Swee-Touch-Nee Tea

Swee-Touch-Nee, "The Aristocrat of Teas," is a blend of orange pekoe and pekoe cut black teas.

Chances are, if you are of a certain age and grew up in a traditional Ashkenazi home, you know its distinctive red and gold box very well.

On an ordinary day, I might drink Earl Grey or green tea or any number of rarefied teas from China, but when I am ill or out of sorts and seeking solace in my teacup, Swee-Touch-Nee with lemon and honey (and in extreme cases, a shot of bourbon) is what I want.

It's becoming increasingly hard to find, however. I especially want the loose-leaf version, which I can't even find online, but I'll settle for bags. Has anyone seen it?

Hello. I buy Swee touch nee via Amazon. It is the only place I have found it. It is the bagged, not loose kind. They have both a low caffeine version and a regular version. The low caffeine varieety tastes better to me.

Good luck locating it.

Hi,

Looking through the Jewel Chanukah sale adds, there is a coupon for Kedem Tea Biscuits if you buy Wissotzky Tea. I recognize this is not the tea you request, but just in case it is of interest.

Regards,

A friend of mine picked up some for me, I think at the Evanston kosher Jewel. It looks as if they no longer market the loose leaf version, though.

Wissotzky Tea is brand, not a particular blend. They sell everything from herb teas to lapsang souchong. I haven't checked if they have a pekoe blend similar to Swee-Touch-Nee.

Amazon carries it in various sizes. I was more interested in where it got such a strange name. It turns out, it is a transliteration of the Russian word for "Flowery".

stop & shop sells it:)

I saw it at the Dominick's on McCormick and Pratt in Lincolnwood in the Kosher section on Sunday. Sorry, but I didn't notice if it was bags or loose leaf, but I suspect bags.

I've just made an account on here so I can reply to this topic! I am the granddaughter of the owners of Swee Touch Nee (they are located in Lynbrook, NY). As Swee Touch Nee is very much a part of my family (and ancestry!) I am very pleased to see how much enthusiasm there is for Swee Touch Nee online; on this forum especially!

They no longer make loose leaf tea, nor the iced tea which I grew up with! Bagged teas are the only available types as of 2013. As a web developer myself, I am in the process of convincing my grandparents to go 'online,' which means, in the future, you might be able to buy Swee Touch Nee directly from the company! I'll keep you all updated.

All the best to each and every one of you!

Michelle

Hi michelle-rachel

I thought I would share this story of our family's love for Swee-Touch-Nee. Back in the mid 1950s, my parents went to Philadelphia to visit relatives. One time, they wanted some tea, and chose this tea. They really liked it, and took some home. As they could not buy it locally, they would have the relatives send us some, but that soon got old. So, a relative asked the store owner where to get the tea, and was given the name and address of the company in Lynbrook. She wrote and asked if she could purchase it from them. They said yes, as long as she ordered a case of 1000 bags. We have been doing this now for well over 50 years! We send a check, and get a case of tea, 3 to 4 times a year! My wife and I took over ordering it a couple of years ago, so we are now into the 2nd generation. One time decades ago, instead of coming in the paper boxes, we got a case of the tea in 100 bag size tins. They are still in the attic today.

Paul

That was indeed the tea I grew up on in our Ashkenaz household. We actually had many metal tins used to store various things, from foods to sewing supplies, so I saw that graphic everywhere. (That, and Polly-O ricotta tubs, were, for some reason, my mother's container of choice for everything.)

So happy to learn more about my favorite tea. Every time I get a cold I judiciously use one precious bag -- because I can't find it in any store. Now I can order on Amazon -- and Michele Rachel, I'm thrilled that your family is still in business! How well I remember the red and black tins which held my grandfathers sewing implements -- he was a tailor from Vilna.

I was just remembering how much I liked drinking Swee-Touch-Nee Tea when I was growing up and thought I'd Google it. What a surprise to find it's still available - and in the Chicago area! I'll have to find some or try online.

Thanks for the great website

Up until today, my seedy little Safeway on Grant Rd in Tucson AZ carried the boxes of 100 ct tea bags right on their shelf in the tea section. I'm calling them tomorrow to find out if they've discontinued carrying it or they're just out at the moment. I'll go back to coffee before I'll buy 500 tea bags at a time from Amazon or Pricefalls, etc. plus pay shipping! Or even worse - to consider drinking Lipton tea...

I grew up in Bridgeport, CT, and my folks were afternoon and evening tea drinkers, a habit, I quickly picked up. Don't remember the kind of tea that we drank originally, but when my sister wound up working for a food distributor, she developed a taste for Swee-Touch-Nee and passed it on to my folks when she would periodically buy them a case of boxes. Visiting my folks I, too, learned to enjoy Swee-Touch-Nee and have stuck with it ever since. Couldn't find it in D.C. when my wife and I took jobs there, but we were back in CT every weekend and brought it back with us to drink during the week. Retired, now, we watch for a yearly sale at Stop and Shop and pick up a half dozen boxes or so. Can't find it in most Connecticut stores, so we buy it in Springfield, Mass or in Orleans when visiting Cape Cod. Love that flowery tea.
Sorry, this sounds like a commercial, but it is our favorite.

Some years ago, I tracked down a phone number for Consolidated Tea and purchased 2 cases from Carol. Today, while trying to locate them again (I had mislaid my notes), one site informed me Consolidated had closed it's doors and another site showed the trademark for Swee Touch Nee had expired. Has Consolidated closed it's doors? Can we no longer purchase tea from them? Frankly, I'd buy more than 2 cases if I could.

To add to the prior conversation: I grew up with Swee Touch Nee (I'm 60), as did my mother, her mother before her and her mother before her. My great-grandmother originally brought this tea with her from Russia and discovered it in the US about the late 1940's or early 1950's. My family has been hooked ever since.

Do anyone of you know the proportions of the Orange Pekoe and Pekoe blend that Swee-Touch-Nee uses? There is a website, and they also have many brick and mortar stores, called: DAVIDsTEA. Among the 150 or so loose teas that they sell, they do sell both Orange Pekoe and Pekoe! Right now, I'm mixing the loose tea at 50%-50%. I experiment with 60/40. But does anyone know the proportion the Swee-Touch-Nee company uses?