Let's Talk about Tea!

It was my pleasure and priviledge to be a part of a radio broadcast all about tea, last Wednesday with Siren FM, out of Lincoln, UK. The show was a part of the morning line-up and took place at 10am...if you live in England, which is 5am here.

I am not yet able to post an audio file of the show, and am waiting for permission to do so.

In the interim, I wanted to share some of the highlights of this radio exploration on the subject of tea because I felt that the team producing this show was very creative.

The show started off with a montage of answers to the "man on the street question" as to how Brits take their tea. The hosts Richard and Hayley then introduced the topic of Tea and how they were going to be taking it on from a global perspecitive. The shows features included:

- an interview with the owner of Imperial Teas (located in Lincoln, UK) about teas and about how to make a proper cuppa.

- a discussion with Edward Mann, an art historian who educated the listeners to the spiritual quality of the Japanese Tea Ceremony
(Teaism is close to Taoism...Meditate upon this concept with each mindful sip)
- The Making of a Tea Pot
- The Confessional Diary of a Tea Addict: 3 days without tea (!!!)
- A scientific experiment and mad tea party with dunkable biscuits

- and....the live interview with yours truly, Madam Potts. I had made a customized blend of tea, called Mel-iciously Sweet for Melissa, their resident tea addict, who joined them in the studio, and who had no idea that a tea was being made, using my PersonaliTEA system, in her honor.

They asked me about the PersonaliTEA system which they had had Melissa fill out previously, and how her answers, like"grassy meadow" or "Britney Spears Fantasy perfume" inspired the blend that I ultimately created.

I know it's been awhile since I shared a recipe. But here it is...
The blend that I came up with for our British Tea Addict is:

Mel-iciously Sweet
Mango Ceylon Tea

Ginger Root
Rooibos
Hibsicus

Damiana

Berries
Stevia

SIREN FM hosts a Tea Party!

Good Morning UK!

SIREN FM is featuring Madam Potts in their inaugural show called, "Take On..." The idea of the show is that they 'take on' a new topic and the first topic is TEA (ooh! my favorite subject!).

WITNESS people...TASTING SOMETHING MAD!

What does it take to create a fun PersonaliTEA?

Find out: Wednesday, April 23rd,
TIME: in the UK: 10am
If you live on the East Coast, that's 5am
but only 2am for my WCoast sippers!
audio file to follow soon

The show lasts 30minutes so TUNE IN

Or for anytime, because this is one fun radio station!


Let me know if you get the chance to listen in!


Sipping Madly!

What is a Custom Tea Blend?

With the explosion of tea culture across the country and the expansion of tea options around the world, today's tea drinker has more choices than ever before. And of course that delights me to no end, knowing that there are endless blends of teas to try. A tea drinker has no excuse to ever fall into a tea rut.

As American consumers, we have so many choices available to us with everything we buy. Many industries now offer customers the chance to customize their product - be it cars, sneakers, or shades of house paint. It is one way to stand apart in a mass marketed world.

The choices of "customized blends" I have found online are simply a new way of packaging already blended tea.

For instance, The Artisan's Cup sells you pre-made blends and flavors and then lets you customize an order of either green tea, black tea, or a mix of green & black tea. And while the list of flavors sound good enough to eat (gingerbread, coconut cream, banana bread), you are no doubt getting artificially flavored tea. There is little info about the flavors, but fun explore.

If you head over to Adagio Tea, they have created "custom" teas with an interactive swing! They encouraging their buyers to mix Adagio's teas to create "new" Adagio blends. Customers can then post their "newly named creations" and allow others to rate them, share them and even purchase them. It is a unique angle for an established tea company, and for many people, it may be their first time blending. The names and the blends are a lot of fun (Pirate's Spice, anyone?). Kudos for creating communiTEA and making blending fun for everyone!

Now, as a tea blender I am always excited to see the many ways people are experimenting with blending and sharing and creating tea. Anything that brings tea away from the stodgy reputation is a good thing. The new generation of tea drinkers demand that it be anything BUT stodgy or uptight. and Mad Pots! is all about keepin it fun and creative...

HOW MADAM POTTS CUSTOMIZES TEA...

As an artisan tea blender myself, I do my part in taking tea in a progressive direction. What makes Madam Potts and her Mad Pots of Tea different is that I work to create a blend based on the sipper's personality and preferences. I have developed a PersonaliTEA system that asks the sipper a variety of personal choice questions. Those answers become the inspiration and the basis for the blend that gets created.

I work with you, to understand your preferences and even solicit tasting feedback during the process as this work of art is created for YOU! Nothing is pre-made. No artificial flavorings. My blends are 100% Natural, if not completely Organic (labeled accordingly).

In the 2+ years I've been doing this, my feedback has been 100% positive.

