Warm up with this Whiskey & Tea drink recipe!
WhiskTEA.
I'm on the east coast so the weather is starting to get a bit chilly. Two of my favorite drinks to warm up are a hot cup of tea and a glass of whiskey neat. I've been thinking recently if there was a way to combine my two loves to get the best of both worlds...
*LIGHTBULB MOMENT*
I call it The WhiskTEA: Fall in a cup!
Okay, okay it's really just my version of a hot toddy :) I was really excited to make this with tea from a company I just discovered, For Tea's Sake. Of course, a company with a tea pun as the title made got me all giddy!
You only need a few ingredients for this simple drink.
The instructions are so simple, get ready to make a mug full of happiness!
Gather ingredients
Fill shot glass with your whiskey of choice and pour into a glass or mug. Make sure whatever you pour the drink in can withstand hot temperatures. If you'd like a stronger drink, feel free to use more whiskey ;)
Boil water. Once boiled, pour water into a cup then place one teaspoon of the carnival ride tea blend into your infuser or sachet and place into the boiled water.
Let tea brew for 5-6 minutes. This brewing time is specific to this tea blend.
Once brewed, pour tea into glass/mug with whiskey in it.
Add honey if you desire a sweeter taste (I sure did!)
Place one or two cinnamon sticks into drink and let sit for a minute
Enjoy this "fall in a cup" drink!
Cup of Joy glass mug is available in my shop !
I chose to pair the carnival ride with the whiskey because it embodies the fall season. The blend includes apple pieces, hibiscus petals and rosehip pieces. The tea has a caramel apple taste and which creates a spiked apple cider tasting outcome.
If I were to do this recipe again, I would definitely try using a bourbon. Bourbons, especially Bulleit (mentioned earlier) have a bit of a spicy flavor that would go so perfectly with this drink!
Notes: If you choose to sweeten, don't overdue it!
Have you tried a spiked tea drink and liked it? Share with me!
I'm so excited to give you all the coupon code Naza15 which will give you a 15% off discount with your first online purchase from For Tea's Sake! Go out there and grab this tea and have yourself a cup of fall <3
Tea For One: The Brewing Mug
Waste not!
I have a medium sized teapot at home and if I'm having tea with several people or having several glasses myself, it's perfect! Sometimes though, I'll make an entire pot and only have one glass. To me, warmed up tea is never as good so it goes to waste!
I've found a solution to tea waste, this brewing mug from The Tea Spot.
Here's how it works
- Place the strainer into the mug
- Pour a teaspoon of your favorite tea into the strainer
- Pour hot water over the tea
- Cover with lid
- Let steep (check steeping times on tea packaging)
- Remove lid and strainer
- Add sweeter (if you so fancy) and enjoy!
Later today I'll be posting a video of the process on my instagram!
Here's why I love this mug.
- It's made out of ceramic which holds in the heat of your beverage
- It's a large mug...I like big cups and I cannot lie
- It's the perfect amount of tea
- I thought the strainer might be too hot to touch once steeped but...*drumroll* IT'S NOT!
- Oh, and you can choose an accent color
Super simple to use and It's lovely. I've abandoned my teapot the past few mornings to use this mug. It's much quicker for getting out the door and off to work and I don't waste my precious tea!
What's your favorite way to steep?
Check out The Tea Spot.
Matcha White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Matcha-ddicated.
I'm back at it again feeding your matcha addiction with these matcha white chocolate chip cookies!
As the weather gets cooler, my urge to bake grows. I love to fill the house with warm and yummy smells. Because of it's powder form, matcha has been the easiest tea to bake with so far. It's extremely versatile and can be worked into almost any recipe! Here is the recipe I found. I've pasted it below as well with my personal modifications.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon green tea powder from The Tea Spot
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 bag white chocolate chips
Topper made by PaperlyPress
- Heat oven to 350 and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl (flour, matcha, baking soda and salt)
- Cream the butter and sugar, feel free to use a hand mixer
- Add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla
- Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet mix
- Fold in white chocolate chips. NOTE: I used a whole bag which made the cookies very sweet. You may want to use less than a bag.
