Wallhouse Coffee, Ti Kwan Yin Oolong Tea

https://wallhousecoffee.com/

One of my friends told me about this coffee and tea place that was in Sugarcreek.  Sugarcreek is about 45 minutes away so I made a day of it.  Wallhouse opened in 2008.  It kind of reminds me of a Panera.

The inside was fun and there was lots of options for seating.

There are lots of food and drink options.  It took me awhile to even decide what to get.  I ended up getting a salad and an oolong tea.

The Ti Kwan Yin Oolong was very good. I was super excited to find an good oolong tea at a mainly coffee shop.  Oolong is my favorite tea, but the hardest for me to find in cafes.

The tea was a delightful surprise!!  It is a classic Chinese oolong.  It has slight mild orchid notes along with the typical oolong notes I love.  Wallhouse was very nice.  The prices were decent.  The staff was very helpful and friendly.  I would recommend this place if you are in the area. 

I gave this tea a 4 out of 5 tea cups.

While I was in Sugarcreek I checked out some of the shops in town.  Sugarcreek is also known as Little Switzerland.  I am Swiss on both sides of my family.  I have been to Switzerland once, but not to the town that I want to go, Grindlewald.  Grindlewald is where the Kaufmann side is from.  

I was in Lugano and Lucerne- both beautiful and gorgeous. 

Below are some pics from 1997...

Are you my knight in shining armor??

Boy, do I wish we had camera phones back then.  I lugged 18 rolls of film and my camera across Europe.  I was gone for two weeks with my aunt her college friend and my college friend.  It was a dream come true.  We did a tour and I just loved it.  We started in London, went to Paris, then Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany and Amsterdam.

The country side was my favorite.  It was so much fun exploring the places I had only read about in history books.

Now, back in 2021 and in Ohio.  I am checking out Little Switzerland, Sugarcreek Ohio.  It is a cute little town.  I stopped in an antique store and looked at the world's largest cuckoo clock.

This clock comes alive on the hour and half hour.  We used to see this clock when I was little.  It used to be on top of a restaurant in Sugarcreek, the Alpine Alpa.  I was not a fan of this restaurant, but my grandparents loved it, so we would go there with them.  The reward for going there was to see the clock at the end of the meal.

 

New Tea Plant, growing indoors.

Keeping a tea plant alive, is not easy.  I got this tea plant below for Christmas.  I did the special soil, the special light, but I could not keep it alive. I took it to work to see if I could keep it alive there.  One of my funny co-workers added the tea bags to the "dead" tree to make it look more like a tea plant.  It cracks me up.

The only thing that is staying alive in this pot is the Christmas Cactus.  It is start from my mom, who got it from my grandma who has since passed away.

I then went to Hirt's Garden in Medina to get another tea plant.  Again, it is frustrating that no one there knows anything about the plant.  

I read again everything on line. There are so many things on line, but not a ton about keeping your tea plant alive inside.  The first time I tried so hard, but still felt like I was winging it.

I thought maybe I added too much "special soil.  I decided that everything they had in the pot would be enough and I would just add to the dirt I had in the bigger pot.

https://www.facebook.com/HirtsGardens/

In the green house you still needed to wear a mask.  So, I am complying.  I went with this beauty.  I am so excited to try to make this process a success.

Side note, I was not able to keep this plant alive either.  I guess I was not meant to grow a tea plant.

I did save some leaves, but I have no idea what I will can do with them....but I am thinking about a fun craft.

Big bummer, but I gave it my best try.  I suppose I will just enjoy my already prepared and made for me.

Boom Town Coffee, Boom Town Bubble Tea, Sandusky Oh

https://www.facebook.com/sanduskycoffeeco/

Abby and I were in Vermilion for the week enjoying our church camp.  We had one afternoon off so we went tea hunting.  We would go to one town for tea and then I would type in Tea in Google Maps and see what was close by.  I find this a great way to discover new places.

There are so many tea places that we are already picking what we want to do next time.

This place is super cute.  I have never been to this part of Sandusky before.  I loved the water town vibe.  I almost felt like I was in Maine.  The streets are well maintained and quaint. 

I was hungry and decided to try a salad and the Boom Town Bubble Tea.   The staff was friendly and the place clean, light and bright.

Here is the list below of the Bubble Tea they had today.  So many options.  

Even though this is a coffee place, it is nice to see the tea options.  

I enjoyed the salad.  And I thought the tea was nice.  I liked the addition of the strawberry puree.  I don't think I have ever had a tea with puree. I thought that was a great twist.

I gave this Bubble Tea a 4 tea cups out of 5.  I thought the flavors were good.  The shop was nice and people were friendly.  I would recommend this little shop if you were in the area.

Mr Smith Coffee House, Iced Chai

Talk about your quaint town on the water, this area had all the feels.  If we had not been in a hurry to get all the tea places, I would have loved to walk around and see more.  It was hot, but beautiful day to be out.

http://mrsmithscoffee.com/

This coffee house used to be a theatre. 

The decor is fun and eclectic.

This was in the bathroom where the mirror would have been- I thought it was a great idea!

I had the iced chai. The chai is a house blend.  I have to say of all the teas I had today this was my favorite.  I love the spicy blend with the black tea.

Next time we are headed to the island for Bluebird cafe and Biggby Coffee!!

We were VERY disappointed to find that Woodstock was closed for the day.  So, we headed to Susie's Café in Vermilion but it was closed for good. So, we headed to Oberlin for more options.