Monday, December 29, 2008

One Day Web Sales!


Rishi Tea's One Day Web Sales are only available through the New Year! Check www.rishi-tea.com daily for deep discounts on premium teas and artisan teaware.

Featured Today Only:
100% Premium Tealeaf Powder Set

This set includes 1 box (12 packets per box) of each 100% Premium Tealeaf Powder flavor:

Genmai Green Tea
Green Oolong Tea
Sencha Green Tea

Rishi tealeaf powders are all natural, antioxidant rich, low in caffeine and easy to prepare. Just mix with cold or hot water and drink up!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Big Changes at Rishi-Tea.com

A letter from Rishi Tea founder, Joshua Kaiser, announcing our new website price restructuring. We hope it encourages more to taste premium organic loose-leaf teas!

Dear Friends,

I’m writing to announce Rishi Tea’s website price restructuring, effective today. We strive to offer the best price-to-quality ratio in the premium loose-leaf tea market by working directly at origin and dealing directly with our customers. As technology has advanced, our website has expanded, offering an extensive amount of information on tea origin and varietal as well as our own travels to origin. As such, our loyal customer base has grown beyond our expectations.

In 2001, we developed our online pricing to encourage the purchase of larger bulk bags. There are many advantages to buying in bulk, in particular the environmental impact of using less energy and fewer materials. Our new pricing keeps the cost incentive for purchasing larger bulk portions (a 10% savings for each size upgrade in most cases), but offers a significantly reduced price on smaller portions.

With over 200 teas and botanicals to choose from, I hope that our pricing restructure will encourage you to expand your palate and travel the world vicariously through the taste of Rishi’s origin direct teas. Each tea offers a unique flavor and style that reflects its origin, varietal, vintage and artisan method of production. As tea lovers, we urge you to appreciate loose-leaf tea in the same way you would appreciate a fine wine. Brew it properly using appropriate teaware, savor its nuance and complexity, and most of all enjoy the experience.

Sincerely,

Joshua Kaiser
Founder, Rishi Tea

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Cooking with Organic Cinnamon Plum

Our lovely friend Dawnya at Teaevents.com and Tearadio.com used Rishi's limited seasonal blend- Organic Cinnamon Plum as the base for a delicious holiday jam/syrup. You can follow the step-by-step instructions for her recipe in the video below. Enjoy!

Monday, November 24, 2008

More green tea, less colds please

In an article entitled "Preventing and Treating Winter Colds" published by The Herb Companion, green tea was listed as an herbal and natural approach to preventing colds.

From The Herb Companion:

"Green tea (Camellia sinensis).
University of Florida researchers gave healthy adults either a placebo or green tea capsules twice a day. Three months later, the tea group reported significantly fewer colds.

No other herbs have been shown to prevent colds. However, several boost immune function against viruses, so it’s a good bet they help prevent colds."

That's great news for us, we love our green tea!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

No to GMOs! Yes to Organic!

Grist reports on the Austrian government's recent results of a long-term study showing that mice fed genetically modified corn had lower birth rates and fewer offspring than their control-group peers.

According to the article, as much as 80 percent of processed food available in the United States contain GMO ingredients.

Support organic agriculture to ensure no genetically modified organisms in your food or your offspring!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Rishi Tea interview on MPTV!

This Saturday November 15th at 6:12 pm cnt, Susana Mojica of Rishi Tea will appear live on MPTV's Holiday Auction. Tune in to Channel 10 for a chance to win a year long Tea of the Month membership and support your local community!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

On buying Local, Organic and Fair-Trade

UW Milwaukee Green Fair

Tue, Dec 6th from 10-2pm @ UWM Student Union, Milwaukee, WI

The UW Milwaukee Green Fair provides a wonderful opportunity for local green businesses to come together, interact with the younger community, provide eco-friendly, hand-made, and fair trade gifts that are made with compassion for the artisans as well as the environment.

It’s imperative to build awareness of this dire movement as large corporations continue to increase their ecological footprint for the sake of profit, as our country continues to drill for oil, as mountaintop removal continues to destroy our country's biological diversity.

The green movement resonates deeply with Rishi Tea. As a local Milwaukee business that prides itself on offering high-quality organic and Fair Trade loose-leaf tea direct from origin, sustainability is a core company philosophy that stems from the organic tea gardens in which our tea is harvested.

