Tag Archives: looseleaf tea

LONDON 2024 – 5th Installment – Tea Stop #4

August 12, 2024 Admin (kateri) Leave a comment

Postcard Teas

Long-time customer, Joanne, told me about this tea shop. They operate in a unique manner. For walk-in shopping, you can only purchase small quantities of tea (approx 20-50gm*) packaged in a postcard sized box that can be mailed to friends or loved ones, or keep for yourself! [*Larger quantities can be purchased by advanced order.]

They offer a wide and varied selection, and all of their teas come from small-hold farms (average maximum of 15 acres, and most are 5 or fewer acres), and each of their tea “postcards” tells a brief story of the farm it came from.

They also have a selection of very high-end handcrafted teapots, cups, and gaiwans

They do not offer any wholesale terms, but I really like the way they are supporting small farms/farmers and fostering the art of handcrafted teas. Visit their website. Support small farmers.

I brought back a lemon black for Lori (that she proclaims is “divine”) and a lemon rooibos blend to compare against our ginger citrus (haven’t done a side by side yet). It is probable that I will be placing orders as I get a chance to explore more of what they have (and bring in some of that lemon black, heh heh).

If YOU want to try only 1 or 2 smaller packages of tea – would you like to go in with us for an order – as shipping is free on orders of £150? ….. [feel free to comment on this post – what do you think of this idea?]

How it could work:

First order deadline of 9/15 – If you see something you would like to try, please call Kateri at the shop to pre-pay for your tea. Actual USD amount will depend upon the exchange rate at the time the credit card is processed. (When I made my purchases in the store, USD was 1.3 x the British £ price.)

I will collect 1.2 x the price displayed on their website and we can settle up any differences when you pick up your order. I will email you a copy of whatever receipt or tracking they give me – so you can follow along until it comes in.

Next installment – Last Tea Stop #5 – Chinese Tea Company

Favorite Tea, General, News, Tea Info

London 2024 – 4th Installment – Tea Stop #3 – Mei Leaf Tea

August 7, 2024 Admin (kateri) Leave a comment

As many of you know – sourcing quality post-fermented teas – like puerhs and hei cha (dark tea) has been an ongoing challenge for me. Occasionally I have been able to get some special teas from my friend Eric (Fragrant Cup) who is most knowledgeable in the area of Chinese teas. So, I asked him if he had any suggestions for London shops and he turned me on to two that I got to visit, and intend to source from going forward, and I hope will have finally resolved our post-fermented tea “shortage”.

The first is Mei Leaf tea. They do sell retail online, so some of you may have heard of them before. What I focused on from them this time is more yellow teas and some “puerhs”. Because I was able to sign up for wholesale terms I was able to bring in more from here than most of my other stops. I have not yet had an opportunity to personally try much of what I bought. I did enjoy a glass of iced purple leaf tea during my shopping excursion. It was quite refreshing, but not significantly different than anything we currently offer.

Available now in shop and online: GABA Oolong, 2 of the 3 Yellow teas, a couple of Puerh bings (White Shou and a Sheng), and a really cool glass tea brewer (8oz)

Amber GABA Oolong – organic oolong version that we have not offered for a couple of years. Tea researchers discovered that by exposing tea to nitrogen during the oxidization process brings forth the naturally occurring (gamma-aminobutyric acid) GABA amino acid compounds in tea. GABA is a natural chemical produced in the brain that relaxes the nervous system and reduces anxiety. When we offered this in the past, some customers reported that it did help them with migraines and general relaxation.

Cleveland Clinic article about GABA https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22857-gamma-aminobutyric-acid-gaba

” GABA is present in some fermented foods, including kimchi, miso and tempeh. It’s also found in green, black and oolong tea. Other foods that contain GABA or boost its production in your body include brown rice, soy and adzuki beans, chestnuts, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, sprouted grains and sweet potatoes. ….. Like supplements, it’s not fully clear if eating GABA-containing foods allows GABA to reach your brain. More studies, with large numbers of people, need to be conducted.”

Yellow tea is very rare. Originally only available in China, it was considered a gift or tribute tea to the Emperor. As you may now know, Great Mississippi Tea Company is successfully producing a yellow tea as well {we are currently sold out on our stock}

We are offering 3 versions of yellow tea – try one, try all three and see what differences you note!

The Mei Leaf website offers a wealth of educational information, and we will be exploring and learning together!

If you browse and find teas you would like us to offer in the future, please let me know. Here is a link to a great video describing essential info about tea production (about an hour long)

Your comments and questions are welcome here!

Next installment – Tea Stop #4 – Postcard Teas

General, News

Summer at the Tea Shop

July 4, 2024 Admin (kateri) Leave a comment

If you’ve been visiting us regularly you know we’ve added quite a few teas and new tea wares in the past year or so. Being able to open the shop floor up has improved cash flow and provided the funds to bring in more of what I hope you want to see and Share. Several new teas this year are a result of Customer Requests – Peaches and Cream, Buckingham Palace Garden Party, a Green tea Chai (custom blend), Earl Grey Crème (hitting the racks next week), to mention a few.

The celebration of our country’s birth seems a fitting time to announce that we NOW Have USA Grown Tea IN The Shop, and on the website, from Great Mississippi Tea Company. We are Very excited to finally be able to Share This with You.

Great Mississippi Tea Company (GMTC) planted their first tea bushes about the time we were opening in Maplewood and Kateri has been following their progress.

It takes at least 5 years to be able to harvest enough leaf to be commercially viable, and they have been adding tea bushes and learning and growing their farm, and garnering awards at tea competitions over all this time. The teas are sustainably grown without the use of pesticides or fungicides. GMTC is at the forefront of encouraging and helping to educate other farms and individuals who want to grow tea in the U.S.

I missed out on wholesale purchasing last year – because they have only what they can harvest and process in a given year. The 4 options of teas you can purchase from us right now is new 2024 harvest, made into a black, green, oolong, AND a yellow tea.

Good Yellow tea is hard to find outside of China – and truthfully, I have not yet tasted it and I am still learning about how it is made and what makes it different. The teas just arrived Wednesday. We will brew some up for sampling this Saturday, and are looking forward to learning more about it along with you!

I brought in only 1oz packages to start, as an introduction. Pricing is comparable to other of our farm direct, hand-crafted teas. Give us a week or so and we will be breaking down 1 or 2 packages into our usual Trial Size offerings for those of you on a budget, because Everyone should have an opportuni-tea to enjoy Good, Real tea.

Visit the Comings & Goings page for more New tea info

We’ve also come up with two more specialty matcha flavors – Chocolate Mint, or Ginger. We originated these as a latte, and they take a few minutes to prepare (like our Butter Beer, if you remember that one). For the freshest, tastiest experience we brew everything to order.

Traveling Tea