6 ways to treat your SweeTea this Valentine's day

ValenTEAn.

Valentine's day is one of my favorite holidays. I know it's super commercialized but I think it's a day that reminds us to put love out into the world and we can never get enough of those reminders. One of my favorite things to do is to send snail mail to as many people as I can!  I've compiled a short list for some tea themed gifts and other pretty things to get your sweeTEA !

1. Custom gift from Pumeli

Pumeli has a huge selection of curated gift boxes, most of which include tea. Following the motto of the company, Permission to Relax, every box comes with tea that fits the theme. I first encountered Pumeli when I had the chance to try the Matcha starter kit. Forever thankful to Pumeli for sparking the romance between matcha and I! 

Pumeli has a new feature on their site where you get to be the master curator and create your own gift box! This is perfect gift to craft for your sweetheart and include all the things they love. Pictured is a custom box I treated myself to :) 

2. Tea Thoughts Cards

Shameless shop plug! I'm kinda smitten with the new lovey dovey cards in my shop and I want you all to know about it! These cards come in a pack of three and you can create a custom assortment if you'd like. Ex. 2 steep it real cards, 1 honey card. I also have listed the honey and steep it real cards separately. 

PROMO: Currently in my shop if you spend $10 you get a free tote bag! 

3. Tea Box Express

Tea Box Express is a monthly tea subscription box and the February box is going to include some wonderful goodies (including 2 of my cards!). I had the pleasure of receiving 2 tea boxes from this company and each time it was so delightful. I love how there is a combination of tea, tea food pairings and tea themed products! It's a tea lover's dream. Order by February 5th to receive the February box

4. Tea Towel from Cloth & Twig

I recently connected with Cloth & Twig on Instagram and she creates the cutest designs! I was so excited when she released her home line that included these beautiful tea towels. The colorful design was so perfect BUT it is also available in black and white! I think the colorful set that I purchased reminds me of beauty and the beast when they sing be our guest <3 (which is why I love it so much!)

5. Boho Betty Jewlery

I'm not huge on jewelry but I have two bracelets from Boho Betty that I LOVE! They have lots of unique designs and are currently having a promotion for 30% off! 

6) Chambre De Sucre artisan sugars

Chambre De Sucre creates the cutest tea buddies to sweeten up your tea time. These hearts are a great example. You can also purchase sugars that rest on the rim of your mug until you're ready to use them. I've had the pleasure of trying the angel wings, kittens and elephants! This is a great gift for a tea lover in your life who has a major sweet tooth!

Firepot Masala Chai Chicken

Chai Chicken.

I first learned how to cook in high school. Most of my learning was not by recipes but by doing. I always enjoyed baking more than cooking because it was so specific, one wrong proportion and it could all go wrong. Cooking was more flexible but it also left way more room for error. As I've gotten older and cooked much more I've come to love how flexible cooking  meal can be!

I've posted many recipes on infusing tea into baked goods but I've recently been asked if I ever do this with a non dessert meal. I hadn't until I received some firepot Masala Chai from Firepot Nomadic Teas! 

Earlier this week I posted about making tea with the concentrate but did you know it's super easy to cook with it too? Sarah from Firepot Nomadic Teas created fried chicken with this chai concentrate so I thought I would follow suit and make my own baked chicken recipe!

I cook almost every night but it's hard to share my recipes because I often "eye" amounts and decide whether things are are good combination by smell. BUT, for this baked chicken I actually kept track and created a simple recipe! I have some ranges here so that you can create this recipe to your taste

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup Firepot Masala Chai tea concentrate

• 1 pack chicken tenderloins

• 1-2 tablespoons of minced garlic

• One small onion, chopped

• 1-2 teaspoons of sambal oelek

• 2-4 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

• Salt & pepper

Combine ingredients in a bowl large enough for all the chicken. Place chicken in the bowl, cover and let marinate for several hours. 

Heat oven to 350 and cook chicken on a covered baking dish or sheet for about 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your tenderloins. 

