Teaaholic Talk

CommuniTEA.

When I started my blog and Etsy shop I joined a group called The Rising Tide Society. In a world where everyone is trying to get to the top, there doesn't seem to be room for lifting others up. It's easy to get caught up in a cycle of doing what's best for your business and nothing else. RTS has a different motto, community over competition and a rising tide lifts all boats. I quickly adopted these and try everyday to integrate them into my creative journey.  

By embracing community, I've met some of the most talented and inspirational bloggers, artists and small business owners. Most importantly, I've found an enormous community of tea lovers, tea sellers and tea bloggers. These are the people I've wanted to connect with so badly because they share a deep passion of mine. I've found my communiTEA. 

Lu Ann aka Teaaholic is one of the first bloggers I found and I was instantly a fan. I've taken the time to build up my blog and now I want to share with my followers some of my favorite blogs! I had the opportunity to ask Lu Ann some questions, enjoy!

1) What sparked the idea to start your blog?

I’ve always loved to write and I’ve had many blogs in the past that I was never great at sticking with. I realized the problem was that I just wasn’t writing things I loved. I never had a blog that focused on just one thing and never had a great themed that motivated me to keep at it. Until one day, I started The Cup of Life with the idea that I would write and share creative pieces that I wrote with tea by my side. After a few posts, I realized I should just start writing about tea, too. That’s how it started and after finding the rest of the tea blogger community I started to grow my blog. It helped once I knew I wasn’t the only tea blogger out there! My blog is also called The Cup of Life because that’s how I view tea (believe it or not, it wasn’t inspired by Ricky Martin and his World Cup song lol).

2) What is your favorite tea? 

This is definitely a tough question, but I always like to ask people it, too. The best I can do to narrow it down is say that I really, really love roasted oolongs. I find that I lean towards them more, and I’m never really disappointed by any of the steeps. Although, yesterday I was just organizing my tea stash by tea types and noticed I have black tea more than any. So it’s hard to judge.

3) What is your favorite vessel to drink tea from?

This really depends on the tea. I really like using a gaiwan for steeping and I have porcelain and glass ones. I’ll pick a glass gaiwan or a glass vessel of any kind when it’s a tea I really want to watch dancing in the water and unfurl. I usually drink from porcelain (even if I steep in glass).

4) Do you have a ritual surrounding your tea time? If so what is it? 

I start with setting up my space with all my tea necessities - cup, steeping vessel, leaves, kettle, water, etc. I like for my tea space to be clean and not to crowded with unnecessary items. I typically like to enjoy my tea with little to no noise. Sometimes I’ll have light background music but I like my main focus to be on the tea itself. I steep the tea, I sip the tea, and occasionally jot down notes about the tea. However, this isn’t how my tea times always end up. There are definitely moments I have to rush to make a cup and get to work. I wish I could spend all my time just drinking tea in peace. Oh the life that would be!

5) What is your favorite tea infused dessert or food?

Tea infused chocolates hold a sweet place in my heart. I love to experiment with cooking with tea (as you may tell from some recipes on my blog) and with Fall coming soon, soups with tea broths are going to be a favourite and must again. 

6)How would you explain the difference in the taste of loose leaf tea vs tea bags to a new tea drinker?

Before getting into taste, I would explain that loose leaf tea offers an entirely different experience than tea bags. There are many incredible tea moments that may be missed when just using a tea bag, however, I still steep one every now and then myself - it can be better than no tea, right? The taste is incomparable. You can find loose leaf teas more fresh, and full. Since tea bags are usually just dusts left from whole leaves, you won’t be able to get the same burst of flavours as you would with using whole leaves.  

7) What kind of argument would you make to convince someone to switch from coffee to tea?

Most coffee drinkers I know don’t like tea because of one bad experience.  I always try to explain that there are thousands of teas out there and that there is definitely one they would like! I’m able to get through to some, and steep them some teas to try. The hardest person to convince to drink tea is my dad though. He is from Italy so he’s big on espresso and associates tea with something to drink when you’re sick. So whenever he is feeling under the weather I am always there to take advantage and make him tea! 

8)Where is your favorite place to enjoy your tea?

In my tea space at home. Oddly, I don’t like to go out for tea that much. The best tea is always the one I have at home, prepared by me :)

9) What are some of your favorite tea brands?

