Custom

Prepared stovetop. A delicious end to a meal of curried shrimp with rice. I never fail to be amazed at just how good stovetop chai with milk tastes :) Creamy, spicy, comforting yet energizing. Honey takes it over the edge – a magic elixir!

I had a huge Indian lunch with my coworkers, and was too stuffed for a proper dinner! All I kept dreaming of was coming home to a nice sit down on the sofa with a huge mug of chai, and that is exactly what I did!

I prepared it with my favorite stovetop method, which makes for a creamy, moderately spiced, and flavorful cup. A little honey makes it all the better. One of my favorite treats in the world! I was up til midnight because of the caffeine, but it was worth it!

Made this last night to kick off our “staycation” :) See tea listing for “recipe.” Delicious! I also added a squeeze of chocolate syrup to bring out the already present chocolate notes and it was pretty sublime. Just the right amount of spice and chocolate mixed in with the comforting milky goodness. What a treat.

Yesterday when I brewed the English Breakfast and the Strawberry black tea (both from Enjoying Tea) I went ahead and brewed a little extra of each so that I could chill them together in one of my favorite custom blends.

I love the little hint of strawberry that this blend has – it’s not overwhelmingly BERRY … just a hint of it. Enough to make you want to keep sipping. It’s a very refreshing iced tea.

(Although, I will say that the Strawberry Black from Enjoying tea is also quite good iced, on its own… if you want a strong berry flavor)

Oh, silly me. Here I thought I had made a new combination, but I see I had logged the same thing almost a year ago! Anyway, it’s delicious. I added a bit of soymilk.

1 1/2 tsp rooibos (Cameron’s), 1/2 tsp dried lavender flowers
Lavender and rooibos make a very nice combination. The flavors blend so well that I couldn’t tell exactly where the earthy rooibos ended and the zesty floral lavender began. This would be even better with a third flavor added – maybe mint, vanilla, or lemon.

Oh how I am in love with this tea! When I crave something sweet this is how I tame it. A guilty pleasure without all the guilt.

We have another winner here.

1st infusion: 3 1/4 minutes
The liquor of this is pale gold, though not as pale as the blend I did with the Long Jing. The flavor…exquisite. Soft jasmine melding seamlessly with delicate lilac. Like a chord played by a single instrument rather than a duet.

2nd infusion: 4 minutes
Contrary to expectations the color of the liquor this time is actually a BRIGHTER gold with faint green tones rather than the same or lighter. The flavor is the same floral melding as in the 1st infusion.

Backlogging from yesterday.

Yes, more lilac experiments. Having done the two extremes I decided to start exploring the middle regions of the tea spectrum and chose Life in Teacup’s 2010 Pre-Qingming Da Fo (Great Buddha) Long Jing first day harvest. After steeping, the liquor was the palest of pale green-golds (oxidizing to a slightly darker pale gold by the end of the pot). The lightly vegetal, acorn-like flavor was a perfect compliment to the delicate lilac note.

Backlogging from this morning.

One day you are walking through the woods. It’s a sunny day, new growth deciduous trees, past season’s leaves covering the ground in layers of leaf mold. A faint whiff of something floral wafts past you on the light breeze. Following the scent you come out into a clearing to discover an abandoned house, crumbling into ruin, with a giant lilac tree abutting the remains of a stone chimney, roots pushing through the age-softened mortar of the stone foundation.

Yeah…it’s kinda like that.

1st infusion: 2 minutes, boiling water

2nd infusion: 3 1/2 minutes, boiling water
The lilac note is barely noticeable this time.

Still liking this blend very much for a smooth and strong morning cup of tea. I used slightly less rooibos this time.

I wanted a little pick me up this morning, but I also wanted that smooth rooibos flavor (plus, I was excited to try the rooibos I found in the bulk tea section of my grocery store!). This was a pleasant surprise. I tried a 50:50 blend (1 tsp each in 10oz boiling water) — I thought the Assam would overpower, but it was the opposite. Next time I might try a little less rooibos. With a splash of soymilk, this blend made a nice creamy, full bodied cup.

