Teacup Candles

I love candles. I love scented candles, non-scented candles, white ones, coloured ones, and ones in interesting packages. So when I came across these super cute teacup candles featured on Wedding Chicks I just HAD to share!

There is even a step by step guide on how to make your own, DIY style. Fun! 

Ever wonder how Jasmine Pearl Tea is made?  

Jasmine Pearl Green Tea (or Buddha's Tears) consists of young green tea leaves that are rolled into little balls and scented with jasmine flowers or petals. This tea was available as early as the Song Dynasty (960-1279) but was reserved for Royalty and member of the Imperial Court. Today, it is the most famous scented tea in China. 

The tea leaves are harvested in early spring but not used until later summer because Jasmine flowers do not bloom until late summer. The tea is then blended with the flowers and let to rest overnight to allow the flower buds to open. This allows the jasmine fragrance to absorb into the leaves, giving them a subtle jasmine smell. 

This process can be done up to 7 times to intensify the fragrance. Check out this interesting video that shows the time consuming, tedious rolling process:

When brewed in hot water, the leaves of the ball unroll to reveal a flowery scent and light orange, full-bodied brew. A very pretty tea indeed!

Summer in Australia

Oh when I look back now

                                     That summer seemed to last forever

And if I had the choice

 Ya - I'd always wanna be there

Those were the best days of my life

Bryan Adams' song Summer of '69 always gets me thinking of long, warm days! 

The past two months have been hot here, hotter than the last two summers. Instead of the usual bout of chilly days that come with Melbourne's temperamental weather, we have had mostly sunshine and clear blue skies. 

Most of the time I am usually rushing through my day- busy, distracted and thinking about other people and things. But these last few months I've been trying to slow down and appreciate what is around me and the beauty of this season.

As I have been on uni holidays for the past 2 months, I thought that I would use my time to post some pictures of the things that represent eternal summer to me- gorgeous sunsets and beaches, endless sunshine and delicious food. Yum. 

I hope you that you enjoy this photo collage, be it cold or hot, sunny or rainy where you 

are.

Sunset at the beach

Reading in the sun

Parasailing in Bali

Summer is also a time for shopping and presents, because EVERYONE likes presents! I like to think I am a bit of a shopaholic so here are a few of my favourite purchases/gifts so far....

Jelly Beans shoes (I want a pair in every colour!)

Iris scented candle- smells devine

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope your week is filled with good things.

Fruitalicious and Strawberry Fields!

This weekend I paid a visit to my favourite store T2, and I was lucky enough to score some goodies while I was ohhh-ing and ahh-ing my time away in this mecca.  Given that my other two posts have talked about black teas, I thought that it would be a good time to diversify into fruit blends. Fruit lovers you're in for a treat!

The first of my favourite fruit tea blends is aptly called Fruitalicious. This tea is a tantalising mix of apples, papaya, kiwi fruit, blueberries, cranberries, goji berries and dragon fruit- soo fruitalicious! It smells very sweet and has a hint of citrus, perhaps from the kiwi fruit. In terms of taste, there is an explosion of fruit on the tongue, with the blueberries and cranberries being the main elements that I can taste. Despite this, the fruit all work harmoniously together to leave a beautiful sweet taste on your tongue.

Fruitalicious tea in my
new Moroccan glass

To brew this tea I used about 2 teaspoons of tea per 200 ml of water and let it brew for about 5 minutes. Despite letting it soak for so long, I found it interesting that this tea remained a very light orange colour instead of darkening like some other teas that I have tried before. That aside, the thing I really like about this tea is that it can be served hot or cold and it is also caffeine free.  It can therefore be enjoyed in any season and at anytime of the day or night. Not that I am sensitive to caffeine or anything.

Moving onto my second favourite fruit tea: Strawberries & Cream, an absolute desert delight. This tea is a mix of strawberry, rosehips with apple, hibiscus petals and whole white yoghurt pieces. Like Fruitalicious, Strawberries & Cream smells devine- it is best described like sweet, freshly picked strawberries that prevail in not only smell, but also in taste. This tea literally tastes like berries, but the strawberry pieces are the key players in this tea. They work with the other ingredients to leave a sweet, velvety taste in your mouth that seems to linger long after you have swallowed. The finish is very crisp and fresh. Simply yummy.

Loose strawberry tea

The thing that I really like about this tea is that unlike Fruitalicious, it has a beautiful deep red colour. This blood red is very pretty to look at in your cup or glass. The second thing that caught my attention is the yoghurt pieces that are mixed in the blend. I never thought yoghurt and tea would make a good combination, but they are actually a match made in heaven. Definitely leaves me dreaming of endless strawberry fields! 