This marinade turned out so well! The chai tea concentrate is spicy but also sweet. The garlic and ginger bring out the chai taste and the sambal oelek helps add a little heat to the dish! 

Please give this recipe a try and let me know what you think! 

I had the chance to ask Sarah from Nomadic Teas a few questions and I wanted to share! Get to know Sarah!

1) What sparked the idea for Firepot and how did you think of the name? 

I started Firepot in 2001 when I was cooking at a Tibetan Teahouse in Bozeman, Montana. I was making chai, passionately learning about Fair Trade and tea and the business sprung to life! I was inspired by the nomadic nature of a candle actually-- and thinking how wonderful a transportable pot of fire was... And decided Firepot would work for my own transportable pot of fire, tea!

2) What is currently your favorite tea that you offer?

My favorite in the collection right now is one of our rare, seasonal ones-- Tumsong estate Darjeeling first flush! I've drunk about 5 pounds since it was harvested in March!

3) Can you go share some of the pros/cons of tea concentrate vs loose leaf? 

Concentrate is fast, easy and delicious... Since we brew it for an extended period of time, just like they do on the streets of India, it's potent-- and already is sweet. Our loose leaf chai offers versatility and value- you can add your own sugar or not and make it as strong or weak as you like. Loose leaf tea in general delivers a more uniform and flavorful infusion because the leaves are allowed to swim freely in the water-- not confined to a teabag.

4) What is your favorite recipe you've created with the firepot chai? 

Oh- my favorite recipe was the chai bourbon mule I made this summer for Music City Food and Wine in Nashville!

5) What tea would you suggest for a new tea drinker?

Depending on what the new tea drinker was currently enjoying (coffee, etc...) and where they lived, i.e. what their palate was acclimated to, I'd recommend either a tea with a sweet and easy profile like our Moroccan Jasmine mint (green) Hibiscus Elixir (botanical) or, if they enjoy strong coffee, I'd recommend our Assam or Firepot Breakfast.

6) What is your favorite place to enjoy tea? If you could drink tea anywhere in the world where would you do it? 

I love to drink tea in one of its traditional settings. Sheng Puerh at the gongfucha table of a tea maker in Yunnan, gyokuro at a ryokan in Japan overlooking a tea garden, chai at a stall in Dharamshala, iced tea on my front porch with girlfriends...I have never had mint tea in Morocco and am excited to do that one day. I fantasize about sweet, sensual mint tea in the medina in Fes.

7) Do you have a favorite tea pun? If so which one?

I love you so matcha! Is my favorite tea pun.

Nomadic Teas: Firepot Masala Chai

Firepot.

I had the pleasure of receiving a bottle of this Masala Chai tea concentrate from Nomadic Teas. What a cute bottle, am I right?! 

I've never used a tea concentrate but on days when I want tea but don't have the time it sounds delightful. The directions are so easy. One part masala chai and one part milk of your choice. 

The beauty of this mixture is that you can have it cold or heat it up. It's January, so in Maryland that means hot tea for me! Not to mention that it's national hot tea month!

I combined the the firepot and regular whole milk then heated them on the stove for a few minutes. I'll just say that before heating the mixture the concentrate itself has an incredible aroma of what is so familiar as chai. The ginger was a note that especially stuck out to me. 

I'm a sweets lover so I was curious to see if the mixture would need any honey or sugar. Once I took my first sip I was in love! I'm not one to put milk in tea but the milk perfectly mixes with the chai. 

What a delicious surprise! This tea had all the perfect elements. It's sweet just how I like but there's a hint of spice that comes through from the ginger and pepper. It kinda tasted like a delicious dessert in a cup! I would be curious to play around with the ratio of milk to concentrate and explore the range of flavors. One part of each seemed perfect to me though. 

I didn't need any additional sugar but in the instance that you might, I conveniently had these adorable sugars from Chambre de Sucre that hang on your cup! Perfect for a tea party! 

As someone who loves to infuse tea into non tea drinks, sweets and foods I am delighted at the tea concentrate. What a versatile way to incorporate tea into your everyday life in a simple way! I got so excited that I made a chicken blend using this masala chai which I'll be sharing with you later this week! 

