These tasty bite-sized treats will be a surefire hit at your next holiday gathering. Your guests will be begging for more…at least my guests were!!!

Temperature: 350 ° F
You will need:

*64 mini tartlet shells

*1 large baking pan & 1 smaller pan that can fit inside

*2 mixing bowls

*1 electric hand mixer

Cheesecake Layer
* 6 Tbsp butter, softened
* 8 oz cream cheese, softened
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 3 large eggs
* 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* 3 Tbsp cornstarch
Pumpkin Layer
* 15 oz canned pumpkin puree
* 2 large eggs
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
* 1/8 tsp each: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg or 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup strongly steeped Tali’s Masala Chai tea
* 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add the cream cheese and continue mixing. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and cornstarch. Spray the smaller pan with cooking spray. Spoon cream cheese layer into tartlet shells so that they are no more than half full and place into pan. Place smaller pan into larger pan. Fill the larger pan with water to create a 2” bath around the smaller pan. This allows the heat to distribute evenly around the pan in order to prevent the cheesecake layer from cracking. Bake for 25 minutes.
3. While the cheesecake layer is baking you can make the pumpkin layer. To make the pumpkin layer, mix the pumpkin puree and eggs until well blended in a medium sized bowl. Add the sugars and mix until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well blended.
4. Once the cheesecake layer is done, pour the pumpkin layer over the cream cheese layer and bake another 30 minutes following the same directions with the baking pans. Allow the tartlets to cool completely in the pan to room temperature; then refrigerate. Serve cold.

*Depending on the size of the baking pans, this can prove to be an arduous process, as each batch takes about an hour to make. This would be a great opportunity to have that movie marathon or watch that boxed set of your favorite TV show that you have been putting off. Trust me…these are worth the time to make! This recipe also yields about 18 cupcake sized treats if you start to get a little impatient. I wouldn’t blame you… Happy Baking!!!

- Linda C

With the end of October, we feel many things shift. Depending where you live, the leaves change color and fall, and migrating birds cross the sky. The temperature changes, the days grow short, and business-owners sharpen their pencils as we move into Q4. It is a time of reckoning.

As it turns out, for millennia, people in diverse cultures have found this time of year especially significant, specifically the period between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice. For instance, both the Celts and the Maya—high civilizations perched at opposite ends of the pagan world– honored this season as the time of the year when the barrier between the realms, seen and unseen, briefly became permeable.

Both cultures believed that during this “thin” time, both the living and the dead could “cross over”. Echoes of these beliefs, which included the wearing of masks for safe passage when crossing between worlds, pranks, and offerings, persist in the secularized holiday of Halloween. And, some of the resonance and profundity of the season, I feel, explains the contemporary adoption of Dia de los Muertos and its rollicking, yet poetic imagery far beyond its original Mexican roots.

I find this to be a contemplative time of year, and of course I find tea to be an excellent companion for this contemplation. My favorite of the moment is a rare Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling, which is about as profound as a cup of tea can be. Our pick this year from Margaret’s Hope is what’s known as the “first flush of the first flush” among tea-growers and tea-pickers. This tea hits the palate with a burst of fresh nectar, like biting into a perfect apple. The feeling I get from this tea, which is available only in limited quantities, is a feeling not of closure and ending, but of promise: first buds, and dormant energy waiting to burst out. It is, incidentally, fitting to enjoy this tea, with its apple-like essence, as the Jewish New Year 5772 unfolds.

While the frost may not literally be on the pumpkin where you live, the wheel of the seasons has just made a major turn. From all of us at the Art of Tea, May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!

The Neem tree is an evergreen native to India and other parts of Southeast Asia. For centuries in these countries, Neem has been called “the village pharmacy”, because its leaves, bark, seeds and oil are used as a mainstay of traditional healing and Ayurvedic treatments. More than 150 bioactive substances have been identified in different parts of the Neem plant, many of them offering antiseptic and astringent qualities.

