Afternoon Tea

I have a nice variety of teas in my pantry but this Royal Blend tea that I picked up at the Fortnum & Mason shop in London is my favorite of the black teas. I savor it when I drink it and I'm not drinking it often because I don't want to run out - how dumb is that? Why do I have this desire to "hang on" to things... I really just need to focus on enjoying and letting go.

I recently found the cheese at my local Costco. Mimolette is a hard cheese that tastes (to me) somewhere between an aged edam and a young parmesan. It's quite tasty and was a perfect snack to accompany the rich black tea. I normally drink my tea with milk but decided to drink it black today because I was having the cheese with it. I also sneaked in a teaspoonful of honey, but just ate it straight from the spoon.

Summer means iced tea with fresh squeezed lemon

Making iced tea
Originally uploaded by love_yellow

I'm lucky enough to have a lemon tree that pretty much bears fruit all year long. But I appreciate it most in the summer, not for lemonade (which requires way too much sugar), but for squeezing into my drinking water and especially for making iced tea.

Not only does it make the tea taste better but I read recently that lemon helps to preserve the antioxidants in the tea. What a great bonus!

All summer long I've been brewing my large assortment of black, green and herbal teas and experimenting with different combinations of tea and other additives like ginger and fresh mint from my garden. Sprigs of fresh mint is wonderful in strong green tea for an extra punch of flavor and refreshing-ness (my Morrocan friend showed me how to make it).


My sister gave me a huge assortment of high quality green and white teas for Christmas last year. I enjoyed them hot throughout the winter and spring, but some of the stronger teas can now be enjoyed over ice.


Just some of the teas I've collected, some from my travels to London, Paris and Shanghai, and some gifted by friends from Japan and Sri Lanka.

***********************************************************
Oh, and for all of you fans of Orla Kiely (my favorite bag designer of all time based in the U.K.)... yes, that tea tin is her design. It's a collaboration with Bewley's of Ireland - she designed the adorable tea caddy around the Bewley's Gold Blend box of 160 tea bags. Makes sense that she would choose an Irish tea as she is of Irish decent.

A perfect breakfast or afternoon tea - sweet and strong so a generous dash of milk holds up well. According to Bewley's: "Our award winning signature Gold Blend Tea is full-bodied with a rich, deep golden colour. Teas grown on the highest slopes of Mount Kenya bring a fresh, rich flavour. Tea from Assam in India adds an excellent, full-bodied character. Rwandan leaves finish the blend with a glorious, deep golden colour. Crafted for supreme quality, to bring you the perfect cup of tea that refreshes and uplifts you any time of the day."