Have you had a tea concentrate that you like? Nomadic Teas also has a rooibos chai concentrate which I've never tried but can only guess it's as delightful as the masala chai!

Step Into the Tea Laboratory

Meet the Mad Scientists.

One of my favorite parts about trying new teas is getting to know the company behind the tea! If you've been keeping up with Tea Thoughts recently you'll remember a company called Tea Laboratory where I was able to create my own blend! I was able to speak with Gloria of Tea Laboratory, read below to find out a little more! 

1) What sparked the idea for Tea Laboratory? 

It was actually a few Christmases ago. The theme was "homemade Christmas" and we decided to make everyone herbal teas as gifts. After discovering how much fun it was, we decided that everyone should have the opportunity to blend their own teas. 

2) Where did your passion for tea start? 

I worked in a country-style English tea room for my first job when I was 16, and then a French-style tea room a few years later during college. I have never been a fan of coffee, so I naturally gravitated towards tea. Working at the tea rooms reinforced my love of all things tea.

3) Do you have a favorite tea?

 This is a hard one! I love so many. Jasmine pearls have always been a favorite because of their unique fragrant nature and lovely character - I am so excited to have them in our shop now! Another of my favorites is Formosa Super Fancy Oolong, which we are no longer able to get (at least for now!) - the best oolong I think I've had!

4) What is your favorite setting to enjoy tea in? 

With friends, on a cold day, along side some yummy cookies. 

Cookies...Gloria and I are on the same page ;) 

5) Do you have any tips for people who are trying out the "create your own blend" option on the site?

Be adventurous! You can't go wrong (mostly!). It helps to start with two bases (typically gives a nice blended flavor). If you have a kind of flavor or style in mind when you start, it can be helpful in selecting herbs, spices, and flavorings that you will like. But if not, go with what sounds good or interesting! And, if you have any questions, please ask us! We are happy to help. Insider info: we are working on getting images in the lab to help with selection!

6) What do you envision for the growth of Tea Laboratory?

 Currently we are trying to get the word out and get people excited about it, while getting our feet off the ground. In the next year, we plan to try out markets (watch out Seattle!). Eventually, we think it would be really great to have a storefront with some fun lab features. 

Go check them out!!!

7) What is your favorite tea pun? 

Well, I like this one (a classic): "Move oolong, nothing to tea here"

If you want to read about my thoughts Tea Laboratory teas, check out the posts below! 

Tea Thoughts Blend

Holiday Blend 

Licorice Essence

Bourbon Green Tea

Cocktail + Tea = CockTEAl

I tried another beautiful tea from Cai Cai and decided to have a little fun with it! 

Needles is an organic Longjing green that has this beautiful feather like shape as you can see in the above image. 

This tea has a more classically green tea aroma which to me, is very earthy. The finished brew is pretty light in color as you are only to steep it for 2 minutes.

The taste was very sweet and light just as I would have suspected from the color. I also felt as if there was a hint of butter in the flavor?  

I've really been enjoying different tea experiments. Baking with tea is always fun, I've created a bath soak and one of my new favorite is cockTEAls ! 

Here's what you'll need: 

• Bulleit Bourbon

• Cai Cai Needles tea

• Angostura bitters

• Sweetner (optional but recommended)

Directions: 

1. Brew 2 Tablespoons of needles tea. Immediately after you pour the hot water over the leaves, place your sweetener of choice in the pot. This time I used rock sugar.

2. Once brewed, let the tea cool.

3. Find a good whiskey glass. The celebrate glass is from Rachel Allene's etsy shop

4. Pour 2-3 dashes of bitters in your glass

5. Pour 1-2 parts bourbon in your glass depending on desired strength of drink

6. Pour 3-4 parts cooled needles and sugar mixture into your glass.

7. Mix & Chill

8. Enjoy!

I really like this combination. In all honesty, my favorite way to enjoy any good whiskey is neat BUT I do like to experiment. This mixture is great because the needles tea is light so it doesn't completely mask the flavor of the Bulleit. 