Another tough question! I enjoy Zhen Tea, Tea Ave, Teavivre and lots more. For tea blends, I love supporting independent companies that hand craft their own like The Chai Palace, The Honest Leaf, Blend Bee etc. 

10) What is your favorite tea pun?

Given I just announced I wrote a book with this title (due out November 8!) I will most definitely have to say Tea-spiration  For the record, I do define the word “tea-spiration” in the book so I’m not sure if you would really qualify it as a tea pun afterwards. 

Check out some of Lu Ann's favorite blog posts!

1.  http://theteacupoflife.com/2016/06/how-to-properly-care-for-your-matcha-whisk-chasen.html
2. http://theteacupoflife.com/2016/08/matcha-green-tea-slushie.html
3.  http://theteacupoflife.com/2016/07/what-people-are-saying-about-canadian-tea.html
4.  http://theteacupoflife.com/2016/01/coconut-bacon-lapsang-souchong.html

Who are some of your favorite small businesses, bloggers and artists?! Share with me!

Boulder Blues

Marshmallow Tea. 

Ingredients: Green tea, mallow flowers, cornflowers, strawberry & rhubarb flavoring

Isn't this blend absolutely gorgeous? Another beautiful tea from The Tea Spot

This tea is really fruity and has a distinct scent of marshmallows! That scent is very strong and sweet. 

I decided to do a taste test between honey and rock sugar. I got both the acaia honey and the rock sugar from Teavana.

Apparently rock sugar doesn't change the composition of the tea. I LOVE to sweeten with honey but there is a noticeable difference in the taste after the honey is added. 

This was a different green tea experience. Most green teas I've tried have this very rich and earthy flavor which is a hit or miss with me. Although this too has an earthy flavor, the sweetness from the mallow, strawberry and rhubarb give it a distinct lift so that the taste is lighter.  

On to the taste test. Instead of blending two glasses, each with one of the sweeteners I blended them in my mouth. Let me explain. The way I was taught to drink tea was to put a sugar cube in the mouth and hold it. Each sip of tea would soften the cube and sweeten the tea as you drank it. 

For the honey, I tasted a bit of honey with my finger then drank the tea. There isn't a huge difference but the honey almost mellows the tea out. That is the flavor change I notice most often when I have honey with ceylon tea. 

The rock sugar is a bit tougher than a sugar cube so I crushed it up in my mouth and drank the tea. There was not a noticeable difference to me like there was with the honey. The other aspect of the rock sugar I enjoyed was that it wasn't overly sweet. I used to drink tea with rock candy as a child (which is different I believe) and it was SO sweet. 

I'm not sure I'll switch to rock sugar indefinitely because I'm a creature of habit but I will for sure be mixing it up a bit more! 

If you're a fan of green teas, you MUST try this blend.

What is your favorite way to sweeten your tea?! 

Tea Box Express - The unboxing

Tea Box.

I'm so excited to share my first ever tea subscription box! I know that subscription boxes are all the rave and you can literally find one for practically any product! I personally have a subscription to birchbox, which I LOVE!

Tea Box Express kindly sent me their August box to try! 

First off, I really like how there isn't just tea in the box. I was having a bad day when my box arrived and BOOM! a snickerdoodle cookie was there to save the day. This is also a great combination because tea and sweets are an incredible combination.

These green tea mints had TWO different flavors and are a great snack to keep in your pocket or purse. I've been eating WAY too many of the dragon fruit flavored ones. It's interesting that this box introduced me to brands I had never heard of before. Here's what came in the box:

WOW Baking Company snickerdoodle cookie

Sencha Green tea mints: Dragon fruit & cinnamon 

Chai Diaries blooming tea

Misty Peak Pu'er

I had the pleasure of speaking with Andrea, the owner of Tea Box Express! Check out what she had to say about the company and about tea!

1)What gave you the idea for Tea Box Express?

I read that more Americans are getting into tea. I've always liked tea and it seemed like introducing people to new teas while at the same time supporting and promoting tea companies could be a winning combination.

2) How do you pick the different companies that you source from?

I have worked with some amazing companies from all over the country, many of which produce unique, artisan, organic, small batch, or fair trade products. I think it really speaks to the entrepreneurial spirit in this country to see how many people are out there working for themselves, producing goods they are passionate about and doing what they love. When I find a product I like (usually online), I contact the company and we go from there. With tea companies, I specifically look for quality whole leaf teas and a nice presentation.

