Shades of Black

Tea is a wonderful beverage. It can soothe as well as inspire. It's wonderful to drink when you're alone, but it's fantastic when shared with friends.

I spent last evening sharing tea and conversation with my friend Niraj at his tea studio. We drank a flight of black teas, four from China and one from Nepal. It's so interesting to taste these teas side by side so you can really see the similarities as well as the differences.

We started with the Yunnan Gold, and also ended with it! Such a smooth sweet tea (and no-we don't add any sweeteners, it's naturally sweet!). Yet with this sweetness, you also get pepper and some spice. It's quite malty. From there we moved to the Himalayan Imperial Black from Nepal. Although the tea is similar, I got a totally different aroma from the steeped leaf, moist green earth. Of course these teas are from two very different areas. The Imperial Black is very creamy with a complex taste. We had to have my Lapsang Souchong and this time I noticed a slight menthol note. It's interesting how different notes can emerge.

Next up was the Keemun Mao Feng followed by Kickin' Keemun. What was most interesting to me was the difference of the leaves. Both Keemun, but totally different looking leaves. The Kickin' Keemun (Keemun Hao Ya B) is on the left (I had moved the cups for the picture) and the larger leaf of the Mao Feng is on the right. Both are slightly smokey (so you know I like them) with the Kickin' Keemun having more "a taste of fire" than actual smoke. It was quite malty with some pepper and an earthiness about it.

It's great to be able to compare taste and notes with someone. You can bounce ideas off each other and perhaps sense nuances you hadn't noticed alone. Find a friend and taste some teas together. You can open your mind to new possibilities and great conversations!

A Visit To The Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory With Karen

Karen here and yes I really was that happy to wear a hair net!
Last summer I traveled to Boulder Colorado with my family for a wedding and while we were in town my sister in law and my mother in law took me to the Celestial Seasonings Tour. It was truly one of the highlights of my trip!

The tour of Celestial Seasonings was free and it was fantastic. I truly learned a lot. The tour was not very long but it was very informative. The staff were very knowledgeable and it was amazing to be up close to the belts of boxed tea whizzing by us destined for shops all over the world. One of the things I found very fascinating is that Canadian's like me are the second largest purchasers of Celestial Seasoning tea and tisanes. I was impressed to learn that there is different packaging for Canada then the USA and that they are done in separate batches. I got to tour the Mint room, which was the perfect place to find yourself as a mint tea lover,. The sensory overload that is the Mint Room it is something you can only experience first hand and not accurately describe to anyone.  The tea testing room was also something I will never forget, you could sample any of the teas hot or cold that Celestial Seasonings makes while you are there. I sampled a dozen teas and I left with 20 boxes of teas I would never have bought in store had I not tasted them first hand.

When I was in store I was in full sensory overload. I had wished we towed a trailer behind us all the way from Canada as we were driving across the country, so that I could have bought more. The photo above is just some of the teas I picked up on my trip but the prize is my Sleepy Time Tea Bear Tea Pot. Truly the largest stone in the crown of my collection. I also picked up a matching tea pot and tea cup which are now my traveling set as I had not brought a proper tea pot on my trip and I missed it so much so when ever I travel I bring my own electric tea kettle, Teapot and Cup and Saucer. I have a plastic tea pot and strainer combo but I swear it doesn't taste the same so I travel now with this set. My Bear however stays at home on a shelf being admired and waiting for the perfect evening tea party to make his debut! Would you believe he only cost about $30 US! I could  not either so he came home to Canada with me.

If you ever find yourself in Boulder Colorado make the time to take this tour and leave yourself plenty of time for the tasting and the gift shop. The photo above is only one of my 4 baskets I carried around the store. That tea shown above is one of my most favorites and I can not wait to tell you all about it in an up coming post and tea review.
To learn more about the Celestial Seasonings Tour and Store please visit them on line by clicking here.
Thank you so much for joining me today. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Tuesday Tea Quote!

Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company ~Author Unknown

Karen here. Today I am reflecting upon this  tea quote and how much I love this very statement. I am in awe of how much pleasure it truly the taking of tea alone or with company and wanted to share this quote and my cup of tea with you. 
I hope that you find yourself with a full pot of tea, a pretty cup and saucer and a moment to yourself or that you are sharing one with friends. 

Once upon a midnight dreary...

