One of my blog readers sent me a link to this very interesting looking toothpaste kit, which currently appears to be on sale for $8.00 at Neiman Marcus. Here’s the description from their site:

Satisfy your taste for the exotic with this unique toothpaste kit that cleans teeth and helps prevent plaque buildup—featuring delicious flavors of tropical pineapple and cinnamon.

• Contains Green Tea, Indian Curry, Tropical Pineapple, Darjeeling Tea and Cinnamon flavors.
• Contains Xylitol, a unique additive that effectively prevents plaque buildup and tooth decay.
• Gentle formula has no synthetic agents.
• Unique formula is ideal for electric toothbrushes.
• All in a perfectly portable box.
• Imported.

Pretty interesting! Has anyone tried this crazy assortment of toothpastes? I enjoy Crest’s Cinnamon variety, but have never tried a tea-flavored paste.

Do you like to travel with your tea and also use multiple infusions? This product is neat find that Joe sent my way a couple months ago, and as I’m hoping to dabble in the world of multiple infusions, I’m looking into picking one up:

Chinese Tea Drinking Jars (2nd product listed)

The first product listed is a tea tumbler, which also looks very interesting for the tea enthusiast!

Today’s Tea Term:

Flush : The new growth at the end of a branch or shoot. Also refers to the harvest time – first flush is early, second flush is in late spring, etc.

(source)

Valentines Day is approaching. You didn’t think STeaP forgot, did you?

OHHH, no.

We are prepared, and will be bringing you some special love teas, along with special effects never before seen on STeaP (i.e. candles, in case you were able to get *too* excited). Get yourselves ready for Monday’s “Two Cups of Love,” Episode #22 from Joe and Brandice!

Today’s Tea Term:

Estate: Land or property holding, perhaps made up of more than one tea garden under the same management or ownership.

(source)

Dave at Tea and Food recently roasted his own tea, and wrote a review of the self-roasted Bi Lo Chun that resulted from his endeavors.

Really interesting! I’m wondering if I could roast my own, but I’m not sure which tea I would try roasting. Has anyone else tried this, and if you plan to in the future, what tea would you be likely to roast?

Check out a tea magazine that has arrived on the scene: The Leaf: Tea Magazine

From their introductory page:

In the true spirit of Cha Dao, we are proud to introduce The Leaf, Tea Magazine, offering steeping after steeping of tea wisdom written by and translated from some of the most famous authors in the tea world; and it’s all completely free! We will feature articles by Zhou Yu, Master Ling Ping Xiang, Chen Zhi Tong, Huang Chan Fang, James Norwood Pratt, Aaron Fisher, Jeffrey McCloud, Scott Wilson, Mary Heiss and so many more…

Learning about Chinese tea is difficult for the English speaker, and so much of today’s information is coming from merchants and vendors with financial agendas. Let us instead explore the world of tea together, and pure-heartedly share our knowledge beyond the marketplace to the quiet tea room where the kettle is boiling and only the Leaf awaits us.

The articles here will be viewable in .pdf format for which you’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Each article will then have a discussion section, in which we can have a moderated dialogue, Q&A and share about the information presented.

Today’s Tea Term:

Tisane : (Pronunciation: tee-zan’) An infusion of dried herbs or fruit pieces. Not actually a “tea” by traditional definition, often called an herbal tea.

This is three-part series on London tea rooms, done by director Paul Kelly. If you’re looking for more tea video content, this is a neat set of videos with three minute narratives about the tea community in London, and they’re worth watching even if the music is somewhat lacking, in my opinion.

Part 1:

Eldon Street:

New Piccadilly:

This is what will happen if you let that forgotten cup of tea sit for too long. I feel a little better about my frequently forgotten cups of tea all over my apartment, knowing that I have never found them so horribly neglected and full of icky things.

Official tip of the day? Don’t subject your poor tea mugs to this!