News
Farm Spotlight: Hattori Family Matcha! May 21 2019
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| Yoshiaki Hattori stands with his tea plants under a solar shade screen |
Meet Yoshiaki Hattori, sustainable tea visionary and crafter of some of the finest matcha we've ever tasted. The Hattori facility (Tenryu Agri-Farms) resides in Shizuoka, Japan, a region probably best known for its beautiful scenery, delicious food and hugetrade in green tea. In fact, this prefecture grows 40% of the green tea...
BTB: Rohan's Research Blend May 19 2019
For today's episode of Behind the Blend, I am delighted to highlight our first ever Chari-tea: Rohan's Research Blend! |
| Rohan's Research Blend |
Flavors and Colors for Spring March 20 2019
As the days lengthen and the clouds clear away, I've been finding myself holding back spontaneous laughter bubbling in my chest, itching to move, overflowing with inspiration. Are you feeling the same way? Here in the PNW, winter is dark, grey, dreary and a real slog to get through. Today may be equinox, the true first day of spring, but I've noticed for a week or two now that people's steps have...
Friday's Holiday Gift Guide! November 21 2018
'Tis the season for thoughtful gifts and quality time spent with friends and family! We at Friday Afternoon are firm believers in the uniting powers of tea. What better way to show love than with one of the world's oldest social beverages? Cozy, flavorful and dripping with personality! I have taken a bit of time as we move into the holiday season to personally curate for you a list of delicious...
Website Upgrades Galore! November 07 2018
We've been busy bees behind the scenes for some months now, improving our website for your perusing and purchasing pleasure. New features include:
- 1 oz. option now available for all products
- Brewing suggestions now included on all product pages
- Decaf options now available for many products
- ALL RETIRED TEAS ARE BACK. Every. Single. One. (seasonal teas remain seasonal.)
- Products are now sorted by...
Feliz Día de Muertos, amores! October 31 2018
Hola, mi gente!En este año, mantenernos ocupado en forjar un centro de comunidad para todos. En nuestro salón de té, eres siempre bienvenido. Eres siempre querido. Eres siempre seguro aqui. En el espíritu de amistad, amor y comunidad, nos tu deseamos un muy muy feliz Día de Muertos! Que tu familia viajar bien y tu ofrenda brilla!
Mucho amor,
Friday y el #TeaSquad
We've been keeping...
It's that time of year! August 30 2018
It's time, friends. Summer is rapidly drawing to a close and Fall is making itself known in the cool mornings and subtle bite in the air. Seattle is starting to grow its clouds a little darker and a little more gloomy, and like most Northwesterners, we loveit. Seattleites have a tradition of jumping the gun when it comes to Fall. The second any color shows on the edges of our maple leaves, out...
Big Move for Friday Afternoon Tea July 14 2018 1 Comment
Hello, friends!For the past several months I have been secretly (Well, not so secretly. I'm terrible at keeping my own secrets.) working on a huge project. Very happy to announce the great news that we have split-branded! This sub-brand means moving our medicinal teas to a new line: New Apothecary. This will serve to focus our main line (Friday Afternoon) on our unusual single origin and fandom...
5 Ridiculously Tasty Summer Sips July 05 2018
Here in Seattle, we just hit full-on summer. June-uary is over and we are facing days hovering around 80°F for the next few months. Seattlites are renowned whiners when it comes to weather over 70° (Don't make that face, Lauren. You know it's true.), so we've got you covered with some fantastic summer bevvie ideas.#1: Shaken Iced Tea
Really want to elevate your iced tea game? It's as simple as...
What exactly IS caffeine? June 23 2018
We love our caffeine. In the US alone, we consume upward of 970 tons of caffeine annually. Caffeine is just a fact in our day-to-day. Sodas, coffee, tea, even caffeinated soap is now a thing. Ok, so we love the stuff. But what exactly is it? |
| Caffeine Molecule |
BTB: Bioluminescence June 22 2018 1 Comment
On today's episode of Behind the Blend, I'm going to take you through the synesthetic taste experience of one of our prettiest blends: Bioluminescence.Those of you that are familiar with my blending process already know, but for the folks just joining us, let me tell you a little bit about my work. I have a rare neurological oddity known as Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia. Now, synesthesia itself is...
Some Categories of Medicinal Herbs June 14 2018
Medicinal Herb Exploration
Herbal remedies are categorized by application. Here are a few of the most common categories and some examples of herbs that fit them!
