Pretty Tea Things

{Knitted Sheep Tea Cosy from treehouseblue.co.uk}

{its teatime art print by seasprayblue on Etsy}

{Tea Cosies by Re : made at by remade shop on Etsy}

{Tea Pot Clock from shop.feyhandmade.com}

{Lavender Sachet found at bugsandfishes.blogspot.com}

Really, an order?!

I was perusing our Two for Tea email box recently and came across an invitation to attend the World Tea Expo East in Boston. The subject line caught my attention because it was about selling tea online. This is something we have been trying to do with very little success for a couple years now. We have a few loyal followers, but we can't quit our day jobs.


Of course I would love to attend the expo and especially the talk on selling successfully online. If you have never attended the World Tea Expo, it is a giant trade show for people who are very serious about all things TEA. Things you only dreamed of are already available at the World Tea Expo. We attended our first show the year before we became tea entrepreneurs. It sealed the deal and we were sucked in big time! There are workshops, demonstrations, free tea, incredible swag and people, lots of them, all as enthusiastic about tea as we are.

If you are in the "tea business" or plan to be, I highly recommend checking out the expo. It is a great place to learn a lot and network with like minded people, plus did I mention the swag?

By the way, just under the expo email was a reorder from a new loyal customer. There is hope!

Sharing the love of tea {online orders},

Here's to your health

{photo: mat.teo}

Beware: this is post is slightly political.

My wish is that the drinking of health and its subsequent health benefits will be added to our current national healthcare debate.
Tea is really good for you. Drink lots!

Sharing the love of good, healthy tea

Tea Shelf

{photo: www.designspongeonline.com}

I found this really sweet tea shelf on Design*Sponge while searching for inspiration. There is a lot of inspiration out there in the world! You never know what event, activity, book, photo or person will create your next aha! moment.

Two for Tea was inspired by a book EJ and I started writing about Entertaining & Tea. We never finished that book, because in the midst of researching and writing we were so overwhelmed with the desire to take our vision to the people that we opened our business. Now I am more inspired than ever to complete that book! I learned so much about entertaining while serving Afternoon Tea, I can't imagine not finishing the book.

Sharing the love of tea - inspired!

The Replacement II

At the behest of one lovely reader I am offering a more substantive review of my replacement tea infuser.

Q: Does it give the tea a plastic taste?

A: No way! I can't stand that. In all fairnness, I must share that it is not perfect. I find the infuser basket to be a little small as a ratio to the the amount of water one can put in the vessel. Also, the little arm does not stay up with most teas, but for sure not with heavier leaf greens. That means the tea keeps infusing after it should, so I either have to drink fast (ouch burnt mouth) or pour some off (ouch hate to waste tea).

What is great is that this infuser is totally portable. I can make tea 2 minutes before leaving the house and then again at work with little hassle. If the Aladdin "development team" called me right now, would I have some suggestions? You betcha! If they offered to advertise on my blog in return for a ringing endorsement, would I sell out to the man? You betcha! But only because it is a pretty good infuser.

Sharing the love of tea (to go).

Death and taxes

Confession: I haven't filed my 2008 taxes yet.
I can't.
I can't file my personal taxes until we have the partnership taxes done.
We can't do the business taxes because Two for Tea
has no money to pay the accountant.
The accountant won't do the 2008s until the 2007s are totally paid for.
It is a big vicious circle. Running a business is hard, stressful stuff.

I could really use a cup of tea.
Too bad I can't pay the accountant in tea.
A nice relaxing herbal tisane for dealing with clients like us with no money.

After Dinner Tisane

I am always excited when I come across tea world knowledge out there in the mainstream. Perfect example is 3rd and Hollywood, a new-ish restaurant that does not specialize in tea or tea foods but has an "interesting" little mint and ginger tisane on the menu.

We enjoyed it as an after dinner digestif (sans alcohol) and for that it worked well. I applaud the effort of the management of this new establishment. It is so refreshing to order tea or a tisane out and get something that is not Lipton or a tired, half-full box of Tazo Teas.

I am currently growing mint, basil, lavender and dill that I plan to mix and match randomly to create my own tisanes. I'll post the results in a few.

Sharing the love of tea...and other leaves