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The tea party is over: Starbucks to close all Teavana locations – Today.com

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Looks like Americans aren't quite willing to trade in their mocha Frappuccinos for matcha lattes just yet.

Starbucks announced Thursday that it will be shuttering all locations of Teavana, a tea-centric shop that currently boasts 379 locations throughout the country. The move will affect approximately 3,300 employees.

When Starbucks acquired Teavana in 2012, it seemed like a perfect marriage for the king of coffee chains to apply their successful model to the already successful Teavana brand. But it was an experiment that didnt work. Across the country, food traffic many malls and food courts (where most Teavana locations are found) has been steadily declining. With the change, Starbucks is deciding to put their focus back to their original brand pricey coffee beverages.

This is not new for Starbucks, theyve also bought, but then shuttered, bakery chain La Boulange.

But the move to shutter Teavana doesn't mean Starbucks is abandoning tea entirely. The coffee chain will continue to offer a wide variety of hot tea options at most locations, as well as iced green, black and other flavored, blended tea beverages, such as Shaken Berry Sangria tea or the new Shaken Iced Pina Colada Tea Infusion, a creamy and tropical beverage crafted with Teavana black tea, pineapple fruit and botanical blend, and coconut milk.

"Innovation is key, and we continue to innovate around tea, just this month introducing Teavana Infusions, a flavor platform made from real fruits and botanicals that strengthens our lineup of healthy, less indulgent, premium cold beverages," CEO Kevin Johnson said during the company's Q3 earnings call Thursday, reiterating the company's commitment to offer non-coffee beverages.

"We have big plans for tea in Starbucks retail and CPG (consumer packaged goods) globally."

So, maybe its not that were not so into tea, it's just that we don't need a special spot for it? Were all for the one-stop shop for all our beverage needs.

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The tea party is over: Starbucks to close all Teavana locations - Today.com

Mark this date: Donald Trump is now a lame-duck president – Fresno Bee (blog)


Fresno Bee (blog)
Mark this date: Donald Trump is now a lame-duck president
Fresno Bee (blog)
Remember July 28, 2017. It's the day Donald Trump became a lame duck president. More significantly, the day the tea party revolution ended and Washington began the return to regular order. The coup de grace came at 1:30 a.m. on the Senate floor as ...
Party in peril? Republicans reel after Obamacare failureThe News Tribune
Mr. McCain Goes to WashingtonNational Review
Why American Democracy Is Broken, and How to Fix ItNew Republic
The Intercept -The Manila Times
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Mark this date: Donald Trump is now a lame-duck president - Fresno Bee (blog)

The Local Tea Party

Humans of 2016, I cannot let go of you just like that this year, yet. I HAVE to talk to you about the single most important life skill that all of you must possess no matter where in the world you go and whatever in life you end up doing - The art of cleaning your toilet.

Especially unmarried boys, I know you are very busy wondering ki what the hell more you should do to get that girl in your life because you have tried everything that any human being can do and still the girl is not impressed. What to do yaar? They are like that only.

And especially unmarried ladies who know everything that the boy is doing to impress them and yet are feeling shy and not telling him means what to do again? Life is tough only. But its ok, this kind of small things will eventually sort themselves out. But what you really have to put in effort for is learning how to clean your toilet. Boss Im telling you, this will save your life many times and you will thank me later.

It will all happen in a flash. One moment you are thinking ki oh boss thank god, today is Sunday, means I dont have to move my bottoms even one millimeter haiya jolly and then next second your spouse will say those dreadful words - Today we are cleaning the toilet.

I have to tell you upfront that there are few things in life that have a better warning mechanism than this. Tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, parents arriving when you are about to watch adult-only movies etc., for e.g. When these magic words are uttered in the house means there is no going back. You can try to wriggle out of it and all by saying 'Not today I am busy but you have to give satisfactory answer to the next question 'Doing what? Having failed to come up with a suitable 2-mark answer, you have to get going immediately.

Now, if you are having a lucky or a lazy background means all your life such kind of things like cleaning your toilet will be outsourced to a third party or insourced to a parent party because in your family when nobody trusts your non-core competency (eating, drinking, sleeping) itself then how will they trust you with core competency jobs like keeping the house clean etc? So now, you only have to get your hands dirty (no, stop thinking puns.)

So now I am going to guide you step-by-step on how to clean your toilet and thereby earn good name in the household.

First of all, you have to pour water all over the place. It is ok even if you pour water in the toilet. Avoid putting water on the walls because now you are being adhigaprasangi and nobody asked you to clean the walls.

The health-faucet (HF) is your friend. Make it your best friend. I know we all have love-hate relationship with health faucet, depending on the amount of psi it delivers on your back entrance at the most unexpected moment, but trust me, if you use it properly, it will make your life a lot easy. Use the HF to generously spray water all over the place. (Caution: This can get too much fun and distract you from your mission.)

