My little green tea cookies took home the Golden Scoop Award for Best Bakery Recipe! The award ceremony was held on June 18, 2007 at the French Culinary Institute. The award for Best Bakery Recipe was up first, and my fellow nominees included:
Caramelized Banana Bread Pudding
Sara Molinaro, Executive Baker and Jim Lahey, Owner
Sullivan Street Bakery
The […]

I just got back from the World Tea Expo and have many updates to give on the store, but I have to take a moment to spread the word about a new Treats Truck I learned about. Owner and baker Kim Iwa has a big, grey, “mobile bakery” truck that she will be driving around […]

My little sister is getting married! I’m so happy for her and think it is going to be so much fun to put together a wedding. I live in New York and she lives in Los Angeles, so planning will be a challenge, but luckily we have the internet. I started looking for bridesmaid dresses […]

We just delivered Tea Sweets and Botanical Brownies to the Amish Market on 45th Street. I will be there today giving out free samples from 12pm to 2pm. If you’re in the neighborhood stop by and say hello.
Also, if you’re looking for a Mother’s Day gift, Tea Sweets are 20% off through this Sunday, […]

The lease is signed and the plans are being filed for Amai’s first retail location! Our store will be located on 3rd avenue between 16th and 17th street - just east of Union Square in the Gramercy area of Manhattan. When I found the space and realized it could be ours, it was one of […]

Every spring I eat one Cadbury Creme Egg, and this year, I had it fried. During Brooklyn Restaurant Week Andrew and I went to the Chipshop in Park Slope, where they offered a three course meal for $10.55. Choices for each course varied, but most of it was fried. One option was a fried macaroni […]

I love the name “Amai”. It’s short, sweet and looks nice in print. Saying it to customers is another story, and I often get things addressed to something similar, but never quite right. I’ve collected a few of my favorite misspellings, and I thought I’d share them with you:

Armani (thanks, I wish)
Amai Tea & Baked […]

For Valentine’s Day Amai will be offering a Luscious Lychee Gift Box which includes Lychee Botanical Brownies and loose leaf Lychee Tea. With bright red skin and small heart shapes, lychees are known as the fruit of romance and love. I like to think of them like a secret weapon in our brownies, boosting the […]

Today is the first time in over a year that it feels like a Saturday. Of course I still worked - I delivered an order, reviewed the finances and talked to Andrew about Amai’s new business cards, but it was different. I felt a sense of calm and was actually able to relax and enjoy […]

Happy new year everyone! I was happy to ring in 2007 with my first ever nomination for a Food Blog Award. Thank you to everyone who nominated us, although I must admit I was surprised by the category. Lovescool is up for Best Chef Food Blog, but I hardly consider myself a chef. Yes, I […]