This tea is a HOT little number. This full flavored cup exudes spicy notes: combined with it's alluring saucy taste and floral aromas will leave you satisfied. It's name: "KAMA SUTRA CHAI". This black tea entwines with ginger, cinnamon, cardamon, black & white pepper, jasmine, rose, lavender petals, cloves & nutmeg. With so much sensual aromas combined, small wonder Kama Sutra Chai is it's name. A bit of history: Ancient Indian tradition states the Kama Sutra was wrote by a celibate monk by the name of Maharishi Vatsyayana. He lived somewhere between the 1st to the 6th century AD, known as a time of great enlightenment in culture and artistic growth. This book literally means the science of love. I guess our monk couldn't go down the road to the euphoric side of making love being as he was celibate, so had to satisfy himself with the science of it all. "Kama" means desire "Sutra"means technical manual". Like our tea it has lots of "spicy notes" on how couples can achieve sexual nirvana. How our monk got these ideas in his head to describe such sultry, sexy, and physically challenging creative ways for couples to enjoy themselves, does leave a lot of unanswered questions. Hmmmm!!! Sometimes you just gotta wonder if we have the whole story. This is a fabulous chai tea made in the traditional Indian way and the recipe is as old as the "Kama Sutra" itself. One full bodied, well rounded cup of this Chai will leave you wanting more. Make yourself a Cuppa today and find out for yourself what makes this tea so irresistible! Beautiful as a melange with steamed milk and vanilla.

Ah Genmaicha, a delightful traditional Japanese blend of sencha green tea and roasted and popped rice. A strange combination you think? As did one samurai warlord during the 1400's on the Izu peninsula of Honshu Island, Japan. While discussing battle strategy with his patrol leaders, the warlord was taking his morning tea; a servant, named Genamai, entered the warlord's tent to serve more tea. As Genamai leaned over to pour the tea, some rice that he had furtively taken for breakfast, fell from his pocket directly into the warlord's cup of tea. The legend says that the tea was so hot, the rice popped and roasted on contact! The warlord became enraged and promptly decapitated poor Genamai in one fell swoop. The warlord then sat down and continued his meeting. The warlord continued to drink his tea, despite the fact that it had been ruined by the rice. The warlord was immediately intrigued by it's unique malty, toasty and ever-so-slightly sweet flavour. He rather enjoyed this accidental discovery and proclaimed that the tea be served every morning and be called "Genmaicha", "Cha" being the Japanese name for "tea". At least poor Genamai got a tea named in his honour and we now have a wonderfully unique and delicious tea to enjoy! Get yourself some Genmaicha Yamasaki here.

With Our Autumn Teas We have a lovely line-up for you this season! Spicy and Sweet, Sure to warm up your taste buds and toes. ORANGE SPICE DECAF BLACK: An Autumn spice blend with orange pieces with out the caffine kick. CARAMEL CHERRY CHEESECAKE BLACK: What a yummy blend. Add a little honey or sugar and milk to push this one over the edge of insanely good. Minus the calories of actually eating cheesecake. CINNAMON ORANGE FUSION BLACK: If you are a cinnamon lover, you will love this in house blend. PUMPKIN SPICE BLACK: What can be said.......Takes me back to Grandma's kitchen and her Pumpkin Pie. Try this as a latte. You won't be disappointed! SUGAR SHACK SMOKEY MAPLE BLACK: If you ever thought the flavor of BACON should be introduced into a tea blend, well, this is it. This tea is so aromatic, you will think you have taped the syrup in your own backyard. Delicious. VANILLA CHAI BLACK: Go ahead, get comfy, relax, maybe read a book, or maybe light a fire. This combo of Vanilla mixed with ginger, cinnamon, black & white pepper, cloves, calendula, nutmeg and more will have you wishing you had a bigger mug. Also great as a latte. CRAN-APPLE TISANE: (tisane - a mix of fruit and herbs) Heart warming, this blend optimizes the essence of Autumn. Cranberries and Apples. What could be nicer, and no caffine PEACHY GREEN: Ah homemade canned peaches in the fall. Do you still preserve our past, even if it's in your memory. Enjoy this tea and let it take you back to a time when FALL kitchens were abuzz with wonderful smells, colors and textures. GINGERBREAD MAN BLACK: Yup, this is one of those teas that wafts up your nose and warms the cockles of your heart. The aroma is fantastic and the taste is of Autumn spices. I always think about the gingerbread men our local bakery would hand out this time of year when I was a child. BELGIAN CHOCOLATE ROOIBOS: (Rooibos - is not a tea, but rather a bush that grows in South Africa) The beauty of Rooibos is that it has the quality of enhancing whatever flavoring is being blended with it. This truly tastes like Belgian Chocolate. Oh, bonus..... goes great with anything chocolate!! AUTUMN is truly a remarkable time of year. To everything there is a season......