While many of our teas are harvested in Asia, South Africa and India, we understand the importance of supporting our local Milwaukee community. Buying local, organic and Fair Trade are increasingly becoming more important. More and more people are conscious of the choices they have as a consumer and are compelled to learn where their products are coming from, under what conditions they are made, and what environmental consequences they may have.

It’s rather simple when you break it down. Buying local helps keep more money in our community. It’s something like .67 cents for every $1 spent locally, stays locally. Organizations like Our Milwaukee are helping build awareness on the importance of buying local. Many local shops and restaurants are adding more and more organic and fair trade products and foods to their menus. Organic is better for the environment, for the people working on the farms and for those consuming the goods. Fair Trade products directly support a better life for the workers and their communities through fair prices, fair wages, direct trade, safe working conditions, environmental sustainability, education and community development. Buying Fair Trade enables and empowers the artisans and farmers in the world’s most economically disadvantaged countries to compete in the global market.

We have to understand that our choices as consumers directly impact other lives. We have the opportunity to better the living and working conditions of artisans around the world, help preserve our environment and build a healthier world for all. Why not make a difference?

-Ghazal Sheei

Marketing Coordinator

Rishi Tea

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Fair Trade Holiday Festival in Madison, WI

Join Rishi Tea and other fair trade vendors at the 12th Annual Fair Trade Holiday Festival in the beautiful Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday December 6th. Sample various fairly traded items, do some ethical holiday shopping and learn about this critical movement!

For more information and for a detailed list of vendors, please click the image below.

To learn more about Fair Trade, visit our Fair Trade FAQs.

From Farmer in Chief: Dear President Elect

Michael Pollan's recent article in the New York Times, "Farmer in Chief" is a compelling and thorough summary of food policy and America's food system. Well worth the read.
Open Letter to the President Elect by Farmer in Chief

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Organic Cinnamon Plum - Cold Brewed

Cold-brew champion, Susana at Rishi, is often a go-to for all things tea related. With an ever-growing knowledge of tea coupled with her undeniable passion for it, she's never at a loss for an original or creative idea, but this time, she managed to out do herself.

Part Cinnamon Plum (Rishi's new holiday blend), part apple cider, some fridge time, all deliciousness.


Organic Cinnamon Plum Cider Cold Brew. BEST COLD BREW EVER.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Rishi Gets Out the Vote!

Who's that strikingly mysterious man in the dark sunnies below? Why that's Rishi Tea's very own Todd Nixdorf! The photo was snapped while Todd patiently waited for his democratic right to vote at the Bay View Public Library in Milwaukee this morning. Rishi encourages you to get out your vote too!


Photo from jsonline.com

Monday, November 3, 2008

Cold Brew Championship!

Today we had the first ever Rishi Tea cold brew championship! Cold brew is tea and water in a glass pitcher with a lid that sits in the fridge for a couple of hours. It really does give you a different flavor. To me it seems like it is more delicate.

Our two contestants were Osthmanthus Huang Guan Yin vs White Peony.

We love to make tea for each other at the Rishi offices. There are some of us who are obsessed with white tea (ME!), others with oolong, and others with Japanese green tea. It is quite nice because we all become experts in making the teas we love and we share that info with each other. First thing after I walked in I was challenged to a cold brew off. I am always up for a challenge and I feel that I lived up to that challenge.

I brewed Osthmanthus Huang Guan Yin and my colleague Todd choose one of his favorite cold brews, White Peony.

Osthmanthus Huang Guan Yin was officially declared the winner! The sweet nectar of osthmanthus flowers is so incredibly intoxicating. They infused beautifully into the sweet nectar of the oolong leaves.

Here is the secret to my winning cold brew:

Pour about 185 degree water over the leaves and let steep for about two or three minutes, this will help the leaves release their flavor. Then pour cold water into the pitcher and refrigerate for about three to four hours.

Now take my challenge to submit your favorite cold brew and cold brew secrets!

Right now I have Snow Sprout infusing with Chrysanthemum flowers. It will be ready in three hours. I will keep you updated!

-Susana Mojica

Friday, October 31, 2008

An Oolong Obsession Part I

I'll just come out and say it: I'm addicted to Organic Osthmanthus Huang Guan Yin. I can't get enough. I keep telling myself, I should try something new, but this osthmanthus oolong 3 day bender continues and I see no foreseeable end! The sweet nectar-like delight of the osthmanthus flowers perpetuates the fresh floral taste of the oolong, and with that beautiful golden infusion, makes me oh-so-weak in the knees.

