Now . . . TEA!
January was crazy, but I'm back with a tea recommendation for February.
In my early days of tea exploration, I shopped a lot at Stash. You often can find their bagged teas at the supermarket, but their loose leaf tea is quite good, too. The Stash website is a great place to spend some time, especially if you're not quite sure what you like and don't want to invest a great deal of money in sampling a few things. I've always been pleased by their offerings.
If you like a smooth black tea, you can't go wrong with the Kenilworth Estate Ceylon from Stash. Here's their description:
Long attractive leaves, exquisite flavor and subtle body. Excellent afternoon tea.
Ceylon teas from the Kenilworth Estate enjoy the seasonal monsoons which encourage the growth of the teas in the districts of Dimbula, Uva and Kandy. Select tender leaves picked after the first monsoon and processed during cooler weather, result in a creamy character unique to this estate. With long attractive leaves our Kenilworth Ceylon Orange Pekoe has the smoothness of a great Ceylon tea with the intriguing creamy top notes this tea is known for.
I agree that this is a great tea for afternoons -- it's not quite as dark and brisk as an Assam.
Last week, it seemed the perfect choice for "second breakfast." (Not just for Hobbits anymore!) Steve and I had an early breakfast at Panera -- one scone shared between us -- and by 10:30 I was starving. So I made a pot of Kenilworth Ceylon and enjoyed it with a slice of homemade cherry orange loaf.
[The recipe originally called for fresh cranberries, but I couldn't even find frozen ones this time of year, so I substitued tart cherries. They worked fine, but I will try with cranberries in the fall. You'll find the recipe here.]
What's your favorite tea for the cold month of February?
[Cross-posted at Livejournal]
Funny you should blog about tea today. I finally found a delicious green tea!! Impra Green Tea, it's from Ceylon and it is so smooth.
ReplyDeleteIf you are ever up in Massachusetts you should try the Wenham Tea House, it's a lovely place.
Thanks for the tip! I love to visit tea houses and tea shops. Wenham Tea House looks amazing.
Deletei am such a tea novice, but still drink it - just tazo flavors of varying kinds at home, but when i travel i'm more adventurous. i always love going to the tea house in santa fe with my best friend when i visit. i usually get this south african tea there that looks just like a beautiful sunset when it's brewing and tastes so amazing - rooibos, i think. i'd drink that anytime.
ReplyDeleteI really like rooibos! It's quite good for you, too. You'll have to share the name of that tea room so I can visit the next time I'm in Santa Fe!
Deleteit's actually called The Tea House. it's on canyon road. great little place. i'm sure you'll love it.
DeleteLindsay and I are hooked on Harney & Sons "Chocolate Mint." It is a black tea with chocolate and peppermint and smells amazing! It used to be an excellent pairing with "Downton Abby" but now we will have to wait until Monday nights to sip during "Biggest Loser." 0 Points Plus values and you feel like you had dessert!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds wonderful! It tickles me to no end that you two have a tea ritual. Maybe we can have a "So You Think You Can Dance" tea sometime?
DeleteGarrett experiments with Stash teas. His current favorite is licorice spice. Thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteRemind me to give Garrett a hard time about licorice next time I'm in town.
DeleteActually, all kidding aside, does he like chai? Some chais have star anise (or just anise), which gives licorice it's flavor. I hate chais that have anise, but he might like them, especially since he likes spice. The tazo bagged chai has a strong licorice flavor. Just another option, I guess.
(And now ends the rambling.)
Love all the suggestions and can't wait to try some of them. I don't have an existing tea ritual, but count me in if you develop one to go with "So You Think You can Dance"!
ReplyDeleteWe really need to have a SYTYCD bash!
DeleteThat sounds like a great idea!
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