We’re excited by the brief, informal avenue that Twitter allows for keeping folks abreast of the latest happenings at Arbor Teas. If you’re already on Twitter, please consider following us! If you’re not on Twitter, don’t worry, we’re still going to keep touch by our more traditional methods, too. We’re just adding a fun new dimension!
November 24 2009 | Media | 1 Comment »
This month marks the fifth anniversary of our humble little tea company, and it just wouldn’t be appropriate to let the occasion pass without comment. Looking back, it’s remarkable to realize how far we’ve come, and all that we’ve accomplished along the way!
Starting with a meager 100 pounds or so of tea, this company has grown from a part-time venture of a newly-married couple, to a company that now sells thousands of pounds of organic loose leaf tea every year, employs four, and is run by a family of three (finally a true mom-and-pop shop!). From absolute tea “unknowns,” to a company featured in the national media for it’s staunch commitment to sustainability, invited to panel discussions as a leader in the industry, etc. Wow!
So far, this one company has been through two generations of packaging (with a third to be revealed early 2010), three different websites (starting to think about version 4.0…), four school years teaching tea appreciation at the local community college and elsewhere, five World Tea Expo’s, countless certifications, inspections, approvals, mentions in the press, etc., etc., etc.
Above all else, however, the story of Arbor Teas has been about friendship. From the friends (and family!) who helped us make it through that lean first year, to the friends who’ve helped us shape and continue to grow this business, to the customers who come into our lives every day - offering not only money in exchange for the products we sell, but friendship and appreciation for what this company stands for. At times, running our business feels like keeping up with an ever-growing collection of pen pals throughout the country - who also happen to buy organic tea from us!
It’s been quite a ride, and we wouldn’t change a thing. If you measured success in the number of friends made, Arbor Teas would be on the cover of Fortune Magazine. And that’s how we’ll continue measuring it over the next five years!
November 09 2009 | Miscellaneous | 8 Comments »
According to a recent study published in the September 2009 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there appears to be an inverse relationship between green tea consumption and psychological distress. The study was conducted at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. It sought to clarify, through a large-scale study, whether green tea consumption was associated with lower psychological distress.
A team of medical researchers analyzed data gathered from 42,093 Japanese people age 40 and older. The participants answered questions about their lifestyle, including green tea drinking habits and psychological distress as indicated by the Kessler 6-item scale. As it turns out, respondents who consumed five or more cups of green tea per day were 80 percent less likely to suffer psychological distress than those who consumed one cup or less of green tea per day.
More good news for drinking green tea!
November 09 2009 | Tea and Health | No Comments »
Refers to those loose leaf teas which hail from a single geographic region, estate or garden. Such “single origin” teas bear the closest relationship to the areas in which they’re grown, reflecting the unique combination of soil, climate, geography, etc. found there (often called “terroir” in the wine industry). Single origin teas are contrasted by blends composed of teas from two or more geographic areas. As with most agricultural products, the characteristics of single origin teas can fluctuate from year to year due to changing conditions where they’re grown. Conversely, blends made of teas from a variety of locations can be adjusted to maintain a consistent flavor profile, year after year. In doing so, however, they lose the special traits that are unique to any one particular origin. Our website (www.ArborTeas.com) distinguishes which of our black teas, oolong teas, green teas, white teas and pu-erh teas are of “single origin” and which aren’t. Finding top-quality single origin organic teas couldn’t be easier!
November 09 2009 | Tea Terms | No Comments »
With immense pleasure we at Arbor Teas would like to introduce you to Nancy Biehn, Chief Executive Chocolatier of Sweet Gem Confections, an artisan chocolate shop located right here in our hometown, Ann Arbor, MI. Over the past few months a sweet collaboration has been forming between Nancy and us—we’ve teamed up to bring you handcrafted, organic tea-infused truffles!
Simply delighted to be a part of this exciting project, I dropped in on Nancy one evening to observe her master craftsmanship firsthand. The display of chocolate mastery I witnessed was nothing short of amazing! She was making a white chocolate, masala chai tea ganache that, when cooled, would be rolled into orbs and dipped in white chocolate. Without missing a beat while attending to all the stirring, cooling and additional stirring that the ganache required, Nancy poured perfectly tempered milk chocolate into shell-shaped molds, turning out the excess onto her parchment-covered workbench in a spectacle that can aptly be described as a chocolate “rain shower.” These shells will eventually enclose earl grey black tea-infused milk chocolate ganache. While those were cooling, she painted a shimmery campfire motif on the tops of a batch of 65% cacao dark chocolate Laspang Souchong truffles. Talk about a multi-tasker!
November 03 2009 | Cooking with Tea and Products and Tea Fun | 3 Comments »