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Name: Keemun Golden Buds Brand: Rishi Tea (Check out my podcast interview with Susana Mojica of Rishi Tea. Please note that we had technical difficulties in the first six minutes of the show, so you may want to skip ahead in the recording.) Type: Black tea, Chinese Form: Loose leaf Cost: $9.75 for one ounce, quantity discounts available Review: Rishi’s […]

Name: Caramel Chamomile Brand: David Rio Type: Tisane (chamomile-based) Form: Paper tea bag Cost: $6.95 for 20 teabags Review: I spotted this at a local gourmet market, and, despite my suspicion of tea-bag chamomile, thought I would give it a try. The dry leaf has a rich, sweet nose of, as one might expect, caramel and chamomile. The blend also has [...] […]

Greetings! Last week I announced my involvement in The Open Sky Project. I am now thrilled to announce a “sneak peek” into my new store on OpenSky. OpenSky is a new shopping experience, offering shoppers the opportunity to buy goods that have been hand-selected by passionate, knowledgeable “Shopkeepers”. My store only has a few items […]

Name: Golden Dragon Aged Oolong Brand: Teas Etc Type: Oolong Form: Loose leaf Cost: $12.95 for a 1 ounce tin, quantity discounts available Review: This is one strange looking tea. The leaves are dark brown and twisted, and there are plenty of large twigs and stems in the blend.  The nose is even stranger (in a good way): A melange [...] […]

Welcome to Lainie Sips, a blog dedicated to all things tea! (This is a sticky post: For new content, please scroll down.) To learn more about the blog, please visit my about page. The bulk of my tea-writing is done on this blog, but you can also check out my column on Examiner.com (Chicago-area tea news [...] […]

Name: Sugar Daddy Brand: Shui Tea Type: Black tea, flavored Form: Loose leaf Review: This is a curious item from Chicago-based Shui Tea (check out my podcast interview with Shui Tea's president and founder,Jim Schreiber). Black... […]

Name: Earl Grey No. 69 Brand: TeaGschwendner Type: Black tea, flavored Form: Loose leaf Review: Bergamot lovers unite! This Earl Grey from Chicago-based TeaGschwendner has a strong dose of the stuff. Earl Grey No. 69 actually took ... […]

Name: Witch's Brew Brand: Tea Lula Type: Black tea, flavored Form: Loose leaf Review: TeaLula describes this tea thusly: ". . .concocted from leaf of tea, smoke of pine, and bark of cinnamon. . .thorn of clove, grains of pepper, po... […]

By popular demand, Evanston's Dream About Tea is offering a class on brewing your own kombucha at home. Kombucha, a fizzy, fermented (but non-alcoholic) traditional beverage made from tea and and a specially prepared "starter" is enj... […]

Greetings, I have some exciting news, as well as a special request. In April of 2009, John Caplan (former CEO of Ford Models and President of About.com), launched "The OpenSky Project". OpenSky is a collection of online shops, ea... […]

This tea is grown in the Assam region of India, the largest tea-growing area in the world. Assam tea is much favored by those who enjoy a strong, brisk tea, as well as by those who just have to enjoy their cuppa with milk and sugar. Flavor Profile: Good Assam is a strong tea, with flavors [...] […]

By Lainie Petersen What is Mint?: Mint is a flowering plant that grows in many areas of the world, its leaves are often prized for their sweet and cooling scent and flavor.  Mint leaves are often infused in boiling water to produce a flavorful drink known as a tisane, or are added to tea leaves to [...] […]

By Lainie Peterson What is Chamomile?: The flowers of the daisy-like chamomile plant are commonly used in a variety of preparations, including skin-care products, oral supplements, and, of course, as a beverage. While infusions of chamomile are often called “chamomile tea“, chamomile is not a true tea, and so is more properly known as a tisane. W […]

By Lainie Petersen Want to try something special? How about a flowering tea? A flowering tea is made of tea buds and various flowers, hand sewn together and folded into a bulb. When infused in hot water, the bulb unfolds, creating a marvelous bouquet. Children love flowering teas (also called “blooming teas” and “performance teas”) an […]

Name: Irish Breakfast Tea Type: Twinings Form: Paper bagged tea Review: I confess to being somewhat surprised as to how much I enjoyed this tea:  I was expecting Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea to be strong, brisk, dark and otherwise unremarkable. It is true that this is a “commercial”, paper-bagged tea that can be found in any grocery store, [...] […]

Most of us know that a lack of sleep is bad for us: We just don't think or perform as well when we are tired as we do when we have had a good 7-9 hours of sleep. In fact, some researchers claim that the... […]

No matter how responsible we are in the management of our day-to-day lives, bad things happen: Illness (our own, or a family member's) Death Financial Crisis Substance Abuse Issues (again, our own or a... […]

1. All tea is made from the same plant. Black, oolong (sometimes called wu long), green and white tea are all the same plant, Camellia sinensis. The differences in these various teas are due to the amount of... […]

If you work for a medium-to-large sized company, there is a good chance that you are not reaping all of the benefits provided to you by your employer. Many companies offer a number of benefits and perks that... […]

Our nose is the gateway of humanity's most primal sense: Our ability to smell. Infants recognize their mothers by their scent, we can "sniff out" danger in the form of spoiled food, gas leaks, or smoke,... […]

Looking for a new place to live? Craigslist is a great place to search! But instead of just looking through the housing ads, write one yourself and post it in the "Housing Wanted" section. Here's why: 1. You... […]

In recent years, coconut oil has enjoyed growing popularity in the alternative health and bodybuilding communities. The variety of coconut oil that is generally recommended is the minimally processed "virgin"... […]

The person requesting ideas for cheap and healthy breakfasts for college students didn't mention what kind of cooking appliances and/or equipment they have access to. In this article I am going to assume that... […]

If you have a large amount of weight to lose, or have recently experienced a significant weight gain, there may be an underlying medical cause. You can avoid a lot of frustration by asking your doctor to rule... […]

Most bloggers aren't professional journalists: They are just regular folks who have an interest in something and take the time to write about it. They aren't drawing a salary, and nobody is financing or supporting their work. So it is up to us, the readers of blogs to support and encourage our favorite blog writers. […]