Ohio Tea- tea shopping on my birthday

Have you been to Ohio Tea Company yet?  If you are in Ohio, you need to check out this place!  If you don't live on Ohio- go on line and shop.  

These guys know what they are doing.  They know their tea.  Check them out.  I love this place and try to get there once a month :)  

If you sign up on line you get a 1/2 oz of free tea a month. It is a great way to try new teas.

https://www.ohioteaco.com/

I had the day off for my birthday, so one of the places I wanted to go was Ohio Tea Company.  I was excited that they gave me one of their new teas that had not even hit the shelves yet!!!

They had two Orange Spice teas that they could not decide which one was best.  I bought one of the Orange Spice teas and they gave me the new one to try.  They said I could take it back to my office and try it with friends and co-workers that love tea too.

You will have to check out my blog on the Orange Spice teas to see which one I liked...

Might Leaf Earl Grey and my Tea-rrific Birthday

For my 48th birthday with my family, my mom made me Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps.  They were so good!!!  I love these, I wish there wasn't so much chopping of the ingredients., that is why I don't make them.  But, since my mom loves me- she chops!!!

Also, because she loves me, she makes me an elderberry pie every year for my birthday.  I think we have hit about 10 straight years she has made these pies for me.

So good!  This pie is so amazing!!!

https://www.mighty-leaf.com/products/organic-earl-grey-tea-pouches?currency=USD&variant=51345534291

This is the only pie that I add milk too.  I really don't like milk, but I learned to add it to this pie- and now it is a must for me.

I also enjoyed Mighty Leaf tea with my pie.  Mighty Leaf bagged tea is like having a loose leaf tea.  They do a great job with their tea!!

The bags of tea are so full of flavor.  I have come to enjoy a good Earl Grey....as long as the bergamot is not too strong.  This Earl Grey has a very nice blend of citrus and bergamot.  I really enjoy this tea.  

Mighty Leaf makes all kinds of great teas, you should check them out.

For my birthday, I got all kinds of fun iced teas.

(Granted I picked out these teas for my parents to give me as a gift, lol)

Day 16, featuring Sub Rosa Peach Pie Tea

Today is my last day of work this week, since we tomorrow off.   So, let me say Happy Easter now!!  I hope you find a special way to celebrate Easter.  

I took my temp today and I am fever free, so I am good to go! 

I wanted to feature another Ohio tea company, Sub Rosa.  Sub Rosa is a great tea company.  They were so kind when I went to Africa and I taught a tea class- they donated all kinds of tea for me to take over.  The Africans had so much fun trying the teas.

https://subrosatea.com/products/peach-pie

Ingredients: black tea, honeybush, ginger, cinnamon, peaches, apricot, papaya, cloves, lemon juice, sea salt, citric acid, malic acid

One of the great things about Sub Rosa is that the package tells you EXACTLY how to make the tea!!  It lets you know the kind of tea, how much caffeine, the water temp, how much tea to add and the steep time.  Having all the important information on the front of the package is super helpful.  It takes all the guess work out!

You can see all the "goodies" in this tea!  It is so flavorful!  To me I tasted a lot of the clove and cinnamon, it definitely reminded me of pie filling.  The peach notes were subtle, but I tasted them.  I enjoyed this tea.

 

Today was crazy weather- it snowed and I heard thunder.  I took a break with Earl Grey and we watched it snow for a bit.  I am enjoying my Washington State Starbucks mug- thinking of my sister and her family who live in Washington.

My cousin stopped by for some kombucha today.  

I decided to make a sign to hang on the front door during the day to show that I have tea to share.

If you see this sign stop on in for some tea.

Just knock on the door, place an order and I will get it for you to go.

Hope you are finding joy and sharing joy!

Happy Easter!

Getting out and sharing tea

I was challenged on Sunday by my pastors online message.

We are blessed here in the US. I should be asking what does God want me to do with what He has given me to bless others.  How I can I point others to Him?  I was reminded to give where I am able, to pray for people, and also to remain faithful.  As Christians, we all have a ministry.  This ministry is a honor, we have the privilege to serve Him- the God who created and cleansed us.  We need to use everything He has given us to honor Him.  God shines His light in and through me.  Not my light, but His Light shining through me!   I am His servant. 

 II Corinthians 4- was our text.

To be honest, I love sheltering at home.  I hate people are sick and dying.  I hate people are loosing their jobs.  I hate that people are scared and fearful.  But, the fact that I get to stay home and be a home body is something I really enjoy.   

As an introvert that masquerades as extrovert, I give and give when at work and in public, but I need my quiet time to recharge.  My tank is gets filled at home.  I realize during this time I am being really selfish.  I can spend all this time enjoying being at home and not thinking of others.  I can easily spend all day and not reach out to a single person. I was reminded that by focusing on myself right now and not reaching out is not ministering to anyone!  I am not showing God's light to anyone!

I was hit in the face with the reality that I needed to reach out, I needed to get out of my comfort zone, that I need to be ministering to others... I need to stop being selfish. It's not all about me.  How much does it mean to me someone reaches out to me for no reason? The answer is a lot. I need to be a blessing to others.  I tend to like to do things on my own terms, when I am ready.  This is really selfish.

Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Philippians 2:3

What have you learned during this time?  We have had more time to be at home and to learn about ourselves and grow.  Are you doing that?  As a Christian, I need to take this time to spend more time with God and be in His Word more. I admit I have not done that.  But, I need too.   I need to take this extra time to do that.  I already learned that I need to think of other first, what more does God have to teach me in this time?

I love tea and I have a lot of friends who love tea.  I decided to share tea.

 I had so much fun on Sunday dropping off tea and little notes to friends.

I took my little bag of goodies and drove around and dropped of little blessings.  It always amazes me when you go to bless others how much you get blessed in return.  May God receive ALL the glory!!!

We social distanced appropriately. 

I hope you are finding ways to find joy and spread joy!

On a side note-   You all know I love tea (and my love language is gifts),  so I have been using tea and giving to reach others.  Each morning since we have been sheltering and working from home I do a live feed on Facebook and I feature a different tea.  I then invite people to stop by and try the tea.  I have had several take me up on it.  They stay on the porch, but it is a small way to encourage and be a blessing.  Go ahead and laugh, but to me it is a small way to minister and show love.  And people seem to love to stop by – try the tea and say hi.  All are welcome to come and have tea to go!  

I made this sign- If it is on the front door, stop in for tea!!

Are you finding ways to reach out?  If so, let me know.  Let's give God all the glory!!!

Day 15, featuring Ohio Tea Company mixed tea- Creamy Toasted Coconut Oolong and Lavender Tea

Today is day 15, of the new normal, working from home.

I checked my temp and I am fever free, so I am good to go to work.

I know that I have shared about this tea before, but I am doing it again!!!  I love this tea.  

When you were growing up- were you told not to play with your food?  I was told that.  But, I am telling you to play with your tea!!

I found that mixing your tea can be fun and you can discover all kinds of new flavors and teas.

https://www.ohioteaco.com/Creamy-Toasted-Coconut-_p_642.html

and

https://www.ohioteaco.com/Lavender-Flower-Organic_p_449.html

I mixed creamy toasted coconut oolong with lavender .  I love the combination of coconut and lavender.   The ratio was about 3/4 coconut and 1/4 lavender.

Try it sometime, take a plain tea and mix it with a fruity or floral tea.  Take a mint tea and mix it with a fruit tea.  Don't be afraid to try new things.

The key is if they are two different kinds of tea, heat the water to the lowest temp and the same goes with steeping.  With this mixture I had an oolong and a herbal.  The oolong is lower temp, so I heated my water to 195.  I also steeped to the oolong which is 4 minutes. 

This is great tea the coconut blends well with the lavender.  

I am also enjoying my home made kombucha.  

My cousin popped over to try some kombucha .  She ended up leaving with two kinds of kombucha and yesterdays featured tea- the turmeric latte.

While I am working from home, anyone is welcome to drop in during the day and try some tea.  If you want to try the featured tea or something else, please come by.

I have these fun travel cups too!  I received 85 cups and lids as a product test...it's great to put them to good use!

Hope you are finding joy and sharing joy!

Kombucha and bulk sugar

I needed some sugar to make some kombucha.  The bulk food store had I went to had one bag left.  Not sure I needed 25 pounds, but it will last me awhile. :)

I have some old sugar containers that I put my sugar in, but even this time I have more then my containers will hold, lol!

I make 2 gallons kombucha every 14 days or so.  Last week I made one of my favorite blends.  I used some coconut tea I got from World Market.  I did not like the tea by it self, but when I added about 12 bags into the kombucha it was perfect.  Now I may go back and buy some more just to make more kombucha.

Below is a batch I made with some herbal fruits teas that I had.  This is a great way to use up some teas that you may not love or that are older.  With this one I had two herbal teas that were almost finished and I hardly ever drank, so I bagged those loose teas up and tossed them into the pot.

The kombucha base is 2 gallons of water, 2 cups sugar, 16 black tea bags - let it come to a boil for  heat for 15-20 minutes.  I then pull out the black tea bags and add the flavored tea. I let all of that cool for a few hours, then I pour into a gallon jar with a cup of kombucha starter.

If you don't want your kombucha carbonated, you can stop here.  But, I drink mine like soda, so I want it carbonated. 

I pour the fermented tea into glass bottles with a little apple juice and  I let it carbonate for another 7-10 days.  The kombucha feeds on the sugar from the apple juice and makes it carbonated.  That is why there is so little calories and sugar in kombucha.

I just discovered at walmart "baby apple juice"!  The bottle is 32 ounces, which is the prefect size to make 2 gallons of kombucha....and it is only $1.50!!!  When I use the bigger bottles I have left over apple juice and it always goes bad before I need it for my next batch.  (I don't drink apple juice or any juice for that matter)  For me, this is the perfect size bottle!

Bottling my homemade brew

Here is my kombucha that is carbonating.  It will sit for 7-10 days.

Once I have all the kombucha is in the jars to carbonate, I save about a cup of each in the gallon jars to start the process all over again.  

The big jar is the hotel, I keep and feed that as a starter for others or I want to make more. 

Once the jars are filled back up with new tea I cover them up and let them sit for another 7-10 days.

This stuff is the best and so good for your gut!

Love this stuff!!!

Hope you are finding joy and sharing joy!