Black Tea Shortbread Cookies

Hiroki Specialty Desserts in Seattle gave our Ninja Black Tea Powder for Cooking a whirl.  He made the delicious-looking cookie in the picture.  He gave me some to try, and they were indeed delicious.  The black tea adds a smooth, rich flavor that is challenging to get when you use a steeping method.

Black Ninja Tea Powder for Baking is finely ground 100% Darjeeling tea powder.  It's great for use in beverage and baking recipes because the powder is very flavorful and dissolves easily, so that instead of steeping the tea leaves you are consuming them.   It will be available online at a very competitive price soon!

Praying for the people of Japan; Three Tree Tea Products & upcoming harvest unaffected by radiation contamination

 Our hearts ache as we continue to learn of the scope of the devastation and catastrophic loss of life in Northern Japan.   We are praying for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami.  We will continue to keep the people in Japan in our thoughts as those who are displaced find warmth, food and comfort and as that region rebuilds in the days, months and years to come.

As Japan continues to deal with the devastation caused by the massive earthquake, tsunami and subsequent damage to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, concerns have risen among individuals across the globe regarding the contamination of tea products in Japan.

The region affected by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant is far away from the tea fields from which we buy exclusively.  The tea fields and production area are located in the Nishio area, roughly 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the damaged Fukushima power plant. (More below...)

 Each prefecture is closely monitoring their own radiation levels.  At this point there are no unusual levels of radiation detected in the Nishio area to warrant any radiation testing.  Also, our current tea and tencha is from last year’s harvest and is stored in a refrigerated warehouse.  In addition, all of our tea is processed and shipped from Nagoya port in the same region.

For the latest information regarding the Fukushima Nuclear issue visit the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) website at www.iaea.org.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to those individuals who lost their lives or loved ones in this unspeakable tragedy.

As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have, by phone at 206-595-5866 in English, 206-799-9453 in Japanese, or e-mail: info@threetreetea.com.

Praying for Japan and for those with loved ones there

 

Our household was one of many with loved ones in Japan.  It was hard to break away from the news all day, and the images of the devastation will be with us for a long time.  Luckily our family is all right, but we know of some who as of yet cannot make contact with their loved ones.

We are praying for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami and hope that people will be able to make contact with their families soon, and that Japan will be able to make a quick recovery from this.  

Sowing the seeds for a summer bounty

We have been wanting to start a garden for a long time.  For one reason or another we've never quite been able to pull it off.  Our soil has too much of a clay consistency, and our backyard doesn't get much sunlight.  

Last year my husband built some raised beds as my son picked as many stones as possible from the dirt.  We have been composting for a couple of years; we also added chickens and bunnies to the family, and they have been making their "contributions" which is helping to produce some very rich soil. 

We are finally ready.  We've got all of the seeds, the raised beds are built in the front yard and the back yard, and we are only waiting for the rest of the garden mix to be delivered on Friday.  We've got a diagram of which vegetable goes where, and a timeline for when to plant each one.  The stepping stones are ready to be placed strategically so as not to disturb the seedlings.  Then comes the watering, the watching, the waiting.  And with hard work, luck and hopefully some sunlight, we will at some point be able to enjoy the fruits(or vegetables!) of our labor.

It's no wonder that the act of gardening has always been the inspiration for some of life's most relatable metaphors.  The cycle of life is played out before us in fast-forward, in one season.  But it's the work that takes place behind the scenes that gets us to this point, with a family pulling together, each giving a piece of him or herself to the cause.  


Like our garden, in other areas of our lives we will prepare the land and sow the seeds in anticipation of a future bounty.   As with the garden, we'll cast the stones and other barriers of growth aside, pull out the poison weeds and  let our inspiration and motivation keep moving us toward our goals.  


My family and I are ready to begin.