Greetings to The Cozy Tea Cart's  Newsletter members,

Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter. Perhaps, your children have started back at school or have left for another year of college. Or your calendars are quickly becoming filled with business meetings, increased travel, and seasonal events.  (Be sure to check our Events Calendar for more information on our China lectures and Seasonal events!)  As the leaves on the trees change from green to their beautiful New England radiant colors, and gardeners harvest their last crops before the frost, we should try to fit in a moment of contemplation.  The lingering days of summer have begun to fade as shorter sunlit days and cooler evenings take over.  Autumn is beckoning and it’s the perfect time to take a moment to enjoy the season with a warm cup of tea.

This past Friday morning, as I walked my children to the bus, I passed our gorgeous hydrangea bush that was in full bloom, with some of the flowers turning a nice autumnal blush.  As I sipped on my cup of Bao Zhong Oolong to take away the morning chill, I made a comment to my son that I’d made every morning that week, “One of these days I need to pick those flowers and make a fall arrangement.”  I waved good-bye to the bus and headed back into the house to ready myself for a day’s work at the tea shoppe.  As I entered the kitchen and prepared another cup of tea, I noticed my “Sun and Sand” candle on the windowsill.  The morning chill made it clear that it was time to put this away and pull out my favorite fall “MacIntosh” candle.  I lit the candle and the smell of apples filled the air. I decided at that moment that it was time to pick those hydrangeas along with my Autumn Sedum and start welcoming the new season into the home.  So off I went with my clippers and began cutting, flower after flower.  On my way back up the driveway, I stopped to cut the Autumn Sedum. This was a bit more challenging due to the swarm of bees hovering over them.  The bees and I began a duel, each of us dancing back and forth, until I had succeeded in my harvest.  With my arms overflowing with flowers, I headed inside. There were so many that they were difficult to hold and I raced to drop them in the sink. I picked up my cup of oolong tea and stepped back a moment to admire my flower harvest.  They were so beautiful, I went and grabbed my camera. I promised myself that the next time I felt rushed, I’d look at this picture to remind myself to take a moment to enjoy nature’s bounty.

Whatever new demands this season brings upon you, I hope this will encourage you to take a moment for yourself, make a cup of one of our fine teas, and enjoy the beauty autumn has to offer you.

Try our new Tea-Infused Biscot-TEA baked with Organic and all natural ingredients!

THIS MONTHS FEATURED TEAS

TOAST TO YOUR HEALTH WITH A WARM CUP OF FRESH BREWED TEA!

ORGANIC BAI MU DAN

This organic Chinese white tea from the Fujian province is full of soft white buds and bright green leaves giving it the look of a flower. This tea offers a delightfully smooth, velvety flavor with hints of honey, chestnut, oak and vanilla with a fresh sweet aftertaste.  It is medium bodied with a lingering fragrance and light golden brown liquor.

2 oz. $10.75 ($.26 per cup w/ 2 infusions)

WEN SHAN BAO ZHONG (POUCHONG))

This highly prized and sought after Formosa (Taiwan) oolong is often referred to as a “special” or “reserve grade” tea for its exquisite beauty and complex layered flavors. The freshly picked long emerald green leaves are lightly oxidized and produce an exceptional cup.  The lush buttery flavors are refreshing and light bodied with a distinct floral aroma of lilac. 

2 oz. $15.95 ($.26 per cup with three infusions)

ORGANIC LEMON GINGER GREEN TEA

This tasty uplifting combination is both soothing and invigorating!  The organic ginger contributes a slightly spicy flavor and has been used for centuries in China to aid in digestion and treat stomach upset.  The fresh tangy flavor of organic lemongrass together with the organic green tea from Hunan China creates a wonderfully fragrant tea. 

2 oz. $5.95 ($.14 per cup with two infusions)

UP-COMING EVENTS

Check out our Events Calendar for tea tastings and events in your area!  (Note:  This list is constantly changing, and some private functions are not listed.  To secure a date, please call 2-3 months in advance.)

CONGRATULATIONS to Noelani McGadden!  You are the winner of our summer contest “Cooling Off with Tea and My Family/Friends.  Make yourself a cup of tea and read her delightful submission below. 

“I love to garden.  I’m not the best, but I love it: I feel like I’m creating something and the activity brings back childhood memories of when my father used share this hobby with me.  Every year I grow sunflowers in a square to create a “fairy house” for my daughters with a little opening for a door.  It is a shady reprieve during the hot summer months and they spend hours there pretending to be fairies and whispering magic spells to each other.  

This summer the old apple tree finally fell down and my husband took a chainsaw and “created” a table and 4 chairs from the stump and large branches.  We placed them in the sunflower house and my daughters put on their favorite princess dresses and fairy wings.  We made fairy sandwiches (fluff), picked fresh blackberries, and held a tea party (apple juice for kids – blackberry tea for mom) under the gentle swaying of the large sunflower heads on our table and chairs made of apple wood.  It doesn’t get any better than this.” 

HEALTH NEWS

Tea is brimming with antioxidants, the disease-fighting compounds that help your body stave off illness.

By Jenie Lerche Davis, WebMD Weight Loss Clinic – Feature

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

Reat the tea leaves, caffeine lovers. Tea is gaining ground over coffee. Even Starbucks is bucking up its tea menu. The health benefits of tea are one compelling reason: Green and black teas have 10 times the amount of antioxidants found in fruits and veggies, by one estimate.

Studies of humans and animals show that the antioxidants in black and green teas are highly beneficial to our health, says 82-year-old John Weisburger, PhD, senior researcher at the Institute for Cancer Prevention in Valhalla, N.Y. "I've published more than 500 papers, including a hell of a lot on tea," says Weisburger, who drinks 10 cups daily. "I was the first American researcher to show that tea modifies the metabolism to detoxify harmful chemicals."  To view the remainder of this article, click here. 

We hope that you have enjoyed reading through our newsletter. Your comments and suggestions are a valuable part of The Cozy Tea Cart's growth and development. Please continue to email or call us.  We love hearing from you!

Teafully yours,

Danielle Beaudette

The Cozy Tea Cart

603-249-9111 

www.TheCozyTeaCart.com