Ah...Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven."  Is there anyone who has not heard this poem?  Having spent many delightful hours with the works of Mr. Poe, I was delighted to see this tea on the shelf.  It is another outstanding Eastern Shore Tea: Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe " 'Black as a raven's wing,' Black raven Tea is richly fragrant and satisfying.  Cover Illustration by Howard Burns."  It needed to come home with me even if I was unfamiliar with Blackcurrants.  The ingredients are simple: black tea and blackcurrant flavoring.  I've been enjoying this tea for several weeks now and while discussing it with Kathleen Kaminski, I discovered we both felt the same way: we love it; however, neither of us could really say what exactly we loved.  With that in mind, I pulled out an appropriate mug this evening and brewed a fresh tasting.

Unfamiliar with blackcurrants, I took a few moments to immerse myself in the aroma of the unbrewed tea.  It is a strong scent of, I assume, blackcurrants.  Quite lovely after I took a few moments to consider it...and a nice dark amber brew when steeped.  I love the taste and have made a mental note to look for blackcurrants this summer.  A simple tea, it can only be described as flavorful.  I wish I had more experience with this particular berry.

Usually I make my tea for work in a stainless steel travel mug.  I mentioned to Kathleen that this tea travels well.  Even at the end of my work day, if there is any of the 12 ounces of tea left, it will be cold and still deeply satisfying.  Tonight I decided to try it iced and to detect any differences in the flavor.

Black Raven is milder when chilled, but the distinctive blackcurrant flavor is still satisfying.  This tea is a 5/5 for me.  For a tea that I bought for the packaging, it has been an excellent addition to my tea locker.  And please forgive my favorite matte lipstick; it insisted on being included in the photo.
Next week: more varieties of Eastern Shore Tea.

Addendum to previous blog;  In my March 14, 2016 entry, "Experimenting with Maple Tea," I mentioned a friend tasting with me.  She has since corrected me.  She did not put honey in it: only milk, maple syrup, and a bit of sugar.  And it is her favorite hot tea; she gives it a 5/5.

The Perfect Easter Basket

Happy Easter! It's an early holiday this year, but absolutely perfect here in WNY with temperatures supposed to be in the mid 60s!! In honor of the holiday I thought I'd share what would be a wonderful gift-the perfect Easter basket! (Or Ostara Basket or Passover Basket or...)

My tea themed Easter basket would have a multitude of wonderful items. First of all: tea! I'd have some wonderful teas gathered from Happy Earth Tea, perhaps some Himalayan Imperial Black or a Temple of Heaven! and since it's a holy day, I should get my favorite Holy Ginger, which I always keep on hand! In addition I might create a special blend from Design a Tea (perhaps a passion fruit mango green or a chocolate hazelnut black) or add something from Eastern Shore Tea Company, (my favorite is Black Raven, but maybe I'd try something new like Blackberry Summer Tea or Burgundy Cherry-which is made from a Keemun tea.).

Next I'd like to add a cup or mug. A fancy tea cup, or a cup with an infuser already attached, or a tea for one set!

I'd add a tea accessory, perhaps a useful teaspoon, a tea pet, or a fun infuser!

What would Easter be without candy! Hedonist Artisan Chocolates have absolutely amazing goodies and their Spring 2016 truffle collection is tea inspired: Milk Chocolate Chai, Earl Grey Caramel, Jasmine, Green Tea, and, my favorite (of course) Lapsang Souchong!

There has to be a book or two, perhaps a nonfiction book about tea and a tea mystery. I need to add Tea with Milk and Murder by H.Y. Hanna to my basket. You could add any of her Oxford Tearoom Mysteries, or Laura Childs Tea Shop Mysteries, a Teapot Collector Mystery from Amanda Cooper, or...

Why not get creative and add a coloring book. They're all the rage and for good reason. I love to color! Did you know there are coloring books devoted to tea?

I love home fragrance products! In fact I'm an independent consultant with Pink Zebra! Our main product are Sprinkles a soy/paraffin wax blend you melt to fragrance your home. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the March scent of the month was Sweet Tea!!! I'd add a jar of Sweet Tea Sprinkles as well as our Pomegranate Tea Sprinkles to my basket! You can also combine our Sprinkles to create your own personalized scents too-I have recipes to make Raspberry Tea and Chai Tea Latte!

Finally I'd add a fun tea themed goodie. Perhaps a bracelet, like this one from wileywolverine. Or maybe a pair of socks or a tea-shirt, er t-shirt.