Juicy and sweet peaches are never a miss; in fact people have loved this lovely summer fruit for centuries! Archaeologists in China discovered that people consumed peaches as far back as 4000 years ago! Evidence suggests that the Chinese people were cultivating the fruit as early on as 6000 BC in Zhejiang Province of China. From those ancient times peaches made their way westward in the form of cuttings and seedlings, travelling via Persia (present day Iran) to Italy and Spain. In Italy the fruit thrived and rose to such popularity that it became the favourite of various rulers of the Roman Empire! It eventually made it to England and France where it was considered an expensive and prized treat. The peach was then brought to the Americas by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, but commercial production did not begin in America until the 19th century by farmers in Maryland, Delaware, Georgia and finally Virginia. Peaches also became an important crop in Ontario by the 1880's and in British Columbia by the 1890's. The fruit belongs to the genus Prunus, which includes the cherry, apricot, almond and plum in the rose family. And Peaches and Nectarines are classified scientifically as the same species, although commercially they are regarded as different fruits. There is even a cross between the two fruits called a "Peacherine" which is marketed in Australia and New Zealand! There are hundreds of different cultivars of peaches. Growers have even gone so far as to differentiate between the ones that separate easily from their pits, called "Freestones", and the ones that don't separate as easily from their pits, called Clingstones. Peaches are not only a delicious and flavourful fruit, but they are also great for the health! Peaches are full of antioxidants which may help prevent some cancers as well as potentially improving skin health and reduce inflammation due to UV-B radiation. Peaches might also help eye health, as they contain beta-carotene which plays an important role in maintaining healthy eyesight. Magnesium in peaches may help reduce stress and the dietary fiber in peaches might also help digestion. Whether you want to get your fill of peaches for health reasons or just because they're delicious, we can help get your fix in a fun way: through tea! We have three delightful teas which we've created taking inspiration from this venerable fruit. Our Peach Apricot flavoured black tea combines the intense and fragrant sweetness of both Apricots and Peaches along with a lovely Orange Pekoe grade Ceylon black tea, and creates a tea that you simply can't go wrong with. This tea makes a wonderful all year-round kind of tea as it is just as wonderful hot as it is cold! Psst.. We've also got a decaf version of this tea, so you can drink it all day and still get to sleep at night! Our Peachy Green tea takes the bright, vegetative, freshness of a Japanese style Sencha green tea and combines it with the summer-y sweetness of peaches and voila! A summer beverage you're sure to love! And last, but certainly not least our Peaches N' Cream flavoured black tea takes a classic dessert and puts it into tea form! What more could you ask for? All the deliciousness of peaches and cream without the fear of expanding waistlines. Juicy sweetness with smooth creaminess, perfect as a dessert tea or even just because.