Because Neem has long been such an important presence in the culture of India, Gandhi often held his prayer-meetings beneath the generous, spreading canopy of a Neem tree, and also ate Neem-leaf chutney daily.

Neem is still a vital part of Indian culture, used to address health concerns ranging from bad breath to preventing malaria. Today, Neem is also being discovered and embraced by modern health-enthusiasts in the west, as an ingredient in invigorating teas.

Although the clustered white flowers of the Neem tree are sweetly fragrant, the flavor of Neem tea is very, very bitter, one of the six tastes recognized in the Ayurvedic palette. In this system, taste is important in order to understand the properties and functions of an herb or botanical.

The goal of integrating Neem, whether as a tea or in another preparation, is to balance the energies for greater health. In this system, bitterness is not to be avoided, and in fact is viewed as corrective, purifying, and tonifying, or tonic, to the liver. A real-life analogy might be a craving for a salad of crisp, sharply-bitter, dark greens—dandelion and endive—after snacking on leftover Halloween candy. Too much sweet calls for correction, with a bit of the bitter.

In the Ayurvedic tradition Neem is associated with the dosha known as Vata. Vata is characterized as cooling, drying, reducing, dispersing. A traditional image for Vata is wind moving through space, offsetting the heavy moisture of the Kapha dosha, and the excessive fire or heat of Pitta. With this reasoning, many practitioners of Ayurveda use Neem tea and other Neem preparations as a digestive before meals, and as a slimming aid to reduce fat.

Neem adds a vibrant and detoxifying note to Art of Tea blends “Feel Better Blend” and “Tea For Him”. To balance out the acrid bitterness which defines Neem, “Feel Better Blend” adds Organic Chili Pepper, Cinnamon, Licorice Root, Fennel and Green Rooibos, among other choice botanicals, for a brew which releases stagnation.

Manly “Tea for Him” blends Neem with Organic Orange Peel, Vetiver Root and Assam Black Tea in a malty, yet earthy infusion with a musky-sweet finish reminiscent of sandalwood, ideal for re-energizing after intense exercise and exertion.

Considered the “coldest” of the six tastes in the Ayurvedic palette, Tikta, or bitterness, is also felt to inspire introspection. It is linked with winter, and the beginning of the new year. For any season, the instructive bitterness of Neem is an acquired taste worth acquiring.

- Victoria Thomas

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Throughout history, different cultures consumed special drinks, potions and beverage elixirs during ceremonies, rituals and social gatherings with reasons believing to cure ailments, lift the spirits and even produce immortality. Many of these concoctions derive from the earth in the form of plants, plant roots and herbs.

There is certainly an art to creating these organically-rooted beverages. The kava root can be traced back to several origins, but one of the widely accepted theories on kava takes us back to the early 18^th Century when the Europeans first made contact with the Pacific Islands. Kava was typically prepared by grinding, chewing or pounding, and then, adding the product to cold water for consumption. Today, kava still plays an important part in the Polynesian culture as a social beverage, medicine for various illnesses, and as a soothing relaxant in islands such as Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.

Another group, the Indo-Iranians, who historically inhabited Central Asia, grounded the plant called soma into a liquid. This plant was known to have hallucinogenic properties and was consumed in rituals to grant immortality. These notable drinks weaved their way into cultural traditions because of their believed powers and effects.

About 5,000 years ago, Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was credited for the discovery of tea. Emperor Shen Nung loved to boil his water. Legend goes that one windy night, dried tea leaves from a nearby bush flew into the emperor’s cup of boiling water. After drinking the brewed leaves, the emperor felt rejuvenated and soon discovered the stimulating beneficial effects of the leaves. This is one of the earliest records of tea’s introduction to the world. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage worldwide.

Beverages have become a big part of society because drinks are traditionally served whenever people come together. These drinks create the tone and contribute to the environment of the gathering. In honor of Fair Trade month, here are some Halloween-inspired drinking elixirs that will make your Halloween celebration festive using Art of Tea’s Fair Trade teas and tisanes.

