IN celebration of Earth month and Earth day festivities coming this weekend we are pleased to announce the Return of our “Fill YOUR containers” program* as well as $1 off drinks when you bring YOUR Own cup.
(Image for example, not representative of expectations)
Our text followers will be getting an additional 10% off coupon popping up on their phones this week. If you want to sign up to receive texts and get special coupons available only there: text JOIN to (833) 249-3826
*Note: Brown bags will still be available for online pickup, delivery, and shipping orders (as well as those last minute “oh, can I get this tea too!” moments.
I am sorry – I know many of you look forward to this sale each year. I hope to offer one this month to make up for it (January being “Hot Tea Month”).
My sister, Nanka Castulik-Byrne, died the week before Christmas. She passed on quickly with little pain and no long-term care or hospitalization. She died at home, with her husband (Bob) by her side.
We have always been rather pragmatic about death – and yet, there is a natural expression of grief – arising as a need for silence or pulling away from extra activity – the stillness of Winter. Between meeting the barest needs of the shop and my day job I had nothing left in me to attend to the behind the scenes pieces to implement and promote a sale. It seemed healthier and more important to me to respect the urges of my body/mind rather than the outward responsibility and routines of the business. There must be some benefit to being a business owner after all, to be able to make this call.
It is largely thanks to Nanka and her husband that Traveling Tea even exists. She gave me encouragement and support (emotional and financial) in the “getting started” hurdle – and then more, when I expanded into our storefront in Maplewood. She was a staunch supporter of buying local and regular attendee of the Tower Grove Farmers Market. She was also very passionate about women’s rights and safety – working for and with Safe Connections for many many years.
Nanka donated her body to SLU for the benefit of scientific research and, per her wishes, there will be no memorial service. Raise a cup of tea with your warm wishes for her memory and her family. She and Bob had a favorite “morning tea” of Earl Grey White Tip with milk and sugar. As a tribute from me, for her love and support, I will be donating a portion of proceeds for all Earl Grey White Tip sales from December 2021 through December 2022 to Safe Connections. If you would also like to make your own memorial gift, visit https://safeconnections.org/give/donate-now/
If you are like me, black tea is your primary Go-To beverage. Even so, sometimes my stomach says “too much” – needing something less acidic, more alkaline.
All tea has various health benefits, that vary due to harvesting and processing – it is a plant, after all. Green tea, being dried more quickly after harvest, has been most researched and found to have many more benefits. I can feel the difference in my stomach and in my body when I drink more (properly brewed) green tea.
It can be a challenge to drink more when the palate is more used to black. Black tea is more widely consumed in this country. The trick for me, is to blend them.
For a 16oz mug of tea, use 1 teaspoon black of choice, and 1 teaspoon of green (or adjust the ratio to suit your taste). Try starting with a Darjeeling or Assam green, or our Decaf Green (lower your caffeine intake at the same time). Use the same boiling water as for black (not a rolling boil though) and steep it for no more than 3 minutes, maybe even a little less. If using any of our teas, you will definitely be able to get a 2nd steep out of your cup (maybe even a third).
Darjeeling Green, Yanki Farms
It will still have enough of the black tea flavor to satisfy your palate, but will have less acidity. You may even be able to gradually shift it so that you are drinking more green in your cup than black. Note: If you do not like bitter tea, you usually cannot leave green tea to steep more than 3 or 4 minutes (even on 2nd or 3rd steeps). There are some green teas that are more forgiving. You will have to experiment to find them. [Our Baozhong Green, that is processed as an Oolong, and our new Mao Jian are both forgiving of forgetfulness]
