Friday, November 29, 2013

Good afternoon everyone,

Do you know what bergamot is? It might sound familiar, and it would certainly smell familiar – it is a little citrus fruit similar in appearance to a tangerine. The oil of bergamot is very frequently used in the world of perfume, and is found predominantly in the southern tip of Italy. It's also the ingredient which turns a  regular black tea into a Earl Grey. Also very commonly used in the world of perfume is vanilla, which if you didn’t know can only survive in central America/Mexico due to a symbiotic relationship with the Melipona bee. In our Earl Grey tea today there is also a dash of vanilla which turns our brew into an Earl Grey Cream. Not finishing there, we add one more ingredient – the tartness of lemon. It is a staple for summery perfumes, and gives our Earl Grey Cream a tarty zing.

Actually perfume and the tea world have a lot in common, for when you enjoy them olfactorily, you follow the same sort of system: what is the head note, base note, tale note? Unlike perfume, you get to then enjoy tea on the tongue, and warm through to your very core.

Give this Earl Grey Lemon Cream tea a try: give it a sniff, give it a sip, and please let me know, just what you think!

Currently hot under the tea cozy.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Good Afternoon everyone,

In my family, I am the one who makes the tea. It doesn’t matter if I am at my place, my Mom’s, my Dad’s, or my brothers’ - they all insist I make them their perfect cup of tea (soy and stevia in his, cream and two sugars – brown in hers, 2% and one ½ teaspoons white for him, cream and white sugar  - three plus something alcoholic if I have it for him… etc.)   It is pretty much a given, and I don’t mind in the slightest – I do quite enjoy making tea for others. It is my mother who encouraged my love of tea, and it is with her I have shared most of the pots of tea in my life.
But whenever we have tea, she is the princess and I am the mother.

When you are sitting at the table partaking in tea, the person who takes care of pouring the tea, refills, and the like is called the mother. The person whom the tea is sort of celebrating is the princess -- in a large group this is easy to discern as the tea pot’s spout is pointed in their direction. So since I am always the tea maker and pourer, I am always the mother, and my mother is always the princess. Go figure.

This tea, appropriately named Mom’s apple pie, is a green and black mix that I have conveniently added vanilla to –- aka vanilla ice cream to this warm apple cinnamon brew. It is currently hot under the cozy. And believe me, I would pour it for all of you if I could.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Good afternoon everyone,

Well today I went pretty Scottish. I mean, I am already wearing a kilt. Plus there is the red hair going on. And all the scotch dri…thinking. Anyways. The Scottish theme has not stayed away from the tea today –- though you would be incorrect to think it was whiskey flavoured tea. Or haggis tea (but I hear tea and haggis are a excellent compliment). Or not even Scottish Short Bread flavour (but that stuff is LEGENDARY.)

Instead it is Scottish tablet, or more commonly known as toffee. It mixes well with a strong dark Pu’erh, the woodsy earthy flavour rolls in with the sugary sweet fudge bits in the brew.
And since there are so much Christmas things going on this weekend (oh YEAH I dropped the C BOMB) I also mixed in a little spiced fig/date/almond mixture.

So I present to you, Christmas Tea in the Highlands of Scotland. Also known as Facilities. And technically it is still November.

Wow I need to lay of the scotch at work.

Currently hot and ready under the tea cozy!

P.S. Due to my math abilities being terrible – I trained as a Library Tech for a reason – I was informed that .25 a cup is too low and my empty pockets should have signalled to me that the tea should be .50 a single cup. So now it is. If you wish to make a complaint, please send it to me in a Christmas Card. I love Christmas Cards.

P.P.S. I also made some fresh coffee. I guess.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Good Afternoon everyone!

We haven’t had a good black tea in a bit, so I blended up a regular earl grey cream with dash of summer strawberry. You really can’t go wrong with strawberry and vanilla – and Earl Grey is such a classic blend, well I think I’ve just made a super tea. A super black tea. Wait, hold on, that should be in caps. A Super Black Tea. Yeah, that looks about right. Creamy, caffeinated and delicious, you can’t have a better drink in your cup than this.

Currently hot and fresh under the cat tea cozy.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Good afternoon,

You know what smells of Thai food to me? Sweet coconut, lemon grass and a little bit of ginger.  This white tea not only delivers on those notes, but it also boasts lemon myrtle and sunflowers. It feels sunny and warm, and you might make the mistake of assuming it is warm and toasty in the world at large. Well it may be 24° C in Bangkok right now, it is no where near toasty around here.

This white tea is hot and ready in the cozy, to take you away to a sunny destination if only when you close your eyes.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Good afternoon everyone,

You might have noticed, if you saw me today, I am dressed a bit like a lumberjack – or lumberjill as is the female equivalent. This is because last night I spent longer than probably healthy looking at lumberjack men on pinterest. Originally I was looking for a nice wooded winter scene for my desktop wallpaper. I have one, now, but there is also a lumberjack in there. I know he’s a lumberjack because he’s holding an axe.

Anyways. I am feeling very woodsy and mountainesque, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I made a tea to suit my mood. Called Bear Trap, this tisane has all the berries of the rainbow, as well as some other bear favourite fruit. It smells great, has a bright red hue, and is currently hot and ready under the tea cozy.

I might have to come up with my own blend… Lumberjack trap.