- Make balls with 1 tablespoon of batter and place on baking sheet several inches apart
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, let cool on sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to wire rack
Toppers made by PaperlyPress
These cookies are so simple and aren't dominated by the matcha taste. They turn out a fun greenish tint and the white chocolate chips pair well with the matcha.
Have you ever made a sweet with matcha? What is your fav?!
Drink Copper Cup!
Turmeric Tea.
I recently had the pleasure of trying a turmeric tea from Copper Cup. As a huge fan of turmeric, I was extremely excited to try this!
The tea includes all organic ingredients: coconut milk powder, coconut sugar, turmeric powder, ginger powder, black pepper, vanilla powder, ginseng, salt, cayenne pepper.
Persian cuisine uses turmeric frequently but I never imagined how it might taste in tea. This mix is a powder that creates a latte so I tried it with two different types of milk; almond and cow's milk.
Almond Milk- Once mixed the tea had a dominant turmeric smell with a hint of coconut and pepper. So when I sniffed the tea I first got a BAM smell of turmeric then came the coconut and then the pepper.
As far as flavor goes I could definitely taste the turmeric and it was a bit spicy. Here is the kicker, I'm not a huge fan of almond milk and I felt as though that almond milk taste (that I don't really like) came through the most. I couldn't put my finger on it at first but after several sips there was something off about the flavor to me.
If you're an almond milk lover though, I encourage you to try it!
Cow's Milk- AWW Yea! This is what I'm talking about!
So, I had a completely different experience when I made the tea with cow's milk. The color was the same rich yellow color but the aroma was definitely different. Instead of the ingredients scent coming through, It had a very milky smell.
Mixing the powder with cow's milk was SO GOOD. Be weary of what kind of milk you try this with, make sure that you really like the taste of the milk you use because it definitely affects the flavor. The taste had hints of all the different ingredients...coconut...turmeric...pepper etc and it was topped off with a milky goodness. Copper Cup boasts about very little sugar in their mix which is great but the combination of the milk and the mix had the perfect amount of sweetness.
It's interesting that with the almond milk, the scent was dominated by the ingredients but the flavor was not and it was the exact opposite with the cow's milk. I think you can make this mix work easily for whatever your taste preferences are!
If you like your tea a little sweeter I would suggest trying some regular sugar or rock sugar.
Not convinced? Turmeric has incredible anti-inflammatory properties and can also increase brain function! The best part? It's caffeine free! Although I love my caffeine, sometimes I want an extra cup, but not the extra caffeine!
You can use COPPERCUP25 to get 25% your order until Friday 10/7! Head over to Copper Cup today and get your turmeric tea on!
8 Things I like to do when I drink Tea
Hi there! I'm still working on a fun surprise to launch my newsletter so I wanted to make a fun post. I like fun, do you like fun? Here's a fun list with pretty pictures of what I'm usually doing when I drink my tea.
BTW you can purchase this mug from Chalkfulloflove :)
1. Nature.
Not much beats tea out on my balcony and enjoying the sights. Green trees, bare trees, snow or rain I love standing out on my balcony. Here I can soak up all the sounds that are usually blocked out by honking horns, blaring music, people yelling and other city sounds.
2. Poetry.
If you've read my blog before or follow me on Instagram, you probably know that Rumi is one of my favorite poets. I have several books of his poems but this pocket sized one is my favorite! I feel like when I'm drinking tea and reading inspiring words, I come up with the best ideas :)
3. PLANNING!
I got this super cool agenda from Ban.do and it's helpful for me to write things down. Although I'm not a movie star, to do lists pile up. I try to pretend I can keep it all straight in my head but I always end up forgetting something. I love to sit down with my tea and write down everything I need and hope to accomplish in the next few days. I may or may not also spend the majority of that time putting stickers on various pages in the planner :)
P.s. I'm really more of a dog person, but I like cats too ;)
4. Crochet.
I'm no expert but I do know the basics of crochet and it's a great activity to pair with tea. I'm a bit obsessed with making hearts. I learned how to make hearts to use as bookmarks for my journals but now I love doing them for decoration! Three triple crochet, sip, 3 double crochet, sip...you get the picture!
