Tuesday Tea and cupcakes

Tonight* we had pumpkin chai tea with carrot cupcakes, iced with Nutella.

www.davidstea.com

Yummmm...

My version of icing a cupcake.

Hubbs' version of icing a cupcake.

 

For chai recipe, click here.

For cupcake recipe, click here.



Pretty sweet ending to a Tuesday, eh?

Hope you had a good one too!

r.

 

*this post was supposed to go up yesterday, but due to technical difficulties, you get it tonight instead. Happy Wednesday/almost Thursday!

 

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ice ice baby

Tuesday Tea

I'm officially addicted to iced tea.

it all started on the Sat before Mom's day when we went back to DavidsTea for a present for my mom (and a few things for ourselves) and bam, i'm making iced tea by the bucketful, all thanks to a little pamphlet, some very clever advertising and free samplers of "our best iced tea collection ever" because i ordered online (yes, in addition to visiting the store, but it was because this specific type of tea wasn't available in store anymore but rather had become an 'online exclusive', not, i repeat, not because I am addicted).

I've tried four different kinds, and thought I would share some thoughts.

Luscious Watermelon


This one turned out to be my favourite so far. It's got melon and apple and with a bit of brown sugar, it's like eating watermelon without having to worry about the rinds or the seeds...i've already bought more (because the very little sample pack didn't last long)

Jolly Jellybean


This is my hubby and i's current morning tea (his favourite by far) and i thought to shake things up I'd try it as an iced tea. While it wasn't bad, i did find it a bit sweet as an iced tea...probably because it's sweet enough to start with. Not a terrible option if you're just starting with iced tea though - just go easy on the sugar (it already has cute little sweet jellybeans in it!)




Perfect Pear


Although a bit light tasting (iced tea tastes better if it's stronger and i struggled to make this dark enough to get the taste out cold), the flavour is quite nice and fruity in this tea. Good if you don't like bold tea taste (ie. if you only like herbal teas)






Dulce & Banana


This tea is my most recent purchase via online (it's only available there...) partly because it contains a hint of duche de leche, which is a caramel like spread that my hubby grew up on. it's like a cross between buttercream icing and caramel. SO good. In iced tea, it tastes a little weird - like caramelly but in liquid format. It is a beautiful honey colour though. Good if you like different.




Now off to try momma mia...yes there's a tea named momma mia...crazy no?!

chau for now!
r.

fruity fun

Tuesday Tea

taste test time!

today i am skyping with my two besties and because i want to spend much more time with them then with this screen (but still want to give you your regular dosage), here are 3 fruity teas that i would love to taste test sometime...and since i'm a big fruity tea fan, i think i would have lots of fun with trying these!

chau!
-r

chai is perfection. that's all.

Tuesday Tea - my chai recipe

chai tea is my comfort tea. it doesn't hurt that it has hot milk, sugar and spice either. it's great on a cold day, when i'm tired after a busy day of work, or like today, when i've helped my brother start to paint his new bedroom - also known as my old bedroom.

i've devised my own recipe for making chai tea, which i think it's about time i share!

the important thing to remember about chai tea is that you should watch it, so the milk doesn't boil and create a skin on the top (unless your crazy like my hubby, who actually asks me to do that).

here's what you need:

- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1 1/2 tbsp chai tea - loose leaf preferable (or your favourite black tea usually works too)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- pinch of nutmeg or allspice or cloves

Steps:
1. add the boiling water and milk together in a small pot on the stovetop
2. stir together and add the tea
3. stir occasionally on medium heat for 2-3 mins (don't let it boil though)
4. when the colour is starting to turn, add the brown sugar and keep stirring to mix it in
5. when the tea looks a warm tan colour, and it's steaming (but not boiling) you can strain it into your cup; top it off with your pinch of chosen spice and there you go!

happy chai tea drinking!

-r

The Perfect Mug

Confession time: I skipped Tuesday Tea last week. And I surprisingly don't feel that bad about it. This could be good...or bad...or another take on whether you're a glass half full or glass half full person.

Today on Tuesday Tea: the perfect mug



These are my perfect mugs. Correction, they are me and my hubby's perfect mugs. They were made by a friend of my mom's, my tante cinty, who makes her own pottery. Aren't they beautiful?

