I don’t know if you have ever bought tea online from the English Tea Store but they have some awesome tea and tea items. Until November 14 (2009)  you can get free shipping on an order of $20.00 by adding coupon code fall09.

We used to buy this tea when we had the tea room and I can tell you that the tea is very high quality. One of our favorites was called Casablanca, also one of Marc and my favorite movies! The prices are very reasonable and the coupon code makes it impossible to turn down a few tins of …read more

O.k. browsing the internet today I came across a really cute idea. These homemade tea bags  are just awesome. They would make incredible Christmas gifts for the tea lover for sure.

I found them at Bonzai Aphrodite, which may be added to my top ten, because the blog, images, and stuff is amazing. Hey, you know I am impressed; I said awesome, incredible, and amazing in the first 55 words! Basically you take unbleached cheesecloth and fill it with your own personal tea blend. The result is an adorable, whimsical, cozy looking array of tea bags that would look fantastic in …read more

I have wanted to do this temperature chart for brewing different kinds of tea for awhile and I keep forgetting about it.
Were you aware that different types of teas had different optimum brewing temperatures? Well, it is true, and you can coax the most flavors out of the tea leaves when you bathe them at their favorite heat. Why?

Well, each type of tea is made differently. Some is more delicate than others and some needs massive amounts of heat to get every molecule of flavor. Do your own taste test and see if you can’t tell the difference.
Black Tea- 203F …read more

I have never owned an electric tea kettle like this. I am used to the plastic ones you get at the dollar store that my mom used to use…
I made a huge decision that had been in the works a long time. About a month ago I got rid of the microwave. I think it wastes energy, but more than that it was making me a lazy cook…and since we are also trying to move toward an off grid lifestyle it needed to go.

I kept meaning to get a kettle but didn’t do it and then a few weeks ago …read more

I love chai and there are so many varieties of it that there are plenty of new ones to try. My favorite chai is homemade – infusing half and half with spices and adding it to black tea. However, there are some very good commercial chais and many of them as close as your grocers.

Here is my dilemma, of course. I prefer loose tea but the nearest tea shop is Teavana at Northpark and that is a good 30 minutes away. Not far but my days are not so leisurely that I can head to the mall very often. I …read more

Autumn has just started and here in the Dallas area it is chilly. I am hoping we get a nice, white winter for a change. It is mornings like this that you want to linger over something comforting and hot and yummy. It’s mornings like this when you need the perfect tea recipe.

Try this when you need something to warm you up.
Cranberry Ginger Tea Recipe

2 teaspoons loose Black tea (your choice but try this Black Dragon Pearl by Teavana)
2 cups hot water (just under the boil)
6 tbs sliced, peeled, fresh ginger
1/2 cup cranberry juice (warmed)
1/2 cup cranberries
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of …read more

I know that lately Kettle and Cup has been more Cup than Kettle but there is a good reason for that. Apparently coffee roasters are a more generous bunch than purveyors of fine teas because I regularly am offered coffee for sampling and reviewing and tea companies prefer that I pay cold hard cash.
Since cold, hard cash has been a little elusive around the Audet household lately I have been drinking coffee.

There are a number of teas out there, perfect for Autumn, that you need to try if you like tea.

Do you love green tea? Do you think it is healthiest when drunk plain or with a little honey? Well you may be wrong. Researchers at Purdue university have found that the good stuff in green tea (called catechins) is more readily absorbed into the blood stream when…(get ready for it) sugar and lemon are added.

Now there is a study that I can get behind. I really like green tea…when there are other things added, including sugar and orange, sugar and tangerine, or sugar and lemon. Personally I think green tea by itself tastes like hay.
If you have been avoiding …read more

I said on Baking Delights that summer should run from Memorial Day to Labor Day. It just seems right. Everything that happens after Labor Day is just sort of insipid…summer packing up to leave like a three day guest on day six.

This chai latte sort of eases the transition from summer to autumn with those amazing chai spices…but thick and icy cold. Say goodbye to summer tonight, sitting on your porch with some friends and sipping this….
Iced Chai-Coconut Frappe

1 cup your favorite chai, made double strength and cooled
1/4 cup sweetened coconut milk, like Coco Lopez
1 oz Amaretto or 1 tbs …read more

Bigelow has a tea plantation in South Carolina. There are tea plantations in Hawaii. Now there soon may be a tea plantation in Washington State.

Tea, which has been grown in Asian countries traditionally seems to be finding its way onto, or maybe INTO American soil. It is an interesting idea, and exciting that tea could be a bit more locally produced and sourced.
You have to wonder what kinds and varieties of flavors you would end up with. Where tea is grown, the soil, and the climate makes a difference in the finished product. Areas like Washington mimic some of the …read more