A Simply Perfect Mother's Day Gift- Make your mom fall in love with tea this Mother's Day.

I have to tell you, once I started working for a loose leaf tea company my mother was excited but skeptical. My entire life, and her entire life for that matter, we had grown up drinking Lipton, Tetley or Salada tea bags or some other tea bag that was most likely found in a plastic bag, in a Tupperware container, behind the bag of flour, at the back of the lazy susan. Despite the fact that we didn't know much about tea, tea was a part of a somewhat daily ritual, definitely a Saturday or Sunday afternoon ritual complete with biscotti, ricotta pie and friends. Still the idea of loose leaf tea seemed to evade my mother.

She wanted to learn about it, had heard from myself that it was so much better than what we had grown up with, and much better for you, but she wasn't sure that she could handle the process. So around February I sent her and my father their first loose leaf tea package, complete with STEEPING mugs,(my mom got the red one, red is her favorite color, dad got the blue) and the Tuffy Steeper. The tea arrived on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon I get a call while I'm doing a demo of our tea at a local Gourmet Housewares store. I don't pick up. By the time I can get a second to take a look at my phone, my mom has called three times in a half an hour. Now just to note, my parents live in Vermont and I am 2000 miles away, so when she called three times in a short span of time, I get nervous.

I call her back and all I hear when I pick up the phone is "I LOVE this tea!!!" My mom repeated herself, "Oh my God Andrea, I LOVE this tea. I can't believe how good it is and it was so easy to make! I would be happy if I never had another tea bag again!" The tea she was referring to was Red Rocks, our Rooibos tea with vanilla and almonds. "And your father LOVES his Earl Grey," she said. She was so excited that the tea was amazing and that it was easy to make, but was also saddened that she had been missing out on this her whole life! Every day after their tea arrived, I received one or two phone calls a day describing how much she loves her tea and how cozy the mug is. When my mom took a trip down to Boston to see our relatives she had to call me from the car "Do you know how hard my life is right now? The worst thing in my life is that I am going to your grandmother's house, and I know the only tea she is going to have there is Lipton, and all I want is a cup of Red Rocks!!! ". I quickly explained to her that she should have taken her Tuffy Steeper with her and some tea so she could have it on the road. She poo-pooed that idea saying that the Tuffy Steeper was for her office and that she would have to get another one to travel with. You can change some things with my mother, but once she has an idea in her head, its normally not all that easy to change.

So why am I telling you all of this? I am letting you know that I grew up in a family who only drank pretty bland Lipton tea and now my mom is thrilled to have a cup of amazing loose leaf tea every day. Loose leaf tea and a STEEPING cup or mug is a fantastic gift for Mother's Day. For the mom's who are more on-the-go or traveling types, the Tuffy Steeper paired with a tin of tea is a great idea. No more searching or wondering how to get a cost effective and useful gift this Mother's Day! And if your mom or grandmother is anything like my Italian mother who is set in her ways, convince her that making a cup of loose leaf tea can be an everyday luxury and they will be very grateful to you!

Green Tea Infused Fruit Salad

Spring has definitely flirted its pretty little head in March, usually one of the snowiest months in Colorado, but not this year. April has turned out to be snowy but sunny which means spring is right around the corner. Warmer weather, flowers blooming, spring veggies and my favorite...FRESH FRUIT! 

I created this recipe last year for a Mother's Day Tea Cooking Class. To tell you the truth, I never even made it for my mother. Sorry mom!!! But I did make it almost weekly throughout the Spring & Summer. It's a fresh and healthy snack with a hint of slightly sweet simple tea syrup that quenches a sweet tooth and nourishes the mind and body.

Green Tea (BOULDER BLUES) Infused Fruit Salad:

Ingredients: BOULDER BLUES Tea Syrup

• 1/4 cup agave 
• 1 lemon, zest & juice
• 2 TBS BOULDER BLUES Green Tea (or any other fruity green tea)

Preparation:

1. Steep Boulder Blues tea in 4 ounces water at 175° for 2 minutes (Note to bring water to 175° - boil and let cool for 3 minutes). Strain tea leaves. Optional:  Reserve tea leaves for re-steeping...makes a great iced tea!!!
2. Add hot tea to agave and whisk to combine. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Meanwhile cut fruit.

