I have two nearly full 4 oz pouches of Mighty Leaf tea, Golden Monkey and Acai Pomegranate Decaf. About two cups have been made from each. I don't care for them and am looking to trade for other blacks, oolongs, and flavored teas. Takers?

EDIT: I have about 1 oz of the Acai Pomegranate Decaf left if anyone else is interested.

http://www.davidstea.com/alpine-punch
From the website:
Have you heard of the barbegazi? According to Swiss lore, they are a group of furry little men that live high in the Alps. They are known for their long, icy beards and enormous feet, which they use to ski down hills and surf on avalanches. But how do they stay warm up in the frozen mountains all year round? We like to think it’s with a fortifying brew like this spiced rooibos, with apple, cinnamon, and ginger. If you see some very big footprints next time you’re out hiking, follow them to the barbegazi’s cave and see if they offer you a cup.

ingredients
Rooibos, coconut chips and rasps (coconut, coconut fat, sugar), apple pieces, cinnamon pieces, ginger bits, cardamom, black pepper, rose blossoms, almond flakes, artificial flavouring*.

Allergens: Tree nuts and coconut

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The above description doesn't do this tea justice: you totally don't get how this is a sweetly mellow tea good for sore throats and headaches. I got this in a sample and really dig it. The coconut is not at all fake tasting -- it's instead nice and solid. The apple pieces are more robust than others I've seen, but because of the ginger and almond, it's not at all overwhelming. I couldn't really taste the black pepper, but the cardamom was a really glorious aftertaste, like what you get after eating really good vanilla ice cream.

Also, have I mentioned how much I love the packaging for David's Tea? Because I love the packaging. It's got directions, ingredients, and caffeine level, and the labels themselves are color coded. They're also vacuum sealed in a robust plastic container.

Amazon's Gold Box Deals today from now until noon PST are all about tea! I can't say whether the options will be any good, and the first option is PG Tips, which isn't so encouraging, but I thought some of you might be interested.

I used to love Simplictea but now they're out of business. Adagio is okay... but I REALLY hate their jasmine, and their chocolate flavor always tastes a little chemically to me. Any recs? I'm especially looking for:

1. A good night-time/chamomile-mint/sleepy-time tea

2. A good blueberry one (my favorite from Simplicitea was a really creamy blueberry)

3. A fantastic vanilla <3

4. A mint (I'm not too picky about mints)

5. A good chai

6. A really fantastic Earl Grey (my husband loves Teavana's Earls, but we're out in Hawaii and the shipping is batshit)

I've been working on this article for a really long time and it's finally ready:

Climate, Geography, and Tea Production

It's focused on the conditions necessary to grow the tea plant, but you can learn a little about how geography influences climate in the course of the article!  Let me know what you think, and if you have any feedback.  I was thinking of maybe adding another diagram in the section on water moderating climate too.

I have 18 bags of Twinings Blackcurrant Black Tea that I would like to get rid of. I like it just fine but I would rather give it to someone who would appreciate it more than I do.

So would anyone be interested in swapping? I love all kinds of tea so I'm open to all sorts of swaps. My favorite tea is Lapsang Souchong and I'm in desperate need of some (bags preferred for making tea at work) but I'm up for anything :)

Is anyone interested?

I am back from my trip to India for new teas. I again apologize to those community users whose orders had to wait till I returned. As a sign of my apology I give a 15% discount on all teas (except samples), valid till end of this week. Use coupon: SPECIAL15.
The store is here

I wrote a post some time ago about white tea and I thought this community might find it interesting:

Definitions of White Tea - Raising Eyebrows

The name of the post is a pretty terrible pun, which you'll find out if you read it.  But I found it interesting for a number of reasons.  I've been struggling with how to define and classify teas, mainly because I do a lot of classifying of teas and writing articles on different styles and varieties of tea in the course of my work on RateTea.net, where I try to classify each individual tea into a specific style (like varieties of tea).  But it turns out to be a lot less straightforward than you'd think to determine whether or not something is "white tea".  There are different organizations with different definitions, and some of them are not only conflicting with each other, but internally inconsistent.

I would also be interested if anyone has feedback on the thoughts I have on defining white tea...as well as whether or not to include certain types of borderline teas (like xue ya / snow buds, or moonlight white) as white tea.  Please feel free to pick arguments with me if you can find any holes in my reasoning! =)

Typed this up for myself for easier reference when I perform citric acid cleaning (which is unfortunately less often than every 3 months). Though there may be at least one or two of you out there who would find this useful... I also have it in a more formatted .doc form if anyone would like me to e-mail that to them.

Without any further ado:

***

How to Clean the Inner Container with Citric Acid (CD-WBC30 / CD-WBC40)
Perform every 1-3 month(s) of usage

Do not drink the water used for citric acid cleaning.
Note: In order to prevent gas bubbles and bubbling-over, the citric acid Activated Descaling Cleaner (ADC-05) or Inner Container Cleaner for Electric Pots (CD-K03E-JU) is recommended for cleaning. To purchase this cleaner, please visit an authorized Zojirushi dealer or www.zojirushi.com.

Preparation: Check that the Filter is attached to the Inner Container.
Note: If the Filter is dirty, remove it from the Inner Container, was with a soft brush and reinstall.

1. Put 1 pack of citric acid ADC-05 or CD-K03E-JU and add warm water to dissolve. Pour it into the Inner Container and fill with water to the Maximum Water Level Line.
Note: Do not fill over the Maximum Water Level Line. (Hot water may spill out, resulting in scalds.)

2. Close the Upper Lid, insert the Power Plug and press the REBOIL button for more than 3 seconds.
Beeps when the cleaning process begins. Both (the REBOIL and TEMP SET) lights will blink. The square shown in the display rotates.
Beeps when the cleaning process is completed. Both (the REBOIL and TEMP SET) lights will stop blinking and stay on. LCD display will show a (non-rotating) square.

Cleaning time: Approx. 1.5 hours. *Cleaning times may vary depending on the amount of water, water temperature, and room temperature.

3. Unplug the Power Plug, detach the Upper lid, and dispose water where indicated "EMPTY FROM HERE."
Note: Repeated citric acid cleaning might be necessary for hard-to-remove residues.

4. To remove the smell of citric acid, fill the Inner Container with water. Boil and dispense about a cup of hot water, allow to cool, then dispose the remaining water.

If Alkalized Ionic Water is used, calcium will tend to build up on the surface of the Inner Container. If scale accumulates on the Inner Container or the Filter, boiling may become louder than usual and water may not dispense smoothly.

To cancel the citric acid cleaning at any time, unplug the Power Plug for more than 5 seconds.

20 stock icons for stock20in20 as well as extra icons and banners all on the theme of a nice cuppa. :)

Teasers:




The rest at my journal: Sunlitdays