Looking for a gift for your favorite tea enthusiast? From pots to boat-shaped infusers, we’ve got you covered. As we approach the holidays, you may be looking for gift ideas for a loved one who enjoys tea–and unlike Santa Claus, they won’t be satisfied by a serving of milk and cookies. Buying for friends and family can be stressful when you don’t share their tastes or hobbies. You want to get them something they’ll like, but you don’t know enough about this particular interest to have confidence in what you’re buying.  If they’re tea enthusiasts, then your problem gets worse. There are t ..read more

We want our readers to enjoy tea, which is why we’re here to tell you there are better times during the day to drink it than others. You read that right. Despite being a tea shop, we’re not going to recommend that you administer tea through an IV drip at all hours (and we wouldn’t know how to set that up, anyway). You can’t enjoy tea, with all its flavor and health benefits, if you have it at the wrong times. And if you don’t enjoy it, then we’d never get to see you! In this article, we’ll explain when you should consider drinking tea throughout the day and what benefits you could gain from d ..read more

Wouldn’t it be cool to tell your friends you got your tea from a volcanic mountain range?   Sure, they’d be impressed (and maybe a little concerned about why you went so far for tea). But we wouldn’t judge because Colombian Black Tea is so good that we’d actually consider making the trip for it.  Thankfully, we don’t have to because we recently started selling it in our stores. It’s taken a special place in our hearts, and in this article, we’ll explain why. We’ll talk about the origins of this loose-leaf tea, as well as the aromas and flavors you can expect when you make it.&n ..read more

Get ready for a blog post that’ll put you to sleep (in a good way, we promise)! Many people want to know if tea can improve their quality of sleep. They’re looking for an alternative to coffee they can drink late at night while also not completely wrecking their ability to rest. And this is a big deal, because around 70 million Americans report trouble sleeping. So, can tea help you sleep? We’ll do our best to answer that question, as well as recommend some un-caffeinated teas you can try late into the evening. Let’s get started. Can Tea Help You Sleep? The short answer is, yes! Tea can help ..read more

How can you tell if your tea has gone bad? This is the question that haunts our worst nightmares, and it’s probably a situation you’ve found yourself in at some point. (If you’re new to the wonderful world of tea, then it’s a question you’ll eventually ask.) Maybe you bought some tea a long time ago, but it’s been sitting in your pantry and you’re not sure if it’s still good. Or you brewed a cup of tea, but you got involved in an emergency at work and left the cup sitting out for several hours. You could reheat the drink, but should you? You can’t enjoy tea if you’re not sure it’s safe, which ..read more

Part of being a tea lover is knowing what to pair with your favorite beverage—and that’s why we’re thrilled to talk about honey.  We sell many types of honey, but we’re particularly excited about two: orange blossom honey and tupelo honey. (The latter has no relation to the restaurant chain.) They’re delicious by the spoonful, but they pair extremely well in hot or cold teas.  We can tell you how to make your tea, but it’s up to you to make your drink. Here’s why these two types of honey will complement whatever your favorite drink is.  Orange Blossom Honey  Before we desc ..read more

You don’t need to crack open a clam to find your new favorite pearl. It’s waiting for you at your local neighborhood tea shop!  Black pearl tea is a fantastic type of tea that deserves to be more well-known than it is. It’s delicious and creates a rich experience for hot and cold tea drinkers. In this article, we want to focus on black pearl tea—what it is, where it comes from, and how you can prepare it.   We’ll give you the basics of how to get the most of each pearl so you can experiment from there. So, let’s get started!  Where Black Pearl Tea Comes From  Black pe ..read more

Every great beach bod needs healthy blood pressure—and regularly drinking tea can help you obtain it.  While that may sound like something a tea shoppe would say, there are scientific reasons for saying tea can contribute to a healthy lifestyle beyond just helping you lose weight. Tea can help you support healthy blood pressure to prevent life-threatening diseases. In this article, we’ll explain why tea helps your heart in more ways than one.  How Tea Helps Lower Blood Pressure  Your blood pressure is comprised of two factors: the pressure your blood exerts against your artery ..read more

Why A Hot Beverage is Exactly What You Need During the Hottest Months of the Year We know it sounds crazy but hear us out: the best way to keep cool during summer is serving yourself a cup of hot tea. No, you didn’t misread that previous sentence. There are good reasons to drink hot tea during the summer. It’s a healthy option, it tastes fantastic, and it can help keep your body cool. In this article, we’ll explain why.  Ready? Let’s get started. How Hot Tea Keeps You Cool Let’s address the obvious question you might have: why drink hot tea during the summer? You can barely walk outside ..read more

You’ve likely seen this word in blogs, on Instagram, or heard it in your social circles. But what is it? Hygge (pronounced “hyoo-guh”) is a Danish concept driven on finding comfort, coziness, peace, well-being, and warmth, in simple, soothing things. Of course, this notion is completely subjective, because what’s comforting and peaceful to one person may be completely different for another. Like us, our friends over at Walter Magazine are all about those “cozy vibes.” They’ve put together an amazing compilation of how to live the Hygge lifestyle right here in Raleigh, NC. Click here to find ..read more