Ingredients: Fruit Salad

• Assorted Seasonal Fruit, any kind you like (Strawberries, Blueberries, Mango, Pineapples, Kiwis, Raspberries, melon, grapes, oranges)
• Fresh Mint Leaves, garnish
• Optional: Ice Cream

Preparation:

1. Cut fruit.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix fruit
3. Fold in simple syrup
4. Garnish with fresh mint leaves
5. Optional: Add on top of ice cream

Mom, I promise to make this special Green Tea Infused Fruit Salad during your Mother's Day trip...See you in a couple of weeks!!!

Fresh Pot of Darjeeling Strikes Anticancer Gold

The following report is taken from today's issue of Physorg - Science, Physics, Tech and Nano News

The research team, headed by Kattesh V. Katti, Ph.D., M.Sc.Ed., principal investigator of the National Cancer Institute-funded Hybrid Nanoparticles in Imaging and Therapy of Prostate Cancer Platform Partnership, literally brewed a fresh pot of Darjeeling tea and added gold salts, which get reduced by phytochemicals already known for their health benefits. Coincidentally, the tea chemicals that regulate the size of these nanoparticles also increase their likelihood of being taken into breast and prostate Cancer cells, improving their potential as targeted anticancer drugs. The nanoparticles are also highly stable in biological fluids.

Dr. Katti says that discovering tea’s nontoxic formation of nanoparticles is of paramount importance for medical and technological applications. He explains that gold nanoparticles have many potential medicinal and technological uses, such as targeted anticancer drugs, but currently their synthesis needs toxic reagents that make them unsuitable for use in the body. The natural chemicals used in this new method are harmless in the body, and the reaction produces no toxic byproducts, only some slightly unusual tasting cold tea.

This work, which was detailed in the paper “Green nanotechnology from tea: Phytochemicals in tea as building blocks for production of biocompatible gold nanoparticles,” was supported by the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, a comprehensive initiative designed to accelerate the application of nanotechnology to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. An abstract is available at the journal's web site.

Information provided by National Cancer Institute

Tea on the Road - It’s getting a lot more interesting for tea lovers to travel in the US

Those of us who are tea fanatics, and/or drink tea like our lives depend on it, all have our own little tricks for getting our fix on the road. How many times have TSA guys been all over my “scissor” tea ball… (I carry my X-ray stealthy TUFFY STEEPER silicone infuser now!) or my Automatic Teapots - “does that thing play a tune?”… And we all know that “place” in every city to rush off to between meetings (Alice’s Tea Cup on the upper West side of New York City; Teaism in Dupont Circle, Washington, DC; the Imperial Tea Court in San Francisco, to name some of my favorites). Well, I’m finding less need to be frenetic about my travel stash any more, as more and more quality tea sellers pop up in new and surprising locations.

On a recent 3-day trip from Boulder to Cleveland and Rochester (a friend of mine offered condolences when I explained why I had to decline a dinner invite that weekend!) I had an amazing cup of freshly steeped tea on all three days away from home, none of which I had to prepare myself!

My departure from the Denver International Airport (DIA) was over an hour after my bus got to the terminal, so I started the trip well by chatting it up with my old friend and owner of the Cof-Tea café on the Main Concourse, Zach McNeal, over my morning standard Bolder Breakfast. Such a great treat to get my favorite breakfast tea, freshly made, at the airport! No longer a chore to have to wait for an arriving or departing flight at DIA with his loose leaf tea selection… Cof-Tea is open early, closes late, and is so central in DIA.

The next day, we had a quick lunch with my older daughter’s boyfriend in Cleveland. He recommended a sandwich place on the Case Western/Cleveland Institute of Music campus called Arabica Café. And oh, what a tea list! All 3 of us got different pots of loose-leaf tea, and they were all great – Japanese Sencha, Russian Caravan, and Oolong. My daughter sheepishly admitted that she never thought she’d find teas to rival what she got at home, until she discovered this place. Definitely fueled our 4+ hour drive to Rochester nicely…

Java’s, the café with an awesome vibe that will warm you inside and out, is located next door to the Eastman School of Music. Not only does it boast a nice tea list, but an entire second room of 20+ teas that you can also purchase in bulk. Way cool. I got to start my chilly Rochester morning with a cup of Puerh and a cup of Assam, then mixing the two and sharing with my daughter.

