Lifestyle Head Shot Session with Jen S Photography
Photo Session.
I'm apart of a small business group called Rising Tide Society. Since joining back in January, I've been exposed to so many inspirational and talented small business owners! Cue Jen! I've wanted to get some professional shots of my work for a long time and I discovered Jen's gorgeous portfolio.
I'm going to share some of my favorites from the session and also a little more about Jen!
1) What made you start JenS Photography?
I really wanted to achieve something in life that I could truly call my own and be passionate about. It's both scary and refreshing to make your own decisions about your work, but it's a risk I knew I would have to take. Balancing business and my passion for photography is always hard, but it definitely keeps me on my toes!
2) What is your favorite kind of session to shoot?
That's tough to choose, but if I had to I would have to say lifestyle headshot sessions! I love working with my subjects one on one because it allows us to work closely together to create a shared vision. Not only do I get to take portraits, I also get to take detail shots of my subject doing what they love. It's always more fun when everyone is enjoying what they're doing!
3) When shooting a lifestyle head shot session, what do you find is your biggest challenge?
I think my biggest challenge is to make sure that I'm communicating my ideas properly to my subject and vice versa. It's easy for us to say something without thinking about how the other person is interpreting it. When everyone is on the same page, things just go :)
4) Is there any type of photography you're not doing now and would like to start doing?
I love taking lifestyle portraits, and even though that's what I'm doing, I would like to do even more :)
5) When you're drawing a blank, where do you like to pull inspiration from?
When I'm feeling stuck, I like to take a break and work on something else like a hobby where it's okay to make mistakes and clear my mind. Looking at the situation from different angles, (both literally and figuratively) helps too!
6) If you could shoot anywhere in the world where would it be?
I'm not sure about a specific place, but it would definitely be somewhere outdoors with majestic scenery, fresh air, and the perfect climate :)
7) What is your favorite tea?
Hmm... another tough question, but I think for now it has to be jasmine!
8) What is your favorite tea pun?
It sure is taking me oolong time to think of something... ;)
Which one is your favorite photo?!
Aloe Blossom Herbal Tea
Aloe.
If you've read my blog before you know that I'm a huge advocate of loose leaf tea. I think loose leaf has better taste and quality. When my friend approached me with "aloe tea" I made an exception! This tea is made by a company called Forever Living .
I opened up one tea bag to show you what the essence of the tea looks like.
Ingredients:
- Cinnamon
- Orange Peel
- Cloves
- Blackberry leaf
- Allspice
- Fennel
- Ginger
- Cardamom
- Aloe Blossoms
- Gymnema Sylvestre
- I had to look this up. Apparently another name for this is "destroyer of sugar." The leaves are used to make medicine for diabetes, weight loss, malaria etc. Read more about it on Here.
- Chamomile
Aroma: There is only one way I can describe this and that is cinnamon dominated. If I were to smell this without knowing what kind of tea it was I would for sure guess cinnamon tea.
Taste: The cinnamon doesn't come out in the taste as much as it does in the smell. There is a dominant orange flavor followed by hints of aloe. There is a slightly sweet taste to it, even though I drank it unsweetened. Probably the most noticeable characteristic is that it was a very rich flavor that stays on your tongue!
Overall, I think this tea wasn't bad but I don't think the aloe taste was for me. I think this is an excellent taste for anyone who likes a fruity tasting tea! If the Gymnema Sylvestre really does what it's supposed to I would suggest this tea to drink just to better your health!
Have you ever had a tea like this? Share with me :)
Sage White Rose Tea
White Tea.
As far as I an remember I've never tried white tea before. This is another tea from my friends at Wight Tea Co. I'm really glad I found them. Not only is it great to support a Maryland business but I really love what they do with their teas. I had the chance to ask Brittany Wight, the founder a few questions about the company!
Sitting Down With Brittany.
1) What sparked the idea to start Wight Tea Co?
My brother and I have loved tea for many years. Eventually, our enjoyment of tea turned to passion. We studied tea, shared everything we learned with each other and started coming up with our own blends using what we had around. We noticed that for tea being one of the most consumed beverages in the world, it was a very overlooked detail everywhere we went. We decided that we wanted to be the ones who would change that.
