Tea Stories
The Austrians are loving my teas March 16 2015
Here in Vienna, my teas are a great success, particularly 50 Shades of Earl Grey. l am loving the local milk in my tea. It has a certain creamy quality that is different from what I'm used to. I might just have to buy a cow to take home. But I'm not sure if I could get it in the overhead bin, particularly with the big bells they wear around their necks here. Having a wonderful (busy) time. Next stop: Obertauern, where the Beatles filmed the ski scenes for HELP! Then on to Istanbul before returning to our beloved Playa del Rey. I hope my house guests are behaving themselves and taking care of my kitties.Tea in L.A. (we luv it!) March 05 2015
What does tea do when it moves to L.A?
It has its bags removed!
Pete Price at CityTalk FM in Liverpool likes my tea March 04 2015
I mailed him some samples recently and he said on our show last night that he was really enjoying it.Canyon Coffee House, Zillah, WA, soon to have Mrs McCartney's Teas March 04 2015
Shipping tea today to Mike Roach. Mike's Dad, Kevin Roach, Liverpool author, wrote "Julia," about John Lennon's Mum. It's on Amazon.Green Tea may help ease depression February 26 2015
A recent study carried out by Shandong University in China (one of the biggest in the country) put out a report that the properties of green tea may help to alleviate depression. I will watch for more detailed information as it becomes available to the public.Madonna Magazine, Austria February 26 2015
Thursday morning 26th February - Ruth and I chat with Kristin Pelze-Scherunga of Madonna Magazine in Austria about our forthcoming Magical History Tour Shows in Vienna, and of course, about Mrs. McCartney's Teas, which we will take for all of our friends and colleagues. It promises to be an exciting trip, when we will reunite with Freda Kelly (Good Ol' Freda), The Cavern Club Beales, Klaus Voorman, and many of our long time Austrian and German connections.Angie's interview with Jenn Findlay for Cover-it Magazine February 25 2015
I am looking forward to spending an hour on the phone this evening with Jenn Findlay, who plans an in-depth interview for Cover-it. I will let you know when it will be published.Angie to be on launch of new show on 101.3FM on Tue. Feb. 24th Feb February 21 2015
I am excited to have been invited to be one of the first guests on the launch of this new worldwide radio show, when I will be chatting about tea and other things with Jenn Findley at 1 p.m. Pacific time. Don't forget to tune in. She will have several fun guests.Angie & Ruth on the Jude Southerland Kessler show, 26 Feb. February 20 2015
This week Angie and Ruth will be guests on The John Lennon Hour on http://www/BlogTalkRadio,com with host Jude Southerland Kessler, author of The John Lennon Series. Tune in at 9pmET to hear the fun and merriment, or call in LIVE at 646-668-2641 talk to Angie or Ruth or both! We'll all be sipping Angie's excellent 50 Shades of Grey Tea, so there's no telling what we'll do! We'll supply you with a link later this week! 'Til then, t'rah and shine on!Angie on www.hippieradio945.com, Sunday 22nd February February 19 2015
There will be a repeat of my chat with Richard Courtney (originally broadcast on 8th February) on Sunday, 22nd February at 9:00 a.m. Central time (7:00 a.m. Pacific).www.hippieradio945.com
KTLA Channel 5 - Doug Kolk February 12 2015
They aired my Mrs McCartney's Tea segment at 10:24 p.m. and I received my first order for 5 packs of tea at 10:36 p.m. How's that for the power of Television, and especially KTLA 5. Doug did me proud, thanks, and gave a shout out to the Linda McCartney Breast Cancer Research Centre in Liverpool, I am so grateful. I guess I'm officially on the night shift now.Angie in February 12 2015
Angie featured in The Argonaut February 12 2015
Michael Aushenker gave me a very nice write up in The Argonaut today, mainly about my 50 Shades of Earl Grey, but touching on several aspects of my life, past, present and future, and with a shout out for some of our local watering holes in Playa del Rey. And showing off my nice china Queen Elizabeth teapot too.Angie on the radio from Nashville with Richard Courtenay Sunday 8 Feb. February 07 2015
I will be chatting with Richard about tea, and other things, at 9 a.m. Central time, Sunday morning on www.hippieradio 94.5.com50 Shades of Earl Grey - again! February 07 2015
One is having so much fun with this flavour right now - I wonder why. There's even a book called "50 Shames..." And even dear Patrick Stewart has a photo online, reading 50 Shades of Grey. Press, radio and TV interest. I wonder what else the coming week might have in store, with the release of the allegedly naughty movie? Thank you all for your interest. I am mailing a check to the Linda McCartney Breast Cancer Research Centre in Liverpool today.L.A. Business Journal Feature February 04 2015
50 Shades of Earl Grey February 04 2015
It seems that my interview for The Los Angeles Business Journal last week has sparked quite a bit of interest. I am invited to have my "portrait" done on Friday by a prominent photographer and documentarian, and there is interest from my favourite local TV Station (I'll tell you more when it is confirmed). Then a few of local publications want to do a piece about my highly satisfying tea, and also radio. So just when I think I have more or less reached my sell-by date, it's all happening. What could be next - Shark Tank?The Teas ~ Organic, Fair Trade & Fab! February 01 2015
The Teas ~ Organic, Fair Trade & Fab!
