Tea Review--Stash Decaf Chocolate Hazelnut

I've had chocolate tea before, but this one does not live up to its chocolate promise.  Perhaps it is the hazelnut flavoring, but Stash Chocolate Hazelnut Tea has a distinctive chemical aftertaste as well as a strong chemical odor.

I will finish the box, but I'll be on the lookout for a chocolate tea that does not taste so man-made.

Twinings English Afternoon--Tea Review

I purchased Twinings English Afternoon tea after searching in vain for a palatable English Afternoon tea that is packaged on its own.

Almost a year ago, I reviewed the Dilmah  variety pack and have been on the lookout for their English Afternoon to no avail.

Twinings just doesn't come anywhere near the standard of Dilmah, in my opinion.  There seems to be less tea per bag and what is there is of lesser quality. The aroma of Twinings isn't as good as Dilmah either.

I'm going to have to expand my search for Dilmah English Afternoon to my neighboring state to the south!

Thought for the Day

I am amazed at what a cup of English Breakfast Tea and some protein can do for one's mood.

I am continually reminded that the British are on to something.

Another Wonderful Tea

Today I picked up a variety pack of Dilmah tea.  The box contains 5 each of Earl Grey, Ceylon Supreme, English Breakfast and English Afternoon.  I just finished a pot of English Afternoon with some German Chocolate Cake my husband brought home from work.

This tea is a  full bodied and aromatic black tea that has a flavor that delivers.  I will be on the lookout for a decaffeinated version that I can drink this all the time!

Our New Favorite Tea

Everyone in my family who has tried this tea likes it.  Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice is a caffeine free herbal tea which has a satisfying array of spices including ginger, cardamom and black pepper.

It has no black tea, but it does have roasted chicory and roasted carob and can be enjoyed any time you want a relaxing hot drink.  Perfect for staving off the evening munchies without keeping you up all night.



 

National Hot Tea Month

Celebrate National Hot Tea Month with a cup of your favorite brew in front of a roaring fire.

Sidamo Coffee and Tea--A Review

My sister and I enjoyed a wonderful coffee shop in Fulton Maryland called Sidamo Coffee And Tea. Their main store is in Washington, DC near Union Station.

 My sister had a cup of their coffee, freshly roasted and ground on the premises daily and I had a cup of Provence Rooibos which was truly a sublime and transporting experience.  I had enjoyed Rooibos tea, which, by the way, is not a true tea, but a tisane made of the leaves of the red bush tree from South Africa, but had never heard of or tasted Provence Rooibos which is made with the addition of roses, lavender, and currents.  The aroma alone is worth the purchase and transports you immediately to sunny French fields freshly in bloom.

I will definitely have Provence Rooibos on hand from now on.  It is well worth the buying.

A Comfortable Cup of Tea

I discovered a new website. Catherine's Comfortable Tea is run by the Catherine McAuley Center, founded by the Sisters of Mercy and "promotes the well-being and dignity of individuals in need by providing basic education for adults and a transitional housing program for women."

Selling tea and tea related items was a natural for this religious community. Venerable Catherine McAuley founded the Religious Institute of the Sisters of Mercy and opened her first home for girls on the feast of Our Lady of Mercy in 1827. On her deathbed, she told her sisters to "be sure to have a comfortable cup of tea for them when I am gone."

Proceeds from their tea, treats and tea accessories help fund the Center in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Stop by their website, pick up some tea, and do a good deed!

In Praise of Tea...bags

This year the seasonal allergies have hit me hard. My eyes are constantly tearing and burning. I didn't want to go the traditional med route until I'd tried other things, so I googled and found that cold tea bags on your eyes for 10 minutes a day should help. Well this morning I tried it and it works!!!

Aaaaaahhhh!

I suggest round tea bags, by the way. They fit nicely.

Tea Room Review

I was saddened recently to discover that Gettysburg has lost its tea rooms. Yes, all of them.

However, just outside Gettysburg in Hunterstown, is the beautiful Cross and Bluebird tea room run by Laurie and Roger inside the Historic Tate Farm. The farm itself was built in the 1700s and is FULL of fascinating history, both before and after the Civil War, which Laurie is more than happy to fill you in on.

You are greeted by their cats, sheep, chickens and roosters as you enter. Inside, the home itself is full of enchanting history and decor and exudes a real sense of peace.

The tea, from Harney and Sons, is sublime, matched only by Laurie's cooking, which is gourmet quality with very generous portions. The price is very reasonable and it is well worth the drive to PA for this wonderful get-away.

Iced Tea

Now that summer is here in full force, check out Iced Tea Hound's iced tea recipes. Mmmmmmmmmm!

Here is a recipe for mint iced tea from Paula Deen on the Food Network:

1 quart water
4 family size tea bags (recommended: Luzzienne)
2 cups sugar
1 bunch mint leaves
1 lemon, slices for garnish

In a large pot bring the water to a boil. Remove pot from heat, add the tea bags, cover with a lid, and allow tea to steep in water for 20 minutes. Take a 1 gallon jug and pour the sugar into the jug and cover with some hot tap water. Stir the sugar around to dissolve while the tea is steeping. Once the tea has steeped, remove the lid and the tea bags. Pour the tea into the jug with the sugar, stir, and place the tea bags back into the jug. Stir the tea well, making sure the sugar dissolves. Fill the jug with cold water to yield 1 gallon.