3 days, 3 locations - with no freshly steeped loose leaf tea until recently - and we enjoyed some of the best teas ever… Yes indeed, Change has come to America!

Simply Green: Focusing on Local, Organic, and Fair Trade- How one coffee shop makes the switch!

Happy Earth Day!

In my travels and conversations, particularly because I live in Colorado, there are many people, stores, restaurants, etc. who live a very green lifestyle and make a conscious effort to do so. Living green can me lots of things. It can mean composting all of your food. It can be recycling all plastics, paper, glass. It can be riding your bike to work, or eating locally grown and organic foods. There are copious ways in which one can be green and one coffee shop in Fort Collins is going for them all.

The coffee shop is called MUGS Coffee Lounge and it's located in the old town Fort Collins on College St. The owners have made a very big move this past March to ramp up their already green efforts, to be a Conscious Consumer is the main focus of their business.

According to MUGS a Conscious Consumer "considers what the environment, social and economic impacts his or her purchases make. Quite simply, the conscious consumer considers the options available, and chooses the most responsible, sustainable, and least harmful option" .

MUGS has become a Conscious Consumer themselves by focusing on organic, fair trade, local, homegrown, reusing, reducing, recycling and composting. By doing so they are not only making an effort to be more green and help the environment, but to pass on this education to their customers. Their menu board indicates when something is Local (l), Fair Trade (ft),Organic (o) and Homegrown (h) which compliments and holds them accountable to the focus and mission of their store and at the same time demonstrates their sustainable efforts to the customers.

There are many ways in which we can be green this Earth Day, one way is to support businesses like MUGS who focuses on their green efforts EVERYDAY! It can be done and as long as each of us are taking some part, some small steps towards being more green, more sustainable, we will be helping towards the greater cause!

Image from: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1539915/earth_day_2009_events_in_the_detroit.html?cat=8

Earth Day: Why Organic, Local, Wild Fish and Loose Leaf Tea...

A glance in my refrigerator revealed a few veggies I bought at the farmer’s market this weekend. After much consideration, I finally convinced myself to sauté the kale that was threatening to wilt with mushrooms in jeopardy of getting old and serve it with the wild fresh cod I just bought. Dinner, a Coconut Curried Cod Infused with MONKEY-PICKED WHITE TEA served with Kale & Mushrooms sautéed in a sweet and spicy MONKEY-PICKED WHITE TEA-sauce, turned out simply tea-licious but what really made me appreciate the meal on a higher level was honoring the way all the ingredients made their way into my tummy. With Earth Day right around the corner, I decided to reassess the fundamental reasons why, for the past couple of years, my husband and I decided to make it point to wild fish, buy local and organic veggies and loose leaf tea.

Coconut Curried Cod Infused with MONKEY-PICKED WHITE TEA served with Kale & Mushrooms sautéed in a sweet and spicy MONKEY-PICKED WHITE TEA-sauce...

Ingredients: Coconut Curried Cod Infused with MONKEY-PICKED WHITE TEA
• 1 ½ lb cod, wild
• 2 stalks lemon grass
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp green curry paste
• 1 tsp ginger, peeled & minced
• 1 TBS fish sauce
• 2 TBS mirin
• 1-2 TBS crushed red pepper, depending on how spicy you want
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 ½ TBS brown sugar
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 3 TBS Organic & Fair Trade MONKEY-PICKED WHITE TEA loose tea, yielding 2 cups of *white tea concentrate*, divided (1 cup for fish and 1 cup for kale)
*How to make White Tea Concentrate: Bring 5 oz water to a boil and let cool for 4 minutes, which will bring water to 160°, a good temperature to steep white tea. Place 3 heaping TBS of tea in a 16 oz measuring cup. Pour 8 oz hot water over tea leaves and steep for 3 minutes. Strain tea leaves.*
**Optional: Reserve tea leaves to make iced or hot tea.**

Preparation: Fish
1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. In a mixing bowl, place coconut milk, curry paste, ginger, fish sauce, mirin, red pepper, nutmeg, brown sugar, cornstarch and 1 cup white tea concentrate. Whisk to evenly combine.
3. Place the cod and lemon grass in a 9 X 11 pan; season both sides of fish with salt and pepper. Pour coconut curried tea mixture over fish and cover with tin foil. Place in over and cook for 10-15 minutes. Take out of oven and keep tin foil on for another 5 minutes.