Angie is featuring a myriad of fab flavours of Organic and Fair Trade Teas for you to enjoy - you can find them by clicking on the "Shoppe" above and each purchase will directly benefit the Linda McCartney Breast Cancer Research Centre in Liverpool , UK. We have STRONG Irish Breakfast (be warned, your spoon might stand up in the cup); 50 Shades of Earl Grey (if you're feeling naughtea); Strawberry Green Fields (forever); Blueberry Royale (for that Buckingham Palace feeling); South African Rooibos with Herbs de Provence (if South Africa and Southern France had a baby this would be it!); GenMaiSencha (a green tea with a cheeky little toasted puffy rice) and if you just can't decide, then we can send you a Variety Pack of all six splendid comestibles for you to pick your favorite.
Tea Terminology - Did You Know? January 01 2015
Grade terminology
Choppy contains many leaves of various sizes.
Fannings: are small particles of tea leaves used almost exclusively in tea bags.
Flowery: consists of large leaves, typically plucked in the second or third flush with an abundance of tips.
Golden Flowery: includes very young tips or buds (usually golden in colour) that were picked early in the season.
Tippy: includes an abundance of tips.
Whole leaf grades
The grades for whole leaf orthodox black tea are: Ceylon orange pekoe (OP) grades'
OP1—slightly delicate, long, wiry leaf with the light liquor
OPA—bold, long leaf tea which ranges from tightly wound to almost open
OP—main grade, in the middle between OP1 and OPA, can consist of long wiry leaf without tips
OP Superior—primarily from Indonesia, similar to OP
Flowery OP—high-quality tea with a long leaf and few tips, considered the second grade in Assam, Dooars, and Bangladesh teas, but the first grade in China
F OP1—as above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the FOP classification
Golden Flowery OP1—higher proportion of tip than FOP top grade in Milima and Marinyn regions, uncommon in Assam and Darjeeling
Tippy Golden F OP—the highest proportion of tip, main grade in Darjeeling and Assam
TGF OP1—as above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the TGFOP classification
Finest TGF OP—highest quality grade (Note: "Special" is occasionally substituted for "Finest", with a number 1 at the end to indicate the very finest), often hand processed and produced at only the best plantations, roughly one quarter tips
SFTGFOP(1)—sometimes used to indicate the very finest
A joke among tea aficionados is that "FTGFOP" stands for "Far Too Good For Ordinary People".
New Branding Deck for Distributors November 19 2014
If you are interested in distributing or licensing our teas in your territory, please click here to download the PDF deck with background information, flavour details and contact information.
Thanks and bottoms up!
Rockstar Rescue October 22 2014
Announcing our brand new flavour!
Rockstar Rescue is specifically crafted to soothe your throat and calm you down after an adrenaline soaked performance on stage or off. Having had tea with so many performing artists, Angie has decided it's time for some good 'ol soothing and healing after a long night out.
Calming, with chamomile in abundance. Mild licorice delivers a refreshing light finish. Luxury Ingredients: Rooibos, Chamomile, Linden + Passion flower petals, Lemon balm + Lemon Verbena leaves, Anise, Cinnamon, Orange pieces and oat petals. Great with "a taste of honey" or agave nectar.
