We’re getting there! This 24 days has gone by so quickly – it’s already day 21! Can you believe it? This year is almost gone – a new one about to begin!
For today’s artistic inspiration, I sorted through some of my old photos online and I came across some altered dominoes that I created. I altered a bunch of dominoes (the back of the domino is a really neat surface to use as a canvas for artwork) and I turned them into little ornaments and sold them one year at the Christmas Bazaar in Ridgefield, WA. That was more years than I care to count at this point! Wow! I can’t believe how long ago that was.
Anyway, here is one of the dominoes that I altered. I drilled a hole in the domino to be able to add a jump ring and a loop to the domino, then I added the star and swirl design, painted it, and then I added some rhinestones to the piece for some extra sparkle. Then I protected the surface with a resin that adds a glass-like surface to it. The final piece was bright, sparkly and shiny – just the kind of thing you want for your holiday tree!
I sold a bunch of these things – back then, I was also selling tea and that was my primary purpose at the bazaar, I wanted to sell my teas but I decided that since I was paying for the booth, that I’d take full advantage of it and sell some other stuff too. I did pretty well, I managed to sell enough to pay for the cost of the booth plus buy a few holiday gifts for some of the more expensive people on my list. It was a day well spent.
Tranquil Spa Blend
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos (Green)
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
Tranquil Spa Blend is a relaxing ginger mint orange herbal blend. Rejuvenation at its tastiest. We wanted to take you away to a spa with our teas, so we put together a brand new Spa Trio: Dream Spa Blend, Tranquil Spa Blend, and Bliss Spa Blend. Each of these is caffeine free and blended to perfection to give you a spa feeling and taste. Each of our spa blends comes in a green latch tin with 2 oz of tea. You can also purchase them as a Spa Trio. Add a little spa to your day!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Having already tried the Dream Spa Blend and the Bliss Spa Blend from the “Spa Trio” and really enjoying them, I was hopeful that I’d have a similar experience with this Tranquil Spa Blend. Then I read the ingredients and saw that eucalyptus was in the blend and I’m hopeful that the eucalyptus wouldn’t ruin this blend for me. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and go into it with an open mind!
To steep this tisane, I used my Kati tumbler. 12 ounces of water heated to 195°F, I poured the contents of the sampler pouch into the basket of the tumbler and then added the water. I steeped this for 6 minutes. Usually I would steep a tisane for a little longer but I was a little cautious this time with the eucalyptus.
Now it’s time for a sip!
OK, this isn’t bad! It’s actually quite tasty. Yes, I taste the eucalyptus, but, I am getting stronger notes of orange and ginger and the eucalyptus seems to enhance the ginger notes a little bit here. Rather than causing the whole cup to turn to a bitter, medicinal mess, it is actually enhancing the blend. That certainly is an unexpected turn of events!
The eucalyptus seems to soften the ginger a little bit. Ginger usually has a lot of peppery bite to it, but the eucalyptus has soften the blow of the ginger bite here. It’s still warm and ginger-y pleasant, but the ginger has a smoother flavor now.
I don’t taste a lot from the mint, but there is a background minty taste. I like the way that peeks through. The green rooibos is the perfect base because it adds a light, fruity sweetness to the cup.
Everything is balanced here. The orange is bright and juicy. The ginger is warm without being too spicy. The eucalyptus isn’t overpowering (yay!) and the mint is a soft, subtle flavor. It’s soothing without tasting medicinal. It all works with the ‘tranquil’ vibe that the name of this tea suggests.
A SURPRISINGLY good tisane. I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I am.
Winterwolf Tea Blend from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos (Green)
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Winterwolf Tea is here! A limited holiday tea, we take juicy wolfberries and roast them in our local honey with a bit of butterscotch flavor, mix in some spiced green rooibos with cinnamon, and, well, you have some Winterwolf Tea. It tastes like an apple met a cinnamon stick and got caught in a magical honey ocean. But they lived.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I was brewing this, I was thinking to myself, what are wolfberries? After the tea brewed, I looked at the infused berry and it looked a lot like a goji berry, so I googled it and it turns out that yes, goji berries are also known as wolfberries. I didn’t know that. You learn something new every day.
To brew this tisane, I emptied the sampler pouch into the basket of my Kati tumbler and added 12 ounces of water heated to 195°F and let it steep for 10 minutes. The result is something that’s a lot like the description above suggests. It does taste “like an apple met a cinnamon stick and got caught in a magical honey ocean.” In other words: YUM!