3) What is the process of choosing the combination of products for each box?

It's like putting a puzzle together every month! I usually start with the tea since that's the focus of the box and pick other items that I think people would enjoy with the tea. The contents should be fun and unique but also have to add up to a good value and physically fit inside the box. I think about the seasonality of the box (like what makes a good fall tea for example) as well as logistical issues like if the a product might melt because the weather is hot.

4) What is your favorite tea? (I know that's a tough question!)

It's really neat that I get to explore new teas right alongside my subscribers. Like many Westerners, I got into black tea first. Black tea is still my favorite and I enjoy it flavored, unflavored, and blended with other ingredients. I'm happy to say I now enjoy green teas (for many years I thought I didn't like green tea but it was because I had only had cheap tea bags). I'm also developing an appreciation for white, oolong, and herbals. 

5) What is your favorite sweet to pair with tea?

I love sweets and think they pair beautifully with tea! I can't imagine I'd turn down any sweet to have with tea but two of my favorites are a basic shortbread and sugar cookies.

6) What is your personal tea ritual?

I'm not sure if it counts as a "ritual," but something I've done for years is always have a pitcher of cold black tea in the fridge (all year round!). I like drinking it with meals and whenever I could use a little refreshment. Since my two small kids make life unpredictable, I also like that I can make it ahead of time. It might be more of a tea habit!

7)If you could sit down and have tea with ANYONE, (past or present) who would it be and why?

Great question. I'm sure I could name dozens but the person who immediately comes to mind is Oprah. I think she's a wonderful role model to women and has done an amazing job creating her own success. I think she'd have some fabulous advice. 

8)What is your favorite tea pun?

I think it's cute when ordinary words are changed to include "tea," such as par-tea, simplici-tea, etc.

You can use the code TEAHAPPY to get 20% off your first box!

Share your favorite subscription boxes with me! Stay tuned for some posts about the tea in the next few days :) 

Mini Matcha Donuts

Mini. 

I recently fell in love with Matcha and although I've tried it several times and wanted to try something new. I have tried many tea infused sweets and have been itching to try all these delicious sounding matcha recipes! After much research, I decided on matcha donuts!

At first, I was really disappointed that I couldn't find a regular donut pan but then I found a mini donut pan at Marshalls! 

You might be thinking, mini donuts? Why would you want MINI donuts? The answer is obvious, mini donuts means I can eat MORE donuts! 

How freaking cute are these??!

Recipe

• 3/4 cup cake flour. If you don't have cake flour you can fill a measuring cup with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch then the rest with regular flour. Make sure to sift it together.

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 tablespoon Pumeli Matcha

• 1 large beaten egg

• 1/3 cup milk

• 2 tablespoons salted melted butter

• 1 tablespoon honey

For the icing

• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

• Sprinkles (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Mix all the dry ingredients together

3. Add in all of the wet ingredients

4. Fill icing bag with the batter and fill your molds 3/4 of the way through

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or when a toothpick inserted in the donut comes out clean

6. Let the donuts cool and then dip into the melted chocolate and top with sprinkles if desired. Tip: if you don't have a double boiler you can just stack pots to melt the chocolate or you can even fill a bowl with boiling water and place another bowl on top and mix chocolate chips until they are melted!

These were delicious! I highly suggest trying them! If you do try them, let me know how you like them!

Bolder Breakfast Tea Cupcakes

Tea Cupcakes.

Well, I'm at it again with the tea infused desserts! I recently tried the Bolder Breakfast tea and it smelled like chocolate cake. I decided that these HAD to be put in cupcakes! By the way, these ADORABLE toppers are from my friend Ali, check out her etsy shop!

I used a similar recipe to my other tea cupcakes with  a few modifications! 

1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons bolder black tea from The Tea Spot
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour  (minus 3 tablespoons) 
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

-Preheat oven to 350

-Warm up the milk then place the tea leaves inside. Leave them to brew, if you're using a strong black tea, the milk will change colors. 

-Cream the butter and sugar together. Mix in the eggs and the vanilla extract. Beat in the apple sauce. Gradually add in all the dry ingredients. 

-Pour in the milk and mix well. 

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. 

This time I used a chocolate butter cream frosting. This frosting is great if you don't like super sweet frosting. The frosting is definitely sweet but you can still taste the bittersweet flavor of the cocoa. Mix all the ingredients together and voila!

