Thursday, November 18, 2010

Designing Gift Baskets for the Holidays

At this time of year, I start to begin planning for one of my favourite things. As part of the festive season, I begin purchasing/collecting items that I think would be useful or appropriate for gift baskets. A notepad here, something just the right colour to go with a planned theme, pretty Christmas/seasonal decorations and unique holiday mugs and teapots.

Nothing is more satisfying than taking what you know about a friend/family member/client and making a wonderful basket that you know they will appreciate! Some potential information that helps out includes: their favourite colour, what they collect or like, their favourite beverages and foods, what their kitchen decor is, whether they are formal or a bit more informal.

On one occasion, I found a pretty bone china (with carved rose) teapot, cream and sugar that my mother in-law liked on a shopping trip and used various co-ordinating shades of blue paper, tea and containers to make a dreamy cloud like basket that she lamented looked so beautiful she didn't want to pierce the shrink wrap. Watching someone well up with tears because their gift makes them so happy or send you a wonderful card as a thank you, if one of the best feelings in the world.

Whether it's a basket or just a well thought out gift, it's always more fulfilling when you put the right amount of effort into making it the perfect gift. All it takes is a little bit of pertinent info and the time and patience to make a little collection of something that only the recipient (and maybe a few envious onlookers) would consider a little slice of heaven.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Father's Day

Many of my best customers are men who drink their favourite varieties of tea regularly. They may not talk about it as much as some of the women that I know, in that it is more of a regular part of their daily routine. When I started selling tea, I noticed that there is no difference between the appreciation of tea as an amazing beverage between the sexes, just a very different method of expressing their love of the beverage.

Women will try a tea and share it with their friends and mention it to others. Men will ask about a tea, be pleased when you supply what they are looking for, and perhaps serve it to their company, but many are not as vocal about their love for it. It becomes something more that they buy and make just because they like it so much. So, on this Father's day, make sure you spend a few minutes with a dad you know, and maybe even share a cup of tea with them. It often means much more than it may appear to!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day

I always have fond memories or Mother's Day. Every Mother's Day, I made it a bit of a tradition to make dinner and dessert for my Mom. Although she spent many years making amazing dinners for family and friends, I always tried to make dinner and a nice dessert for Mother's Day.

Every year, I would try to make her favourite dishes, bake a pie or cake and of course we would drink tea with our dessert. Over tea, we would discuss things that always made me smile. What a great cook I had become (I always liked hearing that), what I was planning for the next few years, politics, you name it. Mom would tell stories about her years in France, the early years of her marriage, stories about the dances she used to go to as a teenager, what it was like for her growing up, all kinds of feel good conversation.

My Mom has been gone since 2003, but every Mother's day, I remember the many amazing conversations and stories told over a simple cup of black tea, and it reminds me why I opened my tea business and why tea plays such a big role in my life. Happy Mother's Day Mom. I don't think I'd need to tell her how much I miss her.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The Best Things in Life are Those You're Most Passionate About....

No matter what happens in my day to day life, one of the constants is my passion for all things related to tea. Whether I am incredibly busy, tired, happy, having a great day, or just having an interesting conversation with a friend or colleague, tea always seems to be present.

The variety may vary based on the time of day, my mood, what's available at that time, and what I may be eating at the time. If it's morning it will probably be a black tea, perhaps English Breakfast or Darjeeling with my muffin or bagel. After lunch, I usually have an Earl Grey, and as the day progresses, I have more lower caffeine (green or white) and caffeine free (rooibos) teas.

Yes, I probably drink at least 4-5 cups per day. Do I feel healthier as a result, definitely! Will I continue? Of course :) Will I continue to try new types on a regular basis, yes. Milk, no, Coffee drinker, not at all. After all, it's all about tea.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Green Tea's Potential Anti Aging Properties

We all have days when we look in the mirror and think, wow where did those lines come from...A study in the Journal of Food Science found that drinking a single cup of green tea a day could provide anti-aging benefits. It was found to decrease the chance of developing high blood pressure by 46 percent...drinking more could boost the risk reduction by 65%. This along with mood elevating properties that are often mentioned regarding green tea, could potentially have you looking and feeling revived and maybe even looking younger....Next time I decide what kind of tea to have, I'll make sure at least one cup is green....

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Checking Items Off the List

I often make lists to try and keep myself on track when it comes to a lot of areas in my life. This month, I am getting back to looking at my list, and trying to check off those things that I have wanted to do for a while. One was completely re-do my website. This I did with lots of help from Marie at People in Connection. She was great in helping me update and re-create my site. The shopping cart is much easier to update, and I have a lot more options available to me now.

Next on the list was to create a blog, which you might have noticed, I did. Next on the list is to get back to writing a monthly newsletter about tea. That will be the next thing I try to cross off the list. This last year, I have devoted a lot more time to taking better care of myself, by taking vitamins and supplements, getting more exercise, and of course drinking tea, which helped me to lose weight. I lost 40 pounds and kept it off for more than a year now. I drink about 4-5 cups of tea a day, black, green, oolong and white primarily. My favourite teas tend to change regularly, partly because I enjoy trying different varieties and brands, and partly so that I don't tire of drinking the same types. My current favourites are Vanilla Bean, Earl Grey and White Orange. I'll keep you posted when the list changes ;)

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

About my company

Tessier's Tempting Teas was opened in December of 2005, partly because of my passion for tea and my inability to consistently buy the types of tea that I was looking for. The reason for this was that was each time I found a store that carried the teas I liked, they went out of business. I started drinking tea more regularly to assist with various health issues originally, but the more varieties of tea I tried, the more I liked! Our website specializes in all things tea...including loose tea and bagged tea as well as teapots, mugs, travel mugs, tea accessories and tea caddies. I enjoy making gift baskets and can create any basket to fit the person its being given to.

I have presented training courses on how to sell tea, how to make tea and gift baskets for people with businesses similar to mine. I write regular newsletters about the health benefits of tea that often include stories about the origins of tea and tea recipes. I have been described as a walk-about marketer, since most people I meet often leave with my business card. I have presented tea events and many tea parties. Each event was different, but they all had one thing in common, the people attending had a true love of tea....which is the foundation that Tessier's Tempting Teas was founded upon. I am really excited to have updated my website www.tessiersteas.com after being in business for about four and half years! I will be making it more interactive, including establishing this blog and publishing regular tea newletters.

Mary-Ellen Tessier