What tea comes with a bang you ask? Why it's Gunpowder green tea! But don't worry it won't explode or make loud noises and it doesn't contain any gunpowder. According to legend the tea got it's name from a young English clerk, who thought the tiny rolled balls of tea leaves looked like gunpowder! The tea leaves are specially selected for quality size and style, they are then rolled into small balls. This method of processing the tea means that Gunpowder tea will actually keep longer than other green teas and has become popular because of this characteristic! Gunpowder green tea comes from Taiwan and the Zhejiang province of China; however, some believe that higher quality gunpowder green teas come from Taiwan as Taiwan's gunpowder quality improved significantly after 1949. The first tea bushes planted in Taiwan were planted around 300 years ago with bushes from the Fujian province of China. The bushes in Taiwan flush around five times per year between April and December. The best leaves are picked from the end of May to around mid-August. Interestingly, before the 1900's gunpowder green tea comprised around 60% of America's total tea imports, today that figure is less than 1%. This tea is a wonderful experience for the senses and not just smell and taste. Try brewing the tea loose, with boiling water, in a cup, bowl or teapot that you can see into and watch as the leaves open up and almost "bloom" like a flower would and float gracefully to the bottom. Our Formosa Gunpowder Green Tea is an excellent gunpowder variety and has a surprising and strong body but still has that familiar fresh and captivating green tea flavour. #yyc #gunpowder #greentea #loosetea #qualitytea

Hyson, Young Hyson, Lucky Dragon Hyson, what is it all? Well, for starters, Hyson translates to "Flourishing Spring" but is a term used to describe a particular type/grade of green tea grown in China. Hyson style tea is generally medium sized tea leaves (leaves that grow just below the new growing shoots on the tea bush) that are rolled in a long twisted and sometimes clam-like shape. Young Hyson is prepared in the same way, except the leaves used are the "younger" new shoots at the top of the bush, hence the name "Young Hyson". Young Hyson tea is generally considered to be better quality and better tasting as the leaves are the "freshest" on the bush. During the 1700's this tea became so highly favoured, that the British tea tax was actually higher for this variety than other teas. Lucky Dragon Hyson is from a specific factory who further identified their tea as even higher quality, because, even though made in the Young Hyson style it has a much better flavour and character to it. The government quickly realized the potential and levied taxes on tea that remained all the way until the late 1700's. With all these taxes, and specifically higher tax on Young Hyson grade teas, there were all kinds of various plans and schemes to get around the taxes. Servants in upper class homes would dry the used leaves and resell them, others would "cut" the tea with leaves from various trees like beech or hawthorn. Smuggling teas from China into England reached a climax during the mid 1700's. The Chancellor of the Exchequer realized the extent of their losses and that only a large tax cut would make legal imports competitive with contraband tea, which finally occurred in 1784 with the passing of the Commutation Act. You can rest assured you won't have to pay extra high taxes or worry about hawthorn leaves in your tea; you can get yourself some high quality, wonderfully fresh flavoured Lucky Dragon Hyson Green Tea over on our online shop.

Tea has been drank since ancient times. Then it was in an unadulterated form of pure tea leaves, mostly consumed for it's medicinal properties. I am not chatting about herbal teas, or tisane (fruit&herb) teas, but good old tea leaves and buds picked from Camellia Sinnensis (tea plants - a species of evergreen shrubs). Many popular tea brands of today would have you believe that there products have health benefits and by consuming their products, that somehow you will be living a cleaner life. HOG WASH. Fact is; if you are drinking tea from the grocery store already prepared for you in nice little toxic bags; you are essentially going to consume tea "Fannings". The unwashed remains of what is left after the good tea leaves and buds have been screened. These "Fannings", also contain high amounts of "Pesticides", "Toxins", "artificial ingredients" and "GMOs". Ah....but buyer beware not all merchants selling "Loose Leaf Teas" are created equal either. Tea is a huge business these days, and like magicians; the big players in retail loose leaf tea, have conjured up many ways to lure you into buying their products. You will know the companies I am referring to, if you have ever had the experience of having a booming big cannister full of flavorful tea wafted under your nose. Not to put you off, but, to add to your enjoyable experience; if you choose to purchase any of these delights, you are also getting the added benefit of purchasing a tea that may have had everyone else's nose in it too! this seems a bit too NOSEY for me! Add to this, that these companies may not buy ethically or sustainability . What the heck does that mean!....Gonna save that one for another blog.

