That's Some Bloody Good Tea!

As many of my readers know, I love blending tea for musicians and bands because the added inspiration that comes along with the music adds a level to the blending process.  I also love that when the final product has been created that you can Hear AND Taste the music.

Upon opening the form that The Bloody Jug Band emailed me, the first thing I noticed was that all of their answers were in a Red Font and naturally wanted a red-hued tea.  These guys were serious about their branding.  And they were seriously into creating something you've never had before. Other stand-out answers included that they wanted a "Florida Swamp Noir" feel to their blend...and the pleasant request that their tea be "bad ass".

They sent me a CD, which helped me understand what they meant by "bad ass" and "swamp noir". Who would have thought that songs about robbing graves, the walking dead, death and disease could be so catchy?  I get a thrill out of cruising around town listening to their EP "First Drops".

(EDITOR's NOTE: this EP is the most outrageously fun $5 you're going to spend all month)

We ended up making not one tea....not two teas....but three Bloody Jug Band "Jambor-Teas" - because you simply can't cram all this bad ass inspiration and enthusiasm into one blend. It goes to show, the more personality you let shine through on your form, the more inspired your tea becomes.

The 3 Jambor-Teas are:
The Bloody JamborTea - this spicy herbal blend brews up bloody red. Designed to get you going, wake you up, get the blood flowing with the use of spices.  Caffeine-free.  This tea is Hot Blooded!!!

BBQ JamborTea -  It's a BBQ you can drink. With 13 ingredients in this hickory smoked concoction, this tea is good enough to eat!  (it also doubles as a spice rub, so technically I guess you can)

Swamp JamborTea - yes, I said swamp. And sure enough this green tea, roots & valerian mix is every bit as earthy in taste and smell like a Florida Swamp at Midnight.  If you like earthy teas, then you'll be curious to try this one.

What more can I say?...

It's been a hell of a lot of fun for me as a blender to create a color, a food experience and a topographical location.  You never know what sources of inspiration will come your way.

Because these 3 Teas, dare I call them "bad ass blends", are ONLY available on the Bloody Jug Band website, you'll have to order them there.  And while you're at it, pick up a copy of their first EP and give yourself a true multifaceted experience.

Taste & Hear the music.

Music needs a Party...Why not make it a Tea Party?

Madam Potts on Qs House

For the past 3 years, my company, Mad Pots of Tea! has been a loyal sponsor of Qs House - an internet show about the music industry, which "brings music artists and fans together each week to learn, to laugh, and to drink"  - featuring unsigned musicians and other such talented guests and entertainers.

As a sponsor, not only do I supply the studio with my teas, but the winners of the Qs House Artist of the Year receives their own special blend of tea.  Seeing as singers tend to drink lots of tea, this partnership has opened up an entire pathway to creative and talented artists, which I love.  I consider myself a tea artist and so inspiration begets inspiration and creating blends based on musicians is by far my favorite blends to make!  Some of the Artists I have met on Qs House and created teas for include: Spiral Trance, Jen Grinels, Anyone's Guess and Orange Avenue.

So when I got the chance to be on the show, it was especially thrilling.  Q asked some great questions and did a lot to feature my unique blending process and the growth of my little operation. 

DOUBLE BONUS: being on the show with John & Stormy from THE BLOODY JUG BAND (the catalyst and inspiration behind my 1st product line, called "Jambor-Teas", BBQ, Bloody & Swamp - more on that soon).  John also performed in Qs Living Room for me, seeing as I don't make it down to his neck of the woods there in Florida very often.  If you haven't checked out The Bloody JuG Band, you don't kn0w what you're missing.  One word:  Bad ass.

Listen to MADAM POTTS on Qs HOUSE
(also featuring Australian Band: The On Fires)

Review: Orange Avenue Tea

I'm always excited when a tea blend comes together - especially when one is designed for a hard-working rock band, like Orange Avenue, out of Central Florida.

The good folks at The Tea Review Blog gave both the blend and the band a solid Thumbs UP review.

They were even awesome enough to download and post Orange Avenue' new video: Just Refrain

From the Tea Review Blog:

I happen to love Mad Pots of Tea.  Madam Potts, purveyor of tea and tea blender extraordinaire has created yet another delicious custom blend of tea for the band Orange Avenue, which brings a citrus treat to her current custom blends lineup. 

Read MORE....

Orange Avenue was a 2009 Qs House Artist of the Year Winner.  Qs House is a weekly Internet Radio Show dedicated bringing musicians and their fans together and celebrating the rock-n-roll lifestyle, humor and sensibilities.  Listen every week or subscribe to the podcast.

New Blend: Anyone's Tea

Musicians and singers rely on drinking (mad pots of) tea in order to maintain and soothe their voices - so when I get the chance to design a tea for a music artist, I get particularly excited. The inspiration comes not only from what they write on their form, but also from their art.

This next blend is truly unique brew inspired by an alternative rock band out of Orlando, Florida called Anyone's Guess. I heard them on the Qs House Radio Show (listen live every Tuesday night or podcast here) and should they ever make it up to the Northeast I look forward to rockin' out with them in person.

This blend struck me as especially mad and eccentric and unlike any blend I had made prior. It is sweet & warming with a soft finish and altogether surprisingly good. The base of this tea a licorice root - which is a sweet flavored root which is known to be medicinally beneficial for the throat. Add a touch of orange peel, cardamom, fennel and lavender and you have Anyone's Tea.

