Monthly Archives: August 2015

One Love

Tea 4 Comments

I’ve wanted to find any reason to incorporate the things I love into my posts.   And fortunately, the iconic and legendary Bob Marley is near the top of that list.

I found out about Marley’s Beverage Company only a few months ago and was looking for the perfect time to write about it. Well the Summer is the right time to talk about anything cool.   I didn’t want to wait all the way to February on his birthday to write about it.

I could only hope that a grocery store or the like would carry a product with such a monumental and historic name attached to it.

I am grateful to say that was the case.   Even though there were only two flavors available, luckily they were both the bottled teas. And did they taste fun and yes, I’m feeling mellow.

Marley

Of course there would be a bias and I was hoping they would taste at least satisfying.  It was all that and so much more.  I felt great after sampling both.  It became more than sampling.  I decimated both.   Thankfully they were decaffeinated or I’d be bouncing off the walls.

As I’m writing this and feeling so calm, I realize that on the products site, they list the 100% Natural Calming Botanicals and this feels more than a placebo.  I feel so at peace.

MarleyBlackTea

First up is the Black Tea with Peach, Raspberry, and Passion Fruit.  That is quite the trio of fruit.   And the trio comes together for a masterpiece of flavors.  I felt so good drinking this.

Most important, the tea does not get lost in the shuffle even though these powerful fruit flavors are included.   I can tell a lot of soul and a lot of passion (pun not intended) is behind this beverage.

MarleyGreenTea

And then we have the Green Tea with Honey. The tea and honey combo is terrific.  There’s an even balance that both complement the other so well.  I’m relaxing and enjoying life sipping on this one as well.

This is also a tea that should be savored and drank naturally. Neither of these feel like the usual chugging iced teas or cold beverages that other may seem designed to do.

In what is now becoming a tradition with my recent recaps, I opened up the bottled and poured them in glasses so you can get the beautiful tints and shades of both.

How gorgeous do they both look?

To see if their beverages are sold near you, click here. And to read more about this great company, click here and here.

I had so much fun trying these teas and talking up how great they were, that I hope I get the opportunity to do so again.

1Love

One love.

Kindest,

Ideen

A Matcha Made In…

Tea 3 Comments

MatchaLove

Isn’t it funny how you start reading or hearing about a topic, and then images, visual cues, or stories about that topic seem to become drawn to you?   Well this happened to me this week with Matcha.

I’m always willing to learn more about the different forms of tea, the health benefits, the origins of my favorites, and so much more. But, for whatever reason, I was inspired to read about Matcha, and then I started getting signs everywhere.  It’s as if I was being naturally pulled to write about it this week.

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As I find myself in the massive tea aisle of my local supermarket, of course the first kind of tea that sticks out is from a company I had never heard of.  And this leads us to Matcha Love.  The two cans I purchased look so charming don’t they?  These adorable 5 oz. cans are just what the tea universe ordered! I just want to put them both in my pocket for safekeeping. Actually I can!

How did the Sweetened and Unsweetened compare?  For one, they were both magnificent. These are works of art.  The only difference with them is that the former has cane sugar added. And wow does the sugar taste natural.

MatchaSweetOpened

MatchaUnSweetOpened

I poured both into glasses to get a visual comparison. How gorgeous are these?

I chose to drink both at room temperature and I’m glad I did.  I wanted to get more of a sipping experience and opposed to it being chilled.  I think it would taste awesome either way.

With the unsweetened one, I did get more of an authentic green tea tasting experience.  It was like all the great teas I’ve had heated from a traditional kettle.  I got a very smoky flavor on top of that.  I didn’t want to get carried away but I could have had a few more of these.

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The company who came up with this gem is ITO EN, based out of Japan.  And within their website they have a tremendous section dedicated to Green Tea and all the positive benefits of it.

MatchaMessage

Speaking of benefits, I felt so good after drinking my Matcha Love cans.  It might have been because it was my first time or maybe there was something so powerful to them, that could be too good for words.

The teas were only $1.59.  That’s a bargain for what I was getting.

I felt energized but also a sense of calm instantaneously.  I felt as if life was so perfect at that moment and everything is going right with the world.  It’s a natural high that I would like to exhibit more often.

The organization is only 15 years old but I wish I had heard of them sooner.   Their website has a lot to navigate and tons of information, and once again I’m glad there is an area for community and social awareness.

There is so much to process and they have so many varieties to choose from that I will need to revisit this great company.  Thankfully everything about them seems user-friendly and genuine, that I will be happy to do so.

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen

Peach Pals

fruit, Maryland, Tea 13 Comments

This one is going to be fun.  There’s also going to be a record number of pictures.  We’re looking at around 25.

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Over the weekend I attended the Peach Festival at Weber’s Cider Mill Farm in Parkville, MD.  This was my first time attending the festival but not my first time visiting the farm.

