Tag Archives: infuser

Decaf Spice

Louisiana, Maryland, Tea 5 Comments

DecafWithAlmonds

How did I get to this beautiful image you see above?

The Spice & Tea Exchange has been bringing it with their teas.

This will be another in the long line of positive posts.   There’s been so many great teas that have come into my life, the bad ones have been few and far between. So another mixed-to-bad review will have to wait.

Nevertheless, their Decaf Earl Grey was effortless to drink and immensely fun to prepare.

I haven’t done a lot of decaffeinated teas for my blog, if any, so I felt the time was right.  I’m not sure if it’s the tea, my state of mind, or the weather slowly turning cooler, but I am a bit tired.  It’s more of a relaxed feeling.  I’m more focused than usual.

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The tea smelled so natural.  The ingredients are shown to you here.  The aroma of the tea leaves and orange peels permeated throughout, as soon as I opened the package.  I will admit, I cheated before and already knew how it smelled when this was given to me as a birthday gift.   The initial Spice & Tea post can be found here.

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The Tovolo Tea Infuser also makes its long-awaited return!  I’m in love with this thing.  As it gets cooler I’ll be prepping more loose teas, so you’ll be seeing more of one of my favorite gadgets!

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What I love about the infuser is you get enough time to see the color literally evolve from beginning to end.  And I have enough time to see this in front of my eyes.  It may only be a matter of moments but the way the beauteous color of this tea is manifested is a sight to behold.   And I want everyone to see it as well, hence the clear glass.

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I savored every sip with a small plate of almonds.  And the sips were savory.

Like I was saying, this tea was a gift from dear friends of mine, from the Ocean City, MD store.  I have been to OC  few times this summer, but the store was never open when I was in the area.  Maybe the timing was not right.  But I hope to check the shop out soon.  Yes we’re still technically in the Summer!

Where was shop alluded me, another did not.  I had the honor of privilege to visit New Orleans a couple of months ago, and maybe it was fate, but I got to visit their NOLA store!  The staff member there was kind of enough to ask me any questions while realizing I was acting like a complete tourist.   I literally stumbled upon this store while walking around the French Quarter.

And in touristy fashion, there will be plenty of photos for your viewing pleasure.

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There will plenty of posts to come from this great company!  And I will continue so next week…

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen

It’s Spring Again

Capital Teas, DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, rose, Tea, Virginia 2 Comments

tea!

Well not quite, but we’re close.  And for those of us in Maryland, how good has it feeling outside?

It’s only appropriate, that this week, I discuss the Cherry Blossom Rose, from the stellar Capital Teas.

I have been a supporter of them since their first store opened in beautiful downtown Annapolis, in 2007, and now they have expanded into DC, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, with multiple stores, boutiques, and kiosks.

So about this tea.  It’s plain and simple, comforting.   I am glad that my first post regarding loose teas, is for this one.   This tea, was part of the Organic Green Tea Sampler pack I purchased at the kiosk at the Towson Town Center.   A big thank you to Michelle, who was working that day, for helping me pick out this package.

The scent, with Kyoto cherry and rose petals, is so joyous and a perfect way to celebrate the upcoming season and Cherry Blossom Festival.

The process with brewing tea in a loose format, was intimidating to me at first.  It had been a while since I had prepped it this way.  But there was no need to over think or over analyze.  The creation process should be just as fun as the sipping it itself.

Blossomvoila

How beautiful does that look?

loosetea! watered result

And I have posted a few pictures of the tea strainer that I used, and the very simple process, to catch the leaves, and bring about the flavor in my cup.

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I enjoyed my tea,  with some holiday themed peanut M&M’s!  This can be drank hot or iced.  So your food choices, most likely on the sweeter side, are plentiful and abundant.

There will be more to come on strainers and infusers, as they come on all shapes, sizes, and contraptions.

And of course, there will be more on Capital Teas.   If you have a chance, visit one of them stores, especially the original one in Annapolis.  It will charm your socks off.  And in a great location in downtown Annapolis, it would be a tremendous addition to any visit.

Cheers to Spring.

Best,

Ideen