Because the rooibos used here is a green rooibos, the flavor doesn’t come off as nutty or woodsy, instead, it’s light and fresh and fruit-like. Apparently when green rooibos mixed with goji berries, honey, and butterscotch flavor, the end result is an apple-y flavor.
I don’t taste a strong ‘goji berry’ flavor here. I don’t get the tartness that I often get from goji berry. I taste honey, I taste notes of butterscotch, but mostly, what I taste is an apple-y, cinnamon-y flavor that is quite lovely. I’m not quite sure where the apple notes are coming from, but they’re there, and I’m loving what I’m drinking, even if I don’t quite understand it!
I’m really pleased with this holiday blend from M&K’s. If all rooibos blends tasted this good, I’d not be so apprehensive to try them, because this tisane is delicious!
24 Days of Tea Holiday Countdown – Day 20 from Teanzo 1856
Wow – it’s Day 20. I can’t believe it. You know what that means, don’t you? There are only 5 days until the day we’ve all been waiting for gets here, and there are only 4 days left to actually shop to prepare for that day!
Today’s artistic inspiration comes from Regina Zyry. It’s one of the coolest paper ornaments for the tree that I have! The backing is crafted out of “fan folded” paper. It’s really lovely and I love the way it looks on the tree. The sparkly glitter in the center of the ornament shimmers when the lights on the tree blink. And the buttons dangle and keep the eye interested. This is another of those ornaments that I get a burst of “joy” when I unwrap it to decorate the tree.
Today’s tea gave me a “burst of joy” too! It’s been one of my favorites that I’ve tried from this Advent Calendar – it’s a good thing that Teanzo offers this tea year round.
Orange Crème Dessert Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
Orange crème dessert tea is a smooth loose leaf orange black tea with a hint of vanilla. A real treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh yum! When I knew that I’d be featuring the Advent Calendar from Teanzo 1856 this year, I took a few minutes to peruse the Teanzo website to see what different types of teas they offer. As I was “window shopping” with Teanzo, I came across this tea and this was one I was hoping would be in the Advent Calendar this year. It sounded so yummy!
So, I was happy to grab the pouch for day 20 and turn it over to see that Orange Crème would be today’s tea!
The dry leaf smells amazing – bright notes of orange with sweet, creamy notes and a background of black tea. Very aromatic! The brewed tea keeps that fragrance – this smells a bit like someone may have melted an orange cream ice pop in my black tea! It smells sweet and delicious and it’s got my mouth watering!
After allowing it to cool for a few minutes, I took my first sip! Yum!
The black tea base isn’t an overly aggressive tea. It adds a nice “black tea” flavor to the background but it doesn’t attempt to interfere with the flavors of orange and vanilla which are playing in the foreground. It’s a strong, solid backdrop of flavor. It’s pleasant and flavorful, smooth and not overly astringent.
The orange flavor is sweet and juicy with just enough tangy flavor to add some interest to the cup. It’s a sunny, energetic flavor that melds beautifully with the sweet, indulgent notes of vanilla.
It’s a really pleasant, dessert-y type of tea that still tastes like tea. It’s not overly flavored so that the tea notes are overwhelmed. It’s not quite as strong as I’d like a morning tea to be, but this would make a really nice afternoon pick-me-up. It would also be an excellent choice to serve to your guests – they’ll really enjoy this one!
24 Days of Tea Holiday Countdown – Day 19 from Teanzo 1856
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.
24 Days of Tea Holiday Countdown – Day 18 from Teanzo 1856
It’s Day 18!
Last week, I had a dreadful cold. I’m still in the process of “getting over it,” not really sick anymore, but still coughing up a lot of that congestion that’s trapped in the lungs. Not fun.
As I confessed in the review below, I actually “drank ahead” with this advent calendar. And after going through that horrible cold, I’m glad I did, because otherwise there would have been several days without reviews being posted! I was just too sick to be reviewing teas and my taste buds were not operating at optimum levels.
I’m glad to be feeling better and I hope that everyone else out there is feeling fine – it’s a bad time to be caught feeling under the weather!
For today’s artistic inspiration, I chose this cute little mini clipboard that was altered with a Christmas theme. It was created by Liane Ceglar for one of the 12 Days of Christmas swaps I was in. (The photo isn’t great, but, it’s still such a wonderful little gift that I wanted to feature it!)