Wouldn't this be the perfect Easter basket?! Heck, I'd be happy with one item from it. Whether you get an Easter basket or not, I hope you have a joyous day!

Tea Whimsey Jar Swap I Made

Karen here, a few years ago I was an "active swapper" on a site called www.swap-bot.com I loved it. I have participated in 428 swaps over the years but my favorite one that I did was a Whimsey Jar swap. I have done more then one tea themed whimsy jars swaps but this was one of my most favorites. You can have any theme you want with these swaps but this was a "Tea For One Themed Swap."

To make the jar, I saved a plastic mayonnaise jar and washed it really well. The first swap I did I used glass and it was so much more expensive to mail. I also worried the entire time that it would break in transit.
I decorated the outside of the jar with a tea quote and tea themed embellishments to the lid and label.  For the inside I used ribbon to dress up two tea light candles. I included several loose leaf tea selections, measured out in to tiny zip lock bags, as well as individually wrapped tea bags. I included hand made tea themed napkins. I quickly zipped up on my sewing machine and included a vintage Canada teaspoon as well as a recipe written on a pretty recipe card.
I loved putting this swap together and wish the cost of shipping was lower so that I could participate in so many more.  These Whimsey Jar Swaps are such a delight to receive. I think they make lovely gifts and there are so many things you can fit in a jar. Pick a theme and fill! Such fun. My only regret is that my partner who was assigned to send to me never followed through so I did not get one back to share, thus is the nature of some swaps but I still have fond memories of making it and know that the person I sent to loved it.

Please join me for tea daily at www.acupofteaandacozymystery.com 

Tea Quote - Ueda Akinari

Though I cannot flee
From the world of corruption,
I can prepare tea
With water from a mountain stream
And put my heart to rest.
~Ueda Akinari

Tea Talk: an Interview & Giveaway with Laura Childs

I'm pleased to welcome Laura Childs to the blog today. Laura is a New York Times best selling author who writes several mystery series as well as a thriller! Laura's longest running series just happens to center around a tea shop in Charleston, South Carolina.

Kathy: Although my interest to dig deeper into the world of tea is relatively new, I’ve always been a tea drinker. How about you? Have you always enjoyed tea?

LC: I’ve pretty much been a tea drinker all my life - really since college. I went to a private school where we had sit-down dinners at night served by waitresses. They would come around and pour fresh-brewed tea and I grew to love it.


Kathy: You’re more apt to find me drinking iced tea, even in winter, but I also drink hot tea. I drink in the more Asian style, drinking my tea neat, never adding cream or sugar. How do you like your tea?

LC: I never add cream or sugar, I think it masks the subtleties of tea.

Kathy: Do you have a favorite type of tea?

LC: I’m a huge fan of Japanese green teas – especially Genmaicha and Bancha. But when I want to go a little crazy, I select a tea with a kick – something with citrus, lemongrass, or cinnamon blended in.


Kathy: In addition to drinking tea many people collect tea cups, tea pots, and other tea things. Do you collect any tea accouterments?

LC: If I see a particularly charming teacup in an antique store I will buy it. But my husband is the teapot collector. Dr. Bob (professor of Chinese art history) has over 100 Chinese Yixing teapots. They are these adorable little purple clay pots that are often adorned with dragons or foo dogs.


Kathy: How does tea play a part in your writing?

LC: Well, since I write the Tea Shop Mystery series, it plays a huge part. I visit tea shops to sample new teas and treats, am always buying new teas, and I collect books about tea. Of course, I drink tea while I’m writing. A little caffeine always helps to rev me up!

Kathy: Back in 2001 Death by Darjeeling, the first book in your Tea Shop Mystery series, was published. Devonshire Scream, the 17th book was just released. Would you tell us a bit about this series?

LC: These are cozy mysteries (think kinder, gentler mysteries) that feature Theodosia Browning, the owner of the Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston, SC.

She’s a feisty small business owner who, along with her tea shop dog, Earl Grey, gets involved in murder, kidnappings, art heists, etc. The books are very fast-paced with critical action always taking place in the first chapter. This propels Theodosia and her regular cast of characters into a story that often features overwhelming odds, yet always yields justice in the end.

Interestingly enough, I found my “voice” for the character of Theodosia within the first few lines I ever wrote. I could even picture her sitting in her quaint little tea shop with balmy breezes wafting in off the Cooper River. From there it was easy to weave in her tea sommelier, Drayton, and her young baker, Haley, and set them on course for a murder mystery.


