Everyday Can Be Ice Cream Day

July 26, 2016Ideen Barimani Tea 14 Comments

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If it were doable I’d have every post be an homage to a holiday, birthday, or some other occasion/event. I’m gonna change it up again, while still keeping the integrity of the tea discussion intact.

This leads me to the belated celebration of National Ice Cream Day, which was on the 17th. Yes I’m a week or so late. But as the title says, any day is the perfect day for ice cream. And the title says so, so you must believe it. That’s a bit of sarcasm for you.

As an added bonus, it’s National Ice Cream Month. I could go on rambling about how every month can be ice cream… well you get the idea.

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You may have heard of this company, Häagen-Dazs, and they produce said ice cream. Several weeks ago I went searching for their Green Tea flavor at a multitude of grocery stores, to no avail. What I did find, you can read about here and it was fantastic. This time I wasn’t even looking and while lumbering along the frozen food aisle, it magically appeared. Yes I find it magical.

So with all that pedestal raising out of the way, I had high expectations. I haven’t tried any of their flavors of anything in a couple of years. It could be more, but it’s never on my radar. Not for any particular reason, other than I like to support my local ice cream parlors and independent brands, where I can.

And more reviews of some local flavor may be forthcoming. But I’ll say this, if I did a blind test, I would not guess this is green tea. It tasted like vanilla with an added dimension of something unknown. It would take a while to get to Matcha. So I’m not feeling warm and fuzzy. Even with this scorching heat and a refreshing treat (hey, that rhymed!) I was dissatisfied.

HaagenGreenTeaIceCreamUpClose It’s not terrible, it’s just not as advertised. The nutrition facts tell a story of high fat, sugars, and green tea listed at the end. I may be reading way too much into this, but I find that hilarious and ironic. This is why you shouldn’t always expect the best, even if their reputation speaks for itself.

However, my hope for you is that you enjoy your favorite flavor of ice cream, not just during this month-long event, but all year round. It pains me to say that while summer accelerates, we still have time to relax outside with our favorite drinks, food, and company to go along with it.

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Even if what you might be noshing or sipping on may not be the best, the place you’re in may be able to compensate for that, as was the case for me.

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It’s been feeling and nearing triple digits for the past few days, that may be unbearable for some. I have found myself wanting to remain inside as well but I will never complain about this heat because before you know it, it’ll be gone. And I want to enjoy every moment of this season I can.

I’m wishing everyone a happy and healthy next couple of days as we remain near record highs. Stay safe, stay hydrated, and hope you enjoy some comforting teas and ice cream.

Back to my regularly scheduled posts next week. Maybe 🙂

Stay cool,

Ideen

Summer Moves Fast

June 21, 2016Ideen Barimani Tea 3 Comments

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The thoughts, ideas, and inspirations come to you when you’re not thinking about it. It’s safe to say that I love tea. Heck that’s the name of my blog. But there are weeks where I’ would over-analyze and agonize on what to write about. If that’s the case then my writing will suffer and the readers will do the same.

So where is this going? I’m writing this on what is officially the longest day of the year. It’s the first day of Summer and and I want to enjoy every moment. It’s also a full moon and the further we get from that the better. It’s quite the conundrum.

Fortunately this files under the positvity and beauty of Summer. And last week I found myself in a picturesque setting at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. I promise I’ll get to the tea in a moment.

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Ok so that moment has arrived. I hope you understand what I did there.

After appreciating the beauty of the outside, I realized a I needed a refreshing cold beverage, like a water or much worse a smoothie. I enter the cafe and the first thing i see are the Mighty Leaf iced tea displays. I had to do a double, maybe even triple take. And even better was one of the teas is Summer Solstice. Pretty obvious where this is going.

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At the time I poured myself a cup and started sipping I wasn’t concerned about the ingredients, brew time, or anything else in the description, I just had the belief and hope it was going to taste good.

Well I didn’t taste much of anything. It’s unsweetened iced tea, it’s not going to be very exciting. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t refreshing. On a 90 degree day just about anything chilled will be passable at worst. I’d peg this somewhere in the middle, nothing terrible, but nothing exciting. And based on a previous post, that was my expectation. But I still wanted to love it. Anything connected to Summer I want to be memorable, passionate, and full of inspiration.

What was inspirational was the view and the tranquility of just sitting outside. Not all my time was spent taking photographs. I took just a few, and just enough for storage and the rest of the time I sat and meditated on the beauty that was all around me.

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This is only the beginning. Summer is just getting started and we need to appreciate every single moment we have of it, because it’s fleeting. Time is relative but it also feels so much faster when we’re enjoying ourselves, our surroundings, and each other.

My intent is to enjoy every moment with myself, people I love, and hopefully a rejuvenating cup of tea from time to time.

