One, two, chai, chai, chai

Before I talk about chai, I wanted to give you an update on the book! You know the one. I mean THE book - "A Tea Reader: Living Life One Cup at a Time." It is done. Totally and completely done. The edits have gone off to the publisher and it is 100% out of my hands. I got some lovely reviews from I respect very highly - Mary Lou Heiss (author of James Beard award-nominated "The Story of Tea"), Tracy Stern (Owner of SalonTea), tea master Shozo Sato, and Joseph Simrany (President of Tea USA/ Specialty Tea Institute.) I'll be updating the website soon and adding some exclusive content and photo slideshows. It can be pre-ordered through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through IndieBound (to pre-order through independent bookstores.) I hope to be setting up some readings, workshops, and other events once the book comes out in the Fall. Stay tuned! And, for now, I have started on the next book. More on that another day.

Chai! I love it. Have I mentioned that? A lot? Okay, here I say it again. I love chai. Over the years I've found some great ones. I've particularly come to love ones from Tavalon (Kama Chai Sutra), Indonique (Masala Chai), and Yogic Chai (Original Masala, Kuki Chai, Coconut Masala, Mint Masala). While there are other really nice ones out there, these are the ones I continually go back to.

It's nice to see that others agree. In March (sorry for the delay, Ricardo!), I got a note from our friends at Yogic Chai. Their Original Masala Chai was awarded 1st place in the Chai category at the 2011 North American Tea Championship! Not only were they awarded first place, but their score was the highest ever given for a chai in the competition. Others recognized in the category include a purveyor in my neck of the woods, MEM Imports of Somerville, MA as well as Malabar Trading Company. In other categories, I saw our friends from Rishi and Teas Etc. represented as well. Congratulations!

Yogic is offering samples of this award-winning tea for $1 on their website.

You can find information about the winners in all the categories here. I can see I have many more companies to check out soon!

I saw that my Original Masala Chai review was published in Feb. 2008. Just remember that I told you about how great Yogic is first. ;)