Rishi took home seven first place awards at the recent World Tea Expo. They are definitely doing something right, and I personally recommend their Jade Cloud tea.
It turns out that the flavinoids in tea may actually help ease symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases, and there seems to the possibility that flavinoids in tea may help repair the damage, not just stop it.
Teaware geeks will enjoy this write up by MattCha about Korean style gimhae tea bowls, complete with a brief history of this teaware style and several pictures of some very nice bowls.
This is a great article on gongfu tea tables, with in-depth comparisons that you really won't find anywhere else. It's very cool of the author to share all the info collected while on his own quest for hte perfect gongfu tea table. Bookmark this one if you ever want to get into gongfu tea preparation!
Some of the herbs are well known to have medicinal uses, like turmeric and cloves, but did you know that onions (and other vegetables related to onions) have been used for centuries as medicines? Apparently they have anti-inflammatory properties. Also, rosemary, cinnamon, and parsley (great for detoxifying carcinogens from cigarette smoke) are just some of the surprising (to me) herbs on the list.
There is no way this list can be complete, though. If you study a natural product long enough, you're sure to find lots of healthy qualities. Does anyone have any herbs they'd like to add? If you disagree with this list, I'd love to read about that, too.
When getting into high quality tea, the options can be a bit overwhelming. You can read all the right information about tea preparation, teaware, and all the different types of tea, but knowing what flavors you like and what teas you'll lean toward is an ongoing process that can get pricey if you're buying high quality tea and buying it four or more ounces at a time (typical purchase quantities).
The answer to this dilemma is something that I have a lot of fun with: tea samples. They're relatively cheap (allowing for great varety for the same price), they're a small commitment (low guilt if you just pitch the ones you don't like), they don't take up a lot of space (I have a drawer full of them), and they're easy to mail (if you don't like a tea, cheap postage will send it on to another tea drinker!).
In fact, they're so convenient that I still buy samples of tea that I do like, because I drink through my tea supply slowly (due to the huge variety of tea I have) and the unopened packets stay fresh. I also frequently send samples of my favorite teas to friends (a bundle of tea samples makes a nice gift).
As a child, I never enjoyed eating peas. I associated them with split pea soup which I almost always found to be a nauseatingly mushy green mess. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I recently tried pea salad with radishes and feta cheese. The peas were vibrant green and had the perfect texture, not too soft or too hard. The peas were bursting with flavor.
Currently, peas are in season. Restaurants all over Manhattan have peas somewhere on the menu. Here are 8 heavenly recipes involving peas:
It's (unofficially) summer now and a lot of us are looking for dessert recipes for the season. I know a lot of people want dishes that don't require much cooking, that are simple to prepare, and that are still elegant and tasty. In an answer to that, The Kitchn has put together a list of nine simple, easy and elegant summer dessert recipes just for you.
My personal favorite recipe from the post is the berries macerated in liquor with whipped cream. The recipe for pears baked with lemon stilton also sounds delicious. All of the desserts presented promise to be quick and use (for the most part) pantry staples. They also all look amazing. Check it out for some great summer dessert ideas.
I'm not a big coffee drinker, and I hate to sound pretentious, but I have been against the coffee chain since I was a teenager and I rarely go into one of their stores (though my parents love, love, love the place). What I'm trying to say is that I wouldn't be able to spot these customers at Starbucks, though, after reading the list you could say that it applies to customers in general.
The list is pretty funny. My favorite is the person getting coffee for the office, but because I absolutely hate that person. Also, the person making a complicated order and then expecting it, like, two minutes ago was particularly entertaining. If this kind of thing concerns you, there is some foul language in the post, so be forewarned. All in all, though, an amusing way to start your Sunday morning, and hey, maybe you can be on the lookout for types on the list.
Do you love cereal? If you do, I'm sure you have your favorites. Have you ever thought to rank them though?
Candy Addict did just that recently. They ranked their ten favorite chocolate cereals. I guess the chocolate part tied into the candy theme of the blog. It's a fun list, with some cereals on the list that I'd never heard of. The winners are pretty predictable, but ,then, there's a reason for that.
