It’s day 19! We’re getting closer and closer to the finish line here, folks!
For today’s artistic inspiration, I chose another gift that I received as a 12 Days of Christmas mail art swap gift – this time, I chose to feature a gift from artist Shelly Rae Wood.
This is big – about the size of a saucer. There is a pin back on it, so, I’m guessing the intention was that it be a broach but it’s a bit larger than I would wear as a broach, so instead, I got some “pine needle” garland and wrapped it with that sparkly garland (you know, the kind that most people wrap around their tree?) and I attached this to the center of the garland as a centerpiece of the garland. I like the overall effect.
For the rest of the garland, I hung small bulb ornaments. (I don’t like those bulb ornaments for my tree, but, I don’t mind them for the garland.) I hung the garland up over the living room window.
It seems like there have been quite a few tisanes over the last few days, so I was a little surprised that today’s tea to also be tisane – it’s a good one though so I was happy to have it!
Vanilla Rooibos
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
Vanilla is one of the most popular flavors in the world, and we bring this to you in the form of a loose leaf rooibos. It is delicious with or without milk and is naturally caffeine-free.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf has a very strong and natural vanilla scent. Having tried several vanilla flavored blends and being greeted with a sort of alcohol-ish vanilla aroma (like an inexpensive extract), I was happy to smell this and not pick up on a strong “extract” type of note.
To brew this, I used one of the little DIY tea bags that was included in the Advent Calendar box. I learned from one of the previous rooibos tisanes from this box that the rooibos from Teanzo is very finely chopped and these DIY tea bags help prevent any stray rooibos leaves from getting into the beverage. I put the entire contents of the sampler package into the tea bag and put the bag into my favorite mug. I heat 12 ounces to 195°F and poured the hot water into the mug and let it steep for 10 minutes.
Tasty!
As I’ve said before, I usually prefer it when the flavoring of a rooibos and/or honeybush blend overpowers the natural flavor of the leaf, because I’m not all that crazy about the flavor of rooibos. And even though this has not been overpoweringly flavored, I like the way the vanilla notes complement the natural nutty and woodsy flavors of the rooibos. It’s a very pleasant flavor combination.
That’s especially true because what I’m tasting now is a true vanilla flavor. It doesn’t taste artificial. It tastes as though this was flavored with either a very high quality flavoring oil or it was flavored with vanilla beans.
Either way, I really appreciate the flavor here. It’s not an overpowering vanilla flavor, but it’s sweet, it’s creamy, and the natural nutty flavors of the rooibos work very well with the vanilla. This would be a great “late night” snack. Low in calories and fat – but high in indulgent flavor.
