Little Woods Blog

Category: Shop News

  • Tea Brewing Basics 7/23/25

    Tea Brewing Basics 7/23/25

    Discover the Art of Tea Brewing: Join Our Tea Basics Class!

    Are you ready to dive into the world of tea and elevate your brewing skills? Join us for our Tea Brewing Basics Class, where you’ll learn the essentials of brewing tea at home, how to make Yerba Maté traditionally, and enjoy a guided tasting of four delightful teas!

    Tea Brewing Basics with Beth Wilbur

    Join our Tea Bar Manager, Beth Wilbur, for a fun and flavorful introduction to the world of tea brewing. Here’s what to expect during this 30-minute class:

    1. Learn & Taste

    Explore fundamental methods of brewing tea—from traditional steeping to cozy homestyle techniques. You’ll discover approachable ways to make tea part of your daily rhythm. As you learn, you’ll also taste newest yerba maté blend.

    2. Yerba Maté Demo

    Curious about yerba maté? Enjoy a relaxed demo where Beth will walk you through its preparation and flavor when brewed traditionally vs western style.

    3. Details:

    • Date & Time: Wednesday, July 23 | 1:00pm – 1:30pm
    • Duration: 30 minutes
    • Cost: $10 per person
    • Spots Available: Only 8 spots, so be sure to reserve your spot soon!

    How to Sign Up:
    To secure your place in this intimate and informative class, sign up online to reserve your spot today!

    Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your tea brewing skills and enjoy a fun, interactive experience. We can’t wait to see you there!

    RSVP Today

  • Tea Brewing Basics 5/21/25

    Tea Brewing Basics 5/21/25

    Discover the Art of Tea Brewing: Join Our Tea Basics Class!

    Are you ready to dive into the world of tea and elevate your brewing skills? Join us for our Tea Brewing Basics Class, where you’ll learn the essentials of brewing tea at home, how to make Matcha using a whisk and bowl, and enjoy a guided tasting of four delightful teas!

    Hosted by Tea Bar Manager Beth Wilbur, here’s what to expect:

    1. Learn & Taste:
    Explore fundamental methods of brewing tea. From traditional steeping to lazy homestyle, we’ll cover techniques that will help you incorporate brewing tea at home into your daily routine with ease. You’ll also taste Japanese loose leaf tea so you can see and taste how it’s different from matcha!

    2. Matcha Demo:
    Curious about matcha? Join us for a relaxed demo where we’ll explore its unique flavor and simple preparation. Whether you’re new to matcha or just want to learn more, this is a great opportunity to discover what makes it so special.

    3. Details:

    • Date & Time: Wednesday, May 21 | 1:00pm – 1:30pm
    • Duration: 30 minutes
    • Cost: $10 per person
    • Spots Available: Only 8 spots, so be sure to reserve your spot soon!

    How to Sign Up:
    To secure your place in this intimate and informative class, sign up online to reserve your spot today!

    Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your tea brewing skills and enjoy a fun, interactive experience. We can’t wait to see you there!

    RSVP Today

  • Tea Brewing Basics 4/23/25

    Tea Brewing Basics 4/23/25

    Discover the Art of Tea Brewing: Join Our Tea Basics Class!

    Are you ready to dive into the world of tea and elevate your brewing skills? Join us for our Tea Brewing Basics Class, where you’ll learn the essentials of brewing tea at home, how to make Matcha using a whisk and bowl, and enjoy a guided tasting of four delightful teas!

    Hosted by Tea Bar Manager Beth Wilbur, here’s what to expect:

    1. Learn & Taste:
    Explore four fundamental methods of brewing tea. From traditional steeping to lazy homestyle, we’ll cover techniques that will help you incorporate brewing tea at home into your daily routine with ease. You’ll also taste four different teas, each showcasing a unique flavor profiles from our shop.

    2. Matcha Demo:
    Curious about matcha? Join us for a relaxed demo where we’ll explore its unique flavor and simple preparation. Whether you’re new to matcha or just want to learn more, this is a great opportunity to discover what makes it so special.

    3. Details:

    • Date & Time: Wednesday, April 23 | 1:00pm – 1:30pm
    • Duration: 30 minutes
    • Cost: $10 per person
    • Spots Available: Only 8 spots, so be sure to reserve your spot soon!

    How to Sign Up:
    To secure your place in this intimate and informative class, sign up using our secure online registration page.

    Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your tea brewing skills and enjoy a fun, interactive experience. We can’t wait to see you there!

    RSVP Today

  • Tea Brewing Basics 3/12

    Tea Brewing Basics 3/12

    Discover the Art of Tea Brewing: Join Our Tea Basics Class!

    Are you ready to dive into the world of tea and elevate your brewing skills? Join us for our Tea Brewing Basics Class, where you’ll learn the essentials of brewing tea at home, how to use a Gaiwan for full leaf teas, and enjoy a guided tasting of four delightful teas!

    Hosted by Tea Bar Manager Beth Wilbur, here’s what to expect:

    1. Learn & Taste:
    Explore four fundamental methods of brewing tea. From traditional steeping to lazy homestyle, we’ll cover techniques that will help you incorporate brewing tea at home into your daily routine with ease. You’ll also taste four different teas, each showcasing a unique flavor profiles from our shop.

    2. Gaiwan Demo:
    Ever wondered what all those little lidded cups on our shelves are? Those are Gaiwans – a lovely traditional way to brew full leaf teas like greens and oolongs. Learn about how to use them and the teas that come alive using this method.

    3. Details:

    • Date & Time: Wednesday, March 12 | 1:00pm – 1:30pm
    • Duration: 30 minutes
    • Cost: $10 per person
    • Spots Available: Only 10 spots, so be sure to reserve your spot soon!

    How to Sign Up:
    To secure your place in this intimate and informative class, sign up using our secure online registration page.

    Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your tea brewing skills and enjoy a fun, interactive experience. We can’t wait to see you there!

    RSVP Today

  • Tea Brewing Basics 11/6

    Tea Brewing Basics 11/6

    Discover the Art of Tea Brewing: Join Our Tea Basics Class!

    Are you ready to dive into the world of tea and elevate your brewing skills? Join us for our Tea Brewing Basics Class, where you’ll learn the essentials of brewing tea at home and enjoy a guided tasting of four delightful teas!

    Hosted by Tea Bar Manager Beth Wilbur, here’s what to expect:

    1. Learn & Taste:
    Explore four fundamental methods of brewing tea. From traditional steeping to lazy homestyle, we’ll cover techniques that will help you incorporate brewing tea at home into your daily routine with ease. You’ll also taste four different teas, each showcasing a unique flavor profiles from our shop.

    2. Tea Latte Demo:
    Ever wondered how to make a creamy, delicious tea latte at home? Watch as we demonstrate how to create this popular drink using basic kitchen equipment. You’ll leave with the confidence to recreate it in your own kitchen!

    3. Details:

    • Date & Time: Wednesday, November 6 | 1:00pm – 1:30pm
    • Duration: 30 minutes
    • Cost: $10 per person
    • Spots Available: Only 10 spots, so be sure to reserve your spot soon!

    How to Sign Up:
    To secure your place in this intimate and informative class, sign up using our secure online registration page.

    Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your tea brewing skills and enjoy a fun, interactive experience. We can’t wait to see you there!

    RSVP Today

  • Tea Brewing Basics 8/21

    Just getting started in loose leaf tea? Want some new tea brewing skills? This class is made just for you. We know it can be intimidating (or feel cumbersome) when you are just getting started. Tea bar manager Beth Wilbur will guide you through our four favorite ways to brew tea at home.

    During the session, you’ll have the opportunity to sample four distinct types of tea, each offering its own unique flavor and aroma. Join us and discover the pleasure of tea brewing.

    Tea Brewing Basics

    • Thursday, August 21, 2024
    • 1:00 – 1:30ish
    • 136 Main Street, Ames, Iowa 50010
    • $10/person
    RSVP Today

    Standing room available if seating is sold out.

  • Guacamole Recipe(s) – Debuting our newest blend!

    Guacamole Recipe(s) – Debuting our newest blend!

    Simple or complex, guacamole is always good. And now, you can dash in some of our guacamole spice blend and elevate it to the irresistible status it deserves. Beware. I literally couldn’t stop eating it.

    Inspired by a friend who insisted this was a must make blend, I did a little research, spent too much time looking for a source for the elusive mexican oregano (finally found it and am happy to say we’ve added it to our catalog), a lot of taste testing (nom nom nom), and voila. A new blend was born!

    What’s in it? Well, no fillers, additives, preservatives, dyes, or etc. In fact we left the salt out too so you can determine your own saltiness to taste.