2) Your blends are so unique, I honestly haven't seen many like them. What is the creative process for deciding what goes in each blend?
Most of our creative process comes from our love of good food and drink in general, knowing what flavors pair well together. We pay attention to food trends for our own enjoyment and use it as we create. Sage Rose White Tea is my favorite of our blends, I think it's initially an unexpected combination of floral and savory that works really well together.
3) What tea would you suggest to a "new" tea drinker?
I would recommend our Evening Tisane to a new tea drinker because it's impossible to get wrong. Herbal blends can steep for a long time without getting bitter.
4) What is your favorite tea?!
Out of our teas, my favorite is the Sage Rose. That was the first blend I came up with and it really touches on flavors I enjoy the most. Overall, though, my favorite tea is a plain jade oolong, which is far from being "plain". On average I drink 3 cups of it a day. As we grow our tea blends, we do plan on incorporating oolongs.
5)What do you envision for Wight Tea Co?
We have lots of vision for Wight Tea Co. Currently, we are looking into participating in local farmers markets and figuring out how to sell to local shops. We want to be in local restaurants and cafes. Keep an eye out for pre-made bottled tea as well.
6)If you could go anywhere in the world to have a glass of tea where would it be?
Tough question!!!! As much as I would LOVE the opportunity to travel to China or India to see the tea gardens, isn't one of the integral parts to enjoying a good cup of tea a space in which you are happy, with people that make you happy? I'm happiest sipping tea with my brother at our parent's dining room table. Is that too cheesy? That's where I would pick.
7)What is your favorite tea pun?
Oh boy... "Make Tea Not War." I guess that's not so much a pun as a parody on "Make Love Not War." Shout out to Monty Python for that one, by the way.
This tea blends together herbal and floral flavors and creates an expected taste!
Smell: The interesting aspect of this tea is that I felt that different aromas were present when it was dry versus brewed. The dry blend has a very flowery scent, the rose and the sage are very present. Once I brewed it however, the lemongrass took control! One of my favorite things to do is to smell the tea before and after brewing, it's kind of a a sense preparation so I appreciated the subtle difference here.
Taste: I'll come right out and say it, I'm not usually a fan or herbal or flowery teas. The taste of many of these blends reminds of me perfume. This mixture however changed my opinion of it. Despite the different aromas of the tea, the flowery taste was more subtle than dominant. The taste was more similar to the bold flavor black tea has and was followed by a bite of flower at the end.
I'm definitely excited to have another glass of this soon!
The Sage Rose White can be purchased directly from Wight Tea Co's website! Head on over there and get to sippin'!
You can also connect with them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter :)
Have you ever had a memorable white tea? Share it with me!
Coconut Taste Test from The Tea Spot
Coconut.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I won a giveaway from The Tea Spot. Mary, who I spoke with from the company was gracious enough to send me a few extra samples of tea. I was so surprised to get TWO different coconut teas! I'm still on a long path of discovering new teas and of course have never had coconut tea.
The Teas:
- Coconut Crush Chai: Rooibos, ginger root, cinnamon, shredded coconut
- Smell: Although this tea has shredded coconut, the cinnamon overpowers it. As a chai tea I definitely get the "spicy" type smell.
- Taste: Even with a Rooibos base, this tea is dominated by the cocount even though it wasn't in smell. The ginger and cinnamon give you an aftertaste of spice to remind you that this is a chai.
- Coconut Cabana: Oolong, Shaved Coconut, natural coconut flavoring
- Smell: With less ingredients, this tea truly smells like coconut. When I opened the bag it hit me right on the nose! Once brewed however, the coconut aroma dissipates and only that familiar smell of oolong remains.
- Taste: Much like the smell the coconut flavor is not prominent in the tea but it is there. The coconut is like an after flavor, after a few sips I could still feel it on my tongue. I've had other oolongs before and I wasn't a huge fan. The coconut brings something exciting to the oolong and I really liked it!
Have you ever tried coconut tea? If so did you like it? Share with me in the comments!
Red Hot Chai from The Tea Spot
Winner.
I recently won an instagram giveaway from The Tea Spot. Not only did I get my favorite tea, I also got their cool tshirt :)
I was able to speak with Mary Allard of The Tea Spot!
1) What is your favorite tea?
