“You know, you can add a touch of tequila to this and…   Mmmmmmmm.” says Roxanne Garcia of our Pomegranate Mojito green tea.  Roxanne, who has been with Maya Tea for over five years, has recently added six signature tea blends to her repertoire, including the Pomegranate Mojito.  A tea featuring the zesty flavors of mint, lime and pomegranate, it closely resembles the flavor profile of the traditional Cuban cocktail with one exclusion - alcohol.  Yet this can be remedied from the comfort of home, Roxanne advises eager customers.

A new trend has been seeping into fancy food establishments and deluxe tea bars across the nation.  Menus have been adorned with cocktail items like “Silk Road” and “Darjeeling Kiss”, cocktails featuring the delicate flavors of, you guessed it, tea.  And why not?

We have all heard of the famed Long Island Iced Tea, which sits in the top five percent of popular cocktails.  Those of us with experience on either side of the bar can tell you its bizarre secret - there is no tea involved.  Its base, aside from the many assorted liquors, is a mixture of sweet & sour and just a splash of coca cola, resulting in a flavor remarkably similar to iced black tea.  Though the flavor has been mimicked with scores of success, it has been only in recent years that people have considered including tea in cocktails, and we’re not looking back.

At Maya Tea, we are promoters of “tea time” and also deeply value the “cocktail hour”, and we couldn’t be more pleased to merge the two.  Several years ago we created our own tea-tail, the Chaitini.  It is a creamy and decadent martini featuring our richly spiced Chai Concentrate.  Here’s the recipe:

• 2 oz Chai Concentrate.  (You may also use loose chai, just brew at triple strength and use 2 oz of tea)
• 1 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
• 1/2 oz Kahlua
• 1/2 oz Vanilla Vodka
• 1/2 oz Frangelico Hazelnut Liquor
• 1 oz Half & Half or Heavy Whipping Cream

Shake ingredients with ice to chill, strain and serve with a garnish of cinnamon.

Chai tea serves remarkably well in cocktails with its robust spice profile, but you don’t need dramatic flavors to enhance a beverage.  Even delicate white teas can add complexity and interest to a drink.  Take, for example, the “Kumquat Tea Mojito”, which combines equal parts white tea, rum, and simple syrup with kumquat halves, mint leaves, lime juice and club soda.  Or the “African Sunset”, which mixes subtle steeped rooibos herbal tea with vodka, amaretto, lemon, lime and sugar.  Then, there’s the more traditional iced tea flavor that has made the Long Island such a winner.  Strong black tea can be infused into vodka by simply stirring dry tea leaves into a few ounces of liquor and letting it sit at room temperature for 2-5 minutes.  The flavor of the tea is absorbed into vodka just as it would be with boiled water, and the strength of the flavors will amaze you.  Simply add juice of lemon, ice and your choice of tonic, club soda, lemonade or water and voila, your spiked iced tea is complete.

Tea liqueurs have also been a recent introduction to the market, and serve as an easy alternative for infusing your own spirits.  Firefly Vodka offers a unique line of tea-based vodkas, distilled four times and infused with fresh tea leaves from the America’s own Charleston Tea Plantation.  Their line includes a Sweet Tea Vodka, Raspberry Tea Vodka, Mint, Lemon and Peach Tea Vodkas.  As a Christmas gift last year I enjoyed a bottle of their traditional blend, the Sweet Tea Vodka, and was pleasantly surprised by its resemblance to my grandmother’s sweet tea that I enjoyed as a child.  All that was required was a cup of ice and a squeeze of lemon, and I was hooked.  Other companies have formulated green tea liquors, such as Zen Green Tea Liquor and Charbay Green Tea Vodka, which can be shaken with juice, tonic, lime, or any other mixer for a new twist on any traditional cocktail.

It is important to remember that there are no boundaries to which we must abide when drinking tea.  Historically it has carried ceremonial implications, and most of us imagine drinking tea in a quiet, meditative state.  In Japan, tea is sipped in peaceful gardens as a means to reflect upon the beauty and serenity in life.  In England, tea was taken in the afternoons as a cultural staple and a depiction of class.  In America however, tea has carried quite different values.  It has been the cause of riots and strikes, and tea parlors served as “singles bars” during the era of the flappers and the time of prohibition.  In fact, it was during prohibition that whiskey first was introduced to the teacup.  Let us not forget that tea, while delicate and serene, has a wild side, particularly in our own history.  With that in mind, take a step outside of the box and, well, get a buzz!

Cheers!

Anyone who has tested Maya Tea against other brands can verify its superiority.  The leaves we pick are of superb quality, reflected in the wonderful aroma and taste in each sip.  We search high and low for the best teas at an affordable price, and we pride ourselves in providing excellent varieties from regions all over the world including China, Japan, India, South America, Africa and Argentina.  All of the blending however is done in one location, at our offices in Tucson, Arizona.  Every so often a customer from this website will visit Tucson and ask to stop by to see the facility and pick up a tea order, which we happily oblige, and it is always a thrill to see the look on a customer’s face when they walk in the front door:  is this it?

