Afternoon Tea Time

Making tea is one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen. I got hooked on tea in college, when my best friend and I went to a tea serving at the Bloomsbury Tea Room in Capitola, CA. 

Ever since, I've so enjoyed tasting new flavors,  picking up cute teacups, and introducing my friends to old fashioned tea. Sometime soon I'll post a list of my tea house favorites all across the United States! Here are a few photos of my afternoon service for one- I've highlighted a few of my favorite teas in the background (black teas are definitely my go-tos! )

The teas shown here are:

(1) Revolution Tea: Earl Grey with Lavender:  This is probably my favorite tea, and one that I drink the most often. I definitely recommend trying it if you like Earl Grey, and the lavender notes bring a unique flavor that adds some extra spice outside of the more traditional blends.

(2) Ceylon Ahmad Earl Grey Tea: This is probably my favorite traditional Earl Grey, although I think that Tazo Tea also makes a fantastic traditional Earl Grey as well.

(3) Bigelow French Vanilla: The first black tea I ever tried was a vanilla black tea that I just loved, and this tea is the closest I've ever found to replacing that flavor. I can hardly ever find it in the grocery stores, but when I do, I definitely stock up on it! It's a really nice and simple tea, and one that I think most everyone would enjoy.

(4) Bigelow Vanilla Chai: This blend tastes to me like the perfect mixture of Bigelow's French Vanilla tea and a Chai Latte that you would get at Starbucks. Having this tea holds so many college memories for me...it was good late night fuel for some cram-study sessions.

(5) Republic of Tea: Downton Abbey Earl Grey: This Earl Grey was one that I found at Cost Plus World Market, one of my absolute favorite places to find new tea flavors! Cost Plus also has a lot of fun mugs and has a nice selection of scone mixes and scone toppings that are perfect in combination with tea. I've never actually seen Downton Abbey, but this Earl Grey has some unique almond/vanilla notes that make it another fun twist on a classic tradition.

(6) Zhena's Coconut Chai: I tried this coconut chai blend for the first time today, and thought it was really delicious (although I found it very sweet for a Chai tea)! I got it in a chai sampler, and I think I wish it was just a full tin of this tea because it's so good.

I found these macarons at the local grocery store....my favorite place to buy macarons is usually at the Whole Foods dessert counter (they're so yummy!), but these were scrumptious also. I still haven't figured out how to successfully bake macarons myself, but I'll get there someday.

I'd love to hear any of your tea recommendations if you have some-- I'm definitely working to broaden my horizons and try more fruit teas and green tea blends beyond the black teas that I already adore.

xo,

Shannon