We have 2 awesome new flavors of Iced tea at the shop! I have added the recipe here sonyou can make them at home!

Makes 1 gallon of Iced Tea
Ingredients

• 2 oz Blood Orange Black Tea​
• Tea Bag Filters
• 64 fl oz of Hot Water
• Ice
• Tea Strainer (optional)

1. Place 2 oz of Blood Orange Black Tea in tea filter bags. Alternatively, you can place its right in the water if you have a way to strain it.​
2. Place tea bags in 64 fl oz hot water (195F) and steep for 10 minutes or to desired tea strength.
3. Take out tea and add 64 fl oz of cold water. Lets tea cool completely.
4. Add ice and enjoy!

Makes 1 gallon of Iced Tea
Ingredients

• 2 oz Ginger Green Tea​
• Tea Bag Filters
• 64 fl oz. of Hot Water
• 2 tbsp. of Honey
• 1 cup Lemon Juice
• Ice
• Tea Strainer (optional)

 

1. Place 2 oz of Ginger Green Tea in tea filter bags. Alternatively, you can place its right in the water if you have a way to strain it.​
2. Place tea bags in 64 fl oz hot water (185F) and steep for 10 minutes or to desired tea strength.
3. Take out tea and add about 2 Tbsp of honey and stir.
4. Add 64 fl oz of cold water. Lets tea cool completely.
5. Add 1 cup of lemon juice and stir.
6. Add ice and enjoy!

Your present cam early this year! Elden Street Tea Shop will be open in Herndon Artspace, this winter. Try any of our 20+ locally blended and non blended teas while enjoying one of the many spectacular art installations at Herndon Artspace.
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Saturdays 11a-4p

We will be open for most events at Herndon Artspace. Please check our TEAVENTS for details.
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               Delicious chocolates are from Chesapeake Chocolates in Lake Anne Reston, VA​
First Pairing:
Red Line
- blend of rooibos, dark chocolate chips, hint of caramel and vanilla

Paired with Bulldog Bark. A delightful mixture of chopped walnuts and rich dark chocolate.

Second Pairing:
Mahalo Chai
- Green Chai! White tea, lemongrass, ginger, and fennel blended precisely with chai spices.

Paired with Ginger Spice Milk Chocolate

Last night, we practiced tea pairings with chocolate. What a great way to end the day! We hope you will join us on a monthly or bi-monthly basis for our in store tea pairings. Coming Soon! 

Tea has been around for thousands of years. The tea plant is hardy and can live to be over 100 years old. Tea was once considered more valuable than silver. This is a precious, endlessly giving plant that needs to be respected and cared for. We are trying to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Our goal is to be close to 0% waste at Elden Street Tea Shop. We plan to have biodegradable, compostable, and reusable utensils, cups, plates, tea bags, packaging, etc. 
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We look forward to sharing our ideas of using tea compost, growing plants sustainably, and following good gardening practices with the community. If you have ideas or suggestions of environmental practices you would like to see in the tea shop, post them in the comment section below. 

On Saturday, Mike and I were invited to go to Green Alchemy Boot Camp at Sarah's house. Sarah, is our tea blender and owner of Green Alchemy Teas. When she said boot camp, she wasn't joking. She prepared us to answer all of your tea questions. One of the things I would like to share with you about our learning experience is the different classification of teas. 

First things first. Tea all comes from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis. The different names for tea comes from different classifiers.

1. ​How long the tea leaf has been on the plant itself. 
2. Naming the tea is based on the origin of the tea. Darjeeling is from Darjeeling, India. Ceylon comes from Ceylon, Sri Lanka, etc.  

​  Example in Picture: Orange Pekoe is named after the Dutch Royal House of Orange- Nassau and their role in bringing tea to England. 
    3.  Color is another classifier. The longer the tea is left to oxidize, the closer it gets to
          becoming a black tea. 

There are several different classifications for tea. 

​Orthodox Tea​- tea in it's purest form. Nothing is added to it. 
​Altered Teas​- teas that have been altered by way of infusion, blending, or decaffeinated.
​Red Teas- ​teas from the Assam bush or Honeybush tea plant, not Camellia Sinensis. 
​Herbal Teas​- orthodox teas blended with other herbs or just herbs. 

​I look forward continuing to share my knowledge on teas and happenings with the store. If you would like to share your knowledge of teas or have a specific topic/ question for me to answer, put it in the comments below. 

Here is a perfect recipe for a rainy day tea featuring our Vintage Earl Grey.