5. Nothing.
Sometimes I like to do nothing but hold that warm cup of goodness in my hands, take in the aroma and sip slowly. Especially when I've had a stressful day, I like to be alone with my thoughts and my tea.
6. Doodle.
Tea is a great time for silence and reflection which can bring up great ideas or the desire to doodle! I usually keep a drawing pad close in case I feel inspired to jot things down or actually draw out a design! Pictured is the start of a harry potter themed piece I'm working on!
7. Paint.
This goes hand in hand with doodling although for mr, there is more intention behind painting. I usually have a project in mind or an order that I'm completing. One minor hiccup with the pairing of these two activities is making sure you can keep your tea and your paint cup separate. I have ruined many teas with a paintbrush and I have tried to drink my paint water too many times. Don't be fooled, two different cups wont help when you're in the zone!
8. Dream about whatever season it's not.
I think most of you can relate to wanting what we can't have. In the fall, I can't wait for snow and Christmas. In the winter, I can't wait for spring and sun dresses. In spring, I can't wait for hot weather, tans and beaches. In Summer, I can't wait for football and pumpkins! Currently, wishing the 75 degree weather away so I can break out the sweaters :)
How does this list stack up to yours?! Comment with what you like to do when you enjoy your tea!
3 Ways to Drink Your Tea and Which One I Like Best
Tea Vessel.
If you've read my blog before, it's no secret that I love to ask people their favorite "vessel" to enjoy tea in. This may seem like a silly question but tea, at least to me, tastes different in different materials. I'm going to talk about 3 different types of tea drinking, how they affect the experience and which is my favorite.
1. The Mug
First of all, isn't this mug adorable?! My best friend Bridgett sent it to me in the mail. Mugs like this are awesome for a number of reasons.
With so many independent sellers out there, there are TONS of designs you can choose from. I can probably find or have a mug made with whatever character or words I want. I have many different interests and easily could own a mug representing each one. Mugs, especially this one are big and can hold lots of liquid. This allows me to pour one cup and enjoy it all at the right temperature.
The issues I have with mugs like these are practicality. Sure, they're pretty but tea wise, they don't serve my purpose. With a thick mug like the one pictured it's a whole different experience when you take a sip. I feel like the thick walls separate the tea from my taste buds more than I like. I also feel as though the ceramic material (even bone china) can change the taste of the tea.
2. The Tiny Glass
The tiny and more traditional glass is often beautiful. The one in my hand was given to me as a gift and they came all the way from Turkey! It's hard to see in the picture but there is absolutely gorgeous engravings on this glass which I love about them. They are great to bring out for a party. These also remind me of my childhood because Iranians, like many other cultures traditionally drink tea from smaller glasses like these.
Another benefit of these glasses is that they are great for tea tasting! I love to brew one or several teas and use these glasses in the process. For my personal tea time, I don't use these as much because it all comes down to size. I don't like drinking such a small amount at once and the size of the glass makes it a little more difficult to enjoy honey in my tea.
3. The Mid Size Glass
Finally, we've made it to my favorite glass! I'll start off by saying that there are some things I don't like about it but they're mostly cosmetic. Part of me wishes that I can combine the fun designs of the other two into this glass.
The reason I love glass so much is for the taste. The thin rim allows for you to have a deeper connection to the tea while you drink it. The ability to view your tea helps you determine the brew strength and achieve a better pour. Specific to this glass, I love the size. This glass is the perfect size for how much tea I like to drink. I don't have to keep pouring more glasses and one glass is enough meaning I can enjoy my tea at the perfect temperature and brew strength.
This glass also gives me room to mix a little honey in my tea for my daily dose of sweet. This is by no means a professional opinion, just my feelings. I would love to hear your thoughts! What do you enjoy your tea in best and why? Comment below or send me an email!
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!
- http://theteacupoflife.com/2016/06/how-to-properly-care-for-your-matcha-whisk-chasen.html
- http://theteacupoflife.com/2016/08/matcha-green-tea-slushie.html
- http://theteacupoflife.com/2016/07/what-people-are-saying-about-canadian-tea.html
- 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
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!