New Year - The Tea Kitchen

Tea Guides

How To Be A Trendy Tea Drinker This Year

January 5, 2017

We told you what tea trends will be taking center stage in 2017: green tea, matcha, and easy packaging options like on-tap tea and bottled teas. Now we’re here to show you just how you can be a part of these trends. If your New Year’s resolution was to be cool, you’re in luck. Get ready to be ahead of the curve:

1) Green Tea

Green tea’s expected to perform very well in 2017 and beyond, especially as a bottled option for busy commuters in search of a healthy alternative to sugary sodas. Snapple, Lipton, Honest Tea, Arizona, and Tazo Tea all offer iced green bottled teas. Swipe one when you want to be trendy but you’re pressed for time. Or order an on-trend coffee-inspired green tea beverage, like a green tea latte from Starbucks or a green tea latte paired with vanilla or peppermint from Peet’s Coffee. Look for green tea to be offered at more and more locations, from highway rest stops and movie theaters to convenience stores and vending machines as it settles decidedly into the mainstream. Go big green!

2) Matcha

Matcha is on the rise. Look for it on tea menus as a beverage and as a flavor in dishes from breakfast and lunch to dinner and dessert. Scan your menu and you’ll probably find matcha waffles and French fries or matcha chicken and pork belly this year. This green powder is infiltrating all parts of the menu, and not just at fancy restaurants. Matcha’s made it to the Big Leagues: Haagen Dazs sells its matcha green tea ice cream by the pint in American grocery stores and Trader Joes sells a Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix. Don’t be surprised if Japanese products like Matcha Oreos and Matcha Kit Kats come to the United States sooner rather than later. Get ready to be singing “Break me off a piece of that matcha stick!” OK, the jingle may need work, but the point is: matcha will be rolling off more and more tongues.

3) Tea On Tap

Get ready to see bartenders carrying kegs of tea or pulling a kombucha tap at the local watering hole this year. You can be part of this trend by ordering a tea keg for your next birthday party or installing a tea tap at your eatery. Full Service Restaurants said last year that, “Beverages on tap remain fresher for longer and offer a unique experience—bold flavors with an eye-catching presentation.” Several companies work to bring tea kegs and taps to restaurants and organizations, such as Joyride, who argues that a tap “is the perfect solution to serve non-alcoholic beverages, offering product consistency, streamlined workflow, reduction of waste, and a unique customer experience.” That’s a lot of benefits on both sides of the bar! Joyride offers Ceylon Iced Tea and Green Tea in kegs and kombucha on tap. Look for signs outside bars advertising the allocation of taps to kombucha and tea, perfect for tea lovers not in the mood for an alcoholic beverage or non-drinkers looking for a way to feel included by the bar hopping experience.

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Tea Health Benefits

Drink These Teas to Be Happy in 2017

December 29, 2016

Do you want 2017 to be your best year yet? Are you ready to start feeling great and getting what you want? Turns out, certain smells can make you happy, so we’re here with the right-smelling teas to make the good times roll all year long. The key to wellness in 2017 could be right under your nose.

1) For Less Stress: PINE NEEDLE TEA

Ever notice how at peace you feel when walking through a forest? You’re not the only one: researchers at Kyoto University conducted a study to measure the health effects of walking through pine forests, colloquioly referred to as “forest bathing” in Japan. They concluded that “forest environments are advantageous with respect to acute emotions, especially among those experiencing chronic stress.” If you can’t teleport to a pine-filled forest when you’re feeling stressed this year, trying drinking pine needle tea. Smelling pine in your cup may be enough to transport you away from your stress into a more relaxed state.

2) For More Rest: LAVENDER TEA

If your New Year’s resolution is to stop watching Netflix until 2 am and get some decent shut eye, try drinking lavender tea before bed this year. According to WebMd, inhaling lavender is used to treat insomnia, pain, and even dementia-related agitation. This calming scent is just what the doctor ordered, so stock up on lavender tea this year: Teavana has a citrus lavender sage herbal tea and a Lavender Dreams White Tea for your sipping pleasure, while Yogi Tea serves up Honey Lavender Stress Relief Tea and Celestial Seasonings whips up its own Organic Herbal Chamomile and Lavender Tea. Lucky for you, the advantageous properties of lavender have been talked up for a long time, so finding lavender tea is relatively easy.

