St. Patrick's Day Tea

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sipping Fortnum and Mason's Irish Breakfast black tea from a charming clover vintage teacup by Queen Anne.

 

 Let me tell you now, you're the lucky one.

Festive teawares and teas

Only 4 sleeps left until Christmas!

Christmas celebrations are different this year, but at least I can still enjoy my Advent and other seasonal teas this month.

 

Some holiday whimsy: Teapots with Santas, Christmas trees, ornaments, and foxes.

 

 

My vintage poinsettia teawares.

 

One of my favourite holiday teas: Gingerbread Pear Cake green tea by Clearview Tea Co. I love this blend so much that I bought two (2) 80g bags!

Drink what you own Advent calendar: Days 13-20

 

My last tea haul before Christmas: Geek+Tea's delicious holiday teas (I love the beautiful labels!).

 

Wishing you joy and hope this Christmas!

RA Poinsettia Teacup, Candy Cane Green Tea Taste Challenge, and More!

Vintage bone china teacups with Christmas designs are hard to find in my neck of the woods.

So I was beyond thrilled when I found Royal Albert's poinsettia teacup at my local thrift store for only $5!!!

Last week, I organized a "Candy Cane Green Tea Taste Challenge" at the office. We sampled three green tea blends (left to right): 

1) Tease Candy Cane Crush (loose leaf); 

2) Trader Joe's Candy Cane (teabag); 

3) Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane (teabag).

Teas #2 and #3 had the same ingredients, but we noticed a slight difference in taste (note: those photos were shot at home because I forgot to take pics during the actual tasting).

The winner was: Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane Green Tea--one of my all-time favourite holiday teas!

I've also been enjoying candy cane black teas:

Top (left to right) Dessert by Deb's Peppermint Mocha Fudge  and Davids Tea's Candy Cane Crush Tea Latte.
Bottom: The Polar Tea Co.'s Candy Cane Crunch was my favourite. It's too bad that the vendor is no longer in business.

I've also been sipping other (non-candy cane) seasonal teas.

Creemore Christmas Herbal Tea by Clearview Tea.

Christmas in July, an orange spice black tea by Coco Tea Co.

(I forgot to photograph Coco Tea Co's other delicious holiday blend: Christmas Cookie Rooibos)

(Orange) Holiday spice black teas by Geek+Tea (top) and Monarch Tea Co (bottom).

Dessert by Deb's holiday teas: Santa's Snickerdoodle black tea (left) and Holiday Cranberry Crumble Rooibos (right).

At a friend's house, I enjoyed these sweet treats with a cup of Chocolate Cauldron, a chocolate orange herbal tea by Geek+Tea.

Days 13-24 of my "drink what you own" tea Advent calendar.

(Yes, I cheated and took out the last 2 days so they can be included in the collage).

Wishing you a joyful and blessed Christmas!

Five on May

Like the other months, May just sped by!

1. I was visiting my brother in Calgary over the Victoria Day long weekend so I didn't have pretty china for the royal wedding viewing. But I still enjoyed my cup of Royal Blend Tea by Fortum and Mason (which I had brought with me) and yummy chocolate cinnamon scone.

2. Interesting tea beverages sampled in Calgary:

a) Thai bubble tea from Ten Ren Tea. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of the actual tea which was orange in colour.
b) Matcha coconut latte (Two Hills Organic) made by my brother.
c) Hong Kong Style Tea (Vitasoy) from the T & T Supermarket. This was sweetened with condensed milk and consumed cold.
d) Passion Fruit herbal tea from the Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse.

The matcha coconut latte and passion fruit teas were my favourite. The other 2 tea drinks were okay.

3. While in Alberta, we visited the Firefighters Museum of Calgary. One exhibit displayed items that had caused fires...such as this melted plastic tea kettle. This is what happens when the auto turn-off malfunctions. YIKES!

4. I was The Delightful Repast's giveaway winner of this cool New West KnifeWorks deli knife. Now I've got a knife that cuts everything...and can also be used as a weapon. HA! Thank you, Jean!

5. The first iced tea that I cold brewed for the hot season:
Fuzzy Peach Rooibos by Polar Tea Co.

Enjoy the last week of May!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Tea in the Garden