new tea day. hibiscus punch

When my aunty so kindly picked me up the Spring Collection from Davids Tea, she also got me the Tea of the Month for March. It's called Hibiscus Punch.

Once again another herbal. Yay! I am a big fan of hibiscus so I'm hoping I'll really enjoy it. I'm only worried about the cinnamon and ginger mixed with hibiscus. And if it's not good hot maybe it'll be awesome iced? I mean it is called Hibiscus 'Punch'. Punches are normally cold right?

The herbal's ingredients are:

• Cinnamon
• Rooibos
• Hibiscus
• Ginger
• Stevia

The steep time is between 4-7 minutes but as I stated before you need to be very careful with hibiscus. It will get bitter if steeped for too long. I usually start with the lowest recommended steep time and work my way up if it's not strong enough. Ginger can be overpowering too so I'm going to make sure I watch it carefully.

I love the color that hibiscus turns tea. Such a lovely deep red. As for how the tea tasted, I'm not sure how I feel about it. It didn't wow me but I didn't hate it either. I think that I'd need to try it iced to see if it'll maybe have more of a wow factor. I was very careful with the steep time yet the cinnamon was almost overpowering.

I'm really glad that I tried this tea and that I'll have some more to enjoy occasionally but I don't think that it's one I'd be wanting to buy more of. The Tea of the Month is usually a hit or a miss. For me this one was a bit of a miss. But I won't discount it completely until I've tried it iced.

But man, does it ever look pretty!

new tea day. cool cucumber

I only have one more tea from the Spring Collection at Davids Tea to try! Cool Cucumber.

This one is a black tea. I really do enjoy them but they have the highest amount of caffeine out of all the tea made from the camellia sinensis plant. If I plan on having caffeinated teas, I make sure to have them earlier in the day so it'll have less of an effect on me. One nice thing about black teas is that they make the best lattes. Unfortunately I feel like this particular one made not due to the cucumber/melon flavor.

This black's ingredients are:

• Black tea
• Honeydew melon
• Cucumber
• Sunflower
• Blue mallow blossoms

The steep time is 4-7 minutes. Like green teas, I make sure to steep black teas according to their recommended times otherwise it can get extremely bitter. Sometimes when I'm first trying it out I'll even go below the recommended time to make sure it's not bitter. This also helps with lighten the flavors so one doesn't overpower the others.

This tea smells amazing while I'm sipping on it. It has a light honeydew taste to it with a slight hint of mint which offers a cooling sensation. It's refreshing and light which is nice as sometimes black teas can be heavier. I enjoyed it hot but I wouldn't count it as one of my favorite teas. I think this one would probably be better iced.

new tea day. grape expectations

Alright it's time to try another tea from the Spring Collection at Davids Tea!

Today it's Grape Expectations.

This one is a green tea. Usually I'm not the biggest fan of green teas as they're harder to make. If your water temperature is too hot, you'll burn the leaves and cause the tea to be more bitter or fishy (depending on if it's a japanese or chinese green). I'm really looking forward to trying this one though as it smells so similar to grape juice.

This green's ingredients are:

• Green tea
• Raisins
• Cornflower

The steep time is between 3-4 minutes. This is one tea that I will make sure is steeped the recommended amount of time. Green teas have a tendency to get more bitter the longer they're steeped.

While it's steeping I couldn't wait to try it cause it smells soooooo good! Even after it's steeped it still smells like grape juice. It wasn't bitter at all and I found it very refreshing. I think it would be amazing iced. I'm just imaging putting it in a fancy glass and having it like an iced wine. I don't think I've ever tried a green tea iced but this is one I'd make an exception for. Looks like I need to add another tea to the list of tins I need to buy!

new tea day. peaches & cream

It's tea time! And which tea have I picked from the Spring Collection at Davids Tea? Peaches & Cream!

It's another herbal tea! I'm hoping that this one will be another winner. That's one of the problems with these limited edition teas. Once the season is over you can't get them anymore. Basically it means that if I'm in love with one of these teas I need to buy a giant tin!

This herbal's ingredients are:

• Peach
• Apple
• Vanilla pieces
• Peach crunchy
• Safflower
• Sunflower

The steep time is around 4-7 minutes. I'm going to leave it for longer because I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that it'll make the flavors more intense. That's also why I used this tea pot. I can leave the tea in there for the whole time that I'm drinking it and it'll continue to steep.

Because of the name my first reaction was that this tea would be amazing as a latte. It would be all creamy and delicious. After trying it I've changed my mind. I've fallen in love with it the way it is. It's nice a fruity and sweet. Absolutely to die for!

This pot makes 2-3 cups of tea so I tried the tea after about a five minute steep and then when I'd moved onto my second cup it had been steeping for at least 15 minutes. My instincts were right and it was amazing with a longer steep time.

Next time I enjoy this tea I will definitely try it iced as I think the flavors would really pop in an iced tea. It's one of my favorite teas so far. Now I have two teas that I need to buy a tin of before they're gone for good!

new tea day. blue lagoon

I'm pretty excited because Davids Tea came out with their Spring Collection for 2014 last week! Knowing how much I love tea, my aunty (being super thoughtful) picked some up for me. I finally have the chance to try them out! Today I'm going to make a cup of Blue Lagoon.

