Tag Archives: Easter

Love That Blue!

Tea 3 Comments

AuroraBlueHerbalTeaDisplay

The Spice & Tea Exchange continues their run of making amazing teas, limited time or not.  I mean you’ve got to be kidding me.  I mean we throw terms around a lot; calling things incredible, legendary, iconic, that we maybe shouldn’t.   Where am I going with this?  I don’t know.   But I would say at least one of the teas I’m going to discuss fits the mold of awesome.

This almost didn’t happen either.  Every tea, every discussion, and just about anything for that matter, can have a a backstory, if you allow there to be one, or if you pay attention.  I’m all for things just being or to ‘just be’, but not today, maybe next time.

I always look forward to a new season, which usually means the Spice & Tea Exchange is going present to us their Limited Time Offer Teas.  And is just out of this world, and out of this stratosphere, literally.

I know I don’t get to the point right away.  And that happens a lot.  But as I say that, I will attempt to shortly.  A serendipitous return to their Annapolis location, meant good times, good vibrations, and hopefully a discovery of their seasonal teas.

And I got ’em down to the wire.

Spice&TeaExchangeSpringTeaDisplay

I was told that they were down to what was left on display, and they had only had them for a short while.   Maybe I lost track of time, not realizing that they’re already in preparation for their summer teas.  I know Summer sounds great.  Everything about it is great.

But first things first.  And yet I completely understand…

AuroraBlueHerbalTea

The Aurora Blue Herbal Tea is one of the cosmos.  Yes I said that on purpose.  After seeing it, smelling it, and staring in awe, I wanted to love this that much more.  And this is way before prepping, steeping, and infusing.  I wanted magic, and I got magic.

And with this new Stainless Steel Tea Mug Infuser I purchased, everything fell into place, just like it was always going to.

The ingredients are presented to you up above, and here,  so I don’t need to elaborate too much.  However, what can be said about this color?  Even when I originally got a smell of it at the store, I sensed something incredible was going to come of this.

AuroraBlueHerbalTeaOpen

That’s what I’m talking about.

AuroraBlueHerbalTeaInfuse

The fact that there’s a tea that can mimic the colors of the Aurora Borealis, is stunning on so many levels.  It’s hard to comprehend and fathom, but then it doesn’t see, crazy.   We’ve seen amazing teas, amazing things in general, amazing anything that we throw out that word ‘amazing’, that it loses it’s value and shine.  But this is magic, and yes it’s amazing.

The transformation while infusing in the tea mug is magical.

AuroraBlueHerbalTeaReady

The love is blue, and the love is golden.  Holy moly seriously, who came up with this?  Am I overrating this?  I don’t think that can be applied here.  This is five stars and then some.  Who knew butterfly pea flowers would be the reason for all this.  I would be lying to you if I told you I knew what those were before last week, but be that as it may, I’m not giving this tea enough credit.

My words won’t be enough.  The citrus and ginger are understated yet there that it makes this blue concoction that is one to worship, that will resonate, and will make you coming back for more.  Hurry before its gone.  I should’ve bought more than I did.

So how does the Lemon Drop Mate Tea follow up?  It’s almost not fair, as it’s put in the  come down position.  I went by what I saw first, purchased first, and in a nerdy sense, alphabetical order.  So fun and funny I know.

LemonDropMateTea

When I got my first scent, it was candy, more akin to a lemon Jolly Rancher, so that was exciting.  My next sentiments were this would be just as good cold, as hot.  And I was right.  And while it’s not quite on the level of the Aurora, this has its own charm, its own identity, and a beautiful yellow tint that will leave its own lasting impression on you, if you let it.

If the Aurora is five stars or ten out of ten, the Lemon Drop is no worse than a 9 or a 9.5.  The combination of green tea, Matcha, and Yerba mate (which all make me happy) with a understated amount of lemon, is a a dream sequence.   My own worry was the lemon I smelled before steeping, would be too much in taste, but it was the complete opposite.  Everything became absorbed and one with my cup, and with myself.

What else needs to be said?

LemonDropMateTeaDisplay1

These are both fantastic teas, and I’m so grateful that I got the chance, at almost the eleventh hour, to try them.

Spice & Tea has been so good to me, as you can see my my past write ups of them here. and I’m fortunate to be a part of something so wonderful for several years now.  I only hope it continues.

For more on The Spice & Tea Exchange, here are their teas, which are available for purchase online; their growing list of store locations, and their contact information.

More is coming.  It’s always coming.  But for now…

I wish you a Happy Holiday weekend, and peace be with you.

