Tea in the Valley

Monday, September 19, 2016

Pumped for Fall

As soon as the calendar flips to September, I go pumpkin crazy.

I kicked off the Labour Day weekend with my first pumpkin spice frappucino.

The inaugural pumpkin spice tea (by Tazo Teas) of the season was sipped from this charming mug (Made in England!) purchased from HomeSense over the summer.

I also couldn't resist trying the Pillsbury Ready to Bake! pumpkin spice cookies. Very tasty!

With the official start of the fall season just days away, I'm looking forward to:

There are still a few days left to sign up for The Enchanting Rose's 9th Teacup & Mug Exchange! Click here for more info.

I am SO EXCITED for the series premiere of "Designated Survivor" on September 21st.

I feel a frisson of excitement every time I see the promos. Please note that I will be incommunicado from 10-11 pm on Wednesdays as the new president requires my undivided attention.

Mark your calendars: the Royal Botanical Gardens (Burlington, Ontario) is hosting its first Tea Festival on November 5th. I will definitely be there!

What are you looking forward to this fall?

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tea in the Garden

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Monday, September 12, 2016

Terrific Tasting Tea

Wayyyy back at the beginning of this year, I attended a "Tea 101" event at my local public library.

This free tea tasting event was offered by Lesley, the lovely owner of 3 Teas, a Canadian company that sells only ethically produced Terrific Tasting Tea. We sampled 5 classic teas, starting with the light teas and progressing to the dark teas.

Tea #1: Organic Pai Mu Tan White Tea

Tea #2: Organic Chummee Green Tea (slight vegetal taste)

Tea #3: Formosa Oolong (slight fruity taste)

Tea #4: Yorkshire Harrogate Black Tea

This smooth tea's name was inspired by Downton Abbey. The Dowager would approve of its rich taste!

Tea #5: Peppermint Ginger Green Tea is an exclusive blend by 3 Teas.

This last tea turned out to be my favourite of the bunch! Who knew that peppermint and ginger would taste so good together?!?

The Tea Tasters at the 2016 Toronto Tea Festival also voted the peppermint ginger green tea as one of the Top 10 Teas so I wasn't the only one impressed by its refreshing flavour!

One of my favourite fall events is here: The Enchanting Rose's Tea Cup and Mug Exchange!

All are welcome to join!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Monday, September 5, 2016

Bye Bye Summer!

Despite the stifling heat, I still enjoyed a couple of tea parties this summer.

The first tea party was hosted in mid-August by my mom who is not much of a tea drinker but my love of tea time has rubbed off on her!

The pattern of this teacup is called "Shade Rose" by Bell China.

I had spotted the matching set of 8 cups and saucers, a sugar and creamer at a church sale earlier this summer. I didn't need any more teawares, but I thought that the pretty set would be perfect for my mom's newly renovated kitchen. No wonder I'm the favourite (aka only) daughter. HA!

We enjoyed sandwiches (not pictured) and sweets with English Breakfast tea.

I came decked out in my finest tea shirt!

At work, we bid summer adieu last week with a tea social!

We sipped Long Island Strawberry green tea from my purple floral chintz Porcelain Treasures tea set by Betty Platner.

The tasty snacks that were brought in by my co-workers.

How did you say goodbye to summer?

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Monday, August 29, 2016

All You Need is Love

At the beginning of August, some friends and I visited B. Love Conscious Eatery, a restaurant that specializes in "nourishing raw/vegan foods."

I heart the charming decor!

The tea cabinet

(I may have to borrow this idea...)

I eschewed the traditional tea offerings and opted to try Rise's Hibiscus and Rose Hips Kombucha which tasted like sparkling, sweetened fruity tea.

Kombucha is a fermented tea drink (click here to learn more about the fermentation process) touted for its health benefits (e.g., a 2014 review paper suggests that kombucha can help protect against metabolic and infective disorders).

The "Rawsagna" that I wanted to try wasn't available so I ordered the Mac 'N Cheeze. This cooked dish tasted delicious! You'd never know that it was gluten-free and dairy-free!

For dessert, I had a chocolate fudge TeaPop--a yummy organic frozen treat by DeeBee. I forgot to take a photo, but luckily, I found some other TeaPop tropical flavours at my local Goodness Me store to keep me cool during the sweltering heat!

The Toasted Coconut TeaPop

The Tropical Mango Teapot

If you want to make your own Sweet Tea Popsicles, click here for a recipe.

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Monday, August 22, 2016

The Old Curiosity Tea Shop

Earlier this month, I visited The Old Curiosity Tea Shop, a Victorian tea room that has been on my bucket list for years!

The family-operated Old Curiosity Tea Shop has been part of the City of Markham for over 15 years.

The loose leaf teas on sale.

The quaint Victorian decor.

I love it when tea rooms use vintage bone china!

The scrumptious sandwiches from our Victorian Afternoon Tea.

The delectable desserts.

The sandwiches and desserts were accompanied by a pot of Victorian Markham Tea (an orange pekoe blend).

What made this afternoon tea experience extra special were the lovely ladies who met up with me: Judith of Lavender Cottage (right) and Sandra of Ravenhill Cottage (centre)!

Sandra was my first teacup swap partner and Judith was one of the first blogging friends that I made when I joined Blogland.We've kept in touch via blogging and snail mail, but nothing beats fun conversations in real life!

Thank you, Judith and Sandra, for the wonderful company!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Monday, August 15, 2016

Bananarama

In late July, my friend and I took a day trip to Fergus, Ontario, a historic town located along the Grand River. Every August, Fergus celebrates its rich Scottish heritage with the 3-day Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games. We didn't make it to the festival, but I'm intrigued by the Tea Tent!

The primary purpose of our visit was to shop at this fine establishment:

Bentley House of Fine Teas and Tea Room.

The quaint tea shop also has a small eat-in area (behind the brown post), but I didn't photograph it because there were patrons sitting at the tables. At our next visit, we'll have to dine in!

Some of the cute tea-themed merchandise. I should have asked if the teapot lamp was on sale!

Most tea shops sell teas in specific weights, such as 50 grams, but Bentley House lets the customer pick how much tea to purchase which I really liked! I ended up purchasing different samples of black, green and white teas.