Ingredients: Kale & Mushrooms sautéed in a sweet and spicy MONKEY-PICKED WHITE TEA-sauce
• 1 cup reserved white tea concentrate, see cod recipe
• 1-2 tsp cayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you want
• 1 ½ TBS agave
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 TBS coconut oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 pablano pepper, chopped
• 1 lb any type mushrooms, sliced
• 1 bunch kale, roughly chopped

Preparation: Kale & Mushrooms
1. In a mixing bowl, whisk white tea concentrate, cayenne pepper, agave, lemon (zest and juice), salt and pepper. Reserve.
2. In a large wok, melt coconut oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and sauté until translucent and releasing sensational aromas, about 3-4 minutes. Add pablanos and let cook until soften, about 3-4 minutes. Add kale and mushrooms to top, without mixing coat kale and mushrooms with white tea-sauce and cover to allow steam to occur, about 5 minutes. Uncover and mix kale and mushrooms with onions and pablanos. Cook, tossing often, until kale and mushrooms soften, another 3-4 minutes.

Although I might have spend a little more money to buy local, organic, wild and loose, nothing can compare to the feeling knowing that I am healthier, happier and eco-friendlier…priceless…

How are you doing your part to vote with your dollars & sense?

It's a Miracle!

At the risk of coming off completely morbid, I have to share this news article with you. The gist of the story is that a woman in Mississippi was shot in the head by her husband, who then shot and killed himself. By a stroke of luck, or a divine miracle, the bullet passed between the 2 lobes of her brain, causing very little damage. By the time the police showed up at her house, she was holding a towel to her head, making a cup of tea. Being a hospitable southern lady, and surely in a state of shock, she offered the police some tea as well. What the ??!!! It's amazing that this woman is alive - and fascinating that she turned to a cup of tea to calm her nerves following this horrific, yet miraculous, event.
(photo from http://linzworld.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/newspaper.jpg)

Organic Green Twisted Spears

I've been looking forward to tasting this tea for quite some time now--it's been waiting patiently in my cupboard for its turn in the trusty Steepin' Mug. Alas! Its time has come!

It might sound silly, but half the reason I was so excited to try the Green Twisted Spears is due to its shape. The leaves are like mini-jousting lances or swords—long, thin, and pointy. A deep whiff of these dry scimitar-ish twists imparts a noseful of the scent of sweet apricots. After steeping the leaves for three minutes with water as close to 175-degrees as I could get (I measure the temp with my finger, which is surprisingly accurate. But keep in mind I did nothing but drink and serve tea at our now-closed retail location for over a year, so my finger is somewhat skilled at this task). The leaves had only slightly un-spiraled, making it clear to me that this is definitely a tea that needs to be re-steeped many times—as are most green teas.

In any case, the first go of it resulted in a light, floral-smelling liquor, with no astringency whatsoever. Pardon the wax poetic, but the mild, well-rounded flavor reminded me of the way it smells after rain—clean and fresh, with wafts of green vegetation. Much like wine grapes, tea plants tend to exude subtle flavors based on the soil and climate they grow in--so perhaps it’s no surprise then that these delicate spikes come from Sri Lanka--an island with a tropical climate that includes intense heat, heavy monsoons, and lots of subtropical evergreen forests. I swear I can taste all of those things. Round two, which I steeped for an extra 30 seconds, holds up strong to round one. It appears that I will get as many delicately flavored cups as I care to imbibe, as the spirals still have some unwinding to do. This works out perfectly for me, because I do too.

I see your Green Twisted Spear is as big as mine!

Keep On Rocking (The Republic) in the Free World

Just wanted to give a big thanks to Diana from Rocking the Republic for the awesome review of our Vintage Oolong loose tea that she posted this morning. Check her out. She just recently started her tea blog, and is already taking the tea blogosphere by storm.

