Tea Time Tuesday

Good morning everyone! I have some news about Tea Time Tuesday. Tea Time Tuesday has moved to my personal blog. In trying to maintain a little separation between this business blog and my personal opinions and posts, I have created a new blog for personal posting. 

Please check out Always Penguins, www.alwayspenguins.blogspot.com for more Tea Time Tuesday, Books, Opinion, and other posts!! 

Thank you!

Tea Time Tuesday

It's my favorite day of the week! Tea Time Tuesday!

Today is a mixture between a tea review and some new tea storage. The first is the tea review. This is an Israeli Tea that I received in the mail via Israeli Post (which was totally awesome!!). It's called Wissotzky Tea. I got the Classic, which is just a straight forward black tea, however they have all sorts of different flavors and teas. 

This particular tea is great for blending with other flavored black teas to give an extra kick. I frequently mix this tea with the blackberry sage tea I reviewed last week. It gives just an enough of an extra kick without losing the blackberry flavor. 

As a side note to go along with this post, the tea storage has changed and moved! It is not in our dining room on a small table. I am still working the final storage and display of all the tea items, but this is getting closer. 

Tea Time Tuesday

Good morning everyone!! I've got some good news...it's not Monday!! That's cause enough to celebrate, but here is another reason...it's Tea Time Tuesday!!!

Today's review is one of my recent favorite teas. I actually drink this particular tea everyday, it is that good. 

Republic of Tea Blackberry Sage. So delicious. First off, when you open the tin the smell just flows out. It smells fruity with a small hint of something floral. It's soft and dainty yet not soft and dainty. Brewing the tea puts of the same smell and once you are able to start drinking the tea, magic happens. 

This tea tastes best combined with a straightforward black tea that gives it a little more robustness (is that a word?) or "kick". However this tea tastes good on its own as well. Pictures below from my afternoon tea (including the yummy treats I had to go with my tea). 

Tea Time Tuesday!

Good morning everyone!!

Let's talk about tea kettles. I firmly believe in having a stove top tea kettle :) I have one currently sitting on my stove top in my favorite color.

There is just something about having a tea kettle on your stove and then using it. This particular tea kettle is the Kitchen Aid 2.0 Quart with Full Stainless Steel Handle and Trim Band in the color Cameo Blue. It is so nice! The whistle is very loud and very not expected. It will certainly let you know when the water is boiling. I haven't had any problems with the handle becoming too hot or the spout dripping water everywhere.

Now, I know that a tea kettle is not for everyone. I have two other options for hot water. One is an electric tea kettle. I have one that is currently at my office so that I can easily make a cuppa during my busy work day. The electric tea kettle is a great option as well, it doesn't have a whistle (or at least mine does not) and it fits just under 2 quarts of water. I have the Hamilton Beach 40870 Stainless Steel 10-cup Electric Kettle (which I don't have a picture of, because it is at my office :)). You simply press the button down to boil the water and it clicks off when it is done. The heating element is hidden underneath the kettle. It is a good reasonably priced tea kettle and gets the job done quickly.

Now, I also use a Keurig on occasion (mostly on the rare times that my husband and I are both home and he is sleeping), but it is not my favorite way to get hot water. It certainly heats the water and does the job, but it just isn't the same. I highly prefer using my stove top tea kettle.

Next week, I will have another tea review up for you! Until then, enjoy a nice cup of hot tea!

Tea Time Tuesday- Tea Storage

It's a happy day today! It isn't Monday (that is over and done with for this week) and we get to talk about Tea! 

Today, as promised, I will go into my tea storage. I have two different storage options (well really I have three, but the third is simply a drawer for my "secondary"tea that isn't my favorite but isn't bad). 

First off, the way I have my tea stored right now is not my ideal or favorite option. At the moment, and in this house, it is about the only option I have. It is on a shelf below my mug and teacup storage. I have one section for my loose leaf tea and another section for the bagged tea's that I have. 

Lots and Lots of Tea!!

For my loose leaf tea I generally use tins to store the tea. I collect the tins and then place a label on the bottom of the tin with what tea is in each tin. I am still getting tins as I go along. The big thing about storing tea is that you want it to be air tight. My favorite tins to buy or the Teavana one's (the red, green and bronze tins), they are cute and have a rubber seal under the lid so they stay air tight.

Tea Tin from Target

For my bagged tea, which side note is mostly Twinings tea, I have a tea chest. This chest holds all the bagged teas and keeps them fresh. It is able to be closed but since the bags that I have are enclosed in their own individual bags I leave the chest open so it can be displayed. This is one of my favorite purchased in terms of storage. 