Like so many tea lovers, that can be a hard question to answer as it depends on so many things. The first whole leaf tea that captured me was Gyokuro. Recently, I am head over heels for Darjeeling.
2) Can you tell me a little bit about The Tea Spot and the story behind it being founded?
The Tea Spot was founded in 2004 by Maria Uspenski, a cancer survivor drawn to the health benefits of whole leaf tea during her recovery. Her message is simple and powerful: tea in its freshest form renders premium flavor and unmatched health benefits. Our innovative Steepware products are designed and developed so as to encourage and enable tea drinkers to infuse the goodness of whole leaf tea into their everyday, seamlessly. With a steadfast mission to foster health and wellness through tea, The Tea Spot donates ten percent of all sales in-kind to cancer and community wellness programs. To date, they have supported over 100 organizations and touched more than 10,000 lives. The Tea Spot is a Colorado-based Certified B Corp, woman-owned and operated philanthropic business.
3) What's the most interesting story you have from working in the tea industry?
A great story is the story of how our Climber's High Tea came about.
“Climber’s High”
Tea is, of course, the traditional go-to caffeinated beverage in the Himalayan Mountain region. Just as every village in India has its own chai recipe, so does every Sherpa family in Nepal have their own, and usually proprietary, “mountain” chai blend.
Many studies have pointed to tea’s ability to fight depression - largely due to the presence of the amino acid L-Theanine. Tea, by the way, is only one of 2 known plants with this AA - the other is a mushroom. A more specific published medical field study on nine male and four female climbers at Mt. Everest base camp also concluded that drinking tea had a positive effect on the climbers’ mood. The research showed that the subjects who drank hot brewed tea as a major part of fluid intake at 18,000 ft showed no evidence of increased dehydration from drinking the caffeinated beverage. In addition, the climbers reported feeling less fatigued when tea was included in their diets - all important benefits for high altitude climbers.
A multiple-time Everest climber (customer of ours) liked our chai, but told us he wished he could get an extraordinary tea he’d had on one of his himalayan climbing expeditions, the only thing that ever got him to adapt more rapidly to high altitude. I was so intrigued by this, that I asked him for contact info and eventually came into contact with a very well known Everest climber (who has asked we not used his name!) who fortunately had gone through the lengths to get the “formula” from his Sherpas for a tea which he also insisted helped him adjust to thehigh altitude of base camp. It’s our most complicated blend (by a long shot!) with 21 ayurvedic herbs and spices, and tastes somewhat like a zippy chai. This tea contains every tea type including Pu’erh, and we add green Yerba Mate to ours, for a little extra zip.
Climber’s High is our highest-energy blend. We’ve never tested the tea at very high altitude ourselves, but climbers going on expeditions in South America often buy pounds of Climbers High and Red Rocks (for re-hydration) from us. We all offer it to out-of-state visitors who come to Colorado from sea-level. Our personal preferred ways to drink this tea is chai-style (Cambric or Latte-style), or chilled. This tea does not cold-brew very effectively, and does need to be steeped with hot water, at least as hot as water can get at 20,000 feet - about 175F.
4) Where did the idea for the new shirt come from?
Being a Colorado company, it was hard to resist. We just had to make a Colorado Tea Spot shirt, the flag and our logo were meant to be paired.
5) I often feel like in the US, coffee reins #1 in beverages BUT I think tea is on the rise. Do you think tea will ever surpass coffee in popularity?
You are right, tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, second to water, but in the U.S. it is under coffee, soda, orange juice, apple juice, beer, and milk... (not necessarily in order) It is our goal to continue to change tea's rank within the U.S. Hopefully Steepware will continue to make it so easy to drink quality, whole leaf tea, that there will be no excuse, and the continued traction it is getting with all of the incredible health benefits tea has to offer, will propel it forward more and more.
6) What is your favorite tea pun?!
From the late dear friend of our owner, Deven Shah, "If at first you don't succeed, chai chai again."
Gorgeous leaves!
I've been into Chai recently. I've had the red hot chai at my local tea shop. Most chai teas I've had have a black tea base but this one has a rooibos base. I love the combination of the rooibos and the vanilla.
One of my favorite parts of drinking tea is all the wonderful fragrances! This tea has one of the best fragrances I've ever smelled and that's why I enjoyed it so much.
