Tea Blog

Summer is in full swing!

Here at Zhi, we love the season’s fresh fruits and enjoy pairing them with our organic tea.

This beautiful berry infused tea will bliss out every summer get together. Once one sees how easy smashes are to make, they’ll quickly lead your menu planning for all your picnics and pool parties. Promise!

The recipe below makes a ½ gallon pitcher and can be enjoyed as a mocktail or cocktail.

Strawberry Basil White Tea Smash

5 minutes, makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons dry White Pomegranate  Zhi Tea

• 4 cups hot water

• 3 cups cold water

• 1 pint strawberries

• ¼ cup sugar or agave

• basil leaves

• ice

• 8 oz vodka or gin*optional

Teaware:

• wooden spoon

• bowl

• teapot or strainer

• half gallon pitcher

• cups

Directions:

1. Fill half gallon pitcher with ice.

2. Steep 4 tbs of dry White Pomegranate Tea in 4 cups of hot water for 3 minutes.

   • Be mindful of water temperature as to not scald the tea.

3. Pour steeped tea into half gallon pitcher over ice.

4. Add 3 cups of cold water to the pitcher.

5. In a seperate bowl, use your wooden spoon to muddle sweetener, 1 cup strawberries, and 12 basil leaves.

6. Pour strawberry smash into pitcher as well.

7. Stir to mix.

8. Taste. You can add more fruit, basil and sweeten further if you like.

9. If you’d like to make it into a cocktail, add some vodka or gin.

10. Now, your pitcher of iced tea is complete.

11. Pour over cups filled with ice and enjoy!

12. Garnish with strawberry fan.

It’s hot. Cold steep!

Designed especially for pitcher-perfected iced tea, this innovative steeping method makes a flawless batch every time.

Haven’t cold steeped before? No worries!

Easy to follow directions are included on every kit. Plus, cold steeping automatically avoids over-steeping and temperature errors. With our easy to use Iced Tea kits, there’s no measuring or hot kettle needed either!

While every Zhi Tea can be enjoyed hot or iced, our cold steeping kits include our top six favorite iced teas. Our newest addition is a modification of our current top-selling Tropical Green. You’ll love this tea’s fruity, flavorful nature with tons of pineapple notes.

Catch the latest tea trend and get ready to cold steep all summer long. Available in six decadent teas, including our brand new Tropical Green!  Read more about Zhi’s summer line of seasonal iced tea here in the Austin Chronicle.

Have you cold steeped before?

Need a healthy boost of energy to help you enjoy the season? Try matcha!

Matcha is a finely pulverized green tea from Japan. This green tea powder has been enjoyed ceremoniously in Japan for almost 1000 years. A staple in Japanese culture and history, matcha was reserved for the royal family, religious dignitaries and the honored Zen Buddhist monks who used matcha to enable their constant meditation.

Today, matcha is finally being enjoyed in the West as studies and experiences are proving it important for wellness and convenience. When one makes a cup of matcha to drink, there is no steeping involved. One is essentially dissolving the tea powder into hot water with a whisk and drinking the instant tea, leaves and all. Consider adding a scoop to your smoothie for a quick antioxidant rich pick-me-up!

Even though it takes only seconds to make a cup to drink, it takes a great deal of time to make the matcha itself. Tea plants typically take 10-15 years to mature. Then, to finely grind the powder, one must go incredibly slow lest the speed of the grinding create heat and oxidize the leaves. It can take up to an hour to grind only 30 grams of matcha!

Truly superior matcha should have brilliant color, superior umami, frothability, and incredible mouthfeel. There should be crema to the very last drop. Rest assured, Zhi’s matcha always has these qualities and is always certified organic.

While many tea companies are offering ‘matcha styled’ green tea, Zhi’s matcha is the real deal: sourced by an independent organic tea company in Japan whose family has been making matcha for three generations. Here’s a video showing just how easy it is to enjoy a shot of matcha today! Do you like matcha?

