Shop Status – Take 3
Sinks are delivered, plumber scheduled for next week. Extra electric has been installed to handle busy brewing needs. We still need a wall separating food prep from walkway to bathroom, and I have to finish painting the floor.
Have hired some extra staff, and wonder of wonders, they can all get together at the same time for a tea sampling and orientation!
Our target OPEN date right now is Tuesday 5/14…..Taste of Maplewood is Sat 5/18, and we really want to be open for you then – as a respite from crowds and heat or chill with a refreshing cup of tea.
Maplewood Chamber of Commerce has scheduled our ribbon cutting for Tues 5/21 at 5:15 pm – Please join us for that!
Meanwhile – the “tea shop that travels” will be at opening day of Tower Grove Farmers Market on Sat 5/4 from 8:00 am-2:00 pm with some new brewing options, and perhaps a new flavor of tea to refresh you!
Looking forward to Sharing Good Tea with our friends – both old and new!
Shop Status Update
Though we are not yet officially open, yesterday was our first event in our new shop location at 2707 Sutton Blvd in Maplewood – The 4th Annual Maplewood Coffee Crawl [I always forget to take pictures!!]
600 people were registered, and I know we saw many of you! The flow of tea sampling was pretty constant from 8:15-12:30. THANK YOU! and thank you SO much for your warm welcome to the neighborhood.
We are still waiting for installation of sinks, and have some finish painting etc to complete, as well as final inspections.
We’ll be sending out an email as well as updating Facebook and Twitter as opening day gets close.
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In the meantime, look for us in the Farmers Market area at Earthday by the Muny in Forest Park on Sunday 4/21
AND/OR attend our food and tea pairing at Something Elegant Catering on Tuesday 4/16. 
Attendance is limited to 25 guests and we are more than half full at this point – so don’t delay. Recipes and tips for cooking with tea will be shared freely. Call me or email to reserve your spot 314 477 8516 or kateri @ traveling-tea (dot) com
[Click on the image to open in new window and enlarge so it is readable]
Have a Cuppa Tea
Great YouTube link for Great Big Sea covering a Kinks song. Thanks Great Big Sea!
Fun with Tea as Art
I’ve been so busy sharing tea and making new plans for sharing tea, I’ve not taken time to update you here.
Tea as beverage, tea in cooking, ….. tea in art? (besides paintings and drawings of people enjoying tea)
On Friday 2/1/13, a new exhibit opened at the Contemporary Art Museum [Jeremy Deller's "Joy in People"]
Part of the exhibit includes a replica of Valerie’s Snack Bar from Manchester England, and part of the “art” is that complementary tea is served in the exhibit.
Valerie's Snack Bar replica
Guess whose tea is being served? Every day of the exhibit, through 4/28/13, good tea is being shared. I was honored to be asked.
As a further tie-in, I provided individual teabags for an art project for Family Day, and this is what Maria created with those. What Fun?!
Market News & new teas
I am sorry to say, effective immediately, I will have to stop attending the Schlafly Maplewood Farmers Market for the remainder of the Summer season. Sales and market exposure have not been enough to make up for the wages that I’ve been giving up. Many of you realize I am still working a nearly full-time job to pay my personal bills.
I know this Market is more convenient for some of you, and I can still meet you there to deliver tea orders.
I hope to return to the Schlafly Winter Market, if they will have me.
New teas in (all organic): Hojicha, Jasmine Pearls, and Mothering Tea and Sage Woman have returned by special request.
We also have organic Matcha in 1oz and 4oz sizes. I hope to get all of these added to the website in the next week.
News and Teapot Travels
HAPPY 4th of July!!
Apologies for how long I’ve let the website go without updating info. I hope to do better going forward. Instead of worrying about how it all looks/flows from a marketing standpoint, I’m just going to start sharing notes about what goes on. Hopefully, you won’t mind the informality.
Newest news: a selection of Traveling Tea teas are now available at Home Eco and Missouri Botanical Garden Gate Shop, making a total of 10 other locations to buy my tea if you can’t get to Market or shop.
I’ve added a link here, at right, to subscribe to a “Tea-mail” list. I’m putting together a notice to go out tomorrow….in celebration of my birthday next week I will be serving mini-cupcakes at TGFM this Saturday (to the first 40 customers). These are super yummy, gluten-free (I defy you to tell the difference), baked by my daughter (who is in the fledgling stage of developing her own bakery business in Columbia, MO
July & August will pretty much just be Market months. In September, extra events start (StrangeFolk Festival and Scottish Games)
I hope to get the calendar page updated within the next week. My computer crashed in April and many things have had to be recreated from scratch. Bah.