This cup didn’t have to be amazing (well the fruit cup was not too shabby_ and for this day it didn’t have to be. The rest of my situation was just right. And I hope to make more internal memories from this. For completist sake, I will seek out the Pomegranate Berry.

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So while we have this time to enjoy the outdoors. Make the most of it that you can. I intend to practice what I preach, and hopefully some fun teas will make their way on to hear over the course of this return journey into sunny paradise.

For more on Mighty Leaf, locate a store, or to make a purchase go here.

For more fun tea stories, check back again soon!

Best,

Ideen

It’s Still Summer

September 22, 2015Ideen Barimani Tea 4 Comments

And we have until tomorrow to enjoy that. I love the Summer, I love the heat, and I love the sun. And I’m sad its winding down.

However, there is much in the fall season to look forward to. The weather is still great and there’s plenty of more opportunities for outdoor events, festivals, parties, and whatever else makes us feel good.

With that in mind I wanted to do a review a tea that could embody the beautiful months we’ve recently enjoyed and a segue into what’s to come.

As promised I’ll be doing another tea from the marvelous Spice & Tea Exchange. For last weeks post you can click here!

The Coconut Oolong Tea reminds me of many things. I wouldn’t think popcorn would be one of them. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I enjoyed the scent.

When I opened the package it felt like a movie theater. That’s the buttery aroma or note that cannot be ignored. Oolong has never been a favorite of mine,but that could change. It’s just not a tea that I think to drink or seek out. That’s the enjoyment of doing this. I’m trying tea I don’t always have in my sipping repertoire and experiencing new flavors I didn’t know existed.

This tea was a grower. I didn’t love it a first. As you can see, artificial coconut flavor is added. I can’t say if that adds or takes away from the tea. Maybe the flavor is necessary. Maybe I should have added some sugar or flavoring but that’s not my style.

I’ve always preferred my hot teas with nothing. In the few exceptions I’ve needed to add something, either out of experimenting or because it was necessary, the results have been mixed. Next time I would like to see how this tea could be chilled or with some sweetener incorporated. Milk or creamer would go well with this too. This would be a great alternative to coffee.

With all that being said I did enjoy drinking this tea and will gladly have it again. It’s not on the top of my favorites, but it’s a cup I would look forward to having again.

That emerald color is visually stunning. I took my time with my first cup just so I could enjoy how beautiful the tint was.

This cup reminded me that there’s so much fun that can come with tea drinking. When the feeling and instinct is there, I may add some of the things that have been mentioned in this post. It’s all about experimenting and expanding scents and flavors. As we head into Autumn that will be happening.

In the meantime, I will enjoy my cup with some chocolates and candies! Now that is fall-like! Uh oh…

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen

‘Tis The Season

September 8, 2015Ideen Barimani Medicine, Tea 2 Comments

This will be posted minutes after the Labor Day Holiday will be officially over. And for many that is the end of Summer. That makes me sad, but I can’t look at it that way. I refuse. Technically, we have until September 22nd. So two whole weeks!

But I am not going to be in denial of the fact that the temperature is showing signs of cooling. The past few nights in the Maryland area have felt a little chillier. Because of that allergies may be starting to creep up. And they may begin to rear its ugly head anyways. It’s just the nature of things.

So what does this have to do with tea? Well as several of my peers have been feeling a bit under the weather, I to have felt some of the effects. It may be due to a long holiday weekend and having fun wherever I can. That can lead to exhaustion and not the most highly functioning immune system.

This leads me to an old friend, the Seasonal Sampler from Traditional Medicinals. In bringing back the sampler you could call this a segue into seasons. Oh now look at me moving too far ahead!

The last time I wrote about this package was back in January and you can find that post here. At that time I wrote about their Breathe Easy tea and all the positive results of it.

This time it’s the Echinacea Plus and did it heal me exactly where it needed to. I am writing this as my finish my second cup and I wish I boiled some more weather. It has an interesting taste to it. It comes off as bitter and if you’ve seldom had echinacea in any form, it may not be pleasing to the nose or mouth. And the smell may not endear itself to everyone but this was a pleasure to drink.

This also reminds me was to why I stopped taking it in the first place. The rejuvenating and spiritually healing benefits are unlimited. I used to have a capsule or two on a daily basis and I always felt happy. I loved life and felt like I could tackle anything. I felt like this was more than a placebo. My immune system was feeling grateful for operating at a top level. And so was I. And after tonight, so am I. For all this looking back and forward, I’m currently in the moment enjoying my cup.

And as you’ll see one the mug represents one favorite places to visit in the Summer or year round. And Annapolis is always a happy place just like the one I’m in now.

In pictures, once again, the awe-inspiring brewing process is shown. The beautiful leaves and tint really shine through. And this was the only back left in the package, so I really lucked out. I don’t believe I missed a step!