Photo featuring Rishi's new two-person glass teapot with infuser.

xoxo,
Ghazal

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Fair Trade Talk & Tea Tasting

Celebrate Fair Trade Month in Milwaukee - the First Fair Trade City in the US!

Join Rishi Tea and Four Corners of the World on Thursday, October 23 from 7-8:30 pm at 5407 West Vilet Street in Milwaukee, WI for a Fair Trade tea tasting and presentation by Sean O'Leary, Art Director and Tea Buyer for Rishi Tea. Sean has traveled as a photojournalist and tea buyer to many tea producing countries and witnessed first hand the benefits of Fair Trade.


Students attend class at a new school funded by Fair Trade premiums from the sales of Rishi Tea's Ancient Tree teas. Yunnan, China.

In July of 2007, Mayor Tom Barrett signed a resolution introduced by Alderman Tony Zielinski establishing Milwaukee as the first Fair Trade city in the United States.

Fair Trade is making a huge impact in the world by empowering farmers and artisans with the business capacity necessary to compete in the global market. Fair Trade promotes economic justice by honoring a fair price for products, fair wages, safe working conditions, direct trade, environmental sustainability and community investment in developing countries worldwide.

Learn more about Fair Trade.

For a list of national Fair Trade events, visit TransFair USA.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Please Support Clean Energy: Co-Op America Editorial

Now more than ever we need to make a stand for clean energy. As a member of Green America (formerly known as Co-Op America), we take pride in their efforts to clean up our world.

Taken from Co-Op America's Newsroom-

Clean Energy for America: It's Possible Now
September 11, 2008

Solar Panels with SunflowerNext January, a new president will take office, confronting a multitude of serious issues, including rising fuel costs, energy security, climate change, and rising unemployment.

When you evaluate the candidates based on their proposed solutions for reinventing the way America produces its energy, do you know what to look for?

Here are three real solutions that are more than just good suggestions. They are essential components of a successful energy policy, which, when deployed together, create an impact much greater than the sum of their parts. Each one is an achievable, affordable step that won’t demand major sacrifices in the way Americans live their lives.

STEP ONE: Invest in energy efficiency: Many people mistakenly believe that energy efficiency is simply a personal virtue and not a policy issue. Nothing could be further from the truth. Increased energy efficiency sets the stage for success in meeting our energy needs with cleaner sources.

In fact, a 2007 report facilitated by the US Department of Energy states that sound energy efficiency measures can reduce our nation’s energy demand growth by 50 percent by 2025. More ambitious studies by the Rocky Mountain Institute report we can achieve 75 percent by 2020.

But don’t just take the experts’ words for it. Consider Juneau, Alaska, a city cut off from its power supply last April after an avalanche destroyed several major transmission towers. In response, the city cut its energy use by 30 percent in a matter of weeks. What Juneau did in a few weeks this spring, the nation can (and should, and will… with the right leadership) do over the next ten years.

STEP TWO: Invest in clean energy: Critical to any serious energy policy, wind and solar energy represent homegrown sources of electricity that can do the job now. Already, in several markets, wind energy is cost-competitive with natural gas, and for both wind and solar, prices are coming down.

Many people mistakenly assume that solar power can’t do the job due unpredictable weather, or that a full-scale conversion to solar power isn’t cost-effective. Neither assumption is correct. Consider Germany, a country that shares more latitude with Canada than with the US. Germany is now the leading producer of solar energy not only in Europe, but in the world (and this with only half as many sunny days as southern European countries, like Portugal). A good deal of Germany’s success is due to sound energy policy, passed in 2000, requiring old-fashioned utilities to support solar start-ups.

As to the cost misperception, a 2008 Solar Catalyst Group study shows that solar energy will become cost-competitive in most areas of the country by 2015. The same report shows how solar energy, with the right commitment, could easily make up 50 percent of the US power supply by 2050. Others are even more ambitious. A January 2008 Scientific American article put the figure closer to 70 percent by 2050.