Kathy: Why choose a tea shop and a focus of tea for your series?

LC: I was looking for a fun theme to kind of “anchor” a cozy mystery, and tea had just started to take off like a bottle rocket. Tea shops were popping up like errant mushrooms, ladies were rediscovering tea parties, and tea parties were even coming into vogue as charity fund raisers. A tea theme seemed like a very fertile niche that had never been written about before - and I’m all about that!

Kathy: Were you quite knowledgeable about tea prior to writing the series?

LC: I’d always been a tea drinker. But when I started traveling to China, Japan, and Indonesia with my husband, I began to do tea tasting in a serious way. Still, I can’t claim to be any kind of expert – there’s so much I don’t know yet!


Kathy: Is the Indigo Tea Room based on a real tearoom or is it purely a product of your imagination?

LC: The Indigo Tea Room is a montage of the coziest tea shops I’ve ever visited in the U.S., Asia, and the UK.


Kathy: Do you have a favorite tearoom, or place to enjoy tea?

LC: There are terrific tearooms all over the place. But one of my most memorable tea experiences was in Kyoto, Japan. After visiting Kiyomizu Temple - built in the 1600’s upon a lovely mountain – my husband and I wandered down a narrow, winding street filled with tea shops. We went in one and sipped hot green tea and ate wafer-thin cookies and slices of baked yam in a 400 year-old tea shop. It was fantastic!


Kathy: What does tea mean to you?

LC: I find tea drinking to be a very relaxing experience. You take time out of your day to prepare a cup of tea, you’re enveloped in this lovely cloud of steam which is almost akin to aromatherapy, and then you sip your hot, subtly flavored beverage. It’s quite contemplative.

For more information about Laura Childs check out her website: http://www.laurachilds.com/

Laura has graciously offered a copy of her latest tea shop mystery, DEVONSHIRE SCREAM to one lucky reader. Simply leave a comment on this blog post talking about your favorite type of tea. Leave your comment no later than 11:59 pm Saturday, March 26, 2016 along with an e-mail address so that I may contact you should you win. Sorry US addresses only.

Easter Tea Creating Your Own Tea Themed Party Favors

If you are hosting an Easter Tea for more then just yourself there are some wonderful tea themed party favors you can easily put together yourself. 

You can source the plastic Easter Eggs at your dollar stores and fill them with a bag of loose leaf tea. Place them in an inexpensive egg cup and do them up with cellophane and an pretty pastel or Easter ribbon.

One of my favorite Easter Traditions is the Egg and Spoon Race, You could place a foil wrapped egg on a chocolate spoon for each of your guests as well as a take home gift.

You can make a small paper basket and place a few bagged teas inside with some chocolate foil eggs add Easter Grass wrap them and use them as place cards for each of your guests.

I used fun printed muffin papers as the baskets for both of my bagged and loose leave tea blends.

Last year David's Tea here in Canada had these lovely Egg Tea Tins and I picked up a set for my own personal tea party.

I think they are darling. Each egg is was filled with a selection of David's tea perfect for a tea lover like me to find hidden Easter morning.

I love to set an Easter table. I have been collecting items over the last few years that I hoped would compliment each season and occasion's tea party with out going over board or with out them being considered tacky.

I have had my paper mache Easter bunny now about 5 years, his body is covered in the History of Easter including everything from the bible to the story of Peter Cotton Tale. I truly do treasure him and he is always the center piece of my tea table.

 Something I do even if I don't have time to throw a larger Easter tea party is make sure that I set a side time to have an Easter Tea party for one, setting the table for just myself may seem over the top to some but it really is a nice feeling, to do something so elegant for yourself, make it more indulgent with the little foil chocolate eggs too!

Thank you for stopping by for tea today and I look forward to sharing more  about tea with you again next Wednesday.

I would love to have you join me for tea daily, so pop by at www.acupofteaandacozymystery.com and say hello. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

How I got steeped in tea - a journey from Darjeeling to upstate NY.

My first recollection of tea was bruising; by which I mean I got physically bruised, nastily enough for me to remember it after all these years. I was small then maybe five or six, when we were allowed to wander off beyond the edge of our village, where the tea plantations were to play. We were playing hide and seek and I decided to sneak under a tea bush. I quickly learned a tea garden was no place for a child’s play, literally. Since the bushes were just as tall as us, the stiff branches painfully poked every part of me at the same time.

