Tag Archives: cinnamon

Chamomile Calming

Tea, Virginia 4 Comments

Treats!

The best experiences, at least for me, are the ones that are unplanned.   We are now into autumn and as tough as that can be for myself and others, I still try to find the positives.  And I think discovering a new place for tea drinking more than qualifies!

Last week I was in Arlington, VA and did some random driving and sightseeing.  I wasn’t looking for anything in particular. Maybe I would find something fun to eat or drink.  I might discover a store that would tickle my fancy.   Without trying too hard, I found one with all of the above.

TradeRootsFront

Trade Roots is located in the more laid-back and less frenetic part of the town, Westover.   And the store has a very positive and uplifting energy emanating, as soon as you walk in the door.  Even the outside signage made me feel something endearing.

I’ve driven through this part of town many times and never thought to stop.   I almost passed through again. For whatever reason, either to write about this place, or something bigger, I was meant to stop in. I’m grateful I did.  I want to give this place the proper credit it deserves.

The store represents the best in honoring what fair trade and giving back is all about.  I would have stayed longer if I could. I also would have seen my checking account depleted.  There were so many wonderful things available to purchase. And many of those items can also be procured online!

ChamoUpCloseGranolaBites

And to do my part, I bought an incredible cup of tea and some fantastic cinnamon-pecan granola bites!

I ordered a chamomile.  But not just any chamomile. This was a German one. You could say this is in honor of all the Oktoberfest celebrations that are happening and will be occurring all over the place soon.  But this drink raised my spirits up but without any potential hangover on the horizon.

MyCupAndGranolaBites

Honesty, I did taste a difference in contrast to the traditional ones I’ve had before. I couldn’t place my finger on the why or the how.  But it made me feel so good.

Originally I purchased this to go.  But after surveying the area, I thought what is the rush. So I grabbed a seat on a bench and enjoyed myself.  Actually I was the only one around so I really did enjoy my own company.

GranolaInTea

I didn’t have a plate so I used the lid for my snacks. And any crumbs that were leftover I added to my tea.   How cool is that? Ha.

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I wish I had taken more photos but all this entails is that I must come back before the year is out.   Besides taking in my surroundings and a few snapshots, I relaxed for a good 30-plus minutes.  There was a sense of ease in me that I can attribute to my tea, my environment, and how good I must have been feeling at the time.

Imagine feeling like that all the time!  Yes please!

There are a few seats inside but the weather was too good to be anywhere but here.  For those few minutes, I was meant to be spiritually in tune with things and with nature.  I think I succeeded.

If you’re in the vicinity, I highly suggest visiting this shoppe.   The folks inside were great.  Everything was great.

More to come.

Best,

Ideen

Saratoga Style

Tea 2 Comments

Now I’ve never been to Saratoga, but I’m grateful that my friends who visited recently, thought to bring me a bag of tea as a souvenir.

SaratogaTea

The Trans Siberian Chai from Saratoga Tea & Honey Company was an absolute pleasure to drink.  What a work of art! And you can see a lot of thought and passion was behind this creation.

This tea really got my spirits up, as it’s been needed. Summer is slowly winding down, but I refuse to concede it ending.  We have a few weeks to go. Yet while this blend feels like more something more Autumn, it works well here as we’re now officially segued into September.

The flavors of cocoa, nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon are a soothing and comforting melange of joy.   I don’t know how else to describe it.  Actually I could write a ton more superlatives if I could.  The cocoa, especially, really stands out and makes this a unique tasting cup.   Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices and always warms my heart.

I’l be honest, clove and nutmeg are not something I’ve had enough of, so those flavors, for me at least, are not quite detectable.   As I was smelling it and then sipping it, I was looking for those scents, and they didn’t hit me as like the aforementioned cocoa and cinnamon. And chai is usually always a winner.

I wish I could add more links for everyone to enjoy, but the website seems to be incomplete and there’s an across the middle of the page it states that the online store is coming soon! Now that I look forward to!

SaratogaBack

I love how the back of the label encourages us to experiment with the quantity, duration, and temperature for the heating process.  And yet they still throw some helpful recommendations for time and temperature to boil!  Good on them!