Tea(s) From: Egypt / South Africa / Bulgaria / Germany / Vietnam
Region(s): Nile River Delta / Cederberg S. Africa / Ludogorie / Black Forest, Germany / Mekong Delta
Antioxidant Level: Low
Caffeine Content: None - Caffeine Free Herb
The Boston Tea Party August 21 2014
In Boston Harbor, a group of Massachusetts colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians board three British tea ships and dump 342 chests of tea into the harbor.
The midnight raid, popularly known as the "Boston Tea Party," was in protest of the British Parliament's Tea Act of 1773, a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company by greatly lowering its tea tax and granting it a virtual monopoly on the American tea trade. The low tax allowed the East India Company to undercut even tea smuggled into America by Dutch traders, and many colonists viewed the act as another example of taxation tyranny.
When three tea ships, the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver, arrived in Boston Harbor, the colonists demanded that the tea be returned to England. After Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson refused, Patriot leader Samuel Adams organized the "tea party" with about 60 members of the Sons of Liberty, his underground resistance group. The British tea dumped in Boston Harbor on the night of December 16 was valued at some $18,000.
Parliament, outraged by the blatant destruction of British property, enacted the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, in 1774. The Coercive Acts closed Boston to merchant shipping, established formal British military rule in Massachusetts, made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in America, and required colonists to quarter British troops. The colonists subsequently called the first Continental Congress to consider a united American resistance to the British.
How Tea Came To Britain August 21 2014
When tea first arrived in Britain it was brought from China in huge, tall ships called Tea Clippers. It would take the ships over a year to make the long crossing from China to England. Indeed the pressure to get tea to Britain that led to the glorious age of sail and Clipper ships were some of the most beautiful and fastest sailing ships ever built. They had wonderful names like 'Ariel', "The Flying Dutchman', "The Fiery Cross' and
"The Stornoway', and used to race against each other to see who would get home and unload first. These great epic voyages ended with the invention of steam-powered boats at the end of the 19th century and with the opening of the Suez Canal.
Taking tea was considered a very special affair. The water for the tea would be boiled at the table by the mistress of the house using a large silver water kettle or urn. The tea would be kept under lock and key in a wooden tea caddy and was carefully measured into a teapot when needed.
Everything Stops For Tea August 21 2014
In Great Britain, everything did stop for tea throughout the first half of the 1900s as British workers took their tea break. By 1900, tea was the drink of the working classes.
The provision of tea in the workplace was now recognized as almost essential to the employees’ welfare. In 1916, the Ministry of Munitions Health Committee stated in a booklet on Hours of Work: “An opportunity for tea is regarded as beneficial both to health and output.” When Minister of Labour Ernest Bevin addressed the Works Management Association in London on September 1940, he told his audience:
“I arranged with a great firm to carry out an experiment for me.… I asked them to adopt rigidly the hours I have set down in the circular I had issued; to give ten minutes break in the morning, ten minutes break in the afternoon, with refreshment. The men had to work till seven at night and then there was a very long journey home, so I asked the management to send round barrows of tea at six o’clock in the evening and to see the result …. Now when that experiment I asked for had been going on for a month, I asked the director of the firm if he wanted to give it up and he said, ‘Not on your life. I have made too much out of it because of the increased productivity.’”
By 1943, over 10,000 factory canteens were making sure that workers received decent food and plenty of cups of tea to keep them going through their long wartime shifts.
Out of those first official tea breaks sprang the tea trolley, pushed along corridors and up and down office aisles by the ubiquitous “tea lady,” so familiar in factories and offices in the 1950s and 1960s. The Industrial Welfare Society and the Home Office advised in 1925 that “it will save much time if the drinks are prepared in the canteen and sent round the works by means of trolleys.
But the 1960s saw the gradual disappearance of the tea lady and the introduction of vending machines in the workplace. The drink that gushed into plastic or paper cups tasted more of cardboard than of tea, reflecting the problems of successfully brewing tea inside a convenience machine. Many employers opted for coffee or hot chocolate or sensibly organized the provision of kettles and teabags in the office kitchen.