Teaviews.com » Stephen

Donations for Haitian Relief – Teavana will Match

Stephen — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:14:44 +0000

ATLANTA (January 13, 2010) – CARE is assessing the damage in Haiti and readying emergency response crews following a 7.0-magnitude earthquake centered just off the coast of one of the world’s poorest countries. The scale of the disaster remains unclear, as CARE struggles to reach its staff and partners in Haiti. But initial reports indicate a major catastrophe.

CARE has worked in Haiti since 1954, when it provided relief assistance after Hurricane Hazel. Today CARE’s programming there reflects an integrated approach, with projects in HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, maternal and child health, education, food security, and water and sanitation. CARE works closely with local NGOs, private companies, community organizations and the Haitian government to build local capacity and achieve sustainable development.

Among the CARE staff preparing to aid Haiti are relief workers who just last year helped the country recover from a series of hurricanes.

Teavana is partnering with CARE to provide disaster relief for survivor’s of Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake. Donate to CARE now, and Teavana will match gifts up to a total of $20,000 through March 1st.

You can also donate $10 automatically to the American Red Cross by texting “Haiti” to 90999. You can send donations larger than $10 by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.

Review: Golden Star Tea White Jasmine Sparkling Tea

Stephen — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:41:23 +0000

The idea of a sparkling iced tea has intrigued me for some time. I’m not much of a wine-drinker, but I do love to drink sparkling water, and I’ve always sort of wondered what it would be like to mix my love of that with my love of tea. Alas, no product ever came my way that really filled that niche – until Golden Star Tea sent in a sample of their “White Jasmine” sparkling tea.

The Golden Star web site offers some background information on their White Jasmine sparkling tea – the only flavor they currently offer – including ingredients (jasmine silver needle tea, raw sugarcane juice and water) and pairing suggestions (gruyere and salmon are said to go well). To give the product its best chance of success, I waited to break open my bottle until we had a suitable dinner – which ended up being a Thai salmon curry.

I’m not entirely sure what my expectations were when I took my first sip, but I have to admit it was a bit of a let-down. At the very least I was expecting a nice, floral jasmine element – what I got instead was an almost fruity, apple-cider sort of flavor. Not necessarily bad, but certainly not the jasmine experience I was hoping for.

That said – I think my initial negative reaction was more a matter of my brain simply trying to wrap itself around what it was, exactly, that I was drinking here. Because after that first sip, the tea really started to stand on its own – I still never got to a point where I could detect and appreciate the jasmine element I was so hoping to find, but the drink overall began to come together and actually be quite enjoyable. I ended up finishing the bottle over the next hour or so, and very much enjoyed the experience, which was more akin to drinking a fruity champagne than anything else.

The tea itself is non-alcoholic, though there does appear to be “trace” elements of alcohol in it, left-over from the fermentation process, according to the label. As such, it struck me that this might be an excellent beverage to serve at parties for those who abstain from alcohol, or even for those not-quite-yet-adults at the kids table who want to drink the “fizzy-stuff” like the grownups do.

Altogether, I would definitely recommend this to tea and wine drinkers looking for a different sort of experience – though I do wish the jasmine element was more profound. You can almost (almost) pluck it out on the tip of your tongue, and it’s there slightly more so in the aroma, but it’s not that walking-down-the-streets-of-Chiang-Mai jasmine experience I was expecting.

Review: Tea Forte Brewing Pitchers

Stephen — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:16:34 +0000

It’s smack dab in the middle of August, and although this year’s summer has been one of the mildest I can remember here in Virginia, it’s still perfect weather for iced tea. So when Tea Forte kindly sent in their “Iced Tea Brewing Pitchers” set for review I just had to try it out for myself.

The set consists of three pieces, each of hand-blown, heat-resistant glass: (1) a large base pitcher, (2) a smaller “brewing pitcher” which nests perfectly on top of the base and (3) a small glass “cap” for the top of the brewing pitcher, with a hole in the middle. It is altogether well-made and the combination makes for a handsome, modern-design. The idea is that you fill the base pitcher with ice cubes, drop a Tea Forte iced-tea infuser of your choice into the brewing pitcher, pour hot water over it and let it steep for the appropriate amount of time. Then you pour the contents of the brewing pitcher into the base pitcher, and voila, you’ve got “24 ounces” (according to the literature) of iced tea.