As noted American botanist and scientist Luther Burbank has said: "Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful. They are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul.". And roses are perhaps the flower that is most responsible for bringing happiness, sunshine and love to someone's day as roses are possibly most well-loved flower in the world. But perhaps the most romantic combination in the world is roses and cherries. Roses, of course, have long been a symbol of love. But cherries have also long been seen in China and Japan as potent symbols of springtime and youth. English folk beliefs also say that cherry trees are a symbol of luck and love; lovers who meet for the first time under a cherry tree are said to be the luckiest of couples! Both cherries and roses are also claimed to have several health benefits, some of which include: high antioxidant levels and possible inflammation reducing qualities in cherries as well as vitamin C and natural stress relieving properties in rose petals. Whether you just love roses or cherries (or both!) or whether you want to add a little romance to your life, we can help! Our cherry and rose tea blends are sure to bring some sunshine and happiness to the soul! Our Cherry Cheeks & Rose Rooibos tea is a wonderful blend of Rooibos from the Cederberg district of South Africa. Rooibos is known for it's warm, malty, slightly toasty and mildly sweet flavour which pairs wonderfully with rose petals, blackberry leaves and natural cherry flavours in this tea blend. And our Cherry Kyoto Rose Green tea definitely embodies the Japanese symbols of springtime, youth and love. A bright and fresh blend of sencha green tea made to Japanese standards and natural cherry flavours. You simply can't go wrong with either.

Many of our customers love our iced teas we have for sampling and take out. Many of which are our very own blends. There are very few teas whether Black, Green, Rooibos, or Tisane (Fruit & Herbs Mix) that don't make great Iced Tea. Tisane's are a favorite when it comes to making iced tea with home blends like Azul, Cha Cha Colada, Cran-Apple, Gypsy Kiss, Lemon Mango Montage & Nutty Cocoa Bean. We also have some great Green Tea Home Blends that make wonderful Iced Teas too. Cherry Kyoto Rose, Florida Strawberry, Peachy Green, Rhapsody Raspberry, and Tropical Blue Mango. HOW TO MAKE GREAT LOOSE LEAF ICED TEA Rule of Thumb: 1 teaspoon per 8oz cup (if you are going to be using an Ice stick) 2 teaspoons per 8oz cup (to make a concentrate) Place measured tea in a teapot or heat proof container. Add Sugar or honey (3 Tablespoons per Gallon of finished product) at this time. (OPTIONAL) Add the appropriate amount of boiling water according to the above rule of thumb. Infuse : 3 minutes for green (otherwise it will get bitter) 4 minutes for Black (otherwise it will get bitter) 10 minutes or more for Tisane 10 minutes or more for Rooibos Chill in Fridge. As a concentrate: Use fill beverage container half concentrate and half ice Using an Ice Stick? Pour unconcentrated tea into container and add an ice stick. Iced Teas can be fun. Add sparkling water or a light sparkling wine. Fruit can be added either directly or frozen in ice cubes. PS. The kids love our Tisane Teas, especially the Bubble Gum Yum. All our Home Blends are exclusive to us and available in store or on our on line store @teazehri.ca . Free shipping over $30.00 anywhere in Canada. ENJOY! #Icedteas #HomeBlendedTeas #FruitandHerbTeas #freeshipping #funteas #looseleaficedteas

Did you know that Blueberries are so high in nutrients that they are considered "nutraceuticals"? Nutraceuticals are foods that are naturally high in health giving additives and have much medicinal benefit. And good news, this month is blueberry month, as July is peak harvest for blueberries! Blueberries are actually native to the Americas and North America is responsible for 90% of it's growth and production! Blueberries started as a wild plant, but during the early 20th century they became more and more domesticated. Natural selection has made the blueberry more and more desirable, with improved texture, colour, flavour and nutrition over time. Now the blueberry has naturally become so well developed nutritionally that it has been shown to improve eyesight and slow down aging! Not only that but blueberries are high in antioxidants which have been shown to improve heart health, protect and improve the skin as well as lower risk of infections and some cancers. And now you can get your fill of blueberry in a tea! Our Blueberry Bliss flavoured black tea is blended with high quality Orange Pekoe grade black tea from Sri Lanka. The high grown districts which we source our tea from produces teas that have a classic "Ceylon" character, with floral notes, touches of astringency and a bright coppery colour. This base creates the perfect canvas for the cornflower petals, blackberry leaves and natural blueberry flavouring oil (not artificial crystals) in this tea to shine and create a delightful and summery blueberry experience! Experience your own bliss, Blueberry Bliss that is, by clicking here. Or if you prefer non-caffeinated beverages, our Blueberry Bomb flavoured Rooibos tea is an explosion of blueberry flavour! Blended with Choice Grade #1 Rooibos that gives a mildly sweet and malty flavour to this blend along with natural blueberry flavour, elderberry, raisins and apple pieces, cornflower and hibiscus petals; this tea is sure to please. Find it here. #ethicaltea #shopteaonline #loosetea #shoponline #looseleaftea #tea #summer #fruit #blueberry