As we head into the cooler months (not yet), the teas will be representative of that. I suspect this will not be the last you hear about Traditional Medicinals.

Stay healthy and happy!

Best,

Ideen

Saratoga Style

September 1, 2015Ideen Barimani 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.

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!

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.

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

Peach Pals

August 11, 2015Ideen Barimani 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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

You Know My Steaz

July 28, 2015Ideen Barimani iced tea, Tea 7 Comments

I went on another adventure or scavenger hunt in search of another tea, cold or hot, to write about. And in keeping with this warm weather, I happily went with the former.

I had never heard of Steaz until earlier this week. And shame on me. But at the same time, this is what this blog and learning new things is all about. If it wasn’t for writing about one my favorite things, I may not have crossed paths with their products for a while. I probably saw them on grocery store shelves but were just a part of anything else in my view.

I am really digging these organic iced teas that these companies are concocting.

In traditional fashion I grabbed two cans that I wanted to try. And I did a taste test in the comfort of my home. I went with some different flavors for this incarnation.

I went with the Super Fruit and Blueberry Pomegranate. The links associated with both flavors are the same, but this website is so user-friendly, you should have no trouble finding your way.

And speaking of the same, they both taste very similar. If you gave me a blind taste test, I would say they were both fruit punch of a medley of some sort. I wouldn’t be able to get all the correct fruits for two respectively but I’d give it a shot.

With that being said, I liked both very much. After a couple sips each, I wasn’t in love with either right away. But with time they both grew on me. It might have been my palate or taste buds at the time. But I think the bigger picture is I am unfortunately used to drinking sweeter and artificial beverages in the Summer that I may not have been fully appreciating a natural and organic treat. That’s my educated guess on this.

In looking at the ingredients of both teas, I saw to a degree, that they are very similar. Had I been had? Ha, I don’t think that to be the case. Fortunately, I had the wherewithal to pour each can into a glass with ice to get a better feel for what I was working with.

At first blush both drinks look very similar. But as you look closer the Blueberry Pomegranate does have a darker tint to it. And yes it does have a little more power than the Super Fruit, which I did not expect at all. I expected the Super Fruit to hit me like that comic book hero you may have heard about. All kidding aside, I enjoyed both very much. And I would love to try more of there selections in the future. They have plenty of them.

And best of all, they are a Fair Trade ingredients so I know I am drinking something that represents good. And hopefully I am bringing my good energy from this purchase back into the world. And my other favorite part of researching these organizations is their role in helping the community or communitea if you will!

And information on where to buy their products can be found here.

I felt good drinking their stand-out iced teas and look forward to more in the future. I felt so good trying them out that it made this post that much more easy to write.

More to come!

Best,

Ideen

Merry Christmas in July

July 14, 2015Ideen Barimani Christmas, Tea 8 Comments

What better way to celebrate two of my favorite things, Summer and Christmas, by incorporating a tea that represents the positive attributes of two wonderful times of the year, and so much more.

The Peppermint Tea from Wegmans was a joy to sip. And speaking of feeling like Christmas, Wegmans is just that. I always feel like a kid in a candy shoppe when visiting any one of their stores near me or in my travels. But it’s more than just that. It’s a place of wonders, imagination, and happiness.

With just one ingredient, they stand by their motto, Just Tea. I like it. It pulls no punches and doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It’s by no means the best tea I’ve ever had. But it doesn’t need to be. It’s a comforting drink to be enjoyed heated or chilled.

In the spirit of the holidays, I chose to have it boiled. And even on a warm Summer’s night, it was a pleasure to have. It was so palatable, I served myself a second cup.

Throughout this process, the color of the tea changed rapidly and looked gorgeous. You know you’re getting something good. And I had to take a photo a few minutes after, because the tint just kept getting stronger. I’m loving this.

Tis the season to be happy! And hopefully that means all year round. The holiday cup has made its triumphant return! It’s a nice reminder of feeling good and what’s important in life. It’s on what the inside that counts but positive images such as these only heighten the experience.

If I only had some holiday treats to go with it. Well not to look too far ahead, but those times will be here before we know it. And all the goodies have since been long gone or way past their expiration date. The latter would not be a good idea!

In the true spirit of the season, it’s all about indulgence and abundance, so enjoy all the photos I have provided!

I wish I could try all these teas! Maybe I will…

Happy Holidays!

Best,

Ideen

Tea Is Fun

An inspirational and emotional tea blog.

Tag Archives: Summer

Everyday Can Be Ice Cream Day

Summer Moves Fast

It’s Still Summer

‘Tis The Season

Saratoga Style

Peach Pals

You Know My Steaz

Merry Christmas in July

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