To serve, pour each glass of tea and garnish with a slice of lemon and mint leaves.

Red Espresso

As the part owner of a new coffee/espresso machine (This year's Father's Day gift) I've become aware of a whole new category of drinks: red TEA espresso. Mmmmmmm!!!!! My son has been kind enough to make me a "Fresh Red" drink: white cranberry juice topped with espresso made with red rooibus tea over ice topped with mint. Mmmmmmmm! For this and other wonderful hot and cold red espresso drink recipes, go to redespresso.com.

Enjoy!

And now, for some tea...

The search for the perfect cup of tea

I've been OCD-ing on tea and tea info these days. I am desperate to find the perfect tasting, easy to find, and fairly inexpensive tea. [Let's add "bagged" (*gasp*) to the list while we are at it!]

Is this impossible? I like to think that I'm not a picky person, but lately, I'm really NOT liking the Lipton decaf that I buy for my mom. Yuk. It's just not cutting it.

I have a fairly large amount of various kinds of tea and tisanes here at home. My current favorite is decaf Earl Grey. I am trying to stay away from large amounts of caffeine but currently craving black tea.

I am also feeling a bit guilty about the amount of artificial sugar I seem to feel is necessary to making any tea taste palatable.

So, does anyone have any suggestions for me as far as an "everyday" decaf black tea?

Have a cup of tea!

As you can see from my sidebar, January is national hot tea month.

Ok, its 65 degrees out there today, but, hey, tea is good for you and warms you through and through.

I thought I'd post a picture of my new tea pot that dh and I got last weekend. I've already used it a few times and am trying not to crack it with boiling water.

It's nice nice to have a beautiful tea pot to use.

Tea Room

We have at least three (that I know of) tea rooms in Gettysburg. There is one that just changed hands and while I've been inside the physically much-improved tea room and store recently, I haven't taken tea there since the change.

I did, however, take tea at The Rose Room Tea Parlor on Steinwehr Avenue today. I decided not to wait until either of the men in my household could be dragged there. I had popped in on Memorial Day while taking in the parade and the owner of the tea room encouraged me to take tea by myself one day. So, today, I did just that.

What an enjoyable experience! The small tea room, situated inside Patriot Point Village in Gettysburg, has an ambiance all its own. Quite a contrast from the surrounding primitive country and 19th century military paraphernalia that surrounds it, the Rose Room just oozes Victorian femininity.

The tables are beautifully set with china and table cloths that center around a color theme. I had the place to myself and enjoyed looking closely at all the beautiful table settings.

I ordered a "cream tea" which consisted of a wonderfully warm scone with cream and lemon curd, some delicious finger sandwiches, including one that was asparagus wrapped in filo dough, and one pot of tea. The tea I chose, is apparently a favorite of many--English Toffee. With two lumps of sugar, it was heavenly!

So, this tea room goes on my favorites list. I'll definitely be back!

Some good news

Apparently, some caffeine is good for you. One less thing to feel too guilty about! This article on Yahoo says the following about caffeine:

...there's now evidence that it defends against diabetes, Parkinson's, asthma symptoms, post-workout soreness, and even hunger pangs. Cool.

The gurus out there suggest limiting your intake to about 2.5 cups of coffee per day. I suggest tea--its better for you than soft drinks and coffee.

Hat tip to MK, who is sitting in her basement bed room trying to heal a broken arm.

Take time for tea

The science magazine Cosmos reports that an article in the international journal, Psychopharmacology, has discovered that the health benefits of drinking tea include faster recovery from stressful situations and lower cortisol levels in the blood. Both these things lower the risk of coronary artery disease.

Subjects were given identical looking and tasting drinks, both with caffeine. One group was given a drink that did not have the normal active ingredients of tea. Both drinks were made in such a way as to avoid the normal "comforting" aspects that a cup of tea may have.

The group that had the real tea recovered faster from stressful situations and had a lower blood cortisol level.

We're lucky. We can have our tea, in our favorite cup, with all the comforting aspects in place.

Just don't put milk in your tea. That seems to cancel some of the health benefits, Reuters reports.

Tea Blog

Found a neat British tea blog.

Check it out.

http://tearoomappreciators.com/

Tea

Tea is the most popular drink world wide, after water. Tea is said to have begun in China over 5,000 years ago when emperor Shen Nung ordered that all drinking water be boiled as a health precaution. Tea was discovered when some dry leaves from a nearby bush fell into the boiling water. The rest, as they say, is history.

From China, tea drinking spread to Japan by way of Zen Buddhist missionaries. The Japanese raised tea drinking and all things related to it to an art form. Tea houses, tea hostesses (Geishas) and tea tournaments all grew up around the detailed Japanese Tea Ceremony.

The Portuguese Jesuit, Father Jasper de Cruz, in 1560 was the first European to write about tea. Tea arrived in England surprisingly late. The Stash tea company web site says, "The first samples of tea reached England between 1652 and 1654. Tea quickly proved popular enough to replace ale as the national drink of England."

In spite of the Boston Tea Party, (where, incidentally, tea *bricks* and not loose tea was thrown into the Boston harbor), Americans continue to drink tea. In fact, Americans invented both iced tea and tea bags.

Today, tea is popular in many forms. "Regular" (Black, green and white) tea is said to have many health benefits. Herbal and fruit teas are a refreshing, non-caffeinated alternative and have their own healing properties.

How do you drink your tea?