STEP THREE: Invest in cleaner cars: With fuel economy standards remaining virtually unchanged for 30 years, the time is long past for our leaders to pass laws favoring cleaner cars. If we had adopted President Carter’s energy policy, automobile fuel efficiency would be nearly 45mpg today. We wouldn’t be importing foreign oil, and gasoline price increases wouldn’t be so painful.

On the road today are the first generation of plug-in electric hybrid vehicles getting up to 100 mpg, with all of the major auto manufacturers preparing to bring a PHEV to market in 2010.

Unlike corn ethanol (which generates greenhouse-gases in its production, and appropriates cropland necessary for growing food), PHEVs represent a true solution for how to power our cars responsibly. What’s more, in combination with an investment in renewables, PHEVs can be powered primarily by the wind or the sun (a PHEVs battery recharges by plugging into the electricity grid). A PHEV powered by the sun today costs its owner the equivalent of $2.30 a gallon.

These three solutions should be part of any leader’s platform, and each comes with an embedded bonus – the good jobs that come with producing this technology here in the United States.

Buildings can’t be made efficient by workers overseas, solar energy can’t be outsourced, and all Americans benefit when a clean energy policy delivers jobs, energy security, and a clean environment all at once.

--Andrew Korfhage

Thursday, October 9, 2008

New Rishi Blend benefits Clean Water Fund

Limited Holiday Blend: Organic Cinnamon Plum
25% of profits to benefit Clean Water Fund

Tea will only be as good as the water used to prepare it. Rishi Tea recognizes the fundamental importance of clean water, not only for tea, but for our health and the well-being of our environment. Join us in our efforts to improve water quality. With every purchase of Organic Cinnamon Plum, Rishi Tea will donate 25% of the profits to Clean Water Fund, a grass-roots organization working to protect and restore America’s waters.


Organic Cinnamon Plum is rich with currants, succulent hibiscus, hints of plum, and accented with notes of cinnamon and naturally sweet licorice root. Warm and soothing, Organic Cinnamon Plum is deliciously fruity and full-bodied with a deep red infusion. Perfect served hot, iced or brewed as mulled cider.

For more information on Clean Water Fund, visit www.cleanwaterfund.org.

Available mid October through select Whole Foods Markets and direct from our website.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Rishi Tea at the WMSE “Food Slam” Fundraiser!

Support independent radio and our community at the seventh annual WMSE “Food Slam” fundraiser taking place Friday, Oct. 3rd from 6 to 10 pm!

Stop by the Rishi Tea table and try our revitalizing green tea powders, delicious chai and sweet matcha at the Eisner American Museum of Advertising and Design.

Twenty-four Milwaukee restaurants will dish out specialty entrees for up to 400 WMSE
91.7 FM listeners and supporters. A silent auction boasting more than 80 unique gifts will also benefit the non-profit, non-commercial music station. Purchase advance tickets for a discounted rate of $25 at wmse.org and feel good in your gluttony knowing that a portion of the ticket sales benefit the Hunger Task Force.

About Rishi Tea

Rishi Tea was founded on the commitment to set the standard for quality and expand the awareness of tea and its rich, inspirational tradition. We offer superb loose-leaf tea imported directly from tea gardens across Asia, made according to artisanal, ancient practices using organic cultivation techniques and Fair Trade standards. From our modest beginnings over ten years ago to becoming an established leader in the specialty tea market, our mission has never wavered.

Rishi Tea began in 1997 when Joshua Kaiser, founder and tea buyer, recognized that the traditional handcrafted teas he grew so fond of during his travels in Asia were rarely available elsewhere. Joshua felt that North American consumers would embrace artisan tea as they did single origin coffee and fine varietal wine if they were given access to it at reasonable prices. He believed the same gourmet consumer who was willing to learn the difference between a Costa Rican coffee and an Indonesian coffee, as well as develop a refined palate for wine, was also ready to appreciate the natural complexity and flavors of premium tea.

Joshua enlisted a well-traveled and longtime friend Benjamin Harrison as a partner. The Rishi team began to import and market premium teas, botanical blends and teaware from origins that Joshua frequented. Today, the Rishi team has grown into a passionate group of tea lovers who serve as guides for our customers into the world of premium tea.