Check it out for a fun way to start your morning. What's your favorite chocolate cereal? Do you think this list is pretty accurate, or was Candy Addict a bit off?
Do you go to coffee shops with any regularity? Are you there every day, or do you make it a weekend thing? Whenever you go, have you ever wondered about the people who make your coffee?
As we should all remember they are people too (not just automatons, created to serve our caffeine whims), and they have just as many pet peeves about you as you have about them. The RedEye blog interviewed baristas extensively and put together a list of everything (well, ok, 10 things) that they really want you to know. Next time you order your favorite beverage from your favorite coffee shop, keep in mind these tips while you're leaving yours.
It seems like we've been hearing an awful lot about bacon lately. The wonderfully delicious stuff is everywhere, from bra's to cakes. If that's not enough for you, here are fifty more ways to get that bacon fix.
This is literally a list of fifty things to do with bacon. My favorite is bacon wrapped tator tots: two of natures most perfect foods in wonderful, salty combination. Some of the items on the list I've seen before, like the bacon scarf, but for the most part the list is all new to me. There are some really fun ideas, and some stuff even I cringed at. Check it out for a fun way to start your day.
Who doesn't like cocktails? I know there are probably some people out there who don't, but the mixed drinks are pretty popular. But have you ever wondered which ones were the most manly?
Admittedly, the thought has never crossed my mind, but I'm glad someone else has thought of it. Over at Holy Taco, they've put together a list of the top 11 manliest cocktails in the world. Why 11? I'm not sure, but the more the merrier I guess.
Some of the drinks that made the list are the snake bite and the rusty nail. I'll let you check it out for yourself to see cocktail came out on top. Oh, and if you're really interested in the drinks on the list, Holy Taco also provided the recipes.
So far, Nicole and Sarah have given their thoughts about Alan Richman's GQ list of "The 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die." (A .pdf of the entire article is available here.) Since Sarah and Nicole have both hit at least a few spots on Richman's list, I figured it was time I start catching up, especially since I live only minutes away from the restaurant that occupies the number one spot on the list, Le Tub, in Hollywood, Florida. Le Tub has had roughly the last half a century to garner praise for its burgers, and the evidence, in the form numerous framed and yellowing newspaper clippings, is obvious throughout the restaurant. The rest of the decor is also worth mentioning. The rickety, open-air bar and restaurant sits perched on the Intracoastal Waterway, and it's as if the entire place has been whittled from a huge chunk of driftwood and is now held together by little more than fishing nets, banyan roots and the occasional rusty nail. And, of course, there is a bathtub planter outside, as well as a variety of toilets and toilet seats strewn about the lush, overgrown property.
Our pancake roundup this morning only included eight delicious recipes that were sure to tempt just about everyone to get out their frying pan and make up a batch. But as tempting as they may have been, most of the recipes presented there would not be good choices for gluten-free eaters because they were almost all flour-based. In fact, most pancake recipes are. Fortunately, there happen to be a lot of equally delicious gluten-free pancake options out there that ensure everyone who wants to can celebrate Fat Tuesday (a.k.a. National Pancake Day).
The easiest GF option is a pancake mix. Jay used Kinnikinnick Pancake Mix to make the lovely stack pictured above. There are many mixes out there to choose from, including Bob's Red Mill, which is widely available at Whole Foods Stores.
If you want to make your own, try using an alternative flour, as was done in these Rice Flour Crepes or Almond Flour Pancakes. You can find several more GF pancake recipes here, which use buckwheat, quinoa, potato flour and other gluten-free bases.
Last year, we rounded up eight great pancake recipes for a Fat Tuesday celebration, but even though eight new pancake recipes are enough to get you through several breakfasts without getting bored, there are always going to be more recipes out there to try. So, without further ado, here are eight delicious new pancake recipes to try:
Nosheteria's Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes (pictured) are light and tender, with the bright flavor of lemon backed up with a little crunch from poppyseeds. They're a great alternative to lemon poppyseed muffins.
