Tupelo Honey Teas at the Crested Duck

Since leaving the Pittsburgh Public Market, we have had some tea for sale down at the Crested Duck Charcuterie.  Recently, I revamped the shelves and added some of our most popular teas in there!  If what you want is not available, email us and we will have it ready for you to pick up.   Soon we will have some teas available in Sinful Sweets for walk in customers.

With each new place our teas become more accessible to you, our valued customers!

Bee Well.  Drink Tupelo Honey Teas.

Danielle Spinola

I just wanted to let you all know that our event tonight is cancelled.  We will be rescheduling it for a later date!

2 C White Wine
2 C Cider Vinegar
3 Bay Leaves
1 Bunch Thyme
Zest and Juice of 2 Lemons
1/4 C Sugar
1Tbs Salt
1 Tbs Pepper
2 Tbs Fennel Seeds
2 Tbs Mustard Seeds
2 Tbs Tupelo Honey Teas Tulsi Tea
4 C Mushrooms (chantrelles, white button, both cut in half shitake caps left whole, etc)
1 C Olive Oil

Combine everything but Mushrooms Tea and and Olive Oil in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn off heat and pour liquid over mushrooms. Add tea and let sit for 2 minutes. Top with Olive Oil.

Pittsburgh Public Market Tea Growler Fill-Ups

Part of the hesitation of leaving the Pittsburgh Public Market, was that we had just rolled out this really successful, wanted program of filling Growlers.  We couldn’t just abandon what we had started and our dream of building it.  So we have rented space on the first Saturday of each month, April through September, at the Pittsburgh Public Market to fill and sell Growlers.    The flavors will be posted on our Facebook and Twitter pages a week in advance and we will take pre-orders, to ensure if you want filled, you get your fill up.  We will also take walk ins and will be selling cups of tea as before.  The dates are as follows:

• April 7
• May 5
• June 2
• July 7
• August 4
• September 1

If you haven’t picked up one of our Growlers, you can do so as we have a few left from the second round.  The first round is completely sold out.  These are fantastic pieces which are functional in so many different ways.  You can fill them with any liquid (doesn’t just have to be tea).  Because they are made from clay, what ever temperature beverage you put in it will stay that way longer.  Glass and Metal tend to lose the cool or hot faster.  They are perfect for picnics or outings.

Our Growlers are also easy to clean.  I little salt, vinegar and water swish it around, rinse and leave to dry.  You do want to refrain from temperature extremes, which means if you have it in the refrigerator, please do not add a hot liquid into it and vice versa.

Lastly, these Growlers were created and made by local artists for a local company.  We love local!

Bee Well.  Drink Tupelo Honey Teas.

The Tea Lady

Insert Milk Thistle and Dandelion Root Teas.

I went on a round robin drinking regimen of Roasted Dandelion Root,  Milk Thistle (in tea form) and water.  What the doctor told me would take months of recovery took a mere 1 month.  My liver enzymes went from being through the roof to normal in 30 days.  He was amazed and asked what I did.  I told him about the tea and my increased raw vegetable diet.  I think his jaw hit the floor.

Each year as I see people walking around with chemical kegs strapped to their backs, spraying these beloved flowers, I want to stop the car and beat some sense into them.  Not only are the chemicals bad for our land but even when used in non-food areas, they are finding their way into our food system.  Plus, who would want to kill a super food like Dandelions?

Dandelion stems from an Middle English term Dent de Lioun which literally means Tooth of the Lion because of the jagged leaves.   This “weed” has been used for centuries for its noble properties, such as its high concentration of Vitamins A, B, C and D.  It is also high in Iron, Calcium and Potassium.  The Flowers have been picked and made into wine.  The leaves are often picked and added to salads raw or are stir fried in garlic and olive oil.  But the roots are why this blog post is being written.  The roots when roasted, make a delicious tea.  The tea is a diuretic but because of the Potassium content, it is one of the best diuretics as it doesn’t deplete one’s Potassium.  It also is a blood purifier and as such helps clean out the liver so it can do it’s job better.

The other day when prepping my garden for spring, I started pulling out the Dandelions which have already begun to set foot in my yard.  They can be tricky suckers to pull out as they have a tap root, which means it is long and narrow.  It burrows down deep and holds on for dear life.  Survival of the fittest!  I posted onto my personal Facebook page about how wonderful this little “weed” plant is and I got back a number of request for how to make tea from your back yard bounty.  Here is my account:

First, dig them out as whole as you can.  This is tough and where you will get a wonderful bicep and other muscles you didn’t know you had work out.

