Mugs on Sale at Gourmet Fusion

Now is a great time to shop at Gourmet Fusion online if you are looking for Easter and Mother's Day gifts.

All of our ceramic and glass mugs - including mug and coaster sets, like the cute little tabby shown here - are on sale through March 30th.

Why not combine a mug with one of our cast iron or ceramic infuser teapots, or one of our specialty teas, to make an extra special gift.

We always combine shipping, and are happy to gift wrap and answer any questions you may have to make your shopping experience simple and fun.

Check out our range of mugs, teapots and tea at the Gourmet Fusion store online, or in the Leaping Lotus, Solana Beach. (Sale items online only).

Loose Leaf Tea at Gourmet Fusion Store

The Gourmet Fusion store has recently introduced three types of loose leaf tea by Two Leaves and Bud, two green teas and one black tea. All have been available for some time in biodegradable sachets, 15 to a box, but are now available in these great eco-friendly tea cylinders. Great for gift giving, just in time for the holidays.

Jasmine Petal

Classic Chinese Green Tea dried with Jasmine Petals

The first is our most popular tea, the Jasmine Petal, in the lavender colored cylinder. This classic green tea is the most consumed in China, and is traditional green tea which has been dried with jasmine petals. However, as many of my customers have commented, it produces a very light, subtle flavor, and the slight floral fragrance of jasmine, known to relax the nervous system, pairs well with Asian food. It is grown in the Fujian Province, where the teas exhibit a depth and complexity not found in lesser teas.

Orange Sencha

Organic Green Tea with Italian Orange

Our second green tea is Organic Sencha Green Tea, in the lively lime green cylinder.

This Japanese green tea blend has the flavor of Italian red oranges added, giving a slight tanginess to this Japanese classic. Sencha is the most consumed tea in Japan. This long leafed tea, finished in the sun, also includes sunflowers, orange peel, and just a hint of Italian red orange flavor to add just a hint of sweet and spicy to this classic green tea. This smooth tea, with slight citrus flavor, makes a great daytime tea to sip while you are at work, or studying.

Assam

Organic Breakfast Tea

Our third loose leaf tea in the crimson red cylinder is the classic Assam tea, often known as English Breakfast Tea.

This tea is produced in the oldest tea growing region of Assam in north east India that has low, rolling hills creating a great environment for rich tea. Assam is one of the most popular teas in England, and although this full bodied, deep gold tea is ideal for breakfast, it is still one of the most widely served teas for all day in England. This traditional, full leaf tea produces a rich multi-layered malty flavor.

All of our teas can be found at Gourmet Fusion in the Leaping Lotus store at 240 S. Cedros, Solana Beach, CA, together with a great selection of teapots, and of course, online.

Pomegranate Tea

We have now added Pomi-Berry tea to our range of organic teas, available in the Gourmet Fusion store. Our Two Leaves and a Bud Pomi-Berry is a blend of pomegranate and herbal berry blend.

Research has shown that pomegranate is one of the top foods when it comes to high levels of disease fighting antioxidants.


Our tea blend is a combination of berry blend, forest berries, pomegranate, apple, lavender and hibiscus to create a balanced, sweet but relaxing herbal blend. Finally, chamomile and lemongrass complete the flavor making it a great after-meal tea.

This yummy drink contains no caffeine, and the biodegradable tea sachets are large and mug-sized, so you can steep them in a big mug without losing any of the flavor. Full of leaf herbs, flowers and large fruit pieces, you can watch the leaves open and infuse in your mug.


Available in boxes containing 15 tea sachets, Pomi-berry can be found online and at the Gourmet Fusion store at 240 South Cedros Avenue, Solana Beach, California.

Two Leaves and a Bud

As I am from England, I grew up drinking tea in a tea drinking family (yes, the English way with milk and sugar), and now drink both tea (without milk and sugar), and coffee.

In England to "put the kettle on" is a kind of reflex action to any situation, good or bad. If friends come round to visit, or if you have anyone working on your house (plumbers, electricians, construction workers, etc.) the first thing you ask is, "would you like a cup of tea?", and the natural response to any kind of problem is to make a cup of tea.

Not only is tea warm and comforting, it calms the nerves, and research continues to show the health benefits of tea, especially green and herbal teas. In fact a recent study by the Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida found that increased intake of tea reduced the risk of breast cancer among women under the age of 50 by up to 37%, and previous reports have found the benefits of tea consumption to include a lower risk of heart attack and stroke, a lower cholesterol level, improved blood pressure management, and alleviation of symptoms for common illnesses.

Gourmet Fusion is now carrying a full selection of teas by the Two Leaves and a Bud company. These include black, white, green and herbal teas. All are in easy to use tea sachets filled with premium whole leaf tea. The sachets are made of biodegradable cornstarch based nylon, pyramid shaped to allow the whole leaves to circulate and infuse properly. The tea itself is single origin whole leaf organic tea, and many of the teas are also Kosher certified, an increasingly important consideration.

We are selling the single origin tea in boxes of 15 sachets, or if you would like to try a selection of teas we offer a tea sampler, which includes black, green and herbal teas (8 individually wrapped sachets). Then if you are looking for a gift for a tea drinking friends, why not choose one or more of our tea travelers? These eco-friendly, brightly packaged tinless tins, contain 4 biodegradable tea sachets with six teas to choose from.