Stay tuned for another post about other Tea Spot teas :)
What's your favorite Tea Spot tea?
Peanut Butter Cookies
Pb Heaven.
I owed some sweets to my brother in law Keenan. He LOVES peanut butter and requested these classic peanut butter cookies!
These are simple and a favorite among most families but I have never made them! They are easy to make and delicious
Recipe
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
- Cream the butter, sugar, eggs and peanut butter in a bowl.
- Combine all the dry ingredients - flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and add to the wet mixture
- Refrigerate for 3 hours or more if you can!
- Oven should be preheated to 375 (my oven is hot so I did 350) Roll dough balls to desired size and make a cross fork pattern on each by pressing the prongs of the fork onto the cookie. I didn't flatten mine very much because I like thicker cookies :)
- Bake for 8-10 min or until they begin to brown
- Chow down!
Tips
- Because this recipe has a lot of sugar already I used a "natural" peanut butter with very little sugar. I would suggest doing this unless you want uber sweet cookies
- The butter melts quickly in these so make sure to refrigerate until the dough is pretty stiff, otherwise you'll get flat cookies.
Do you have a favorite peanut butter cookie recipe? If so please SHARE :)
Tea Tasting Notes ** PRINTABLE**
Take Notes.
I've been wanting to create some downloadable content for my readers for sometime but I wasn't sure what to make! I don't pretend to be some kind of tea expert but I do enjoy describing the smells and tastes of my tea.
There are some simple ways to describe your tea and I've created a tasting notes sheet for you to try! I've included some of the key things I take note of when I try a new tea. This is by no means a complete list or a perfect list but I hope you enjoy!
Please give it a try and make sure to comment to let me know how it turns out!
Download the Tea Thoughts Tea Tasting Guide :)
Chai Chai baby!
Spicy.
Really excited to try this tea from my home, Maryland! Woot Woot Baltimore!
Thank you Instagram for helping me find yet another awesome company! I was delighted to find Wight Tea Co and their hand blended teas!
You can never try enough Chai teas because I feel like everyone puts their own spin on it. I was really excited to try this tea!
I opened up the package and oh my gosh how beautiful! Full pods of cardamom!
This tea smells AMAZING and Ill tell you why...
Assam, ceylon, cardamom, cinnamon chips, cloves, orange peel, lemongrass, ginger root, ginger essential oil and black peppercorns !
I really love this mixture of spices because not only is the fragrance wonderful but it has a great spicy taste. The fact that all the spices are whole make it so much better. I've had many chai teas that crush up all the ingredients and the flavors just don't come through as well!
This was perfect with a spoonful of honey. I can't wait to try more of Wight Tea Co's teas so stay tuned!
Check them out on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter!
Have you had a chai tea that really rocked your socks?? Let me know about it!
Turvani Tasting Part II: Earl Grey
Citrus.
It's been a nasty week weather wise and today was no exception. The only benefit to this weather is that it's perfect for tea!
Couldn't think of a better way to enjoy a cuppa but with Part II of my Turvani sampler: Earl Grey
Before I read the card for this tea I smelled it...as I do with all teas because honestly that's my favorite part! It had the strangest smell. I had never experienced an earl grey with this aroma. My first thought was LEMONS! Then after several minutes more of smelling I decided that it is somewhat lemony but more so a general citrus smell. I finally looked at the card and saw that it's infused with bergamot oil...DUH. That's really cool though because I've encountered all sorts of fruity tea but not quite like this!
The smell on the dry leaves was quite strong. Not off putting but it made me hesitant about how it would taste.
After brewing the tea, it kept the citrus aroma but in a more mellow way. This was the ideal scent, very welcoming.
If you're a fan of fruity tea or lemon tea this is for you! It has a citrus taste but not a sour taste. With honey it kind of reminded me of the concoction I make when I have a sore throat. I think that the citrus taste wasn't too overpowering but it's definitely present.
Citrus and fruit tasting teas are not number one on my list but I definitely enjoyed this!
What kind of earl grey infusions have you had?
Turvani Tasting Part 1: Organic Gunpowder Pinhead
I had the wonderful opportunity to come in contact with Samir Balwani of Turvani. I received a sampler (which you can purchase here) on Friday and decided to try the green tea first! Before I get into the tea, I wanted to share with you some information about Turvani!
