Blog

Visiting Boise, Idaho

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 01:15:00 -0400

For all of you fans of Sipping Streams in Boise, Idaho, we are coming to find you!

...that may not be exactly what we are doing... but we still hope to find you!

My husband and I were both graduates of Boise State and that is where I began my tea journey. Before we head to the World Tea Expo, we are stopping in Boise to see if there are any local business that would be interested in carrying or serving our teas.

If so, we want to hear from you! Write us and tell us where we should have it sold or served. And MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

Yes, that's right, we need your support so that we can have our teas in Boise. Go to your favorite gift shop or coffee shop or restaurant and let them know about us. Tell them about us and how you wished they carried our teas. We want to be in Boise and so do you :)

So Boisians Make Your Voice Heard! If you need business cards to hand out, write us and we will send them to you. Remember, you can always tell them about our website.

We hope to see Sipping Streams fans out there soon!

~Jenny and Steven Downer

Leaving for the World Tea Expo 2009

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:06:00 -0400

This will be my second time going to the World Tea Expo and Steven's first time going. It will be good for him because he's getting certified by STI and will finally be receiving a well rounded tea education. Not that he doesn't know about tea, but he will be getting an official, well rounded education so that he will be able to teach more about tea.

Hopefully, we will be meeting more tea farm owners so that we can buy direct and get some leads on some yerba maté. But this year, the expo only has one maté seminar and Steven is the maté specialist for Sipping Streams. Maybe Steven will teach a seminar on maté at the World Tea Expo in the future.

Come and visit the tea house after May 8th and see what new goodies we bring back!

And remember to get your tea smoothies, made with all natural, real fruit and real tea from our loose leaf teas! No added sugars, completely natural! Get one today because it's getting hot outside!:cool:

~Jenny

Tea Gets The Job Done

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:10:00 -0500

Tea Interrogation

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 01:50:00 -0500

The Tea Council of the USA offers a Calm-A-Sutra video contest where students can win a scholarship for the best two minute video explaining the health benefits of tea. This is this year?s winner.

Only The Best Tea Leaves

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 14:19:00 -0500

Kamakuri Tea Serving Robot - Gakken

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:17:00 -0500

From the Edo Period of Japanese history, the Kamakuri Ningyo mechanical dolls are famous for being ahead of their time. Now you can have a unique version of your own with the Kamakuri Tea Serving Robot DIY kit from Gakken.

Including all the pieces you need plus English instructions, the Tea Serving Robot is completely automated to carry your tea when placed on the tray, and then serve with a bow. It?s the original robotic doll, direct from Japan.

Where to buy: http://www.japantrendshop.com?a_aid=12f3bb84

Tea Making Robot

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:39:09 -0500

Japan Mixes Robotics With Tea Time

By YURI KAGEYAMA

Japan is pretty serious about robotics. If the droids are going to fit in, they probably need to learn the Japanese custom of serving tea.

Fortunately, researchers at the University of Tokyo are exploring just that. In a demonstration this week, a humanoid with camera eyes made by Kawada Industries Inc. poured tea from a bottle into a cup.

Then another robot on wheels delivered the cup of tea in an experimental room that has sensors embedded in the floor and sofa as well as cameras on the ceiling, to simulate life with robot technology.

"A human being may be faster, but you'd have to say `Thank you,'" said University of Tokyo professor Tomomasa Sato. "That's the best part about a robot. You don't have to feel bad about asking it to do things."

Sato believes Japan, a rapidly aging society where more than a fifth of the population is 65 or older, will lead the world in designing robots to care for the elderly, sick and bedridden.

Already, monitoring technologies, such as sensors that automatically turn on lights when people enter a room, are becoming widespread in Japan. The walking, child-size Asimo from Honda Motor Co. greets people at showrooms. NEC Corp. has developed a smaller companion robot-on-wheels called Papero. A seal robot available since 2004 can entertain the elderly and others in need of fuzzy companionship.

Sato says his experimental room is raising awareness about privacy questions that may arise when electronic devices monitor a person's movements down to the smallest detail. On the bright side, the tea-pouring humanoid has been programmed to do the dishes.

� 2007 The Associated Press
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022801302_pf.html

Tea Theremin

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:58:51 -0500

My husband is a big music nerd and wanted to share this. Here are the instructions to make your own:

Instructions for turning a mug of tea into a Theremin:

1 Prepare some tea
2 Expose the L/R leads on an 1/8" cable
3 Immerse leads in tea
4 Plug cable into audio input
5 Start up max/pd/processing/etc. and average every 735 samples (882 if you're in Europe/running on 50Hz)
6 Scale value and drive oscillator

(The tea should not be neglected, be sure to drink it once you're done making noise.)