Lizzy's Corner — tea club

Most Americans use the term “tea” for any type of warm drink made from tea leaves or herbs. Technically, only “true tea” which is made from the leaves of the tea plant (camellia sinensis) should be called tea. Herbal and other blends from non-tea plants are called herbal infusions or by their plant name (rooibos, honeybush, chamomile, etc.) At LizzyKate we carry about ten blends with either red or green rooibos as an ingredient. Some interesting rooibos facts: Rooibos is a caffeine-free herb that comes from the Rooibos bush which grows near Cape Town, South Africa. It has gained recent...

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...

How much caffeine is in a cup of tea? That's a great question and difficult to answer because it depends. It depends on the type of tea, the water temperature, the ratio of tea to water, and the length of steeping time. We know that isn't a satisfactory answer so we'll share as much as we've learned in our research of the common questions about caffeine and tea. How does the caffeine in tea compare to the caffeine in coffee? On average coffee contains 2-3 times the amount of caffeine as tea. The caffeine in tea is the same as...

At the base of the Himalayas, the Darjeeling district is located in the West Bengal state of India in the northeast corner of the country. Darjeeling has only produced tea since the 1830s. While trying to grow tea in India, the British discovered the native Chinese tea bush (camellia sinesis sinesis) grew well in Darjeeling's high elevation (the average elevation is 7,000 feet). The British plantations marketed tea from that era as the Champagne of teas, even though the steeped tea was heavy, dark and brisk. In the 1960s Indian processors began to experiment with producing a lighter Darjeeling tea....

One of the most popular questions in the shop is: do we have a traditional English Breakfast tea? As with most tea subjects, the answer is not a simple "yes" or "no." Here's what we learned while researching the interesting history of breakfast tea blends. In the nineteenth century, British tea companies such as Lipton and Twinings created blends of Chinese black teas for British tea drinkers, often using Keemun or Yunnan. English breakfast blends were made to be simple, early morning teas for middle-class consumers.  In the mid- to late-nineteenth century British tea companies began to import tea from India...

This month is the four year anniversary of the LizzyKate online store and the Tea Club! Whether you were in the inaugural group of online customers and tea club subscribers four years ago or joined along the way, we sincerely thank you for your support and enthusiasm. Many of you have ordered tea gifts online and shared LizzyKate teas with your friends and family, and we are very grateful. For our November and December tea clubs, we selected teas that pair well with holiday sweets and perhaps could even substitute for rich dessert. Tea is a great addition at holiday...

Many people confuse the terms “decaffeinated” and “caffeine-free” when it comes to tea. Decaffeinated refers to tea leaves from the camellia sinensis plant which have had the caffeine removed. There may still be some tiny trace of caffeine in the tea, but the vast majority is removed. Caffeine-free blends (also known as herbal infusions) are those without any tea leaves. These blends contain herbs, flowers, dried fruit and spices. All of our decaffeinated teas are decaffeinated using the CO2 process. The caffeine is removed but the tea flavor remains. Decaffeinated teas are a great option if you, a family member...

This month’s tea club includes a tea we named Mt. Fuji Noir. It’s a Japanese black tea which is very unusual to find in Japan, much less in the US. Last year Amy discovered this tea on a tea tour of Japan that started in Tokyo and ended on the island of Kyushu. As you can imagine, the tour members taste tested many types of green tea including sencha, gyokuro, genmaicha, and matcha all day, every day.  Partway through the tour, one of Japanese tea companies served a black tea to the group. Everyone tasted the tea, smiled and quickly...

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...

In a recent Specialty Tea Club package, we included the normal one ounce of each of the three teas. Plus we included a sample of Green Clouds and Mist Supreme which is a premium grade of Green Clouds and Mist (one of the three monthly teas). We recommended that tea club members make a cup of both types of green tea. To do this type of comparison with any two teas, try to use to same amount of tea and water temperature (for this tea, 170-180 degrees). As you’re making and tasting the tea, pay attention to: the dry leaf shape,...

Happy 2016! We hope one of your New Year's resolutions is to drink more tea! To help you with that goal, check out the LizzyKate Tea Club: you'll receive three new teas every month (enough tea to make a total of 25-30 cups) for only $20/month. We promise we won't repeat a tea in a year so you'll have the chance to try thirty-six new teas in a year. Plus there's no long term commitment and you can cancel at any time. You have a choice of either the Specialty Tea Club which includes teas with caffeine or the Caffeine...

This month is the 1 year anniversary of LizzyKate.com! We thank you for your support and enthusiasm. Many of you have taste tested teas for us, rated our products on the site, joined our monthly tea club, and referred your friends and family to LizzyKate.com - we are so very grateful! Over the past year our inventory has grown to: more than 90 types of tea many varieties of teaware multiple tea making accessories and three types of Tea Clubs (Specialty Tea, Caffeine Lite and Combo Club). How far we've come from this blog post announcing the launch of our...