What’s In My Cup: Ginger Crystal

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#whatsinmycup, CFFC, food, food photography, Photo Challenge, photography, tea, what's in my cup

It’s another gray Monday morning and it can’t decide if it’s going to rain, snow, or sleet. Everything is covered in ice. Even the squirrels have given up and gone inside!

We need a little sunshine.

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”
― Joseph Addison

I’m being efficient today – making 1 post fit 2 categories. Cee Neuner’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is Yellow…and as soon as I saw that, my mind went to photos I took late in October, right before the snow flew: Ginger Crystal tea in a forgotten sunflower cup, with the last of my sunny brown-eyed susans.

In the past year, I’ve found myself enjoying more chai and ginger based teas, so it was no surprise that this little gem caught my eye. This particular blend contains 3 forms of ginger: ginger root, crystallized ginger, and ginger-infused honey. (Note: Interested in making your own ginger-infused honey? Me too! Check out Melissa K. Norris!)

Crystallized ginger is a fancy name for candied ginger. It’s a sweet, chewy, and spicy treat made from fresh ginger. You can purchase it in most stores, or make your own by skinning and slicing fresh ginger, and boiling it in water, then a sugar or honey solution. Once cooled, toss it in sugar and let it dry for 24 hours.  It can be stored in an airtight container for 2-4 weeks.

Lemon, ginger, honey, or a combination of 2 or 3, are great natural remedies for cold and flu symptoms, including scratchy throats and nausea, and can help reduce inflammation and help balance sugar levels. Ginger may boost your metabolism so you burn more calories, and it’s also great for your skin and hair.

The tea was a delicate yellow, and I thought the lemongrass tempered the bite of ginger with the tartness of  lemon. I found it “zingy-er” than Tetley’s Lemon Ginger tea, but definitely milder than David’s “The Buzz” tea.

 

This tea was perfect for warding off the late afternoon chill, as the shadows lengthened.

And it may be perfect for adding some sunshine today, since the weather still can’t decide! 🙂  Happy Monday!

Life is like a cup of tea – it’s all in how you make it.

 

November

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#whatsinmycup, Fall, tea, what's in my cup

The month of November makes me feel that life is passing more quickly. In an effort to slow it down, I try to fill the hours more meaningfully. – Henry Rollins

Happy Monday!

 

What’s in My Cup: Pumpkin Chai

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#whatsinmycup, food, food photography, humour, pumpkin-spice, tea, what's in my cup

It may appear I’m compromising myself by choosing pumpkin chai for today, after  my rant sharing my opinions on pumpkin spice lattes last year, but in the spirit of  Halloween – jack-o-lanterns and such, I thought I’d make an exception. Just this once.

This black tea is liberally spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and caramel. For a “fun” factor, it has pumpkin-shape candies! It also has carrot, lemon peel, and pumpkin flakes. 

This is a great way to savour the season without the extra calories, the age-inducing guilt, or the long lines at your corner coffee shop. It’s sweeter than pumpkin pie compliments of the buttery caramel, but balanced well with the “bite and kiss” of the spices.

Give ’em pumpkin to talk about.

Rumour has it, you can make an amazing latte too. I tried it with almond milk, and it was …different. I refuse to spend the year parked in a Pumpkin Patch waiting for the next Great Pumpkin Spice-whatever to appear, but you can go ahead and spice it up any way you like!

I spilled my pumpkin spice latte and now a bunch of ants are making brunch plans and doing yoga.

Happy Monday!

What’s In My Cup: Cinnamon Rooibos Chai

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

This is one of my favorites, and I can’t believe I haven’t shared it yet! So many teas…so little time!

Cinnamon Rooibos Chai from David’s Tea is organic, kosher, caffeine-free and Fair Trade. It’s also delicious! It balances savory cinnamon with sweet apple. Rooibos tea is great for hydration and contains vitamins and minerals – a great way to start the day…or end the day, or relax after a run…so basically any time!

Cinnamon is supposed to be great for concentration. It’s also better than mint for freshening breath. Concentration and fresh breath are a perfect combination for a late night study session with someone you’re sweet on. Or I imagine it would be. My study days are loooong past!

Other health benefits of cinnamon include… antioxidant properties, anti-inflammatory properties, lowers cholesterol, and can improve sensitivity to insulin. Of course, that gets cancelled out when the cinnamon is in a glazed roll!

Cinnamon bites and kisses at the same time. – Vanna Bonta

I love this tea because it’s warm and comforting. So often, teas smell heavenly but the flavour is disappointing. Not so here. The rich flavour of cinnamon matches the intoxicating smell, and slight heat of the cinnamon balances the sweet apple flavour. Even the colour is warming, a rich burnt orange to match this season.

