Unless you have been living under a rock chances are that you are aware  that the launch of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is this weekend in theatres across Canada and the United States. I can’t go anywhere without hearing family, friends, strangers, or the guy at Blockbuster talking about this film. Not to mention the countless tv, radio, and billboard ads that have been flooding our homes as of late.

The media is already in a buzz about this movie, with newspapers and critics alike bestowing praise on Burton’s vision of Alice. If you want to check out a scene I’ve posted it in a previous blog.

Here at Herbal Infusions we’ve been buzzing about this movie too. And in fine tea fashion to celebrate we have blended up a fabulous Alice in Wonderland inspired blend called Mad Hatter’s tea. Its a wildly citrus blend of apple, pineapple, apricots, stevia, and either an orange pekoe oolong or black tea. It’s available right now on our website (while we have it in stock!) and also at our shop at Mapleview Mall.

Mad Hatter's Tea

Pick Up Our Flyer at Cineplex’s Silvercity Burlington

The Silvercity Burlington will be playing Alice in Wonderland starting tomorrow morning. We have teamed up to offer anyone in the area a fantastic deal: bring us a copy of our flyer (you can pick one up at the box office or print it out below) and get a free tea shot! You can also pick up some of our amazing Mad Hatter’s tea blend as we will have some on hand.

I absolutely love Tim Burton films and I don’t think we will be disappointed with the upcoming Tim Burton adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. We will be blogging more about this in the coming days but in the meantime check out this tea party scene from Alice in Wonderland!

Hello my fellow tea drinkers. It’s been a little while since we’ve posted but we’d like to share a short video produced by the Uptown GiftBox Company. See if you can spot our hand made tea boxes (hint: Jason Priestley is in the shot)

Yeah I know, the title is a mouthful – but believe me it’s a fantastic mouthful! I was tasked this past weekend with bringing a dessert dish to our annual Thanksgiving dinner (for our American friends: here in Canada Thanksgiving arrives in October).

Since pumpkin pie is to dessert what turkey is to dinner the obvious winner here was pumpkin pie. I decided to get a little creative though. The result? Well lets just say the jury came back demanding seconds and even thirds (we won’t mention names)

The trick here is to use real chai tea

That’s right- use chai tea (not only the spices) to really make this dessert stand out. Oh and as an added bonus you get all the great benefits that are inherent in the tea leaf since its baked right into the pie.

For this recipe you will need:

• 1 pie crust (unbaked homemade or frozen pie shell)
• 1 egg
• 1 can of pumpkin filling or the real deal (pumpkin squash puree)
• 1/3 cup (75 mL) evaporated milk
• 2 tbsp vanilla chai tea (its gotta be loose leaf!)
• 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
• dash of cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium bowl beat the egg lightly.  Then add in your pumpkin filling and evaporated milk.

At this point you want to take your vanilla chai tea and grind it.  I used a hand coffee grinder and found it to work really and ended up smoothing out a few larger pieces with a mortar and pestle.  Either could be used to do the job, it just depends on how quick you need the pie (did I mention we were running late for dinner? ).

Add the cinnamon, ground chai tea and vanilla bean (scoop it!) or extract to the bowl.  Blend everything together really well and the pour your filling into the pie shell

Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 15 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and continue to bake for about 40 minutes.  I checked in on it every so often by poking a toothpick in the middle- if it comes out clean you’re all done!

Cool*

*while your pie is cooling this a great time to check out our other blog on how to make a London fog latte (popularized by Starbucks) or to whip up some whipped cream for your pie.  We ended up adding a dash of the ground chai to the whipped cream and it really went well with the pie.

Enjoy!

(Serves 8 so you may want to enjoy with some friends)

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings…

If I hear about ONE more friend of mine getting married this year, I don’t know what I will do with myself.  *Pictures herself running down the street pulling out her hair while screaming like a mad woman* There comes a time in everyone’s life when it seems like all of your friends are getting married.  In the last three years I have had 8 friends  ”bite the bullet”  and say their  ”I Do’s”.  I have worn four different brightly coloured bridesmaid dresses and danced to YMCA 8 times.  I’m not complaining. It all comes with ”this age”.. The age where if your friends aren’t getting married they are having their first child.  Besides… weddings are fun!

