Brenda’s Thanksgiving Scones & other fall recipes

During our Thanksgiving Tea Party last weekend, we served Brenda’s Thanksgiving Scones – along with cups and cups of our Vanilla Pumpkin Tea, Autumn Bisque, and Pumpkin-Chai Bundt Cakes. We love Thanksgiving. In the life and times of a small business family invested in the retail consumer this special season can get lost in the shuffle.

Embracing a national holiday of simply giving thanks is a beautiful thing. A time to enjoy slow. Stopping the media noise – and getting off the crazy train and just saying I am thankful. I am very, very thankful. 🙂 And we want to say we are SO humbled and incredibly thankful for you – our tea customers. Fellow Lovers of the Leaf!

Join us for a free event this coming Saturday, November 19 for Brenda’s Scone-Making Workshop & Tea Brewing 101 Scone add-ins and scone demonstrations. Learn how to brew that perfect cup or pot of tea. 10% off Scone Mix and 25% Off Gluten-Free Scone Mix Variety. Of course our magnificent Megan will be serving Fall Tea Samples and Scone bites.

Brenda had several folks request recipes from her Thanksgiving Tea Party. Thanksgiving Scone Recipe below and find recipes for Autumn Bisque Recipe & Pumpkin-Chai Bundt Cakes.

Brenda’s 2016 Thanksgiving Scones or Apricot-Cinnamon Scones

1 Bag of Brenda’s Signature Scone Mix – $5.95
Heavy Whipping Cream – enough to moisten or follow Scone Mix Directions
1 package of chopped dried apricots
3/4 cup Hershey’s Cinnamon Baking Chips

With the scone mix in a medium to large bowl – moisten (do not stir) with heavy whipping cream. Belfonte Heavy Whipping Cream is Brenda’s favorite to use. Gently fold in the apricots and cinnamon chips.

Bake on parchment paper following scone mix directions.

By Selena S.|2016-11-16T15:39:13-06:00November 15th, 2016|Scones and more|Comments Off

2016 Byers’ Choice Carolers have arrived!

It’s a good day here at the teashop when the Byers’ Choice Christmas Carolers arrive! Byers’ Choice is such a special American-made company. The carolers and the story behind the carolers mean a lot in a world of mass production. So it’s a good day when we are thankful to add another hand made artisan crafted piece to our little Teashop.

We offer 20% off our carolers whether you standing in the store or shopping for them online. Free Shipping with online Byers’ Choice Caroler orders, too!

SHOP NOW

As we are crafting a new space in the Teashop for our Artisan Tea Cans and creating an ornament room that is being carefully decorated with artisan glass ornaments – retired from Italy, Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. Well, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!

Shop early with the carolers. We only have one caroler per design. Auntie Esther, The Black and Gold Family, and the 2016 Ugly Sweater Family! There are so many beautiful ones!

By Selena S.|2016-11-08T16:52:18-06:00November 8th, 2016|Uncategorized|Comments Off

November Events – giving thanks, holly & ivy

Larry is back this week to begin our annual trek through the wild world of Christmas decorating at Anna Marie’s. Since 1994 our family has begun Christmas early and thank God we have our “favorite Larry” to partner with. Larry is setting up a brand new Christmas Ornament Room – with retired Christopher Radko from several personal collections and other Christmas-worthy treats.

Also, join Brenda at the Irish Crystal on November 10 as she debuts our tea cans and serves up tea tastings at their Christmas Open House!

Nov 10 from 4-8pm at the Irish Crystal for their beautiful Christmas Open House. She will be pouring cups of tea for customers and ringing in a very special Crystal Christmas Open House.
Nov 19 from 10:30-3:30 – Scones, Tea, Samples and Sales – Scone Making and Brewing Demos all day, fresh scone bites to munch, and lots of teas to sample. Fresh, loose mulling spiced cider. Gift ideas, Tea Bundles and everything to start your holiday shopping lists.
Nov 26 from 10-4pm – Hometown Holidays – Grab a Historic Downtown Liberty Passport and visit lots of local shops for specials and Christmas delights. Family activities on the square from 2-4:30pm. THANK YOU FOR Shopping Small & Local!
Nov 26 from 10-4 – Anna Marie’s Teas Christmas Open House – with our brand new Christmas Ornament Room! Retired, vintage, and hard-to-find original Christopher Radko glass ornaments. These are the real deal – made in Poland, Germany, Czeck Republic and Italy.