It’s not rocket science, and the pitchers work well as intended. The spouts are particularly well-designed and there was minimal “drippage”, which I liked. I brewed up a Tea Forte raspberry nectar iced tea sachet and it came out just about perfect – delicious and well-proportioned, not too strong and not too watered-down. The only issue I had with this at all was that it is advertised as providing “24 ounces” of iced tea. I filled the brewing pitcher nearly to the rim, and filled the base pitcher about 3/4 of the way with ice, and I came out with a tall 12-ounce glass of iced tea with just barely 2 ounces left in the pitcher. So for me this worked out well as a single-serving iced-tea maker, but those thinking they’ll get two full-sized glasses of tea out of a single brew might be disappointed. (The pictures on the box show ice already in the glass being server, so maybe they include the volume of ice in each serving glass as part of the total 24 ounces? I’m not sure.)

That really is my only qualm with this product. It works as advertised, is made of high-quality glass (not plastic like similar iced tea pitchers out there) and would look great in any modern-designed kitchen. The price is a bit steep at $42, but Tea Forte has a special offer where you can save $15 if you buy a twelve-pack of iced tea sachets along with the brewing pitchers, so that helps a bit.

Special Offer! 20% off at Teas Etc, ends Monday!

Stephen — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:25:02 +0000

Here at Teaviews we like to help connect folks with top-quality teas, so it’s great when we get an opportunity to share a discount or special offer for a tea company that’s received high marks from our reviewers. Teas Etc, which debuted recently on the Teaviews “Top 20 Tea Companies” list, is offering a whopping 20% discount off their entire product line when you use the coupon code: AUGUST. But hurry! This offer ends Monday, August 3rd 2009. Click here to claim your discount: Teas Etc.

If you’re interested, here’s a list of all Teas Etc products we’ve reviewed so far here at Teaviews. The Mango Nut Rooibos, Orange U Slim Oolong and Golden Monkey were all big hits overall with us – you might want to try them for yourself!

And if that wasn’t enough, they’re offering an additional $5.00 coupon if you follow them via their facebook page by Tuesday… and of course shipping is FREE if you buy more than $75 worth of tea.

Enjoy!

Special Offer: 20% off Mighty Leaf Iced Tea!

Stephen — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:11:43 +0000

Well, summer’s officially here – which means it’s the perfect time to stock up on some high quality iced tea! Thankfully, Mighty Leaf was kind enough to set up a special offer just for Teaviews.com readers – use promo code teaviews anytime in the month of July 2009 to receive 20% off any iced tea tins or refills (excluding those already on sale). The list of teas available for this promotion are:

Classic Black Iced Tea
Organic Pure Black Iced Tea
Black Currant Iced Tea
Calypso Mango Iced Tea
Ginger Peach Iced Tea
Organic Vibrance Soother Iced Tea
Rooibos Refresh Iced Tea
Detox Soother Iced Tea
Island Breeze Iced Tea

Shop for these and more Mighty Leaf products by clicking here. Just remember to order before July 31st and to use the promo code teaviews when you check out!

Congratulations to Nicole, Our June Giveaway Winner!

Stephen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:59:14 +0000

Just a quick post to congratulate our reader Nicole – she’s our lucky Mighty Leaf Shopping Spree winner for June 2009! Nicole will have her pick of the Mighty Leaf Store with a cool fifty bucks to spend on any teas she fancies.

Congratualtions, Nicole! And a big thanks to Mighty Leaf Tea for sponsoring our June 2009 drawing!

If you didn’t win in June, don’t despair! Everyone who’s signed up to our mailing list is automatically entered in every monthly drawing. The drawing for July 2009 is sponsored by Tavalon, and a new lucky winner will be selected on August 1st from amongst our subscribers. (Even better – Tavalon has graciously upped the prize amount to a whopping $100 Shopping Spree!) Not a subscriber yet? Join now! Just find the “Win a $100 Shopping Spree” graphic in the center column of any page and enter your name and email address to register. You’ll receive a confirmation email soon after with a unique url – you must click on that url to confirm your subscription! (If you don’t confirm your subscription, it will be ignored within 72 hours and you will NOT be entered into the drawing.)

