Goodnight Kiss wins sofi silver- Going for gold in June!

We are pleased to announce their selection as a Silver
Finalist in the 38th Annual sofi™ awards in the category of hot beverage. The awards, held by the
National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), are considered the industry’s highest
honor. Silver Finalists are evaluated on a range of attributes, including taste, quality, ingredients,
innovation and packaging.
Our Goodnight Kiss Fair Trade organic tea blend was one of 125 Silver Finalists
selected by a national panel of specialty food experts from 1,570 contenders across 31 Awards categories.
Gold Winners will be selected from the Silver Finalist nominees at the NASFT’s Summer Fancy Food
Show in New York held June 27-29, 2010. Executive chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill Restaurant, a leader
in the artisanal food movement, will host the awards, in what is considered the specialty food industry’s
biggest night of the year. 

PARTNERS TEA CO.’s Goodnight Kiss is comprised of the warm and soothing flavors of cacao, mint and
Vanilla Rooibos.

I will be in attendance, along with 3 of my best girlfriends and biggest supporters-- stop by our booth at the show for a taste of our teas and to wish us luck!

This recognition is a triumph for our small, woman-owned and financed company
and for other Fair Trade products.  Our pure teas are hand-picked on small
farms from Sri Lanka to South Africa and with our Fair Trade practices we bring higher quality hand-
blended teas to market that are devoted to changing the quality of life for both those who drink them
and those who harvest them.

sofi™ award nominations are open to members of the NASFT, a not-for-profit business trade
association with nearly 3,000 members throughout the world. For more information on the NASFT
and its Fancy Food Shows, go to www.specialtyfood.com

New CFO, New Puppy, New Apron!

We are so happy and thankful that Karla Diehl has joined Partners Tea Company as our new Chief of Operations and Finance!   Here is a picture of Karla with her new puppy, Cayenne,  sporting our new Partners Tea Company aprons!

Don't let the apron fool you-- this lady is a management maven.  As the chairwoman of Edison Automation, Inc., she profitably managed the $16 million Inc 500 award winning company through 316% growth!  Look out, Lipton!   With a BS in International Trade and Finance and an MBA from Vanderbilt's Owen School of Management, she is especially good at developing operational systems and infrastructure and working with a diverse range of people.  That is thanks to her endless optimism and positive spirit!
She's still having a bit of culture shock though, having moved from the mostly male automation industry to...tea.  Imagine trading your hardhat in for a pretty green apron and your industrial warehouse for a sunny porch!   We think it s a good fit and are happy to have a new mascot in Cayenne as well!

Spring forward with slimming, refreshing Popeye!

As Spring approaches, our bodies naturally want to cleanse and shed a layer of insulating winter weight.  Partners Tea Company's Popeye blend is the perfect tea for this season.  It is slimming and energizing and makes a great get well or energizing tea.
When I created it, I was going for something like a healthy,  herbal Red Bull.  It tastes great.   Here is what is in it--
Yerba Mate- a South American herb that is known to be slimming, energizing and god for mental focus.
Green tea- full of polyphenols and anti-oxidants, known to be slimming also and anti-viral, anti-cancerous and .  Great for digestion and skin.
Ginger- Good for digestion, warming.
Lemongrass- Cleansing for the liver, kidney and digestive tract.  A diuretic.
Peppermint-Diuretic, good for IBS and other stomach issues.
Goji berries Good for longevity, vision, fertility, skin conditions and numerous other benefits.

Iced Popeye is healthy and delicious!  Making it is easy, just steep one of or tea sachets in hot water, allow to cool, chill in the fridge.  Serve with ice, mint, lime and put it in your glass with ice.  You can add agave or turbinado sugar. Iced Popeye also makes a great Mojito if you add Rum and fresh mint.

Women on the Edge of Evolution

I just received this exciting opportunity from Kim Ribbins at BIONEERS and wanted to share it...
Nina Simons is currently participating in the United Nations Conference on the Status of Women, Beijing + 15 and she wanted me to let you know that she'll be talking about this experience as well as covering key ideas about Women's Leadership and relating some of nature's solutions for our modern world challenges in an intimate and free-ranging conversation as part of the groundbreaking FREE teleseries "Women on the Edge of Evolution."