I would not return to the tea bushes until much later in my life, when I began to learn how to “play” in a tea garden in a way that would eventually alter the course of my life.

Today, I own a small tea business called Happy Earth Tea which is based in Rochester, NY. The business is in its fourth year, and steadily growing. All of it sometimes feels surreal: running a tea business, living on the other side of the world, the big yellow bus in which my children leave every morning. Yet, the only thing that ties this disparate world together seems to be tea for me.

Our Tea Studio in downtown Rochester, NY.

I grew up and lived for most of my life in Darjeeling. Now most of you would be familiar with the name for obvious reasons. But many of you may not know that Darjeeling is actually a district (or, county, as you would call it here) in the state of West Bengal, India. It is located in the foothills of the Himalayas, a popular hill resort during the colonial era (where by the way, Vivian Leigh was born), famed for its tea and breathtaking views of the Himalayas.

The British first planted tea in Darjeeling from seeds and cuttings of tea bushes that were smuggled out of Fujian, China in the late 1840s. To the triumph of the colonialists, who were trying to break the monopoly of China over tea supply, the plant thrived in the new world. Also because of Darjeeling’s high elevations, the tea acquired a distinct refinement in its flavor making tea aficionados hail it as the champagne of teas.

Sunrises over Mt Kanchenjunga, the world's 3rd highest mountain, as it towers over Darjeeling town,                        perched on the bottom left ridge.

But all that did not matter to me as a young man. I was keen to break out of the provincialism of the place. So I headed far away from the mountains and fine tea, to the bustling city of Calcutta where there was much cacophony and street chai, and conversations around Lenin and Trotsky (West Bengal holds the record of democratically electing a communist government for the longest period in the world) to pursue a career in Journalism.

As fate would have it after a few years I was posted by my newspaper as a correspondent back to Darjeeling. I covered mainly political stories, but because tea was the primary economic force I was regularly writing about it. Many of my old friends who were working as managers in the tea gardens, and other helpful acquaintances in the industry opened the doors wide to me. 

Another view of Darjeeling town, this time with Happy Valley Tea Estate in the foreground. Yes, those are tea bushes!

Before long the tea bug had me bad and I quit my job as a journo and opened a tea shop exporting Darjeeling tea to Europe and the US. The internet cables had just been laid in the hills and suddenly I had friends and customers in tea all over the world! The time coincided with me befriending an American volunteer who was in town helping a women’s empowerment organization. By the end of the year, we were married. The twists and turns of life had come to resemble the curvy mountain roads.

It was one of the most beautiful times in our lives, taking trips to far off tea gardens, spending the afternoons in tea garden bungalows with our manager friends who would tell us about their adventures in running a tea garden, cupping endless rows of tea and enjoying the hospitality of the tea workers. There is nothing as invigorating as the smell of fresh tea being made, which emanates from the tea factory and wafts about the hills.   

Tea pluckers at Jun Chiyabari Tea Estate, Nepal. Taken during my trip to the place November 2015.

In 2010, a good six years after our marriage, with two kids in tow and a pile of boxes, we came to America having decided to switch our countries of residence as it were. It was my turn, as my wife put it, now to enjoy the hospitality of her country. That is how we ended up in Rochester, NY, a place I had never heard of before 2010, and where I began to build a tea business from a different perspective.

Living in America has opened the world of tea even wider to me. I have come to learn so much about other tea traditions and have to come to appreciate them all. It is really silly to imagine that there is one correct way to making and drinking tea. Tea is one of the oldest beverage around mainly because it is very adaptable – you can make it in a tin pot over open fire like the Bedouins in the desert or sip it in the royal gardens, or have it with iced with tons of sugar, or with plenty of spices, or sit down with a tea master for a bowl of matcha in an austere Japanese tea house. 

That's me with tea pluckers in Dootheria tea garden in Darjeeling. Autumn 2014.

The way of tea, or Chado as the Japanese call it,  is wide and inclusive. And for me, it always bring me home.

How About Some Chocolate Tea?

I love chocolate; I love tea, so it is only natural that I would want to find a chocolate tea.  And for several years I have tried various teas with chocolate flavor added, with cocoa added, with syrup added to a cup of tea, but unlike coffee, which I enjoy in various forms with chocolate, I still keep searching for that perfect chocolate tea.  This week the quest may have been brought to an end.