She spoke poetically on the look and taste... "My cup was soon densely swimming with tea leaves after a minute. Watching tea leaves unfurl is always strangely comforting. It’s like watching the introduction of a familiar story unfold itself. The tea smelled very sweet. It was a warm and inviting cup. The liquor was a pale green and gold... Wow. This is a very nice tea with wonderful body. it’s rich and complex with a slight hint of umami*. The flavour is continuing to linger in my mouth after I have had the tea."

* Side note: Umami (according to the all-knowing wikipedia) is a Japanese flavor descriptor meaning "tasty", although "brothy", "meaty", or "savory" have been proposed as alternate translations. Yay for new words!

Then she spoke of here dad's love of full leaf teas, and it became clear where her love of tea began... "When it comes to tea, my dad loves big leaves, beautiful color, and a bold taste. He’s always fond of showing me the outrageously large tea leaves in his cup after he’s steeped. I think this is one tea that I can finally share with him that he would enjoy as well. Pair this with a good book and you have what I would call a perfect day. I’m glad I started my day with this cup." Thanks Diana! We're glad you did too.

Insider trading secret... our Vintage Oolong is still on promo. Buy 2 tins, get 1 Free! Just enter the total number of tins you want to receive (ie. 3 tins) and your cart will take care of the rest (only charging you for 2 tins). No promo code needed. Enjoy...

The Next Food Network Star: Karen's Kitchen

I applied to be the Next Food Network Star and submitted the following video...Although I am flattered I was chosen as a semi-finalist; I was not chosen to be on the show this year but stay tuned...I'm not giving up...

In the meantime, check out my video-recipe and let me know what you think...

GREEN ROASTED TEA SEARED SASHIMI

Ingredients: Fish
• ¾ lb sushi grade salmon
• ¾ lb sushi grade yellowtail
• GREEN ROASTED MINT Tea-soning (Tea + Seasoning = Tea-soning)
Note: Reserve 2 TBS of Tea-soning for stir fry
o 2 ½ TBS GREEN ROASTED MINT tea
o 2 ½ TBS sesame seeds
o 1 TBS wasabi powder
o 1 TBS salt
o 1 TBS pepper
o 1 TBS ginger, grounded
• 1 ½ TBS olive oil
• 4 cup spinach

Ingredients: Veggie Stir Fry
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1 can baby corn, washed
• 2 cups shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups edamame, shelled
• 1 cup Daikon (Japanese Radish), Julienne chopped
• 1 cup carrots. Julienne chopped
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 2 TBS GREEN ROASTED MINT Tea-soning, reserved from above fish rub
• ¼ cup toasted sesame oil
• 2 TBS fish sauce
• 1 TBS Sriracha, hot sauce
• 1 TBS corn starch
• 1 TBS fresh ginger, minced

Prep Time: 15 - 20 min / Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serving Size: 4
Preparation:
1. Wash and pat dry sashimi
2. Hand craft Tea-soning: Grind GREEN ROASTED MINT tea and blend tea with the rest of seasonings sesame seeds, wasabi powder, salt, pepper, and ginger.
3. Rub tea-soning all over fish and set aside to tenderize, reserving 2 TBS for sauce.
4. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soften, add bell peppers, corn, mushrooms, edamame, jicama and carrots and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
5. In a small mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, fish sauce, Srirachi, corn starch, ginger and reserved GREEN ROASTED Tea-soning. Divide sauce in half. Add half sauce to stir fry and cook for another 2 minutes. Reserve other half of sauce to drizzle over fish.
6. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add fish and sear each side for 1-2 minutes, leaving middle raw. Remove from skillet, let sit for 2-3 minutes and thinly slice fish going against the gain at an angle.
7. To plate, place 1 cup of spinach on one side of 4 plates. Top spinach by alternating seared salmon and yellowtail, about 3-4 pieces salmon and 3-4 pieced yellowtail. Place stir-fry veggies on other side of plate and drizzle with reserved sauce.

Call for Essays: a Tea-Themed Anthology

• Have you "taken tea" in a unique place or under unusual circumstances?

• Do you have a story about sharing tea with someone special in your life?

• Have you made an important decision over a cup of tea?

Katrina from Tea Pages is asking people these types of questions and putting together a tea-themed anthology under the working title, Tea Memories: Living Life One Cup at a Time. She told us about this great idea and asked us to pass along this opportunity to our readers.

Full information about the project (including the Call for Essays and Submission Guidelines) is available here. The submission deadline is June 30, 2009.

