Tea tasting Jasmine Tea







 

I decided to do a taste test of one of my favorite tea flavors- Jasmine Pearls.  And I just so happen to have that flavor in my four favorite tea brands- Harney & Sons, Teavana, Smiths Teamaker, and Tea Forte.

Harney & Sons is "bagged"- but in a sachet like this I still consider it loose.  


I just got this Teavana yesterday- so excited to try it!!!


I bought this tea in the spring when I was visiting my sister in Washington state.  We visited the tea house/shop and I bought this from them that day b/c I liked it so much.


I really enjoy Tea Forte and their flavors!


As you can see- side by side they look very equal.


I learned from Smiths Tea that you should run the pearls under water for about 15-20 seconds before your first use.  So I did that with all the pearls.  You can get about 3-4 cups out of one serving of pearls. With green tea you need to be sure you DON'T boil the water.  It bruises the delicate leaves.


So here they are all steeping for three minutes.  You also never want to over steep green tea- once you've done that you'll understand the difference and not want to make that mistake again.


Once the timer goes off I "drain" these two.  I LOVE to steep my tea in these "pots"!!!!

And after tasting them all---- the winner was Teavana.  It was close but it had such a nice strong yet  light taste.  Second was Harney & Sons.


It was close- but the winner is Teavana

Winner of best scent is Harney & Sons!  I love the rich jasmine scent!

Home Goods Tea shopping

Out shopping at Home Goods with my sister Jill.
 



 
Sooooo many choices...


I found some really fun teas.  The Trader Joes tea is from Trader Joes -not Home Goods.



BUBBLE TEA,SNOW, AND MY CAT

It's cold and snowy in Ohio

 
 
 
I love winter! But, when it is negative degrees out- I'll stay in with tea and my cat.  Since I've discovered I can make bubble tea, I tend to make it once a week.  


Shakespeare watches it snow.
 

Pepper Mint Thai- Bubble Tea

www.peppermintthaicuisine.com/

 Went to Pepper Mint Thai with my sister for my 43rd birthday.


I ordered the Thai Ice Tea Bubble Tea
The bubble tea was okay- I've had better.  The food was amazing though!!!!  I had the Basil Chicken, it was so wonderful!
I want to go back and eat here again!!!!

Dragonfly Teahouse- Downton Abbey tea

 
Okay, for some reason my pictures uploaded backwards!  So, you get to see the fun evening from end to start. 

 
This was "Mrs. Wallis Simpson" for the evening.  She told us about Wallis and King Edwards scandalous love affair.

 
cool tea pot light


dinner- vegetable soup, chicken salad in puff pastry, pimento sandwich, and raisin bread sandwich. See the fun heart shaped biscuit on the soup.
Our appetizer was a scone.

Janis and Abby Steiner joined my mom and I for a delightful evening!!!

The evening was a real treat!!!!!


 
Dessert- lady fingers with a chocolate mouse and raspberries- soooo good!

Mom had a decaf tea that she enjoyed.  It was a really fun girls night out!  We were not sure why it was called a Downtown Abbey Tea- the food did not seem different than before.  The food was great- don't get me wrong, we just expected different.  We think maybe they called it Downtown Abbey because the employees wore dresses from the 30's....the time period of the show.  There were a few people also dressed in really fun "flapper" dresses too!  I hope to go again next year!!!

I had a great cup of tea- Apricot Fantasy!  It was really good.  This time I asked them to put the loose leaf in a strainer so I could take it out and not let it over steep it.  They were kind enough to steep it for me in the back- so it did not over steep.  I drank the entire pot!!!!

Mom enjoyed using the selfie stick

Mom and I wore our favorite fun hats for the event

 
Great sunny day- glad the snow stayed away for one night!

 


Mrs J's, iced tea

I went to Mrs J's in Orrville, with some co-workers.  I had not been there in almost 25 years!!!!!  When I was there ONCE in high school it was smokey and had a greasy feel to it.  NOT ANY MORE!  It's now smoke free (like all Ohio restaurants) and it is clean. I ordered unsweetened tea, it was okay. Nothing to write home about, but it was okay.  The food on the other hand is great and very inexpensive. 
If you are ever going down Route 57 in Orrville, stop in for a great breakfast or lunch!

114 North Main Street, Orrville, OH 44667
(330) 683-0666