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?

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!!!