As a locally-owned business ourselves, we here at Discover Teas are always looking out for ways to give back to our community and our fellow local entrepreneurs and small businesses. We know from experience that it can be hard to stand out and set yourself apart from the crowd!

Fortunately, through the years we have been able to help our community businesses by partnering with them to create custom, signature tea blends that reflect their individual brands. Some incorporate their signature blend into their marketing, provide it to their customers and clients, use it for gifting and showing appreciation, or even add it to their current product lines to create additional income. We have worked with restaurants, massage therapists, local charities, yoga studios, martial arts schools, skincare salons, and even local conventions—the list goes on and on! We love helping local businesses create teas that showcases their uniqueness to their clients and customers, whatever the industry.

Interested in checking them out? Here are just a few of our local partners who carry our teas, many of whom also have custom Discover Teas blends to represent their businesses!

Pho 83 (pho83va.com):

Pho 83 is an independent Vietnamese restaurant in Newport News, VA, serving fresh, authentic Vietnamese food for dine-in or take-out. Pho 83 offers our delicious Tea 83 oolong and green tea blend with ginger and lime, as well as our Jasmine Green Tea with Flowers.

Blooms that Brighten (bloomsthatbrighten.org)

Blooms that Brighten focuses on residents of continuing care communities and Hospice House. Volunteers visit the communities and engage the residents in flower arranging sessions that foster emotional and physical benefits. The Blooms that Brighten signature blend is like sipping on a bouquet in a cup while walking through an English Garden.

Sanctuary of Hampton Roads (sanctuaryofhr.com):

Jeannie Smith of Sanctuary of Hampton Roads is a medical massage therapist and bodywork expert with certifications and experience in multiple body-mind healing modalities. Try her custom Lights Out relaxing and renewing caffeine-free floral blend.

Stephanie's Skin Solutions (stephaniesskinsolutions.com):

Stephanie's Skin Solutions offers a robust menu of therapeutic skin services, anti-aging treatments and spa services in a calm and relaxing space. Stephanie also offers a custom Discover Teas blend of oolong and mate that helps with skin cleansing and rejuvenation.

Zenya (zenyayoga.com):

Zenya's studio inspires renewal and rejuvenation through unique mind body classes and spa services. They offer classes suited for all interests and all levels of fitness to move your body, calm your mind and ignite your spirit—and a custom fruity, creamy Zenya blend.

Premier Rapport (premierrapport.com):

Shelley Smith of Premier Rapport is a business consultant who helps businesses become more productive through workshops, executive coaching, speaking engagements, Predictive Index leveraging, and more. Her blend, Brilliance, is an inspiring fruity, minty mate blend.

NekoCon (nekocon.com):

NekoCon is Virginia's oldest and longest-running animé convention. An annual celebration of animé and Japanese culture, NekoCon expands horizons with new and innovative programming. Each of their four kitty mascots has their own custom Discover Teas blend!

(Re)Generation Who (regenerationwho.com):

(Re)Generation Who is a 3-day Doctor Who Fan Convention in Hunt Valley, MD that believes in providing positive things for families to do together. Their custom Doctor Who-long blend is featured at their "Tea with The Doctor" interactive guest meeting opportunity and panel.

Shaolin Kung Fu Centers – Chesapeake (chesapeakekungfu.com):

Shaolin Kung Fu Centers teaches traditional northern longfist kung fu. They take a modern approach to many of the teaching methods, making the art a lot easier and fun for students to learn. A selection of Discover Teas WellTeaing and House Blends is available.

Huntington House (huntingtonhouseva.com):

Hunting House, along with Thank Goodness It's Homemade, specializes in freshly prepared goodies and quality food, located in the North End Historic District of Newport News. You imagine it, they will create it. Enjoy a choice of two distinct custom blends while enjoying your meal--Huntington Era and Huntington Vintage.

For more information about our partners, or to learn more about customizing your own Discover Teas experience, e-mail us at info@discoverteas.com or come in to Discover Teas!

*Some text regarding our partners was provided by their representatives

In addition to being delicious, sparkling tea, particularly when made with all-natural loose-leaf, is can be surprisingly easy to make. You don't even need to buy a pricey home carbonation machine! It is a simple process that can be done several different ways, depending on what best fits your needs and lifestyle, and all you need is sparkling water (preferably unflavored seltzer), an air-tight steeping solution, and, of course, tea.

If you missed our Sparkling Tea Workshop, don't fret, the steps are simple:
1. Add tea to your steeping solution, such as a tea filter, DIY filter bag, or infuser. Our Urban Tea Tumblers are ideal for this, but you can use any air-tight container that your filter solution fits completely inside!
2. Add sparkling water.
3. Chill, and wait!

For small quantities, the tea should be ready to go within an hour. For larger servings, 3-4 hours is better. If the sparkling water and steeping materials aren't kept cold prior to preparation and after serving, the carbonation may dissipate more quickly—so consume with gusto! Plastic is inherently less airtight than glass, so sparkling tea stored in plastic containers may lose its carbonation faster as well.

Making your own sparkling tea is also easy, efficient, and allows you to play around to create whatever flavors you want. It's a bright, refreshing experience that lets you enjoy the fizziness of a cold drink without the sticky, parched aftertaste of soda. You can do it on your own, or make a fun family affair out of it.

If you enjoy the energy boost from caffeine, there are plenty of black, green, oolong, and white teas to choose from; if you prefer something caffeine-free, you can choose from a whole variety of caffeine-free herbal teas, whole fruit blends, rooibos and honeybush.

These are some of my favorites I highly recommend sparkling up:

• Ontario Icewine
• Watermelon Oolong
• Williamsburg Port
• Summer Mojito
• Strawberry Green
• Le Marche Spice
• Vanilla Cream
• Peach Apricot
• Piña Colada

You can also blend your own bubbly concoctions for extra fun. Why restrict yourself, when there's a whole world of sparkling tea for you to discover?