It’s another of those gifts that may not have been intended to be an ornament, but, I turned it into one. I love it and it looks great on my tree of altered art! Thank you Liane!
Hibiscus
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
Hibiscus flowers are high in vitamin C, and recent studies suggest that hibiscus supports cardiovascular health. Hibiscus tea has been consumed for centuries for its health benefits. This herbal tea is delicious and steeps to a gorgeous pink color. The tart flavor of hibiscus is balanced by adding a sweetener. Perfect for entertaining. Garnish this herbal tea with a sprig of fresh mint. This herbal tea is caffeine free.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
OK, so I admit it. I checked to see what the teas are in this Advent Calendar ahead of time. I kind of have to so that I can write the review in enough time to publish on the day that they correspond with the calendar. Yeah, I guess I’m cheating, but hey, I’ve rationalized my behavior because I’m doing it for you, my readers.
And when I saw that 100% pure, not-part-of-a-blend hibiscus was one of the tisanes in this box, I think I may have screamed out loud. And not a happy, excited scream. More like a mortified scream of horror.
Since that time, a few things have happened. First, I started plotting. Hmm … what if I just don’t post anything for the 18th day? Maybe say there was some glitch in the system and the review was lost forevermore. No. I’m sure that someone who knows more about computers than I do (they wouldn’t be hard to find) would challenge this claim. What if I just refuse? I could just protest. NO HIBISCUS!
Then, something else happened: I got sick. I came down with a terrible cold. And even though hibiscus isn’t my favorite thing, I do know that it’s loaded with Vitamin C and every time I consume something with lots of vitamin C while I’m sick, well, I feel better for a while.
So, I thought, hey, maybe it will work with the hibiscus. What have I got to lose? I mean, it won’t kill me to drink a cup of hibiscus, will it?
Well, it might. I mean, I could be deathly allergic to pure hibiscus and I might die if I drink this stuff. But, I’m thinking I’m not deathly allergic to hibiscus since I’ve had quite a few tisanes with hibiscus in it. And confession time: I’ve never actually had a cup of pure hibiscus tisane. Yep. It’s true.
So, I figured, it’s time to try this stuff that I’ve been cursing for so many years.
To steep the hibiscus, I used my Kati Tumbler (again!) and poured the contents of packet number 18 into the basket. I heated the water to 195°F and let it steep for 4 minutes. Usually, I’ll let a tisane steep for 5 – 10 minutes, but since this is pure hibiscus, I decided to go conservative and only steep for 4 minutes.
Of course, I didn’t think to actually try this when my taste buds were kind of out of whack because of my cold. That would have been THE time to try this, right? But, I didn’t think about it then. Now, I’m still dealing with a sore throat (actually, it’s more of a dry, irritated throat from coughing) and a weakened immune system and a tired and achy body, but my taste buds are in working order.
How do I know?
Tart! Yeah. I even added a teaspoon of raw sugar to this and yep, still tart. The sugar did tame the tartness down a bit though. I found that it’s also a lot more tart when it’s hot than as it cools. It becomes more “berry-like” when it starts to cool down and there are some fruity notes that are actually quite agreeable!
So, as it turns out, I’m not deathly allergic of hibiscus, I’m just more afraid of it than anything. It’s not that horrible. It has a nice berry taste and it does have health benefits. I do recommend keeping the steep time to a minimum because even at 4 minutes, some texture does develop here (the longer you steep hibiscus, the more syrupy the liquid becomes). I think 4 minutes is as far as I’d go, and you still are getting a really strong, hibiscus-y flavor (it is, after all, hibiscus).
While hibiscus will never be a favorite drink of mine, it isn’t a horrible drink. I’ve tasted teas and tisanes that I’ve liked a lot less. If I had other options, I wouldn’t choose to drink another pure hibiscus drink. I certainly would not buy pure hibiscus. That said, it wasn’t as horrible an experience as I thought it would be when I saw the word “HIBISCUS” on the label of the pouch marked 18 in this advent calendar from Teanzo.
The hibiscus does have some redeeming qualities. First of all, it did soothe my sore throat and I found that it did help me feel better after I drank it. (Remember, I’m dealing with a cold here!) So, it’s not all bad. And I know that there are some people who swear by this stuff. I bet kids would love it – most kids love the tart stuff – and it would be much better for them than some sugary soda or punch drink.