I’m not a hot mess. I’m a spicy disaster!

Day or night, I find it very satisfying when I am craving something sweet or I want a mellow drink when I’m tired. 

Happy Monday!

What’s In My Cup: Baked Apple Chai

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#whatsinmycup, Fall, food, food photography, leaves, photography, tea, teacup, what's in my cup

Baked Apple Chai (formerly Spiced Apple) is potpourri for all the senses. It starts with the  aroma of rich spices long associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas: cinnamon, chicory, cardamom and star anise. It filled the kitchen where it was steeping, and it made my mouth water.

Star anise is often used as an exotic spice in Indian and Chinese cooking. It is rich in antioxidants, and vitamins A and C, all of which help with coughs and colds, and a number of digestive issues.

 The colour is a rich amber, like apple cider. The tea itself is quite chunky with dehydrated apple and figs, whole star anise, and cardamom pods. The flavour was sweet with deep tangy notes from the fruit, followed by the heat of cinnamon and clove, and the slightly bitter and herbaceous zing of the star anise.

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
– Mother Theresa

This caffeine-free fruit infusion steeps for a minimum of 5 minutes in water that is 95C. If you tend to “eyeball” the amount of tea by judging the height of the leaves in your infuser, be generous. Since the tea is comprised of chunky pieces, it will fill the infuser quickly. I didn’t use enough at first and I was left with a weak apple tea with mild spice. Also, use an infuser that will allow the fruit to expand as it steeps in order to extract the most flavour! As with many teas that use cinnamon, you may have some residue settle at the bottom of your cup. I figure, that’s just part of the experience of loose tea.

Otherwise, this was a mildly spicy “hug in a mug”, perfect for a crisp Fall afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What’s In My Cup: S’mores Chai

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#whatsinmycup, camping, cottage life, food, photography, tea, what's in my cup

It’s the first Monday of October, and the next three Mondays will be all about chai. While we’ve still enjoyed some extremely hot, summer temperatures, there is a definite chill in the air. Perfect for evening campfires!

S’morons…parents who get way too excited about making s’mores!

S’mores are gooey goodness – toasted marshmallow and chocolate smushed between two graham crackers – and reviews of David’s s’mores chai rave about a toasty, decadent fudgy flavour. Reviews also recommend this tea as an iced tea or latte. Maybe when it’s warmer…

David’s s’mores chai is a pu’erh tea, with a mixture of brittle hazelnut pieces, cinnamon, sugar, marshmallow, and chocolate chips. It has a medium caffeine rating. It should be steeped at just below boiling (95C), and I steeped it longer than the recommended 5 minutes.

I first tried this tea huddled up next to a campfire. Some would say that this tea doesn’t really qualify as chai. Normally, chai is a blend of tea leaves and spices, like cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves or peppercorns. Chai usually has some bite or heat to it. This tea only had cinnamon as its spice, so while it didn’t have a bite to it, the cinnamon was definitely present, providing a little heat to compliment the chocolate. It smells like graham crackers!  And while the texture was reminiscent of a thin hot chocolate, it was still a smooth, delicious, and warming evening treat. I expect it will also compliment long winter days with a good book and a warm a blanket, or a sensational snack after building a snowman!

Warm sweaters. Warm memories.
Hot dogs. Marshmallows. S’mores.

Thanks to Hubby for modeling for me, so I could work the camera and not spill my tea by  the fire!

Happy Monday!

 

What’s In My Cup: Sweet Tart

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

The sweet lazy days of summer may be passing into recent memory, but there are still some sweet Fall days ahead: warm sun, crisp air, and the landscape draped in red, orange and yellow!

But I”m a “hanger-on-er”! While everyone else is pumpkin-this and chai-that, I want to hang on to part of summer a little longer, while starting to embrace Fall. It’s all about balance – like wearing flip-flops with jeans.

David’s Sweet Tart tea promised a balance from tart and sweet with a “classic red  cherry aroma”. It is a fruit infusion, which means it is caffeine free. It’s made from apples, raisins, carrots, hibiscus blossoms and buds, rose blossoms, beetroot, and sour cherries. It also contains candy sugar hearts, very much like the flamingos in the Flamingo Fresca tea. 

Did you know…

Sweet Tarts were invented by Jeff Sousa in 1962 using the basic recipe in pixy stix and lik-m-aid (loved these as a kid). Parents wanted a candy that was less messy.