3) For a Better Memory: ROSEMARY TEA

Smelling rosemary may help you remember important things this year. A study conducted by psychologists at Northumbria University in Newcastle found that people who smelled rosemary could perform memory tasks much better than those who did not. If you’ve got a lot on your plate this year, try sipping rosemary tea and see if it becomes easier to remember all the things on your list. From remembering your four kids’ different pick-up schedules to remembering to take your medicine at the right time, rosemary tea may be the key to keeping it all straight. For your consideration: Tea Forte’s Organic Tangerine Rosemary White Tea and Buddha Teas’ Organic Rosemary Tea.

4) For Athletic Performance: PEPPERMINT TEA

One of the most common goals for the New Year is getting in shape. Whether you’re working toward your first half marathon or a new weightlifting goal, adding peppermint tea to your regimen may help you get there. A study from the University of Mohaghegh’s Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences concluded that athletes who drank water infused with peppermint oil enjoyed better athletic performance and respiratory function. Smelling peppermint and drinking mint tea may keep you from getting out of breath on the treadmill or in the pool, so invest in some peppermint tea for you or the athlete in your life this year. Try Bigelow’s Mint Medley Herbal Tea or Twinings’ Pure Peppermint Tea and then hit the ground running.

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Tea Recipes

5 Tea-Champagne Cocktails to Ring in the New Year

December 8, 2016

The countdown to 2017 is on, and you’re starting to wonder who you’ll be kissing and what you’ll be sipping when the clock strikes midnight. While a glass of bubbly is a winning classic for any New Years toast, why not remix your tried and true with a splash of tea? That’s right, adding tea to champagne creates a memorable, distinct, and often beautiful beverage. Here are five tea-infused champagne cocktails to consider when planning how you’ll ring in the New Year:

1) Hibiscus Royale Champagne Cocktail

This concoction from Betty Crocker infuses bubbly champagne with hibiscus-raspberry flavors and a pop of color. Create a hibiscus tea simple syrup by steeping hibiscus-raspberry tea bags in sugar and water. Then add champagne and garnish with raspberries or lemon. Beautifully bright red and winningly fruity, start the New Year off right with this drink.

2) Green Tea Champagne

More and more people are starting their day with green smoothies packed with nutrients. Why not start off the New Year that way, too? This “green machine” from Rachel Ray is easy to make and will give you and your guests something welcomingly unexpected to raise in the air as you watch the ball drop. Simply combine green tea, lime guice, and agave or honey in a cocktail shaker and shake it like a polaroid picture. Pour into glasses, add champagne, and garish with mint for a final touch. We hope green goes with your outfit!

3) Earl Grey Tea Infused Champagne Cocktail

This cocktail from World Market combines tea-infused vodka and champagne for a double dose of booze. It takes a long time to make, so plan ahead. Start by placing 2 Earl Grey tea bags and 1 cup of vodka in an airtight container for 24 hours. Once time’s up, remove the tea bags and admire your tea-infused vodka. Simply add this flavored vodka to champagne, garnish with lemon, and toast the night away.

4) Kombucha Champagne With Thyme

This kombucha cocktail from The Clean Dish delivers the health benefits of kombucha and the bubbly delectability of champagne all in one glass in under five minutes. Simply combine equal amounts of kombucha and champagne, then add 2-3 small twigs of thyme. If you want a green beverage, use green tea kombucha. If not, stick with a black tea-based brand of the fermented probiotic. If you’ve always thought your champagne would benefit from a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts, then this is the cocktail for you.

5) White Peach and Green Tea Bellini

This recipe from blogger Molly Yeh combines green tea, gin, and champagne for a yummy treat. Combine one part muddled white peach and one part gin with two parts Prosecco and two parts green tea in a glass. (Yeh used Teavana’s Shaken Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonde, but we think any green tea will do.) Overachievers: garnish glasses with peach slices and sprinkle sugar on the rim for a snowy finish.

Happy New Year!

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