Well, there you have it. That is my tea storage at the present moment. It's not my favorite. I feel like it is a little cluttered and not set up as well as I would like. I am looking for a separate chest or cabinet that I can have all of my tea stuff displayed. Once I find it, I will definitely be sharing!!

Tea Time Tuesday

As I always say, it's my favorite day of the week! I love that I have been able to incorporate a second love and passion into this blog. Today I have another review, however next week I am going to show you some of my tea storage (which just keeps growing!). 

Today's review is interesting. In my original outline for this post, my review was not all that great. I did not care for this tea at the outset. I really had high hopes, but it just wasn't seeming to work out. However, I wanted to try one more option before I wrote a bad review, simply to say that I tried everything. It turns out that maybe that's all it needed!

Tea: PG Tips Green Tea Vibrant Mandarin Orange. 

I have liked green tea, it is how I normally start my morning and daily tea drinking. I have only had the Tazo Zen Green Tea, which is my favorite and a green tea I rarely not drink in the morning. However, I love orange anything and PG Tips has always made great tea. I figured I could not go wrong with this tea! 

The smell is fantastic. The mandarin orange takes over and smells delicious. Based on the smell alone, I would have recommended this tea to anyone who liked oranges and tea. However my first couple cups of this tea were far from good. Honestly, it tasted like hot water. The flavor did not pull through with tea like I thought it would. I was very disappointed. I tried it a couple different times and no change. I had a friend try it as well, and she said the same thing, it tasted like hot water. I figured hey, I'm not a total green tea kinda girl. I usually only have one cup of it and it is the Tazo blend. I came to terms with the idea of that. 

On Friday, while talking to my friend (and taste testing another green tea, which will be reviewed later on), I decided I would give it one more shot and this time I would add something to it. I wasn't sure what it would be, but I would try it with something. This is kind of a big deal for me. I usually never add anything to my tea. If I have straight black tea, I MAY add a little cream, but generally I just drink straight tea. I really wanted to give this tea every shot that I could.

I paid close attention to my steeping time for the tea and then added some honey to the tea after it was done steeping. This changed everything! Now, I always pay attention to steeping time, however I usually go a minute or two over the recommended time, however for this particular cup I decided to be exact. The honey added a hint of sweetness to my cup and allowed the orange flavoring to come through in the way I think it should have originally. It tastes quite a bit better! I am so glad that I gave  this tea another chance and switched up my normal!!

Tea Time Tuesday- Another good Tea!

Good morning everyone!! It's once again my favorite day because I get to share my love of tea with you! Today I have a tea review for you, this time it is a loose leaf tea.

English Tea Store is an affordable favorite tea shop of mine. They always have excellent tea and the description and reviews are generally spot on. This particular tea is no different. I originally ordered it because it was black tea and had fruit flavoring. I have discovered that I really do like the fruit flavored black tea (or black tea or flavored black tea). This tea is the Pomegranate Rosehip Black Flavored tea. English Tea Store lists the tea as sweet, tart, and fruity with hints of rose hip (http://www.englishteastore.com/loose-leaf-tea-pomegranate-rosehip.html). 

First Impression: I smelled this tea (as I always do) and my first thought was "OMG it smells like chocolate flavored fruit". I'm not kidding...I was a little worried. I even had my husband smell the tea to make sure I wasn't crazy and he agreed that it did smell like chocolate. I have not tried any sort of chocolate tea and am not really sure how I would feel about it. So, I was very worried when I put some in a tea bag and steeped it in my hot water. Once brewed, the tea still smelled like chocolate. I will say, this tea is very light and airy. I do like the tea quite a bit and continue to drink the tea. That being said, it definitely has hints of chocolate taste when you drink the tea. I feel like it is more of a "hint" of fruit flavored chocolate taste. I don't think it's an overwhelming taste, but it is definitely there. 

Final Opinion: I do really like the tea and will continue to drink the tea. However, I will probably not order any chocolate flavored tea, because this tea has let me know that it is not my most favorite taste. 

Tea Time Tuesday- A quick Tea Review

Good day to you!! I am so loving this Tea Time Tuesday! Today's post is going to be a tea review of a tea that I love and that is affordable and easy to buy!

Twinings Blackcurrant Breeze.  Twinings is an easy tea to find in grocery stores or a World Market store and you can't go wrong with any of their tea blends. This particular tea is described by Twinings to have a strong fruity aroma and sweet and tangy taste. Here is the real deal: the aroma is definitely strong, but more of a musky smell rather than fruity. The taste however is incredible. This tea is a really good early afternoon tea (it is currently the middle of the afternoon as I write this and I may or may not be having a cup :).

Yum!! (p.s please ignore the chip in my cup) I have had a blackcurrant black tea blend before as a loose leaf version and I didn't care for it as much as the Twinings blend. My friend and fellow tea lover actually loves the loose leaf variety better than I do. I just prefer the Twinings blend.

