Special Guest What’s In My Cup: #1

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#whatsinmycup, family, food, lemon, tea, tea addict, tea lover, tea time, teacup, whatsinmycup

I’m very pleased to introduce my first “What’s in my Cup” guest and a very special woman: my Mom!

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I am a self confessed tea granny, with tea granny genes, which I have passed on to my daughter. And when she ran out of ideas for her blog, she called on her readers to share some of their favourite teas & teacups.

Then she asked her mother.

Now while Jennifer loves to try new teas & flavours, I prefer mine strong, hot, black, & fully loaded with caffeine. She keeps plying me with wonderful new flavours, some caffeinated & some not; others, flowery, nutty, maple-y.

I have decided that I prefer the richer stronger flavours over the flowery ones.

One of my favourite decaffeinated teas is also a comfort food. When I feel like I’m getting a cold or just feel crummy, I brew some Tetley Lemon Ginger tea. I love the lemon with just a hint of ginger. It is herbal & best sipped hot & clear, to allow the full lemon flavour to come through.

I’m serving it in a fragile semi transparent teacup that belonged to Jenn’s grandmother. Wish we knew its story.

Now dear readers of this blog, be brave & send your own tea choice. I know some of you & will be watching for your contributions. 😉

Photo courtesy of My cool Dad!

Now to enjoy my lemon ginger tea!

Life handed me lemons, so I made lemonade, lemon cake, lemon drops, and I even used the rinds to make lemon art. So, the joke is on you, life, haha!

Emilyann Allen

What’s In My Cup: Live Wire Lemon

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#whatsinmycup, iced tea, lemon, tea, tea addict, tea lover, what's in my cup

All good things must come to an end…including the availability of Live Wire Lemon tea at David’s Tea. David’s suggests it is similar to Electric Lemonade, Lemon Cayenne Cleanse and The Buzz. This light, lemony blend of tea contains apple, ginger, lemongrass, yaupon, and lemon peel. Yaupon is similar to mate with energizing properties, and is a sustainable plant native to North America.

Reviews I read from other tea drinkers was all over the place. Some complained the lemongrass was overpowering, the ginger was too strong, or the lemon too tart. Others raved about the balance of all three.

So what did I think?

This tea is refreshing served hot or cold! It reminded me more of chamomile tea in that it was light with grassy notes. The lemon was subtle but it was present, not overly sweet or tart. And yes, there was just a hint of heat from the ginger, but it was warming and bright. I don’t drink a lot of “lemon-y” teas but this one is a contender.  My favourite is still Lemon Pound Cake, another David’s tea that was discontinued last year. Why do they keep doing that?

When life hands me lemons, I make chocolate cake
and leave haters wondering how I did it!

Happy Monday!

Lessons on Lemons

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#whatsinmycup, food, lemon, tea, what's in my cup

Today is a lesson on lemons, but don’t pucker up just yet.

Lemon contains Vitamin C, a  necessity for the formation of blood vessels, cartilage, muscle and collagen in bones. Vitamin C also helps your body absorb and store iron. It’s vital to healing and as an antioxidant, protects cells against heart disease, cancer and other diseases. Vitamin C is a natural diuretic, and is known for its cleansing properties. Drinking hot water with lemon is extremely good for you. So it would stand to reason that we could assume it would be extremely good for you in tea as well. But to get your daily allotment for 1 day, you would have to drink approximately 1 cup of lemon juice. That’s a lot of lemon! And a lot of cups of tea!

Catechins are the main health compounds in tea. They are tied to reduced risk of cancer, heart attack, and other diseases, but our guts don’t absorb them well. Catechins are unstable and  breakdown quickly so that less than 20% remain after digestion. But studies using green tea suggest that adding citrus juice can help the body absorb more healthy catechins and may stabilize catechins so that up to 80% remain after digestion. 

Did you know…

Both colour and flavour are affected by the oxidation and fermentation processes on harvested tea leaves but overall brewed black tea is a strong reddish-brown colour.  Lemon is a strong acid and when added to tea made with hard water (an alkaline),  for example, the lemon reduces the ph balance and lightens the colour of your tea.

When life hands you lemons, slice them and put them in your tea.

Happy Monday!

