Lady Lavender
Lovely Lavender.
Tea number 2 from my most recent The Tea Spot package! So excited to get a delicious black tea blend because boy do I love me some black tea! When I opened up this package of tea and stuck my nose in, I was temporarily transported to a spa. No, I'm not delusional but this blend has such a healing scent to it.
Lady Lavender is made of black tea, lavender, orange peel, bergamot & vanilla flavoring.
I think the combination of the bergamot and lavender gave me the feeling of calm and relaxation, like you would find in a spa. I've read that bergamot is a great skin remedy among other things only reinforcing the "spa" theme.
On another note, I thoroughly enjoy brewing tea in my pot but in a pinch these "steep sacks" are really great! You don't have to sacrifice the taste of your tea, just pour some leaves and place in your cup! These work well if you have a teapot with no basket to catch the leaves as well. My mom gave these to me but you can buy them at The Republic of Tea!
I got this turkish honey from Trader Joe's, they are the best! Lady Lavender had some very subtle notes of orange and vanilla. It was heavy just as expected from a black tea and very rich, the flavor and tea stayed on my tongue. It almost felt a bit more oily than normal tea, not in a gross way but that it stuck to my tongue. I liked this because I could enjoy the flavor a little longer!
I feel so lucky to have been introduced the real world of tea. I still swear by my simple earl grey and ceylon mix that I drink daily but I was missing out. I was so set in my ways that I didn't want to try anything that was a bold, strong smelling blend. I've now come to love so many different teas and I have so many more to try!
I don't say it enough but thanks for joining me on my tea tasting adventures, I'm so thankful for each and every one of you that takes the time to ready my posts! I want to get to know my readers more, comment below or send me an email at teathoughtsandsweets@gmail.com!
Cold Brewed Matcha
Huge Tea Haul.
Had a wonderful day because I got a big box of tea dropped at my doorstep! The best part is that I wasn't expecting all the wonderful goodies inside from The Tea Spot.
Matcha?? I've always wanted to try it. I've heard so many good things. As you may know, because of it's pure form you can supposedly soak up much more of the antioxidants. Today I tried the matcha because I was so excited but keep a look out because I'll be doing a separate post for each tea!
If you follow my on snapchat you probably saw my super goober videos about how excited I was when I got the matcha! I'm also totally in love with the little tin for the powder matcha. The cherry blossom design is beautiful!
Once you remove the top there's a quote "perfection is everywhere if we only choose to recognize it" -Okakura Kakuzo
I was so excited, I took a selfie.
The best part about this package is that it came with a cold brew water bottle. All I did was pour some matcha powder into cold water, closed the top and shook it up! Oh my, how delicious. I'm not sure where all ya'll are from but here in Maryland it feels like an oven, this cold matcha was so refreshing.
My first sip and I'm in love! I always try teas without any sweetener to really get all the aromas and subtleties but I do love to add honey to my tea. I didn't feel the same way about this cold brewed matcha. The flavor was so refreshing and kinda sweet on it's own.
I have a hot brewed matcha kit on the way and I can't wait to try it and compare cold vs hot!
Do you want this matcha goodness in your belly? And this portable bottle so you can take this goodness everywhere with you?? You can totally get it here!
Here's a short video on how to use the bottle!
I think next, I'll bake with the powder. Matcha cookies anyone??!
Have you had any experiences with cold brewed matcha? Share with me!
Good Nights, Better Days
Relax.
I'm really excited and thankful to be able to take this special journey of getting a better night's sleep. Sleep is so important for so many reasons. Our bodies need time to heal, rest and recharge. You may be "sleeping" for 7 or 8 hours but that doesn't mean you're necessarily hitting your REM cycle and if you're not hitting REM, you can do better.
I love how Goodnight Darling Co is tackling this very important issue and that I've had the opportunity to try some of the products!
It's not all about baths and candles, you're forgetting that tea can play such an important role in a well rested body :)
Today I decided to TREAT MYSELF.
After work I went to get a deep tissue massage and boy did I need one. I feel like my neck is free and pounds of stress and tension are gone. I then went home to make tacos because it's Tuesday and taco Tuesday...duh! I may or may not have had a margarita as well :)
I then lit both the candles pictured above and poured that soak into a hot tub of water and fell asleep, I emerged relaxed and with the softest skin. I'm currently lounging in a robe and fuzzy socks as I write this blog post. I also had the chance to brew some of this relax and chill.
I never used to give herbal tea a second thought until I tried meditative mind, since then I've been hooked.
