Panera Chai

I was in southern Ohio for my cousins stare volleyball tournament.  It was such  fun weekend with my family.  The girls rocked it!!

On the way home we stopped in at Panera for lunch.  I can't believe I've never had a chai tea from Panera.  I love their salads. I decided to splurge and try their chai.  And I am so very glad I did!!  It was wonderful!! Seriously great!!  I like my chai and take it seriously.  This beats the green ladies chai for sure.  It was creamy and spicey, but it wasn't over powering with a heavy aftertaste of spices.

https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html/

I can't wait to have another Panera Chai!

New fan!!

Traveling hotel tea

 

 

I'm in Toccoa Falls,GA...visiting the college with some family members.  The last time I was there was 1989, when I was looking at the college myself.  This is one of the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church colleges.  I had one sister who attended here.  I chose the college in MN- St Paul Bible College (now called Crown College). I had it narrowed down to SPBC and Toccoa, but went with SPBC because of the cold weather .  My first choice was Taylor, yet I didn't get in.
So, while in Toccoa the hotel I stayed in did not have any fancy tea...but I fell in love with the cups!!!!! Yep, you read that correctly- the cups!!!

How fun are these cups with "mouths"

The college has a falls right on campus!!!

Trader Joes, Coconut green tea

http://www.traderjoes.com/digin

 

http://www.traderjoes.com/digin

 

 

This tea is great warm, you can taste the coconut... but if you cold brewed the tea it is fantastic- the coconut flavor is even stronger.  Remember when brewing green tea you don't boil the water- it bruises the leaves. To make the perfect cup of tea you need the right water temperature and the correct steeping time.

 

my cat, Shakespeare, was helping me play "Tea Scrabble"

coffee- slash tea hanger

This should say Tea to be accurate ....hahahahaha

Gift- tea coaster

Who doesn't love a gift from a special friend???  It's wonderful to get a gift from someone, it says they were thinking of you.  Even better when the gift is tea related- hahahaha.  I posted this on Facebook and my sister said she had picked one up for me too.  LOL!!!

 

So, for Christmas I received one like I had and then another fun one from my sister.  I now have one at work and some at home.  NICE!!!

Cuida Te, Red tea (Pu-reh Tea) Mango Passion Tea

 

 

 

I bought this tea in a grocery store in Spain.  I love it cold-brewed.  I have not tried it hot yet.  But, the mango flavor really comes through when it is cold.  It is light and refreshing.  When this company says red tea it is referring to Pu-erh, NOT ROOIBOS.  Usually Rooibos is refereed to as red tea, but this time it is not.  It is confusing, so I am not sure why they do it.  But, the reason I know this is the back of the container states it is Pu-erh.

 

 

http://www.cuida-te.ch/en/

Teavana at Starbucks Passion Tango Tea vs Passion Tea

When I go to Starbucks I get the Passion Iced Tea with 1/2 the syrup.  Now I see they have the bottled tea, Passion Tango, so I thought I would try it.  I mean it would be just wrong as a tea lover to pass that up, right???    It was good, maybe a 8 out of 10- but I still say the Passion Iced Tea is the best!!!!

Tea Cup Tuesday- Ohio Tea Company, Canton Ohio

Enjoying Tea Cup Tuesday with my fun $8.00 mug from Ohio Tea Company.  I love this tea shop. The people are so friendly and knowledgeable.  There are no high pressure sales here either- which makes shopping so much more enjoyable!!!  I did a tea tasting here the other Saturday and it was delightful. If you are in the Northeastern corner of Ohio you need to come check them out!!

http://www.ohioteaco.com/

Keurig and Snapple Peach Iced Tea

I ordered a Keurig from the Home Shopping Show- I love it!!! It was an incredible deal!

I thought the first tea I would try would be Snapple Iced Tea....I love my Peach Snapple Iced Tea...

 Well, this was NOTHING like the bottle iced Snapple tea. It was awful!  I mean horrible!!!!  I looked and they don't use the same ingredients!  Well, there ya go.  No wonder it did not taste the same.

 

http://www.keurig.com/Beverages/Iced-Beverages/Peach-Iced-Tea/p/Peach-Iced-Tea-K-Cup-SN

 

I had been so excited to try it.  On the infomercial they talked about how the coffee from Starbucks is tested and it has to taste like the coffee you get at Starbucks.  So, I figured they would have to have the same standards for their tea.  I was wrong!!!  I called Keurig to get a refund, they said the would take care of it, and 10 months and 2 phone calls later I still have not gotten it.  Oh well, at least I love my Keurig!  I will stick with making regular teas and hot coco.

Ugly Christmas sweater day at work

I'll stick to the bottled iced tea!

My new Tea Logo

This is my old logo, which I like....but, I met an artist and wanted her to really make my logo pop.  And she did!!!!!  she is a young gal, just graduated high school- and God has given her such a gift!!!

This is my new Logo....it is me and my cat.  I love it.  She did a great job. Some day, I hope to have a shop and this will be used a lot!  For now, I will use it on labels and maybe a t-shirt or two. 

Carrefour Tea in Spain

While in Spain working with some teens I was hoping to try some fun new teas.... I was a little let down.

We went to the grocery store, Carrefour, and they had lots of bottle teas- but none of them tempted me.  And with the heat- I really only wanted water!!!

 

 

I did enjoy looking at the boxed tea selections!  I bought some fruity loose leaf tea to take home and try.  And if you are in a new place, I suggest you be daring and try some new teas.  Now, months later, I am pleased with the loose leaf tea that I purchased!!!

 

tea party at home

My parents did their annual garden tea party. I was blessed to have a table again. I invited my friend Stacey and her 4 daughters.  These girls were a DELIGHT!!!  Check out their names- Lily, Rose, Violet, and Dahlia!  We had a beautiful day for a tea.

Cucumber sandwiches and lemon tarts

The yummy spread!!!

I made these mini chocolate pudding cups.  How cute are the little cups and little spoons!  I then added a mini Nilla wafer to the top.

The queen is in!  That is what my dad calls my mom :)

The gardener, aka, my dad

This is one of my favorite sets of dishes