A Cup of Tea

Normally, I am not a huge fan of sleepy teas. They often taste “good for me” and make me feel like I am being forced to go to sleep. I feel the opposite about this tea. I enjoy drinking it. It makes me feel calm (without being pushy about it!). It is a mixture of so many different ingredients (chamomile flowers, lemon grass, spearmint leaves, tilia flowers, peppermint leaves, passionflower leaves, blackberry leaves, orange blossoms, hawthorn berries, and rosebuds) that surprising work well together. If you enjoy a cup of tea before bed, I would highly recommend giving this tea a try.

Mom’s Hot Chocolate

This is a recipe I remember from my childhood. We didn’t have packets of hot chocolate. We had Schwan’s ice cream containers filled with homemade hot chocolate mix and a ¼ cup Tupperware measuring cup. This mixture stores well and for a long time. So, you can make a batch now and enjoy a little before Spring appears or save this recipe for next fall!

A few warnings with this recipe. Warning 1-It is old and every time I try to make it I am frustrated that the ingredients no longer come in the sizes called for with this recipe. You can either do lots of math or just wing it. If you know me well, you know that I start off with the math option and end up winging it! Warning 2-My husband doesn’t find this recipe to be chocolatey enough. Next time I make a batch, I’ll increase the chocolate for him!

Mix Together-

3 quart box of Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry Milk

1 pound box of Nestle Quick

7 ounces of Powdered Coffee Creamer

½ cup of Powdered Sugar

To enjoy your hot chocolate, mix together ¼ cup of mix with mug of hot water. Top with marshmallows or whipped cream, if desired.

 

This morning in my tea cabinet I found one bag of Wild Sweet Orange Tea by Tazo. It is delicious. I’m hoping I’ll find a few more bags of it hiding in the back of my tea cabinet. According to Tazo’s website, this herbal tea contains lemongrass, spearmint, rose petals, and orange peel. All of these flavors combine into a smooth and tasty cup of tea.

My family has been sick-Mom, Dad, my niece, and me. I’ve been trying to get the adults to drink some hot tea to help us feel better. I found this tea in the local supermarket and decided to give it a try when I saw that they donate 1 meal for every two boxes purchased. After two cups, I like the idea of this tea more than the tea. It isn’t bad. It just isn’t winning me over as my new favorite tea. It is a dark cup of tea for white tea and I don’t taste enough pomegranate. I do love that they are producing organic tea and that they are donating a portion of their profits to help others. Those two factors are enough to make me give another of their flavors a try!

I am away from home and forgot to bring along any tea. Luckily, my hotel has this delicious tea and hot water available all day. This tea contains chamomile, hibiscus, peppermint, spearmint, cinnamon, and orange blossoms. When I read that long list, I thought this tea is going to be tasty or horrible. Good news! All these flavors work together in way that isn’t overwhelming and leaves me feeling relaxed after drinking it. If you find this tea while you are traveling, give it a try.

My husband and I are in the process of moving into a new home. Moving is stressful and overwhelming. To make myself feel at home in the new house, the first thing I moved in was my tea. It made me feel so good to see my tea in its own special place. I hope that you have a place in your home for whatever it is that inspires you and brings you joy. It doesn’t have to be a big place. This tea cabinet is very small, and yet it works well for all my teas. If you don’t have a space set aside for that which brings you peace and happiness, I hope you’ll look around your home and find a place for yourself.

At the suggestion of one of my readers, I tried Bengal Spice. What a great suggestion! To quote the Blendmaster’s Notes on the side of the box, “Brimming with cinnamon, ginger, cardamon and cloves, a cup of our aromatic Bengal Spice tea is like a trip to an exotic spice market in a faraway land. The adventurous blend is our caffeine-free interpretation of Chai, a piquant brew traditionally made with black tea. Try Bengal Spice with milk and sugar for a true Chai experience.”

I love chai tea and chai tea lattes. This tea works well with milk and sugar or with just milk or just plain. As soon as I open the box, I smell the tea and smile. It smells just as good while it is steeping. And it tastes just as good as it smells. Give this tea a try. You’ll be glad you did!

Recently, I had the opportunity to taste tea with my dear friend, Heather, and her three-year old daughter. We called it a tea party and had a wonderful time.

We were instructed to select teas we’d like to sample. Our young hostess steeped the tea for only 5 seconds and then poured it into our aroma cup.

We placed the sipping cup on top of the aroma cup and poured the tea into our sipping cup.  Then we were instructed to roll the aroma cup between our hands and enjoy the smell of the tea. Finally, we could sample the tea from our sipping cup.

We enjoyed the White Mint and Pomegranate White. Sleeping Beauty smelled good but tasted bitter. Hawaiian Paradise was the favorite of our hostess, but Heather and I did not enjoy it as much as she did. Christmas Tea smelled like Christmastime, but it didn’t taste like Christmas.

Overall, it was a great experience. We enjoyed Music City Tea and recommend anyone in the Franklin, Tennessee area stops by to enjoy a variety of teas.

 

 

This may be my favorite winter tea. When I open the envelope, it smells like a winter kitchen. Drinking it makes me feel warm and content. I highly recommend this tea for a cold winter day!

On vacation this week, I was invited to a tea party. We dined on Sprite (my hostess does not like tea) and blueberries. We talked about important topics like how delicious the Sprite was and how much fun we were having. In the midst of our tea party, my eight-year old hostess said, “I take tea parties very seriously.”

As I was thinking about this tea party, it reminded me why I love tea. Whether I drink tea alone or with friends, drinking tea slows me down. It reminds me to sip, to enjoy, to savor. I hope you take the time to day to slow down and enjoy a cup of tea.