Two leaves and a bud is now available online and in the Gourmet Fusion store at Leaping Lotus, Solana Beach, California.

Cattitude at Gourmet Fusion

Cattitude by HuesNBrews is one of the fun lines we have in the Gourmet Fusion store this holiday season.

HuesNBrews produce a really great range of coordinated items for tea and coffee, and this Cattitude travel tumbler is proving to be one of our most popular items in our Solana Beach store.

It is now also available online and comes in pink, black and white. The Cattitude products all have two mischievous cats on the front and cat paw prints on the back.

As well as the Travel Tumbler, we have Cattitude mugs, mug and coaster sets, cute little espresso cups, and tea for two sets.

The lead-free ceramics are available in pink, blue, ivory and green and are microwave and dishwasher safe.

Great as a gift for any cat lover, you are sure to delight everyone this holiday season with these cute little guys - and while you are shopping, why not treat yourself to one, too!

I-Pots

Now that the weather is starting to really feel like fall - even here in Southern California - the idea of making a hot drink at the end of a long day sounds like a great idea. With that in mind, the Gourmet Fusion store is introducing several new lines, including the I-pot range of teapots, shown here in the 17 ounce size.

I-Pot which stands for Infuser Pot, is a range of teapots that have a sleek modern design, yet the curved shape is slightly retro. They come in a host of colors ranging from subtle blues and greens, bright primaries of red, yellow and blue, and classic black and white. We are currently stocking the 17 ounce and 24 ounce size in both our online store and the Solana Beach store.

The brightly colored ceramic pot is lead free, and is dishwasher and microwave safe. The double walled stainless steel infuser that sits inside, and the flip top stainless steel lid are both removable for easy cleaning. The infuser is a large enough size to be ideal for use with both tea bags and loose leaf tea. These colorful pots are great for livening up a gloomy, rainy day in any kitchen, and make wonderful gifts!

Tea and Coffee Month at the Gourmet Fusion Store

May is tea and coffee month at my Gourmet Fusion store and we have just added these white ceramic stackable espresso cups. I really like these because they have a modern look, and if you are short of cupboard space, they are attractive enough to leave on display. They don't take up a lot of room on your counter top because they stack in the chrome stand - the cups fit in the middle chute, and the saucers fit neatly into the bottom part of the stand.

May is also the month for receiving a free $5.00 Starbucks Gift Card when you buy anything valued at $5.00 or more from the Tea and Coffee Products range. The espresso cups shown here can be purchased online for $15.99 and shipped to anywhere in the US.

A Nice Cup of Tea

Tea is an integral part of everyday life in England, where I grew up, and even though I am hooked on Starbucks coffee, whenever I am stressed or have a problem, I automatically put on the kettle and make tea!

Appreciated centuries ago for its reviving qualities, a cup of sweet, strong tea is still regarded by many Londoners as a cure-all for minor ailments and fatigue, and by simply putting on the kettle, they feel they are making progress in solving whatever is troubling them.

Londoners were formally introduced to tea in 1664, when the East India Company began to import tea from China. Coffee houses soon began to sell tea to drink at home, and by 1707 it was well established as a fashionable, if expensive, drink and while gentlemen enjoyed it in coffee houses, gentlewomen made clear green or black tea in the Chinese style, without milk or sugar for their guests in the evening. Tea only became widely available to the poor in 1784, when the government removed the high excise duty on tea leaves. Mid-morning tea breaks were routine by the end of the nineteenth century and at many firms, a "tea lady" was employed to wheel a trolley around the office with an urn of tea, milk, sugar and biscuits. Today, tea drinking has once again become popular, with the availability of rare and interesting varieties from companies such as Twinings and Fortnum & Mason. So how do you make the perfect cup of tea?

The Perfect Cup of Tea

1. Boiling the Water. The water should be brought just to the boil for brewing black tea and be just off the boil, for preparing more delicate green or white teas. The ideal pot for brewing tea contains a small perforated holder (infuser) for the tea leaves. The holder can be removed or sealed with a plunger once the tea has been brewed sufficiently.
2. Brewing the Tea Leaves. The teapot is warmed with hot water just before the leaves are added. Traditionally, British tea drinkers allow 1 teaspoon of loose-leaf tea per person, plus 1 extra teaspoon for the pot, but most tea experts recommend experimenting to taste. Large-leaf teas can be brewed for 4-5 minutes; small leaf teas need only 2-3 minutes.
3. Serving The Tea. Britons drink their tea black or white (with milk), or with a slice of lemon. There is much debate about the correct way to serve the milk, but most believe that it should be poured into the cup before the tea is slowly added. (more information on tea can be found in the Williams-Sonoma book, London).
   

So why not dust off the teapot and buy some tea (or tea bags) and the next time you are feeling blue, do what the English do - put the kettle on and make a nice cup of tea. The English bone china Royale Amber Teapot-for-one pictured at the top of the page can be found at the Gourmet Fusion Store, where this month there is also a free Starbucks Gift Card promotion. Cheers!