So now you have have properly prepped the place. Excellent. Take a break. (But make sure nobody sees you taking the break.)

Now proceed to clear the entire area from having any obstructions, like bucket, mug, washing machine hose (those darn things are a menace) etc. Wait, this should have been done first, but its ok, just throw them out or place them on your head or something and keep the floor clear.

Next is the important part. You have to pick up a bottle of Harpic. Yes, that very same liquid they sell on TV when you are eating dinner and want to watch something decent. Take that bottle. Yes, you will be tempted to spend the next two hours admiring the ingenuity of the design of the bottle, but dont. Time is of the essence. You are competing against a pro here.

Remove the bottle cap and stick the nozzle of the bottle under the secret compartment in the WC. Secret compartment = where the water comes from.

Hold the bottle firmly in the middle section (bottles middle section), fill up your lungs to capacity, and squeeze the bottle firmly. Now depending on its mood (and the amount of liquid left inside) the bottle will dispense either a very-generous quantity (i.e. you will have a obese blue monster splattered on your WC) or just bubbled blue air. Eitherway something will come out of the bottle.

Next is the tricky part. You have to keep squeezing bottle and draw a circle around the WC with circumference equal to D (D is the inner-dia of the WC). This sounds more easy than it actually is. Heres what will happen. The Harpic bottle will suddenly make friends with the WC and refuse to move an inch. They dont meet often in your toilet and so they will want to spend some time together. Precisely at this moment, you will spot your spouse with her palm firmly planted on their forehead in disappointment and convince you to vacate the premises immediately. But dont. You are too far in this now to give up. You HAVE to stick to your guns and see this through. If the bottle gets stuck, just trace its path backwards and then go forward again. That will do the trick.

Question: How will you know if you have done the job right? Answer: You will now see many thin runny blue monsters racing towards the water in the WC and disappear into the abyss.

Next, take the cleaning brush. Pause. Ask yourself if this is the right brush. If your answer is yes, then you are wrong. Ask the spouse if that is the right brush. They will confirm your wrongness and tell you that this is a different brush to clean the wash basin. Put that brush down and pick up right brush.

Grip the brush tightly and attack. Go all out brushing all over the place. Under the secret compartment, under the toilet seat, inside the water, into the abyss (yuck, I know, but there is no time for sentiment right now), brush until you think you have done justice to all the abuse you have put this WC through.

Pause.

Think about your life choices. Realize that you have been a failure in everything you do. Bring out all the negativity in you and lay it out on top of the blue mess inside the WC. Contemplate for a moment. Look deep into the abyss of the WC that your life has become. Ok enough. Snap out to reality.

Hold your breath and pull down the flush. Watch it all get washed away and smile at your masterpiece. A spic and span WC. White and beautiful, returned to its original glory. Ready to be used and abused all over again.

Until the spouse comes and inspects it. And requests you to please not try this again and asks you to step out and says from next time, she will do it herself instead of letting you do such a shoddy job.

Back away from the area very carefully, slowly and (most important) silently. Go back to contemplating your choices and think about how you can have a better 2017.

May your new year be as sparkling and beautiful as a newly cleaned toilet.

Have a laughter filled 2017!

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The Local Tea Party

EXCLUSIVE — As Tea Party Patriots PAC Backs Mo Brooks in … – Breitbart News

In light of what has happened in the Senate in the last week with ObamaCare repeal stalling or failing, its critically important that we elect more people who are going to go to Senate and keep their promises and champion the values that got them elected in the first place, Jenny Beth Martin, Chair of the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, told Breitbart News.

Brooks is running for the former senate seat of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a special election in December. Then-Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Sen. Luther Strange to the seat in February, but Bentley resigned in April and was replaced by Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey who called a special election for the seat.

Brooks will face at least four other GOP candidates in the August 15 primary, including Strange, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, State Rep. Ed Henry, and the Christian Coalitions Randy Brinson.

But Martin said her organization was impressed with past work they had done with Brooks, including his work to stop the Gang of Eight immigration bill.

We had worked in 2013 stopping Gang of Eight, thats when I got to know him. He helped us in that effort and he has proven over the years as we at Tea Party Patriots got to know him that he is a man of his word, he keeps his promises, and when he thinks it is necessary to vote differently, he is honest to us as to why, she said.

Calling the endorsement a very easy decision, she noted that while there are a number of Republican candidates running to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions former Senate seat, the poll of supporters in Alabama resulted in a majority not just a plurality for Brooks.

Martin praised Brooks as a fighter for our values: personal freedom, economic freedom, and a debt free future. She added that the group is placing a particular focus in the race on ObamaCare repeal as well securing the southern border.

The endorsement of the nations largest Tea Party group will prove useful to Brooks, who has had to fend off attacks from sitting Sen. Luther Strange that Brooks is a latecomer to supporting Trump, having backed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the primaries during which he attacked then-candidate Trump.