This is perfect for someone who wants to enjoy some bourbon but not with the punch of having it neat or on ice. Hey, if it has green tea it's healthy right ? ;) 

Have you tried a cockTEAl drink recipe that you've loved?!

Winter Is here: Licorice Essence

Licorice.

We had our first snow today! I've always loved snow. I have such fond memories of bundling up, sledding until my fingers and toes got numb then rushing home for hot cocoa. To me, snow is the true sign of winter. Cold weather isn't enough, when it snows I know winter is here! 

I sat down to try another blend from Tea Laboratory. This blend is called Licorice Essence. 

Ingredients: White Monkey Paw, Fennel, Anise Stars & Licorice Root

This tea reminded me about one of the reasons I love my blog. I get the opportunity to try so many teas and most all of them are beautiful in their own way.  I love how "chunky" this tea is, it shows it's character through all the different shapes and colors of the ingredients. 

Some teas have different scents dominate when they're dry vs brewed, this is one of those teas. When dry this blend has a distinct licorice aroma, the fennel seeds are also detectable. 

When brewed, the white monkey paw steals the show for sure. When brewed, there is a much heartier aroma that is often accompanied by green teas. 

At first sip I had a WOAH moment. I guess I associate licorice with candy or something sweet in general. I forgot that this tea has licorice root so I was shocked when my first sip was that of a green tea. DUH! The white monkey paw gives this tea a very green and earthy taste. Although the tea tasted earthy to me it also had a light element to it. 

It's strange to say that it's light but also bitter. Or perhaps that the non tea expert in me describing incorrectly :) To me, licorice is a bit bitter and that comes through when sipping on this tea. It's not weighed down and bold like black tea usually it. After a few sips a hint of sweet revealed itself too!

After examining the ingredients I guessed that the tea might have a bit of bite or spice to it but it didn't really. The ingredients blend together well to make a solid green tea with hints of different flavors. Another word that came to mind while enjoying this tea was warm. Not warm as in temperature but warm like welcoming and a perfect blend for the winter time!

What is your favorite winter tea?

Last Minute Gift Idea: Tea Leaf Chocolate Bark!

Tis the season for tea. 

Have you ever made or received chocolate bark for the holidays? It's quite possibly one of the simplest and most delicious sweets. The past week I've been debating different gift ideas for the last few people on my list and then I saw a video of someone making chocolate bark. Oh my gosh, it was so simple. It's literally melted chocolate and whatever other ingredients you want!

I first tried a "smores" bard that was a layer of chocolate, a layer of marshmallow fluff, another layer of chocolate then topped with graham crushed graham crackers. Spoiler alert, it was FANTASTIC! I've been thinking about a recipe for my last installment of For Tea's Sake blends I was sent and due to the ingredients (pieces of banana and cocoa!) I wanted to do something with chocolate. 

The result: Tea bark! This is a really simple recipe but it's unique and perfect for any tea lover on your list! 

You will need: 

1) 24 ounces semi sweet chocolate. I used mini chocolate chips because I think theyre easier to melt. You can alternatively use some semi sweet and some bittersweet !

2) Triple Banana Split tea blend from For Tea's Sake.

3) Baking sheet

4) Parchment paper

5) Christmas sprinkles (optional) 

6) Double Boiler 

Step 1: Crush up the tea blend. This will make it a bit more palpable on top of the chocolate. The image below shows the tea crushed by hand. You could also use a food processor. 

Step 2: Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and then spread onto the parchment paper covered baking pan. You don't need an actual double boiler to melt the chocolate. I used a rounded pot filled with boiling water and a flat pan that fit on top of that. 

Step 3: Sprinkle crushed tea on top of the chocolate while it is still hot. Use sprinkles here as well if you are adding them. I wanted to give the chocolate a little bit of a Christmas feel with these white dots...almost like snow! 

Step 4: Place the pan in the fridge for 2 hours or until chocolate is set. 

Step 5: Break apart the chocolate with a knife or your hands. If you reach under the chocolate you should be able to free it from the parchment paper easily and break it up!

