Making tangerine tuxedo tea at home....

I received this great fruit basket from my office.  They had these adorable tangerines in them.  And it just so happens I had some tangerine tea!!!

The tea came in an actual tangerine! You don't make the tea in the tangerine, it is just stored in the tangerine. 

The first time I made the tea I put the entire tangerine in the water- it was a fail.  The second time I tried it, I scooped the tea out of the tangerine.  It too was a fail.  For some reason the tea tasted fishy to me.  

Tangerine Tuxedo tea is supposed to be a thing in China and I really wanted to experience it.  I read that they dry the tea in the tangerine at the same time as they dry the tangerine.  The citrus infuses the tea.  Well, I don't have fresh tea leaves, I decided to try the tangerine alone.  

So, I decided to see if I could make some tangerine tuxedo tea too.  Hoping to avoid the fishy taste.  I first hollowed out the tangerine.

It was pretty easy to pull out the tangerine and the "shell
 stayed nice and firm.

I didn't really know what I was doing.  But I put the tangerine in the oven on a low temp - 200 degrees for about 2 hours and then just keep checking it.

Here is mine pictured with the one I bought.  I thought I did pretty good.  Now to decide what to do with it?  Do I fill it with tea and "age it"?  Do I put tea in it and brew it all together? 

I think the second option is the most likely.  Not sure I can age tea.  Thinking back, I should have dried the tangerine with tea in it...it would not have had to be fresh black tea.  But, I was afraid I would burn the leaves.  I think I may try it anyway...that is what experiment is all about...trying new things.

Before and after....  now to add the tea.....

I took the dried tangerine and filled it with a scoop of black tea.  I also took a fresh tangerine and filled it with a scoop of black tea.

I put in boiling water and let steep for 5 minutes....

I put the tea and tangerine in the water together.

The tea with the fresh tangerine is just slightly lighter in color than the tea with the dried tangerine in it. But, I have to say the taste was the still pretty much the same.  There was just the slightest hint of citrus.  Not overly noticeable, except I knew it was there.   There was maybe a hint more citrus flavor in the fresh tangerine - but it was just a hint more.

Now, I am going to take a fresh tangerine and dry it with the black tea already in it and see what it taste like.

I hollowed out two more tangerines and filled them with black assam tea.

My dehydrator was set for 2 hours, but it took more like 8 hours...but I did not mind because the house smelled like tangerines.

They looked really pretty and smelled great when they were dried.

I prepared the tea the same way as before.  Boiled the water and steeped for 5 minutes.

So, I tried this third way to make tangerine tuxedo tea...and I have to say I still didn't notice that much of a difference.  I got hints of tangerine, but nothing special.

I have to say my favorite would be with the fresh tangerine would be the way to go.  I got the most citrus flavor out of that tea...and I think that is probably just because it still had citrus in the tangerine.  But, again it was still just a hint of tangerine.

I do like the idea of the tangerine being the vessel for the tea, but for the work involved I would want a lot more flavor.  It is fun to play and experiment with though.

Psalm 96:3
Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!

Wurzelsepp Nurnberger Christmas Market Tea

My friends are currently out of the country.  And over Christmas they were visiting family in Germany.

They went to the Nuremberg Christmas Market and picked me up this tea!

https://wurzelsepp.de/shop/backen-und-tee/nuernberger-weihnachtspunsch-weihnachtspunsch-fruechtetee/

Ingredients

Rose hips, hibiscus, apple pieces, grapes, elderberries, strawberries, raspberries, rooibos tea, almond pieces , cinnamon, vanilla pieces, aroma, natural flavor.

I tried this tea and I thought it was great.  The flavors were refreshing and bright.  The fruit blended well together and were not tart.  If this was a red rooibos it was super subtle, because I did not detect it- I actually thought it was an all herbal tea until I found the English version of the website, lol.

Look at all the fruit in this tea!!!  You can see everything you are getting.

                    

Enjoying a fun lunch!

My friend took this photo of the market.  I said it was like a Hallmark movie!

This is the shop and the lady she bought the tea from.

(bottom two photos are from Facebook)

More photos from my friend....

The Family!!

This is the first Christmas in 2 years we were all together. I have to say it did not disappoint.  It rates up there as one of the best Christmas's...even though I had to work during the day.

In the evenings we filled it with food, laughter, and games.

My niece and nephews!!  They have my heart!!!

The Fab 5 Christmas Eve Day Service.   

My kittens, we celebrated 23 days together at Christmas

Orange Pekoe and Chai are just great.  We are settling into a great routine.

I hope you had a great Christmas.

I also hope you know the real meaning of Christmas.

It is a time that we, as Christians, celebrate Jesus coming to earth to save us.  He was born of a virgin and later died and rose again for our sins.

If you have more questions, message me.  I would love to share Jesus with you!!

I Timothy 2: 4-6  NIV

4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.

*****

Luke 19:10  "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

*****

                                                              Matthew 1:18-25

NIV

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Psalm 96:3

Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!

Nature's Guru Unsweetened Vanilla Chai

I was at my sisters for lunch and she offered me this unsweetened vanilla chai.

They are running a sale right now (12/18/2023) some of the unsweetened tea is normally $23.99 and is on sale for $6.99- that is for 10 packets of the chai mix.

They have a variety of flavors of chai and tea.

https://www.naturesguru.com/

I loved it!!  I love Chai and to have an unsweetened instant chai is a rare find.

This black chai is really tasty and has great vanilla flavor.  It is not overly sweet and it is not spicy, it is a nice blend.  I am a fan!!  I love that there is no sugar in this!  There is also milk powder in it so it has a nice creamy flavor as well.

Psalm 96:3
Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!