Steep up a pot of tea and CUT YOUR STROKE RISK by 21%

According to a study from the UCLA School of Medicine reported in this month's Prevention Magazine, sipping tea may help protect you from a life-threatening stroke. Researchers collected data from 9 studies about 4,400 strokes amongst 195,000 people.  The encouraging trend that they pulled from this huge pool of data was that those people who drank at least 3 cups of tea a day had one-fifth the risk of stroke, compared with those who drank less than one cup of tea a day.  Tea type was not a variable in this study.  So drink up!

Photo: Andrea Doenges, our Regional Sales Manager, sipping her way to heart health at her desk :)

Roasted Green Tea Frico toped with Smoked Salmon Tartar

Photo by Fine Cooking

An easy-to-make appetizer to celebrate Earth Day...

Ingredients Roasted Green Tea Frico:

• 2 cup parmesan, shredded
• 2 TBS GREEN ROASTED MINT tea, finely grounded

Preparation: Frico, crspy cheese crackers

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix parmesan and green tea in a bowl.
3. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, sprinkle 2 TBS of cheese mixture in a circle and cook until melted, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Using a spatula remove frico and place over a rolling pin to cool.

Visit teaspotchef.blogspot.com for the Smoked Salmon Tartar Recipe.

Poached BOULDER BLUES Salmon Crostinis

An easy, fun and healthy appetizer to make a party of twenty or two.

Poached BOULDER BLUES Salmon Crostinis

Yields: 12-16 appetizers                 

Cooking with Tea Technique: Poaching

Ingredients:

- 1 whole wheat baguette, 12 -16 crostinis

- 1 lemon, 8 slices 1/4 in thick

- 1 TBS Boulder Blues green tea, loose

- 1 TBS parsley, leaves finely chopped, stems reserved

- 1 TBS tarragon, leaves finely chopped, stems reserved

- 1 shallot, minced

- 1 cup dry white wine

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 lb salmon fillet (1 1/2 in thick), medium diced

- 1/2 cup crème fraiche or sour cream, low-fat 

- 1 TSP Dijon mustard

- 1/2 lemon, juice & zest

- Salt & Pepper to taste

- Garnish: capers

Preparation:

1. Crostinis: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice baguette (1/4 in thick). Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Reserve.

2. Arrange lemon slices in a single layer at the bottom of a 10 in skillet. Scatter, Boulder Blues, parsley stems, tarragon stems and 1/3 of minced shallot over lemon sliced. Add wine and water.

3. Lay salmon fillets in the skillet, skinned side down, on op of lemon. Set the pan over high heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until the sides of the salmon are opaque and thickest part registers 125, about 8 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Using a spatula, transfer salmon and to a paper towel lined plate. Combine crème fraiche, Dijon, lemon juice & zest.

4. To serve: Spread lemon crème fraiche on crostini. Place salmon on top and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and tarragon leaves.

5. Garnish with capers.

Yo Downtown Boulder ! The Tea Spot's ba-ack...

at the Saturday Farmer's Market that is.  This past weekend was our first showing there, and yes, it was quite clearly a "start", witness the real-time engineering that went into displaying our sign... BUT, the reception was fantastic!  Given that our stand at the Farmer's Market is 1/2 a block from our old retail location, we were greeted by dozens of old customers, who remembered not only our teas, but even ourselves :)  
Bo Olson, a former manager at the downtown Boulder TeaSpot, and continuing to work  with us in Gunbarrel on our e-comm orders and tea blending, is spearheading The Tea Spot's presence at the Boulder Farmer's Market.  He made a classy display of our bulk teas (you can see it in the lower left of the photo).  So nice, in fact, that retailers came up and told us they wanted such displays hanging over our bulk tea offerings.  It was a great conversation starter - people wanted to know the names of all the teas, the types, the origins, the stories behind the blends... and as always, it was fun to talk about the microblending of our loose teas right here in Boulder.  We got to tell our Boulder Locals about the new Farmer's Market pickup option for internet orders, sign interested folks up for our newsletter, and give our samples of our Green Roasted Mint in the chilly morning.
Didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous Spring day and that we have terrific Farmer's Market neighbors... and that the most delicious chai you've every tried, made by Sanctuary Chai, was being served right around the corner in the front part of the Market (in front of BMoCA) and both types (Spicy and Sweet) are made with The Tea Spot's handcrafted loose leaf teas! Happy Day :D

Rob wraps about the Tuffy Steeper

Rob Cooke explains why the Tuffy Steeper makes a great tea companion, especially on-the-go...

Anybody else wondering what else he has in his back pocket...???

A Tea Rap! Um wow!

Yeah I can't say much about this except wow and it's hilarious to watch.

It takes a bit of strain at the beginning to realize its about tea, but for 2 minutes, it's worth the watch.