Step 6: ENJOY! or if you're making this as a gift, pack it up in a sweets box and keep cool until delviery. 

Have you ever made tea bark? What is your favorite bark recipe?! 

Christmas Came Early: My JORD Wood Watch & Holiday Tea Blend

Time & Tea. 

I had the pleasure of receiving this JORD wood watch and let me tell you, I am SMITTEN. I chose the mint face because green shades are my absolute favorite! 

First impressions: Woah, this is such a cool box. Not only is this box hefty, it also has a magnetic top and little drawer at the bottom. My watch came fully equipped with wood oil, two different cloths, a cute pillow, the extra links and a 1 month supply of humidity control for my watch storage. WOAH, can you say royalty treatment. I really love how much care went into this box design. I have two other watches and my boyfriend has several and none of them have such a beautiful place for storage. 

I used the JORD wrist sizer they offer on their website to measure my wrist and after following the directions, the watch fits just right! A little detail that I really enjoyed was that the back has a dual clasp system which I think is more elegant and easier to put on.

Besides it fitting really well (I like a looser fit) one thing I noticed immediately was how lightweight it was. Before putting this watch on I was always more partial to all metal watches but I didn't know how silly that was until I put this baby on. How freeing that I can still wear an absolutely gorgeous time piece and not have it weigh down my wrist!

You might think mint is too bright of a color but it's subdued by the dark wood and it looks fabulous with my favorite sweater here!

 I decided to do some of my favorite activities with it to see how it felt. As many of you know I've been doing a lot of crochet recently to create these tea/ coffee cup ornaments! Typing is something I also do often for my job and normally I take my watch off because it hurts my wrist after a period of time but this lightweight watch feels great. 

Since this watch was like an early Christmas present, I thought it was only appropriate to try the holiday delight blend from Tea Laboratory. 

Holiday delight ingredients: Ceylon, Keemun Xiang Luo, Cinnamon Chips, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Anise Stars, Vanilla, Granulated Honey

I really love the fact that there is granulated honey in this blend and two black teas! Kinda reminds me of what I tried to do with Tea Thoughts Blend but didn't accomplish as well. 

The tea really has a beautiful aroma that dominated by cinnamon and slightly sweet from the granulated honey. Can you say Christmas in a cup?!

I've made it fairly obvious that ceylon is my favorite tea and that is my favorite part about this blend. I can enjoy the smooth and strong taste that I love about ceylon with some extra spices that remind me of Christmas!

This was so good I had to enjoy several cups!

You might be looking at my watch and thinking, man it's pretty! It's ok I am still saying it! This watch and all of JORD's watches are very elegant and would make a great last minute holiday gift!

Imagine opening up this beautiful cedar box on Christmas day, how wonderful! If you want to make it extra special you're also able to get a custom engraving on the box. One last perk, 2-3 day shipping is free! Here are also 3 more reasons to shop these watches for a loved one. 

1) This is a unique watch that will surely be a favorite of the fashionista on your list! 

2) There are a wide variety of wood colors and designs including automatic watches so there is surely a design for everyone on your list!

3. So, I'm really excited to offer this to all my wonderful readers! You can get an instant $25 e-gift card to use on your purchase, head over to this link to redeem! 

Get my watch!

Shop other Women's watches

Shop Men's watches

$25 gift card redemption link

This post was sponsored by JORD Wood Watches. Review was my own. 

Wooden Wristwatch

Tea Laboratory: Make your own tea blend!

Tea Thoughts Blend. 

So, I get to share something REALLY cool with y'all today! Tea Laboratory has a feature on their site where you get to step into the shoes of a master tea blender and create your own melange of leaves and spices! I recently had the opportunity to create "Tea Thoughts Blend" and it was an eye opening experience. 

I'm going to take you through some of the features they have and let you know what I chose! After debating I decided to chose a 2 base tea.

Here are the crazy amount of options you have to use as bases! Y'all know that I'm a black tea lover so I chose Ceylon and the Boukhial Estate Assam. 