Maybe it was the mix of the band itself -- 4 members from different genres having some together in 2006 to form an alternative rock band with a strong female vocal lead. That's right -- Listen up because Sanja kicks ass!

The band has already had requests from their loyal fans about purchasing the tea, which at this time is not up on the website. So until the time that I can get that updated...

Get your own stash of ANYONE's TEA

*******************************
My favorite quote, taken from their website:

Anyone's Guess is a female fronted, musical love child of Alanis Morissette, The Cranberries, 30 Seconds to Mars and The Police.

Mad Pots of Tea! Sponsors the 2009 Qs House Artist of the Year Competition

For the 2nd year in a row, Madam Potts and the Mad Pots of Tea! company have been asked to sponsor the 2009 Qs House Artist of the Year competition. Qs House is a weekly internet radio show (available live or podcast) out of Orlando Florida. The show boasts itself as the place that brings musicians and music fans together. Each week features new bands/singers for fun-filled interviews and live performances -- and at the end of every year listeners and industry panel work together to bring you their personal favorite choices for the Artist of the Year.

There are two categories: Best Acoustic Performance and Artist of the Year.

Rules for the voting procedure and other information about this annual look-back & tribute can be found here. There will be a listening party on Dec 29th, and the winners will be announced on the show January 26th.

Last year when I was asked to be a sponsor, and to design 2 custom teas for the winners, it was uncertain how these rock-n-rollers would respond. I guess it should be no surprise that any serious singer would want to/need to take care of their voice. So as it turned out the custom designed teas were a big hit!

LAST Year's winners for 2008 were:
Spiral Trance - Artist of the Year - Lemon Trance
and
Clayton Senne - Resident's Choice Artist winner: Sweetly Sings the Blues

Both of these teas are available for purchase on my website
(come on - show just how big of a fan you really are wit this incredibly unique merch!)

New Blend: Sweetly Sings the Blues

This next blend was also created for a singer, Clayton Senne. I met Clayton through Qs House, after he won Resident's Choice Artist Award for 2008. His soulful blues-pop style was a lot of fun to listen to and even more fun to create into a tea blend.

Clayton's PersonaliTEA is entitled: Sweetly Sings the Blues. Based on sage & hyssop (two herbs used to take care of the throat) this blend is reminiscent of Spring -- a time of sweetness, where things pop! pop up! pop open!...and the world is a more colorful place because of it.

This red-tinted blend of sage, hyssop, red clover, hibiscus, osmanthus and berries brings this artist to life in a teacup!

Thank you Clayton for your inspiration and your songs!

Tea Party Alert!

Snow, snow go away and let's all hit the beach and play!
Who couldn't use some tropical island warmth this month?

So we're going to the islands in a teacup --
featuring the Tea and the Music of
Bishop Wayne's own PersonaliTEA ~
Caribbean Delight

The Tea Party is happening this Sunday, March 15th at

Madam Pott's Mad Tea House
(in Highlands, NJ)

RSVP only: Contact Madam Potts

New Blend: Lemon Trance

Solidly proving my point that tea is for everyone and that it is far from stodgy, my latest PersonaliTEA creation is based on a metal rock band called Spiral Trance.

These 4 guys are a dedicated group of rockers, touring the country from Milwaukee to New Hampshire and areas in between, living the rock-n-roll lifestyle which, indeed, includes lots of tea. After all, you can't be on stage every week singing and not take care of your throat!

And now, they have their own tea: Lemon Trance.

Now, I don't listen to hard rock. But in the same way I hear people tell me, "I don't drink tea" there is something inherently gained in trying it out anyway. You never know when you will be pleasantly surprised. After all, I have surprised a lot of "non-tea" drinkers by having them sample some true quality brew. So I am happy to report that Spiral Trance got my pot rockin' and I have been playing their new CD non-stop in my car...and that it made for a lively tea party last week.

Even if Spiral Trance's music isn't your cup of tea, I encourage you to try their new blend: Lemon Trance. This energizing, throat comfort tea is sure to go the distance to keep you going. In the yerba mate based blend is a spiral of lemon-y herbs and a touch of echinacea.

Own Spiral Trance's new CD -- click to order: www.ratpakrecordsamerica.com/spiraltrance.

Meet: Carribbean Delight

My latest tea was inspired by a singer: Bishop Wayne

This Neo-Soul R&B singer, born in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, has a polished, flexible voice with a slight Caribbean lilt. His voice is smooth, sultry and sincere.

And it was my pleasure to take his sexy voice and turn it into a tea.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sensual, Exotic, Bright, Tropical, Minty, Refreshing and Warming

These are just some of the words and images taken from his PersonaliTEA form.

I enjoyed taking a week to listen to his CD, "I'm Just Me"
Whether singing about hardships or relationships, I was all ears...

Carribbean Delight is a sensual blend of ~
Damiana, Peppermint, Jasmine Flowers,
Cardamom and Dark Chocolate Kisses

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!

Tea ReMix

I love working on a new blend.

I feel like a DJ creating a new track.

First you select a base tea - the basis of the blend, the back beat, if you will. Then you add the other samples (other tea, herbs, flavorings, honeys, fruits) at different levels, volumes and intensities - these tastes are mixed together, creating a whole new taste. There's times that you have to rework the blend, take a cut out, replace it with a different leaf. Reworking it til it comes out the way you want it to taste. Working on synergy, flavor and aromatic quality.

Sometimes I throw on a chill track, a relaxing blend that ushers in the zen. Sometimes the blend is live and opens up your senses, gets you going.

DJ MAD POTS - Mixing funky blends for a new groove sensation.