E-Zines

This is an archive of emails we have sent to our customers.  You can sign up to recieve our e-zine for information, recipes and coupons.

Dear Tea Lovers,

To those who attended my scone class this past Saturday, I was literally blown away by the attendance! We had over 50 people there! Thank you so much! I really appreciate you coming and I’m sorry we didn’t have enough chairs for all of you.  It was just amazing!

I thought I would send you the link to our YouTube video, How to Make Cranberry Orange Scones.  The scone lesson is good, but I was a bit smile challenged at the point we did this take.  This was the fourth or fifth take and I was still very nervous and trying to concentrate.  It’s harder than it looks! :-)

We should have new inventory in later this week.  The Valentine’s sugars arrived and we also have hearts and shamrock sugars as well. The rest of the sugar order will be in shortly and when it arrives, I’ll take pictures and put it up on-line for those of you who can’t get to the Antique Trove.

Our next class will be on March 6th at 11AM. I’ll be talking about how to do a spring tea and demonstrating how to make decorative sugars.  For those of you who can’t wait, the recipe is in Making It Your Own Afternoon to Remember (page 19).

I hope to see you then!

Amy

My husband loves Rum Cake.  My original recipe is in my first cookbook, however after tasting my aunt’s, I decided that my own recipe was in need of an update.  So here’s the result. It’s a combination of the two cakes. See what you think. It’s still easy and quick to make so it might be a great one for Valentine’s Day as well.

Double Rum Cake Recipe:

• 18 1/2 oz. pkg. yellow cake mix, I use Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe Mix
• 3 1/2 oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 c. sweetened coconut
• 1/2 c. spiced rum
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1/2 c. water
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 c. chopped pecans (optional)

Rum Sauce:

• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1/4 c. spiced rum
• Dash of water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a non-stick 2 qt. Bundt pan with cooking spray.  Using an electric mixer at low speed, blend the cake mix, pudding mix, coconut, rum, oil and 1/2 c. water.  Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition.

Evenly distribute the pecans in the bottom of the Bundt pan.  Pour the batter on top of the pecans.  Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

Make the rum sauce:

In a small saucepan, bring the sugar, butter, rum and dash of water to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.  With a fork, make holes in the top of the cake.  Pour 1/2 of  the sauce over the cake and let sit for 10 minutes.

Invert pan onto a serving plate.  Pour the other 1/2 of the sauce over the top of cake. Serve when cooled.

Dear Tea Lovers,

Don’t forget about our scone class this Saturday at 11AM at the Antique Trove.  I’ll be making Chocolate Raspberry Scones and Devonshire Cream. Yummy! Scones are a unique Valentine’s Day present.  They look cute wrapped up in red cellophane along with a jar of homemade Devonshire Cream. Your friends and family will love you!

Updates:

February 15th – Last day to pre-order cookbook #6 with free shipping

Coming Soon – New Spring Merchandise:

I just put in a few orders for more tea accessories, I’ll let you know when they arrive. Included will be spring colored tea pots, tart servers, tongs, sugar molds (we’ll be having a class in March on how to make colored sugar), and of course the darling spring sugars. There are shamrocks with hearts, roses, and tea cups. I even ordered some from the seashore collection.  They are so cute with mini sea horses and sea shells.  I’ll let you know when they arrive and I’ll be putting them on-line as well.

I did order a few Valentine’s sugars and hopefully they will be here in time for the scone class on Saturday.

Hope to see you there!

For the on-line only customers, I’m working on doing some classes via web. Stay tuned for more! If you’d be interested in an on-line class, send me an e-mail. That way I’ll know how big the interest is, it might help to get me motivated. :)

Thanks!

Have a great day!

Amy

Dear Tea Lovers,

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Can you believe it?  It’s the perfect occasion to make our Chocolate Raspberry Scones. Impress your family and friends with these delicious treats.  When served hot, they just melt in your mouth. You can learn how to make them on February 6th at 11AM at the Antique Trove. The class will cover making these delicious scones as well as Devonshire Cream (of course you’ll get to sample one, hope to see you there!) If you’re adventurous, the recipe is in Making It Your Own Afternoon to Remember so you can try it on your own. These are probably the hardest scones out of the bunch to make – but they’re worth it as are the Chocolate Mocha Chip Mini Cakes.  The mini cake recipe is found at the bottom of this message. :-)

In honor of Valentine’s Day, all chocolate teas are 15% off for the month of February (on-line only.) This includes:  Chocolate Mocha Spice, Chocolate Peppermint, Chocolate Raspberry Truffle, Chocolate Delight, Sweet Almond Joy, Tiger Eye, Moonlight Sonata (cherry, chocolate) and our new one, Chocolate Caramel Turtle. These teas make perfect gifts for those watching their weight and who are trying to avoid those wonderful Valentine’s chocolates.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Amy

Upcoming Events:

• Now – Chocolate Tea goes on sale until the end of February
• February 2nd – Last day for free shipping on orders over $20.00
• February 6th at 11AM – How to Make Chocolate Raspberry Scones Class
• February 15th – Last day to purchase pre-order cookbooks and receive free shipping.
• Coming in March – How to Host a Spring Tea Party and How to Make Decorative Sugars!

