Yes, it's that time of month again!  Time for another Open Mic!  This Saturday, 9 pm to midnight, come with your guitar, your voice, your funny stories.  Sign up online, or just show up a bit early to make arrangements.  Note that there's an artist's reception (see below) a bit before this time slot, so depending on how the crowd lingers, we may start open mic a bit late.

This is a customer-requested event, and we're happy to host it.  We like performing and visual arts of all kinds, and open mic is a great way to hone your skills in front of a small, friendly (we hope!) audience.

Other Upcoming Events

• Don't forget the artist's reception Saturday, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, for Nghia Cao & Mimi Vo.  This is a special, one week only event, and all the art - a special exhibition of photos from Halong Bay, Vietnam - will be taken down on Sunday; come in quick to support these adventurous, young artists.  A portion of all proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders.
• Sunday, October 7, we close a bit early, at 6 pm, for a private birthday party.  But, you may want to swing by anyway, to wish local teacher/statesman Jim Henley a happy birthday: http://houstonredwhiteandblue.net/node/10 .
• Mark your calendar for another exciting live music event, Saturday evening, October 27.  We are excited to have a young, upcoming original musician from California come perform at our little tea house.  More details coming soon!

New Teas

Tisane is our term for drinks more commonly known as "herbal teas".   The camillia sinensis, i.e., true tea, leaf is the most famous of hot water infusions, but mankind has learned over the centuries that lots of plant material, from petal to leaf, bark and even root make for some mighty tasty, and healthy, drinks when steeped in hot water.  Rumor has it that tea was first discovered by cave men shortly after they invented fire -- and then boiling water -- when a stray leaf accidentally floated into their campfire kettle of water.  Oh wait, it was some Chinese emperor, not a cave man, that laid claim to that accidental invention ::grin::

Anyway, different herbs and flowers are known for their medicinal powers.  Now that the winter season is starting to creep up on us, we're starting to get more customers coming in, starting their inquiry with "what tea is good for ____ ?", to address whatever ails them.  Of course, we're not doctors or pharmacists, but Connie grins every time she gets such questions, as they remind her of the Chinese apothecaries around her home when she was a kid.  In fact, she recently found a book on the history of Chinese Apothecary Advertising Art -- talk about a specialty! -- it's fun reading, so check it out on our sofa table.

So, what's our latest in healthful tisanes?  Let's see, this just in: organic dried persimmon.  Popular in Asia, persimmon tea is a traditional digestif in Korea, and is rich in vitamin C.  National name brand companies sell persimmon tea too, but don't be fooled: they use artificial and natural flavorings instead of steeping in the real thing!

Also new: American mugicha!  Barley tea is popular in Japan and Korea, and is quite refreshing when cold (and a nice coffee substitute when hot, for all you coffee crossover people).  Japanese believe barley helps cleanse your blood of impurities, and recent studies have noted it's stress-reducing properties.  We've carried mugicha for quite a while, but recently we visited with this American farm that harvests barley and processes it for mugicha -- most of it is sold overseas!  Well, we asked if they could ship some our way, and they complied.  We're proud to carry this made-in-America product!!