Bees & Teas

Purchased last Fall at King Richard’s Faire from their new tea pot shaped shop. It seriously was an adorable addition to their market. This one a friend convinced me to pick up. It appears that the shop has expanded their catalogue over the winter and there are tons of literary based teas added.

I followed steeping instructions but I honestly feel that I should have added more tea leaves to the steeper as this mug is too weak for me. Shoving my nose in the bag, it smells very sweet and floral but after steeping for the recommended 3 minutes, the scent is very very faint. The flavors of rose and marshmallow do come through the longer it steeped in the pot but it became more acidic with continued steeping. I think I’ll try another run of this hot later in the week and try it out cold brew as well.

Travel to a Ren Faire and find a tea from a tea company you’ve never heard from to find out that it’s local to home. I spent a good amount of time boring my family by sniffing all the tea samples in the shop and came home with 4. Two are “summer” flavors and two are “fall/winter” blends. As summer has decided to make an appearance today, I’m sampling this lavender coconut herbal blend. It is recommended cold brew and has steeping directions for hot. I’m starting with hot and popping a container in the fridge for cold brew.
The blend has obvious pineapple and coconut pieces in it. Large chunks even, making it a bit challenging to get a balanced teaspoon out for my kettle. I steeped at 200 for about 7 minutes. It’s sweet and even sweeter after steeping. No need for added sugar in my mind but the website recommends an Orange Blossom Honey. I love the coconut and pineapple but don’t really get the lavender in this mug.