Second, rinse them clean.  This part is quite hard because the dirt really sticks in the root and the leaves.

Third, separate the leaves from the root.  There is a weird middle part, where the flower will eventually emerge from.  I cut that out so in the end my plant was cut into three parts; the leaves, the middle and the root.

The Leaves

The roots

Fourth, chop them into pieces and put them onto a baking pan.

Cut and Ready to Bake

Fifth, bake them at 200 degrees for an hour and then turn up the heat to 400 and roast them for about 20 minutes.  Turn off your oven and leave them in until the oven cools down.

All Roasted and Ready to Steep

Sixth, take them out and they are ready to be made into tea.

During the baking process, the roots smell so sweet and delicious.  After roasted, in tea form, they mimic coffee.  This is due to the roasted nature of them.  However, they do not have any caffeine.  They do make you urinate quite often so it is not wise to take them before bed.  As I learned the hard way, you pee A LOT!  You can add some Chicory, which is also a tap root, to the mix and do a 50/50 blend and it will make it taste more like coffee.  you can also choose to grind them or chop them smaller before roasting.

Healing Dandelion Root Tea!

I hope you all enjoy the Wonderful World of Dandelions this spring!  And if you choose not to, please leave them to flower.  They are some of the first food bees get in the spring.

Bee Well.

The Tea Lady

Last week I ran into her at the Crested Duck Charcuterie’s Valentine’s Day Dinner.  She told me that the tea article was going to run Thursday February 16th.   When I opened the article I was so humbled to be highlighted amongst the other Tea-preneurs in Pittsburgh.  After all my business has taken a slightly different path than originally planned.  However, this other path, I am sure, is leading me down the right road.  It just may take a bit longer to get there.  I am fine with it as long as I have a cup of tea in my hand.

Bee Well.  Drink Tupelo Honey Teas.

The Tea Lady

Peace. Love. Tea.

The Tea Lady

Thanks to a friend who followed her chocolate lovers nose into a small shop in Lawrenceville, I found Sinful Sweets by Christopher George.  This artisanal chocolatier hand dips everything from your normal pretzels to hand made toffee with bacon bits.  Don’t be fooled though because nothing about the shop is ordinary.

The owner, Chris, is as passionate about chocolate as he is restoring cars.  He told me between himself and his roommate they have 8 cars that they’ve restored.  It is hard to imagine a gear head with tatoos is also a big foodie.  He will drive for food including one of his favorite places in Cleveland called “Melt”.  Chris has painstakingly searched all over for high quality chocolate and he found it in Chicago.  The problem is he is too small to have his orders shipped.  So he makes a trip out to the windy city to pick up supplies.  I can relate to this kind of passion as I have done the same thing with tea.  Buying from different suppliers who have the best tasting teas.  Sure it is more expensive to run a business like this, but in the end it is important to people like Chris and I to have a product we are proud to put our name on than on a bigger bottom line.

With this introduction let me tell you what we have up our sleeves for you!  There has become increasing awareness on how chocolate, specifically dark chocolate, and tea, specifically black tea, has polyphenols that are good for your health and heart.  In fact, the other day in the Post Gazette was an article showing how black tea can lower your risk of having a heart attack.  If you have already had a heart attack, drinking three or more cups of black tea per day can significantly lower your risk of a second heart attack.

Chris and I are putting together our polyphenol rich products to make a delicious, healthful, and exciting present to give your sweetie this year for Valentine’s Day.  We have put two ounces of Tupelo Honey Teas together with his Half Pound “Love” Bar in combinations for everyone!  To kick off this promotion, we are offering a sampling on February 4, 2012 at Sinful Sweets, 4415 Butler Street in Lawrenceville from 10am until 1pm.

All flavored chocolate bars must be pre-ordered by clicking here.  You can also order at the tasting on February 4 or by stopping into Sinful Sweets.  If you would like plain chocolate bars with simple black tea, those will be ready made for purchase at the Sinful Sweets shop from February 4th until right after Valentine’s Day.  All pre-orders will be available for pick up starting Saturday February 11 until Valentine’s Day.

We hope to see you all at the tasting!

Peace. Love. Tea (and Chocolate!)