So get out your laptop, a cup of tea, and your creative juices... and have fun with it!

(image from http://thefuturebuzz.com/pics/writing.jpg)

Looking for a simply great cup of tea? Here's where you can find The Tea Spot teas throughout Colorado!

As some of you may know, our retail location in Boulder, CO has closed. That being said, you can now find our teas being served in even more coffee shops, restaurants, lodges and hotels throughout the state!

So where can you find our teas being served? Check out the list below and stop in anytime to have a great cup of The Tea Spot's teas!



In Boulder:
Amante - Uptown: 4580 Broadway /
Downtown: 1035 Walnut St
Coffee Sanctuary - 900 28th Street, Ste 1
Foolish Craig's Cafe- 1611 Pearl St
Espress-OH! Dairy Center - 2590 Walnut St
Burnt Toast - 1235 Pennsylvania Ave
The Boulder Draft House - 2027 13th St
Glacier Ice Cream - 4760 Baseline Rd
The b.side Lounge - 2017 13th St

In Denver:
Caffe Sanora - 1245 E Colfax Ave
Studio 6 - 910 Santa Fe Dr
Stella's Coffehaus - 1476 S. Pearl St
Buchi Cafe Cubano -2651 W. 38th Ave
Penn Street Perk - 1300 Pennsylvania St # 101
Coftea- In Denver International Airport
Gallop Cafe (coming soon!)- 2401 W 32nd Ave


In Fort Collins:
Mugs Coffee Lounge - 261 S. College St


In Longmont:
Ziggi's Coffee House - 400 Main St
Little Fig Baking Co- 950 Elgin Ave # B

In Golden:
Noa Noa Espresso & News - 109 Rubey Dr Unit C

In Nederland:
Happy Trails - 101 Hwy 119 South

In Allenspark:
Wild Basin Lodge - 1130 County Road 84 W

In Estes Park:
Longs' Peak Coffee (opening soon for the summer season!)- 150 E. Elkhorn Ave.

In Steamboat Springs:
Amante - 685 Marketplace Plaza # C8

In Manitou Springs:
Miramont Castle (opening soon for the summer season!)- 9 Capitol Hill Ave


We're also starting to spread our wings throughout the nation! In Colorado and throughout the country our tea tins and SteepwareTM can be found in Whole Foods, Pier 1, Bed Bath and Beyond, many gourmet housewares stores and many other locations.

In other states our teas are being served...

In Florida:
Key Lime Cafe- 211 Colorado Ave, Stuart, FL.
The Spice & Tea Exchange- 254 Talleyrand Ave, Jacksonville, FL

In Arkansas:
The Cafe on Broadway- 730 E. Hickory Lane, Siloam Springs, AR

In New Mexico:
Collectibilitea- 7101 Menaul Blvd, Albuquerque, NM.

Want us in a shop near you!? Contact sales@theteaspot.com to let us know what Restaurant, Coffee Shop, Hotel, or Spa you think our teas should be in!!!

Steeping Cup Demo Video

I'm really excited that our Steeping Cup got featured in a video review on the tea-centric social networking site, Hot For Tea - Check it out!


Find more videos like this on Hot For Tea

Miso-Glazed Salmon Infused with RED ROCKS Tea

Succulent salmon soaked in a miso, ginger and RED ROCKS broth slightly seared and baked to buttery tenderness. Served with spinach sauteed with mushrooms makes a tea-licious healthy meal that takes about 30 minutes to prepare. Visit Tea Spot's Chef's blog for spinach recipe.

Miso-Glazed Salmon Infused with RED ROCKS Tea

Prep Time: 10 minutes / Marinate Time: at least 30 minutes / Cook Time: 15 - 20 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Level: Easy

Ingredients:

• 3 lb salmon, cut in 4 - 3/4 lb fillets
• 2 TBS Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 1/2 TBS Sweet Miso Paste
• 2 TBS Mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
• 1 1/2 TBS Hoisin
• 2 TBS Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1 TBS Dijon Mustard
• 2 TBS Brown Sugar
• 2 TBS Ginger, minced
• 1 TBS Olive Oil
• 2 TBS RED ROCKS loose tea, yielding 3/4 cup tea concentrate*

*Hot to make RED ROCKS Tea Concentrate: Bring 5 oz water to a boil. Place 2 TBS of tea in a STEEPING CUP or an 8 oz measuring cup. Pour 4 oz hot water over tea leaves, steep for 6 minutes and strain tea leaves. **Reserve tea leaves to make iced tea.