Bloody Orange Cider using Italian Blood Orange

You Will Need:

· 3 tsp. Art of Tea’s Italian Blood Orange

· 16 oz. Boiled Water

· ¼ cup of Grated Orange Peel

· 1 ½ cup of Apple Juice

· 3 pinches of Cinnamon

· Cinnamon Sticks

Directions:

Steep the Italian Blood Orange tea in the boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the leaves. Add the apple juice. Sprinkle in the orange peel. Throw in 3 pinches of cinnamon, and mix well. Add cinnamon sticks for an extra kick of cinnamon.

Witch’s Brew on Ice or Hot using Pumpkin Pie

You Will Need:

· 3 tsp. Art of Tea’s Pumpkin Pie

· 16 oz. Boiled Water

· Handful of Marshmallows

· 2 Glasses Filled Halfway with Ice Cubes or Empty Black Mugs to look like a witch’s cauldron

Directions:

Steep the Pumpkin Pie in the boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the leaves from the water, and pour the water into the glasses evenly if you prefer a refreshing cool down. Otherwise, pour into the empty mugs to enjoy hot. Stir in a handful of marshmallows for a creamy finish.

Casper’s Cocktail using Cinnamon Fig

You Will Need:

· 16 oz. Steeped  Art of Tea’s Cinnamon Fig

· 6 oz. Milk

· 2 oz. Bourbon

· 1 oz. Amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur)

· 4 Cinnamon Sticks

· 24 oz. Pitcher Halfway Filled with Ice Cubes

· 2 Cocktail Glasses

Directions:

Pour milk into the pitcher of steeped Cinnamon Fig tea. Add and stir in the Bourbon and Amaretto. Mix well, and pour into two cocktail glasses. For a finishing touch, add two cinnamon sticks.

-Melissa Chua

Many tea blends in today’s marketplace identify themselves as “Lotus” teas, when in fact they are green and white teas of the Camellia sinensis variety. Art of Tea’s “Lotus Flower” is the actual flower, picked at its peak, intact, perfect, as the basis of a refreshing cup.

Green and white teas may be infused with Lotus essence by stuffing a Lotus flower with tea leaves and leaving them overnight, or by baking Lotus flowers with Camellia sinensis to infuse them with the floral scent. I prefer the purity of just this immaculate flower on its own.

In keeping with the concept of pure enlightenment, the primary virtue associated with the Lotus blossom across centuries of Egyptian, Hindu, Buddhist, Bahá’i and Confucian learning and practice, this elegantly simple offering contains no other ingredients, and is naturally caffeine-free. No additional perfumes or flavorings are added, because they are not needed.

The dried blossom is a thing of beauty, ranging in color from purple, pink or red through a range of yellow and white tones, depending upon the picking season. For a bright yellow infusion with an equally bright flavor, steep for 2-3 minutes. The dried flower is potent enough to be re-steeped four to five times for a satisfying replay.

The Lotus blooms in sacred iconography from India to the Nile delta, across China, Japan, Vietnam, and other cultural stops where Buddha, Ganesha, Shiva and others are revered.

One of the most archetypal thoughts associated with the Lotus is its quality of transformation, arising from mucky, muddy depths to offer a pristine, unstained blossom to the rays of the sun. For this reason, the Crown Chakra, the state of ultimate enlightenment, is often depicted as an unfolding Lotus of a thousand petals.

In some areas of Buddhist thought, the Lotus is also contemplated as a symbol of detachment, the process which is key to releasing one’s self from suffering, and which also facilitates this release in others. This meditation is often depicted in the way that rain collects in the upraised petals of the open Lotus. The petals collect only as much weight as they can bear, without breaking the stem. When the petals are filled with rain, they gently tip and release their burden to the pond, without resistance, regret, or attachment.