Fortunately or unfortunately, my first exposure to the farm was around the holidays last year.  It was only by virtue of driving nearby and seeing signs for it that I stumbled upon this happy place.  And it’s a happy place.  It feels like Christmas even when it isn’t. And in a way, I’m grateful my first visit around one of the more positive times of the year.

So by default, this was my first Peach Festival.

The event and the farm itself is geared more towards a family friendly vibe.  The store inside acts as a regular market but it’s all farm fresh and local, which is wonderful!  Within the store there is a bakery and ice cream shop as well.   It has all the stuff that makes you feel good.

The festival itself got crowded very early and rather abruptly.  The sights and sounds will try to be conveyed via pictures.

WebersPeach

Of course I got a few peaches.  I’m not overstating this when I say they were incredible.  We are in the heart of the peach season.  And this is one of the best fruit indulging experiences I’ve had in a long while. Which leads us to the all-important question. What tea goes with a peach?

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Fortunately, after doing a bit of research, I recall the Maryland Tea Sampler from Eastern Shore Tea.

My previous post on the sampler can be found here.

If you check out this list, there’s some obvious choices of tea with peach as the focal ingredient, but my feeling wasn’t to do a peach with the same flavored tea.  I’m glad I went with my gut.

ClipperTeaClipperTeaBack

Included in the sampler is the Baltimore Clipper Tea, which is simply a mix of Black and Green Tea.  How can you go wrong with that?   It was something to behold.  This was truly a tea sipping experience.   I could honestly say I was having cup of two amazing flavors.  And I could taste both.

The joy of brewing this tea was just as exciting as when I drank it.

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I hope that you can see the evolution of the brewing process here. Can you see the steam in the last picture from the right? Breathtaking.  I can literally see the color go from green to a more greenish to black combination.  I was mesmerized.   I hadn’t seen anything quite like it.

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My peach tasted even more amazing because the tea opened up some new flavors, via eating and the sipping itself.  And the tea had some new flavors shine through. What those flavors were I cannot begin to describe. Maybe it’s one of those things that needs to be kept mysterious and leave me intrigued.

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And speaking of intrigue, I will leave you with some photos from this charming event.  The ones with the animals are always my favorite.

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I will be making frequent visits to Weber’s, so hopefully more posts to come.

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Cider season is later but I’m still enjoying the Summer!

If you live anywhere close to this happy place, I strongly recommend a visit.  I feel good every time I drive up and even more joyous when I leave.  I know I have supported a local establishment that radiates a positive energy to everyone.

For more on Weber’s you can click here.

And for more on the Eastern Shore Tea you can click here via the Baltimore Coffee & Tea Company.

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen

It’s a Summer Fest!

Tea 3 Comments

I can’t go the whole Summer without taking about one of the greatest places on the planet.

Wawa has brought me happiness for so many years.  And today I realized I hadn’t done their flavorful iced teas this season.

And I go here on a regular basis.  And when I mean regular basis, I mean almost everyday.   What’s the opposite of taking something for granted?  Well hopefully that’s my relationship with Wawa.  I love this place and I feel the love back.

Hoagiefest

And speaking of love it’s Hoagiefest.  It’s one of the many and unlimited reasons I love this season. And it’s an event I always look forward to.  And their hoagies have always resonated with me.  Not only do they taste great but I always believe the soul and feeling behind is usually a good one.  I just don’t mean the person fixing it up themselves.  That’s one thing.  But I also mean the spirit of the franchise itself.

So during this fiesta, the food and everything else takes on a life of its own.

2For2

In regards to the teas, I’ve always enjoyed their peach iced teas along with their half tea and half juice creations.   During the indoor festival other items are sold at lower prices, including many cold drinks! So with that I grabbed a couple of others I’ve never had, for this review.

WawaTeas

The diet raspberry tastes very light, hence being a diet drink.  It’s a very refreshing and tasty beverage.  This is not only for this year but I feel this can be drank all year round.

The blackberry is very sweet and since it’s a regular beverage is quite the dichotomy from the aforementioned diet raspberry.   It’s a unique taste but maybe a bit too rich for me. The higher sugar content would likely steer me away from trying this again anytime soon.   This wasn’t a favorite of mine. In the photo you can see it has a stronger shade or tint than the raspberry.

TeasWithHoagiePreMeal

I am really digging the raspberry tea.  And it paired well with a succulent oven-roasted turkey and swiss hoagie on their fresh baked whole wheat bread   What a great complement to one another!

ReadyToMange

And from complements to compliments, I can’t praise Wawa enough.  I will throw them all the superlatives and support that I can. They were just named the best convenience store in the United States.

One of the my great joys of these postings is when I see these companies show their support for the community.  If

As of this writing, Hoagiefest runs for a couple of more weeks.  If you’re fortunate to be in an area where there’s a store nearby, I’d definitely check it out!

For my previous post on their hot teas, click here.

I think I will write about a few more of their iced and bottle teas this Summer.  They’re that meaningful and significant to me they deserve multiple posts.

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen