Gift of Tea -Tea Drops, Citrus Ginger

Tea Drops are like instant tea "cakes."  The tea drops are pressed tea that dissolves in hot water.  They come in all kinds of flavors. 

                        

I got this wonderful fun surprise in the mail.  How sweet of my dear friend to send me a sweet note and some tea.  It made my day.  I had a day that almost brought me to tears with frustration and then I came home to this. To me this is a sign of God encouraging me.  He used my friend to send me the note and tea and then He made sure it got there right when I needed it.

Be willing to be used by Him.  Listen to the Holy Spirit who helps guides us.

https://www.myteadrop.com/collections/explore-our-teas/products/variety-box-of-tea-drops-8

#GivejoyGetjoy

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:14

In this pack you get 8 individual tea cakes along with the fun box.

This is the first one I tried, it was Citrus Ginger.   I am using this special tea cup that this same friend gave me about 15 years ago.  I love that I get to drink this tea she gave me in this cup she gave me.  Friendships are so special and when a friend shares a gift with you for no reason it is even more sweet.

Ingredients: organic raw cane sugar, organic dried orange peel, organic dried ginger, organic dried spearmint, organic orange extract, organic lemon extract

These are so simple to use.  You open the package, put the tea drop in the cup and then add water.  You may want to stir it a bit too.

The flavors are really good.  I love the notes of ginger really come through.  I also get the orange and the mint.  I am a fan- except for the added sugar.

The first cup was really good and so was the second.  Once I drank the first cup there was granular tea left on the bottom, I added more water and enjoyed the second cup.

The flavors are good and strong on the first and second cup. The only reason I gave this tea 4 tea cups is because of the sugar.  I prefer my tea without sugar and this has it already added.

While I am home I am totally loving the snow.  I even set my gingerbread house for the animals to enjoy.

Happy Tails Thrift Shop- good for tea items

The day after Thanksgiving was a great day to get out and do a little tea hunting.  I had never gone tea tasting in the Fairlawn, Ohio area, so I spent the day hoping from one tea place to another. 

I stumbled upon this Thrift Shop in Akron.  I really thought this was a great store and I love that the money is going to benefit the Humane Society.  It might be one of my favorite new thrift shops.

https://www.summithumane.org/thrift-shop

I found 2 tea cups and 2 tea pots at this thrift shop.  The fun thing about collecting things is the hunt.  You never know when you will find something fun and unique.  I would like to know the story behind the antiques I discover.

Who owned the item before me?  Where has this piece been?  Who drank from this cup?  What stories were told over this cup of tea?

I found these two tea cups.  I took the price tags off, but I think all there tea cups were around $5.

There were probably 20 tea cups in the shop.  It was a lot of fun to look through them all and discover which tea cups I felt I liked best.

I then purchased this unique copper tea pot. This is not one I would use, but it looks nice on my kitchen shelf.  I believe the $5 was worth it.

I then got this unique tea pot for $5 as well.  This tea pot is like no other tea pot I have seen.  It also steeps tea.

There is a basket that holds the tea.  Then there is lever that goes up and down that moves the basket of tea up and down.  Once the tea is steeped, you pulled the lever up and then it folds off to the side to keep the basket up inside the lid so that the tea does not over steep.  It is super clever,  I just adore this pot.

You can see below that the basket it up in the lid and out of sight....and the lever is folded so it does not lower again.

Here you can see the basket is being lowered into the tea pot.

I also went to this Goodwill too.  It was a fun day to just be out and about.

Zest Tea

I could not pass up a free sample of teas.  All I had to do was pay shipping.

I ordered the sampler pack and it arrived pretty quick.  I was excited to try them.

I decided to start with the green tea.  

I opened it and it smelled wonderful!!  There were all kinds of fruity flavors dancing around. 

https://www.zesttea.com/products/tea-bags?variant=12757276393559

Ingredients: Young Hyson Chinese Green Tea, tea extract, natural passion fruit flavor, safflower petals, natural strawberry flavor, natural açai flavor

You could see all the tea goodness in the sachet.  

I do have to say that is where the love fest ended.  I did not find the flavors to be as strong.  I got more flavor from the aroma than the taste. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.  And I was only able to get one cup of tea from the bag.

I gave this tea three tea bags... I really wanted to like this tea, but I just was not a fan.

I wanted to give the tea another shot, so I tried another one of their teas.  I did the Blue Lady, it has subtle fruity notes. I steeped the water to 200 degrees and then steeped for 4-5 minutes.  Again, I was only able to make one cup of tea, but this one had more flavor then the previous tea I tried from them.

Ingredients: South Indian Flower Orange Pekoe Black Tea, Cornflower Petals, Hibiscus Flowers C/S, Orange Peel, Juicy Lemon, Orange, and Passion Fruit Flavor, Natural Caffeine

This tea was better.  I am giving it 4 tea cups.  The flavors were nice. I found the notes of orange and hibiscus very nice.

Earl Grey and winter variety pack from Ohio Tea Company

https://www.ohioteaco.com/Winter-Variety-Pack-_p_1938.html

I love these new variety packs that Ohio Tea Company has started to sell.  This is the greatest way to try their teas.  You get to make a couple of cups of tea and see if you like the tea before you purchase more.

From the website,  "This variety pack includes 12 of our most popular Winter teas, so you can experience the holiday season without the pressure of picking out just one flavor.

This pack includes enough loose leaf tea for (2) eight ounce cups or (1) sixteen ounce cup of each flavor:

Sleigh Bells

Sugar Plum 

Christmas Morning 

Holiday Earl Grey 

Peppermint Sticks 

Duchess Grey 

Winter Wonderland

Godiva Roche

Noel Christmas

Vanilla Mint Chai 

Gingerbread Chai 

Blueberry Crumble "

I have tried several of these teas, but some I have not tried yet.  I am so excited to try the Gingerbread Chai, I think it might be the first new one I try.  I already know I love the Vanilla Mint Chai and Winter Wonderland- those are two of my favorites.

Have you tried any on these?  What do you like?

Ohio Tea Company made me this wonderful tea label.  This is my cat, Earl Grey.  I love love love having this label with my cat on it!!!  

I am telling you, the people at Ohio Tea are pretty great.  They are so friendly and knowledgeable.  They know their tea and are more than happy to help you find what you are looking for.  You need to check them out.  They have a news letter that you can sign up for too.