Thursday Tea Time - Afternoon, Darjeeling Tea

It pays to shop around - I found a box of Afternoon Darjeeling Tea by Taylors of Harrogate, 20 individually-wrapped tea bags for only $2.99 at TJ Maxx.  Absolutely fresh with a Best Buy Date of June 30, 2018.   And a great buy!

What a treat this was, a nice afternoon pick-me-up.  Not too strong, just right.  

Just a little splash of sugar free creamer!
Perfect!

If your local TJ Maxx stores don't have it, you can find it online also on Amazon, or even Walmart.

Thursday Tea Time - Pear with me

Here is another one of Madame Flavour's unique blends - Delicate Green Jasmine & Pear.
Open the package and just inhale the fruity flowery jasmine fragrance.   Do watch the kettle when you are boiling the water to keep the green tea from becoming bitter - you can always add a splash of cold water to keep the temperature to about 80-85 degrees F.  The first cup I brewed for 3 minutes, next time 2 minutes.   It doesn't need any thing else to bring out the flavor - it's wonderful as it is.
Rating: 4 1/2, especially if you love green tea.

LOVE these heart infusers from Phoenicia Foods in downtown Houston!

Thursday Tea Time - Did you say more tea, eh? I said Yay!

If you don't have a David's Tea in your city, find someone who does or take a trip!    They have the most delicious and unusual tea flavors and combinations, including (genius!) tea-infused truffles (photo not available of those, as I carefully rationed myself to 1 or 2 per day, and well...)
Let's see -- Miami 1,188...Chicago 1,082 miles. . .

 Apple Cider!

Coffee Cake!

The golden Perfect spoon is also from David's Tea
No more spilled tea!

Nutty and Spice!

I wish they made a candle of this crazy good scent!

Nutty color!

It's probably a good thing the closest David's Tea is over 1,000 miles away.   But then again, there is online ordering...and sales!  All three of these are currently on sale - I may need to restock.   Another bonus is that these teas are so good and flavorful, you don't need to add anything to them.  Move over Teavana, there's a new guy in (out of) town.  I could do a long distance relationship.

30 Paintings 30 Days - Day 10 -- Part 17 of Adventures with Brusho

9" x 6"

Inspired by the artwork inside Twinings Australian Afternoon tea box, and opportunity to play with my new Sennelier watercolors and a new Princeton round brush in a Size 7 (?).  And of course, a few shakes of Dark Brown Brusho.  Looks like spilled tea.

Thursday Tea Time - TropicaliTea

Always willing to try something new - Soursop and Daintree

Governor's Estate Soursop Green Tea

Soursop is becoming more popular because of the claim it can reduce and slow the growth of cancer cells and it has Vitamins C & B, calcium and iron.  I just thought it was a nice tasting, tropical flavored tea.

Soursop

It had a nice sweetness, further enhanced with a little bit of honey.  A splash of italian cream made it tasty, too.  I would get a couple more boxes - I also like that the tea bags are individually packaged so I can share with friends.

Rating:  3.5

T2 Daintree is an Australian black tea with a slightly floral and vanilla taste.  It is light and "dainty" and I think would be great for a little girl's tea party.  The leaves look interesting.

I actually found myself liking this more after each sip.

Rating:  3.75

Thursday Tea Time - Nerada Organics - Subtract the chill by adding chai

So hear it then, my Rennie dear, Nor hear it with a frown; You cannot make the tea so fast As I can gulp it down. I therefore pray thee, Rennie dear, That thou wilt give to me With cream and sugar softened well, Another dish of tea.
Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) Untitled

Nevada is another true Australian tea - this is their Organics line, Pure Organic Chai.   Australian's largest tea grower from Queensland.  And it is delicious!

The ingredients are not listed, but I can discern clove, ginger and cinnamon.  No pepper, whew.  I always thought pepper was a cheap way to get the heat going.  I also couldn't see brewing directions, so I kept the double flow-through tea bag in the mug for about 5 minutes.  Perfect!  (with added sugar-free Italian cream creamer.)  I hadn't seen a teabag like the Lipton's Flo-Thru in a long time.  It definitely brewed up the flavor strength.

You can see my beachy blue starfish pumpkin still holding court in the kitchen garden!

I can't wait to get more of this and try their other flavors.  Check out their website - doesn't their Royal Devonshire Tea sound divine?  In the meantime, I'm glad this is a box of 50 (now 49).  Chai definitely takes the chill off.

Rating: 5

Thursday Tea Time - Well, Hello! Or G'day Houston!

Look what I found near the checkout counter at TJ Maxx!  For $4.99 a box.  Fifty teabags each.  You can find Australia in Houston (Sugar Land, specifically).  Check the TJ Maxx stores in your area.  This is super fresh tea, the best by date is July 19, 2019!

Madura Green Tea and Jasmine, Pure Assam and Green Tea & Jasmine.
(I left behind the boxes of Organic Black, Organic Green, Premium Blend, Earl Grey and English Breakfast)

I was glad to have the opportunity to try these flavors before going back to Australia, so I could see which I wanted to bring home and save room in my suitcase.  This TJM price is basically the same price, given the exchange rate...and not counting the airfare and 17 hours nonstop flying.

All nicely in a row inside the wrapper

Beautiful colors!

