Salt & Straw Partners With Portland Tea Makers For A Tea Ice Cream Series This April

New menu of flavors show off tea varietals from Dragonfly Chai, Steven Smith Teamaker and Townshend's Tea Company


PORTLAND, Ore. (Mar. 4, 2013) -Local tea companies have put Portland on the map as a distinct tea destination, each bringing their own approach to the drink and demonstrating the diverse possibilities and cultural influences of tea flavors. Salt & Straw collaborates with three Portland tea makers, Dragonfly Chai , Steven Smith Teamaker and Townshend's Tea Company , to create five refreshing flavors that capture their unique blends along with the essence of spring in Oregon. Tea enthusiasts across the country can sample Portland's finest tea flavors through Salt & Straw's five pack of tea flavored ice creams. Packs are available throughout the month of April for nationwide shipping through www . saltandstraw . com and at the Portland area scoop shops.

April Tea Flavors:
Dragonfly Chai: Dragonfly's microbrewery of inspired Chai is handcrafted in small batches using organic, fair-trade teas and spices. Their Chai is low in sugar and made with an extra dose of black pepper and ginger that pairs perfectly with sweet cream to make a delicious sweet and spicy treat.

Kombucha Sorbet: Townshend's Tea Company began as a college project at the University of Oregon in 2002. The fruity flavor of their Superberry Kombucha perfectly complements the tart fermentation with wild flowers and berries such as Elderberry, Hibiscus, Rose Hips and Currants. Making an incredibly refreshing all vegan sorbet.

Lotus Seed Matcha: Along with a certain amount of wit, skill and je ne sais quoi, each cup of tea from Steven Smith Teamaker contains some of the most wonderfully interesting ingredients found anywhere in the world. This ice cream is designed around Smith Tea's high quality matcha green tea, which is the center of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Starting with the grassy notes of fine powder matcha, we've added the light caramel notes of lotus seeds, a very floral vanilla and nutty toasted brown rice.

Meadow Marmalade and Peaches: White peach ice cream with swirls of marmalade made with Smith's Meadow Tea, which is a blend of spring flowers including hyssop and chamomile.

"Phat Thai" Iced Tea: A chance to show off the playful side where teas and ice cream meet, this is a nontraditional take on a nontraditional flavor of ice cream. A rich ceylon red tea created by Steven Smith Teamaker creates a base with ribbons in phat thai-style "noodles" based off of a mixture of sweetened condense milk and SE Asian spices.



About Salt & Straw Ice Cream
Salt & Straw Ice Cream is a small batch ice cream company that partners with local artisans, producers and farmers to create unique and gourmet flavors. Their ice cream is handmade using only all natural dairy from Lochmead Dairy in Eugene - where all of the happy, grass fed cows were born right on the farm to ensure the freshest cream possible. Their flavors showcase the best local, organic and sustainable ingredients from Oregon farmers and artisans, such as Rogue Creamery, Stumptown Coffee Roasters and Olympic Provisions charcuterie, as well as imported flavors from small hand-picked farms from around the world. The company started serving eight flavors from an ice cream cart in May of 2011 and then moved to their first brick and mortar location on Aug. 12, 2011 at 2035 NE Alberta St. with an expanded ice cream flavor menu and new unique sundaes, inventive milkshakes and floats along with goods from local artisan