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Archive for the ‘Jonathan's Blog Posts’ Category

How To Make Matcha

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

Just finished our newest video on preparing Matcha green tea. We had the honor of hosting Rebecca Cragg from Camellia Teas of Ottawa in June to demonstrate the Japanese Tea Ceremony. During her visit Rebecca offered a demonstration on how to prepare matcha green tea. Please enjoy Rebecca’s elegant teaching as she gives a brief instruction on making matcha green tea. Check it out and pass it on!

Get matcha and all the essential tools for making great matcha! Enjoy premium, ceremonial grade matcha in both regular and organic, as well as all the things you need to make it.

Matcha Whisk

Matcha Whisk

Premium Matcha

Premium Matcha

Bamboo Matcha Scoop

Bamboo Matcha Scoop

Matcha Strainer

Matcha Strainer

Introduce a Friend, Get Free Tea

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Introduce a Friend to Tea Embassy - Get Free TeaTea on the House
I have to admit, I’m one of those people that is on the look out for a great deal. I really love quality and VALUE. When I love something, I tell my friends about it and introduce them, like most of us do with something we love. So, I want to first of all thank you for supporting us. We love and appreciate you! Second, I want to offer you some free tea when you introduce a friend to us! Bring them to our store and enjoy aTasting Cup on the house for bringing them. Hang out in our beautiful historical home, enjoying the tranquil atmosphere, while savoring one of your favorite teas. Looking forward to seeing you in soon! - Jonathan

What It’s Like to Be a Father

Friday, June 12th, 2009
Happy Father's Day from the Tea Embassy!It’s hard for me to describe what it’s like to be a father. I’ve only been a father for thirteen months, so I’m new to this thing, called “parenting.” My favorite parts of being a father are getting to play with Preston, seeing him giggle, watching him be the little fireball, funny, sneaky, playful person that he is. I love to throw him up in the air and see him take a big breath with a face full of smiles and land in my arms with a laugh, begging for more. I also like it when he grabs onto my nose or scratches my knees, even though it’s kind of uncomfortable sometimes. It’s also amazing to experience the love that fatherhood brings. Loving Preston even when he does something that he knows he shouldn’t, or when he wakes way too early in the morning. It’s a beautiful relationship, father and son/daughter. It makes me want to really be a better son, father, and person as I think about how amazing my father has been to me. Hopefully, you’ve had the pleasure of interacting with my dad, Robert, in our store at some point and seeing what a caring, encouraging, and inspiring man he is. I hope that I can be as inspiring to Preston as my dad has been to me. Enjoy honoring your fathers next Sunday, June 21, celebrating them, encouraging them, and allowing them to love you how they love you best. Celebrate your dad next weekend by giving him supplies for making iced tea, like our new glass pitchers, a new teapot or ingenuiTea and a selection of premium teas that are great chilled, like the Raspberry MintBlueberry Rooibos, or Black Currant. The Hot Cinnamon Spice is a surprisingly good sweet iced tea, AND it’s available at Whole Foods Market, Lamar Store. - Jonathan

Discover the Japanese Way of Tea

Friday, June 5th, 2009

 

Japanese Tea Cermony Bamboo Whisk One of the amazing things about tea is that every culture has its own expression and WAY to prepare and enjoy drinking tea. Whether you are in Morocco, drinking their strong Chinese Gunpowder green tea with fresh mint and heaps of sugar, or in Turkey’s beautiful Istanbul, enjoying some of theirfamous tea in a clear, curved glass as you look out from one continent to the other, each culture has its own expression. This month, we are featuring the Japanese Way of Tea or Chado. Come on June 20 for a special presentation of the ceremony (ticket required) and enjoy the free workshop afterwards on how to prepare Matcha, the Japanese green tea powder. We have a handful of tickets left, so get yours today, BUY NOWRemember, tea takes time, relax and enjoy! -Jonathan

The Best Way to Learn About Tea

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

 

Tea Tasting: Silver Needles Yin Zhen at Tea Embassy When I first started learning about tea over ten years ago, I was overwhelmed. Where do I start? I had borrowed my parent’s copy of James Norwood Pratt’s New Tea Lover’s Treasury. I was excited to learn all about tea, but the information seemed out of reach at the time. How do we taste and experience all these teas? Where can we find them? So, my dad and I made a visit to one of the Asian grocery stores in town on a mission to find these legendary teas. We were so pleased to find tins of Ti Kwan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy) oolong and Lung Jing (Dragon Well) green tea, and yet, we had no idea what we were doing or what they were. We probably prepared them completely different from how they are meant to be steeped, but we started our tea adventure.

Through this tea journey, I’ve realized that the best education is to experience tea by tasting. When I taste a tea, I can see what the dry tea leaves look like, smell the aroma of the steeped tea leaves and experience the bold tastes or subtle hints of flavors. I encourage you to come and experience a tea tasting. We sample 16 different teas from all over the world to give you an introduction to the major types of teas and how to identify them. We offer monthly tea tastings the last Saturday of each month. Our next one is this Saturday, from 10am-Noon. Please, call us, (512) 330-9991, to buy a ticket or come by and purchase one in our store. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday! - Jonathan