Iced Tea Time!

Here in NYC it seems like winter has been hanging on as long as it possibly can, but alas, spring is here and warmer weather will be right around the corner. With the temperatures starting to heat up, it's time to put down our hot tea and start making some iced teas.

Last summer we practically could not make enough of our Blueberry Fruit Blend when we were selling our iced teas in Brooklyn. This herbal tea put on ice is like sipping blueberry pie through a straw. People were constantly amazed at the fact that 1. This is tea, and 2. It's not loaded with a ton of calories. The secret to amazing iced tea is to start at the beginning with amazing tea! 

In the next few weeks I will be putting up a post with a how-to on brewing the perfect iced tea. Until then, be sure to check out our Etsy, and have a look at some of our summer tea selections!

How to Make a Chai Latte

Nothing is more comforting or delicious than a warm, spiced Chai Latte during these cold winter months. 

Chai is a mixture of black tea and spices such as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, & ginger. While there are variations to this recipe, they all have a rich, spiced flavor and go great with steamed milk.

Our Delicious Chai Blend found at our ETSY shop.

To make a proper Chai Latte, you need to have a milk steamer. They are usually attached to at home espresso machines, or you can purchase stove top varieties. If you don't have a steamer, and don't want to shell over the money to buy one, you can make a stove top version that will taste just as delicious. 


The first step to a great Chai Latte is great tea. I, of course recommend our own Carriage House Social Club blend Chai. It is organic, fair-trade and contains a beautiful blend of black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and pepper. You can purchase this chai blend in our ETSY shop here. 


If you are making a Chai Latte using a milk steamer the first step is to brew your tea. For one cup of tea use 2 tsp. of loose leaf tea (double the amount usually needed for brewing) You need to make it stronger since we are adding milk. Steep your loose leaf chai tea blend for 3-5 minutes. Strain or remove tea ball or bag. Next you will steam 1/2 cup milk in a stainless steel milk frother/steamer cup until the temperature reaches about 160 degrees/F. (milk frothing is a skill all it's own, there are many great tutorials out there for more in depth instructions)

After milk is properly steamed, pour over your already brewed tea and sweeten to taste! 

For those of you who do not have a milk steamer, we are going to prepare the tea in the same manner as described above and instead of using a milk steamer we are simply going to heat up our milk on the stove top (or microwave if you prefer) Pour over the brewed tea and sweeten with sugar to honey to taste! 

Green Tea Beauty

We all know that green tea has amazing health benefits. The antioxidant properties of green tea help fight off free radicals, lower our risk of heart disease and cancer and can also aid in weight loss. These benefits don't end at drinking green tea.

Using green tea in your beauty routine can be a great natural way to look and feel your best. With just a few simple easy to find ingredients, you can be on your way to healthy, beautiful skin. 

Green Tea Eye De-Puffer

This is so simple and requires no other ingredients than green tea and water! Simply steep 2 tea bags each with about 1 tsp. of organic loose leaf green tea for about 1 minute in hot (not boiling) water. Remove the tea bags, and place them in the fridge to cool. (Drink the green tea that you just made while you wait for the bags to chill!) After the bags are chilled simply place over each eye for 15 minutes and relax. The green tea will help reduce puffiness and redness and the antioxidants in the tea will help fight free radical damage around the eye area, preventing wrinkles, skin dullness and sagging. 

Matcha Green Tea Face Mask

This Matcha face mask is full of antioxidants that will prevent the free radical and UV damage that causes skin aging. Matcha will also help reduce swelling, redness and has antimicrobial properties that will help with acne prone skin. 

What you will need:

1 tsp. Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder 

try our Matcha here

1/2 tsp. Mineral Water

1/2 tsp. Honey (for hydration)

Mix all the ingredients together in a shallow dish using a whisk to get all the lumps out. It should become a paste consistency. If it seems too dry or too wet, add water or more Matcha accordingly. 

*Note if you have very oily skin and want to use this to treat acne, skip the honey and just use Matcha and water. 

Use your finger tips to spread the paste over your face, avoiding the immediate eye area. Leave on for about 15-20 minutes and rinse with warm water. Use a few times a week for beautiful skin. 

Green Tea Toner

This is another great recipe for acne prone skin. Use morning and night to get rid of excess makeup, dirt and oil that your face wash may have missed. The antioxidants will help fight free radical damage, and the lemon juice will help brighten the skin and repair sun damage.

What you will need:

1 cup organic brewed and cooled green tea

juice of 1 lemon

Add the lemon juice to the cup of green tea that has been brewed hot and cooled to room temperature. Put the mixture in a small spray bottle or jar and apply it to the face with a cotton round morning and night.

Be sure to store the mixture in the fridge and replace every few days. 

I hope these recipes have given you some great new ideas on how to incorporate green tea into your daily beauty routine!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Carriage House Social Club's blog! We are a boutique tea company that specializes in hand crafted artisan blends. We strive to use only organic teas and tisanes and find fair trade options whenever possible. 
We have created this blog as a way to reach out to our customers as well as those who have never had a sip of real loose leaf tea in their lives. We hope this blog inspires our readers to think of tea in a whole new way. In the coming posts, we will share recipes, new products, hints and tips and as much of our knowledge about tea as we can. 
If you are interested in checking out any of our current products take a look at our ETSY shop on the right hand of this page. Stay tuned for exciting new content and thank you for reading!

- Adriana & Eric 
Co-Owners 
Carriage House Social Club