Next, you get to choose up to 5 flavorings. This is not even a complete list of the options. I really love how these flavors are categorized for two reasons. One, someone who doesn't know many of these flavors can still add them to their blend and know what the effect will be and two, it's easier to say you like a sweet blend than a specific flavor. This list allows you to choose and explore all sorts of options! 

For my blend, I wanted to have a twist on classic Persian tea. I added Cloves, safflower, pink rose petals, honeysuckle and just to be adventurous, black walnut leaf!

Finally, you get to choose your amount and the best part, naming your blend! 

I love the box the tea comes in and how the tea is labeled. The labels not only have the name and ingredients you chose but also brewing instructions for your specific blend! 

I'll be honest, although the blend looks really pretty when it was dry it DID NOT smell good. I think that many of the ingredients I chose have very strong scents and all together it was too much for my nose. 

Thankfully once it was brewed the aroma was much better and the ingredients blended. Cloves have a very strong scent and that what was dominant in my blend. Due to a double black tea base this brew is REALLY dark which is just the way I like it. I grew up in a household where tea is brewed way past the suggested brewing time because it was enjoyed dark and strong. 

Although the dry blend was discouraging, I'm pleased with the way my blend came out! The cloves are definitely the dominant taste but with the reminder that it's a ceylon leaf tea. I added some honey after tasting it plain because I love honey in tea! The honey perfected this brew. The honey subdues the clove taste. Tea Thoughts blend was a success!

I've started to look at the the brewed leaves because they are so beautiful! I love the sprinkles of color in this. I think that Tea Laboratory has stumbled upon a really unique idea. Like many art forms, tea blending is often unappreciated. This process allows you to step into the shoes of a tea expert and test your flavoring skills. Perhaps you'll discover that the task is tougher than you thought or perhaps you'll find a new career path! 

Head over to Tea Laboratory and start experimenting!

If you try this process, let me know how your blend turned out!  

Bao Zhong- First Taste Test

Hint of Sweet. 

Recently I was presented with the opportunity to try some unique teas that I've never experienced! I think that many companies in the US, in an attempt to make tea more popular here are creating fun and seasonal blends. To keep up with coffee blends like pumpkin spice, many tea companies are taking classics bases like black and green teas and mimicking these types of blends. 

I've noticed that international companies do this as well but there are also many who stick to tea in the more traditional sense. I'm excited to taste teas that I've never heard of or tasted! 

On today's agenda is Bao Zhong from Grand Tea. One major shock factor for me was the aroma....or lack there of. Perhaps my nose wasn't as sharp today but when I opened up the packet I didn't take anything in any strong scents. It's interesting because I'm used to teas with very strong aromas. For example, one of my favorite parts of ceylon tea is the way it smells dry and brewed. At, first I thought that the lack of strong aroma would bother me but it ended up benefiting me in the end!

The leaves for this tea are much fuller and as a result the tea is so beautiful. Large, dry, curly pieces makes up this tea. Once the tea was brewed a very distinct hint of sweet was present! 

Upon first sip I was kinda shocked but not turned off. Although the color of the brew is light and there's a hint of a sweet aroma, the taste, to me was drastically different. I never claim to be an expert on tea but I do enjoy sharing my thoughts!

The taste was so rich and green. I say green because all these vegetables popped into my head. It was earthy, much like a meal. Many blends include sweet ingredients that make them more of a dessert tea but this Bao Zhong is savory! The light scent really helped me be unbiased on what to expect from the tea. 

After much thought about what this tea tastes like I came up with it- artichoke. You heard me right! I'm not sure why but that's what it reminded me of! It's kinda strange but I kind loved it. I decided to do an experiment with rock sugar. Since this tea is so savory I wanted to test what it would taste like when combined with rock sugar. The answer- not good. This is a tea that is not meant to be sweetened. This is a strong tea that can stand on it's own. 

Although the taste was a bit strange to me at first, I very much enjoyed trying it and would definitely have this tea again! Ill refer to it as my artichoke tea :) 

Have you ever had a savory tea that reminded you of a meal?