This tea was so enticing, I couldn’t wait to get home to try it. The aroma was an intoxicating cherry and the rich, deep red was beguiling. Unfortunately, that’s where the romance ended. I found this tea sickly sweet, reminiscent of Kool-Aid, which I also loved as a kid! However, I concede that it might make a fantastic iced tea or even an iced tea pop.

For someone with a strong sweet tooth, this may be just perfect! It could be that I’m already sweet enough!

I love a girl with a good sense of humour, who is confident but who has a sweetness to her – that melts my heart. – Gerard Butler

Happy Monday!

What’s In My Cup: Peanut Butter Cup

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#whatsinmycup, beach, chocolate, food, holiday, peanut butter, summer, tea, what's in my cup

Man cannot live by bread alone; he must have peanut butter. – James A. Garfield

Peanut butter cup tea is inspired by the sweet, rich (and might I add), deeply satisfying delight. Whether as a sweet after a meal, an afternoon snack, or just because, this tasty tea infusion hits the spot. It is a blend of apple, cocoa bits, almonds, chocolate chips, and safflower.

What? No peanuts? That’s right.

As you can see, the colour is a pale yellow, which surprised me a bit. I was expecting a darker colour. The flavour, however, had the toasted nut flavour I was expecting. I would have liked the chocolate to be more prominent (being a natural choc-o-holic), and like chocolate pb cups from the store, I thought it was missing some salt.

Still, with only 5 calories per cup, it’s a guilt-free treat so I can wear my bikini without anyone calling Greenpeace to roll me back in the water…when it’s warm enough to wear a bikini, that is!

Now, if someone would just make an O Henry tea!

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. – Henry James

Happy Monday!

What’s In My Cup: Cherry Lucuma

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

A week at the cottage is the cherry on top of what was supposed to be a delicious summer. And while some of my plans change unexpectedly, I was determined to relax in the sunshine whenever and however I could!

I started the first night with Cherry Lucuma tea. It’s one of many teas being “retired” by David’s tea. This kosher tea is oolong based and boasts ingredients like apple, pineapple, hibiscus, beetroot, morello cherries, and lucuma.  I had to look that last one up!

Lucuma is a Peruvian fruit that resembles an avocado. It’s golden flesh is purported to taste like caramel, sweet potato or maple, making it a sweet addition in baked goods. It is low on the glycemic index, making it a good option as a natural sweetener for diabetics. Lucoma also contains beta carotene, iron, zinc, vitamin B3, calcium, and protein. It may also help support heart and digestive issues, as well as soothe inflammation.

This tea had a sweet and earthly flavour, as well as a rich rosy colour from the beetroot. Beets and cherries are rich in a number of vitamins and antioxidant. Both beetroot and hibiscus aid in lowering blood pressure. But the predominant flavour, as I had hoped, was juicy, ripe cherries. It wasn’t overly sweet, nor did it possess an artificial tinge, so it was refreshing and deeply satisfying.

Sitting on the dock with this tea, was definitely the cherry on the top of what I hope is an amazing and restful week.

 Here’s the mini cherry on top of the regular cherry on top of the sundae of awesomeness that is my life. -Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother

Happy Monday!

What’s in My Cup: Laughter & Lemonade

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#whatsinmycup, desserts, summer, tea, what's in my cup

Hot tea? Always! Iced Tea? Sure thing! Ice pop? Right on!

I recently shopped for Christmas  gifts with David’s Tea…and I bought an early “Christmas present” for me. (psst…it was on sale!) I have memories of making kool-aid pop in the plastic molds of the ’70s…and memories of madly licking those purple pops on the back porch steps, while it trickled down my arms and chin. I’m sure my mother is having laundry flashbacks right about now… Good times!

These molds are really easy to use. Made from silicone, the cover pops right off and the mold can be manipulated to release the frozen treat, without fuss. Flat on the top, the molds stack easily in the freezer, which is a bonus if your freezer is an orderly mess like mine.

“I want to have a good body, but not as much as I want dessert – Jason Love

Who says you can’t have both? So I made my ice pops with iced tea, or course.

I started with Laughter and Lemonade Iced tea from Steeped Tea. It’s green tea-based, and includes mango, pineapple, apple, orange and papaya pieces, as well as sunflower, hibiscus, marigold, and  cornflower blossoms.

While it has a grassy note from the green tea, the combination of fruit and flower is well-balanced, making this a surprisingly refreshing icy treat…that melts just as fast as when I was a kid! But I’m better equipped to stay ahead of the dribbles…and it’s not purple!

Here comes the sun, and I say, it’s all right. —The Beatles

Happy Monday!