Teatime Tuesday #22

Welcome back to Teatime Tuesday!

teatime22a

I’m keeping it simple this week. For my tea, I’m drinking a special limited blend by my favorite tea company, Verdant Tea. (This comes as no surprise, since I’ve been drinking so many of their teas lately!) It’s called Minnesota Blend, and it’s a green tea flavored with vanilla, toasted rice, saffron, and juniper berries. It has a very smooth taste, with a muted sweetness that goes well with the base tea.

To complement the vanilla flavors in the tea, I decided to pair it with some vanilla ice cream. Nothing too fancy, but who can complain about ice cream? (Not me, certainly!)

teatime22b

That’s it for teatime! Thanks for joining me once again.

Teatime Tuesday #21

Hello! Once again, it’s Teatime Tuesday.

teatime21a

I had another scone this week from Wildflower Bread Company (much like my cranberry scone a while back). This is their chocolate chip version, and I must say, it’s delicious. Actually, it’s one of my best friend’s favorite desserts for teatime, which was how I was introduced to the company. While I’m generally a scone + jam + clotted cream advocate, I make an exception for chocolate-flavored scones like this one, and eat them plain. This one is really buttery with a slight glaze, so it doesn’t need any added sweetness to taste amazing.

I paired the scone with a roasted tea that has subtle cocoa notes, Verdant’s Laoshan Roasted Oolong. If you’re a fan of black tea but have been looking to try a partially roasted oolong, I would definitely recommend this one. (It’s almost out of stock on their website, so you’ll have to act fast! Or you can wait until another harvest comes in.) This tea has loads of flavor and is easy to steep, rather than being overly delicate. The roast gives it a savory quality, compared to greener oolongs that are more floral. It’s one of my favorite oolongs, since I tend to be partial to the more oxidized ones.

teatime21b

Thanks for joining me for tea!

Teatime Tuesday #18

(Technically, this is Teatime Thursday, but for the sake of consistency I decided to keep the usual title.) Welcome back to teatime!

Today I prepared a cup of Verdant Tea’s most famous tea, Laoshan Black, which is also one of my all-time favorites. It’s a straight black tea with lots of flavor, and an interesting savory quality to it, which makes it stand out among the sweeter teas in my cabinet.

teatime18a

To go with the tea, I had an apple turnover from the bakery at my local supermarket. It was extra sweet with lots of sugar, so it made a great complement to the savory flavors in the Laoshan Black.

teatime18b

Thanks for joining me for tea!

Teatime Tuesday #17

Welcome back to teatime! It’s been a busy week so far. So I decided on a simple tea today.

teatime17a

Shui Xian Wuyi Oolong was one of Verdant’s limited oolong teas, before it sold out. This tea is best enjoyed on its own, steeped quickly in small amounts. So today, I steeped it in my Japanese-style owl teacup, which is a smaller size than most of my mugs, and removed the leaves after only ten seconds. (Seriously! That’s all it takes.)

This oolong is very light, with some typical floral notes. Except in this particular oolong, I noticed a sweet fruity taste as well. (Verdant’s site describes it as being reminiscent of banana, and I agree.) It’s refreshing, and great for sipping slowly during a break.

teatime17b

I didn’t pair this oolong with anything, since the flavor is so delicate. It’s perfect on its own, though!

Thanks for joining me again for teatime.

Teatime Tuesday #15

Hello again! My teatime was on the simple side today, since I spent most of the day working. I didn’t have any pastries this time around, but I did drink several cups of Verdant’s Autumn Harvest Laoshan Green.

teatime15a

This is quite possibly my favorite green tea ever. It’s rich and flavorful, but still has that light taste that makes green tea so great (especially when you’re not in the mood for a strong black tea). If you want to read a delicious description of it, be sure to check out the page on Verdant’s website. (It’s temporarily sold out, but should be back in stock soon.)

As you can see, I purchased a whole tin of this one, so I would definitely recommend it to any green tea fans out there.

teatime15b

Thanks for joining me for tea!