Lizzy's Corner

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...

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...

In May I traveled to Japan to take part in a Tea Tour of Japan! Dan Robertson of World Tea Tours was the amazing organizer and guide, and the group was a mix of people from the US and UK tea industries. We started in Tokyo and our first stop was Shikuoka near Mt. Fuji. We visited tea fields, several processing plants, a tea museum and a tea auction. As you can imagine, we did a lot of tea tasting at each stop, learning about the differences between sencha, gyokuro, hojicha and other types of Japanese tea. From Shizuoka we...

We shipped our first international package last week to the United Kingdom and it was a really valuable learning event. If you are outside of the US, there are several ways we can go about getting you an accurate shipping cost (we have international shipping set at a default of $100 - don't let that discourage you!). To get a firm quote on getting our products delivered outside the US, follow one of these steps: Fill out your basket and provide all of your shipping information through our website Place the items in which you are interested into the basket. Go...

At the beginning of every month we send out our Tea Club selections with information about the month's teas along with some tea trivia, recipes, history, tea and food pairings, etc. I figured last month's tea history about the countries where tea started would be an interesting blog post too. The five traditional originating countries of tea are: China: Tea started in China thousands of years ago and was consumed initially for it medicinal qualities. Today China is best known for their pan fired green teas. Japan: Buddhist monks brought steamed green tea from Japan to China in the ninth...

With Mother’s Day coming up soon, we invite you to share a memory of experiencing tea with your mother or with your kids. Leave a comment on our Facebook page and we’ll have a drawing from the submissions on May 4, 2015. The winner will receive 2 ounces of Blueberry tea and a box of Dilettante Ephemere Chocolate Truffles. The deadline for submission is May 3 at midnight PDT (US residents only). And remember to use the promo code: FORMOM15 to receive 15% off all items on LizzyKate.com. Please share with your Facebook friends!

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...

Matcha is one of the few teas made from powdered leaves. As noted in this matcha blog post, matcha is made from Tencha green tea leaves. The tea plants are shaded by tarps for a few weeks before the harvest. This boosts the chlorophyll, amino acids and other flavor compounds in the tea leaves. One amino acid called L-Theanine provides a relaxing effect when you drink matcha and other green teas. Matcha has a clean vegetal flavor and sometimes people describe it as an acquired taste. If you haven't tried matcha before, you may want to try it in a recipe...

Recently we attended a benefit dinner for an amazing organization called Village Health Works, a grassroots nonprofit in Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world. VHW and their charismatic founder and CEO, Deo Niyizonkiza, are operating a health center in the remote village of Kigutu, Burundi, as well as building agricultural development programs, educational services and income-generating projects for women. We are very impressed with the progress Deo and VHW have made in a relatively short time, and we invite you to help us support VHW with this discount code: DEO. 10% of your order will go to...

Due to a great response to the Peppermint Bar recipe from the holidays, I decided to try modifying it for Valentine's treats. Instead of the candy canes, I used red, pink and white Valentine M&Ms. You could serve these for a Valentine's Tea with friends or at a larger party. We recommend pairing these bars with a mellow tea like Kenilworth Ceylon black tea or Chocolate Honeybush (caffeine-free).  Ingredients3 cups flour1 teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon salt1½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly1 cup sugar⅔ cup brown sugar2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups Valentines M&Ms 1 cup brown or white chocolate...

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...