That First Cup

It’s the weekend. I don’t have to get up at 6 am. 

In general, that means I sleep until 6:30 or 7. I’m so decadent on the weekends.

It’s also summer and morning temperatures in Buffalo aren’t hovering at the freezing mark (no, really!). 

Plus, we have a pond. It’s some of the best money we ever spent. 

Continuing my decadent weekend activities, I brew a cup of tea. I’m still into Yorkshire Gold via Amazon, even though my grocery store has deigned to stock PG Tips again. I have a lot of Yorkshire Gold to get through before I go back to the wonderful PG Tips.

So, summer weekend morning checklist:

1. Tea
2. Get outside
3. Sit by the koi pond

Somehow tea is the perfect complement to early mornings by the pond. I love strong coffee, but days start better with a clean, strong cup of tea.

Let me share my relaxing morning with you. If you look closely, you’ll see three of our four frogs off to the left: One in the water, one on a rock, and one sitting in the drit by the sedum. The koi were being coy at this hour (see what I did there?).

Enjoy.

Jasmine Tea Meant for Me...

Last week I reviewed Rhubarb Ginger Tea from TeaPigs.  On visiting the website I discovered a 4th of July sale plus the regular free shipping for orders of $50 or more.  This made trying several of their teas quite economical compared to the price I paid at a local store, so I decided to try six different varieties.  It has been years since I had a cup of Jasmine tea.  I drank it frequently while in college and have no idea why so many years have passed, but the time was right.

This tea exudes a lovely scent of Jasmine upon opening the package.  While brewing it strengthens and never leaves (unintentional pun).  I enjoyed this tea both hot and iced and surprise myself to be leaning toward preferring it iced.  It seemed a bit smoother.

The description of the process for producing this tea fascinated me.  Green tea leaves are wrapped in jasmine petals creating jasmine pearls.  Pictured below, they are tiny black beads moving loosely around in the bag.  In the photo at right, I have shown the brewed tea bag next to the package.  When the flower petals release during steeping, they fill the bag totally.

I then ripped open the bag because the brewed green tea and flower petals are beautiful and look like small flowers.  (See photo below).

The entire experience was a delight from start to finish.  If you enjoy Jasmine Tea, I highly recommend trying Jasmine Pearls from Teapigs.

Gong Fu Cha

If you've been reading this blog for a while you may have heard me say that I practice gong fu cha. What exactly is it? Gong fu is also known as kung fu, they are the same term, the first being Cantonese and the second Mandarin. No, I am not practicing martial arts with my tea, the term means to do something with great skill and patience. It is an art form. Cha is Chinese for tea. Therefore when I saw I practice gung fu cha I mean that I am making tea with mindfulness and skill.

With that definition in mind, you realize I'm not simply sticking a bag of tea in a mug and pouring boiling water over it. At least not when I'm practicing gong fu cha. And I do mean practice. There is a definite skill involved.

So what are some of these skills?

Patience.You can't rush anything. Quiet your mind and preparing the tea actually becomes a meditation.

Timing. Along with patience you need to time your boil (to get the proper temperature) as well as your steep.

Manual Dexterity...at least if you're using a gaiwan! Know that you will burn yourself and you will get leaves in your cup as you attempt to master this tea brewing vessel.

Gong fu cha is an art and a mediation that culminates in a tasty beverage. I hope you'll consider trying gong fu cha and apprise me of your efforts!

Sleepytime Vanilla Tea and Teapot!

Karen here and today I am sharing a review of Sleepytime Vanilla Tea by Celestial Seasonings. I have long loved this line of teas and tisane's. Last August I found myself at the Celestail Seasoning's Tour and Tea Shop and wished I had brought a larger vehicle so I could have filled it with so many amazing tea items. I did treat myself to this Sleepytime Bear tea pot. The details make it one of my most favorite pots. The price of under $35 made it one of my most favorite souvenirs!

I love that the tea bags look like lovely little pillows. The scent of the tisane is very calming and inviting.

Inside each lovely little "Sleepytime Pillow" tea bag you will find, Chamomile, Spearmint, Lemongrass, French Vanilla, Tilia Flowers, Blackberry Leaves, Orange Blossoms, Hawthorn and Rosebuds. This is a naturally caffeine free tea. The creamy and welcoming addition of vanilla makes each sip feel like a warm and cozy hug. I really quite enjoy this calming tea, even in the afternoon! The scent is so inviting you could place the tea pillows in your car, your drawers and even under your pillow cases.