Recipe:

Chocolate Mocha Chip Mini Cakes p. 99 (Tea Time Tidbits and Treats)

• 1 chocolate cake mix
• 1 lg. pkg. instant chocolate pudding
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c. oil
• 1/2 c. strong coffee
• 2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

Glaze:

• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• 1/3 c. Dutch processed cocoa
• Hot water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together first six ingredients.  Beat until well mixed about 3 minutes.
Fold in chocolate chips.  Spray mini bundt pans with flour spray.  Fill pans with batter about two-thirds full.  Bake about 10-13 minutes or until done with a toothpick. Cool completely before glazing.  Makes about 36 mini bundt cakes.  These freeze very well.

For glaze:

Mix sugar and cocoa together.  Gradually add 2-4 T. hot water until desired consistency.  Drizzle over cakes or make the glaze thin enough so you can actually dip the cooled cakes into the glaze.

Dear Tea Lovers,

Don’t forget about the tea classes this Saturday at the Antique Trove in Roseville.  I know the weather has been very yucky, but it’s supposed to be a bit better on Saturday. It’s too wet for yard work and I know everyone is tired of being stuck in the house, why not come learn about tea?

Did you know that herbal teas are not really tea? Did you know that different teas require different steeping times and temperatures? Have you ever had green tea and absolutely hated it and wondered why?

Come learn all about tea at the Antique Trove in Roseville this Saturday, January 23rd starting at 11:00. All classes are free! I’ll also bring a savory scone for you to sample.

In Tea 101 at 11:00, I’ll explain the basic types of tea and the difference between pure teas and herbal teas. I’ll teach you how to properly prepare the different types of tea. It’s easy! In addition, you’ll also learn about tea equipment and more! We’ll be tasting many types of tea including White Ginger Orange Peach,  Sencha Kyoto Cherry, Master’s Choice Ti Kwan Yin, Big Red Robe Oolong, Zhen Qu, Ceylon, 1992 Pu-erh and I’ll bring in a real tea plant for you to see.

At 1:00, I’ll be talking about the health benefits of tea. We’ll be tasting Tai Ping, a new one called Houjicha and one of my favorite green teas, called Genmaicha, known as the “Popcorn Tea.” We’ll also taste flavored green teas such as Plum Green, Peach Green, and Pear Green. After that we’ll move into the Rooibos herbal teas which are very high in antioxidants and do not contain any caffeine. We’ll taste Orange Blossom Rooibos and our new Peach Rooibos. If you’ve been wanting to get healthy, now is your chance! Start your new year out right!

As a bonus, all green and rooibos tea will be 15% off that day, January 23rd at the Antique Trove and on-line.

Also don’t forget for those of you too far away to come, it’s free shipping from now until February 2nd on orders of $20.00 or more.  So if you can’t come to my tasting, have your own tasting at home!

Have a great day!  Hope to see many of you on Saturday!

For those of you who missed the newsletter, here it is again.

Amy

P.S. In the newsletter, I mentioned a class on How to Make Chocolate Raspberry Scones, for some dumb reason, I messed up the date.  It should be Saturday, February 6th not the 2nd. The mistake was fixed in a later revision of the newsletter file that is on-line now.  I’ll be talking more about that class next week.

Dear Tea Lovers,

The latest newsletter is out!  Be sure and read about our new tea classes held this Saturday, January 23rd at the Antique Trove. I’ll be talking about the different types of tea, the health benefits and more. I hope to see you there!

Also because it’s National Hot Tea Month, you’ll receive free shipping on orders of $20.00 or more until February 2nd.

Start your year out right, be healthy by drinking more tea!

Have a great week!

Amy

PS: If you are having trouble reading the newsletter, you need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader or Foxit PDF Reader (either will work fine.)

Dear Tea Lovers,

Happy New Year!  Don’t forget to head over to the Antique Trove on Friday, January 1st for their big sale.  Everything in my booth will be 25% off. I’ll be bringing in more tea than the usual 30 teas I stock there for this event.  If you know of a tea you want to pick up for sure, send me an e-mail by 10:00 pm tonight and I’ll have it with me with your name on it tomorrow. I’ll be there from 10-3.  Hope to see you there!

For those of you who can’t make it, remember on January 1st, everything on-line will also be 25% off (as long as I have it in stock.)  Just be sure to order before midnight.

Have a great new year! I’ll be sending out a newsletter soon with all the new classes and information about the health benefits of tea.