Final review: the smell may be strong, however the taste is amazing. I continue to drink this tea frequently and it is one that I recommend to both the seasoned tea drinker and the first time tea drinker.

Tea Time Tuesday...

I know, I know, I know...it's Wednesday, not Tuesday...

So, I was going to start Tea Time Tuesday next week as I will have a new tea to review, however I really want to share this particular tea shop that I have found and fallen in love with!! In general, tea time Tuesday is going to cover all aspects relating to tea, whether it is actual tea or simply tea products, shops or other related items. I am sharing this post today, instead of Tuesday, because I have been thoroughly impressed by this particular company. I was impressed by the tea they produce, but also by their customer service.

Tea For All Reasons (http://www.teaforallreasons.com) is such an amazing shop! I would say half to three quarters of the loose leaf tea that I own comes from this store. It also produces two of my all time favorite teas, Dowager Countess and Catherine's Blend. I was originally impressed when my friend came in with the Catherine's Blend tea and let me try a bag. It was such an incredible blend and I knew in that one cup that I needed more.

They have the website I linked above (click on shop) and an Etsy Store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/TeaForAllReasons). It doesn't matter which shop you go through, the prices stay the same although I think the web shop may have some more items. The prices may seem a little high, but this tea is totally worth every penny!! The bag of tea also does last for a while (a 2 oz bag lasted me for quite a while!).

The other reason I highly recommend this store, as if the wonderful tea wasn't reason enough, is their customer service. They are truly customer oriented! When I ordered off of Etsy, they sent me a message just to check in and let me know my order was on the way. I just recently purchased a larger amount of tea from them and Marsha immediately sent me an email to say thank you and then a later email to let me know that they weren't able to get it out that day, but would the next day!! When I ordered form the webpage, I originally had ordered when they were on the Christmas Break. I knew that it would be a little while before the tea was shipped out and I was ok with that. A couple days later it had shipped (while they were still on a Christmas Break)!!

I honestly have nothing bad to say about this company and love them! If you are a tea drinker or lover and are looking for something new to try, check them out!!

I do not have a problem...

I love tea. It is an obsession and one of my favorite things to collect. It is something that always makes me feel better and something I always reach for. I drink anywhere from 3-6 cups of tea a day and I am starting to create quite a collection.

Part of the collection...

I would say that I love a good black tea. I'm a big fan of the flavored black tea (especially something with a hint of fruit in it). I usually drink my tea without any cream or sugar and I let it steep for quite a while. I have included some of my favorites below (multiple because I can't just pick one :) ) along with where they can be purchased.

For loose leaf tea:

I think my all time favorite in this category is the Catherine's Blend from Tea For All Reasons (shop link: http://www.teaforallreasons.com/shop5/store5/agora.cgi ). This blend is so dainty but still packed with flavor. Tea For All Reasons also makes two of my other favorite blends (among quite a few of the blends that I own by them, which are all amazing!!): Dowager Countess Grey and Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle is a black tea that is so delicious. It is robust, musky and makes a delightful cup. The Dowager Countess (so named from Downton Abbey of course) is dainty yet delicious. A friend and I describe it as almost drinkable potpourri, but still will be good for any tea drinker.

The other two loose leaf teas that I enjoy drinking and are among the favorites are from English Tea Store (link: http://www.englishteastore.com/ ). This site/store is really good for the beginner tea drinker (as well as the more advanced) as they have a really good variety of loose leaf and bagged tea. They also have plenty of other goodies to purchase including teapots, kettles, and snacks.  My favorite is the Arctic Raspberry which is fruity and delicious. It is a light tea that is good for an early afternoon cup. The other favorite is the Buckingham Palace Garden Party. This tea is good, but for me if it steeps too long it becomes very bitter (which can be normal for tea).

For already bagged tea:

So many favorites in this category. The PG Tips and Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Gold are a must. both of these teas are delicious and comforting blends. It is usually my second or third cup of tea of the day. They are such a good pick me up blend. For green tea, I drink the Tazo Zen. It's been a longtime favorite, and I very rarely switch my green tea (except that I am ordering the PG Tips mandarin orange green tea). I was "recently" (in October) gifted a box of the Twinings Blackcurrent Breeze Tea and this tea has changed so much of my afternoon tea drinking! It is such a light blend that is soft and flavorful. I also like the Twinings Nightly Calm in the late evening. I don't drink a lot of Herbal Tea (although it is so good), but for a favorite...it is just about anything from Celestial Seasonings. They are so good with herbal blends. I have yet to find a blend that I do not enjoy drinking.

So that is my two cents on tea! I will continue to post every once in a while if I find something great! Do you have any favorite tea?