Last week I experimented with Maple Tea and thought I would shift focus to one company this week but multiple flavors.  In preparing for this week's exploration of Eastern Shore Tea Co., I went to my local Wegmans Supermarket and picked up a couple of flavors I had never tried.  The Starry Night Tea jumped off the shelf because of the illustration by Charles Constantine as a tribute to Van Gogh; once I read the description, it went in the cart.

I chose a couple more flavors and headed home.  As I put the groceries away, I looked at the other chocolate teas in my cupboard; that was when I decided to do a tasting with all three chocolate teas.

Because I have enjoyed several other Eastern Shore Teas, I decided to try this brand first.  The ingredients are black tea, chocolate, toffee, and hazelnut flavoring, and with the following description, "Starry Night tea is a delicious combination of chocolate truffle, toffee, and hazelnut teas making a perfect alternative to hot chocolate," I was looking forward to the experience.  There was a lovely aroma of hazelnut, which is a domineering scent whenever it is used, with a bit of chocolate.  The taste was lovely and the chocolate taste called for milk, which I added.  Enjoyable but not chocolaty enough...4/5 on this one for me.

Later that evening I tried the caffeine free Chocolate Chai Herbal Red Tea from Zhena's Gypsy Tea.

I originally bought this tea for the convenience of trying several different flavors.  The aroma was a mix of cinnamon and heady with cloves and a bit of chocolate.  I loved the blend of flavors.  The chocolate was not pronounced; I did not add milk and would give this a 4/5.

Finally, this evening I tried the Numi Organic Tea, Indulgent Tea Chocolate Spice.

This black tea is labeled medium caffeine and blended with 40% cacao.  And as the label states, "This melt-in-your-mouth chocolate spice tea blends rich cacao with a host of colorful chai spices.  Ginger and cloves...cardamom...cinnamon rounds off this exotic treat."  And it is definitely a treat: the aroma is stronger than either of the other two with the chocolate a bit more noticeable.  The scents of ginger, cloves, and cinnamon are also rich.  The chocolate taste was stronger and not lost amid the wonderful spices.  I was so quick to pronounce this a 5/5 that I enjoyed a second tasting of each of the other two teas.  But for me this is it.

Starry Night is a good black tea and will definitely be enjoyed again; the Chocolate Chai is a nice caffeine free option, but the Chocolate Spice is just a bit richer.  Are any of them a substitute for hot chocolate?  No, however, they are a lighter substitution.  And after I hit the Publish button, the kettle will be brought to a boil for another mug of Numi Chocolate Spice.

And next week...I will sample several different flavors of tea from Eastern Shore Tea Company.

Review - Keemun Mao Feng

Keemun Mao Feng is a Chinese black tea. The tea I enjoyed is a Summer 2013 from Anhui, China. It's a staple in my tea cabinet.

 KEEMUN MAO FENG

The Dry Leaf: See how the leaves are rolled? There is a warm, slightly smoky aroma here.

The Wet Leaf (After Steeping): The aroma is quite warm. I got a scent of caramel and some boiled veggies.

I actually took this photo after my third steep. 

Liquid: Isn't that a gorgeous color?! The taste is slightly smoky with dark fruit and caramel. There's a slight astringency at the finish.

Iced: Lighter in color, but still a glorious chestnut amber color.

Scent: The smokiness is there, but dark fruits hit the nose more.

Taste: The smokiness is more pronounced here, as is the astringency. While good iced, this tea loses some of the nuances of its flavor. I prefer it hot.

New From Davids Tea For Easter!

Karen here and this week Davids Tea has brought out their Spring and Easter line, I could not be more excited! I love the pastel colors of Easter and the food, for me it is like Christmas only with way less stress, more chocolate and great food. Last year I got the three pack of tea Easter eggs that look like little chicks. This year still cute and very inviting!

Last years eggs had little faces this years eggs have sprinkle polka dots! Love them!

They look pretty darn cute!

The blue egg has Chocolate Macaron Black tea, the pink has Birthday Cake flavored Rooibos, the orange one is filled with Banana Nut Bread Herbal Tea. 

I am really thrilled to see a grown up Easter treat for me! They have a Salted Caramel Black Tea infused Belgian Chocolate Bunny and a white chocolate version as well! I do believe I need to stop in this weekend and stock up!

You can find Davids Tea almost anywhere here in Canada, I live about ten minutes from two different stores. You can also order on line. Check out Davids Tea on line in Canada or the USA by clicking here. 

Thank you for joining me today! I would love to have you for tea daily at www.acupofteaandacozymystery.com