In April I attended a Tea Sommelier training in So. Carolina AND got to visit the Charleston Tea Plantation. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they use mostly organic practices on their plants and will start carrying American (Continent) grown tea soon. [They do use chemical fertilizers due to being a public tourist attraction .... manure wouldn't go over very well].
I am still working on the follow-up to the training (I have to learn about, sample, and compare 30 different teas, and post my findings in the class forum). Hmmmm…..since I learn better when sharing with others……anyone want to help me? If so, please contact me via any of the usual channels.
Try to keep cool out there – Kateri
New Tea Service Review Campaign
Due to a recent disappointing experience, and because there are so many teas available and it is impossible for Traveling Tea to provide everything to everyone, and in keeping with our motto: “Sharing Good Times ~ Sharing Good Tea©”, I’ve decided to start a review of tea service at local restaurants and cafés.
It is the least I can do, to aid my customers (and other tea drinkers) to have the best experience possible when Traveling Tea is not being served.
I have devised “star award” criteria, and as I make my way through various establishments, the findings will be posted on this “Tea Service Reviews” page. I invite YOU to email your experiences and findings to me as well, so we can create a more comprehensive list. [You can also post on our Facebook page and I will transfer the details here.]
I award stars based upon the following criteria:
*Loose leaf (vs. bagged…..there are some better brands of bagged teas, and they will get their star for that if appropriate)
*Brand Selection, e.g. organic/fair trade/good reputation of company (environment and people)
*Description/Variety of teas (is there a “tea menu”; how are the teas described? And what sort of choices do you have?)
*Presentation & Steeping method (cup or pot on table, appropriate water temp)
*Value (can you get add’l cup? resteep)
5 STARS means they give comparable attention to their tea, as they do their coffee and/or wine (relative to the establishment)
It is my hope that as we, together, put attention on communicating our desire for the same quality of product that is given to coffee and wine connoisseurs (and appreciating those who DO provide it), we will encourage more establishments to “step up their game”.
Shopping for Tea
FINALLY – After 2 years of plugging away, I have 99% of our available teas listed on the Products page for your purchasing convenience!! (and most of them have pictures too)
The remaining 1% is for flavors or varieties that are seasonal or currently low in stock, and they too will be added as we restock. If there is a particular one you are looking for, please drop me an email to check on status. It helps me to know what your interests and preferences are.
You can also notice that there is NOW a functional listing of product categories (seen here, to your right), where you can select a particular product type and narrow your search so you no longer have to scroll through 70-80 items listed alphabetically.
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Next up: Adding options to purchase “pre-bagged” teas, and trial/travel sizes.
Trial/Travel Size: If you’ve seen us at Markets and Events, you know we have travel size packets for many of our teas (containing enough loose tea for two 8oz cups or one 16oz mug). When ordering on-line, I am happy to include 1 or 2 of these, complimentary, in your shipment – but you need to email me to request flavors.
Pre-Bagged: It is a little known feature that we can create teabags for most of our lovely teas. These make a lovely gift when packaged in a tin; or individually wrapped to tuck into a card. They are an even greater travel convenience than our Trial/Travel Size packets.
Revised Winter shop hours
Please Note – Effective immediately, Friday evening hours are changed to be closing at 6:30pm.
It seems that when customers come on Fridays, it is usually right after work and to keep the doors open till 7:00 is not necessary. – Kateri
Sharing Good Tea
I don’t know where to start. I keep wanting to send out a newsletter and it hasn’t pulled itself together yet…where are those tea-mail elves when you need them?
In short, I’ve updated the calendar/events page – changing “every other Tuesday” shop hours to 1st and 3rd Tuesday, to make it simpler to keep track of. TUESDAY HOURS 12:30-6:30 starts 11/22/11
Note: Friday after Thanksgiving “Black Friday” is BLACK (TEA) FRIDAY for us. From 2-6pm, only at our shop, all in-stock black tea is 40% off!
Then, Sunday 11/27/11, we are having an Open House with LOTS of teas to sample – you can make a side by side comparison of green teas from many regions (at least 5). You can also help us make decisions about various oolongs that we are considering for 2012. AND – 20% off all tea accessories….even those “For Life” pots and mugs you’ve been eyeing.
Lots of opportunities for Sharing Good Tea in your Good Times with family and friends in the upcoming weeks.
Thank you for bringing Traveling Tea into your homes.
