest thing about our premium teas is that literally any tea can be used for making a fabulous glass or pitcher of iced tea. We do find however the majority of our customers prefer our flavored Black Teas are among the best they've every had!

Q. What kind of tea goes into your tea bags?

A. Unlike many tea companies that pack their tea bags with low grades of cast off tea, we use premium high quality tea in our teabags. The grades we use are typically CTC (cut or crush, tear & curl), PF (pekoe fannings), dust grade and BP (broken pekoe) grades.

Q. Can tea be safely stored in glass containers?

A. Yes. It is a common myth that tea needs to be stored in opaque containers. In fact, we store all of our teas for tasting in glass jars.

Q. What sorts of tea are used as the base for flavoring tea?

A. To bring value to our clients and give them as many tea options as possible, we use a multitude of teas for flavoring. Black Ceylon teas, Sencha style, green tea, green gunpowder teas, white teas, the list goes on. Unlike some tea companies that use low quality teas as a base, we use only top quality teas that taste fantastic even on their own.

Q. What are your natural flavorings made of?

A. Our natural flavoring oils are made from high quality fruit extract.

Q. Is there caffeine in Rooibos tea?

A. No. Rooibos is deliciously caffeine free. It is high in health giving antioxidants. Besides Rooibos we also carry other select caffeine free teas.

Q. Does Green Tea have caffeine?

A. Yes. Green tea and Black teas come from the same plant, camellia sinensis, and as such both have caffeine in their chemical makeup. Studies appear to indicate that green tea has less caffeine than coffee.

Q. What water temperature should I use for Black Tea?

A. Black tea should be brewed using water that has come to a full rolling boil = 100 C / 212 F

Q. What water temperature should I use for Green Tea?

A. Green tea should be brewed using HOT water that as not reached the boiling point. A lower temperature point is needed for green tea to ensure that the teas remains flavorful. Boiling green tea will make it bitter and also boils out the health benefits of green tea.

Q. Does tea have an expiration date?

A. By storing your teas in a cool, dark and dry atmosphere has a shelf life of several years. Unopened tea that is vacuumed sealed such as Teaporia teas has an exceptionally long shelf life of around 15-20 years. Interestingly, tea is a sterile product and as such is not prone to bacterial degradation.

Scones: History and Tradition

These lovelies are in my opinion the ultimate pastry and treat to go along with any favored cup of tea.

Scones, pronounced Skon with the long O sound is quite in a controversy of it's actual true origins whether it be Scotland, England, Holland/Dutch or Rome.

In Scotland the scone is classified as a quick bread that was originally made with oats and were baked via the griddle where today the scone is flour based and baked in the conventional oven. The Scottish word for scone was derived from Stone (scone) of Destiny, the site where the Kings of Scotland were coronated and crowned.

Scones come in various shapes from triangles, round, square or in diamond shapes and are biscuit like pastries or quick breads as mentioned that are often rolled into round shapes and cut into quarters, baked or griddled resulting in a savory or sweet and are usually eaten for breakfast, afternoon tea time and even today are now served in select coffeehouses.

Dawned with sweet cream, berries, preserves, fresh butter or honey, you choose your favorite way to eat these delightful pastries.

Many seem quite certain that the first scones were actually baked in cast iron pots hanging in the kitchen fireplaces of rural England and the isle of Whales while others believe the scone evolved from the Dutch biscuit, schoonbrot, which means "beautiful bread".

According to Webster's Dictionary, scones originated in Scotland in the early 1500's while they became popular and an essential pat of the fashionable ritual of taking tea in England when Anna, the Dutchess of Bedford (1788-1861), one late afternoon, ordered the servants to bring tea and some sweet breads, which included scones and was so delighted by this decadent pastry, she ordered it every afternoon that they became an English tradition of "Afternoon Tea Time" that was served around 4:00pm and to this day still served with traditional clotted cream in Britain.

One other thought is that the scone may have begun as early as 100 BC, when Roman bakers who were famously known for their confectionery skills, improved on the tradition of throwing wheat at the bride and groom. Instead they baked the wheat into small, sweet biscuits, or scones.

So, while we may never truly know the exact origin of these fine, delicate and delicious pastries, scones will forever remain quintessentially British and you can enjoy them with us here at Teaporia with our award winning River Creek Bakery scone mixes that are easy to make and once you take your first bite the first thing out of your mouth will be "ummmm" and with many different types and flavors to savor with any of your favorite teas from Teaporia Specialty Teas.

Also try our San Saba Pecan Preserves in several delectable flavors like apple pecan, blackberry, orange and more to add to your scone treats.

Sipping Tea In The Garden

It's Wednesday morning 5:00 a.m. and where I live winters are for the most part mild compared to most of the United States. This gives me garden time pretty much year round.

I put my tea kettle on to make myself a morning cup of English Breakfast Tea that I take with one sugar and cream....old fashioned english style and will be heading out to my little garden to tend my plants, vines and flowers as the sun rises.

I love to sip my tea and await my morning visitations from my fine feathered friends and garden companions, hummingbirds and finches. What a great way to start the day! Its no wonder why so many tea lovers adore sitting out in the gardens to have their tea time whatever the time of day it may be.

Here's wishing you a Tea-riffic day!

Tea Fact: Who Invented The Tea Bag

Who Invented The Tea Bag?

Legend has it that Thomas Sullivan, a tea importer from New York City was angry at the high cost of tin boxes that he used to send samples to his customers.

Around 1904 Thomas Sullivan switched to small cloth bags. One recipient that received the cloth bag, brewed a pot of tea by simply pouring hot water over the bag and well, the rest is history!

Many tea lovers consider the teabag one of the worst invention of the 20th century since tea that is brewed loose, is generally much tastier than tea made from dunking tea bags.

It is a common myth that the tea that goes into teabags is lower quality than loose-leaf teas. This usually happens because many companies do in fact use low-grade filler tea, blend it with teas that give a nice color but no flavor and bag it up. The result is a tasteless cup of tea.

Teabags from Teporia, however are rich, flavorful and full bodied - in some cases, better than our competitors' loose teas!

February Monthly Specials Teaporia

Well not sure about you but we are already kicking of month two of 2010 and I am not so sure how that happened so fast!

This means springtime is right around the corner and what a perfect time to hold a garden tea party with some of your closest friends, family and even treat your kids to a fun tea party of their own with our Children's Teas and tea set Collection!

February's Flavor of The Month Specials (Dont forget about Valentine's Day)

Raspberry Delights!

We are offering 25% Off the following teas:

1. A Raspberry In Paris - Brand New to our line of teas! A Raspberry In Paris has wonderful spritely notes of raspberry that come to the fore above mellow rooibos character. Perfect raspberry jam finish.

2. Arctic Raspberry - Great tasting tea. Piquant and fruity raspberry notes. Very flavorful because of its short growing season!

3. Bohemian Raspberry - Green tea with raspberry pieces and natural flavors.

4. Raspberry Honey - Terrific black tea with natural raspberry and honey flavors. Great to the last sip!

5. Raspberry Leaves - These leaves carry a neutral flavor tending towards a grassy character. Many claim this tea is good during pregnancy for the stomach and to help with nausea.

To go with your raspberry delights teas try some of the following Bakery Mixes to go enjoy!

Raspberry Lemon Sparkler Scone Mix - Fresh-baked scones, hot from the oven...Taste the flavor! DELICIOUS!

White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins - Truly decadent, moist and a sure hit for that tea party

Visit TeaporiaTeas.com today for all your Necessi-TEAS!