Lizzy's Corner

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...

  Starting Memorial Day weekend, you can save 30% off select teas and teaware in our Spring Clearance! Treat yourself, your family and/or friends to some LizzyKate teas, a new mug, a glass cold brew tea pitcher and more. When you checkout, be sure to use the discount code SPRING30 and shop early because supplies are limited! (Note: the discounted prices won't show until you go through the checkout process.) Visit Spring Clearance.

Greetings from the LizzyKate construction office! After months of negotiations and planning with landlords, architects, designers and contractors, and approvals from the landlord and the city (still working on the Health Department, but that's very close and not yet due), we finally began constructon last week! As some of you may know, we are converting the space from a cafe style service to a tasting room with tea bar. We're doing this so that we'll have not only the ability to sell our teas and related products for making tea at home, but also so we can provide service in the...

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:...

We have some BIG news to share with you! After searching for almost a year, we have landed in a wonderful retail store location in downtown Kirkland. As our local fans know, Kirkland is a cute Seattle suburb located on the northeastern shore of Lake Washington. With boutique stores, sandwich shops, Pacific Northwest-theme restaurants, bakeries and art galleries, downtown Kirkland is a fun destination for an outing with friends or family. Marina Park is one block from our new location, and from spring through fall, the Wednesday Market and Summer Concert series take place there. After launching our online store...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Halfway through my Japan Tea Tour in May 2015, we visited a large matcha processing facility in Uji (south of Kyoto). If you haven't had matcha before, it's a powdered tea that is used in Japanese tea ceremonies. Recently, there's been a "matcha boom" in the US as health conscious consumers add it to their smoothies, baked goods, lattes, etc. There are various grades of matcha, including culinary and ceremonial, and on our tour we were able to see the different processing methods. In order to increase the flavor and color of the tea leaves, the tea plants used for...