Preparation:

1. Clean and pat dry salmon.
2. Make RED ROCKS tea concentrate. While steeping, in a medium mixing bowl, combine rice vinegar, miso paste, mirin, hoisin, sesame oil, dijon, brown sugar and ginger. Whisk tea concentrate in miso mixture. Set aside for 15 minutes so the ingredients meld together.
3. Cover salmon with miso marinade and chill for at least 30 minutes
4. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
5. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pan. Sear salmon 3-4 minutes on each side.
6. Place salmon in over for 8-10 minutes or until opaque in middle.
7. Garnish with lemon and fresh dill or cilantro and serve with sauteed spinach & mushrooms.

If you don't like salmon then try the same marinade over black cod, chicken or pork tenderlion.

Organic Mate Limon Chai

This has been an interesting week for me--one that's worthy of some back-patting, in the form of delicious tea.

A grad student's/unpaid intern's work is never, ever finished. Next week is ship week for the magazine I work at, so the past three days have been filled with fact checking, research, and nearly going permanently cross-eyed from starting intently at hundreds of different websites with phone numbers, addresses, and names, all in a variety of fonts, colors, and layouts. Then, the phone calls--disconnected numbers, PR contacts, leaving messages. Off to the side sits another project to recruit college seniors from various schools for a photo shoot. More phone calls, more e-mails, and impending deadlines. Add an interview with a relatively well-known bassist, a midterm, a book jacket design project, and fall registration, and now you know why I

 need a damn cup of tea already! Nevermind that I only have saltines left in the cupboard, and a fresh crop of projects for the coming weekend. One day at a time, right? That's right. And today, it's teatime.

I prep my water to near boiling before I steep my Mate Limon Chai for 4 minutes. There are varying opinions that it is better to use water that's not fully boiling, as there have been studies that show yerba mate contains carcinogens. But never fear. I am of the sound mind that the key to most everything in life is moderation (except when it comes to '80s movies and sweet dance moves). If you drink yerba mate every single day, you may want to so some more extensive research and decide if it poses a health risk, but drinking mate every now and then won't kill you. At least not before any number of a million other things will.

This blend contains organic mate blended with several herbs and spices. It smells lightly pungent, the way citrus fruits do. It has a very herbal scent and a smooth, earthy flavor with overtones of ginger and lemon. After my week-o-insanity, I'm elated to have a medicinal concoction that soothes my nerves. This tea would be perfect for soothing a sore throat. It may feel like spring in Boulder, CO (jealous!), but here in Boston it's freezing in my house at the moment, so I take my favorite black Steepin' Mug into the corner of the room where a rather large heating vent is cut into the floor. I turn the thermostat up a few degrees, grab a blanket and sit underneath it while the warm air from the heating ducts, as well as my tasty tea, warm me up with no delay. Approximately eight minutes later, I've somehow curled 

onto my side with my head in the cat's bed, and fallen asleep. I've completely, and blissfully disconnected from the world at 7:30 p.m. on a Thursday evening. Glorious. Thanks, TeaSpot! 

She looks how I feel!

Red Steeping Cup Steeps Red Clover Tea Loose!

Even with all the love and care we give our products, their packaging and presentation on our website, quite often, when we see our products presented on someone else's blog, they're described far more eloquently than we feel able to say ourselves... one such example is yesterday's post about our Red Steeping Cup on the fashionable "Well-Heeled Society's" blog, where the stylish Felicia Coley's saying is: Sometimes life's destiny does not include you being swept off your feet. Sometimes it's just standing in the light of your completeness... wearing fabulous shoes. She thanks us for our donation of a Red Steeping Cup and says "I am now able to get a warm hug with style every morning in red. I have since let my tea ball down easy, proving that it's best not to cry over spilled milk. Or tea... Lose that Ball & Chain! Modern Teaware for Loose Leaf Teas". Thank you Felicia, for understanding and articulating exactly what we want to communicate with our products!
Thank you to NY Post Fashion Blog for Photo