    Ingredients: garlic, onion, cumin, black pepper, cayenne, Mexican oregano

    Now, Guacamole. The whole point of the blend. Here’s how we’ve made ours, but you can add it to any guacamole recipe you like. I’m going to give you some options too. Simple and classic or complex and gourmet!

    Classic Guacamole Recipe

    Mix it all together and enjoy with tortillas.

    Keep scrolling for EVEN better guacamole.

    Gourmet Guacamole Recipe

    Now, of course classic guac is DELISH. But I really like it even more when it’s filled with some other veg. Like tomatoes, cilantro, and onions, mmmm. Yum!

    My favorite way to “dice” an avocado so it’s easy to mash up for guacamole.
    1. Split your avocado in half, cut in half, remove the pit. Now here is the trick, score it, then use a spoon to scoop it out into a bowl.

    2. Dice up the cilantro, onions, tomatoes, and toss it all in the bowl.

    3. Sprinkle the salt right over the tomatoes and onions.

    4. Squeeze the lime (and/or lemon) over it all.

    5. Use a fork to mash it all together, but not too much.

    Dip those chips and enjoy!

    Until Next Time!
    Kristin M Roach

  • Two Women in Herbalism who Inspired Little Woods

    Two Women in Herbalism who Inspired Little Woods

    March is Women’s History Month I’m taking the opportunity to celebrate two women who have deeply impacted my own herbalist path and the founding of Little Woods.

    Trilby Sedlacek

    Based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa she has spent her life fostering a community of herbalist with her apprenticeship program, classes, and open door nature at her shop. She’s a clinical herbalist and holds a masters in psychology and is one of the few herbalists in Iowa that holds the American Herbalist Guild Clinical Herbalist certification – a rigorous peer reviewed process that has to be renewed regularly though submitting case studies and showing excellence in client work, research, and herbal knowledge. Her shop is named Healing Green Angles and if you are ever driving through and catch it during opening hours, it’s a treasure. In addition to her educational efforts, she has also stood up here in Iowa and helped organize efforts in our local government to keep herbalism open and legal.

    For me, spending a year working with her helped set me on a solid foundation of making herbal medicine, integrating it in my own home, and emboldening me to start my own botanical supply company. Little Woods would not exist without her encouraging that “just go for it” attitude or helping me to see the need here in Ames for an apothecary. I discovered that while I do not want to be a clinical herbalist, I love working with the plants and want to be a supplier for those who are working with clients in this direct way. Thank you!

    Rosemary Gladstar

    I’ve never met her. Someday maybe. But it’s okay if not. She’s already given me so much through her books, interviews, classes, and advocacy. The book Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health was my first herbal recipe book and is still holding a well-used place on my bookshelf. She has a practical, straight forward approach to herbalism that I love. She melds scientific research and historical lore in that way I resonate most. The expansiveness of her life gives me hope it’s not unattainable to do all the things I dream of in my one short lifetime.

    If memory is serving me correctly it goes something like this:

    • started teaching classes and doing workshops,
    • opened an apothecary,
    • apothecary grew into Mountain Rose Herbs,
    • spun off to create Traditional Medicinal Teas – one of the first tea companies to navigate being FDA registered dietary supplements and having their nutritional facts panel, creating sage mountain retreat center,
    • created one of the first online comprehensive herbalist courses,
    • fought to UN-trademark Fire Cider (and WON!),
    • now has her sights set on Thieve Oil (another traditional formula name a company trademarked and is suing small herbal product makers over),
    • has published numerous books (I’m proud to be published by the same company, Storey Publishing), and lectured internationally.
    • That’s just off the top of my head! I know there is so much more.
    • Whew. She’s awesome!

    Who has inspired you?

    Who’s your herbal mentor, friend, favorite read? Let’s show these women some love — local unknown to historic giants. Leave a comment and link to what they are up to and where to find their work, shop, teachings, or even just their instagram profile so we can all get to know them too.

    Until next time!

    Kristin M Roach

  • Creating the Little Woods Space: New Paintings by Kristin M Roach

    Creating the Little Woods Space: New Paintings by Kristin M Roach

    Our physical store is more than a tea shop, it’s a place to explore, to inspire curiosity in plants (tea in particular), and a place of calm wonder. And it is with great pleasure that five years after opening I’ve finally added the next piece to the experience, a series of botanical paintings of threatened native plants.