Planning for the big day

What isn’t fun is rushing around at the last minute trying to get things together for the ‘big day’. I’ve always been a planner. I organize my kitchen cupboard with labels so that my husband knows where to find the quinoa and doesn’t mistake the cassia bark for chocolate flakes.  My desk at work is usually impeccable.  The stapler, pen, and highlighter all have their place.  Sure, it’s a little bit OCD… but that’s ‘the way I roll’.

Plans. Nothing EVER goes exactly according to plan. (Just ask Murphy about THAT one!)… There is always something… But don’t fret! That is all part of the beauty of weddings, and the beauty of life. Full of surprises!

Over the last three years I have definitely fine tuned what I like to call my “wedding awareness”.   In general, you have the beautiful bride to be, who wants everything to be perfect; the groom who wants the bride to be happy but gets tired of the word ‘wedding’ a good three months before the date, and really doesn’t care if the place cards are  sage or mint green.  You have the parents of the happy couple who want to be involved in decision making that inevitably get on the nerves of the bride or groom, or both.  Let’s not forget the cute flower girls or junior bridesmaids, the groomsmen who look smashing in their suits, and the lovely bridal attendants who facilitate all of the brides plans. Plans. Nothing EVER goes exactly according to plan. (Just ask Murphy about THAT one!)  You have flowers that don’t match the dresses or that don’t show up at all;  someone who thinks it is funny to lick the icing off the cake on the way through the kitchen; the camera man accidentally keeps his lens cap on; one of the dresses doesn’t fit the bridesmaid; the groom can’t find his suit pants; the dog runs away with the pillow with the rings tied to it; and Uncle Bob gets so drunk that he insists on dancing with your father during the father daughter dance… There is always something… But don’t fret! That is all part of the beauty of weddings, and the beauty of life. Full of surprises!

Unique wedding favors will leave a lasting impression

About three years ago, when a friend of mine was getting married and was close to having a nervous breakdown because her overly priced wedding favours hadn’t made it in time, I decided that enough was enough. Being the co-owner of Herbal Infusions, I thought it was about time I used my business smarts to heal a heavy heart.  (Plus, I really didn’t want to have to piece back together a tattered wedding dress or a batty bride)  Tea favours! The ultimate wedding solution! After pulling an all night-er, I had 250 cute, classy tea wedding favors ready to go.  She still recommends them to everyone she knows.  This year, our best seller by far has been the Peppermint Dream Tea Party Favor with our new pyramid style tea bag.  But the wonderful thing about our party favors is that you can find one to please any wedding guest. Ice Wine for Uncle Bob, Buckingham Palace Garden Party for Aunt Eunice who flew in from overseas, Faerie Falls Herbal Tea for your flower girls, Kama Sutra Chai for your spicy bridal party… You get the idea. The options are pretty much limitless, which is great for both the bride who wants to plan out every single grueling detail and for the bride that just wants to “get ‘er done!”.

Many of us have been through the process of planning a wedding, and for those of you that haven’t… Don’t worry… Your time will come.

I have come across some very helpful websites for weddings that other people may fins useful while planning for their own wedding, helping a friend plan, or trying to find a last minute speech.  When it comes to white dresses and wedding messes, there are never enough resources.

• Everything About Weddings
• Canadian Weddings
• Toronto Weddings
• Destination Weddings
• Wedding Vows and Speeches
• Ethical Weddings
• Green Weddings
• Eco Weddings

I have always had a love of music, so when Herbal Infusions  got the opportunity to be an official sponsor for the 2009 Canadian Country Music Awards, it was thrilling.  Hosted in Vancouver, on September 13 at GM Place, the music awards will be a night of celebration and entertaiment for the who’s who of Canadian country music. The line up includes some fabulous icons and performers, such as Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Jann Arden, Teri Clarke, Paul Brant, George Canyon, Doc Walker, Emerson Drive, and many more. With a line up like that, who could possibly be disappointed?

The gift lounge is presented by the Uptown Gift Box Company - an exclusive gift service based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  The Founder and CEO Gabrielle Durning is an absolutely wonderful woman to deal with, and our experience with her throughout the process of supplying the Uptown Gift Box Company with our as Green as can be Eco friendly tea chests, proved to be as smooth as a cup of our Caramel Kiss tea.