I suggest mixing the butter and cocoa together first. You can then add in powdered sugar a little bit at a time and to your own taste. I felt that 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar was perfect! 

Chocolate Buttercream

2 sticks of unsalted butter (softened) 

2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa

Bolder Breakfast Tea

Cake Tea.

Do you like cake? What about tea? What if you could get the best of both worlds?! 

I tried the bolder breakfast today and deemed it one of my new favorite teas! 

Ingredients: Black tea,  Pu' erh Tea, Mallow Flowers, Dark Chocolate flavoring. 

I want you to imagine a time where you've baked a chocolate cake. Take yourself back to that moment when the whole kitchen is filled with the sweet fragrance of chocolate and you're pulling the cake out of the oven. The chocolate smell becomes more powerful as you pull the cake out. Keep imagining that sweet aroma, THAT is what you get with this tea!

I was shocked when I opened up the package and stuck my nose in. Before I opened this package I noticed the dark chocolate flavoring so I thought it would be a good tea to make cupcakes with, now I know for sure!

I really enjoyed the taste of this tea. I was a bit skeptical at first because of the chocolate. I love to have sweets with my tea but for some reason I've never liked plain chocolate paired with tea, I feel as though both have such a strong flavor they're better enjoyed alone. I made an exception. 

Bolder Breakfast definitely has a bold flavor from the black tea, almost like the taste of an Irish Breakfast tea. There was also a slightly bitter aftertaste which probably came from the Pu'er. The mallow and the dark chocolate keep it sweet. Honestly, it's hard not to enjoy this tea purely for the chocolate cake fragrance with each sip. 

My boyfriend's birthday is on Wednesday and I plan on flavoring his cupcakes with this delicious tea, stay tuned for the recipe!

Have you ever had a "cake" tea?! 

You can purchase this tea to try for yourself at The Tea Spot! Use code MYFIX for 20% off! 

Making Matcha: The Process

Matcha Round Two.

It's official, I'm obsessed with Matcha. I received a matcha set from Pumeli, it was gorgeous. Even when it's unbearably hot outside I still prefer hot tea to iced tea, to me I can taste the flavor better. It's similar to when you have a whiskey neat vs a whiskey on the rocks, I prefer neat for the same reason.  

I love the way this set is packaged, that is a big deal for me. It shows that details are an important part of the product. When I opened the box I was really blown away by the bowl. Pumeli collaborates with small businesses to guarantee the most beautiful products in their boxes. I love this bowl, it's has such intricate detail and got me super excited to try the matcha!

Each kit comes with a bowl, matcha powder, sifter, whisk and scoop. The instructions for making this matcha comes on a card in the package.

• Place a scoop of matcha into the strainer while it's placed over the bowl

• You can use the scoop to push the powder through the strainer so that all the lumps are gone. If you're a baker, imagine sifting flour or powdered sugar.

• Pour a tiny bit of hot water into the powder and whisk a few times so that it makes a paste

• Add a few more ounces of hot water

• Whisk briskly in M & W motions until the matcha is frothy

You can watch a short video on how to make matcha by Pumeli here

Matcha brings a whole new meaning to tea rituals. I sat out on the balcony and soaked up the sun while I prepared this matcha. The best part is that you have to be present for this process, it's almost like meditation. Sure, making this matcha only took a few minutes but so many people don't even give themselves that much time to unwind. Thinking about each step cleared my mind of everything else. By the time your matcha is done, you're already at ease and the tea only makes it better. 

Pumeli is all about #PermissionToRelax. This matcha set certainly does the trick. The entire experience from receiving the kit, unpacking the individual items and making the matcha truly helped calm me down. I mentioned in a previous post about making iced matcha that I really enjoy the subtle, refreshing taste of the tea. When I brewed it hot in this instance, I enjoyed the flavor even more. Even as a hot brew, the taste of the matcha powder is earthy but also light. The hot tea is perfect for ending your relaxing ritual of making the matcha. I felt the warmth of the tea relaxing my tense muscles. 

 I highly suggest brewing your own matcha, not only for the health benefits and taste but also for the process. A stressful day can be made better with this tea ritual. Pumeli's presentation of the kit was an experience in itself and the beautiful products will make the process even more enjoyable. 

Check out Pumeli's Matcha Starter Set for yourself!

 Do you have a specific ritual around brewing your tea? Share with me!

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