Back to Tea

Tea tasting, a photo by nikosan.artwork on Flickr.

The end of this summer is dedicated to re-designing my tea collection, as well as adding a new tea for fall. I'm super excited about this new endeavor. My first collection of teas was designed in collaboration with Dawna Ehman, from whom I learned a lot about tea and she pretty much got me "hooked" on tea with her passion... A very good drug to be addicted to, if I may add! Teas have caffeine, but in so much lower quantities than coffee, so they are not nearly as addictive... In addition to caffeine, they are full of antioxidants and have an uplifting effect without the side-effects of caffeine withdrawal. Besides, the world of tea is so rich and beautiful with their subtle aroma and culture. Tea rituals exist around the world and are so simple and versatile. All you really need is some tea leaves (or herbs, if you rather), hot water and some vessels - not necessary fancy - and setting aside just a little bit of time on your own or shared with others - and there is your tea ceremony. Tea brings calm, serenity, energy, and has healing and rejuvenating properties.

So, these next couple of weeks will be dedicated to some tea tastings of a variety of teas I'm sampling, and experimenting with new recipes for my existing teas - namely Roses et Chocolat, Immortelle l'Amour (Charisma was a tea blend that I always served to studio guests, and I have already finalized the recipe for it). I'm also going to redo my packaging for the teas, as I'd like to have a larger tin again (instead of the current 1oz size). The tins I'm planning on using will be better on the functional level as far as sealing and maintaining freshness. But of course there has to be some sampling and testing to do first... And of course the labels will change as well.

Last but not least - there is a completely new tea that will come out this fall along with the new perfume I'll be launching on 20.11.2011. I've been experimenting with the recipe for quite some time, and am uber pleased with the initial results... So it's now a matter of fine tuning the formula, sourcing the leaves and all the finer details that follow a concept so it will become a reality.