The call will be this Wednesday, tomorrow, March 3rd at 5:30 p.m. PST with a half hour Q & A session from 6:30 p.m. PST.

You can listen live on the phone, online or download the recording any time.

Click on the following link to register for FREE http://womenontheedgeofevolution.com/.

Once you register for the teleseries, you'll receive an email with the access codes for Wednesday's call.

From her catbird seat as co-producer of Bioneers for 20 years, Nina has a uniquely systemic overview of the environment, health, human development and social justice movements, with a particular passion for racial justice, intergenerational dialog and connecting people across differences.

Nina, like all of the women leaders participating in the series have generously volunteered their time and their wisdom so that as many of us as possible can come together to awaken our power to shape the future, liberate our leadership skills and make a difference. She will also be previewing the upcoming Cultivating Women's Leadership Training in Sonoma in April.

By connecting with "Women on the Edge of Evolution"you'll also have access to dialogues with over 20 of the world's leading female luminaries, artists and agents of change including Jean Houston, Vicki Robin, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Marianne Williamson, Elza Maalouf, Joan Borysenko, Alanis Morissette, Rickie Byars Beckwith, Melissa Etheridege, and others.

Click Here to Register Now

Style Blueprint

Style Blueprint is a Nashville lifestyle blog with an impressive list of followers.  You can check out what they have to say about all things design, fashion, lifestyle related.  We were so thankful to have them review our teas and excited about how well received they were (review below).  Thank you Liza!


Partner's Tea Co. produces tea that is good to drink all year round. But with names like Love, Sweet Friend Blend and Goodnight Kiss, this tea might be the perfect addition to a Valentine's Day routine.
I grew up drinking tea with regularity. Blame it on my family's pride of arriving on American soil in the year 1634.  Yes, we're that type: the type that actually knows the day our ancestors hit this continent.  The type that keeps up family records and bestows upon our children names that have been engraved in silver and etched on tombstones for hundreds of years.  Hit the Eastern Shore of MD and see how many old grave sites have Mary Eliza (my christened name).  Cool to some, creepy to others.  The fun part of all this history, was the time spent over tea, as that is what has been done in my family since tea became mainstream in England, which was around the mid 17th century.  We all drank it the English way: cream and honey or sugar.  Sugar cubes have slowly been replaced by blue and pink packets.  The choices always included Earl Grey.  I did not become a fan of the iced variety until I moved to Nashville when I was 17.  Now, I love it all.  But, I just found a tea that eclipses all teas I have ever had - bold words to be sure, considering the background I just gave you!

Tea picking from a Fair Trade tea estate in North India.

I am completely thrilled to write today about Partner's Tea Co.  You may have heard of them since they did win Best Tea in the 2009 Nashville Scene poll.  I had heard of Partners but I was cruising along pretty happy with my Yogi teas.  Then, a little gift appeared on my front porch a couple weeks ago with a note "Share this tea with Mary Blake (my oldest daughter, now 11) on her birthday and enjoy!"  Well, we did and I was stunned- really, I'm not hyperbolizing here, STUNNED at how good my first taste of Goodnight Kiss was.  You can flavor with honey and cream, but I love it straight up.  Replace that late afternoon glass of wine with some Goodnight Kiss and see if you are not similarly relaxed while feeling more at peace.
Partner's Tea Company is a local Nashville company owned by Sarah Scarborough. The teas are organic and Fair Trade Teas.  Sarah has been working since 2001 with various Fair Trade tea companies all over the globe.  In fact, she set up Scarborough Fair in 2004 and this company is now the largest Fair Trade company in New Zealand and Australia, producing coffee, tea and chocolate.  I know, she's very impressive, isn't she?  Sarah is introducing tea to the States in a way where flavors shine, and ethics are held high.  A cup of tea helps your own health and nourishment while also supporting the health and nourishment of communities across the ocean in need.  I love win-win's. She also gives 1% of every purchase to organizations empowering women through education.  I mean, really, can this story get any better?  YES - if you add drinking tea to your daily life! To read more about how impressive Sarah is, and why we all should care about Fair Trade, click here.

