New Products Coming In Everyday

Week number two down, and word is starting to spread. We plan on doing evening classes and had a fund raiser in the space for SMASH, Santa Monica Alternative School House. So lots of things going on in the space. The art sale was fun & a great turnout.
We just got in three new products. The Eco Cup, which is a porcelain travel cup with silicone top & grip band. Best way to enjoy your tea on the go, porcelain! The iced version, Eco Cup on Ice, comes with it's own straw. Handy ridge on the straw keeps it from falling out of the top. The last product is the steep, silicone collapsible tea infuser. This is a great way to enjoy real tea on the go!

siptea is OPEN in Santa Monica

Well we have been open a week. Still trying to get things in order & get more stock in. We are open but the Grand Opening will be in June. We did a soft open for the Montana Ave. Sidewalk Sale. Had a nice turnout & are trying to settle into the space. Things still need to be streamlined & figured out. This week we should get our shipment of Eva Solo tea products. They are very stylish & well designed. Look for more products to be coming in every week. We are also going to expand our 40 teas, to include more flavored teas and blends. Looking forward to having classes where we teach about what you can do with tea. We have redesigned the labels & also are updating the website. Stop by Monday thru Saturday from 10am - 5pm, Sunday 12pm - 5pm. We are located at 1627 Montana Ave in the back. And as always keep sipping tea...

Silver Lake Green Fair

So siptea is helping to put on the 1st Annual Silver Lake Green Fair. It's taking place behind The Kitchen and Akbar in their parking lot. Thanks to PERI, pure eco rag industry, we have the parking lot. So lots of things are falling into place at the last minute and I finally am getting my act together to update my own blog & let people know about what is going on!
Saturday April 23rd from 11am to 4pm there will be a band, DJ, drummers, plus food vendors, drinks, and shopping. Should be fun plus we will be there sampling tea & selling packaged tea.
This is a cash event & please byob (bring your own bag) we know you have one!
"Global starts Local"

The Gypsy Tea Experience: a Tea Tour

This past Sunday I went on a tea tour to Ojai. The whole event was coordinated by Kulov. He's the energetic and visionary force behind the local Tea Festival. The next festival will be held on May 13-15, 2011 at Royal/T in Culver City. So save the dates and in the mean time check out Royal/T and Kulov.
So the day started at Royal/T with a brunch and a tour of the Warhol art exhibit by the owner of the cafe and also fantastic art collector, Susan Hancock. She is amazing and interesting and you should check out the exhibit if you get a chance.
Then we got on a big blue bus and headed to Ojai. Once in Ojai we were treated to a delicious lunch at Azu using tea as a main ingredient. We met Zhena, the founder and creative whirlwind behind Zhena's Gypsy Teas. Zhena was very engaging making the lunch fun and showing her love of tea and Ojai in everything she did. After the lunch we walked over to her headquarters for a tour and then the fun really started, we were allowed to make our own tea blend to take home. Zhena blends teas like a perfumer, using high, mid and low notes to give a complete experience to the cup. I made a white cucumber tea. Using Silver Needle and Bai Mu Dan, I added cucumber essence and combined them to give a really nice spa blend. It was subtle, but I was very happy with my choices. All the ingredients were organic and fair trade, Zhena's mantra. I have to say I came away really respecting what she has done and is continuing to do for the tea industry. It was also inspiring to see her success and know that what I am doing with siptea is on the right path.
Our last stop was at Barrel 33 in Ojai for drinks made with Zhena's teas. They were great and a nice end to the day, but we still had the drive home. On the way back Kulov showed the Les Blank documentary "All in this Tea." Which I had been wanting to see and was really great to relax and take in on the drizzly drive back to Culver City in weekending traffic. (The only small negative of the whole trip, but nice that we weren't driving!)
Overall highly recommend Kulov's tea tours and Zhena's Gypsy teas.

Busy Sunday in LA!

Still getting over a cold, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go to the monthly Backwards Beekeeper meeting and Go Green Expo at the convention center. The beekeeper meeting was first. It is run by Kirk Anderson or Kirkobeeo is his twitter handle. He should have his own show and puts things in terms most people understand. The setting was Farmlab's outdoor space under Spring Street. Very urban and cool space to learn about bees. They are located by the park & do amazing things in LA. Kirk was talking about small cell bees, which kind of was way more advanced than my knowledge. My interest was what brought me there, but literally that was it, I hadn't even read much, just heard from my friend's Max & Steve that it was great and Kirk was hilarious. They were right on both counts. After the class I looked up a bunch of things online & now understand more about things he was referencing. Basically Kirk's philosophy is let bees be bees. Don't use chemicals, or do much of anything to the bees, they will do it all. The CCD, Colony Collapse Disorder, most people now feel is due to limited gene pool and man's interference with pesticides and other chemicals to control pests, like mites. Kirk feels that healthy bees will survive and that the mites aren't going away. So lets make beekeeping sustainable, by cutting out the chemicals & human interference as much as possible. Besides being really funny and a total character, he gives you great information.
The next stop on my busy Sunday was the Go Green Expo, my friend at Ecosaveology wanted me to get some photos of Mariel Hemingway & the expo, so ran over to try to hear her talk. Missed the talk, but caught the Q&A after and got some ok pix. I found the expo a bit on the slim side, lots of Solar panel info, electric & hybrid vehicles, lots of things I don't consider green, and a smattering of cool & new products. They had a whole section for pets that was interesting. The products I liked the most were: O'Bon, cool school supplies; Soda Stream, make soda at home; Vapur, foldable, reuseable water bottle; Hydro Flask, double walled hot or cold water bottle; ecousable, water bottle with built in filter; Reverse Vending Machine, recycle on the spot & get money.

Good Cup of Tea in LA

Went to Intelligentsia in Venice a few weeks ago & finally got a good cup of tea. The green tea was not bitter and the only bad thing I could say was it was a bit thin on flavor. Might want to use more tea leaves the next time. Oh I should add that they also took the leaves out of the pot, so no re-steeping, bummer. Also had a great muffin from Cake Monkey, love them.
4 1/2 out of 5 leaves!
Success at last!

Can I get a good cup of tea in LA?

I guess the answer is no.
Had a business meeting at Joan's on Third. Really like that place and wonder if I will be making enemies if I say that their iced tea was terrible. I just thought I'd have an iced tea to drink. It was so bitter and strong, I had to add sugar, something I rarely do to tea. Also what is up with putting the drinks in to-go cups when I asked for it for here. Ok, still on the look out for a good cup of tea in LA. Any suggestions? Still love Joan's, just won't order iced tea again.