A Cup of Tea

In honor of his birthday, I am featuring my husband’s favorite tea today. Rich loves green tea and his absolute favorite green tea is Gyokuro which we get from our favorite tea shop, McNulty’s. I ordered this last Thursday morning, and it arrived at our home on Friday afternoon. McNulty’s tea shop is the best.

Now, back to the birthday boy and his favorite tea. I made him a cup this morning and asked for his comments. He said he likes this tea because it is “earthy, nutty and delicious.”

We steep this tea for 1 minute. It is a light color when it is ready. Rich likes it with an ice cube or two to cool it down so he can drink it quickly. I will warn you that this is not a cheap tea. We get it from McNulty’s because they have the best price on this tea. Rich recommends you give this tea a try!

Recently, I was at a party where these fun tea bags were given as party favors. Not only does this make a cute gift, it is also useful! I was delighted to give this fun tea a try.

You can probably tell from all the pictures that I thought this was the cutest packaging ever. And when I opened the pyramid and discovered the tea sachet was pyramid shaped and made to hang over the cup, I was hooked.

Good news! The tea tastes good and isn’t just a fun party favor. I liked the combination of hibiscus and raspberry. I would have preferred a little less hibiscus and a little more raspberry. Overall, it was a good cup of tea and a perfect party favor. 

Recently, I enjoyed getting fancy for a wedding at an Aveda salon in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was Halloween and all the employees were dressed up to celebrate the holiday. The Carolina cheerleader who checked me in for my appointment asked if I would like to have a cup of Aveda Tea. She told me it was made of licorice, fennel, basil, and peppermint. Now, I would not have thought of combining all those flavors together at once, and yet I still said, “I’d love to try a cup.” And I’m glad I did. It was calming and refreshing. It didn’t taste like any other tea I’ve enjoyed. It was a perfect complement to a relaxing day at the spa.

This tea is a special gift from one of my readers. He was given this tea as a gift and knew I would enjoy it. I would like to thank everyone who had a hand in the long process of that has led to me enjoying this cup of tea.

Here’s the story that is on the tin of tea.

Taiwanese Tea

This specific tin of tea is not available anywhere in Taiwan but only from my friend’s reserve stock. Their family grows the tea on their own mountain, process, and package the tea. They do not sell the tea, but only use them at home or give as gifts to guests and close friends. While the tea is not anywhere near the best tea in Taiwan, the story and efforts behind its production make it special. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Since this tea didn’t come with any steeping directions, I let it steep for 1 minute as I do my husband’s favorite green tea. The tea smells like harvest-time on my grandparent’s farm. It tastes earthy in a subtle way. It tastes different than other green teas I’ve sampled. It leaves no bitterness or strange after taste on the tongue. I like it. If you’d like to sample this delicious tea, you are going to have to come visit me and we’ll share a cup of this special tea together.

This tea sounds delicious. Orange, yum! Chocolate, yum! Sweet Spice, yum! It smells very chocolatey. The taste is mostly chocolate as well. However, it is not a rich, deep chocolate taste. Since I wanted some orange flavors, I added a bag of Orange Zinger. While I liked it better with the Orange Zinger, I’d rather just have a cup of Orange Zinger. So, I’m going to have to give this tea a thumbs down for not delievering the orange and chocolate goodness promised on the packaging.

As you know, I like tea. You may not know my Mom loves garage sales. I remember having garage sales with my family and searching for treasurers at others’ sales with my Mom and our amazing neighbor, Helen. Back then, we’d check the newspaper for the garage sale listing before setting out on our journey. You never knew what you might find that someone no longer wanted. I have acquired many books (and other treasures) over the years from garage sales. And I still enjoy stopping at yard sale today.

So what happens when you combine a Mom who loves garage sales and a daughter who loves tea? A new-to-me tea set. My Mom would want you to know she got it for the bargain price of $1.50. (Getting a good deal is an essential part of going garage saling).

I’m looking forward to trying out this new-to-me tea set after it makes its journey from Illinois to Maryland. When I do, I’ll think of my Mom and how she shared her love of garage saling with me. I know I will get her money’s worth out of this garage sale treasure.

When I lived in the Raleigh area, one of my favorite treats for myself was a visit to Skin Sense Day Spa. Not only did they provide amazing massages, they also had complimentary tea. A sign in the changing room said the tea had been a family recipe for generations. No matter what time of year I visited, I always enjoyed multiple cups of their delicious tea.

As a gift, my husband gave me their make at home version of the tea. This box gives you enough supplies to make two batches of this delicious tea. I was eager to give it a second try because my first batch didn’t taste exactly like I remember.

I followed the directions and waited while it steeped.

It smelled delicious when it was steeping. However, it did not taste good! It was very bitter. I tried adding some honey to sweeten it up a bit and disguise the bitterness. The honey made it a little better and still not tasty.

Here is my recommendation. If you find yourself in the Raleigh area, treat yourself to a spa appointment at Skin Sense and get a cup of their delicious tea from the original source. And if you have ever successfully made their tea at home, please let me know your secret.

While searching the Skin Sense website today, I was excited to see that they recycle old/used makeup and beauty product containers. For more information about this great program, go here.

Normally, I’m not a green tea drinker. I acquired two bags of this Tazo green tea while traveling this summer, so I thought I’d give it a try. I like it. It is a subtle tea as most green teas are. I like the minty aftertaste it leaves on my tastebuds. If you aren’t a big green tea drinker, give this one a try. It is a safe and easy introduction to the world of green tea. And if you love green tea, why not give this one a try too?

When I’m traveling, I love checking out local tea shops. Last December when I was in Anaheim, California, I stopped by Zama Tea. Their location in the Anaheim Packing District is a fancy kiosk. They had a wide variety of teas available. I picked Do Re Tea because it has a great name and I liked the cherry smell. When I opened the bag to make a cup recently, I was surprised how by the strong cherry smell wafting up from my bag of tea. With a smell like that before brewing, I was concerned the cherry taste was going to be too sweet like a fake cherry flavoring. After steeping my tea for 4 minutes, I had a lovely deep red tea that had hints of cherry with hardly any smell at all. It was a smooth, delicious tea. I would gladly share this tea with my friends!