By Selena S.|2016-11-03T16:12:15-05:00November 3rd, 2016|Events, From Brenda|Comments Off

Meet the artist behind the tea plant

Lee, Ben, and Baby-on-the-way!

We love tea. But, if you know our family…you know we love people even more! It’s a great day when a door opens and these two worlds (tea+people) collide.

We feel this new door opening with our artisan tea cans. Our gorgeous hand-drawn artisan labels are popping up in unique and special locations. Hammerhand Coffee, Irish Crystal, and The Elms Hotel and Spa.

22 of our premium leaves, rooibos, and herbals are available in the artisan cans with the simple pencil sketches of the young artist. Her nature-inspired idea won our hearts. The simplistic yet refined sketches speak the nature, the earthy, and the timeless way the tea leaf has given people a place for celebration and a place to heal. A place to feel good.

Tea Plant

So, have you seen the cans? They are beautiful! And to see the artisan tea cans you have to know the artist. Lee. Lee is a darling woman from Columbia, Missouri. A new mom (baby is almost here – like a trickle of days away!) A full time art and design student for ten years allowed Lee the skills to execute any design challenge.

Rooibos Plant

Lee is currently a full time design team member at Pinnacle Graphics helping her mom Kim with a variety of design projects. Most recently, the two designed the logo, package design and illustrations for Anna Marie’s Tea. Once Kim finalized the logo, Lee completed three beautiful pencil sketches for representing the Leaves, Rooibos, and Herbals that we carry.

A diverse line of nature that is loose, premium and trustworthy.

We are so excited to have prints of Lee’s hand drawn pencil sketches in our new location! 7 W. Franklin Street. The natural and organic look is so pretty tucked into the re-purposed historic location on the Liberty Square!

By Selena S.|2017-02-24T13:17:48-06:00November 3rd, 2016|Drinking Tea, Events, From Brenda|2 Comments

Golden Milk Chai

Looking to try a new healthy treat? Golden Milk Chai is one of the sampling delights to be served at our November 26, 2016 celebration of Small Business Saturday! Come and enjoy the shop filled with Christmas Gifts and Ideas and Hometown Holidays an annual event in Historic Downtown Liberty. Samples of Christmas Teas and Favorites, Scone Bites, and this lovely recipe with Chai and essential oils.

Golden Milk Chai Recipe

1 cup coconut milk
1 cup filtered water
1-2 teaspoons of Masala Chai
1-2 inch piece fresh turmeric root, thinly sliced or 1 teaspoon dried
1/2 inch piec fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 drop Cinnamon Bark Vitality essential oil
1 drop Black Pepper Vitality essentioal oil
Raw honey or maple syrup to taste
Ground cinnamon

Whisk coconut milk, water, Masala Chai, turmeric, ginger, and coconut oil in a saucepan; bring to simmer and cook on low for 10 minutes. Do not boil.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a blender and add Cinnamon Bark Vitality, Black Pepper Vitality, and honey or maple syrup to taste.

Blend on high until frothy and pour into mugs. Serve with a dash of cinnamon on top. Serves 2.

Recipe from YL News – October 2016

By Selena S.|2016-10-25T12:11:33-05:00October 25th, 2016|Living Well Recipes, Tea Drinks|Comments Off

The Fun, Feel and Taste of Fall – Teashop Events

Comfort and cozy. Sweet & spicy.

Fall flavors just play well with others…

These are the words that come to mind as I brew our newest fall tea blends. We are so excited to have our classic favorites back again! Vanilla Pumpkin, Autumn Blooms, Winter Apple Herbal, Spiced Coco-Mint Herbal. Just to name a few!

If you haven’t had a chance to stop by the shop and try out new teas we have two Free Saturday Events coming up. TEA Sampling and SCONES. Yum…Tea, Scones, and the season of Fall make even your simplest moments special. We hope you will join us for one or even both of these fun events – lets have our own little Fall Tea Festival Celebration!

October 29, 2016, no charge, 10:30-3:30pm. Nothing too fussy – just stop by the Teashop and say hi to Megan! She will be sampling Cinnamon Scones, Matcha Scones and Chai Scones. Megan will be serving Pumpkin Spice Lattes made from our classic Pumpkin Spice Tea. 10% OFF Fall Teas and Brenda’s Signature Scone Mix. 25% OFF Gluten Free Scone Mix. Follow us on Instagram and meet Megan. Megan knows tea and can tell you lots about tea including how awesome it is for your body! Megan is a grad student at KCU and is working on her masters in biomedical sciences. WOW.

