Lizzy's Corner — cold brewing

During the summertime, don't we all find ourselves drinking more iced tea, especially in the afternoons? We discovered cold brewing a few years ago, and it’s simplified how we make iced tea. Here are the very easy steps: Fill a pitcher or large glass with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon of loose leaf (1 tablespoon for whites or “flufflier” teas) for every 8 ounces of water. Use a tea infuser, paper tea filter or a pitcher with a built-in tea infuser (all available at lizzykate.com). Place in the refrigerator for 6+ hours (we do ours the night before and let...

You may have heard iced tea was invented at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. From our research, it’s more appropriate to describe it as “iced tea was popularized” at the Fair because recipe books and other materials refer to iced tea long before 1904. Since the late 1800s, Americans in the southern part of the US have enjoyed cold tea. They would let hot tea cool down in the summertime and drink the cooler tea. If they could afford ice, they added ice to cool it even more. At the World’s Fair in 1904 an Englishman named Richard...

This month we included a pack of paper tea filters with the LizzyKate Tea Club packages. These are one of our favorite tea accessories, especially when we’re traveling or making large quantities of iced tea – we hope you’ll do a lot of both this summer! When we travel, we pack some of these filters plus an assortment of LizzyKate tea and make tea with the hot water and cups in the hotel room, condo or friend’s house. It’s super easy to dispose of the filters once you’ve made the tea, which also makes them a great option for making...

This month we’re focusing on herbal blends. Also known as herbal infusions or tisanes, herbal blends are not technically teas because they aren't made from tea leaves. Instead they're made from flowers, spices, seeds and other botanical ingredients. Since ancient times, herbals have been used to treat illness and provide relaxation. They're popular with people looking for a warm, relaxing beverage without caffeine. Chamomile is a well known herb for drinking before bedtime either on its own or in a blend. We carry: Chamomile: whole chamomile blossoms Seattle Sunset: chamomile, rosehips, peppermint and many other herbs Weatherproof: aniseeds, chamomile, sage...

Welcome to spring! This month we’re highlighting the category of white tea. White teas are the least processed of all teas. After picking, the tea leaves are spread out to dry, rather than processed like other types of tea. Some white teas are dried naturally in the sun and some are dried in specially prepared rooms. Subtle, sweet and vegetal flavors are the common characteristics of white teas. As a result, white teas make a great base for tea blending because they don’t overwhelm other ingredients such as herbs and dried fruit. Some of our favorite white tea blends are:...

Mother's Day is just around the corner and we're celebrating all of the wonderful moms out there with 15% off all teas, teaware, chocolate and accessories at LizzyKate.com*! Use the promo code: FORMOM15 (expires May 9).Here are some ideas to get you started or to pass along as hints to kids and husbands: Tea + Dilettante Chocolate Gift Sets make a thoughtful, delicious Mother's Day gift for the special mom in your life. 3 Tea Gift Sets include an assortment of tea packaged in an attractive gift box. Choose from different types of tea: black, green, and herbal. Iced Tea...

The Super Bowl is almost here! As loyal Seahawks fans, the LizzyKate Team will be drinking hot green tea and cold brewed blue-berry tea. We plan to start our day with Sencha Asamushi green tea. There's caffeine in it to jumpstart the day and also the amino acid L-theanine which is a brain calmer and helps you avoid the type of crash coffee can give you. The night before the big game we'll cold brew two 2-quart pitchers of Blueberry Fields tea. For each 2-quart pitcher, add 6-8 heaping teaspoons of the loose leaf tea to a paper Tea Filter...

We've had a busy holiday weekend with visitors from Minnesota, tea tasting and a very exciting football game. My cousin and her husband are visiting Seattle for the first time together, and in addition to taking in the usual Seattle sights (Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, Snoqualmie Falls, plus many more), they've been sampling and learning a lot about tea. They had their first formal introduction to tea at the "Experience Green Teas" class at the Experience Tea store in Issaquah. The owner, Roberta, explained how all true tea comes from the same tea plant (camellia sinensis) and that green...

Last week we hosted our launch party and invited over a bunch of family and friends to help us celebrate. Of course, we had a number of different teas for people to try and they all seemed to enjoy them.  We also had three different cocktails that we put out and many folks asked for the recipes. Here they are:   Blueberry Bomb Equal parts Grand Marnier and Amaretto Add approximately a 5-to1 ratio (mix to your taste) of cold brewed Blueberry Fields Add a generous splash of grenadine Add a less generous splash of Rose's Lime Juice Arnie's Slice Gin...

OK, I have to admit I never thought about serving tea at Thanksgiving until this year. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Black tea and oolong go well with appetizers, and fruit teas and herbal infusions pair well with dessert. Plus tea is a great option for teenagers, designated drivers and those who don't drink alcohol. You can cold brew some tea the night before for those who prefer cold beverages but don't want the calories of soda and thirst for something with flavor. Here are some tea recommendations divided by caffeine and non caffeine. Teas with...

If you're like me, you always have a drink of something at hand.  In my early years it was coffee or diet cola. Add twenty years, a couple of kids and an overly sedentary job driving a computer, and you can guess the results - too much weight and an unhealthy addiction to caffeine. So when my wife, who has been a tea aficionado forever, got serious about getting a tea business going, and looking at the possible ruin of my health in a few short years, I decided that it was high time to give tea a serious try. My...