Peach Blossom White Tea- Summertime Heaven

One of my favorite things about the early part of summer is the arrival of the vivid colored peaches in the grocery stores and farmers markets. 

Originating from China, the fragrant aroma and velvet skin of peaches hint at the juicy fruit inside; opening up our summer time recipes to peach cobbler, honey fruit salads and now, our special Peach Blossom White tea.  This Chinese white peony tea is full of vitamins and antioxidants resulting in numerous health benefits from improving the cardiovascular system to protecting skin from UV radiation exposure.  Blended with peaches and various blossoms, this healing tea has a strong floral aroma with a delicate fruity flavor to the light golden colored brew. 

Peach Blossom White tea's fantastic flavor makes it a great choice for iced teas or even to freeze into summertime frozen treats. 

I made mini iced treats for my little boys, using fresh watermelon. They were a quick, healthy and fresh way to enjoy this tea. 

Peach Blossom Watermelon Ice Flowers

-Make a small cup of Peach Blossom White tea hot. I made a 12oz cup of tea using 1 TBSP of tea leaves steeped for 3 minutes.

-Blend 2 parts fresh watermelon in large chunks to 1 part hot Peach Blossom White tea

-Strain mixture into ice/popsicle tray of your choice (or use a plastic cup)

-Freeze & Enjoy!

Peach Blossom White tea is now available on our website and in the tea shops. It is also one of the teas we use to create our amazing line of kombucha teas called Happy Mountain Kombucha.

Cheers to the beginning of a beautiful summer!

A Few of My New Favorite Jeweled Things (I've made)...

I have been in a creative cyclone for weeks. Just when I find I need a mental break from life, in pops an inspiring idea that propels me into action. My mind clears when I'm creating, and I find that with each project, just as I am bringing things together to create something new, I feel I am growing in my world perception and empathy as I think of each materials origins and impact on humanity. I feel the woman in Nepal who shaped the gemstone, the animal AND the humans who were the originators of the leather. I am connected to all and want to share my love for life in it. I love experiencing my creative moments and being present in them.  If I had the time (& desire), to post each time I created something, I'd probably be over limit on blog entries (if that's possible). Instead, I'll give you a brief glimpse into what my fingers have been creatively up to.

A few fun baubles designed to inspire vibrationally through gemstones and rare rocks like Black Tourmaline and Tektite...

Then I found inspiration in working with leather and created these leather teapot necklaces for our staff (the guys received tea cup key rings).

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And finally, a fun shirt I modified with vintage pearl beaded garland I received from my husband Dominic's Granny.  This shirt was originally really wide in the neck with no support, so adding a few new positioned strands of this beautiful gray garland created something fun and now functional to wear. I first used a fabric glue to set the garland, then hand stitched it to the shirt. No more safety pins to keep this shirt up!

Short Sands Chai Beach Campout Giveaway!

Smoky. Sweet. Two words that aren’t usually together in a chai blend. But like the magic felt when camping at the coast around such places as Cape Lookout here in Oregon, where secret beach hideaways like Short Sands Beach (aka Smugglers Cove) are a short walk away, something special to be peacefully in the moment is called for.

Our newest caffeinated chai blend, Short Sands Chai, is smooth, with a smoky flavor from our pine smoked Lapsang Souchong black tea and our organic Roasted Yerba Máte. Like the joy of smores at a campout on the beach, our Short Sands Chai rounds out with a sweet vanilla flavor from the addition of our Vanilla Bean Rooibos and other sweet spices.

Beach Campout Giveaway!

Photo courtesy http://www.oregonstateparks.org

Post your favorite beach memory here on our blog or our Facebook page to enter to win a 4 1/2oz tin of Short Sands Chai & a $30 gift card good at any of the 50 beautiful Oregon State Parks.   

Campout at the beach on us!  Contest ends April 25^th, 2011 at midnight and the winner will be announced & notified on April 30^th,2011.

Memory Keeper for My Little Monkeys

One of my favorite things to do with my sons is to flip through our photo albums, showing them great memories of our past, with family, friends and even old family pets. From our wedding photos in Maui, Hawaii to trips to the Oregon coast, capturing moments of joy are a passion of mine that create life long happy reflections I get to share again and again.

Noticing we still hadn’t created a photo album for each of our boys, I was happy to come across some adorable yellow felt letter stickers that went perfectly with some small green fabric covered photo albums at a few craft stores on our recent family trip to Southern Oregon. This project took only about 30 minutes and was very simple to put together. Simply line up the letters on the album and stick them on. I also found some adorable felt monkey stickers and since I often call my sons, “my little monkeys” they were perfect for this project.  To protect the letters, I am reusing the plastic cover that came with each photo album. There is also a pocket in the back of the album, perfect for a CD of other photos (great for adding later as my boys get older).

Now Dimitri and Sol both will have the opportunity to see pictures of their adventures growing up in a quick, personalized way.

A Light & Crispy Quinoa Cookie? Yes, Please!