Now I consider these to be the perfect mugs because of the following:

1. The handles are sized to fit all my fingers.

2. I can hold it like this,

Or like this,

And both ways are very comfortable in my hand because the size is just right (I'm thinking like goldilocks)

3. The lip to the mug is the right thickness for drinking but also thin enough for sipping.

4. Each mug is uniquely beautiful...like a person. :)

5. It holds some of the yummiest chai tea lattes!

Here are some of the things i suggest you do when shopping to find your perfect mug.

1. Pick up the mug. Try holding it with both hands (first your dominant hand, then your non-dominant). Make sure it feels comfortable in your hand (think weight for your wrist and balance of the handle vs cup).


2. Next, hold it in at least two different ways (by the handle and cupping the mug for example). You probably won't hold a mug in the same way 100% of the time, so make sure you like holding it at least two ways, and that it fits your hand.

3. Finally, hold it as if it was full of boiling liquid you didn't want to spill on yourself - ie. just by the handle. Ensure that you can hold it like this for at very least a good 30 seconds because you're going to have to cross a room with it someday and trust me, you don't want a burnt hand by the time you get where you're going!

Happy mug hunting!

-r

Coco Chai

I have to be honest, the first time I read Coco Chai I thought it hinted at a relationship of Coco Chanel and Chai tea. I didn't understand how there could be any connection between the two and was therefore confused. Then I smelled it. And it smelled so heavenly and intoxicating, I totally didn't care about the confusing name.

Welcome back to Tuesday Tea!


Coco Chai Rooibus is my current favourite tea. It's a red tea (if you follow David's colouring scheme) and packs quite a punch. Made with rooibus, coconut, pink peppercorns and other fun flavours, it tastes a bit like spiced cider and yet sweet like coconut at the same time. The girl is shop said it's amazing as an iced tea, but since it was -3 and felt like -9 with the windchill today, I haven't ventured into a cold tast test yet. Best of all, it's caffeine free, so I can drink a cuppa anytime I like (like before bed!).

It doesn't hurt that it's pretty to look at either!

What is Rooibus tea you might ask? It's technically not tea, but it is made from a plant - found in South Africa - and can be brewed to quite a strong taste, although it makes a great pairing with a lot of other flavourings and other tea additions. It does make some of the smallest pieces of tea, so whenever I make a rooibus based tea, I try and use the smallest-holed strainer I have to prevent any of the leaves (which resemble tiny little pine needles) from slipping through.


Another rooibus tea that I recently discovered is David's Teas' new springtime Jolly Jellybean tea. It was an instant hit with both my hubby and I, which made it a quick and easy buy...not to mention how can one resist tea with mini jellybeans it it!!!

See - I wasn't kidding about mini jellybeans!

I'd recommend either of these teas to anyone who likes a good flavour in their tea, and doesn't mind a strong scent - both of these teas smell a lot (of yumminess) even before they're brewed. Coco chai is a bit more strong in taste, and if you don't like coconut, it's probably not your cup of tea. Jolly Jellybean is a great starter for anyone venturing into teas or trying rooibus for the first time.


Enough advice. I'll leave you with a picture of the tea that has my hubby reminding me every other day that I have to wait until April to visit the tea store again...I know I know. I have a problem. But it's healthy and my mom got me started on it! :)

chau!
-r 

The start of something new

Today is the start of a new series - Tuesday Tea. I'm looking at motivating myself to do posts on a more regular basis (read: more often than twice a month). so I thought I would pick a topic that I'm passionate about and write about it once a week (I know that's only 4 times a month, but you gotta start somewhere).

so welcome to

  Tuesday Tea!

My love affair with tea probably started before I was even old enough to drink hot beverages. You see, when I was 6, shortly after my sister was born, my mom decided to quit drinking coffee. After a short lived affair with decaf, she eventually replaced her morning coffee with tea. And since it was the caffeine she was ultimately trying to stop consuming, she drank herbal tea. It was fruity and good smelling and everything a little girl thought was yummy to drink. And since it was basically hot water with natural flavouring, my mom let me have some. I felt so grown-up!

Loose leaf tea was something I don't remember knowing a lot about until university. I may have tried it before, but in first year I discovered this lovely little tea shop close to uptown Waterloo. It was called Distinctly Tea and it introduced me to the world that is tea outside of the teabag.

Check out Distinctly Tea here

I got my first teaball (with a sunflower charm on the end) and finally tried green/black/roobis tea. It was fun. and addicting. All the different kinds (with endless ever revolving options and new teas) completely had me hooked. And now I'm going on strong 6 years!


Next week, look for me to post actually on Tuesday and we'll cover my current favourite (coco chai) and a good newbie (jolly jellybean!)



chau!
-r