Today, water-lilies or Lotus plants are a popular aquaculture plant, adaptable to even the most urban settings. Hundreds of varieties, many fragrant and night-blooming, may be grown in a small tub—I favor treated rain-barrels—which can fit on a small terrace or patio. Even in the midst of the city, the radiant blossoms of the Lotus will attract dragonflies, large moths, bees and other remarkable creatures.

The Lotus blossom is a regal and soothing companion, whether steeped as a pristine botanical brew, or nurtured as a living plant.

VICTORIA THOMAS

The next time you steep a cup of tea, whether bagged or loose-leaf, save your used leaves. You can do a number of things with them.  In the spirit of recycling and maintaining a sustainable earth, here are a few ways you can reuse your steeped tea leaves:

· Sprinkle on your plants and soil as a fertilizer for your garden.

· Add to compost.

· After you sun-dry your used leaves, leave in a damp area to absorb excess moisture.

· Tea is a natural odor absorber. Just like baking soda, you can openly place the dried tea leaves in your refrigerator to absorb odors. You can also sprinkle your used tea leaves in a kitty litter box or any place to remove unpleasant odors.

· Chill used tea bags, and place over your eyes to help reduce puffiness.

What about your teas that have surpassed their shelf-life? When storing your tea, it is important to keep away from three components: heat, moisture and exposure to sunlight. Additionally, tea can easily be altered due to neighboring spices and aromas, so make sure to store them in an area where the leaves cannot be permeated. We recommend placing your tea in an airtight container to ensure longevity and help preserve its flavor and freshness. With all these factors taken into account, unflavored teas can last up to one year or more, while flavored teas can last up to six months. Once tea is past its due date in freshness and flavor, you can always make potpourri!

I saved my old batch of Art of Tea’s Welcome tisane. This Fair Trade and certified organic, caffeine-free blend consists of chamomile, rooibos, lavender, roses, rosehips and pink peppercorn—all conveniently common ingredients found in potpourri. Here are three easy steps to make festive, fall-looking potpourri!

How to Make Potpourri using Welcome:

You Will Need:

· Art of Tea’s Welcome

· Glass vase or nice container to display potpourri

· Essential Oil in lavender or rose

· Dried Rose Petals (optional)

Directions:

Fill your display container with the Welcome blend.

Mix in extra dried rose petals for a fuller effect.

Put in 3-5 drops of the essential oil.

Tea-culture is both science and art.  To produce a masterfully crafted tea requires both precision and intuition, accuracy of technique and sheer inspiration, much like composing and performing music.

In both cases, science supports art. It’s valuable to use tea-terms carefully, and to explain the tea-cultivating process and method as precisely as possible in order to more fully appreciate the next cup. An example is the word “fermentation”.

Teas are often described as semi-fermented, and fermented, and this is rarely the case. Teas are generally semi-oxidized, and oxidized. The terms are often used interchangeably, but this may lead to confusion.

Fresh picked tea-leaves undergo enzymatic oxidation simply by exposing them to air and allowing them to dry. This process differs scientifically from how true fermentation is defined. “Ferment” generally requires the action of yeast, bacteria or mold.

Part of the art of tea cultivating is deciding when to stop this oxidization process. This may be accomplished with steam, or dry heat, in various ways. Classically, this was done over wood-fire, charcoal or heat vents.  Heating deactivates the enzymes which have been triggered by plucking the leaves, and determining when to step into the cycle is an example of tea-making mastery. This sense of timing is learned and taught, but also must be felt, in a less literal way.

If we are looking at the Camellia sinensis plant, a tea’s ultimate type will be determined by how much oxidization is allowed to take place. In their natural state, the leaves wilt if not dried soon after picking. As the chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down, the leaves darken, and tannins are released.