Relax & Chill is made up of pink rose petals, cornflowers, lavender, lemon balm and chamomile. It has a very sweet scent. The lavender really comes through as do wonderful lemony hints.
When I took my first sip the "herbal" taste was definitely there. It's mostly the taste of chamomile but because so many herbal teas have chamomile I associate the taste with "herbal." It's a very light and refreshing taste.
While drinking, the word green kept popping into my head. You're probably thinking well, duh, herbs are often green. When I say green, think power smoothie or veggies. That type of earthy green taste came through in this tea and I loved it. That being said, I could eat only green all day long so if you're not a green person, this may not be the best for you.
My takeaways:
-Take more baths, you'll feel like a queen
-Herbal teas are the bomb
Jolie Blooming Tea
Watch the Brew.
I was so excited to try another blooming tea! You can check out a video of it on my instagram.
One of the the most interesting aspects of a blooming tea is that you get to watch the brewing process in action. Although regular tea leaves expand when they brew, just like this tea, we don't often pay attention to it. This tea makes the process more enticing.
When I took the video and sped it up, it was incredible. When the tea expands it looked like it had life, like it was evolving. The environment caused the tea to change it's behavior. Even in a harsh environment it continued to bloom and brew me delicious tea.
This process of blooming is very important to me. I feel as though we're all like this blooming tea at some point, afraid and closed tight. We fear to let ourselves open up and spread our beauty to the world. It's often a harsh environment that shows our true colors, instills bravery and causes us bloom.
I know I haven't talked much about the taste of this tea but for me the blooming tea is more about the experience. One of my favorite things about tea time is that it's a process. A process that takes my full attention and care, that makes me stop my busy mind to concentrate on how many leaves to put in the pot, how much water to pour over them and how long to let the leaves expand.
The blooming tea is a bit different because the beauty of it holds your attention entirely, I always sit there and watch it fully open not looking away for fear of missing some portion of the process. This is a form of meditation. This is calming. This is why I drink tea.
We often think that in order to be successful we have to run around until we collapse from exhaustion. I think we'd all be better off if we get that notion out of our minds and make time for tea (or whatever you fancy) . Tea time is sacred!
Is your tea/coffee time a chance for you to slow down? If not, I challenge you to give it a try!
Sugar Plum Fairy
Berrylicious.
Aren't packages the best?! I came home to a surprise from my best friend Ashley. We met in college and clicked, besties for life! I opened up the package and was thrilled with the contents! A Tea Shirt. Oh my gosh, I've always wanted one of these because Tea and also, puns :)
Ashley told me about a small tea shop in Salem called Jolie Tea Company. She sent me two types of tea, what a sweetheart! I tried the sugar plum fairy!
Ingredients: Chinese Black tea, blackberry pieces, organic ginger root, blackberry essence and blackcurrant essence
I've been trying teas from smaller tea companies and I love how creative the blends are!
This is another example of a fruity aroma paired with a black tea. This type of tea is certainly growing on me. I do love the stronger smelling tea but because of my love for berries, I enjoy blackberry fragrance that emanates from this blend.
After tasting this tea, I was stumped. Such a berry scent but such a bold flavor. The flavor is very similar to my routine earl grey and ceylon blend tea. The ginger flavor really comes through when the tea is brewed.
The most surprising thing about this tea is that it is so refreshing even as a black tea. After several sips, the after taste is sweet. I really enjoyed this tea and am exciting to have it again!
Wild Chicory Joe
Coffee Tea.
Are you a coffee lover trying to kick the habit but you're just not a fan of tea? Well, have I got some good news for you! Enter, Wild Chicory Joe.
It's no secret that I don't like coffee. I LOVE the smell of coffee, I like coffee ice cream but the actual beverage is kinds gross to me. Even specialty coffee drinks with lots of sweeteners are no good to me. The flavors taste good at first sip but then it leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. Now you know how I truly feel! I'll still try to convert you coffee lovers to the world of tea :)
Back to the Wild Chicory Joe, it contains roasted chicory root, roasted dandelion root, fennel seeds, crystal malt, chocolate barley malt and coffee flavoring. The aroma of tea is not anything like a tea I've smelled. It's 100% the smell of coffee and because of the chocolate barley, it's more like a mocha coffee smell.
You might be asking, how is this even a tea? It's actually an herbal tea because of what it's comprised of and has no caffeine! It takes exactly like coffee so you can get your fix but you're actually consuming zero caffeine and benefiting from the herbal ingredients! For all you tea lovers that like the taste of coffee but want the health benefits of herbal tea, this is for you too!