Keeping the seasonal citrus, but moving in a slightly different direction, we have Lemon and Ricotta Pancakes, which are delicate and just melt in your mouth when eaten.
Oatmeal pancakes are hearty, but perfectly satisfying on a cold winter morning - although with a fresh berry topping like the one Elise used, they will satisfy in summer, as well.
A giant Baked Apple Pancake can be served as breakfast or as dessert, but due to its size and addictive taste, it is best to save lots of room for it.
A little bit of zest and spice can take a plain, buttermilk pancake to a whole new level, as they did in these Orange and Cinnamon Buttermilk Pancakes. Use any spices you like (ginger would be nice)!
For those of you who are health-conscious when it comes to breakfast, you might want to try making a batch of No-Flour, No-Sugar Crepes to start your day.
Pork-lovers will probably get a kick out of having their favorite breakfast side inside their pancakes, rather than next to them, so Bacon Pancakes should be particularly appealing to them
Nutella is often spread on top of pancakes or used as a filling for dessert crepes, but mixing it into the batter for Nutella Pancakes eliminates that pesky extra step before consumption. Opt for chocolate sauce as a topping if you like your pancakes for dessert, otherwise stick to maple syrup.
Although they only account for a small portion (probably less than 10%) of the champagne market, the imports of rosé champagnes spiked hugely last year. So it's safe to say that restaurants, bars and liquor stores across the country will be making the increasingly trendy bubbly much more accessible. The pink color of rosé is obtained by adding about 15% red wine to regular champagne, giving it an entirely new flavor profile to complement its look. Servers and restaurant owners say that the drink is contagious, that when one glass is poured suddenly everyone else wants one, as well. And there's nothing wrong with one extra glass of champagne. Forbes picked their top ten pink champagnes, listed here by price, any one of which would go well with a romantic dinner or dessert.
Peanut butter preference can be a very personal thing. Some people like theirs chunky, others prefer theirs to be creamy and smooth. Some would rather have natural, others enjoy the familiarity of commercial brands that they ate growing up. Growing up, my family solved the problem of preference by having multiple jars of peanut butter on hand at all times, ensuring that everyone had something they liked for toast and sandwiches, in addition to making sure there was something to use for baking peanut butter cookies.
Rishi is putting Milwaukee on the world tea map
Do you visit Starbucks on a regular basis? If you do, you might notice one or more of the type of patron that 
Do you love cereal? If you do, I'm sure you have your favorites. Have you ever thought to rank them though?
Do you go to coffee shops with any regularity? Are you there every day, or do you make it a weekend thing? Whenever you go, have you ever wondered about the 
It seems like we've been hearing an awful lot about bacon lately. The wonderfully delicious stuff is everywhere, from 
Who doesn't like cocktails? I know there are probably some people out there who don't, but the mixed drinks are pretty popular. But have you ever wondered which ones were the most manly? 
Our 
Last year, we rounded up 
Although they only account for a small portion (probably less than 10%) of the champagne market, the imports of rosé champagnes spiked hugely last year. So it's safe to say that restaurants, bars and liquor stores across the country will be making the increasingly trendy bubbly much more accessible. The pink color of rosé is obtained by adding about 15% red wine to regular champagne, giving it an entirely new flavor profile to complement its look. Servers and restaurant owners say that the drink is contagious, that when one glass is poured suddenly everyone else wants one, as well. And there's nothing wrong with one extra glass of champagne. Forbes picked their 
Peanut butter preference can be a very personal thing. Some people like theirs chunky, others prefer theirs to be creamy and smooth. Some would rather have natural, others enjoy the familiarity of commercial brands that they ate growing up. Growing up, my family solved the problem of preference by having multiple jars of peanut butter on hand at all times, ensuring that everyone had something they liked for toast and sandwiches, in addition to making sure there was something to use for baking 
New York Times Magazine's food issue
Chicken McNuggets frolic at New York City pet store
Eat your broccoli orbs! 
