Blend of the Month - August

It's certainly been great iced tea weather lately here in Seattle! On Wednesday, SeaTac Airport reported a record-breaking temperature of 103F! It's cooled down today, just in the mid 80s, but it's still important to keep hydrated. And why not drink iced tea? It keeps you hydrated, and you get the bonus of all those healthy anti-oxidants!

Anyway, on to the Blend of the Month - Peaches & Cream!



It's a 50/50 blend of our Vanilla Cream black tea and Decaf August Peach. It may seem odd to blend a decaf tea with a regular black tea, but the peach flavor in the August Peach seemed to match up the best. And really, how could we pass it up for the August blend of the month?

You can get it here in the shop and online all this month.

Caramel Pu-Erh

As some of you may know, we can often special-order teas that we don't normally carry, or seasonal teas in the "off-season". We usually have to order at least a pound or two, so if you have a few friends who want to go in on a special order, that's a great way to make it work.

Anyway, one of our customers recently special ordered a kilogram (it's a Canadian company) of Caramel Pu-Erh, a tea we carried last Winter. They never came to pick it up, so now we're selling it in the store!



Now, I know what you're thinking; "caramel pu-erh? Seriously?" It sounds crazy, but it's actually pretty good. The earthy richness of the pu-erh pairs nicely with the caramel flavor, making it a very satisfying cup. It's probably better in cold weather, but if you store it in an airtight container it should stay fresh until it starts getting cool again.

It's available here on our online store as well as our shop in Seattle.

Blend of the Month - July

Apparently I completely forgot to blog about the blend of the month for July!

This blend is Berries Noir, a blend of our Blackberry, Blueberry and Blackcurrant black teas. Perfect for iced tea, and a lovely hot tea as well.



Berries Noir is available in our shop at Pike Place Market, as well as online.

You'll find it there until the end of the month, but if you don't get some before then, don't worry! As with all of our monthly blends, we can always blend them to order any time of the year (as long as we still have the ingredients.) Just give us a call and ask, or come in the shop.

New Tea Books

We just got some great new tea books in the store!


First is Tea with a Twist by Lisa Boalt Richardson. As befits the name, it is about different ways of preparing tea and food for tea parties in ways you may not have thought of before. In particular, her Tea Sangria sounds quite refreshing this time of year. This book is packed with beautiful pictures and delightful recipes.

Next, Tea For You by Tracy Stearn (also author of Tea Party). This new book is a guide to blending your own custom teas, for yourself or for gifts. It's one of the only books I've seen that is specifically about blending your own teas, and it's got lots of great info. There are also a few recipes for teatime treats tucked near the back of the book.