Ideen

 

 

 

 

 

It Is Only With The Heart…

Tea 2 Comments

PukkaSupremeMatchaGreenTeaDisplay2

I write this on the verge of Spring, the verge of Iranian New Year (which coincides with the first day of spring, and depending on where you are, has already happened), and the verge of well I don’t know.   I am of Iranian heritage by the way, yet was born here, but I just digressed.  And I’ll stop now.

This has been some winter,  some year already, and a whole lot of other things.   Many I can’t describe, many that seem invisible and hard to comprehend, and some that need no explanation.  Some things are just bigger than us.

As we approach Spring, we know this can be a time of rebirth, spiritual healing, rejuvenation, and all those other words that mean the same thing, but mean so much.

It’s a time that can mean so much…

As the days go longer, and our spirits are heightened, it’s a reminder how quick and fleeting this life is.  I’m over three years into this blog, wondering but appreciating where all this time went.  It’s a good thing.  I’m fortunate to continue to do this, and hope that this will grow, flourish, and become something bigger than I can imagine.  Just like the season.  I know it’s coming.

I know things are good, they’ll only get better, and I believe it for myself and for those closest to me.

So it only makes sense that the tea this week is the Supreme Matcha Green from Pukka.

If they’re sounding familiar, it’s because I’ve written about them twice before since February, and I see them becoming a regular staple of this journey.   Pukka has my heart, and I feel it understands me.

I would like to say I understand them, but I don’t necessarily need to.  But I do know I love their teas.  And seriously, I love their teas.

The Supreme Matcha Green was actually not what I was going to write about.  A dear friend suggested I write about the Clean Matcha Green, but I looked far and wide (no not really haha), and while there was no luck, the signs were all their to write about something Supreme.

And supreme it is.  It’s masterful.

The synopsis is great, and it shows sense of humor and seriousness all at once.

PukkaSupremeMatchaGreenTeaDisplay3

Sometimes our superhero or are normal (whatever that means, it’s all relative) powers do run low and we need a reboot.   This is the tea that’ll do it.  And there’s nothing glamorous about it, which makes it fantastic to me.  That’s just the way I want it.

It’s the combination of green teas from the great regions of the world, and the matcha powder that even though seems understated after each sip, you know it’s there.  I couldn’t tell you what stands out in this tea, because in this instance, it doesn’t have to.

PukkaSupremeMatchaGreenTeaDisplay

It’s a green tea that is just a cut above many green teas you’re going to have.  I take it that the energy and soul behind this tea has a lot do with it.   Pukka has a lot to be proud of as they have created something incredible, joyous, and it’s the quintessential tea for not just this season, but anytime you want.

But this is the kind of tea that can kickstart a season, your life, and your anything.

PukkaSupremeMatchaGreenTeaDisplay5

There’s just something so grandiose in the simplicity of this tea.  Even if you’re not a fan of Matcha or how it tastes, I think this tea is going to change people’s minds and win hearts and spirits all over the place.

You may notice a sweet treat within this holiday display, and that’s merely for decoration.  Well I did sneak a snack or two, but this tea doesn’t need anything.   A lot can be paired with something, but teas like this are best sipped slowly and sipped on its own.  This is one to savor my friends.

PukkaSupremeMatchaGreenTeaDisplay4

Pukka continues to amaze and inspire.  I feel like my superhero powers will be running high after a cup of the Supreme Matcha Green.

It’s heart, and sometimes it is only with the heart…

And if you needed another reason to love their teas, look here.  Hi Pukka, you’re amazing.

Here is their story, a focus on our well being, their contact information, and where to buy their inspirational teas.

Happy Spring and Happy New Year to you! It’s going to be a good one!

Love,

Ideen

Fly On…

Tea Leave a comment

ParomiTeaDisplay5

Oh man.  So yeah, Paromi Tea was a late Christmas gift from some dear friends I hadn’t seen in some time.   It’s one of the more unique tea packages you’ll find.  And if you like what you see on the outside, just wait…

I love Sachet’s, I love all kinds of way that tea is presented.  But Sachets are something else.  The pyramid or triangle shape gives a glimpse of all the amazing herbs, spices, fruits, and other amazing entities from this planet, and it’s all there for you to see, in all its glory.  It’s much different than you standard steeping tea bag.  This is an event.  And the way the bag opens up while it steeps is all part of this fantastic journey.

What else is does is you get a lot of beautiful colors rather quickly.  And the Chamomile Lavender Rooibos brings all the amazing things I just wrote about, and so much more.  Oh there’s more.

