Do you enjoy fancy outfits, lovely illustrations, whimsical pets, world travel, the monarchy, and tea? (At the very least, you must enjoy tea! You’re here, after all!)
I have the precise book for you. It’s How the Queen Found the Perfect Cup of Tea, written by Kate Hosford and illustrated by Gail Swiatkowska.
This. Book. Is. Cute.
The plot is about how the queen is dissatisfied with her butler’s tea-making skills. So she decides to go on a world travel to see how they’re making their tea. She goes to Japan (matcha), India (chai), and Turkey (a really cool double-pot method of brewing).
The children she meets there are cute and charming. They show her how it’s done — with really great illustrations depicting each process.
Along the way, she learns not only how to make tea, but the importance of friendship, cuddling her pets, and taking charge of her own life. (Cuddling one’s pets? Obviously key to a joyous existence.)
As a professional graphic designer (ha! I sound important!), I was especially taken with the typography and the illustrations. The font is beautiful, and whimsically laid out across the page. And the illustrations go perfectly with it. Delicate, flowing pencil/graphite with rich, color-coded colored pencil laid over top. Each page is a masterpiece.
The Queen herself is especially charming. She has a fanciful hairdo/outfit that has a little bit in common with the Queen of Hearts — one of my favorite characters of all time — but remains original.
And the children are accurate to the regions where they come from. Sometimes illustrators have difficulty capturing different ethnicities in a sensitive and authentic way, but not here. The kids look great.
And oh my, the whimsical pets are so cute.
If you want a pretty book with a sweet message and lots of tea, I recommend this one. I think it’d be a great way to introduce a child to the ways of tea. If I had a kid, I’d totally be reading this to him/her all the time. I want my kids to join this wonderful world of tea!
Here’s the scoop!
Learn even more about this book here!
Honey Pear Tea by Nelson’s Tea
Following steeping recommendations, I steeped 1 tsp of this with about a cup of water at approximately 195-200 degrees F for 3 minutes.
My first thought was that this tea smells like bee pollen, although I don’t actually have all that much experience with bee pollen, lol. But when I looked up the ingredients I discovered that bee pollen is actually one of them so I guess I was right!
It steeps up a nice golden/amber color, but interestingly cloudy. Instead of a clear amber like many teas are, it had lots of tiny specks like golden dust floating around in the depths. (That would be from the bee pollen, I guess. It’s a great special effect.) The fragrance is probably also courtesy of the bee pollen, so if you know what that smells like, just imagine that. At any rate, it doesn’t smell much like black tea when steeped (or before steeping either).
The first taste is mostly of pollen-ish honey flavor. It’s got a hint of pear but not a lot of conventional “fruity” taste. It doesn’t taste overly sweet either; I mean, it’s a bit sweet but not as sweet as I expected from something honey-flavored. It also doesn’t have an overpowering black-tea flavor.
After trying it plain I added sugar, about a teaspoon, and now it’s way too sweet for my taste. It definitely tastes of honey rather than sugar though, which is interesting given that I just put a bunch of sugar in. So then I added some milk to balance it back out again and now I’m finally catching a hint of the “black tea” flavor; still, though, it mostly just tastes of warm honey-milk and a slight fruity depth from the pear (which is quite nice but not very conspicuous; you don’t really notice it unless you’re trying). It’s very warm and comforting and great for rainy afternoons.
So I’d say overall my impression of this tea is that it’s quite subtle (other than the cool dissolving-pollen bit). There’s a lot to appreciate if you’re willing to take your time with it. I’m thinking of steeping it up more strongly next time to see if I like it better that way or not.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Nelson’s Tea
Description
Just like biting into a sweet, succulent pear, this tea is sure to please. Enjoy it hot or iced!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
ImmorTaliTea from Cup of Love
Black Tea, Orange Pieces, Blackberry Leaves, Safflower Petals, Lemon Balm Leaves, Strawberry Pieces, Calendula Petals, Sunflower Petals, Elderberry Pieces, Raisin Bits, Hibiscus Peals, Apple Pieces, Rosehip Bits, Passion Fruit Pieces, Kiwi Pieces, Raspberry Pieces, Rose Petals, Cornflower Petals, & Peppermint are the ingredients that went into ImmorTaliTea from Cup of Love. Therefore a LOT of time and effort went into this flavor combination!