We reside in a small converted house tucked away in a neighborhood in central Tucson.  No sign marks our presence, only the sleek number 225 above our door and the sweet, fruity aroma that lingers around the building will ensure that you’re in the right place.  As you enter the double front door, you will likely be greeted by our tea blender and the first employee of the Maya Tea Company, who bustles around the front of the shop blending teas and packaging them to go out the door. This front room is the “blending facility”, where a portion of our tea leaves become signature Maya Tea blends.  It is a cramped 10×20 room lined with one large packing machine, one large mixer, a long table complete with sealers and scales, and about twenty large bags of tea, each containing about 100 pounds or so.  These teas serve as the base product for most of our tea blends and iced teas.

As you breeze through the hallway you will pass a table of outgoing orders and a small office that holds the heart of the company, owner Manish Shah.  His ear is pressed against the phone and his laughter carries out into the hallway, and in a moment he’ll likely filter out to greet you personally.

The small hallway opens into a larger back room, lined with shelving to hold every ingredient in use for our blends, from hibiscus to echinacea, licorice root to cinnamon, and everything in between.  Against the front wall there are two desks, where five employees rotate to do everything that the company requires, from accounting to sales and website management.

That’s it.  There are no other rooms.  Amazement usually resonates with those who have never before seen our facilities- we pump a lot of magic from so discreet a place.  Distinct blends like Vanilla Mint Sencha and Seven Seas came from within this building, and the creativity never stops.  Frequently large boxes of ingredients are dragged to the front, measured and mixed in large mixing bowls, and finally taken into the office to be cupped and approved by the heart.  Every year several new blends are introduced, and this year we are off to an exceptional start.

Allow me to introduce you to the featured flavors of 2009 - they were created with love by our small family, and we know they will be tasted with love by yours.

Cocoa Creme Black Tea. For the first time, the bold, aromatic flavors of coffee are introduced to our smooth South Indian black tea.  This marriage is celebrated with spicy cocoa, creamy yogurt chips, and the light, toasty flavor of vanilla, surprising our senses and delighting anyone who thought they would never savor the best of both worlds.

Coconut Rush Black Tea. Rich, malty Assam black tea blends smoothly with the subtle grassy flavors of South American Yerba Mate, providing the perfect base for our newly featured flavor, coconut.  Sprinkled with shreds of real coconut, this tea embodies comfort and leisure.  Perfect both hot and iced.

Spicy Pear Black Tea. A vibrant black Assam tea combines with cinnamon chips and pear to create a delicious, full bodied smooth tea.  Its spicy notes are reminiscent of fall afternoons, and sips of this piquant tea will warm the spirit and enliven the mind.

Toasty Almond Black Tea. An exotic and intoxicatingly nutty almond flavor with a light touch of vanilla blends beautifully to create a wonderfully balanced, toasty black tea.  Perfect served in the English fashion, with a touch of milk for a tasty tea latte.

Jasmine Sunset Green Tea. As the title suggests, this tea bursts with individuality and zest.  Jasmine Green Tea is infused with Rooibos, a red bush tea from South Africa.  Lemon Verbena, Ginger and Orange are splashed across the palette for an exquisite and aromatic finish.  Served well for a relaxing evening or an after-dinner drink.

And, last but most certainly not least (this tea has already become more popular than our beloved Apricot Black), the Pomegranate Mojito Green Tea. A unique spin off of the Cuban Mojito, a drink traditionally featuring the zesty flavors of mint and lime.  Pomegranate gently compliments these predominate flavors against a smooth and delicate green tea base.  This tranquil blend is perfect for a summer afternoon and, as the creator of the blend will tell you, mixes remarkably well with tequila for an extra special treat.

These new blends of 2009 are available on our website, and come highly recommended by our team.  As we continue to evolve, you can expect to see the birth of additional blends.  And as always, do feel free to stop in!

If you haven’t noticed, our website has recently undergone some structural and functional changes.  We have revamped in order to provide you with an easier, more enjoyable shopping experience.  Here are some of the changes you may notice:

1.  Better, Clearer Pictures. From the long, twisted variety to the hand-rolled pearls of tea, now you can view our teas in the exquisite detail that they deserve.

2.  More Variety. We have countless varieties of teas in stock and endless blending options, but until now only a selected portion of these have been available to you.  Our motto?  If we can blend it, you can buy it.  Make sure to browse our tea shop to see all that has been added, including a line of decaffeinated teas, chai teas, holiday varieties and tea accessories.

3.  Tea Accessories. We will have a rotating stock of beautiful, hand crafted teapots appearing in the “Accessories” section of our tea shop.  You will always find infusers and teabags in this section, but make sure to check back often for the teapots.  We carry only one of each, so the pots available will be changing frequently.

4.  Blogging. We’re doing it.  For those of you reading this blog, you likely have noticed that we haven’t posted one in over two years.  That doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been anything going on, on the contrary we have been growing exponentially and our office has been buzzing nonstop with news.  We simply haven’t delivered it to the forefront.  With the introduction of our revised website, this is changing.

So keep posted - you can expect to hear from me soon!