Tree of Life has been around a long time, I have been  buying their brands since the 80s, I am pretty sure. I haven’t had the chance to try the Fully Loaded brand but they look really interesting.

Flavors include:

• Citrus Spiked
• Goji Force Green
• Naked Strawberry Green  (with rose petals-yum)
• Cucumber Mojo White
• Shameless Berries Fruit Tea
• Bulletproof Currant
• Wild Siberian Fruit Tea

The new agreement with Tree of Life will put the Canadian based company in more stores in the United States, including Whole Foods. If I see some I will grab a few boxes and let you know what I think..but they sure do sound yummy!

Info via PR Newswire, Oct 16, 2009

image: Fully Loaded Tea

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Apparently that rich, volcanic soil that grows such awesome beans also grows tea leaves and the Department of Agriculture is encouraging the producers to grow! grow! grow! I first read aout Hawaiian teas on the New York Times site and then did a quick search to see what I could find out.

Apparently the flavor of Hawaiian grown tea is unique. That makes sense since the climate and soil play a big role in the finished flavor. I found the Hawaiian

I am interested for sure. Here are some producers that I found, everything I see seems to stress sustainable, organic farming and hand picked tea leaves:

Hawaiian Natural flavored teas

Mauna Kea green and oolong

Noone has offered me any yet..when my surgery is over, and I am back on my feet I will try to get some for review. Isn’t it cool though? So, Bigelow has a tea plantation in South Carolina and tea is being grown in Hawaii… not quite local..but still close!

Sustainable, organic, artisan hand crafted…I think they are playing my song.

image:Marye Audet

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Grand-daughter Amanda (front), son Chris, daughter Kyrie(back) 6/08

image:Erin Myers, used by permission

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Tea producers in East Africa like green tea best, even if it is black.

Production costs for the region’s 177 tea factories are high, meaning that the actual profit on the tea is lower than it could be. Raising prices will not allow Africa to compete in the world market so Africa has decided to lower costs. Theywill do this by constructing hydro-electric power companies to produce electricity for the tea factories. This is expected to lower processing by fifty percent. Since the factories are all located favorably for hydro-electric power this is one of the best solutions to an economic problem I have seen.

Behold, the power of water.

Hyrdo-electric power is electricity generated by the force of  rapidly moving water. Often it is water that is falling a long distance, like Niagara Falls. It is one of the most sustainable forms of electricty, producing no direct waste. There is less carbon dioxide produced than with energy plants powered by fossil fuels. This is a good thing. Less carbon dioxide means fewer greenhouse gasses.

Hydro-electric power is not without environmental disadvantages. The surrounding eco-systems can be changed dramatically. The water is generally a higher temperature as it comes through the dam and may cause a disruption of the various species of fish. However, considering the various advantages and disadvantages, from my scanning of the story it seems like a great option.

It looks like their tea may be green even if  it is black or white.

Hey, maybe we can get these guys to give the United States auto industry and banking industry some pointers. Cut costs? Come up with innovative solutions that don’t include government bailouts? What a great concept.

image:Wikipedia

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All you need to do is come up with the wining blend of tea. The contest runs from now until August 16, 2009. You just need to go to the site, look through the hundreds of teas, and create magic.

That’s not so hard is it?

There are some seriously good prizes even if you don’t win the grand prize. Besides they will sell the winning blend in their stores. Now, how many people get to say that they created a tea blend?

We created out own signature tea for the tea room. We went to a local roaster/tea blender and told her basically what we were looking for. She blended and flavored and came up with our Cameo Rose Custom Blend, which we still buy. It is lemon, blackberry and rose in a long leaf jasmine base and it makes the best sweet tea ever.

It was great fun doing that, experimenting with different possibilities and all. And people kind of look at you funny when you say you have your own custom blended tea. That’s fun, too.

So…head over to Teavana, check it out and give it your best shot. And when you win, remember us little people.

image:sxc

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Stash has published a Guide to Bed and Breakfast Inns which is available for less than five dollars when you purchase three boxes of any Stash tea at you local grocers or with a ten dollar purchase online.

There are few things more romantic or luxruious than a weekend get-away. This might be an awesome way to do it. This offer is good, as for as I can tell, through June 2011. Even if you are not a spontanious type of person this gives you plenty of time to plan!

image:SXC

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I am glad they liked it enough to say it was their best dessert ever…..

image:marye audet

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The flavors they are offering are:

Organic Green Tea Acai White Cranberry : Regarded as a miracle fruit by many, the acai berry’s tantalizing tropical flavor blends exquisitely with white cranberry to create a uniquely flavorful green tea.

·          Organic Green Tea Original Green: The pure, clean flavor of perfectly brewed, all natural green tea … light, refreshing and rich in nutritional benefits.

·          Organic Green Tea Lemon Ginger : Delightfully subtle yet tart, its delicate, lemony flavor is balanced with the gentle spice of ginger.

·          Organic Green Tea Mango Lychee : Fantastically fruity! Juicy mango and exotic lychee combine for a unique and delectable taste of refreshment.

They are made with organic sugar cane and sound like they might be a nice change from cokes and other heavily sweetened drinks when you want something besides water or plain sweet tea.

I wish that when companies send out press releases they would also send samples because it is really hard for me to talk about something I haven’t tried. I like Bigelow Teas, and I like that they are increasingly becoming more involved with organics. Arizona has always made really good stuff so I expect this will be good as well.  How could you go wrong with Green Tea, Mango, Lychee? YUM! Anyway, if they offer me a sample I will let you know what I think. If you happen to try it, let me know what you think…deal?

image: courtesy of Bigelow, used by permission.

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Now it seems that white tea is the magic melter of fat cells.  Researchers studied people and found that those who drank four or more cups of white tea a day lost an average of four to eight pounds with out making other dietary changes.

White tea is said to increase the metabolism and decrease appetite. Perhaps it does.  If you want to give white tea a try be sure to use organic and you will need to drink over four cups per day.

I could find no information on how long it took to see weight loss.  I would be curious about this. personally.  I still think that the only reason to drink tea is because you enjoy it.

White tea has a more delicate flavor than other teas.  If you are going to try this let me know if it works!

image:maryeaudet (c) 2009

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A woman in the Birmingham Alabama area  was shot at, I assume, close range by her husband. He then shot himself.

Being a woman, she got a rag to hold to her head an went and did what any sensible person would do.

She made a cup of tea.  When the police got  there she offered the deputy a cup as well.  Now that is true, Southern hospitality right there, y’all.  The police said she seemed disoriented.

Ya think?

Probably the cup of tea perked her right up.

I find this an amazing story for several reasons but with the tea aspect to it I absolutely had to share it with you.

You can read all of the details, and the whole story at Associated Press.

image:SXC

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