November 19, 2016, Scone Making and Tea Brewing 101, no charge, 10:30-3:30pm. Brenda will be holding Scone Baking Demos with her favorite additions and mix-ins! Of course Fresh Baked Scones will be available for your sampling pleasure. Along side Brenda we will be holding Tea Brewing Demos all day long, too. Master your own tea brewing basics and be amazed at how delicious and amazing those loose leaf teas really are – even when you brew them yourself. 10% OFF Fall Teas and Brenda’s Signature Scone Mix. 25% OFF Gluten Free Scone Mix.

By Selena S.|2016-10-17T16:50:55-05:00October 4th, 2016|Brewing Tea 101, Events, Scones and more|5 Comments

Matcha Tea – nature’s work out and recovery drink

Drinking tea and October go together like best friends…Autumn tea blends are the fun, the feel, and the taste of Fall. But not all teas are consumed for the same reasons, right? Fall is also the best time to learn something new! Searching out the best work out and recovery drink is now trending and so is matcha.

Purists of all kinds – work out, health and tea are on the same hunt for all natural, organic and premium. Nature providing to nature what our bodies need.

Here at Anna Marie’s Teas we see how these connect. In our own research we stumbled across a fantastic article outlining the The 8 Wonders of Matcha Green Tea. The article was written by a contributing writer at bodybuilding.com. The article is spot on with the super facts about matcha but not written by a tea person or a tea company. The author is 100% about health, working out and what matcha provides for the body. Jam packed with every reason your health and work out needs matcha. Here are the highlights:

Cancer Preventer
Anti-ager
Lowers “LDL” bad cholesterol
Weight Loss
Detoxifier
Mind Improver
Fiber
ENERGY

Knowing and understanding matcha is a big deal. Our matcha is natural, organic, and premium. Anna Marie’s Teas next Matcha Workshop is scheduled for October 15. Blending demonstrations, sampling matcha and recipes. Plenty of time for Q&A. Sign up for the Matcha Tea Workshop and receive 10% off all matcha tea and our new Blender Bottle!

Matcha tea is a whole food context. Ingesting the whole tea leaf is what makes this a super food and the highest level of antioxidants to eat or drink. Regularly using matcha will reduce inflammation. Matcha tea provides a natural energy boost as well as a completely natural work out recovery drink.

Along with caffeine, matcha also contains L-theanine which counterbalances the “jittery” effects some experience with consuming caffeine. Matcha green tea promotes calm focus and clarity of mind without producing nervous energy.

Before soccer practice – Haden’s matcha applesauce

By Selena S.|2016-10-04T15:48:20-05:00October 4th, 2016|Drinking Tea, Matcha Recipes|Comments Off

7 more reasons to love Autumn

TEA. Fall Blooms. Jeweled Leaves. Crisp Air. Pumpkins. Apples. COZY laughter.

Hello Autumn. Happy to Have You!

We simply love to drink good tasting premium tea and love sharing it with others. Autumn centers and reminds us to be thankful – and we are very thankful for tea and others who enjoy the simplistic, healthy life of tea.

Tea Tasting Days are fun over here at the Teashop. Yes, we do get excited to BLEND, BREW, and CHOOSE new Tea Blends! Last week all of us found 7 more reasons we fell in love with Autumn all over again! For our fall line up we have 4 NEW teas (organics and private blends), 1 Fall Favorite (welcome back big pumpkin!) and 2 special events. Why to love fall? The list is endless but here are 7 great reasons just in case you need help jumping on the fall pumpkin wagon…

Autumn Blooms Private Blend – This tea is a cozy cup of blessing! It’s simply all comfort in a cuppa. Rich and tasteful with a touch of sweet ginger, cinnamon and caramel. A black and rooibos blend.
Vanilla Pumpkin Private Blend – dreamy creamy vanilla meets Chinese Hunan black tea blended with a strong pumpkin spice. Creates a good balance.
Spiced Coco-Mint Organic Herbal– this is our new cozy-up-on-the-couch favorite! An organic herbal blend of cinnamon, cocoa, and peppermint. Not just an evening tea but the tea to create your own “cozy” where ever and whenever!
Chamomile Mango Organic Herbal – A unique tea centered on relaxation and holding close those fabulous warm days of summer vacation! Subtly and slightly sweetened with organic stevia. Mangoes and flowers – just a bit of tropical heaven in an herbal brew.
Pumpkin Spice – welcome home our Favorite Fall Friend! The perfect pumpkin tea that is strong enough to handle becoming the best pumpkin around. Brew strong for your own latte. Chai lovers love this one. Having a Halloween Party? Yes, this is the ONE TEA that makes the sinfully delish and super easy Pumpkin Spice Latte.
10% Coupon off online orders through the month of October! Coupon code 10offnow.
October Tea Sampling Saturdays – Stop by the teashop any Saturday for a cup of one of our new autumn teas.