Partner's Tea Co founder Sarah Scarborough

Isn't it great when a nice company is also the one producing the best? We think so too.
You can purchase your tea locally at Bread & Company, Davis Kidd, The Produce Place, Social Graces, Whole Foods and more.  Check out the website for a complete listing of locations and tea offerings.
And for our East Coast readers (we know you exist!), order online.  You need it with your 40+ inches of snow.
Love with a Good Night Kiss. Off to brew some more.  Let's hope 375 years from now that these teas are still available and that my family traditions will include Partner's Tea Company.
Tea Recipes:
Ok- I hear some of you still thinking that you can't give up that evening cocktail.  How about this: 1 cup Goodnight Kiss, brewed + 2 ounces Baileys Irish Creme Liqueur.  Yummmmm.
Want to make a special love potion #9 for Valentines Day? (or a bridal shower, wedding or anniversary!)  Here's how:
Love tea-tini

• 2 parts Love tea, brewed and iced
• 1 part fresh pomegranate juice
• 1 part organic vodka
• .5 parts Thatchers Organic Artisan Liqueurs Blood Orange Liqueur (or Cointreau or White Creme de Cacao)
• Shake with ice and sere with a piece of chocolate.
• Rim glass with cacao powder, if desired.

You might also like:

Cooking with Teas

COOKING IDEAS to liven up your favorite recipes using Partners Tea Company teas

• Try cooking rice in jasmine tea (Midnight Moonlight) tea instead of water for use with curries

• Steep prunes in Pure Assam black tea and brandy.  Serve with whipped creme and honey.

• Use Pure Ceylon green tea instead of milk/ water in making ice cream, custard or baked goods for a subtle depth of flavor

• Pure Assam Black tea in marinades and with tahini (sesame paste) in noodle dishes. 

• Use Pure Assam Black tea for deglazing veggies, tofu, beef or chicken

• Popeye adds a slightly smoky flavor as well as ginger, lemon and mint to a Moroccan or Turkish chicken or fish marinade- add garlic, chili, sesame and lime.  Also, drizzle Popeye enhanced marinade over dish before serving.

• Goodnight Kiss replaces half the oil or milk in cake recipes, to make a rich, vanilla, mint chocolate cake.

• Zelda is used to flavor custards or pannacotta.  Replace part of the milk in any creme based dessert with Zelda.

• Sweet Friend Blend adds zest, flavor and color to a salad dressing.  Brew double strength and combine with lemon juice, olive oil, ginger, and salt for salads. 

These are only suggestions, so use your own imagination and creativity.

Tea is meant to add subtle flavor, not overwhelm the dish, use sparingly.

Tea is also used in cooking and baking. It can be used as a base for punch, cocktails, soups, stews, marinades, or sauces-adding color, flavor, and aroma (plus antioxidants and other nutrients).

It can replace liquids called for in recipes for soups, marinades, sauces, stews and cakes for added flavor and nutrition.

Photo: Cooking eggplant curry in Sri Lanka using coconut milk and green tea.  Black tea may be used as well.

Victoria Magazine

A passion for tea, traveling, and improving women's lives makes the perfect blend for entrepreneur, Sarah Scarborough.
For centuries, women have gained health and wisdom by engaging their senses and sharing their discoveries.  Through the founding of her Nashville, Tennessee-based fair trade teas business, Partners Tea Company, Sarah Scarborough has pursued the art of tea making with a variety of herb blends from around the world.
She mixes South African rooibos, an herb she says, 'preserves the youth and gladdens the heart', with raspberries, hibiscus, lemongrass and ginger or her signature "Sweet Friend Blend", created to promote health in pregnant and nursing mothers.  Because Sarah believes that empowering women is the key to alleviating global poverty, her company pays women of developing nations a better price for their herbs, while bringing tea lovers peace of mind, spirit and body.
Her interest in tea developed through her lifelong passion for travel, which enabled her to observe farming practices throughout the world.  This, in turn, has inspired her work in the field of sustainability for the last sixteen years.  "When I was a little girl growing up at my grandparents' summer house in Finland, we lived off the land" she recalls.  "Everything there seemed to be in balance and to me it all made sense."  For Sarah, creating and selling Fair Trade tea is a way of achieving balance between rich and poor, farmer and earth, and producer and consumer.