The Tea Lady

First, we opened a retail space at the Pittsburgh Public Market.  It was one of the best things we

Our Shop at the Pittsburgh Public Market

have ever done. Between meeting other entrepreneurs and meeting our clientele, it was an experience that will be hard to ever duplicate.  Being able to educate people on tea each week was one of the things I will miss most about no longer being there.  In the latter half of 2011, we made the extremely difficult decision to leave the market.  It was not what we ever thought we would do, but it was an important step to moving forward with our business.

Second, we designed two brand new lines of teas called Yinzer Teas and Teas Around the World.  All of the teas in the Yinzer line are inspired by Pittsburgh and the people of the steel city.  The Teas Around the World line are teas that are based on regions around the world which are known for specific teas.  So far we have two teas out for each category with several more teas in the works.

First Clay Growler

Third, we revolutionized the Growler.  Last summer we started offering hand thrown pottery Growlers that were thrown on a wheel by local artist Garick Tai Lee.  Lawrenceville’s famous Dave Calfo designed the handles out of recycled materials.  Together with these two mavericks, we put out a gorgeous growler that was so different from the normal glass growlers, that we sold out of our first round in a mere 24 hours.  Our second round was created in late fall and is more gorgeous than the first.

Fourth, to go along with the Growlers, we started offering fill ups.  For a mere $5, you could bring your Tupelo Honey Teas Growler back

Newest Growler

and get fresh, delicious iced tea.  The tea stayed colder longer because of the properties of clay, it keeps the temperatures for several hours versus typical glass.  Again, this older concept for craft beer was adapted and used for tea.

Fifth, we attended the World Tea Expo East in Philadelphia.  There we found a supplier of a type of tea I had seen and was interested in, Guayusa (pronounced WHY.U.SAY).  There were new innovations in tea along with interesting designs for tea accessories.

However the highlight of the trip was two fold.  First, I got to meet Mr. Harney, owner and founder of Harney and Sons.  He was so nice and down to earth even admitting he had worked for a short time out of college in Pittsburgh.

The Tea Lady and Mr. Harney

Second, I watched a tea ceremony that brought her to tears.

The ceremony was created by a young woman whose family owns a Pu-erh tea garden in China.  Because Pu-erh was a working persons tea, traditionally, there is no elegant ceremony to celebrate it.  Set to music, the ceremony was unreal.

Sixth, we started supplying tea to a new coffee shop, Graham Central Station in Cranberry Township.

Last, when we left the Pittsburgh Public Market, we launched a brand new website.  This is now going to be our main means of sales.  We are still working out some kinks on the site, but since launching, we have been flooded with orders.  Thank you!

So with 2012 here, our resolutions are simple:

1.  Continue to offer high quality, delicious, organic teas.

2.  Spend more time blending.

3.  Do more education in the community.

4. Offer my clients as much tea related information on my website.

5. Collaborate with as many local artists as possible.

We hope you have a healthy, and prosperous 2012.

Bee Well.  Drink Tupelo Honey Teas.

The Tea Lady

First and foremost, we are so excited to kick off the holiday season with our 12 Days of Giving!  Each day we will be offering deals, however, some of the deals will be limited.  It is best if you stop by each day to see what we have on sale.  The 12 Days of Giving is also helping to launch our brand new website.  Take some time and browse around.  Just understand we are still working out the kinks (see point number four).

Second, the rumor is true.  We did leave the Pittsburgh Public Market.  It was not a decision that was made lightly and it was one of the hardest decisions I have had to make about this business.  The truth is I am a mom first.  This business comes second to my family, always.  So when the hours at the market started to affect my children, it was time to call it quits.  As sad as I was to leave, I knew it was the right decision.

Third, where can you find us now?  Well just for the holiday season, we have our tea in 5th Avenue Place at the store full of local vendors.  It is a limited selection but it is some of our most popular teas.  We also will still have some teas down at the Pittsburgh Public Market at the Crested Duck stand.  Those guys have graciously agreed to carry some of the more popular blends.  Or you can order from this brand spankin’ new website.  It is ready to work, I think, which brings me to my next point.

Fourth and Last, this website has been in process for a few months.  When my web designer and I decided to launch on December 1st, neither of us anticipated just how many adjustments it would take to get things running smoothly (a LOT goes into making things look good and work!).  If there are some things missing, it is not due to laziness.  It is that crazy, mysterious pain in the rump thing called code.  Rest assured we’ll work out all the kinks. In the mean time if something seems off, send us a quick email (you can even use the quick form here) so we can make sure we’ve got it covered. We want you to enjoy your time on our site, and hope you’ll find just what you were looking for.

As Always,

Bee Well.  Drink Tupelo Honey Teas.