The form is downloadable (see Top Right Side of Blog). Payment is simple. For only $19 (plus shipping and handling) you get either 4oz loose or 15 teabags, artfully designed, packaged and labeled. Once your blend has been created, I offer substantial discounts on re-orders!

This process cannot be mass marketed. I can not teach anyone how to do it. I have taken years to learn about teas and herbs. I cannot pass down this ability. I can only share with the adventurous and the curious this passion for creating something truly unique.

It's what I do.
It's why I'm called MADam POTts.

Drink it, Sip it, Make it Yours....

Madam Potts Live!

Dear Friends ~

It is with much excitement and anticipation that I bring you this next announcement...

Madam Potts will be giving a live interview with Siren FM (based in Lincoln, UK) on Wednesday, April 23rd. The show is called "Take On..." and this time the show is 'taking on' the subject of tea. How very cool for a first episode of this program to focus it on a topic so near and dear to my heart!

SirenFM is an eclectic community radio station which streams live on the Internet 24/7, 365 days/year. I have been listening to the station quite often and am enjoying the truly independent and even Random nature of their programming.

I will post a reminder next week with more information

about the show and the teas that will be tasted during the show.

Until then,

Happy Sipping!

Spotlight: Zarafina Tea Maker

I received a Zarafina Tea Maker a few months back -- which is an appliance dedicated to making the perfect cup (or 2) of tea. Using the Zarafina, has changed my tea-making habits forever.

The process is simple:
- Fill the water chamber for either one or two cups.

- Put in either one or two scoops of tea in the filter chamber.

- Place the filter chamber in the water chamber

- Adjust the settings

by Type: green, black, white, oolong, herbal teas
and by Strength: mild, medium, strong

- Flip the On switch and.....Voila! Minutes later you have a perfectly brewed cuppa tea, properly decanted in a tea pot - ready to go.

So after my own test run, I researched what other people were saying about the Zarafina. A great review with pix is also listed here: Review

The Pros stated: "Easy to use! Fast! No-Fuss Tea Making! Consistent Brewing! Gorgeous packaging! Sleek Design!"

The Cons: The biggest complaint was that it was too costly. It was $150, but recently has in fact come down to $100, which may have been in response to their feedback.

I mention them here for the reasons that I fully agree with both the positive and the negative feedback from these reviews. Packaging & Design -- award-winning in my book, rivals the people at Apple. The Use and Functionality: A+ - which is why appliances exist - to make tings faster and easier.

But I wanted to say something more to my readers...about WHY I use the Zarafina Tea Maker Suite, and HOW it has changed my tea-making habits. To do this, I had to live with this machine for months, which furthered the delay in writing this review. So, how has Zarafina influenced the Tea Drinking Habits of Madam Potts?

Ok, so by combining the brewing, steeping and decanting into one effieicent step, the Zarafina Tea Maker Suite has actually increased my tea consumption. If you drink as much tea as I do, then you know that tea time is not always a ritual of relaxation and calm. There are occasions where the focus is on other things besides water temperature and steeping times.

Mornings before work are an excellent example. If I start up my Zarafina, I can then proceed making breakfast, doing dishes, packing a lunch and then turn and pour myself a perfectly brewed cuppa tea without having lost a moment for what would have been a multistep process. I can have that morning cup or pour it in my thermos and I'm ready to start my day. That effiency is invaluable....and I prize that.

Other times, I might be cleaning the house or such, and I want tea, but I'm not in the kitchen. I go and start up the Zarafina, walk away and 10 minutes later I can come into the kitchen and walk back out 10 seconds later with my tea. Did I mention that the Tea Maker automatically shuts itself off! They realize in the world that buzzes and moves at a pace that encourages ADD, the added feature of automatic shut-down is both a safety measure and one more step that you needn't worry about.

I feel that by being able to walk out of the kitchen while tea is being made, that the people at Zarafina offer a liberation, a freedom of movement within one's own dwelling, that then rewards you with a cup of tea at a perfect drinkable temperature!

They've taken the guess work out of how much water or how much tea to use. They've taken the obligation out of watching the kettle. They offer the quick and easy cup (or two) of tea. They offer one more option in the tea-making world which is comparable to any other option.

Using my Zarafina doesn't replace but adds to the options. I continue to use my gaiwan. When I have time, I enjoy the multiple steeps with my testubin. I still use the glass kettle when I want a full pot of tea (sadly the Zarafina makes 2 cups tops). And beautifully so, each of these choices are perfect in their own way, based on desired tea experience and the availability of time.

If you drink tea everyday, then it is fully worth every penny. It's not unheard of to have an automatic coffee maker, so why not an automatic tea maker?

Thank you Zarafina for bringing more ways to enjoy tea as part of my lifestyle!