Townshend Teas on Alberta Street in Portland

https://www.provencepdx.com/

  

I was having brunch with my sister and niece at Petite Provence and had a wonderful Townshend hot Jasmine Pearl Tea.  The jasmine is so light and floral, not over powering in any way.  It is just gentle- if tea can be gentle.

I love Portland.  The unique neighborhood feel you get on different streets.  The art work, the people, the eclectic vibe of it all.

We walked down to Townshend Tea, which is just up the down the street from Petite Provence.  I had been to Townshed in 2015 and had some bubble tea.  And since we were so close I asked if we could walk down.  I could see on the website that the store was closed for renovations, but that they had a tea cart open.

https://www.townshendstea.com/alberta-street/

 This tea cart is adorable!!  I would love to have one.  It is perfect to pull around to fairs, festivals, and such.  I was glad to see that they had this open.  I purchased a black ginger peach iced tea.  It was very good. I enjoyed the hint of ginger, but I mostly noticed the peach.  They offered me sugar, but I took it unsweetened.

Townshend tea also does the Dr. Brew Kombucha.   I have had that kombucha and I really enjoy it.  But, I wasn't feeling the kombucha today.  They have bubble tea and I had that last time, but after drinking close to 100 ounces of bubble tea this week, I decided I would go with iced tea.

Fun cups...Steep in it and the llama drinking tea.

Starbucks, Passion Iced Tea, Detroit MI

Flying home from Vancouver WA, I got into DTW at around 5:45 am.  While I was waiting on my flight to Cleveland I decided I needed something to eat and drink.  I arrived at PDX at 8:30 pm, but I had not eaten since around 6 pm.

This Starbucks did not have food that needed heated. It was a small little Starbucks.  So, I wasn't able to get those egg bites I like.  I did get a piece of lemon bread that was okay though.  I did also get my Passion Iced Tea, half the syrup, that I enjoy so much.  I enjoyed my iced tea while I waited for my plane to CLE.

https://www.starbucks.com/

There is no place like home!!!  I loved vacation with my family, but it is always nice to be home.

Bird and Blend Mulled Cider

https://birdandblendtea.com/uk_en/universitea/tags/tea/mulled-cider-recipe

I love love love Bird & Blend Tea!! The reason I don't buy from them all the time is the shipping from England. They offer free shipping in the US when orders are over 64 Euros.  So, I only order once a year and when I do I order a big order.  I love this tea.

 

This was my 2018 order.  I am super excited to try the Mulled Cider.  This is their Christmas blend.

                   

This tea is so full of wonderful flavor.  There is apple, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, rose hips, hibiscus, and lemon peel in this tea.

         

I decided to try out my new travel steeper, even though I was at home.  It worked great for a single cup.

This  tea is so full of apple and cinnamon flavor.  The aroma is like fall!  I just love it.

Twinings English Breakfast Tea

https://www.twiningsusa.com/our-products/english-breakfast

While enjoying my dad's birthday I was given a chance of tea with dessert.  I went with Twinings, a bagged tea that I think can be hit or miss.  For me this was just okay.  I think I needed to add milk.  I know I have enjoyed this tea i the past. But, for me today I was not feeling it.  

English Breakfast is Twinings most popular tea, so maybe you will like it, again I know I have in the past.  The best thing about this cup of tea was the cup itself.  I loved the pottery mug I drank from.

Celebrating my dad!!

Playing chess with my nephew....I think I even won.

Arwan Thai, Thai Tea

This family owned Thai shop opened in Vancouver WA in 2002.  The food was very good, but what I thought was great was their Thai Tea.

I asked if they had tea for sale and she said normally they do, but there were out.  I asked if there was any sweeteners in the the tea and they said no.  It completely reminded me of Thailand.  If I had not known it was Thai tea and I tasted it, I would have thought this takes like Thai tea.  Hard to describe, but almost like it has sweet and condensed milk in it, but not.

https://www.arawanthai.com/

35 GANG MUSSAMAN แกงมัสมั่น

Tamarind with coconut milk, onions, potatoes, carrots, and roasted peanuts.

The brown rice, is almost purple looking.  It is a very nice rice.  

Bird & Blend Pineapple Mint, Cold Brew Tea

https://birdandblendtea.com/uk_en/pineapple-mint.html

Dried apple, hibiscus, rosehip, dried coconut, pineapple pieces, lemongrass, peppermint, spearmint, flavour.

I love all the chunks of real fruit!!  This tea is really good cold brewed.  I don't pick up the coconut or pineapple, but I do get the peppermint, spearmint, and a light fruity taste.  It is very refreshing and minty.  I love it!

 Cold brew is a great way to drink tea.  By not heating it, you are not releasing the tannins and you can add cold water over and over again. Also you retain more antioxidants than hot brew and also it releases only half the caffeine.  I usually can add water 2-3 more times to my glass or  pitcher of water.    

If I have bagged tea I do one bag per 8 oz of water.  When I do the loose leaf in a pitcher, I generally eye ball it, but if you want something more specific go with 4 Tbsp per 1 quart.

I filled the pitcher up twice and it was great both times.

Washougal Coffee Company, Iced Chai (Black Scottie Chai), Washougal WA

Just about 20 minutes from my sisters house is Washougal.  I had a lot of fun trying to say the name of this  town.  My family worked with me and now I can say the name and when I say it, it no longer rhymes with arugula. 

I have been there once to visit the Pendleton store. Pendelton has free tour of their factory,  if you get the chance it is super interesting.   It is a cute town.

My niece said that there was a coffee shop there that she had never been too, but they may have tea too.  Since she had the morning off, we decided to go out on an adventure and try it.

A cute little down town shop.

http://washougalcoffeecompany.com/

They are a coffee shop, but I love that they do have tea too.  They bagged tea is Tea Pigs.

I decided to go for iced chai.  They said they used Black Scottie Chai, which I was not familiar with so, I was even more excited to try it.  The gal at the counter was super helpful and said that she thought it was a good mix between spicy and sweet. 

https://blackscottiechai.com/

(Spices, black tea and honey)

I tried three iced chai teas and this might be my favorite one of the day.  It wasn't overly spicy and it had a nice sweetness without being overly sweet.

These cute bears are painted on the side of one of the buildings in town.