By Selena S.|2016-09-29T11:42:41-05:00September 19th, 2016|Drinking Tea|Comments Off

How I became a lavender farmer

Welcome to Lavender Week at Anna Marie’s Teas! We like to call this our own little festival of herbal R-E-L-A-X-A-T-I-O-N. Tis the season when our clay pots are spilling over with rosemary, basil, thyme and LAVENDER. This Saturday, Sept 10, Purple Shades of Autumn Tea Party will once again be our utmost relaxing tea party. Diffused essential lavender oil, teacups filled with lavender tea, vintage recipes with lavender will be enjoyed along with our friend Karla’s Lavender Jelly! Karla is a suburban lavender farmer and has been cultivating a bountiful lavender garden for years.

How I became a lavender farmer

“Growing up on a farm in Iowa, we always grew a large garden and a variety of fruit trees and berries. One of my ‘chores’ was picking strawberries and raspberries. I was in 4-H, so every year I would exhibit some type of canned item to our Mills County fair. Then one of my jars of cherry jam won a blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair! It was at the Iowa State Fair where I was introduced to the herb Lavender. An English lady who had a booth in one of the agricultural buildings (the same one where the butter cow was exhibited) would hand out samples of dried English lavender. This lavender sample was one of my favorite things about the fair and I tried to save it as long as I possibly could!

Lavender has always been a part of my garden. A valued herb that can be tricky to get established in a perennial garden. Start by choosing a lavender variety that will grow in our zone of the country. Through the years, I have learned lavender roots don’t like to be wet especially during the winter season.

Karla’s elevated lavender garden

My lavender clumps grow in an elevated flower bed on the south side of my house bordered with rocks. The rock border provides plenty of drainage. I have enjoyed drying lavender and making lavender jelly! My jelly is made with organically grown lavender, pure cane sugar, filtered water and pectin.

The more open the flowers the prettier the jelly. Lavender has calming effects, so it is not surprising it goes well with tea. I have also tried stirring a teaspoonful of my lavender jelly in a cup of hot black tea.

Lavender jelly is so good spooned over the top of one of Brenda’s scones! I also love tea blended with lavender, like Anna Marie’s Lavender Lemon Herbal (my favorite iced) or Provence Rooibos (delicious iced or hot with a little honey). I hope everyone takes a few minutes to relax and enjoy lavender!” ~Karla King

By Selena S.|2016-09-02T14:38:43-05:00September 2nd, 2016|Tea Parties|2 Comments

Tea Tins that Spark Joy

Brenda’s “joy spark” table arrangement from the Tea in Paris August 27.

Over here at the Teashop we are buzzing like bees this week. Our To-Do List contains beautiful things that spark joy in our family. Preparing our beautiful 1928 Dutch Colonial bungalow to sell is Brenda’s job. Uploading the brand new 2016 Byers’ Choice Carolers onto the website is Selena’s job. ALL OF US are super excited to be in the final stages of the first round of our new tea tins.

A beautiful tea tin sparks joy to the Tea Enthusiast. Like opening a present every day, scooping tea from a favorite tea tin is like opening a special gift every time you brew a cuppa. But after the tea leaves are gone what to do with the beautiful tin….

Re-purposing every day items in new ways is more then just a trendy lifestyle.

Re-purposing is loving what you love, knowing what you love, and using what you love. Your tea tin collection is no exception.

Tea tins make gorgeous vases, cupboard and drawer organizers, and a unique way to gift wrap. Use your tea tin to house flowers and herbs from your garden. Grace your dinner table with a bouquet of herbs. Use your tea tin to wrap up a small gift, money, or a boring old gift cards. Tuck your present and a note inside.

Keep and use those beautiful tins simply because of the joy that sparks inside of you!

The possibilities are endless when it comes to re-using tea tins. Discover more ideas on how to re-purpose things that “spark joy” in your life by reading Spark Joy by Marie Kondo. (Selena’s current favorite read!) Based on personal experience this book is even more brilliant while drinking a cup of Anna Marie’s Teas! To view other gorgeous Tea Tin Vases visit The Ribbon in My Journal by Phyllis Hoffman.

By Selena S.|2016-08-29T16:06:20-05:00August 29th, 2016|Family Stuff, Tea Gifts|Comments Off