We hope the New
Year has started off wonderfully for you. In January, we enjoyed a
magnificent day with Marty Young Stratton signing her books,
Angel on the Great Medicine Trail,
and a sequel, Her Fathers Laugh, and learning about her
research and history of the American Indian tribes. These
are fantastic discussion books for your book club and can be found
at Barnes and Noble.
Last month, my
husband, Will and I had the incredible opportunity to visit the
Kaji Aso Studios, Japanese Tea House in Boston, MA. We were
warmly greeted by Kate Finnegan, administrator for the studio and
head tea apprentice. She then led us through the Japanese garden
and into the Japanese tea house. The ceremony consisted of two
parts and was led by Mr. Kaji Aso, followed by two of his
apprentices.
The
entire ceremony, which included drinking Matcha green tea from a
1,200 year old bowl, took approximately two hours. It encompassed
both a quiet period of viewing Mr. Aso performing the tea
ceremony, and a period for questions and answers. This was an
authentic insight to the original and ancient form of the Japanese
tea ceremony, allowing true enjoyment of the tea. For information,
click here to visit
their website.
On a day trip
with my dear friend Ann, we visited the
Crumpets Tea Room in
Andover, MA. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon tea luncheon and
delightful tea conversation with Dianne OBrien, proprietor, and
her outstanding staff. We then headed for the Peabody Essex Museum
for the “Artful Teapot Exhibit” and the Yin Yu Tang, a stately
sixteen-bedroom China home from the Oing Dynasty. The teapot
exhibit consists of 250 teapots from the Kamm Collection
highlighting sculptors from all over the world. The artists have
managed to use the teapot as a demonstration of the political,
conventional and social issues in the 20th century.
Click here for more information on the Teapot exhibit (running
through March 5) and the Yin Yu Tang home.
We are already into February with
Valentines Day right around the corner. What better gift for that
special person, than one of our chocolate teas paired with Van
Otis Chocolates? We have many other items to offer in our retail
tea shoppe that would be perfect for a gift or gift basket for
Valentines day! Stop by and visit us (click
here for directions).
In this
newsletter, you will find the following news items:
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This Months Specials
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Up-coming Events – “Tea Tasting & Cooking with Tea”
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Tea Terms
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Health News
Begin
your day with a daily cup of tea…
All antique bone china tea cups are
15% off until Valentines Day. Combine the Valentine tea and a box
of Van Otis chocolates or Swiss fudge for the perfect gift for
your loved one!
Valentine Tea
Harney and Sons Valentine tea is a romantic brew joining chocolate
tea and rosebuds. This tea is a perfect gift all alone, or packed
with one of our other unique and elegant Valentines Day Gifts.
Loose tea in 4 oz. tin
$8.00
Chocolate Dream
A rich, sumptuous, and indulgent black tea blended with coconut,
cocoa bits, chocolate chips and all natural flavoring.
Loose tea in 4 oz. tin
$8.80
Dragon Well
A green tea from the West Lake region (ZiHu) of China. This is
one of the top 10 famous China teas with an excellent pan-fried
green tea aroma and flavor.
Loose Tea – 2 oz. $7.25
UP-COMING EVENTS
“Tea Tasting and Cooking with Tea and Chocolate” at the
Santos Dumont Winter Carnival in Wilton, NH Sunday, February 12,
from 3:00 – 4:30. For more details on the Winter Carnival,
contact Emeran Langmaid at
A&E Roastery. The Cozy Tea Cart will begin by
sampling some of our specialty teas and answering any of your tea
questions. The tea sampling will be followed by a cooking
demonstration by Liz Barbour of The Creative
Feast. She will prepare and present the following exciting
dishes for you to enjoy:
Healthnotes Newswire (January 19, 2006)—Women may lower their
chance of developing ovarian cancer by up to 46% by drinking two
or more cups of tea per day, reports the Archives of Internal
Medicine (2005;165:2683–6). Green and black teas are derived
from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Black tea is
produced by fermenting the leaves, whereas green tea is
unfermented. Drinking tea may help lower total and LDL (“bad”)
cholesterol, strengthen the immune system, and decrease the risk
of dental cavities. Substances called polyphenols lend the plant
many of its medicinal properties. Studies done in animals and test
tubes have shown that polyphenols such as catechins, flavanols,
and theaflavins have anticancer properties. These substances might
block cancer-cell growth …
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click here to review the remainder of this article.
We hope
that you have enjoyed reading our newsletter. Your comments and
suggestions are a valuable part of