Good luck to everyone in June’s forthcoming drawing, and thanks to Tavalon for sponsoring it!

May 2009 Tea Shopping Spree Winner Announced!

Stephen — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:42:08 +0000

Just a quick post to congratulate Joyce from Indiana – she’s our lucky Zhi Tea Shopping Spree winner for May 2009! Joyce will have her pick of the Zhi Tea Store with a cool fifty bucks to spend on any teas she fancies. (Here at Teaviews we’ve had great things to say about their Sweet Dessert Delight, as well as Ambrosia and Coconut Black.) Congratualtions, Joyce! And a big thanks to Zhi Tea for sponsoring our May 2009 drawing!

If you didn’t win in May, don’t despair! Everyone who’s signed up to our mailing list is automatically entered in every monthly drawing. The drawing for June 2009 is sponsored by Mighty Leaf, and a new lucky winner will be selected on July 1st from amongst our subscribers. Not a subscriber yet? Join now! Just find the “Win a $50 Shopping Spree” graphic in the center column of any page and enter your name and email address to register. You’ll receive a confirmation email soon after with a unique url – you must click on that url to confirm your subscription! (If you don’t confirm your subscription, it will be ignored within 72 hours and you will NOT be entered into the drawing.)

Good luck to everyone in June’s forthcoming drawing, and thanks to Mighty Leaf for sponsoring it!

Win a $50 Tea Shopping Spree at Teaviews.com!

Stephen — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:10:09 +0000

You’ve been asking for it, and now (finally!) we can deliver it – the official Teaviews newsletter mailing list is live as of tonight. Subscribers will get regular monthly emails with the latest tea promotions, special offers, sales and industry news, along with a quick recap of the five top-rated teas that were covered by our reviewers in the past thirty days. It’s a great and convenient way to keep up with the latest and greatest at Teaviews from the comfort of your email inbox.

And if that wasn’t impetus enough to get you to our “Subscribe now” box, how’s this… we’ll select one newsletter subscriber every month to win a $50 Tea Shopping Spree! There’s no purchase necessary – as long as you remain a mailing list member you’ll automatically be entered to win, each and every month! Our first drawing will be June 1st, and the prize is a $50 shopping spree to Zhi Tea (www.zhitea.com)

So what are you waiting for? Subscribe now!

Special Offer for Teaviews Readers – 25% off Tavalon!

Stephen — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:26:00 +0000

If you’ve not yet had a chance to try Tavalon’s line of tea products, now’s the perfect time! Chris Cason, co-founder and tea sommelier at Tavalon, is offering a full 25% off any purchase for Teaviews.com readers. Just enter the promo code: teaviews when you checkout. The promo is good only through June 1st, so take advantage of it while you can!

Tavalon is currently our #4 ranked tea company, so this is definitely one company you’ll want to check out! Our reviewers have enjoyed Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling, Purity (mint/black combo) and Jasmine Dream, as well as several others. And don’t forget to check out some of their tea candies, like matcha chocolate almonds and their delicious menage a gummies, made with real white tea and all natural ingredients.

You can check out all of our Tavalon product reviews here:
http://www.teaviews.com/category/tavalon/ or go directly to Tavalon’s online store at: http://www.tavalon.com.

Tea: The Drink of Choice for Web 2.0 Millionaires

Stephen — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:55:31 +0000

Great article from Wired.com today – thanks to Jeffrey Lorien of Zhi Tea for sending it our way!

Digg This URL Grey: Tea Is the New Coffee
The drink of choice for Web 2.0 zillionaires isn’t a quad espresso anymore. It’s a soothingly steeped tea harvested from a shaded mountainside half a world away. Captains of the internet like Digg’s Kevin Rose and business guru Tim Ferriss are gravitating to the ancient drink, and enterprising retailers are stepping up to fill their every need.

Guess it just goes to show that the high-pressure environment we web-jockeys work in 24/7 requires the soothing calm of a nice cuppa tea from time to time…

Great news for the tea industry – this is the sort of exposure we need to really tap into the next generation of tea drinkers. The millionaire web 2.0 elite might do for tea in this decade what Friends and “Central Perk” did for coffee in the 1990s.

Read the whole article here:
http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/04/tech-millionair.html