My family LOVES peanut butter. Loves it so much, they have it on toast in the morning, on crackers or in PB & J at lunch and will still ask for more. So when I found a cookie recipe with peanut butter and Quinoa, I had to give it a try. Although this blog is about tea, peace and unique crafts I've made, I find my creativity extends deep into the foods I prepare too.  A big part of the peace and love we show our children comes from the foods we prepare for them, so I will occasionally share them with you as well. 

Below is a modified crispy cookie recipe using Quinoa flakes from Ancient Quinoa Harvest. These cookies are light, crispy and very addicting. Similar to a shortbread cookie, these little lovelies are quick and easy to make and can be made gluten free (if you choose).  To add some variety, chocolate or peanut butter chips, dried fruit or even nuts can be added.

Peanut Butter Quinoa Crispies

¾ cup Light Brown Sugar (can use ½ cup honey + 1/3 cup brown sugar to substitute)

1 stick Butter (1/2 cup)

½ cup Creamy Peanut Butter

½ tsp Vanilla extract

1 cup Flour (can use Rice flour for wheat-free option)

¾ cup Quinoa Flakes

1 tsp Baking Soda

¼ tsp Salt

½ cup nuts or chocolate & peanut butter chips (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat sugar (or honey + brown sugar), butter, peanut butter and vanilla in medium bowl until creamy.  Combine flour, quinoa flakes, baking soda and salt in small bowl.  Add to mixture and beat until well blended. If desired, add nuts.  Roll cookie dough into small balls the size of a ping pong ball and flattened with a fork on onto ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool a few minutes before adding them to a wire rack to cool. Wait until they are completely cool before putting them into an airtight container.  Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Quinoa flakes are a great staple to add to your kitchen.  An important grain for people in the Andes Mountains of South America, the tiny Quinoa seeds have been used for thousands of years. From hot cereal, cookies, pancakes, muffins and breads this amazing and quick cooked grain is a wonderful source of balanced protein and contains calcium and iron while being low in sodium. Easy to digest and a mild taste make it a terrific food for children or those on restricted diets. Magnesium, copper and phosphorous found in Quinoa are also very beneficial for those struggling with Diabetes and migraine headaches.

It’s great how many nutritional grains besides wheat Nature provides us, and I hope the above cookie recipe will inspire you to see how Quinoa can benefit you and your loved ones.

The tiny hole in the top of the crust was my husband, Dominic's accidental crust test. Nice & crispy!

My Proud Mama Moment:

My son Dimitri, helped me make our first loaf of bread in our new bread machine from Breadman,  and he loved the bread so much this morning that he wanted 3 pieces with peanut butter! I can’t wait to make a loaf with the Quinoa flakes, dried currants and dried pear next!   

A Polite Hat for a Polite Mind.

Grief. Not something you may want to encounter, but just like love, it’s an emotion we all experience at some point. At 98 years old, my Great Grama was a pillar of joy and strength. She inspired me from an early age through her love for color, costume jewelry and even jewel-encrusted sandals. But what she passed down to me was a deep reverence for faith and humanity. Her firm, yet polite ways of reminding my sister and I to be nice when we were kicking each other under the table during lunch as children were (although probably a huge reason I tend to err on the side of being overly polite), such a clear message to me about how interconnected we all are. We all deserve respect. We all have something unique to offer.  So in my grief over my Great Grama’s exit from this physical world, I found myself honoring her through my craft, creating a soft wool hat that I know she would have politely said, “Well done, Angela. I love it.”

My Great Grama & Grampa Leuppie.

Sweet Energy from Blue People

When Dominic showed me this tea, I initially thought the beauty of the “moss colored stones” was enough to entice me to try this unique jade oolong. Then he told me the tea leaves are coated in Ginseng powder and Stevia, and my nose scrunched up and a few doubting comments came out of my mouth. I will admit I am not a fan of Stevia Leaf. Years ago, when we first started carrying Stevia Leaf in our shop, I had one too many unfortunately strong brewed sample cups as we tested it out to get the steeping time right. As much as I loved providing it as an alternative to sugar for our customers, I swore it off personally after that. But fate had other plans for my taste buds when these tiny little matte green pebbles arrived and I just can’t turn down a chance to try something new. 

Why Blue People? No ties to any of the different Blue People you may be thinking of, rather, this high mountain jade oolong tea from Taiwan is pressed tightly into little mounds, then coated in a blend of Ginseng and Stevia powders to give its blue pebble like appearance and memorable name. But the Ginseng and Stevia bring something far greater to this oolong than just a unique look. Upon first infusion (steeped 3 minutes with 180ºwater), this tea has a crisp, slightly cooling (almost minty fresh) flavor with a strong and sweet stevia leaf aftertaste. The first few sips yield an energizing and uplifting feeling while the last few leave a sweet and fulfilled taste in the back of your throat. Not one to waste the opportunity to re-steep tea leaves, I found the second infusion really brought out the best in this lovely jade oolong as the tea leaves completely unfolded, and the sweet aftertaste became more subdued. The third infusion is far more mellow, but still has a nice aroma to it.

Blue People tea is energizing, sweet and uplifting- a terrific way to start off any morning or to drink as an early afternoon pick-me-up.

Now available in our tea shops and online.