Kids and sugary drinks - tea to the rescue

It seems that kids are just naturally drawn to sugary, often nutrition-less drinks.  I know that when I am with my son at the supermarket, when he sees all of the different, colorful and fun looking drinks he is immediately intrigued.   Problem is, they are full of sugar and not much else; even juice often falls into this category.  According to KidsHealth.org, "what a child drinks can drastically affect the amount of calories consumed, as well as the amount of calcium needed to build strong bones."

Herbal tea can be a fun, tasty and refreshing beverage for kids as long as it contains little to no sugar.  A small amount of honey or other natural sweetener can add just the right amount of sweetness.  Here are some suggestions for kid-friendly herbal "tea" drinks(most kids like it chilled):

Rooibos comes from the aspalanthus plant and is primarily grown in South Africa.  It is prized for its high level of antioxidants, nutty and slightly sweet flavor, and low tannins.  It has a myriad of health benefits and is used around the world for alleviating infant colic, nervous tension and allergy symptoms.  Honeybush is of a similar plant variety only found in South Africa, and has a slightly sweeter flavor and darker brew than Rooibos.

Peppermint is a flavor that we all know, and in addition to its delicious taste it is also believed to assist with memory recall.  It is delicious and refreshing on its own, or blended with other herbs such as chamomile.

Hibiscus produces a brilliant reddish blue color and tastes like berries.  It may have antibacterial properties.   It is delicious when blended with other herbs such as Rooibos.

Lavender has been used as a flavoring for centuries, and is even used in candy, so kids must like it, right? A lovely herb with a pleasant aroma, this one also blends well with the healthy Rooibos herb. 

Passionfruit in my opinion really needs no sweetener.  The easiest way to get this is to order one at Starbucks without any sweeteners, syrups or flavors - they have it and they charge you less if you leave that stuff out.

Osthmanthus (or tea olive) is a very fragrant flower with a sweet flavor, and also tastes great blended with either rooibos or green tea(which contains caffeine). 

And if you are not afraid to give your kid a little caffeine, put a 1/2 teaspoon or so of Matcha(ground green tea) into their banana smoothie for an extra health kick.  The bright green color is intriguing to most kids and it gets them used to the concept of tea. 

Recipe: Herbal Rooibos Iced Tea with Lavender Flower

Strainer(preferably stainless steel mesh or disposable tea bag)

For 1 - 2 servings:

2 - 3 tsp Hana-cha Rooibos Tea with Lavender Flower
1/2 to 1 tsp honey(optional)

Boil water.  Steep tea in water for 5 - 6 minutes, brew should be a dark reddish color.  Remove strainer or disposable tea bag and add honey if desired.  Pour over ice.

For a 64 ounce pitcher of tea:

Use 5-6 rounded teaspoons of tea, put in a disposable tea bag and steep in just-boiled water for at least 10 minutes, until the brew is somewhat dark in color.  Add honey to taste if desired, and cool for a couple of hours.  Refrigerate and serve chilled over ice.

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.

Espresso biscotti & black tea biscotti

Biscotti is such a delicious cookie and the perfect light accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea.  Making biscotti with coffee flavoring has always been pretty simple because of the availability of instant coffee that you can mix right in with the cookie dough to give it a stronger coffee flavor.  Brewing a cup of coffee and using the liquid a) does not provide the same flavor and b)adds liquid to the dough that you have to compensate for by altering the recipe usually.

Making biscotti with tea has had this type of challenge as well, until now.  The biscotti pictured on the bottom is made from instant ground black tea.  This tea dissolves instantly and evenly in liquids as well as in cake/cookie dough and is great for baking.  It is so flavorful,  like milk tea in a biscuit form. 

We will soon be offering Black Ninja Powdered Black Tea for Cooking.  It is an extremely fine ground, delicious tea that bakers can now utilize for desserts, ice cream and baked goods.

No longer is it necessary to steep black tea for long periods of time in milk or water.  Just a couple of teaspoons will add more tea flavor to your product than steeped tea could ever do - simply use it just like you use cocoa powder or our Matcha For Cooking.

Be on the lookout for it!

Happy New Year!

Here's hoping that everyone is having a wonderful Holiday season!

2011 is almost upon us.  Whether you're attending a New Year's Party or just sitting in the corner clutching a bottle of cheap sake at midnight like I will be, we wish you all the best for the coming year.  Hopefully this will be a year of recovery, growth and contentment for all.


Pictured drink: Matcha cocktail.  2 level tsp Ippuku Matcha Latte Powder with aforementioned cheap sake(Gekkeikan, etc); shake + pour. 

Happy New Year from us to you!