Thank you so much for joining me here today. I would love to have you for tea daily over at www.acupofteaandacozymystery.com 

Tea for Two: 5 Herbal Teas That May Enhance Your Romantic Relationship

Today I thought I’d post briefly about the plant energy of herbal teas and how they may enhance your love life. In my new book, The Book of Sacred Baths: 52 Bathing Rituals to Revitalize your Spirit, being published by Llewellyn Worldwide I discuss sacred bath rituals to improve different aspects of your life, both as an individual and as a couple.  Each sacred bath ritual is paired with an herbal tea to match the intention and energy of your bath.  Drinking it is part of the integration phase where you drink the tea and journal about the insights that you received.  But today, we will discuss a few herbal teas that you can drink with your sweetie to enhance different relationship intentions.  There might be more magick in the intention than in the tea itself but nonetheless:

1.       Jasmine Tea or Gingsing tea for sexual attraction- Share some Jasmine tea or Ginseng tea together.  Jasmine is said to be great for seduction and romantic love and Ginseng is an aphrodisiac in Asian cultures.

2.       Apple Blossom Tea-is said to attract love

 3.     Rosehips Tea- It is said that Rosehips herbal tea brings out the energy of unconditional love.  

            

4.       Lavender Tea- is calming and is said to be good for marital problems.

5.       Dandelion Tea- is said to release anger so it may be a good one to sip when you are feeling irritated at your mate.

Ultimately it takes more than tea drinking to enhance your love relationship but you can add love to anything and I find that relaxing energetic rituals are helpful.  They are break us out of our routine, are enjoyable, they slow us down, stop us from speaking prematurely and can make us more conscious of our joint energy and intention.  They also can facilitate a practice of sharing, sensuality, stillness, presence and respect. 

I hope that you will enjoy the flavor and properties of these herbal teas and of course, I wish you much love!

To find out more about how to pair herbal tea drinking with the amazing practice of sacred bathing, please order my new book here: http://amzn.to/1KbnMwb

Blessings to you and yours,

Paulette

www.sacredbathing.com

Bio: Dr. Paulette Kouffman Sherman is a psychologist and author of, The Book of Sacred Baths: 52 Bathing Rituals to Revitalize your Spirit,’ published by Llewellyn Worldwide.  She is also the author of Dating from the Inside Out, published by Atria Books and 19 others books, translated into 5 languages.  She has a private psychotherapy practice in Manhattan and does life coaching by phone. Learn more at www.sacredbathing.com  and www.DrPauletteSherman.com .

Rhubarb Ginger Tea

This naturally caffeine free tea is made from 50% rhubarb and 50% ginger; it couldn't be any simpler, could it?  Teapigs is a British company and this particular tea is mixed and packaged in Germany.  As a rhubarb fanatic, I thought it would be fun to try this one.  I was not disappointed.

I appreciate the biodegadble tea temples (or bags) that can go in the composter.  There is no foil or plastic wrapping.  The aroma of ginger naturally over powers the rhubarb, but the taste is a lovely mix of tart rhubarb and ginger.  I added about half a teaspoon of raw organic agave as sweetner.  It is lovely.

My rhubarb is still in season, and this tea would make a nice accompaniment to any rhubarb dessert.


The close up of the dry tea is not as vibrant as it is to the naked eye.  There are bits of rosy rhubarb clearly visible.

I've enjoyed this tea several times now.  In exploring the website, I discovered a sale good through July 4, 2016  I selected several varieties to try, received free shipping, and a $25 bonus.  You may want to check it out!  Until next time...

July is National Picnic Month, National Family Reunion Month and 4th of July Holiday !

Patricia is here today to share her picnic sweet tea recipe perfect for Picnics, Family Reunion's and of course the 4th of July!  Summer is here and  it is time to take your tea outdoors! This calls for picnics galore !

In the South, it is essential that a Summer picnic includes iced tea !

You know how much Southerners  love picnics, sweet tea  ...and mason jars .

Mason jars are a secret weapon for packing an easy picnic.

Here's a quick, fun way to pack and serve your tea 

At home, boil some water

Once the water is hot,  pour it into the mason jar, add  tea bags, pop on the lid.

The tea takes 5-7 minutes to brew.

Have one  large mason jar  filled with ice.

You can pour the ice and tea into  smaller mason jars for drinking

Enjoy !
Thank you Patricia for sharing these wonderful Southern Tea Time Tips with us today. 
PATRICIA NEELY-DORSEY
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems   
" a celebration of the south and things southern"
"Meet Mississippi Through Poetry, Prose and The Written Word"
www.patricianeelydorsey.webs.com