2022 – A Year In Tea

Tags

#whatsinmycup, davids tea, food, fruit infusion, green tea, herbal tea, tea, tea addict, tea lover, tea review, tea time, what's in my cup

The year was certainly a doozy. For a lot of people. Thank goodness there’s tea!

I’m not sure I would have survived without it.

First making an appearance on September 4, 2017, my regular Monday morning “What’s In My Cup” feature has been going for over 5 years. It’s hard to believe there could be so much to talk about, and I’ve hardly scratched the surface.

Let’s review last year.

In 2022, I sampled and reviewed 22 different flavours of tea from David’s Tea, Tetley, T’Kettle, Puck, Stash, Yorkshire Tea and President’s Choice. They included black, green, and white tea, rooibos, and herbal infusions. Of those, I’m most smitten with T’Kettle’s Citrus Burst, a refreshing grapefruit based fruit infusion. Youngest Son shared his London Fog Bubble Tea with me. I’m still not a fan of bubble teas, but teas with an alcoholic Twist weren’t too shabby. In May I tried 7 brands of chai in The Great Chai Challenge. Of those, my favourite belonged to Tetley, both for flavour and cost.

Tea is best shared with friends, so in 2022, I called upon my friends to participate by share their favourite tea and/or drinking vessel in a monthly Monday feature. Unfortunately, I don’t have any friends.

That’s not true.

But getting friends, family members, and acquaintances to agree to write was challenging. I’d like to extend my thanks to 5 fabulous folks who did:

Mom – Tetley Lemon Ginger

Sam – Jasmine

Nicole – Tazo Chai

Jacob – Puck Earl Grey

Elena – Celestial Sleepytime (who also wrote a beautiful poem)

Auntie M also introduced me to Yorkshire Tea, where I discovered “The Tea Song” as well as the introduction of the “Tea Emoji”!

I shared some repurposing projects, including my tea kettle succulents, and I wrote about the tissue transfer technique after watching The Great British Pottery Showdown.

It might have been time, laziness, business, laziness, lack of motivation, or laziness, but I featured more Tea photographs and quotes this year. “Setting the scene” for these photos may seem like a pretext to avoiding work, but each one required forethought and fussing so they don’t look as amateurish as I think they do.

Of course, Tea Time wouldn’t be complete without tea time treats, and this year, instead of focusing on scones, I tried Peanut Butter Bread, Caramelized Pear Upside Down Cake, Date Almond & Yogurt Bread, and Chocolate Babka. The Babka was a 2-day challenge.

I have no idea what 2023 will hold. Honestly, I haven’t thought that far ahead. As always, I’m open to suggestions and I’m willing to share my space. So put the kettle on and pull up a chair. Let’s sip away our sorrows, share our secrets, and swap some stories. All with a good cup of tea!

Happy New Year!

What’s In My Cup: Pomegrateful

Tags

davids tea, tea, tea addict, tea cups, tea lover, tea review, tea time

The apple blossoms are in full bloom in my backyard and the lilacs are nearly ready to pop. Spring is finally here! And with Spring, my tastebuds turn to summery, fruity flavours, like berries or peach.

Pomegranates aren’t usually considered “summery”, in part because they are in season from September to December. They are a tart fruit, like cranberries, and their seeds are rich, ruby-coloured jewels, much like the ornaments decorating our homes at Christmas. Pomegranate seeds have up to three times the antioxidants found in green tea or red wine, and boast many health benefits. Those include anti-inflammatory properties and heart health aspects.

Pomegrateful is a white tea blend from David’s Tea. It also contains apple, pineapple, hisbiscus blossoms, pomegranate seeds and blossoms, rose petals and stevia extract. White tea is the least processed form of tea, but it still contains caffeine. If correctly steeped, white tea appears pale gold, similar to a mild white wine. With addition of pomegranate and hisbiscus, I expected pomegrateful would be quite rosy. Instead, it was more amber. I also expected it to have quite a strong, sweet, fruit flavour, but instead it had a fairly strong grassy undertone, and it wasn’t very sweet. Other review I read were so-so. I would recommend not oversteeping as I sense it could become bitter, much like a green tea. As it cools, it began to taste more and more artificial, so it’s the type of tea best enjoyed very hot, and possibly very cold. I’m saving some to try as an iced tea in July! David’s website uses it in a Pomegrateful Spritzer Cocktail. That might also be a fun way to go!

Dream Big. Start small. But most of all, start.

Simon Sinek

Happy Monday!