Did you Know that January is National Hot Tea Month?

Well it is!  It is the perfect time of year to sip on some hot tea and read a good book.  Don't know where to start with choosing your tea or your book?  I have the perfect solution.  My new book just came out called The World in Your Teacup: Celebrating Tea and Traditions Near and Far. 

It is a beautiful book photographed by the talented food photographer, Lauren Rubinstein.  In it, you can read and see how eight different countries celebrate tea.  You can learn how to make tea all different kinds of ways and then make recipes that pair with it all from the same country.  It is perfect for a trip around the world, from the comfort of your own home. 

I just returned from the America's Mart in Atlanta, Georgia where my book premiered for the first time.  It was wonderful to share the book with customers from around the country and see their reaction to the book.  Here is a picture of Lauren and me celebrating and signing our new book at the Mart!

Do you know what type of tea is famous in Morocco?  Do you know tea making in France is called "the art of tea"?  Do you know why the Russians like tea from a samovar?  You can learn all of that and more in my new book.  If you have the winter blues and your travel budget is low, pick up The World in Your Teacup for an international excursion of food and drink!

To get started on learning how to make the perfect pot of tea, go to http://www.lisaknowstea.com/ for easy instructions.

Happy Sipping!

Cooking at A Southern Season during Chocolate Season-Brings Life Full Circle

Calling all Chocoholics-the All About Chocolate Tea Party from my book Tea with a Twist was created just for us.  Christmas time is the perfect time of year to indulge and treat you and your friends to a chocolate party from first sip to last bite-savoury to sweet! In my next blog, I will be sharing my microwave chocolate truffle recipe with you that you will want to make for yourself and as gifts for friends-so easy and sooo good! 

Christmas is the time of year that I really embrace being a part of the Chocoholics group.  I recently returned from Chapel Hill, North Carolina where I was invited to a cooking demo and book signing at the most fabulous "foodie" store you could ever step foot in-A Southern Season and the All about Chocolate Tea Party was the main event.  Going back into A Southern Season really took my mind back 20 years to the first time I stepped foot in this store.  It was in a different location and much smaller, but still wonderful all the same. 

I had just graduated from California State University at Fullerton and moved to Durham, NC.  I was waiting tables to earn money while I looked for a job and met Anna who was also a waitress and finishing up at UNC.  She was my guide to realizing I didn't fall off the face of the earth moving from California to North Carolina.  It was Anna that took me to A Southern Season for the first time and I remember thinking how wonderful the store was and wanting to buy everything.  Anna and I lost touch over the years and we have just reconnected on facebook this year.

Life really does come full circle and there is a season for everything just as God says.  Twenty years ago, I would have never dreamed that I would be a tea specialist with 2 books published and one of them award winning!  It was truly surreal for me to be standing in A Southern Season's Viking kitchen with a sold out class and Anna sitting on the front row.  After the class, I signed books. 

You see 20 years ago,  not long after visiting A Southern Season,  I became a widow at the age of 25 and it was Anna that was with me the night I found my first husband had killed himself.  God has an amazing way of carrying you through something that you never think you can recover from.  How awesome it was for me to present a cooking class in the same town that almost twenty years ago, I thought I would never return to.  Now I have begun new memories in Chapel Hill-good ones and a reconnection to a dear friend.  How blessed we all are that seasons only last for a while but I do hope that A Southern Season is here to stay.

My Confession: Certified Tea Specialist Used to be a Coffee Drinker

Okay, it is out there.  I used to be a coffee drinker before I was a tea drinker.  Why the change?  The simple answer is, after the birth of my daughter coffee bothered my stomach and the caffeine content was too much for me .  Tea didn't seem to have that effect, but it goes beyond that.  Tea has a story!


When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had to go on bed-rest twice for short periods of time.  While I lie there in bed, I pulled out all the books I had collected, but didn't have time to read with a busy toddler in toe.  One of the them was a book on tea.  It talked about how drinking tea and sharing tea with friends is more than just sipping on a beverage.   I also began to dream about what I wanted to do with my career when my kids were a little bit older and tea began calling me.  I loved what tea represented.


After my daughter was born and I could consume caffeinated beverages again, coffee didn't sit well with me so I began to drink more tea.  At the same time, I began to research different careers in tea that I could do and collecting information.  After attending some seminars on tea, I thought I might open a tearoom, but having worked in the restaurant industry before my children were born, I knew the time demands were not family friendly.  I decided that I would become a tea speaker and expert. 

When I told my sweet husband what I wanted to do, he was supportive but had no idea what a tea expert and speaker was.  That just goes to show how great he is and how much he trusted me!  At that time, tea was not the popular beverage it is now and I know he was wondering how in the world I was going to do that. 


Fast forward 13 years, after many hours of studying tea, tasting thousands of cups of tea from all over the world, and attending many classes and taking tests on tea I became a Certified Tea Specialist.  In addition to that, I have 2 books published with Harvest House-the very same publisher that published the very first book on tea that I read while on bed-rest!  Dreams to come true if you want them badly enough and are willing to work hard!


Giving up coffee was the best thing I could have ever done for my body and my career.  Oh don't get me wrong, every once in a while, I have a sip or two of coffee, but TEA is my drink of choice.  It will take a lifetime of study to discover all the different teas of the world.  I hope you will join me on the tea journey.  If you want to know more about my books go to:  http://www.lisaknowstea.com/books.html

Tea Pairing with Kashi at Sundance Resort

One of my favorite things to speak on about tea is pairing it with food and tea cuisine.  I just recently returned from the Sundance Resort in Utah where I had pleasure to do both.  Kashi was holding a symposium on health and I was asked to put together a 2 hour lunch for the attendees. 

I thought it would be fun to incorporate tea as an ingredient along with pairing teas to each course.  Working alongside Chef Mark of the Sundance Resort, we created a food and tea pairing luncheon. 

First Course

Organic Mixed Baby Green Salad

Utah Dried Cherries, Toasted Slivered Almond

with

White Rose Tea Vinaigrette

Pairing - White Rose Iced Tea with Simple Syrup

Main Course

Tea Dusted Utah Mountain Trout

with a Honey Lemon Herb Vinaigrette

served with

Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf

&

Roasted Utah Beets

Pairing - Green Dragon Oolong Tea

Dessert Course

Trio of House Made Truffles

made with

Utah Amano Artisan Chocolates

Pairings - Dragon Well Green Tea, Shui Xian Oolong Tea, Golden Monkey Black Tea, Puerh Leaf Tea

After I gave a brief introduction to tea, the attendees were treated to a delicious meal prepared by the culinary team at the Sundance Resort.  For the dessert course, I wanted the attendees to participate in deciding what they thought paired best with each decadent chocolate truffle.  Working from light to dark with the chocolates as well as the teas we tasted and paired chocolate and tea.  The truffles and tea were wonderful and perfect end to the meal!

I hope this has inspired you to try pairing tea with your favorite culinary delights!