Happy New Year!

Amy

Dear Tea Lovers,

For those of you in the Roseville area, stop by the Antique Trove on January 1st. It’s their annual blowout sale.  I’ve heard rumors that it’s a big one! Everything in my booth will be 25% off on that day only. I’ll be there sampling teas so stop by and see me!

For those of you who can’t venture out to the Trove, any orders received that day will also receive 25% off (January 1st and in stock items only.)

I have quite a bit planned for the month of January. January is National Hot Tea Month so you’ll be hearing more from me about my favorite drink! I’ll be running specials on certain teas as well as educating you on the many health benefits of tea. So stay tuned!  And for those of you starting the New Year’s Diets, I have some good news and helpful tips for you. I’ve lost 19 pounds so far so it can be done! More on that in the next newsletter.

Have a wonderful week! I hope to see many of you at the Trove on Friday, January 1st.

Amy

Dear Tea Lovers,

I just wanted to remind you that free shipping (orders over $20.00) ends on Monday, December 21st.  Get your last minute orders in for tea to serve during your holiday festivities. Chocolate Caramel Turtle was so popular that I ran out last week!  But don’t worry, I have it back in again!

Here’s the holiday list of teas one more time:

• Caribbean Christmas (Cranberry/Papaya)
• Chocolate Mocha Spice
• Chocolate Peppermint
• Diablo (Cherry Cinnamon)
• Hawaiian Orchid (Mango/Passionfruit)
• Holiday Berry (Cranberry/Raspberry)
• Holiday Orange Fantasy (Orange/Tangerine)
• Nutty but Nice (Hazelnut/Vanilla)
• Pumpkin Creme
• Spiced Ginger Peach
• White Ginger Orange Peach
• Orange Cranberry Spice
• Chocolate Caramel Turtle (our newest addition!)

If you need it even sooner you can purchase our tea from our booth at the Antique Trove in Roseville.

Now that the holiday season is really upon us, I thought I would give you all a very delicious holiday recipe that you can make in a jiffy with few ingredients. I always have a few boxes of the cake mix on hand just in case I need to take something to the neighbors.  Enjoy!

Rum Cake (from Creating an Afternoon to Remember)

Cake:

• 1 Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. oil
• 1/2 c. rum

Glaze:

• 1/4 c. rum
• 1/4 c. butter
• Dash of water
• 1 c. sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare cake according to cake mix directions using the ingredients above.  Bake at 350 degrees in a bundt pan for 45-50 minutes or until done.

Glaze:

Combine 1/4 c. rum, 1/4 c. butter, dash of water and sugar in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Pour 1/2 mixture over cake while still hot.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Invert cake on a serving plate.  Brush on remaining glaze and let cool.

Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Amy

Dear Tea Lovers,

I’ve had a few questions about where to put in the free shipping code: MERRYCHRISTMAS.  The redemption code is entered in Step 2 of the payment process. It’s under the billing address information in the “Discount Coupon” section. It’s in the middle of the page. Hope this helps!

I can manually do it if you can’t find it for some reason.

Have a great Sunday!

Amy

Dear Tea Lovers,

Many of you have requested a list of teas that would be good to serve over the holiday season.

Holiday Teas:

• Caribbean Christmas (Cranberry/Papaya)
• Chocolate Mocha Spice
• Chocolate Peppermint
• Diablo (Cherry Cinnamon)
• Hawaiian Orchid (Mango/Passionfruit)
• Holiday Berry (Cranberry/Raspberry)
• Holiday Orange Fantasy (Orange/Tangerine)
• Nutty but Nice (Hazelnut/Vanilla)
• Pumpkin Creme
• Spiced Ginger Peach
• White Ginger Orange Peach
• Orange Cranberry Spice
• Chocolate Caramel Turtle (our newest addition!)

Holiday Decaf/Herbals:

• Golden Apricot Cinnamon (This is a flavored rooibos so it does not have any caffeine)
• Sugar Plum Fairy (decaf)

Shop Now and Receive Free Shipping:

Free shipping on orders over $20 through December 21st.  Just enter the coupon code MERRYCHRISTMAS at checkout.

Forever Ambers (from Creating an Afternoon to Remember)

This is something my grandmother made every year.  I always think of her when I make it for the holiday season.

• 1 large package of orange sliced candy
• 1 16 oz. package of coconut
• 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
• 1 c. chopped nuts
• 1 t. orange flavoring
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 16 oz. package of powdered sugar

Cut orange slices in small pieces.  Mix candy, coconut, milk, nuts, orange flavoring and vanilla and spread into a greased 9″ x 13″ pan.  Bake at 275 degrees for 15 minutes.  Stir and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and sift the entire 16 oz. package of powdered sugar over mixture.  Stir and drop by tablespoons onto waxed paper.  Allow candy to dry and set.

Have a happy holiday!

Amy