I have been longing to try some lilac tea…seeing as I have a lilac bush right in my backyard I decided to try making it myself! I wasn’t sure how delicate the flavor would turn out so I picked the lightest tea I had which turned out to be the perfect choice.

1st infusion: 3 minutes
The liquor is a pale gold, almost shimmering, with a delicate lilac note and a lightly vegetal aftertaste.

2nd infusion: 5 1/4 minutes
Same color but the flavor is a bit lighter.

I still have lots of lilac left…wonder what I should try blending it with next.

Very nice for a lazy summer morning. I haven’t had this in about a month, and I forgot how much I like it! The nice thing is this also resteeps pretty well. I might try it iced later.

Had this again this morning. I think mint flavored hot tea may become one of my summer favorites – even though the tea is hot, the mint makes it refreshing. The second steep was tasty, too!

I think this is pretty close. There might be another spice in the restaurant version, but then again maybe not? Also, I’m not sure if flowery orange pekoe is “authentic” – I’ll have to do some reading, or maybe the restaurant would tell me if I go when it’s not too busy. This attempt is delicious anyhow. :)

I steeped this attempt in about 12 oz water.

Aha! This is the one! A perfect blend of jasmine silver tip with cut peppermint leaves, which somehow manage to compliment the jasmine quite nicely. I’m not normally big on either of these teas, but together they make for a decadant and refreshing cup. High five Steph, this is delicious!

This delightful jasmine/peppermint concoction was dreamed up by my co-worker Steph, who couldn’t remember if she’d used the pearls or a jasmine white tea previously. Naturally I made her blend both for me. This is a little awkward to brew, mostly because you need to make sure you scoop up some peppermint along with your preferred amount of pearls. I waited until all the leaves had unravelled in the cup before pulling out my infuser, which may have been a touch too long as the jasmine was a bit bitey and the peppermint overwhelmed a little. The second 4 minute steep of this is perfect though, it mellows out quite nicely!

A very soothing bedtime tea. The flavors were nicely balanced – the mellow taste of chamomile, sweet peppermint, and a bit of zest from the lavender.

Great way to close off a fantastic meal/dessert! It’s just a simply great digestive that takes the food down softly and smoothly with a touch of mint. The smell of this tea is just so relaxing and brings a smile to my face everytime. I guess it’s one of the classics that got me into drinking tea in the first place and revisiting it everyonce and a while with family and friends just makes it so much more enjoyable to drink. For effect: I reccomend Moroccan tea cups as it makes you feel like your really living it. like this : http://bit.ly/cnqN1w

Moroccan Mint tea is a classic of all teas, especially as it was the first tea I ever had.
My grandmother makes it all the time with sweet deserts and pastries. I am not the biggest fan of mint, but I think with deserts and a little bit of splenda sweetener it’s pretty unique.
The perfect way to do this custom tea is to use actual green tea leaves and mint tea leaves, once again this one is a classic.

This is a backlog from last night… I have just a little of my La Vert Pear left, and I blended these two teas to see what would come of it. Cherry and Pear work amazingly well together. Much better than I imagined. Delightful. Delicious… and a little sad because I only have enough La Vert Pear for maybe one or two more…

I blended this blend a while ago. I wanted to improve upon this flavor idea… so I used Jasmine Pearls and Japanese Green Sencha and flavored them with Passionfruit and Orange.

Pleasant, fresh and fruity taste with a whisper of jasmine. LOVE it!

This morning, I woke up with a slight sore throat (my hubby has a bad case of a headcold so I’m sure that I’m coming down with it too) so to combat the sore throat, I decided to grab my “Kitchen Sink” breakfast tea which is a combination of small bits of black tea blends from all different companies and brew it, and then add some of my ginger/honey crystals to have a spicy hot soothing cuppa that did WONDERS on my throat. And it tasted good too. I’m glad my tastebuds haven’t been affected (yet) by the cold. Hopefully they won’t!