Behind the Label, from seed to table. – Monday, Feb. 7th, 6pm – Armitage Chicago

If you live in the Chicago area and love to learn about how companies' owners build their relationships directly with farmers around the world in order to bring us the finest ingredients in food, here is an event you might be interested in:

On February 7th, Rishi Tea founder Joshua Kaiser will join world-renowned Chef Charlie Trotter and co-owner of Metropolis Coffee Tony Dreyfuss for Behind the Label – from seed to table. Each will share their personal journeys, discuss the concepts of Fair Trade, organic, sustainable, their travels to select the world's finest ingredients and talk about the importance of enduring relationships with farmers and artisans at origin.

More info

Rosemary Tea is also good for hair and scalp…

Last week, we had a customer come in and ask us if there is any tea good for the hair. After some searching, we've found the answer…..it's Rosemary! 🙂

Here are some more useful info on this herb from "The Way of Herbs" by Michael Tierra, L.Ac., O.M.D.:

Rosemary
Rosmarinus officinalis
FAMILY: Labiatae
PART USED: Leaves

ENERGY AND FLAVORS: Spicy, cool

SYSTEMS AFFECTED: Liver, stomach, spleen-pancreas

PROPERTIES: Antipyretic, antiinflammatory, stomachic, nervine, diaphoretic, astringent, anodyne, antiseptic

DOSE: One teaspoon steeped in a cup of boiling water

USED FOR: Headaches, indigestion, colds, inflammation of the joints, for scalp and hair

NOTES: Rosemary is useful for dyspepsia or digestive upset, headaches, common cold and as a hair strengthener. A simple cup of rosemary tea is as effective as aspirin for headaches and other inflammatory symptoms including the relief of arthritic pains.

The Art of British Teatime

Have a look at a Magnum Photos gallery on British teatime. 

Here are some of our favorite.

New Years Resolution: Switch from Coffee to Tea!

Happy 2011 everyone! What a great year we have ahead of us. We had just added a second wall of shelves filled with more packaged teas for you to browse and choose from. And if you have ever thought about switching from coffee to tea, here are five great reasons to get you started:

1. Tea costs less and thus saves you money.

2. Tea has less caffeine than coffee, and it stimulates you in a more natural way so you don't feel the afternoon crash from when you drink coffee. This can also be beneficial for people who have a hard time sleeping or have anxiety/depression.

3. Green tea provides more catechins than coffee and can lower cholesterol and improve lipid metabolism.

4. Tea has significant anticancer and antibacterial effects.

5. Tea is easier on the organs in your body (stomach, pancreas, liver etc). 

Bonus: We've added an extra one just for fun. Number six is that because of all of the above you can drink more tea than coffee without it having adverse effects.

If you drink coffee now, try substituting tea. If you already drink black tea, try substituting green. Once you've given it a try, please stop by and tell us how great you feel, we'd love to hear your story! 🙂

Cheers to all,

Thirstea Team