We travel thousands of miles each year to the diverse points of origin where our teas are harvested, maintaining the personal relationships we have developed over the years with farmers and artisans whose families have been making traditional teas for generations. Our efforts to integrate the wisdom of ancient tea production with sanitary, efficient manufacturing practices have offered many artisan families a new means to keep their traditions alive as well as a chance to benefit from the growing market for premium teas. Our uniquely strong network in China, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, India and many other tea origins allow us to provide exceptional loose-leaf teas with an unrivaled level of freshness, quality and connection to origin.

Rishi aspires to link the leaf at origin to its end result: a revitalizing cup of tea. Every tea has a unique flavor and style that reflects its origin, varietal, vintage and artisanal method of manufacture. Rishi’s connections to the origins of tea are integral to the sustainability of our quality.

Rishi Tea’s commitment to sustainability is a core company philosophy that stems from the organic tea gardens where our teas are harvested. Our firsthand experience in many tea-growing regions led to our heightened awareness of the dire need for social responsibility. Rishi Tea was among the first to earn organic certification under the USDA’s Natural Organic Program in November of 2002 and at the forefront in the advancement of Fair Trade Certified tea, becoming one of the highest payers of social premiums from the sale of Fair Trade tea. The TransFair USA Fair Trade Certified projects with which Rishi partners directly support a better life for the tea-farming families and their communities through fair prices, fair wages, safe working conditions, environmental sustainability, education and community development.

For more than 1,000 years, tea has been the most consumed beverage next to water. Our travels, trade and study are devoted to sustaining the quality and extraordinary benefits of tea so that future generations may also benefit from it. We urge our customers to appreciate loose-leaf tea as though it were a fine wine; to brew it properly, use the proper teaware, and enjoy the clarity that each cup brings. As a winner of seven First Place Awards for Best Tea at the 2008 World Tea Championship, and the only company to win with Certified Organic tea, Rishi Tea is proud to share exceptional teas, fresh each season, direct from origin.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Rishi Tea at Slow Food Nation!

A Savory Success at Slow Food Nation!

San Francisco, CA - The inaugural Slow Food Nation event took place this past Labor Day weekend in San Francisco, drawing more than 60,000 foodies, connoisseurs and environmentally conscious consumers. The international Slow Food movement recognizes the direct connection between our plate and the planet and seeks to build a greater understanding of the role our food choices have on environmental wellness and sustainability. Slow Food, like Rishi Tea, supports fair and sustainable farming that protects the environment, our health and animal welfare, while preserving a food’s true taste.

Slow Food Nation was a wonderfully orchestrated four day tasting and educational event that helped many recognize the symbiotic relationship between food and our environment. The concept: Slow down to taste true food, understand its origins and production process. With 14 Slow Food tasting categories, many attendees revealed to us that slowing down to taste true tea was the most relaxing experience the event offered.

Rishi Tea staff were on hand infusing, serving and discussing the origins, traditions and production of artisanal tea. Among the rare offerings served were Organic Nishi First Flush Sencha, Golden Phoenix Oolong, Organic Fair Trade Ancient Pu-erh Palace, Organic Silver Needle Premium
and Da Hong Pao Oolong in intimate fifteen-minute sessions for groups of 7. Tea enthusiasts waited up to 30 minutes for a chance to taste premium teas from all over the world. Over 1000 att
endees sampled Rishi Tea throughout the event.

The Slow Food movement resonates deeply with Rishi Tea. Rishi Tea directly supports sustainable agriculture and social responsibility by offering an extensive variety of premium organic and Fair Trade Certified teas. Rishi Tea staff was honored to have the opportunity to serve tea in support of such a meaningful movement.

Learn more about the success of Slow Food Nation and the momentum of the Slow Food movement at slowfoodnation.org.


Thursday, May 1, 2008

2008 Fresh Crop White Tea is here!

Minqian Bai Mu Dan White Peony
(Harvested March 28, 2008)

Minqian Bai Hao Yin Zhen Silver Needle Pekoe Premium
(Harvested March 20, 2008)

Origin: Fuding, Fujian, China

We feel very lucky to be able to offer the fresh taste of spring.

Minqian is the premier harvesting period for Chinese green, white and yellow teas. It is the period just before Qingming (April 5 give or take a few days based on lunar calendar).


Minqian teas are very limited, as the window of time to pluck the buds is short and dependent on the weather dynamics. The cool weather and gentle cloud covering during this year's Minqian harvest created a great white tea character with the perfect balance of sweetness and freshness. These two teas are good examples of Minqian white tea.