Tea Party!

[MsMerrick]

Originally Posted by julieisafemme

I love the tea at Indian restaurants with lots of sugar. I don't know how they make it but it is so good. I also like Thai Iced Tea. Does anyone know how to make the Indian hot tea?

PG Tips is good strong black tea. I love it.

I only use mugs. I have some fancy tea cups that were my Grandma's but they are too fragile to use. I would love to have a nice tea set and cups. Some day I want to have a tea party with my daughter. Is 8 too young for tea?

I suspect Indian Tea, is some variation of what we tend to call Chai.. Cardamom and other spices being added to good black Tea, of which India produces a couple kinds, but Assam comes to mind first.
I have some Thai Tea, loose, from L'Amyx, along with some lovely Mint Oolong, that an Oakland friend, sent me : )..
Thai Tea, actually has food coloring in it to make it that strange and yet fascinating Orange ...

[SassyLeo]

This is not necessarily *fancy* tea... but I LOVE this as iced tea... with just a touch of sweetener

[Massive]

Maybe I'm too British, but I just can't drink iced tea ... I don't know what it is, maybe it's from years of attempting to drink tea that's gone cold cos I've been too busy talking or typing to drink it ...
I've only ever had bottle Lipton iced tea though, I'll have to try real iced tea when I do finally get over the pond, I'll leave it until then to make a final decision!

[Diva]

I'm happy to say that Blush is wrangling a Tea Party for the Austin femmes on Saturday! So thanks, Medusa, for getting this started!

We're going to Zhi!

[cara]

Originally Posted by Diva

I'm happy to say that Blush is wrangling a Tea Party for the Austin femmes on Saturday! So thanks, Medusa, for getting this started!

We're going to Zhi!

Oh, fun!

[cara]

My favorite teas are black teas...Peach Apricot is my favorite followed closely by a nice Scottish or English Breakfast blend. Like Massive said earlier, I've never gotten used to the idea of iced tea and prefer to drink it hot. There are a couple of really great tea rooms in the Seattle area. Now that I know you like tea, Sassy Leo, we should definitely plan to get together for tea. I'll also make a note to bring some to share in LR! :-)

[Medusa]

Note to self: I am not allowed to "window shop" on the Teavana tea site.
(I am NOT spending $256 on TEA)

[Diva]

Another neat place in Austin....

> > Tea Embassy < <

[Arwen]

Hooray for Blush! She's trying to move the party to Sunday so poor Arwen can go. LOL

I just looked at a tea menu for The Steeping Room here in Austin. Wow. Just Wow.

I'm going to need a tea translator.

What's a good tea to start with? I really like roiboos, hibiscus and pomegranate.

Does that make me fruity?

[julieisafemme]

Originally Posted by MsMerrick

I suspect Indian Tea, is some variation of what we tend to call Chai.. Cardamom and other spices being added to good black Tea, of which India produces a couple kinds, but Assam comes to mind first.
I have some Thai Tea, loose, from L'Amyx, along with some lovely Mint Oolong, that an Oakland friend, sent me : )..
Thai Tea, actually has food coloring in it to make it that strange and yet fascinating Orange ...

The Indian Tea is not Chai tasting. I am not a huge fan of Chai. It is very strong black tea that they mix with milk or cream and then you load in the sugar and they have these little mugs to drink it out of and it just the best.

I did not know that about Thai Iced tea!! I thought it was just from the natural tea color. I like it with those tapioca balls in it too. It is like dessert.

[Arwen]

There's a restaurant in Denver. It's hard to find unless you know it's there but it is by the Samurai sushi place on Arapahoe.

Anyway, I ordered tea one night and the owner, a lovely Persian woman, asked me if I wanted Persian tea. I said yes.

In a regular iced tea glass, I was served HOT spicy flavorful tea that was amazing. I'd love to recreate that experience. Anyone know what this is or have a clue?

I found this which seems to be in line with what I got at this place. Miss that place because the kabobs were so yummy.

[WolfyOne]

My freebie site sent this to me and I thought since we're talking about tea, this would be a good place to share it.

Get a free tea sample - Language of the Leaf is offering a free tea sample. To receive this offer, enter your name on the lower left hand side of the page. Then enter your email address and complete the form on the next page for your shipping information.

Edited to add, I chose the Blueberry White and will let you know what I think when it arrives.

http://languageoftheleaf.com/

[MsMerrick]

Originally Posted by WolfyOne

My freebie site sent this to me and I thought since we're talking about tea, this would be a good place to share it.

Get a free tea sample - Language of the Leaf is offering a free tea sample. To receive this offer, enter your name on the lower left hand side of the page. Then enter your email address and complete the form on the next page for your shipping information.

Edited to add, I chose the Blueberry White and will let you know what I think when it arrives.

http://languageoftheleaf.com/

Thank you ! I am trying the Wedding Blend, which is also a White blend..
Btw they have Tea Filters also Which is what we were talking about, yes?

[WolfyOne]

Originally Posted by MsMerrick

Thank you ! I am trying the Wedding Blend, which is also a White blend..
Btw they have Tea Filters also Which is what we were talking about, yes?