Born under the blazing Texas sun, Zhi Tea knows about heat. Founded in 2007,Austin’s premiere organic tea company has been helping their neighbors keep summer cool for years. Delicious and calorie free, iced tea is an intelligent and luxurious way to stay hydrated this season.

“June is National Iced Month. While we don’t ever need an ‘official’ reason to drink iced tea here at Zhi, it is a great time to encourage others to start thinking about safe and healthy ways to enjoy the summer,” says Lorien.

“Not only is iced tea refreshing and delicious, research suggests tea plays important roles in elevating mood, maintaining healthy weight and helping your body maintain healthy cells and tissues.  When one packs their bag for the beach, we hope there’s some amazing iced tea next to the sunblock, the frisbee and one’s favorite book.”

With almost 100 teas and a line of specially crafted cold steeping kits, your summer iced tea choices are endless. Indulge and hydrate the healthy way: with Zhi Tea!

Is your favorite tea an iced tea?

As you know, it’s about to get hot.
Did you know that tea can help you keep your cool?

Join Zhi for a free tea tasting & talk on the health benefits of tea from a Chinese medical perspective.

Tiffany Smith, L.Ac will speak on tea, its function as a Chinese herb, and common medical conditions that tea might address. Various teas will be served while we explore:

What is tea?
What tea is good for your skin?
What tea moves qi?
What tea is good for metabolism?

About Zhi Tea: Zhi Tea is an independent organic tea company based in Austin Tx that strives to elevate the American tea culture while celebrating ancient traditions. Founded in 2007, Zhi specializes in artisan oolongs and hand blended original signatures.

About Tiffany: Ms. Smith is a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist and a teacher of biomedical science at Texas Health & Science University. She maintains her own practice specializing in allergy treatment, pain and stress management, and wellness.

Note: Zhi is not trying to cure diseases, pretend we’re doctors, or tick off the FDA with this little event. We just love tea and are open to learning more and more about this miracle beverage. Consider this our full legal disclaimer xo

Many thanks to our friends at Tea Mag for including us on their calender.

See you soon, Austin!

Naughty, nice, and over ice!

This colorful thai iced tea is the best way to surrender to one’s sweet tooth. While thai iced tea is something one usually enjoys at a restaurant or tea room, here is Zhi’s recipe for you to make at home. We make it with our Austin Breakfast, making it our ‘Texas’ version. We also use coconut cream to make it even silkier, another difference to celebrate in this signature.  Let’s get decadent!

This recipe makes a ½ gallon pitcher. As you can imagine, this is a luxury drink you’ll want to share…or keep sipping on all day long.

Zhi’s Texas Thai Tea

15 minutes, makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz of dry Sweet Desert Delight tea

• 1 tablespoon dry Austin Breakfast tea

• 6 cups hot water

• 1 cup coconut cream

• ½ cup condensed milk

• ice

• 8 oz vodka *optional

Teaware:

• teapot or strainer

• half gallon pitcher

• cups

Directions:

1. Steep 4 oz of Sweet Desert Delight in 5 cups of hot water for 10 minutes.

2. When done, strain and pour steeped tea into half gallon pitcher.

3. Steep 1 tablespoon of Austin Breakfast in 1 cup of hot water for 3 minutes.

4. When done, strain and pour steeped tea into half gallon pitcher.

5. Pour coconut cream and condensed milk into hot tea combo. Stir to dissolve.

6. Chill by adding a few ice cubes to the pitcher. Stir to dissolve.

7. Taste. You can add more coconut cream and evaporated milk to sweeten further.

8. If you’d like to make it into a cocktail, add some vodka.

9. Now, your pitcher of thai iced tea is complete.

10. Pour over cups filled with ice and enjoy!

11. Garnish with star anise.

Notes:  Keep stirring! The creamy ingredients will want to separate over time. Enjoy!