I'm no doctor but here are SOME of the health benefits of the ingredients I found upon researching a bit.
Chicory root: Full of antioxidants, lower inflammation in the body, aids digestion, antibacterial and anti fungal properties
Dandelion root: Improve liver function, boosts immune system, antioxidants
Fennel seeds: Good for your heart
Thao Tea Part III, Ripe Papaya
Fruity Black.
Do you like black tea? What about papaya? If you said yes to these, you need to head over to Thao Tea Co and snag some ripe papaya.
I feel so honored to be able to be on this tea journey where I'm experiencing exciting blends and generous people.
I have come a long way in the past few months and have tried teas that I NEVER thought I would like. All I really needed to do was to give them a try!
I'll be honest, for my blog I try a lot of different teas but on a daily basis I drink my favorite earl grey and ceylon blend tea.
I never thought I would like fruity teas because I enjoy a strong flavor. I had also never had black fruity teas.
This ripe papaya has black tea, corn flowers and papaya. This tea smells like someone just split open a fresh papaya and placed it on your nose.
To someone who doesn't like fruity tea, such as myself, this can be off putting. But just like the lychee peach tea, the flavor was delicious and bold as it's a black tea. I would recommend this to someone like me who thinks that fruit tea is sub par because you get the best of both worlds!
Chai Tea Shortbread Cookies
Tea is for more than drinking.
Until I get my hands on some matcha I'm going to keep baking cupcakes and cookies with the tea in my collection because the result is oh so good!
This chai tea from Wight Tea Co has to be one of the best chai teas I've ever had so I thought to myself, this will probably be delicious in cookies!
Artsy Flour Shot
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter salted
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon chai tea crushed up
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
- 1 tablespoon sea salt (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. This all depends on your oven. Mine is really hot so I have it on 350 but if your oven isn't as strong you could stand to put it up to 375
- Mix the butter and sugar then add in the vanilla.
- Separably combine flour and chai tea. Add the dry ingredients to the butter, sugar and vanilla.
- Form the dough into a log shape to fit the size you want your cookies to be. Wrap with saran wrap and freeze for 20-40 min.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and cut your cookies to desired thickness. Bake for 11 minutes.
OPTIONAL
- Melt chocolate chips with a double boiler or a bowl over a pan of boiling water.
- Dip cooled cookies in melted chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt
Lychee Peach Black Tea
Peach Heaven.
Tasting part two of the Thao Tea Co samples I received! My only experience with lychee is in martinis, but they were delicious!
The Lychee Peach includes black tea and safflowers.
This tea smells so fruity! The peaches remind me of summertime.
After tasting this tea I really enjoyed it. It had the boldness of black tea which is the taste I enjoy but I still got the sweet fruity fragrance.
The strong aroma of peaches made me feel like I was drinking this tea in a field of peaches! I normally don't like fruity teas but because of the black tea taste, I enjoyed this. I always try tea without any sweetening but when I added honey, the taste turned out like I was having peach honey!
I have been so impressed with the Thao tea blends, I can't wait to try ripe papaya!
If you missed it last time, check out my interview with Thao the founder.
Meditative Mind
Aroma Heaven.
I had the pleasure of trying another tea from The Tea Spot called Meditative Mind. I figured that this would be like chamomile tea but boy was I wrong!
Ingredients: White Tea, Jasmine Pearl Green Tea, Rosebuds and Petals
Let me start out by saying that this is one of the most beautifully smelling teas I've ever experienced. I know it sounds strange to use the word beautiful fora fragrance but as soon as this tea was brewed it emitted an aroma that immediately made me imagine a beautiful scene- a garden full of blooming flowers.
My boyfriend and I must have passed around the glass 10 times, each taking our turn smelling this tea because it was that good. It doesn't note it in the ingredients but to me, the fragrance is so sweet like that of a honey suckle.
Although the fragrance was the most memorable part for me, it had a great taste as well! Just as you would expect from a green & white tea mixture the taste was very rich and full bodied. Earthy is a word that kept popping into my mind. This is where I knew that whoever created this blend did an amazing job. The smell and taste pair so well. Your nose thinks flowers and your tongue things earthy. Flowers grow in the earth so it's an incredible couple to your senses!
I would suggest you get a large slice of rich cake to accompany this delicious tea!
Head over to The Tea Spot and check out Meditative Mind !