Happy St. Patrick’s Day

May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door." - Irish Blessing

Benefits of Green Tea

My early experience with tea drinking (while growing up in a coffee drinking household) was limited to Red Rose or Tetley tea bags.  Years later I discovered the pleasures of loose tea and the many varieties that are available.

I’m now a fan of Pu-erh, Assam, Keemun and other black teas, as well as some oolong, white and green teas.  Lately I’ve been watching my weight and trying to stay fit, so this video has really encouraged me to start drinking more green tea.

How about you – what type of tea do you drink most often?

 

Be More Tea

Be More Tea – Good advice from Lipton Tea and the Muppets.  ☺

Ripened Pu-erh Brick Tea

Just finished drinking a pot of Fengqing Zhuan Cha Ripened Pu-erh brick tea from Teavivre.

This is a really good Pu-erh with a very dark liquor and a smooth taste.  I’m really starting to like these teas and may consider investing in a brick one of these days. 

This video shows how to properly break the Pu-erh brick or cake to obtain a piece for brewing.

You can find a great selection of Pu-erh tea on the Teavivre website.

Morning Cuppa Tea Poem

 

For a morning cuppa that’s strong,

I turn to sweet, fragrant Oolong.

      As for luncheons I’m more often feeling,

  Inclined toward a little Darjeeling.

But for afternoon tea when I tarry,

I relish Green Sencha with cherry.

~ Laura Childs

Laura Childs is one of my favorite cozy writers and I’ve read all of the books in her Tea Shop Mystery series up to “Sweet Tea Revenge”.  I’m looking forward to reading “Steeped in Evil” which is her latest in this series (Book 15).

 

 

Teavivre (Tea for Life)

It is a great mail day when I find that a box of Teavivre tea has arrived from China.

I’ve reviewed tea from this company before with blog posts in December 2011 and January 2013.  They have such great packaging with stylish silver foil resealable bags that protect the tea from light and moisture.

I now have lots of new teas to sample.  Since I’ve been feeling a little under the weather and Pu-erh tea is known for excellent health benefits, I thought I’d start with Fengqing Wild Tree Yesheng Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake 2013.  The fresh spring leaves of this tea are harvested between March to May.  One third of the leaves are tea buds.  My sample was loose, but if you wanted to buy a brick of Pu-erh, Teavivre has a terrific video on how to loosen some tea leaves from the brick. There is even a special tool you can use. 

This company has so much great information available on their website, not to mention all the beautiful photos and videos.  This video showing Pu-erh brick preparation is very interesting.

My sample of raw Pu-erh made a very enjoyable cup of tea.  Not too earthy and with a lovely sweet aftertaste.

I’ll be tasting Tribute Pu-erh, Ripened Pu-erh 2005 (Pu-erhs are aged like fine wine), Yunnan Dian Hong, Fengqing Dragon Pearl and Keemun Hao Ya over the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, if you would like to buy some excellent tea and learn more about all the wonderful types of tea, how they are processed, where they are grown, cooking with tea, brewing tea and even a “tea working song”, be sure to visit Teavivre website.

Hello Kitty

Publix is a great store for grocery shopping (love those buy one get one free items) and sometimes I find an unexpected gift item like this Hello Kitty placemat.

My eldest granddaughter loves tea parties with Nana and anything with kitties.  I can’t wait till her next visit when she spots this cute placemat at her place at the table.

I thought the teacup, cupcake and teapot (although more of a coffee pot shape) were adorable.  The item is also on sale this week – perfect.  ☺

Zak Designs  products have been featured in Rachel Ray magazine.  Their website has lots of colorful and practical items for adults and kids.