Eco Tea Chests made from Reclaimed Utilty Poles

Gabrielle also provided the swag items for the 2009 Genie Awards, and 2009 Juno Awards. She has made this an unforgettable experience for us and for anyone lucky enough to snag a swag bag at this truly exciting event. Other sponsors include:

• Planet Forward (Sustainable Products)
• Doi Chaang Coffee (Certified Organic)
• Buddha Board (Definately one of my personal favourites. You have to check this out!)
• Warm Buddy Co (The most interesting stuffed animals you will ever find… don’t miss out)

Just today I read an article by Reuters about a Russian woman who hurled a steaming cup of Breakfast Tea at Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and the Louvre. 

What was she thinking? What enraged her so much about the Mona Lisa that she had to take a perfectly good cup of tea and toss it at this mysterious woman? Maybe it was that ominous Mona Lisa smile, or maybe….just maybe, it was a really really bad cup of tea. 

A woman is being held after attacking the Mona Lisa

So that got me to thinking: This can’t be the first time that tea has popped up in the news as being the weapon of choice for some.  And that lead me to the following list of stories related to tea oddities. 

• 1773: The Boston Tea Party.  An unpopular tea tax became the source of rage for merchants as they dressed themselves as savages and began throwing crates of tea into the harbor.
• 1950’s: Secret Nuclear Weapon.  The British Government has acknowledged that they planned on using a special tea as their secret weapon for nuclear war victims in the event of a nuclear bomb attack.
• May 3rd, 2000: Jail Assault.  A provincial court ruled that throwing a cup of hot tea does constitute a weapon. Ken Horan, 34, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., faced charges of assault with a weapon for throwing a plastic cup of tea at a corrections officer in a district jail.
• Jul 12, 2003: St. Petersburg Times - Tea made me do it.  Charges were dropped against a man who claimed that drinking Jasmine Tea made him go temporarily insane, break into his neighbors house, and chase her with a dagger.  (Should have tried our Calming Chamomile Lemon Grass instead) 

If you have heard of any other stories please drop us a line and we’ll include it in the above!

Well its not everyday that a mega gaming corporation and a big name game publisher decide to join forces and release a game with a tea fighting superhero, but that’s exactly what they did with Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure for the Nintendo DS.

Now I must admit that I have played many games in my day, and we even own a Nintendo Wii, along with a sweet guitar (yes I *am* your guitar hero) but this announcement caught me by suprise.  Henry Hatsworth is described as a “quirky, light-hearted character” who you help explore five different worlds and fight a variety of opponents over thirty different levels. Puzzle-related challenges will be displayed on one screen, while more action-based activities will take place on the other – with the user able to switch between both at will.

The Power of Tea Time

Okay so get this- Henry Hatworth (being the English tea fan that he is) is able to transform into a super hero robot with the sip of tea.  Side note: Some days I feel like I really need a second cup of Organic Kama Sutra Chai Tea but somehow I’m still not in a mood to strap on a utility belt, hop in my teamobile and fight crime …bravo Henry!

The key to Tea Time – Filling the Super Meter
If you run out of silver hearts, you can refill the super meter by making matches in the Puzzle Realm. Refill it once (it turns green- think Japanese Green Tea) to gain additional silver hearts, and make Hatsworth younger.  If you fill the super meter again when Hatsworth is young, (the meter turns yellow- much like a nicely infused cup of Pai Mu Tan Tea) watch out because it’s Tea Time!

When you see the tea cup icon on the screen touch it (with the stylus) to activate Tea Time!  Hatsworth dons his robot suit for a limited amount of time granting him super moves to fight the evil doers.

I’m actually really excited about trying this game out, not only because its starring a wickedly cool looking English gentleman that hulks up on a good ol cup o tea, but because of the meshing of two different types of genres- adventure and puzzle games (two of my favs). 

Check out EA’s official site for more information on Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

I feel a tug at my waist, and I look down to see her pulling at the bottom of my top, happily chewing away looking up at me with expectant eyes. After I managed to take the material out of her mouth, she gently bumps her head against my thigh, begging for a scratch behind her ears. Who knew goats could be so affectionate?