I’ve come across lavender a lot lately.  There’s so many things lavender, from scented trash bags (yes that’s correct), air fresheners, incense, oils, soaps, lotions and all that good stuff that keeps popping up into my life.   So it makes sense that I’m gifted this amazing tea, as my mind is drawn to and focused on lavender.  The universe works just like that.  Ask and you will receive.  Some things may take longer than others.   And yet not everything needs or has to be rushed.

ParomiTeaDisplay4

And after writing about one beautiful lavender flavored tea two weeks ago (which was no accident by the way, either), we come to this one.  So no more build up, but as I’ve said Paromi is doing something tremendous.

The ingredients, which are Fair Trade, organic, and from something much bigger than all of us, is just tremendous.  It’s a stellar blend of the aforementioned ingredient and a little vanilla flavor which is just understated enough to make this a meteoric and world class tea.

ParomiTeaSteep

And when the description says no more than five minutes of steeping, they’re not kidding.  This has some power to it.

I might be caught up in the fact that this was a gift.  But yes, I will get caught up in the fact that this was a gift. I’m grateful.  I would love this tea if I discovered it on my own, but I wasn’t supposed to.  I hadn’t heard of this until it was presented to me, in present form.   And that’s living in the present folks.  Yes, that was intentional.

ParomiTeaDisplay3

The days are getting longer.  Spring is rapidly approaching.  I’m contradicting what I just said about being in the moment, and present.   Yet, I do have a few Spring like pieces in these displays, just to get the happiness going.   We should always be happy, but sometimes the winter and the short days, will do something to people.

For me, it’s been strange.  I could go back and look at all my previous stories, and likely find positives in all of them.  Maybe so much.   Lately, it’s easy to find all the positives but with a more realistic tone.   Life has been funny for me.  It’s been funny for a many of my peers, our peers, and people we’ve yet to meet.   It can be chaotic, stressful, and sometimes overwhelming.   One day it’s great, the next day it’s an experience.  And we go to bed with those feelings and wake up hoping each day is better, is great, and is going to transform into something good.

ParomiTeaDisplay2

But to ease the stress, a little help might be needed.  This tea did something to me today.  Lavender has its calming tendencies.  And that easily could be it.  Yet I had some moments standing outside, where the synopsis even says, a lot of things just faded and melted away.

This feeling, among other things, inspired the title for this post.

I stood outside, took my photos, but then I just kept standing there.  There was still lots of daylight, maybe no sunlight, but lots of time to still appreciate what I’m looking at, and feeling.  I saw beautiful animal friends, grass, I saw trees, nature, thing maybe not so natural, but everything felt fine.

Something hit me.  It may fleeting, because feelings tend to do that, if you let them.  Feelings can be fickle.  But, for a few minutes I felt comfortable with me, in my own skin, and the universe.  It felt good.  I want that feeling all the time.  I have this tea to thank, my friends to thank, and I always owe it something much bigger than us.  I’m going to say that a lot.  It just comes to me, naturally….

For more on Paromi , here is their story, where you can find their teas, and to purchase online.

At $10 a bottle, that may seen steep (ha) to some.  But trust me, it’s well worth the investment.

And I know I’ll be making another investment soon.

Peace Be With You.

Ideen

I Love This So Much

Tea 4 Comments

CelestialPeachTea1

I don’t have any clever titles for Easter or any other holiday this week.  What I do know is that the weather is more of a friend than a roadblock at times.  And as the sun shines brighter and the days get longer the tea drinking will slowly transfer over from hot to iced.  Maybe.

The tea I experienced recently is from a company that is near and dear to my heart.  And I’ve written about them once or twice before.  Well more than that.  But Celestial Seasonings will always have a soft spot with me.  They’ve been so good to me and this blog that each time I write about them (here is my history lesson) I want it to be crafted and worded in the best way possible.

With the Country Peach Passion this shouldn’t be difficult.  This is everything that I want in my tea and reminds me of everything that is good about this season and life in general.

And it helps when you’re in the comfort of your friends’ living room relaxing and doing as little as possible.  If this sort of sounds familiar, this is the same spot I was sitting in last fall for another wonderful tea sipping experience.

I think I would love this tea in any setting, with or without friends and family, hot or iced, or even when I’m not feeling so hot.  This is just the cup that’ll rejuvenate and brighten anyone’s day.  I mean how can it not?  That packaging is the gateway to wonders and enjoyment that I knew was coming, but I didn’t know it would be this good. Well yeah I did.