Whats your favourite fruit tea? These warm summer days call out for them.

Tea for One!

I just love this little Tea for One set my boyfriend gave me a few months ago as random gift. For those of you wondering, it consists of a little tea pot that sits on top of a cup and saucer. Perfect for sipping tea in the sunshine! 

You can buy these sets throughout department stores in Australia or online. Alternatively, Forever New currently has a really cute Japanese one for about $20.
One this note, and because I know my lovely boy will eventually read this blog, I think that it is a good time to add a sneaky glass that I have been coveting from one of my favourite brands T2.

Wishlist: Casablanca tea glass

How nice would it be to be transported to Morroco in a tea glass? 

Xx

Russian Caravan, or Russian Gold?

A few days ago I was leisurely walking along the aisle of my local supermarket when I came across a tea I'd been curious to re-try for a long time. I first tried Russian Caravan at my boyfriend's house about 6 months ago whilst I was looking for something warm to soothe my sore throat. It was winter here in Melbourne, and I was suffering from one of my many never ending, hideously long colds. My lovely boyfriend (Wombat's Whisky Review) had not yet started his whiskey collection at the time, otherwise I would have spiked my tea with some whiskey pronto. That stuff does amazing things for your throat!

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy my virgin brew and poured it down the sink after a few sips. Sin! I hear you cry. So, given my less than positive experience at the time, I decided to give this tea another chance, hoping that perhaps my initial tasting was unfavourably affected by my sick taste buds.

Let me first start of by saying that despite its strange name, this tea does not originate from Russia. Instead, it is a blend of oolong, keemun and lapsang souchong teas that are produced by a Chinese tea plant. The only reason this tea has reference to Russia in its name is because it was named after the camel caravans that facilitated the transcontinental tea trade and transported tea from Asia to Europe through Russia.

Camal caravans

The blue Twinings box describes this tea as 'aromatic and full-bodied, with a sweet nutty taste'. The first time I tried this tea it tasted mellow with no hint of sweetness of any kind (sugar, anyone?). It also tasted very malty and I am not sure if this was because I added milk, thereby diluting the tea and its taste.

During my second tasting I tried this tea black with a slice of lemon, and this time I found it had a very strong smokey flavour that I did not like. To the nose this tea smelled nutty, but I unfortunately did not taste any nuttiness when I sipped it. This was disappointing for me as I enjoy eating all sorts of nuts and would have liked to taste the flavour in my cup. Visually, the brew had a beautiful rich golden colour that is prevalent amongst many black teas. However in my opinion it's smokiness was this tea's downfall, and I am sad to say that I did not enjoy it the second time round either. 

In all, Russian Caravan is unfortunately not Russian Gold. I would have loved to love this tea, but it is not one that I would make a bee-line for on cold nights. In my opinion it is much too smokey, but I can see how the smokiness gives this tea it's distinct hearty taste that would no doubt be enjoyed by many fellow tea drinkers! 

An everyday classic: the humble English Breakfast 

Black English Breakfast
with some chocolate

I thought that it would be fitting to dedicate my first post on Blogger to one of my favourite tea of all time, the humble English Breakfast. This tea is, and always has been, my go-to tea for a number of reasons. 

Firstly, it tastes mellow enough to savour at all times of the day and night (if you don't mind the caffeine- I don't). Secondly, it requires a dash of milk that I like to delusionally think supplements my daily calcium requirements. This is very important to me because I have hated the taste and smell of milk since I was a small child, and could never, ever in my wildest dreams drink it from the cartoon. I have resorted to supplements for my intake instead. Thirdly, English Breakfast tea is available all around the world, and I have many fond memories of drinking it in aeroplanes, resorts and whilst frantically cramming for exams in the early hours of the morning at home (ha!).

Whilst I have tried many brands of this tea, I must say that in my opinion Twinings make the best blend. This tea has a consistent golden-orange colour and whilst it is generally quite strong in taste (it was traditionally used to wash down greasy english breakfast consisting of sausages and bacon), I love that you can control its strength through the amount of time you leave the bag in the teapot. I generally brew mine for about 2 minutes and add a drop of milk.

I find this tea has a warming effect on the belly and always leaves me content and happy, especially on a cold winters night. I love that it can easily be savoured throughout the year and that helps me get up in the mornings when all I want to do is stay in bed. What gets you up in the morning? If you haven't found your jojo then definitely give this classic blend a try. I promise that you wont regret it!