The Happy Earth Tea's Blog
COVID-19 and Its Impact on Tea Production
Darjeeling first flush 2020 tea, as well as tea from Nepal for the season, will be a rare commodity this year. This sweeping pandemic has brought most of the world to a halt, including tea production. The timing is particularly sad, because now is when plucking begins for some of the world’s finest tea – Darjeeling.
Types of White Tea
Premium white tea is made primarily from the freshest shoots of yet unopened tea leaves and with minimal processing. Organic white tea can be described as the most pristine form of tea. Not much is done to the leaf - just withering in the sun, piling it up for a while for slight oxidation to set in and then gently baked. No rigorous rolling, pan-frying or shaping.
Tea ware at Metropolitan Museum of Art
It was a great way to kick off 2020 for us: a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city where some priceless tea articles from Japan were on display as part of the exhibition "Kyoto: Capital of Artistic Imagination."
Location matters for a tea garden
The quality of fine tea is dependent on many qualities, with sunlight, soil content, and elevation drastically effecting the finished product. A lesser known factor, however, is the direction a hill slopes while growing tea.
Tea Garden Visits - India Summer 2019
Two things I most love about my job - spending time with customers, and visiting the tea gardens back east. Every time I am driving around the hills where the tea is grown, the beauty of the place makes me feel utterly blessed that I can do this for a living.
India Trip, Summer 2019
I just got back from India after a two and a half week trip. Although it was not the intent but me and my travel companion, who in this case happened to be my 12 year old daughter, Tara, ended up "Chasing the Monsoons", like the travel writer Alexander Frater in his once popular book. And like Frater discovering - in our case rediscovering - the overwhelming life force of India even as the heavens hosed down the sub-continent.
Nepal Tea Arrives in NYT
It was wonderful to see Nepal tea given a lavish spread in New York Times food section recently. We have been selling Nepal tea since spring of 2014. Our customers and us know that these teas are special and have been enjoying every cup of it for all these years. Happy to be ahead of the curve!
Partying with Spring 2019 Nepal Teas
Disregarding an unusually misty and chilly spring morning, we decided to party with our 2019 spring Nepal teas - Himalayan White Tea and Himalayan Spring Tea. And boy did we had a good time!
Earth Day Celebrations - Happy Earth Tea and Finger Lakes Land Trust
As part of our Earth Day celebrations this weekend we donated couple of thousand dollars towards making our Finger Lakes region even more pristine. Thanks to our partner, Finger Lakes Land Trust and most importantly you our customers who made this possible!
St Patrick's Day Green Tea Sale
Join in the revelry with some really strong green tea which you can have all this week at 15% off! Offer valid both online and at Leaf Tea Bar. And there is no need for coupons! Offer ends March 18. Please don't use existing coupons when availing of this discount.
Visit to Roji-en, Japanese garden in Delray Beach, Florida
"Strolling through a pine forest or bamboo grove, viewing the rock formations, arrangement of plants, and cascading waterfalls, pausing to ponder the quiet surface of the lake and the shoreline - little by little we are encouraged to lay aside the chaos of a troubled world and gently nurture the capacity within to hear a more harmonious, universal rhythm…This is the tremendous power the Japanese gardens at Morikami Park hold for us." - Hoichi Kurisu, Master Garden Designer of Roji-en.
Toronto Tea Festival, 2019
After nine years of residing in Rochester, I finally crossed over to the other side of Ontario Lake, to get to the Canadian city of Toronto - thanks to its annual tea festival. For the efforts - which included an early rise and a hangover from the polar vortex of the century - we were richly rewarded. Our day trip was filled with many cups of warm wonderful teas, encounters with equally warm tea enthusiasts, and topped off by a documentary on Darjeeling tea!
Happy 2019! We are relocating our store at Eastview Mall
Happy New Year to all our customers and friends!
For Happy Earth Tea 2019 starts with a big change. We have decided to relocate our store in Eastview Mall, Victor, taking it back to our original location in the South Wedge, Rochester. The last date for Leaf at Eastview Mall will be 27 January.
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays to all our dear customers! Thank you for being with us on this journey. We truly appreciate your friendship, encouragement and support. May your new year be filled with good health, happiness and endless cups of tea. From our Happy Earth Tea family to yours!
New tea - Bulang shou tuo-cha
I used a gaiwan to steep this tea. And it yields layers upon layers of flavors that are warm, fuzzy, sweet at the start and become sweeter and sweeter with honey and raw cacao notes in the later steeps.
Grand Opening of Leaf at Eastview Mall
It has been done. Our second location is now up and running at Eastview Mall, a noted shopping center located in the town of Victor, NY, just a short distance away from our home base Rochester, NY. It has already been two months since we opened doors at the Mall.
Opening 2018 with some BIG news!
Happy New Year!
Hope all of you are in good spirits with plenty of fine teas on hand to enjoy with family and friends. This time of year, gives us the chance to reflect on what is truly important.
Hope all of you are in good spirits with plenty of fine teas on hand to enjoy with family and friends. This time of year, gives us the chance to reflect on what is truly important.
Happy Woman for National Women's Hall of Fame
Every time you buy our herbal blend Happy Woman, 10% of the proceeds will go to the National Women's Hall of Fame. Being based in Rochester, NY, a region that has a rich history in women's rights movement, we are certainly very proud and excited to be one of the sponsors of NWHF's induction ceremony that will take place this September.
The Teagirl of Hummingbird Lane
In the Teagirl of the Hummingbird Lane, New York Times best selling novelist, Lisa See, pairs an epic Chinese tale of tragedy and triumph with one of the most intriguing type of tea, puerh. Even if you are not a tea drinker the story is compelling; but if you are one, then the pleasure of this book is definitely multi-layered.
Second Flush 2017 is here!
We are happy to announce the arrival of some exceptional second flush teas from the organic tea estate of Jun Chiyabari, Nepal. We have some rare offerings - hand-crafted micro-batches - that won't disappoint.
Second Flush 2017 Plans
We have heard the ominous words from Darjeeling – there is going to be no second flush (summer harvest) this year. We were hoping hard that somehow the political troubles that have engulfed Darjeeling since early June would ease off and second flush production would resume. But last week we heard from our partner tea gardens in Darjeeling and they gave us the dreaded news.
Darjeeling On The Boil Again
The Darjeeling hills have been engulfed in political turmoil, bringing normal life, including tea production, to a standstill for nearly a month now. Around five people have lost their lives in alleged police firings. The second flush, or the summer harvest of tea, for this year is close to being written off. This would be perhaps for the first time in nearly three decades that political troubles have scuppered a major tea season in Darjeeling.
Introducing Colombian Tea!
One of the interesting developments after our Leaf Tea Bar was selected by CNN as one of the top 11 tea houses in the world, was receiving queries from many tea producers around the world. They wanted to know if we would like to feature their fine teas at our shop. One such missive came from an unexpected place – Colombia.
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