What I also look forward to is a visit to Saratoga itself. A lot of places in the country and the world have alluded me. And I hope to cross that off my list.  Not only for their teas, but I see they have a honey room as well.  Join them at the bar for a pot of tea with pals! Yes please!

For now, I will do my best to capture the beauty of this tea brewing process.    The same friends who brought me this tea, also purchased this majestic teapot set from the wonderful World Market.  So it’s only right to bring it back for one of my favorite tea making rituals.

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I wanted to show you how amazing the tint is that I threw in a bonus photo in one of my favorite teacups! How gorgeous is that?  And how beautiful are those tea leaves and spices? This is the real deal.

The inaugural post with this pot can be found right here!

As the weather turns, and that pains me to say, more brewing and more fun tea contraptions will be seeing their returns and debuts in the weeks and months to come.

Take good care!

Best,

Ideen

My Maryland

Baltimore, Canton, chocolate, coffee, fun, spices, Tea 4 Comments

front

I’ve been meaning to write about Baltimore Coffee And Tea Company for a very long time.  I am grateful to have the opportunity now.   If you’ve ever been there, you know it’s a happy place, with a welcoming aura, and a great energy.

In a future post, I will talk about the Timonium location and all the fun that takes place there.   They have four stores,  but I will start with where’s closest.

What you see at the top of this post, is the Maryland Tea Sampler via the Eastern Shore Tea Company, and how awesome is that packaging?  I wish I could write about all of them, but as seeing I’ve only had one thus far.  One (or two) at a time folks.

Here’s the back, with the basic ingredients listed, and other fun information :

back

What I sampled as the Canton Spice, and on a cold evening such as last night, it was the perfect remedy.   And everything about the wrapping is beautiful :

cantonspice

Even though Spring is around the corner, it’s nice to enjoy a tea that warms me up in another way.   And with the combination of cinnamon, ginger, clove, lemon added to the black tea, it represents everything that is good in the world.   I would recommend this to anyone.  Based on the flavors, it can be drank at all times of the year.  I enjoyed it with a few dark chocolates.

amazing

If you look closely, you can see the steam rising above.  Wonderful stuff.

Now there is one last ingredient I wanted to list separately.  I had never heard of Star Anise, until I looked at this package. I have included some links, to help you and I.  This will be an ongoing learning process, which is a good thing.

I could dedicate an entire blog to the store itself, and there will be many posts coming about their many choices, as they have an incredible selection.

I have always been a supporter of local establishments and what better representative can you have then Baltimore Coffee & Tea.

When you combine the joy of tea drinking to the joys of supporting local shoppes, it’s a win-win for everyone.   To be continued. And soon.

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen

Fun Republic

chocolate, cinnamon, cookies, scones, spices, Tea, weather, winter 1 Comment

Cinnamon

As I was going through the collection of in house, I realize there’s so many I take for granted.  That’s not a good thing. These teas, even though many are natural, do have an expiration date and do go bad.    This is not the case with one of my sentimental favorites, the Winter Cinnamon Tea from The Republic of Tea via Harry & David.   Try saying that last sentence a few times over.     And as I promised in a previous post, I wanted to talk about other cold weather goodness.

The benefits of cinnamon are plentiful and are unlimited.  I’d like to thank my dad for teaching me all the positives of this incredible spice.   It has always been a guide for me in the healing process.  So what better thing to have is my merging it with black tea to make something special.   I know the holidays are over but in the cold weather months, this is a bundle of joy, that can do no wrong.

And most importantly, it’s delicious too!  It tastes like a cinnamon sticky bun, but not too sweet.  It still tastes like a tea after all, but you know your getting a natural sweetness added on to it.

WinterJoy

Isn’t that a beauty?  And our snow pals are back once again.

I’ve enjoyed this cup with scones, cookies, and most recently leftover chocolates from the holidays.   Why let them go to waste?

Maybe I still want to feel festive all the time and my love of tea is just a part of that.  It’s about sipping on what makes you feel good.  And that’s all it should be.  The health benefits, along with the spiritual ones, make this a beverage definitely worth drinking, throughout the calendar year.

I look forward to whatever is next.  Thanks so much.  Oh and go to Harry & David, it’s a wonderful place.

Best,

Ideen