The mathematical possibilities begin to unfold as you contemplate the potential variations. White teas are traditionally wilted, and completely unoxidized. Green teas are both unwilted, and unoxidized. Oolongs are wilted, then bruised or “rattled” to an exacting level, and partially oxidized between 1%-99% depending on the artisans result they are looking to reveal. Black teas are wilted, bruised, and fully oxidized. There are virtually unlimited nuances of variation possible between the plucking of the fresh leaf and the final blending, including adding florals, fruit, spice and other elements before the mixture is steeped. Natural cycles, such as season and rainfall, also greatly affect the tea-leaf, its nature, quality and character. All of these factors determine the lightness, depth and flavor of the brewed tea.

The fact that the potential of the tea-leaf is unleashed merely by exposure to air—and not by the more chemically complex action of true fermentation—makes a cup of tea even more of a thing of wonder.

I love the fact that the tea that’s generating so much excitement these days –Rooibos– isn’t technically a “tea” at all… in the sense that it is not made from the leaf of the Camellia sinensis plant.

The Rooibos plant actually belongs to the legume family (Fabaceae), meaning it’s botanically related to beans. No wonder an herbal Rooibos tisane is sometimes referred to as a “coffee-drinker’s tea”. It’s robust, hearty and earthy, and hip-minded cafés now offer Rooibos in coffee-inspired concoctions, like “lattes” and “espressos”, made coffee-free and caffeine-free with Rooibos instead of the obvious. But unlike the coffee-originals, Rooibos is naturally sweet, with a creamy-vanilla aroma top note that’s straight from the earth.

The plant’s name is Afrikaans, the Dutch idiom spoken in South Africa—it means “red bush”, which is another common name for this plant. The bush is grown exclusively in the Cedarberg Mountain region of Cape Town, South Africa. European colonists who emigrated to the Cape in the early 20^th century initially took an interest in this rugged, shrubby plant because tariffs on Asian teas were, pardon the pun, steep. The local Khoi-Khoi people had been brewing and drinking the fine, needle-like leaves for centuries (they loved it so much that they collected the precious seeds from anthills!), so the new arrivals decided to join them.

One of the reasons that Rooibos is a modern-day success story for South Africa is that bean-connection. Legumes are “nitrogen-fixing”, meaning that they minimize the need for fertilizer in low pH, less-than-rich soil. For instance, when growing other veggies, many farmers plant rows upon rows of Fava beans for this reason alone. This make Rooibos economical to grow, and also reduces its planetary footprint, since it does not require heavy ag-chemicals in the form of fertilizers. The bio-efficiency of Rooibos as a crop creates a dynamic basis for both Organic and Fair Trade growing and harvesting practices.

Generations of indigenous Africans used Rooibos as a soothing bath, especially for babies, and anyone with rashy, irritated skin. These soothing properties, according to their traditional beliefs, also eased insomnia and headaches when the plant was brewed and sipped.

Today, Rooibos is enjoying renewed popularity as a topical ingredient in modern skin care formulations. Research is currently underway to establish its other health benefits. For now, there is no arguing that a cup of Art of Tea Rooibos, or Art of Tea’s headier Rooibos Chai (infused with a spice-route of Organic Cloves, Cardamom, Cinnamon and Ginger) refreshes and satisfies, from the first gorgeously-transparent red sip, until the pot runs dry.

–Victoria Thomas

It’s sometimes a challenge finding just the right gift for someone special in your life, so what’s more thoughtful than a homemade present? Whether you’re preparing for the holiday season rapidly approaching or you’re just feeling crafty, why not try these unique soap making recipes using Art of Tea blends.

Most soap making recipes require lye, but lye is often times dangerous and challenging to use by less experienced soap makers. Here are some easy recipes that use the melt and pour method instead, which is also known as using glycerin as a base for your soap. This method is kid-friendly with the supervision and assistance from an adult and easy for any beginner soap maker to learn.

*Chamomile and Citrus Soap using Chamomile Clementine

You will need:

• 4 oz. Glycerin Soap or soap base (found at most craft stores)
• ¼ cup of Grated Orange Peel
• Orange Soap Colorant (optional)
• 2 heaping tsp. of Art of Tea’s Chamomile Clementine (un-steeped)
• Soap Mold lightly coated with Olive Oil

*Lemongrass and Ginger Soap using French Lemon Ginger

You will need:

• 4 oz. Glycerin Soap or soap base (found at most craft stores)
• 2 tsp. Citrus Essential Oils in lemon or orange flavor
• 2 heaping tsp. of Art of Tea’s French Lemon Ginger (un-steeped)
• Soap Mold lightly coated with Olive Oil

*Green Tea and Honey Soap using Moroccan Mint

You will need:

• 4 oz. Glycerin Soap or soap base (found at most craft stores)
• Green Soap Colorant (optional)
• 3 tbl. All Natural Honey
• 3 tbl. Essential Oil in lavender or peppermint flavor
• 2 heaping tsp. of Art of Tea’s Moroccan Mint (steeped and completely dried)

• Soap Mold lightly coated with Olive Oil

Directions:

First, slice the block of glycerin soap into smaller pieces, so it’s easier to melt. Place the soap pieces in a microwavable bowl if you choose to microwave, or place in a double boiler pot for stove boil. Melt the soap using whichever method you prefer—microwave or stove boil until it is completely liquefied. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Mix thoroughly until it’s smooth. As it cools, the soap base will thicken to a pudding-like consistency. Slowly and carefully, pour the melted mix into the olive oil coated-mold. Let it sit, and completely harden. Remove from mold, and let it air dry for 24 hours before use or packaging. We hope you enjoy your customized soap bar infused with tea and herbs!

Gift Packaging Ideas:

• Wrap the soap in wax paper. Tie a ribbon around it into a bow.
• Place the soap in a brown soap box. Decorate the box using paint or markers.
• Make a gift basket. Individually wrap the soap in decorative cloth. Package them together in a basket. Add other bath accessories such as bath salts, loofah, scrub, etc. Add a bow for a finishing touch.
• Tie twine around the soap. Display on a nice ceramic soap dish.

There’s something about a good oxymoron. This one— Ti Kuan Yin, “Iron Goddess of Mercy”—uniquely captures the complexities of what some tea-drinkers consider to be the world’s best-known and best-loved Oolong.

In English, “iron” would not be a word associated with the quality of mercy. Even if we consider the juxtaposition of words in the context of the Chinese Wu Xing, or Five Phases identified in the Chinese cosmos—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water—Metal is the least yielding, the least merciful. As far as goddesses go, “iron” suggests more of a fierce, Valkyrie warrior-woman as opposed to the bodhissatva Kuan Yin, who hears the cry of the world, eases all suffering, and dries every tear with her unending compassion.

This seeming contradiction is what begins the revealing of this tea. Like so many depictions of Feminine Divinity across all cultures, this Chinese Oolong shows itself in a series of subtle, teasing unveilings.

The optimum steeping temperature for Ti Kuan Yin is 185 – 206 F, for 3 – 5 minutes. I took the middle way for the first steep, bringing the cup to my lips at four minutes. Bliss. I found there to be an elusive waft of grain in the first steep, with a pristine, fruit-blossom aroma.

As an Oolong, this tea is semi-oxidized, offering some of the feeling of both green and black teas. The second steep brought a less floral, nut-like, more roast-y, and deeply soothing note, as if the tea had literally ripened between steeps. Mistakenly thinking that the tea would weaken in value, my second steep was six and a half minutes. This second brew was a transparent amber, full, without a trace of “iron”, or any bitterness.

A number of ancient legends give this tea her name, one involving an iron statue of Kuan Yin who gave the gift of the tea-plant to a humble farmer who cared for her neglected shrine. As with ourselves, rediscovering and honoring life’s sacred places—sweeping out the twigs and dust—always yields revelation.

I especially enjoyed this tea as the weather in Los Angeles moved from brilliant and scorching to a chilly rain. According to the Chinese tradition, Metal is in fact in the fourth position of the Five Phases, associated with Autumn, and closure.

- Victoria Thomas

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