It's an herbal tea which means caffeine free! Though I love my black and oolong teas, I always like keeping a lookout for new herbal teas that I really like. Since I'm fairly caffeine sensitive, I can't drink teas with caffeine at night. Most of the teas I own has caffeine so it's always nice to get a new herbal one to sip on before bed.

This herbal's ingredients are:

• Pineapple
• Blueberry
• Lemongrass
• Elderberry
• Cornflower petals

The steep time is about 4-7 minutes. With herbal teas I often let it steep for longer than the recommended time because I like stronger teas. The good thing about herbal teas is that it's hard to over-steep it. In saying that, beware of over-steeping any tea with hibiscus. Letting them steep for too long can cause it to become very bitter.

I like that this tea is a violet color which makes its name even more fitting. I found that it was extremely refreshing. It's light and fruity with a hint of zest from the lemongrass. I enjoyed it hot but would definitely like to try it iced next time to see the difference.

Cleo came to see if she could help me out. I was able to handle it on my own but it was nice to know she was there for moral support.

Mmm. Pistachio Dessert and a sunrise.

This is the beautiful view I woke up to this morning. Normally I'm not up early enough to enjoy a beautiful sunrise like this but with fall coming and days getting shorter I was lucky enough to catch this one. I saw it when I opened up my blinds and I had to wander out onto my deck and capture its beauty.

These are the shoes I'm wearing today. I have an obsession with shoes and this is one of my favorite pairs. Not only do I love that they're red but they're also one of the most comfortable pairs that I own. I call them full day shoes since many of the shoes I own get uncomfortable after half a day.

I made an amazing dessert for the pot luck at my work today. It's called Pistachio Dessert and is one of my favorite desserts ever. The last time I made it was when I moved into my place as a "welcome home" dessert for myself. I like making it in a clear pan because you can see that it is a layered dessert and the green layer gives it some nice color. Everyone at work said they enjoyed it and wanted the recipe so I thought I would share it with you.

Pistachio Dessert

CRUST
All-purpose flour                                                              1 cup
Butter or margarine                                                        1/2 cup
Finely chopped pecans                                                   1/2 cup

FILLING
Cream cheese, softened                                             8 oz. or 250 g
Icing sugar                                                                       1 cup
Instant pistachio pudding (6 serving size)                        1 pkg
Milk                                                                                 2 cups
Whipping cream                                                              1 cup
Slivered almonds                                                          2 - 3 tbsp

Crust:
- Put flour and butter into bowl. Mix until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Press into ungreased 9x13 inch pan. Bake in 350°F oven for 15 minutes. Cool.

Filling:
- Mix cream cheese and sugar together well. Spread over cooled shortbread crust.

- Beat pudding mix with milk. Pour over cheese-sugar layer. Chill a few minutes to firm.

- Whip cream until stiff. Spread over pudding layer. Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Serves 15.

I use frozen cool whip instead of whipped cream because I like the flavor better. If anyone tries this recipe I would love to know your thoughts on it. Or any ideas on how I can improve it or make it healthier.

Now I know I already have way too many teas but the new fall collection just arrived in the mail for me. I haven't had a chance to try them all yet but I did try a few of them and I must say that they are amazing. I just finished drinking Pumpkin Chai. It's a black tea with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and pumpkin candies. I added some steamed milk and brown sugar and it was absolutely heaven. Currently I'm drinking Buttercream. It's a white tea with mango, chamomile, and osmanthus. Smells amazing and tastes equally as good. I would love to try mixing them together and seeing how they taste. Sounds delicious just thinking about it!

Now this is what I call relaxing.

Even though I wanted more than anything to stay in bed and keep sleeping this morning, I woke up feeling amazing. I had the best sleep that I've had in a while. My good mood continued on throughout my day as well. Work went by quickly and next thing I knew I was home ready for a night of relaxing. And thankfully time has slowed down now that I'm relaxing. Slowed down in a good way of course because it makes me feel like there are more hours in the day rather than less.

How am I spending my relaxing evening you might ask?

I've lit candles around my place to give off a cozy vibe. Plus it makes everything smell so pretty. One of my favorite scents is vanilla. I have so many candles around my house that my house always smells of vanilla and when they are lit it just amplifies.

I've decided that it's about time that I paint my nails as I haven't been putting enough time into maintaining them recently. I had originally chosen a darker blue but in the end I chose electric pink as my color of choice. I know that fall is coming but summer isn't over yet and I may as well wear the bright colors now. I haven't yet decided it I want to do my finger nails as well. I know the color will look great on them and it would be nice to actually have them painted but I hate having to sit and wait for them to dry. I usually end up smudging them before they're done.

My relaxing night wouldn't be as relaxing without a nice cup of tea. I am absolutely obsessed with teas. I have a cupboard full of teas and a desk drawer at work with even more. I probably own more than fifty different flavors of tea between the two places. I am currently drinking Forever Nuts. Not only does it smell heavenly but it tastes that way too! It's a blend of almond slices, apple bits, cinnamon bark, and beetroot. It's the beetroot that turns it that wonderful shade of pink. This was the first loose tea I'd ever tried and it was at my friend's house. I instantly fell in love and I've been addicted ever since.

Now no relaxing night could be complete without Dash close by. Even though he spends all day sleeping and laying around he would never pass up a chance to cuddle up next to me and watch TV. All and all my day was great from beginning to end.