Tea and Chi

09/03/2026

The fall teas are here, a month earlier than usual! So tomorrow, we’ll crank down the AC, and have a fall tea tasting and pretend the leaves are changing colours and the air outside is crisp and redolent with the smell of ripe apples. Join us from 3 to 5 pm for a taste of Pumpkin Crème Rooibos, Apple Orchard, Cranberry Spell and our newest Assam from the Chardwar estate. The tasting is free, and you don’t have to let us know you are coming, but, if you feel so inclined, we will be accepting donations to benefit Indian River Clay. If you don’t live close-by, you don’t have to miss out. We’ll gladly send out a sample of your fall tea of choice, with any web order. Head to teaandchi.com for orders, and to teaandchi.com/collections/seasonal for more info on the featured teas.

07/10/2026

The 2026 Pre-Qing Ming Longjing is here! Head to the website and order some while it lasts!

06/21/2026

More of our favorite things! Wouldn't this combo make a great gift, especially with cold & flu season upon us? Orange blossom honey from Tall Pines Apiaries, honey jar from River Girl Works, 'Simply the Zest' mug from The Flohemian and custom blended teas from Tea and Chi!

06/11/2026

05/21/2026

Some of the wonderful food we ate in Milan in the last couple of days included the most incredible lasagna, a risotto with beet, Gorgonzola, hazelnuts and cherries, a fantastic northern Chinese noodle dish, pinsa (it’s worth looking that one up) and an assortment of free snacks, provided by the nicest barista/barman/sandwich shop operator, in the building where our Airbnb was located. We are on our way back home, but won’t be able to open the store up this Saturday. Many, many thanks to Tilly and Ressa who kept everything running while we were gone. So go see them tomorrow, wish Tilly safe travels, as she’ll be the one going traveling next, and we’ll see you with regular hours next week!

05/18/2026

On January 6th, Cypriots exorcise goblins by tossing sweets on their rooftops and chanting. It’s a thing. Honestly! I’ve kept this tradition for the 40 years I’ve lived abroad. Each year I tell myself I’m going to make the sweets, and each year I realize how complicated and messy a process that would be, and I go buy donut holes. Today we went to get the real thing, they are called and Randy approves.

05/18/2026

I had the pleasure of doing a tea tasting for my niece and her two friends yesterday.

05/17/2026

My sister’s garden.

05/16/2026

A second post today, as I feel this page has been a bit light on the tea side lately. My friend Paola (see previous post), raises damask roses (the scent is absolutely gorgeous) and elderberry, and harvests both to dry for tea. I get such a comforting feeling seeing simple pleasures like these.

05/16/2026

Another trek up the mountains today, with Ianthi and Ken, this time to the beautiful village of Lazanias. Lazanias is a practically pristine, traditional village of 50 or so houses, nestled in the Macheras mountains, that dates from the 1100’s, with what appears to be minimal change. My wonderful high school friend Paola, and her equally wonderful husband Dinos, own a home there that has been lovingly and beautifully restored. They prepared a gorgeous, multi-course meal for us. It was a perfect day.