Anti-Inflammatory
This group is comprised of plants that release soothing compounds into the body to reduce inflammation. Examples include circumen (found in turmeric), zingerone (ginger), flavonoids (tea, chili peppers), cinnamaldehyde...
Guest Post: Chamomile Lemon Shortbread May 24 2018
Today's guest post comes to us from Ben, who we hope will share more of his fabulous recipes in future! -FridayI’m a bit of a tea obsessive. What started as an (unhealthy) addiction to coffee, has now seen me
change lanes to tea. And with this change, I’ve always tried to get creative with my tea use. From
putting together therapeutic cups of turmeric tea, to using tea bags as a way to battle my...
How much caffeine is too much? May 23 2018
Espresso, matcha, yerba mate, hot cocoa...even some soaps and lotions contain caffeine! We encounter the stuff every day, and as a society, we love it. But how much caffeine is too much?
For starters, why do we even need to moderate caffeine? What's the big deal?
Caffeine is a highly addictive substance, like sugar or cocaine, according to studiesby many institutions. It doesn't take a lot to...
Cold Brew Season! May 17 2018
It's that time of year, friends! All the coffee shops here in Seattle are bragging about their cold brews again, and we refuse to sit out on the fun. Did you know you can cold brew your tea for the same smooth, delicious, lightly sweet results that have people obsessing over their summer coffees? Totally true and totally easy. |
| Feel free to download this infographic! |
Cold brewing is fab. Just throw...
Our new tea tasting series! May 11 2018
Hello!
This month we are pleased to announce our first educational tasting series here at the tea room. Join us Thursday evenings at 5:30pm for a guided journey through the world of tea! I will personally be serving teas from various categories and regions and leading a discussion on the science, history and culture behind different teas. These are free events, though of course we encourage you to...
Mental Health Awareness Month May 07 2018
Hello, friends.I'd like to take a moment to remind you that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We generally keep things pretty light and fun here at Friday Afternoon Tea, but today I'd like to chat on a more serious note. Just about everyone I know struggles with their mental health to some degree. I've lost my best friend to suicide and seen others I love battle Bipolar Disorder, depression,...
Top Ten Uses For Your French Press May 04 2018
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| The french press in its natural habitat |
10. Squeeze excess water out of veggies. Thawing out frozen spinach for a lasagna recipe? Just put it in your french press and let the plunger...
BTB: Raise the Dead April 29 2018
Today's episode of Behind the Blend may feel a bit out of season, but it's a particularly chill and blustery April morning and I've been thinking a lot about death and seasonal shifts lately. So, for today's foray into synesthetic perception, I would like to introduce you to an old Friday Afternoon fave: Raise the Dead. |
| Raise the Dead |
The inspiration:This blend was originally commissioned by our...
April showers bring new teas! April 14 2018
That's how that saying goes, right? Right...Yes, my friends, we have exciting new products in stock! Now available online and in-store for your gifting and personal consumption:
The General's Jasmine
Keemun Mao Feng
Kenyan Purple Tea
Single-Estate Matcha
Four Seasons Taiwanese Oolong
Green Earl Grey
We also have some new geeky blends in development. They're a secret for now, but look forward to a...
April is exciting! April 06 2018
First, a quick reminder that the tea room will be CLOSED next Wednesday-Friday, April 11-13 as it's time for our annual trip back home to California wine country. We'll be open again Saturday the 14th at 9am and will resume business as usual from there.
There is just SO much happening this month at the tea shop! We've got coming your way...
New Products
This weekend we'll be getting in stock:
- Kenyan...
What we're about: a guide for new & old friends April 04 2018
In the wake of the recent Adagio Teas scandal, we've received hundreds of new followers and customers over the last two days. Our email is blowing up and I can barely keep up with social media conversations! This is a great problem to have, though I do hope you'll all bear with me if order processing and email response are a hair slower than usual.This seems like an ideal time for an introduction...
Retiring Blends March 17 2018
To make room for more unusual single-origin leaf and popular blend collections, we'll be retiring a few of our teas at the end of March. Let's call it Spring Cleaning!Teas being retired as of March 31st:
Supernatural
Sega/Nintendo
Battlestar Galactica
Sto...
Guest Post - Harrison of Milk and Leaf Co. March 10 2018
Hello!My name is Harrison and I'm an avid ice cream maker who a bit ago began focusing on making specifically tea infused ice cream. I live in the East Fremont/Wallingford neighborhood and recently was asking some questions about tea while at the shop. After a very helpful exchange, and a returned sample of the results, Friday suggested I make a guest blog post to share my story and give a recipe...