Here are some questions I asked Samir and his answers! You can tell from my commentary after some of the questions that tea drinkers think alike :)
1) How did your love of tea start?
You can thank my dad for that. I started drinking tea with him, and it became a ritual we shared together. It’s the experience that I love. While our tea brews and while we drink our tea– we get a few moments for ourselves, where nothing else matters except for the people we’re with or the time we’re afforded to just enjoy our tea.
Cue all of the feels, he hit the nail on the head!
2) What is your favorite type of tea?
You’re right this is a tough one. I don’t know that I have a forever favorite tea, but I can tell you what’s my favorite right now (sorry if I’m cheating!). I’ve been drinking our Assam Golden Tips a lot lately. I’m a big fan of Assam tea, especially with a light splash of milk.
3) How would you explain the difference between loose leaf and tea bags to a non-tea drinker?
I’ve found the easiest way to explain it is to talk through how tea is produced. When tea is processed, whole leaves are separated from the dust and trimmings. The whole leaves are then graded based on the quality of the leaf. What’s left behind, the dust and trimmings, are collected and used for tea bags. Since they’re smaller broken leaves, they brew extremely quickly and tend to have harsher tastes. If you enjoy drinking tea and want to really taste the subtleties that tea has to offer, you have to drink loose leaf tea.
This is so important to understand, the "left over stuff" is just not as good!
4) What is your favorite type of vessel to enjoy your tea in? (Glass, mug etc)
There are a few mugs that I love drinking my tea in. We actually are in the middle of writing a post about the differences in tea mugs and coffee mugs; and which cups you should be drinking from. I’ll share that with you once it’s done. In general your tea mug should have a flared mouth and the rim should taper. The flared mouth lets your tea cool to a drinkable temperature. The tapered rim lets the tea flow over your tongue and gives you the opportunity to experience every flavor the tea offers. I’ve been using this mug from Crate and Barrel lately for my Assam tea. I have a beautiful black teapot set with smaller teacups for my Green and Oolong teas.
5) What made you start Turvani?
I started Turvani with the mission of making the world a better place, through tea. Everyone is so busy these days. We’re always running around, our calendars are double booked all day, and we’re stuck to our phones – trust. I’m no different than anyone else. That’s why tea became so important to me. The act of brewing tea, the 3 to 4 minutes per cup that you have to wait, the 5 to 10 minutes of drinking the tea, that you can’t help but enjoy – it slows me down and relaxes me. Every cup of tea becomes a few stress free minutes that I could have for myself, or share with a friend. It resets my mind, gives me a moment to take stock of the world around me, and simply makes me happier. That’s why I started Turvani. I want everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy exceptional tea that becomes an experience to drink – making the world a happier place.
Not sure if y'all have been soaking in my blog but THIS is why I swear by tea!
6) How did you pick the name Turvani?
Turvani is loosely inspired by a Sanskrit word that means “victorious”. We knew it was perfect for us because the idea of finding 10 minutes in our day, while seemingly so simple was definitely one where we felt victorious when we did. The idea of Turvani embodied exactly how we felt when we drank our tea, we felt like we could take on the world.
7) What is your favorite tea pun?
Oh tea puns are so much fun and there’s just so many! I think my favorite is the simple “Sup Brew?”
I dig this.
Now to the tea! It pains me to say this but green tea is always a hit or miss. I've only had few green teas that I loved. This has nothing to do with the quality of the tea but I'm just more a black tea person. The green teas I have enjoyed taste much bolder like black teas.
I was a HUGE fan of this tea!
Look: This is probably the most beautiful tea I have ever seen.
Smell: These leaves have a very rich and earthy smell.
Taste: I loved it! This tea was so refreshing. I'm not an expert tea taster but this tea had a much stronger flavor than most of the green teas I've had. I always try teas plain before I add honey. The strange thing was that when I added honey, it didn't make much of a difference in the flavor. Usually when I add honey to tea it not only sweetens it but alters the flavor a bit.
Overall I really enjoyed this tea. I have had so many green teas that were too weak for my taste. I will definitely be enjoying this tea again soon!
What is your opinion on green tea? Have you liked and disliked different kinds or are you ALL about green tea? Let me know!