Lizzy's Corner — tea tips

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 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...

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,...

For a long time we've talked about offering tea sampler sets to allow you to try smaller quantities of multiple types of tea. It was tough to choose which teas to include but we made it happen in time for the holiday season! Each set comes with four 1-ounce samples in a kraft box with our signature tissue paper inside and wrapped in a silver ribbon! These sets are great for any tea lover or tea novice looking to try some fantastic teas. But how do you know which one(s) to choose for yourself or for a gift? Here are...

Before we started our tea journey, we didn’t pay much attention to how long we steeped our tea or the water temperature. Now we know better! Here are some general guidelines: Use the best quality water as possible. Keep a timer nearby and use it every time you make tea (smart phones and microwaves timers work well). Use a thermometer to take the temperature of the water when you want it cooler (a candy or meat thermometer work well). Once you boil the water, you can pour it into a mug to cool for a couple of minutes or add...

During my Tea Tour of Japan, I learned so much about Japanese tea and tea etiquette and want to share a few insights: When you serve Japanese tea to guests, fill each cup up halfway and then go around again to each cup to finish pouring the tea. This way everyone gets a mix of lightly steeped and longer steeped tea. Keep pouring the tea until the last drop – this is the most flavorful part and called the “golden drop.” Pay close attention to the temperature of the water and steeping time. The higher the temperature and the longer...