Purdue study

Why does lemon juice lighten the colour of tea

 

To Short Mondays

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#whatsinmycup, lemon, tea, tea cups, what's in my cup

Last night, at 9 o’clock, I had big plans for the week. I had traveled through heavy rain and heavy traffic to spend a week with Little Guy at my parents’. We were going to shop, and eat ice cream, and lounge around the pool. We talked about going on a Ghost Walk tour one evening, and playing board games as the shadows grew long.

We were going to keep this pot hot and drink our fill. But…

…last night around 9:30, I discovered that Little’s Guy’s Leadership-in-Training Camp started in the morning.

What a short vacation!

He had already spent 2 weeks with my parents, camping, travelling, playing games, and lounging around the pool. Now I’m really looking forward to time at the cottage we rented.

So today, we’re packing my Mom up with us and heading back to the city, where we are making plans to play games, go shopping, and yes, keep the tea pot filled.

May your tea be strong and your Monday be short.

What’s In My Cup: Super Tea?

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#whatsinmycup, insects, lemon, tea, what's in my cup

Foods. Fashions. Diets. Goofy Dances. Trends come and go. Thankfully some are gone forever!! Slim teas hit the market a few years ago. This winter, Tetley tea came out with a line of Super Herbal Teas, teas that are supposedly packed with ingredients to enhance health through the cold & flu season.

I’m not one to jump on any bandwagons (I’d probably miss and humiliate myself), but I decided to purchase a couple because the flavours appealed (…and it might not hurt?)

I like lemon when I’m feeling “under the weather”, so today, in my cup, is “Immune” tea – lemon & echinacea with zinc. Echinacea is a popular herb purported to support the immune system and reduce many cold, flu and infection symptoms. Studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of echinacea, with varied results.

Tetley’s Immune tea contains lemon grass, lemon verbena, echinacea leaves and root, cinnamon, ginger root, licorice root, lemon peel, honey granules, and zinc. This tea has a light lemon flavour with a subtle flowery undertone. It resembled chamomile tea, and for this reason, I’d prefer Lemon Ginger or Lemon Pound Cake.  Tetley recommends this tea for adults only, and to not exceed 2 servings per day, or take it with other supplements. Too much of a good thing…? As with anything herbal, if in doubt, speak to a physician.

Spring is right around the corner (or so I keep hearing), and I’m already hearing about this season’s “must haves” – from fashion to fair fare. I just hope I’m well enough to enjoy it. Maybe I should have that second cup of tea?

Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion. – Charles Kuralt

Happy Monday!

 

What’s In My Cup: Lemon Pound Cake

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#whatsinmycup, food, lemon, photography, tea, tea cups, technology, what's in my cup

Mother Nature decided to play an early April Fool’s joke yesterday. I woke up to a world blanketed in thick snow. It covered every hollow and clung tightly to every branch. We thought it would be gone by noon. It was still clinging pretty good by the time I made afternoon tea, and snapped some pics outside. Even the birds weren’t impressed. At least snow covers up some of Spring’s early grunge…and the snow shovel is still parked by the front door!

Last winter, my boss shared his 24 Days of Tea Advent Calendar with me. Who cares that it was post-Christmas. It provided a lovely distraction in the workplace, on some grim wintry days. I fell in love with Day 14: Lemon Pound Cake. What’s not to love? It has cake in its name, and this one doesn’t have tons of sugar!

Day 14 – Lemon Pound Cake. I want to bottle the smell! Typically, lemon teas can be overpowered by other flavours, or simply too weak. This oolong tea contained lemon grass, lemon peel, sunflower blossoms, white hibiscus blossoms, and artificial pound cake. While I would be tempted to add a dash of lemon juice to make it tarter, it had a pleasant lemon flavour and balanced the hint of grass and flower perfume. It is made in China and has a medium caffeine rating.

So why did it take me so long to buy some for myself? Partly because there are so many on my list of “must try”, but also because I just found out it is among a number of teas that are being “retired” by David’s Tea. So, if you’re interested…don’t waste time!

Life is short. It’s unpredictable. It throws lemons at you. Sometimes, it snows…even when you know it’s still technically possibly, but your heart says it’s time for sunshine and warmth.

All right, I’ve been thinking, when life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade! Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life’s manager!

Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man whose gonna burn your house down – with the lemons! – Cave Johnson, Portal 2

Have a happy Monday (but keep your snow shovel close)!