It has been said that you're never truly on vacation until you have a Piña Colada in hand. The delicious combination of coconut, pineapple, fresh cream and sweet rum make for a truly refreshing and tropical beverage. However, the history of the Piña Colada and it's inventor is often disputed. A plaque on the wall of the old Barranchina Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico claims it was invented by Don Ramos Portas Mingat in 1963. Although this claim is strongly contested by the management of the nearby Caribe Hotel, who believe it was their bartender Ramon 'Monchito' Marrero who first blended strained pineapple, coconut and sweet rum in 1954 to create the sweet and refreshing beverage. All claims and speculation aside, we can't disagree that the Piña Colada is truly delicious. That's why we've got not one, but three teas inspired by this incredibly popular beverage. Our Cha Cha Colada tisane tea is inspired by Carmen Miranda and Piña Coladas of course! Carmen was born February 9, 1909 and died August 5, 1955. During her lifetime she went from being the daughter of a barber to the highest paid actor in Hollywood and also the highest paid woman in America! She rose to fame in Brazil during the 20's and 30's, she was then invited to perform in New York City, quickly taking Broadway by storm with her sultry Latin performances and Tutti Frutti head wear. Between 1940 and 1953 she went on to conquer the silver screen, making 14 films! It's pretty fitting that one of the most popular beverages from Latin America, the Piña Colada, also rose to fame around the same time. We created a tisane tea inspired by Carmen and the Latin American beverage so many love. Apple, rosehip, pineapple coconut and hibiscus create an incredibly aromatic, fruity and irresistible flavour profile that will make you want to do the Cha Cha. Get Cha Cha Colada here. Our Island Girl tea is a flavoured black tea blended with pineapple and coconut pieces as well as blackberry leaves and safflower petals, for a classic Piña Colada flavour profile that will transport you to beautiful tropical islands. Get Island Girl here. And finally our Oahu Colada Rooibos tea takes a Hawaiian spin on the Latin American beverage that is so well loved. Naturally caffeine-free Rooibos sets a relaxing 'island life' tone for the base of this tea, add in some sweet pineapple and coconut and you'll be off to Honolulu in no time. Get Oahu Colada here. All three of these teas not only make a great cup of hot tea, but they also make the perfect iced teas! And now that summer is here, why not make yourself feel like you're on vacation? Pick up a little bit of Piña Colada that you can drink all day, in tea form!

Ah caramel, a classic and delicious confection. It pairs wonderfully with so many things; Ice cream, popcorn, apples, brownies, cakes, the list goes on. Caramel actually owes much of it's legacy to the famous chocolatier Milton Hershey. Before beginning his business in chocolate, Hershey made a confection, that was normally made by grandmothers, using butter, sugar and vanilla, a popular treat across the nation. He created the Lancaster Caramel Company and then sold it in 1900 for the incredible sum of one million dollars. The company then became known as the American Caramel Company; which, believe it or not, actually had it's own bank notes printed! The buttery sweetness of caramel makes it so easy to love and the ideal flavour for a dessert tea! We were inspired by caramel's presence at the carnival, from sweet caramel squares to the classic caramel apple; the natural next step, we think, is tea! Our Carnival Caramel tea is blended with high quality, orange pekoe grade, black tea from the top three tea growing regions of Sri Lanka. With slightly floral notes, slight astringency and bright coppery colour, this black tea is the perfect backdrop for butterscotch, calendula and sunflower petals as well as natural vanilla and caramel flavours to take the stage. Bring back some summer carnival memories with this tea, get yourself some here.