Iced Tea Time

Ah, summer. It sure came in all of a sudden this year and sooo warm! What better way to cool down than with a refreshing glass of iced tea. I know I always like to have a glass in hand. In order to make sure I don’t run out I make a large batch first thing in the morning. (Who wants the kettle on during the heat of the day?!) I brew a strong tea and, if I want sweet tea add a simple syrup to the cooler. All I need then is a glass of ice.

This is great for kids as well. Just use an herbal or decaf tea. Igloo coolers come in handy for this. I think all Soccer Moms are issued one of these when their kids start playing sports. With a cooler on the counter, the kids can help themselves all day long. A gallon pitcher in the fridge works well also.

Suggested Teas….Lemon Spearmint Herbal, Buttercup(organic herbal blend), Mango, Passion Fruit Peach or Green Tea with Citrus and Ginkgo.  Let SBS Teas help you brew a glass of iced tea with one of our delicious flavors.

How to make a simple syrup-

1 part sugar to 2 parts water

Boil until sugar is dissolved.

Chill and use.

Crowds Cheer Queen on Last Day of Jubilee

Pealing church bells, artillery salutes and crowds cheering “God Save the Queen!” greeted Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday, the last of four days of Diamond Jubilee celebrations honoring her 60 years of the throne.

Diampnd Jubilee

Britain Marks 60 Year of Queen’s Reign
Britain is marking Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years on the throne with a four-day holiday weekend of ceremony, symbolism and street parties. The Queen celebrated Saturday at the Epsom Derby accompanied by her husband, Prince Phillip, age 90. On Sunday she will lead a 1,000 boat flotilla on the River Thames. Monday’s festivities include a pop concert in front of Buckingham Palace with Paul McCartney and John Elton, and festivities climax on Tuesday with a religious service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathederal in Central London, a procession through the streets of London and the royal families appearance on the palace balcony.
At the heart of the celebration is a universal sense of appreciation for the queen, who acceded to the throne in 1952 on the death of her father, King George IV.Elizabeth was a vibrant young woman of 25 when she became the head of state. At 86 she remains strong of heart and stout of spirit, refusing to let her age slow her pace or dim her smile.

The Heir Apparent

The first person in line to be monarch is Prince Charles, the first son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip was born in 1948. Charles will inherit the title of sovereign from his mother when she dies or gives up the throne.
After Prince Charles, next in line for the throne is Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. Prince William is the son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. He was born in 1982.

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Britain is marking Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years on the throne with a four day holiday weekend of ceremony, symbolism and street parties. The Queen celebrated on Saturday at the Epsom Derby with her husband Prince Phillip, 90. On Sunday she will lead a 1,000 boat flotilla on the River Thames. Monday’s festivities include a pop concert in front of Buckingham Palace with Paul McCartney and Elton John. The festivities climax on Tuesday with a religious service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral, in central London, when Britons will enjoy an extra public holiday. This eill be followed by a procession through the streets of London and the royal family’s appearance on the palace balcony.
Elizabeth was a vibrant 25 year old when she became the head of state. At 86 seh remains strong of heart and refuses to let age slow down her pace or smile.
‘s Cathederal

Happy Mother’s Day

The concept of Mother’s Day has only been around since 1872 when Julia Ward Howe proposed it more as a way to celebrate the end of the War Between the States (the Civil War). Before then the celebration was considered secular and therefore was discouraged. The ball didn’t really get rolling on Mother’s Day until the early 1900’s, though.

A Raleigh native, Madeline Proctor, was the assistant to Anna Jarvis around 1909 in Philadelphia.  Their assignment was to start Mother’s Day.  The first thing they did was stand on street corners the second Sunday in May with washtubs, one filled with white carnations and one with red carnations.  They would stop people on the street and say, “If your mother is living, write her a letter, even if she is living in the same house, telling her how much you appreciate and love her, and wear a red carnation.  If your mother is dead, wear a white carnation.”

Their biggest challenge was when anybody tried to commercialize it.  They didn’t want anybody to make money off of it, only to write a letter their mother, not buy gifts.  Madeline would even go out to schools and talk about it.

Take the opportunity to let your Mom know how much she is appreciated and loved–write her a letter, note or poem.

St. Patrick’s Day teas

St. Patrick’s Day teas

Somewhat surprisingly, Ireland is the largest tea consumer, per capita, of any country in the world.  Their favorite brew is Irish Breakfast tea, a strong blend of Assam and Ceylon teas, and is traditionally served with milk.  While they may call it Irish Breakfast, their tea of choice isn’t only served at breakfast.  It is said that in every Irish household a pot of tea is brewing from morning until night, and even an Irish wake serves tea before anything else.  So this March 17th, when honoring St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, fill your pot with a cup of strong tea to accompany a serving of Irish soda bread, butter and jam.  On St. Patrick’s Day everyone is Irish!!

 

Great News

I am happy to announce that I have found a wonderful “Tea Lady” to take over SBS Teas. Her name is Karen and we have been very busy working out all the details for a smooth transition by the end of March. She lives in California so we will have to ship all of the products to her. So, be patient with us as we relocate SBS Teas to the West Coast!!
I am excited to be able to retire and travel with my husband but I am going to remain part of the business as a consultant, adviser and contributor.
SBS Teas will carry on just like it has for the past 5 years and we will continue to offer the same wonderful products and customer service that you love.
To help celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in fine Irish style we are offering our custom blended Irish Eyes black tea blend. It is a wonderful blend of black tea, cranberry and almond flavors with green shamrock candies sprinkled throughout. The limited edition will only be available in a one ounce tin thru the end of March.
We also have our delicious Irish Breakfast Blend tea for your enjoyment and you might like to try our new Irish Cream Tea .
All of our Irish tea selections will be 10% off thru the end of March. Just enter the code irish at checkout and the discount will be automatically credited.

APPRECIATION SALE!!!!!!

I want to thank all of you for your thoughts, comments and good wishes as I retire from the tea business.

The past five years have been full of wonderful experiences and I have enough memories to fill many mental scrapbooks. I have a great passion for tea and I hope you have absorbed some of that passion and will continue to create Total Tea Experiences for yourself and your friends.

I have found a wonderful “Tea Lady” to take over SBS Teas and more details will follow shortly as we hope to have a smooth transition by the end of the month.

As a thank you for all of my fantastic customers and tea friends I have set up a discount code for you to use. All you have to do is enter the code: appreciation at checkout and you will get a 25% discount on your purchases. You can only use the code once and it expires at midnight on Feb.22.

Start shopping here: SBS Teas

Till we sip together again,
Barb and Sharon
The SBS Teas Ladies

Website Update

My husband and I have decided to retire from the tea business and tackle our bucket list before we run out of time and energy. We both have had significant health issues–a brain tumor for me and he is in a study at Duke for memory loss.

The past five years have been exciting and challenging. We have worked very hard to make SBS Teas a business we could be proud of. None of this would a have been possible without YOU–our wonderful customers!!!!

If you have ever thought about owning your own tea business I would love to talk with you. We will be closing the doors the end of February.

Again, thank you so much for all your kind words and loyal support of SBS Teas.