Tuhat ja Yksi Yötä

Another last cup. Tuhat ja Yksi Yötä was one of my Finnish imports. I believe the name translates to 1000 and 1 nights. It's a black Ceylon tea with fruit and a bit of lemon and brews to a lovely dark colour. It was lovely - sweet enough from the fruit that I only ever added milk to it. Even so, I'm not sure I'd feel a desperate need to get more.

Last cup of paradise

I have just made my last cup of Silk Road's Peach Paradise. I wanted to enjoy it the same way I enjoyed the first - half strong tea, half sweetened condensed milk. But, it seemed a bit wasteful to open an entire tin of sweetened condensed milk for the sake of one cup of tea.

I made it my usual way, with skimmed milk and vanilla syrup. It's better for me anyway, and it does taste lovely. I will savour it as I finish the edits on the final thesis chapter.

Flora Tea

Yesterday I was given two packages of tea from Flora Tea. I only recently came across the idea of flower tea when I was snooping around Silk Road for my last entry. And then suddenly, I'm given some. It's from a company called Flora Tea. The package didn't say which one this is, but from watching their video, I would say it's probably Flower Lover. Why would a company have a video on-line but no catalogue?

Thankfully, I have the perfect Bodum cups for this, so I warmed one up with hot water and popped in the rather unattractive looking ball of leaves. Poured in boiling water and watched my flower unfold. It was very lovely to watch. I confess, it looks somewhat alien though.

I can smell the green tea and something else... maybe jasmine? I'm not sure. It isn't my usual type of tea as I tend to avoid green tea like the plague. I think it's jasmine, anyway. The taste is nice for a green tea - not as bitter as many of them can be. But, I'm puzzled as to how to drink this without straining petals through my teeth.

My cup, which I thought was perfect, is actually too small. The flower base is confined and hasn't opened fully and the floating flower isn't stretched to its full height. I feel almost guilty drinking it, as I am slowly sipping away the flower's medium and forcing it to sink back upon itself.

Two things would make this better for me. Firstly, if it had been put into a clear teapot and then I could enjoy watching it bloom then pour it into a teacup and not have to strain through my teeth. Secondly, a bit of honey or something else sweet. I wonder if you can get any of these as black teas?

Desire...

It's been a long, long time since I visited Silk Road. In my last post, I popped over to the website to make sure I had the link right. In doing so, I saw Golden Treasure, a shaped tea, and I'm afraid that now I really, really want it.

The flowers are gorgeous, and this flavour combination sounds beautiful.

Peach Paradise (Silk Road)

Silk Road is a tea company based in Victoria, BC. When we lived in Victoria, I used to go there regularly to satisfy my tea needs. The teas are loose; you pick your tea and your tea tin and load up. They always had lovely samples and one day, they had an iced tea made with Peach Paradise and sweetened condensed milk. It was wonderful. I bought some and I have tried to keep some on hand ever since, though replenishing my supply while living in Scotland hasn't been easy.

The label for Peach Paradise describes it as "a perfect seduction" - it's a ceylon black tea with calendula flowers, citrus peel and peach fruit essence. Peach fruit essence really sells it short. There are actually chunks of dried peach in the tea.

The flavour is lovely and smooth. I drink it with milk, though generally nothing sweet (unless I have sweetened condensed milk on hand). It has a beautiful peach flavour, no surprise there, but it doesn't overpower the ceylon. I've had other peach teas, but this is definitely my favourite.

My estimate is that there are about a half-dozen cups left. I'll be sad to see it go. But, if I land the job in Glasgow that I'm applying for, then hopefully I'll be able to pick some up when we go back for Christmas. And if I don't get the job, then, we'll be moving back anyway and I'll be able to visit the shop sometime in the New Year.

Whittard's Orange Blossom

Well, I'm enjoying a cup of Whittard's Orange Blossom, though I must admit that the flavour is rather weak. It could be one of two things - either I didn't let it steep long enough (I hate bitter tea), or the tea has become stale. I can't actually remember when I bought it, so that could definitely be the case. I'll try to remember to let the next cup steep longer to see if that improves things.

It has a subtle citrus flavour and I really quite enjoyed dipping my lemon ginger biscuits in. It's a bad habit, I know. But, I do enjoy dipping biscuits into my tea.

Mild though the tea is, it is still a very pleasant cup and I will definitely have another. Good thing too, as there is still plenty of it to go through.

It's been a bit since I posted anything. That's mainly because I've been in a bog-standard tea rut for a few weeks; living off of Morrison's Organic, Twining's English Breakfast and the occasional cup of Twinings Earl Grey. There are days when this simplicity is what I need. But, the tea cupboard is still stuffed and who knows when we'll be moving! On with the tea drinking.

Not tea but...

Mmmm.... Will made me a yummy drink. Low-cal hot chocolate with Highlights Caramel Hot Chocolate and a splash of Amaretto. Mmmm... makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Enough amaretto that I think I'll give up reading the article I was looking at though.

I do admit that I like hot chocolate a lot. I can't drink tea with caffeine after about 5 in the evening and I'll admit that I'm not a particular fan of caffeine free tea. Hot chocolate is a good option, especially with booze, which does a good job of canceling the caffeine.

I like marshmallows too. But my stash is in my office.

My first cuppa

Ok, so it's not really my first cuppa. I'm very much a tea drinker and have been for years. I'm coming to the end of my PhD (entering year five!) and possibly coming to the end of my time in the UK. We just don't know if we are staying or not. In any case, I've come to the realisation that my tea cupboard is stuffed and if we do have to pack up and head back to Canada, I won't be bringing it all with me.

So, I decided to get going on drinking the tea, and to remind myself of what I have and what I like about it. This morning, I think I'll start with a cup of Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea. I'm in the mood for something strong. I love the tightly furled little leaves of this tea. It's one that should never be confined in tea bags. Tea really just doesn't belong in bags, but I understand why some people like it better that way - sometimes you just want a cuppa, now and without a fuss.

Anyway, this dark and smokey breakfast tea just begs for milk and honey. Although, I'll admit that for me, most teas beg for milk and something sweet. I'm bad that way. The current jar of honey is a particularly complex New Zealand eco-forest honey, thick and sweet. I only use a tiny bit or it completely overpowers the tea.

Looks like the Irish Breakfast tea is nearly used up. Just two cups left, so I guess I'd best leave it for my husband as it is one of his favourites.

Yum. You feel the warmth of a good cup of tea all the way through.