On Sunday, January 3, I signed onto Facebook and read the following post from Thunderbolt Tea:
“It’s time we announced our winner of the monthly lucky draw.  Congratulations Erika Cilengir.  Your teas will be shipped as soon as possible.  Happy New Year and enjoy the teas!!”
In mid-December, one of my tea friends on Facebook had suggested [...]

In the past month, I’ve had two major events happen in my life - I was laid off from a job I’d had for only four months and my mom came to stay with me as she continues to recover from a broken hip.  I love my mom very much, but we haven’t lived together [...]

In the business of selling specialty tea, I see two camps that - while not mutually exclusive - could be seen as opposing.  On one side are those who emphasize tea’s propensity to slow down time and invite participants to be more present in each savored moment.  On the other side are those who are [...]

My recent foray into becoming an adoptive parent has opened up for me a world of delightful teas and beautiful tea ceremonies.  Six months ago, my husband and I were approved and put on a waiting list to adopt a child from Taiwan.  To prepare for our new adventure, we have been exploring the culture [...]

It’s a New Year and by the Chinese calendar we have just entered the Year of the Tiger.  Hang on - it looks like we are in for a tumultuous year – a year of change, drama, and intensity – but also a great year for travel.  Supposedly, it is not a good year for [...]

Before we begin, let me introduce myself.  I am a coffee-loving, tea-savoring Seattleite who knows a good latte when he tastes one.  Because of espresso’s unique properties when compared to brewed coffee, I have been especially skeptical of tea lattes in the past.  What makes espresso unique is that it is both similar, yet distinct [...]

For decades, perhaps over a century, Americans have been making sun tea.  For some people, it is the only way they experience tea at all.  So frequent are customer questions about sun tea during the summer that I have developed a sun tea training guide for my team.  And mind you, we don’t make a [...]

It was a chilly fall day in the 1990s in Edmonton when a group of my friends gathered to indulge our foodie nature in some wonderful eats.  The restaurant was known for its succulent cuts of local Angus beef, aged to perfection and served up to your exact specification.  We had duly filled ourselves and [...]

I was at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco a couple weeks ago, and had a great time talking to tea people and foodies who are tea curious.  I kept getting the same questions I’ve heard repeated over my 5+ years in the tea business - “How do I get trained in tea?” and [...]

The story behind this vegetative-flavored tea began thousands of years ago when a servant was pouring green tea for his master.  While in motion, the servant accidentally dropped brown rice from his pocket into the cup of green tea.  The master - a warrior - was so angered he beheaded the servant, but he drank [...]