It has a nice balance of fruity, spicy, mint, sweet, and sour! The black tea base is NOT over the top darker than dark or stronger than strong but it leaves enough room for the other ingredients to come out and play! I mean take a look at the FRUIT in this tea! Orange, Strawberry, Elderberry, Raisin, Apple, Passion Fruit, Kiwi, and Raspberry! YUM!
Then for the herbal side of things you will notice in both aroma and taste the Blackberry Leaves, Lemon Balm, and Peppermint! Refreshing!
Let’s NOT forget the the floral side of things…Safflower, Calendula, Sunflower, Rose, and Cornflower. Fine and Fragrant!
But the amazement doesn’t stop there! There is the tart of the Hibiscus and Rosehip Bits that tickle your taste buds, too! There is a LOT going on but each and ever ingredient plays its part here!
I prefer this one cold but it’s pretty tasty hot, too! ImmorTaliTea from Cup is one of those teas that will certainly keep you guessing!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Cup of Love
Description:
Black Tea, Orange Pieces, Blackberry Leaves, Safflower Petals, Lemon Balm Leaves, Strawberry Pieces, Calendula
Petals, Sunflower Petals, Elderberry Pieces, Raisin Bits, Hibiscus Peals, Apple Pieces, Rosehip Bits, Passion Fruit
Pieces, Kiwi Pieces, Raspberry Pieces, Rose Petals, Cornflower Petals, & Peppermint
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
TeaEqualsBliss’s TOP HERBAL TISANES of the Moment
- Slimming Tea from Cha Tale
- Muse from Tay Tea
- Homestead Peach by Winterwoods Tea
- Colonial Remedy No. 6 Lemon Balm from Oliver Pluff & Co.
- North from Metolius Artisan Tea
- Golden West by Pacific Tea
- Tummy Mint from Yerba Buena Tea Co
- Tomato Tornado from Stylin’ Tea Blends
- Wild Jujube from Teasenz
- Mediterranean Mint from Armeniac Teas
Herbal Teas aren’t REALLY teas as many of us know…they are actually called Tisanes…regardless in this post I will be featuring my personal TOP TEN favorites over the past couple of months. Of course my taste buds are totally different from the next tea lover but these are what fit my fancy as of late. When it comes to herbal I tend of LOVE them or can live without them. These are 10 I would highly recommend. My Top Ten Herbal Teas or Herbal Tisanes, that is! If you don’t see your favorite on the list let us know why you love your favorites in comments!
TeaEqualBliss’s Top FLAVORED Earl Grey’s of the Moment
- Winter Morning Earl Grey from Sunshine Cottage
- French No.7 from Blue Hour Tea
- Green of London – Earl Grey Mao Feng from Le Palais des Thes
- Girlie Grey Tea from Jeeves & Jericho
- Rose Earl Grey from Red Leaf Tea
- William Shakespeare’s Black Tea Blend from Simpson and Vail
- Sir Stuart Black & Green Tea from Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee
- Persian Rose from Tay Tea
- Luna Tea from Moongleam Tea
- London Fog from Harlow Tea
LiberTeas will forever be the reigning champion of Earl Greys but I decided to take a stab at naming my Top Ten FLAVORED Earl Greys of the Moment – just for kicks! These Earl Greys are FLAVORED and when I mean FLAVORED I mean they have additional or more-than-just-your-regular-Earl-Grey-flavorings going on! They have additional or unique flavors that you wouldn’t find in a straight-up EG. Some mentioned above even have a non-black tea base but have EG flavors so those also qualified for my FLAVORED list. Of course MY taste buds differ from everyone elses and yours differ from mine. These are just 10 of them that really stood out to me and I thought deserved an additional mention. A few even went back a year or two in the archives. If you do not see your favorites on this list – let us know in comments and we will try and locate them – and try them – if possible.