You're quite welcome

I'll have to look at theirs because I already know what the other ones look like
I suppose if I like their tea and place and order, I'll see what the difference is.

I just looked at their filters and it looks like they only come in one size.
Much more expensive than the ones I get from T & H

[Lynn]

I like Earl Grey in a nice pottery mug with milk and honey. Good Earth tea, as Freckle-K posted, is naturally sweet and spicy. Brewed really strong, it's great in the morning, and nice over ice, too. We recently bought Bigelow black tea with berry and used it to make sun tea--it was really fruity and mellow. Drinking hot tea from small glasses with sugar cubes reminds me of my grandmother. After dinner, tea in a fancy porcelain cup with a floating lemon slice reminds me of my (beloved) former in-laws.

I'm a big fan of medicinal teas. When I was pregnant, I found nausea relief from raspberry leaf tea and ginger tea. I give my daughter valerian tea when she is restless. Most recently, I gave the cat peppermint tea, a few drops at a time, when he was sick to his kitty stomach. It was amazing how quickly he responded.

I'm not a tea expert, but I do love it. Tea is something to savor, not rush through. Thank you for sharing all the information and the links!

[Fancy]

Originally Posted by WolfyOne

My freebie site sent this to me and I thought since we're talking about tea, this would be a good place to share it.

Get a free tea sample - Language of the Leaf is offering a free tea sample. To receive this offer, enter your name on the lower left hand side of the page. Then enter your email address and complete the form on the next page for your shipping information.

Edited to add, I chose the Blueberry White and will let you know what I think when it arrives.

http://languageoftheleaf.com/

Originally Posted by MsMerrick

Thank you ! I am trying the Wedding Blend, which is also a White blend..
Btw they have Tea Filters also Which is what we were talking about, yes?

Ah a friend sent me a sampling of the Wedding Blend and it has been a big hit. Thanks for posting the site information!

[Medusa]

Sunday night tea treat - Teavana Mate Vana. It has a lovely creamy undertone and hints of nutty, chocolatey goodness. A nice medium black tea flavor.

And I have to make a confession. I treated myself this weekend to a mini-shopping spree. After months of being crazy-frugal and not buying much of anything that was an extravagance, I celebrated my new raise and promotion with a trip to the brand new Teavana store at Park Plaza Mall.

I generally despise malls but the pilgrimage was worth it.
I ended up leaving with 9 bags of tea, 4 tea tins, a tea spoon, a 'perfect' one-cup teapot, and a biggo bag of german rock sugar.

If you have never been to a Teavana store, I recommend checking it out. They have about 50 different teas available at the store (maybe more?) and lots of free samples, teapots, etc.

[MsMerrick]

Originally Posted by julieisafemme

The Indian Tea is not Chai tasting. I am not a huge fan of Chai. It is very strong black tea that they mix with milk or cream and then you load in the sugar and they have these little mugs to drink it out of and it just the best.

I did not know that about Thai Iced tea!! I thought it was just from the natural tea color. I like it with those tapioca balls in it too. It is like dessert.

Well there's a number of Tea's from India, but perhaps you might just ask them sometime
My favorite way o f drinking any kind of Black Tea, is very strong with Milk or Cream I prefer a small amount of sweetener, but everyone is different : 0
Here's an interesting bit from Tea Chat, about someone trying to identify some Tea in India
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13000

The tapioca pearl thing, is not something I have fallen in love with Its very popular here..in a lot of Asian places, Bubble Tea's, they are called. Ehh, its ok, just.. ..doesn't really grab me
My first recollection of Tea, was nice hot tea, that my Grandmother served, after we came down off a mountain, in the Adirondacks To this day, the hotter it gets, the more I crave hot tea, which many people find strange....

[2myladyblue]

Elixir de Vie
Earl Grey tea adds depth to this fruity virgin cocktail of apple juice, blackberries and raspberries.

Ingredients:
Pinch of loose-leaf Earl Grey tea
4 oz (120 mL) apple juice
3 raspberries
3 blackberries
1 oz (30 mL) lemon juice
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla simple syrup

Directions:
In a cocktail glass, combine tea and apple juice. Let tea steep into the apple juice until the flavor has been fully extracted (approximately 30 minutes). In a shaker, muddle berries, then add lemon juice and vanilla simple syrup. Strain tea and apple juice into shaker and fill with ice. Shake well and serve straight up in a martini glass. Garnish with edible rose petals or berries. Serves one.


~LadyBlue

[Medusa]

Originally Posted by 2myladyblue

Elixir de Vie
Earl Grey tea adds depth to this fruity virgin cocktail of apple juice, blackberries and raspberries.

Ingredients:
Pinch of loose-leaf Earl Grey tea
4 oz (120 mL) apple juice
3 raspberries
3 blackberries
1 oz (30 mL) lemon juice
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla simple syrup

Directions:
In a cocktail glass, combine tea and apple juice. Let tea steep into the apple juice until the flavor has been fully extracted (approximately 30 minutes). In a shaker, muddle berries, then add lemon juice and vanilla simple syrup. Strain tea and apple juice into shaker and fill with ice. Shake well and serve straight up in a martini glass. Garnish with edible rose petals or berries. Serves one.


~LadyBlue

This sounds like something I need to be trying this weekend