When I go back, I will definitely look for the Green Tea & Mint and the Assam - bonus if I can find it in the loose version.

The Assam surprised me, not bitter at all.  And when you added cream and sugar, it had a wonderful slightly fruity taste and great full bodied tea finish.  A whiff of the pre brewed teabag was smoky/tobacco.  Rating: 4

The Green Tea & Jasmine is nice, I would give it a 3.  Wonderful scent of jasmine as you sip, but an odd slightly acidic finish.   It does taste better plain.  When I opened the package it had a grassy, not floral fragrance.  I have so many Jasmine green teas, I wouldn't take up suitcase space to bring back more.

Now the Green Tea & Mint - I was surprised and happy it was peppermint and not spearmint.  Very versatile and drinkable throughout the year...A Christmas seasonal and sinus soothing peppermint, and refreshing iced in the summer.  It has a very pleasant minty finish.   Delicious plain and if you want to add a little cream and sugar, it will taste like a candy cane!  Rating:  4.1

Thursday Tea Time - Stringed and Tagged - Yorkshire Tea

More from my collection of Australian teas --
Taylor's of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea - a rich and refreshing classic black tea box of 100 string and tag tea bags.  I just noticed that tag line, haha!

I love the colors and artwork on the box, too.

When you first open the box, you get a whiff of a slightly astringent, yet hello there tea fragrance.  It brews to a gorgeous chestnut color and has a traditional earthy tea scent.

Ahhh, welcome home tea!

A good basic tea when you don't want the fuss or muss of flavored combination teas.  Just a good body, good flavor, nice aftertaste, all purpose tea.

I suggest drinking this with cream and sugar (fat free half & half and Splenda).  The sugar-free Italian cream makes it almost too sweet.
(My sugar/carb craving/sweetness desire and radar has dropped way down, thank goodness!  Stay with it those of you who are also trying to cut back your sugar and carb intake - it will happen to you, too.  God Bless my nutritionist.  And the wakeup call of getting my bloodwork down after last year's holidays - one of the dumbest smartest things I've ever done)

When I go back I will look for their other varieties...I do remember seeing some of them on the shelves.

Rating:  4.5 - Right on up there with Dilmah, Madura.  The Aussies and English sure know and love their teas!

Thursday Tea Time - T2 Two

Two more favorites from T2 - Earl Grey Royale and Creme Brûlée

First - Earl Grey Royale

This Royale version of Earl Grey has a nice, but not overpowering bergamot flavor.  Delicious plain and not sour at all.  Definitely the crowning top in my list of Earl Grey teas.

And Creme Brûlée - 

You can even see the tiny bit of caramelized hazelnut

Adding a bit of sugar free Italian cream turns this into dessert, but it also has a vanilla-overtone and sweet finish without any add-ins.  I'm definitely going back for more of this next visit!

Thursday Tea Time - Bonus Round

T2 Just Lavender -- one teaspoon Just Lavender to two teaspoons Blue Mountain.  Yummy, soothing, relaxing, sip by sip.  I love when they combine different teas.  And this one is exceptional.

Thursday Tea Time - Hold it!

This would be cool to find and useful - it holds your teabag!

Thursday Tea Time, Madame

Two more tea hits from Madame Flavour and Australia --

Ginger Masala Chai (looseleaf) and Soothing Mint Lavender Tisane (18 pyramids)

First the chai. . .

One cup of water, one tablespoon (I suggest umping up the from the suggested two teaspoons) in a small saucepan, bring to boil, add milk (I used 2%, might be worth upgrading to whole milk for a creamier mug), two teaspoons of honey.  Adding a 1 cm piece of grated ginger to the water boiling stage would also be worth a try to the Ceylon and Assam leaf teas, cinnamon, cardamom pods, fennel, ginger, clove, red safflowers and Australian mountain pepper leaf.   Wonderful peppery ginger bite and finish.

Rating:  Grabbing more of these next visit!

Soothing Mint Lavender Tisane. . .

Never would have thought, nor have seen this combination.   But it is sensational.  Caffeine-free, too. Soothing to all your senses.

Perfect plain, it needs no other additions.

Nice paper lined packaging!

The fragrance is minty, lavender is subtle.   How good is this?  As soon as I drank my cup, I turned around and made more for my Hydroflask to take to afternoon watercoloring class.
Yup, grabbing this one, too!

Thursday Tea Time - Getting ready for the Weekend in Monte Carlo

At least with a sip of this tea from Madame Flavour, another Australian tea.

Weekend in Monte Carlo, Tea No. 47 is an unusual blend of of Pekoe and Green Leaf Tea scented with spearmint and bergamot.  Didn't see that combination coming, did you?  A surprising and refreshing discovery, it tastes best plain -- you don't need to add anything.  I tried the Italian cream - it hid all the good flavors.  A packet of Splenda didn't work either.  Nope, just enjoy it hot from the pot.

It is a loose-leaf tea, with gorgeous, unbroken leaves unfurling into wonderful strands of flavor.  Just use a teaspoonful in your tea bag or infuser.  The fragrance is intoxicating and the taste is nothing like you've experienced before.

The well-designed box seals up nicely for storage, too.  I will definitely look for their additional flavor combinations next time I'm in Australia.