I spent the evening wandering around my friends hobby farm, chasing chickens and checking out the vegetable garden she has with tomatoes, peppers, peas and tons of herbs and other good things growing.  Barn cats, as cute as can be, sprang at each other through the grass, then lazed around trying to catch the last few rays of warm sunshine.  One particularly excitable little rascal chased a duck whenever he got the chance, bounding away as soon as the duck retailiated. It was quite the sight and quite the experience.

My friend makes her own chocolate which is to die for. She creates yummy chocolate goodness from pure cacao beans and uses ingredients like goji berries and agave nectar to make the tastiest natural and healthy (yes, I said HEALTHY) chocolate I have ever had the pleasure of eating. She also makes her own marvelous cheese thanks to the shirt chomper who happily provides the goat milk to produce it.

After having a big BBQ and talking to other guests that came out for the day, I stretched out in a hammock under a shady tree and thought, “This is the life for me!”.  Since becoming educated in different types of tea and many of their healing properties, I have also further developed my knowledge of herbs, plants and other natural healing products. I like the idea of being able to live in a way that so few of us do.

Growing your own crops, caring for animals, feeding chickens and collecting eggs… Admittedly, it isn’t everyone’s dream job, but there is a lot of reward in the (very hard) work. There is a feeling of accomplishment, and of appreciation that you just can’t get from buying a carton of eggs or a frozen bag of beans at the grocery store. Buying a chocolate bar at the corner store does not even come close to comparing to the chocolate that my friend makes. Aside from the flavour, it is pleasing to know that everything in it is good for you. In a world where fast food and candy bars are taking over, it’s nice for once to know that I can eat something sweet and tasty without having to worry about what I am putting into my body.  The chocolate is the perfect pair to our Vanilla Chai Dream tea blend whether you are chasing goats around all day or unwinding after a hectic day at the office.

I love the city for many reasons… There is always something going on, and always entertainment of some sort, but for me, nothing beats the feeling I get sitting in a hammock looking at green field with a warm cup of tea in one hand and a homemade chocolate in the other.

For more info about, or to order the chocolate I mentioned above, send an email to: la_selva_girl@hotmail.com

I have recieved a lot of feedback and questions on my blog entry “Tired of Being Tired?… Help is Here” from May. Thank you all for your emails and comments.

 Of course, the main thing I recommend is a special blend of herbal tea that I have created called “Counting Sheep”. It is a blend of high quality egyptian chamomile and lavender that is a perfect combination to relax you before bed and help bring you a good night’s sleep.

Aside from the sleep tips found in “Tired of Being Tired?” there is something else that you more adventurous types may want to try…

 Many people believe  that certain stones have healing properties. These stones have been used for centuries across many cultures to improve both physical and mental well being.  Of course, you can’t just go pick up any old rock and make it cure your sleep problems – but there are certain stones that are said to have properties that aid in sleep.  The top three stones, in my opinion to help give you a peaceful nights sleep are malachite, amethyst and garnet.

Malachite

Malachite is said to be a stone of amplification. It amplifies the users mood whether positive or negative.  It also draws feeling of disharmony into it, cleansing these energies.  Some people believe that it has the abilty to draw out both physical and emotional pain from its user.  Because of these quailites the stone is believed to purifiy dreams and give the user peaceful dreams.

Amythest

Amythest is a great stone to help ease transitions and to bring tranquilty to its user.  It is a stone of protection and is said to have the abilty to turn negative energy into positive. It is frequently used to combat sleep disorders like sleep apnea, tossing and turning, and sleep walking.  The calming power of amythest combats nightmares, and in some people, gives intuitive dreams.

Garnet

Garnet has been used for centuries for healing and decoration. Some of the oldest garnet jewlery found dates back to 3000 BC.  So what did they know that so few of us know? There are two ways which garnet can help us.  Physically,  garnet is said to open up passages connecting to our hearts and improve circulation in this area which is important to sleep.  Mentally, garnet is said to help us connect our concious mind to our subconcious mind, a natural transition in the time between wakefullness and dreams.  It protects the user from nightmares (especially violent nighmares) and also sends vibrations that help the user to be creative in both wakefullness and in sleep.  It is often used for meditation purposes because it helps the user learn from their dreams and apply what they learn to their waking life.

 Tuck one of these stones into your pillow case and see how it works for you.