CelestialPeachTeaBox1

CelestialPeachTeaBox2

Celestial Seasonings has always been evolving with their packaging and presentation. Yet it continues to even be more approachable, accessible, and all the while still affordable. We can’t take that for granted.  You can find this tea in many a grocery store shelve that it’s hard to miss.  But that’s the thing, it’s always there that these are the teas I sometimes overlook when searching for something new and something that might be amazing, but sometimes disappoints.  Celestial has rarely disappointed.

CelestialPeachTea2

Upon opening I just knew.  I just knew this tea would be great.   One of my dearest friends who I was hanging out with was raving about this tea, and that may have influenced my feelings a bit, but there’s no denying this.  This is a tea I want in my life forever.

CelestialPeachTea4

Peaches are symbolic of what’s happening now and what is to come.  It reminds me of sitting outside, relaxing, fun festivals, outdoor events, and the good people that we share these experiences with.  This was a tea I was grateful to share for the first time, with some amazing people.

Oh and my dolphin friend from the fall was back to enjoy the experience one more time.  Not sure my friend had any of this tea but I would be happy to share it.  This is a tea I’ve already purchased since for enjoyment at home and I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to try some peach tea.

This is also another reinforcement of my love for chamomile.  But there’s so much to love and there’s ingredients I love that I can’t pretend to be familiar with or understand.  But I don’t need to and neither do you.   The peaches and orange peel is what really stands out the most, to me at least.  I love hibiscus and not sure if I tasted any but I bet it added something just the same.  Sometimes less is more but sometimes every ingredient just works here.

CelestialPeachTea4

I tend to say this a lot but this is now one of my favorite teas.  I imagine the present company and the hours of relaxing and doing nothing definitely added to it.  But it’s an awesome tea all the same.

CelestialPeachTea7

After just a few pictures to capture the moment,  I went back to lounging in my comfy chair with an absolutely inspiring cup of tea.

CelestialPeachTea8

The sailboat mug and images in the background are just an added touch to a tea that didn’t teach any added touches.   Get this tea.

CelestialPeachTea6

You can the Country Peach Passion and any of their other stellar teas either online or at a store likely minutes from you.

CelestialPeachTeaDone

I hope you all had a Happy Holiday weekend, whether that would be Easter, Passover, or any other tradition that you honor.

More fun teas to celebrate and more celebrations (and times to relax and do nothing) to come.

Ideen

One Step Up

Tea 4 Comments

HotTradersPlatter2

I’ve mentioned it before, I have love for Harris Teeter. However, this may not translate to their teas.

Over 10 years ago I first set foot in one of their stores and it felt like a magical place. Maybe it’s the thought of something new, the thought of something simple, or maybe just the free samples.  If you’ve been inside a store then you know what I’m talking about.  I just had some delicious sugar cookies the other day.  Next time you’re by the register, check out the display rack and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

This brings us to HT Traders, which they proclaim is a step up from their regular brands. I’m going to assume that means more of an organic or healthier version of some of their staples.   It doesn’t work for their Earl Grey.

For me, I want some power in my Earls.  It’s been suggested that this is a tea to add honey, lemon, and sugar, among other flavoring.  Earl Grey was the first tea my dad and other family members introduced me and led me to my love for tea.   And I’ve usually always savored it in its purest form.  And I know when there’s a good batch.   Whether it’s been in loose or bagged form, you can smell and sense when it’s going to be wonderful.

I had a sense here of none of that.  It smelled too light and I got the sense it was uninspired and there was nothing behind it.  You might be able to tell by my post that I was headed in this direction.

Maybe it’s where my head was but during the whole heating process and creation, I got the feeling this wasn’t going to be anything to write home about.  And it wasn’t.

My cup was bland, drab, and lacking any kind of passion, for lack of better words. The tint gave me some hope otherwise but that was short-lived.

So what do we do when something tastes lifeless and unimaginative?  We dress it up and try to cover up its deficiencies.   Now this is where my friends and I got carried away.

HotTradersWithSnacks

I was at a friends house when I happened to discover this tea in their cupboard. Yes, I’ll just help myself, why don’t I.  Plenty of snacks and decor have been added to make this tea party the best it can be.  Sadly, I was the only guest that wanted to attend.  But thanks so much to my friends for setting it up anyways.

HotTradersPlatter1

That mug is obviously not mine and for many friends in the Baltimore area, you understand how hilarious this truly is.   Easter has already passed but you may find some Easter eggs and hidden gems in a couple of these photos.

HotTradersPlatter3

It’s a shame that the highlight of this experience was everything but the tea.  They all can’t be winners or this wouldn’t be fun.

Until next time…

Onward and upward,

Ideen