    Curating the Space

    En. Specimen 01 by Kristin M Roach | ink, charcoal, gesso, raw beeswax on birch panel

    When first imagining the shop (and quite frankly feeling quite overwhelmed) one of my friends gave me the best advice — just approach it like you would any exhibit or room sized installation.

    Taking it to heart, I turned my artist eye to the shop. I stopped thinking in terms of maximizing shelf space and ROI’s, but instead how it would feel to come into the shop and the environment I was trying to create.

    When a customer told me that coming in the shop was like taking a walk in the woods at dawn… that, well. I’m tearing up just thinking about it. That’s it. Right there. That feeling. Wonder, calm, curiosity, solace.

    I’ve hosted my own work in the space before, but this particular series feels in tune with the shop so completely. I’m pleased to announce its addition to the space. Currently they are not for sale, but I do have prints of select tiles available. I can also create a similar piece for you space upon request based on a plant that speaks to your story. Just reach out via my portfolio site to arrange a commission.

    So without further ado, here is a deeper look at the works.

    En. Specimens 01 & 02

    En. Specimen 01 by Kristin M Roach | ink, charcoal, gesso, pigment, raw beeswax on birch panel

    En. is an immersive study of a single plant specimen slide. A meditation, an indulgence in a native plant that has threatened status. It’s not endangered yet, but our actions now will determine if it tips to endangered or stable. During the last decade more species of plants have faded away than in the entirety of my grandmother’s lifetime. And as new species thrive and others go extinct, what is our role going forward? For me, these paintings create a pause for us to consider their fate, our fate. 

    En. Specimen 01 by Kristin M Roach | ink, charcoal, gesso, raw beeswax on birch panel

    The specimen slides were provided by the Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL through their digital archive program. The Morton Arboretum is a 1700 acres living museum representing 4300 taxa from around the world. Their specimen vaults house plants native to the Chicago land area — where I attended university.

    Come visit the shop next time your in town to see the works in person, or visit my online portfolio to see details of this and other works. I’ll be posting a video of install + detail shots of the panels next week.

    Until next time…

    Kristin M Roach

  • Tea so Good, It’s Presidential!

    Tea so Good, It’s Presidential!

    Obama Oval meeting with King of Jordan Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

    Today is president’s day and we wanted to celebrate the favorite teas of our Presidents thoughout the history of our county.

    Disclaimer: This is made up for fun and based only loosely on guess work and a few facts. This article in no way is endorced, approved, or supported by the White House or any presdient. I have met Obama once, he came and talked to my class at my community college when I was 17 year’s old when he was running for Senate in Illinois. I’ve never had the chance to actually offer him tea. But if I do…

    It all started with the question of, if Obama ever came to Ames and ordered a tea from Little Woods, what would it be? With a little digging, the recommendation was obvious: Eternal Youth Iced Tea!

    And it just kept going from there. Here’s a round up of five presidents and the teas they would enjoy the most at Little Woods.

    Biden:

    Fireside

    Not a tea drinker — we get it… you just haven’t found one you like… YET. Fireside is our gateway tea for coffee drinkers like Biden. When he visits the shop, it’s what we will recommend.

    Obama:

    Eternal Youth

    Naturally caffeine free, it’s tart and fruity. Refreshing iced or hot. I like it unsweetened, but many love it with a little simple syrup or honey.

    Roosevelt:

    Lapsang Souchong

    What started out as an accident has turned into a staple of russian tea drinking. A chinese black tea that is smoked with pine.

    Jefferson:

    Namaste Green Tea

    A green tea that is smooth and subtly sweet. It has hand chopped freeze dried strawberries and lemon balm mixed with our Mao Jian green tea.

    Washington:

    Keemun Black Tea

    One of our favorite black teas, it’s a chinese black tea (red tea) that has a malty robust flavor. It’s wonderfully smooth on it’s own or with a little milk.

    Bush Sr:

    Gyokuro

    Our top shelf loose leaf green tea, we were lucky to meet this Japanese tea company two summers ago. Vegetal with a rich mineral tone. The color is a vivid yellow green when brewed to perfection.

    Want to get a little steeped in the history of Tea at the White House?

    I really enjoyed these articles and books about the subject, particularly the first by Sara Shacket of Tea Happiness.

    (this is the main image that Tea Happiness used, with a degree in painting and a love of art history I couldn’t help but share it with you)

    Happy Presidents Day and Happy Tea Drinking!