But Martin said that the Republican failure this week to repeal and replace ObamaCare highlights the importance of the race, as it gives voters a chance to send a much-needed principled conservative to Congress.

We are making this endorsement as Congressman Brooks has stood for freedom, hes stood with the House Freedom Caucus, and last nights vote in the Senate showed us we need more people willing to fight, she said. The whole process shows we need more people to cast a vote, but also to champion what we want to accomplish and thats what Mo Brooks would do.

The Alabama Republican Party primary will take place on August 15, with the special election taking place on December 12.

Martin said the organization will be having people from around the country call voters in the state to tell voters in the state about Brooks, and also to get out the vote. She said they are also organizing a volunteer-based door-to-door effort in the run up to the primary.

Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY

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EXCLUSIVE -- As Tea Party Patriots PAC Backs Mo Brooks in ... - Breitbart News

Antiques & Collectibles: Have an old-fashioned tea party – Post-Bulletin

I have been collecting teacups for some 40 years now, and I must have a few hundred of them. To me, it doesn't matter what kind of teacups you like or who the manufacturer is, just as long as you like it.

Here are some tips on teacups where to find them, what kinds are popular, and how to care for them.

When I do a workshop on teacups, the first question all want to know: Is it porcelain or china? In 1707, German manufacturers started using feldspar instead of glass in a process that continues today to make porcelain. Also in today's porcelain, silica is added to the raw ingredients. The raw materials are finely ground, cleaned, formed in a mold and then fired, then glazed and fired again, which gives it that refined look. The design is often very detailed.

You will find bone china is made similar to porcelain and, yes, you will find fine ground fragments of cow bone ash added to the clay. And yes, you can tell between bone china and fine china. Bone has a warm color, while fine china will be brighter and porcelain is much harder than either. More information: http://www.narumi.co.jp/en/tableware/how_bone_china_is_produced.html.

There are many types of teacups. The cups I tend to use for the traditional afternoon tea are the footed cup or the flat teacup. The footed cup usually has an indented saucer and can be used for coffee as well. Flat cups have a matching saucer, but are flat on the bottom instead of shaped. These can also be used for coffee.

What I really love and have quite a few of are the Demitasse cups and saucers that are traditionally used for espresso or Turkish coffee. But nobody says you can't use a coffee mug for tea, especially for breakfast tea. I even have for everyday use whimsical designs such as lady bugs and dots.

You know I always love colorful books, so check out my current resource: "Collectible Cups & Saucers: Identification & Values, Book 3," by Jim & Susan Harran, and "Teacup Collection: Paintings of Porcelatin Treasures," by Molly Hatch & Kathleen Morris.

Thrift shops are always first on my list, especially those operated by nonprofit charities such as Salvation Army or Goodwill. I also check out flea markets, garage and estate sales, online and country auctions as well as antique shops.

There are also websites that have new and used tea cups for sale that may be of interest to you. Decide before you get started collecting in a big way just how much money you want to spend. Sometimes it's just the thrill of the hunt to find a teacup for a small amount of money than it is to pay $50 for one teacup.

Deb Schreck, of Lakeside Antique, Lake City, said, "Tea cups are still selling. A cup and saucer set starts at $6 for the demitasse size and goes up to $15 for full-size English bone china sets. Some patterns by Parragon and Royal Albert run higher, and sets by Shelley can run as high as $50 each. No chintz right now. Our 'English Tea and Cakes' cookbook will help anyone who wants to host a tea party."

Joan Thilges, owner of the New Generations of Harmony Antique Mall, said, "I am no teacup expert so I asked our resident authority on teacup collecting, Betsy Hillesland-Busch. I would say that English teacups decorated with floral designs are far and away the most popular at New Generations of Harmony. There is still a large collector base for cups and saucers, as well as people who give them for gifts. Also collected are Depression glass cups and saucers, which can be difficult to find, depending on color and pattern. We do have a very nice array of them throughout our mall. Prices are $12 and up."

Never stack your cups, but if you need to, place a soft cloth between the cups.

China pieces should never be washed in the dishwasher, especially those vintage pieces. Newer pieces now are labeled if they are dishwasher safe, but I still don't do it. I handwash with a gentle dish soap and dry with a soft towel.

Be sure to keep your teacups out of direct sunlight when displaying and do try and hand-wash them twice a year if possible. It's fun to rotate them at the same time.

Never put teacups in the microwave, especially those with a metallic trim.

Sandy Erdman is a Winona freelance writer, dealer, speaker and workshop appraiser. If you have an antique shop, hobby collecting anything or restoring antiques or collectibles and want to share within this column, contact Sandy at life@postbulletin.com.

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Antiques & Collectibles: Have an old-fashioned tea party - Post-Bulletin