The soul is tired with stress and years.

The rain doesn’t cease in its endless cares.

My efforts is at it’s cliff.

The fable is now old and sad.

Let it be thrown in a box and cast into a grave!

The rain is ceaseless.

No, no, tea first. So I pour myself a cup of tea, wondering if I should let the day meet the night.

With that, the rain seems to go absent.

The fable, like a a candle, blows away.

Happy again, am I.

Tea.

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To start off, there will be no BS when it comes to me writing about tea or anything else. What you see is what you get. Like it or leave it. Hopefully, you will like it. :)

With that said, my TEA topic today is Darjeeling Tea. Now, this is a very special tea to me. Of course, I had heard of Darjeeling tea before, but never gave it much thought, nor had I tried it until I was fortunate enough to meet Benoy Thapa www.thunderbolttea.com through the Twitterverse of Tea.  Yes, my first cuppa Darjeeling came straight to me from the gardens of India! I was and am still humbled. Benoy kindly sent me a generous sample of Darjeeling’s 2009 organic Second Flush Goomtee FTGFOP1, from the Muscatel Valley.  This particular tea is grown at an altitude of over 4,500 ft. One could compare Darjeeling tea to wine.  I felt as if I had my first cup of red. Can you imagine that? just think about it! The liquor was complex, yet simply wonderful! The cup was smooth and full bodied with a coppery color.  Bold, yet floral with notes of honey. If you haven’t already tried Darjeeling, I highly recommend you do!

Welcome to the world of sumptuous tea! This is where it begins!

Thank you Benoy and the kind friends from Thunderbolt Tea!

For more info on Darjeeling Tea and Benoy, go to: www.thunderbolttea.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/darjeelingtea  Thunderbolt Tea is also on Facebook!
Benoy’s Blog: www.darjeelingcuppa.com

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Finally, I can put my anticipation to rest! This weekend, my husband and I had the pleasure in having tea at Remedy Teas. An organic loose leaf tea and cafe shop. Located in Seattle Washington. In the notoriously fun neighborhood, Capital Hill. This certainly was not your cookie cutter Starbucks! As I walked through the door the first thing I caught was the warm exotic scents from all 150 teas. They were lined up along the back of the cafe's wall. Each having their own number. The cafe was full of young, and old, hip and stylish people. Some working on their laptops, others catching up on the day. The walls were painted a light lime green which gave me the sense of peace and calm. White Lilies were perched in science beakers among all things, while large white globed lights draped the ceiling. You could hear lounge music in the background which made you feel like you were about to get away with something. Something good of course! Wooden tables were scattered about the cafe. Each holding a tea light candle and a small open circular tray over it. Just waiting for a pot of tea to be placed down. The cafe was warm and inviting, yet lively and awake. As we walked in we were immediately greeted with smiles and a long list of teas to choose from. My husband, being the funny guy he is, chose #106 (Banana Split Rooibos) It read, "What monkeys dream of when they're sleeping. Rooibos has gone bananas with hints of cocoa brewing a tea reminiscent of a sundae in a cup. Treat yourself to this blend of rooibos, banana pieces, vanilla and cocoa bits." It really did taste like a banana split! As for me, I had to try #57 (Purple Indo Oolong) It read, "This heavily oxidized oolong from Sumatra Indonesia will get nothing but ooohs and ahhhs from any oolong lover. A very unique oolong that is 99% oxidized producing a cinnamon-hinted rich brew and dark purple infusion." I did oooh an ahhh and there was a purple hue to the tea! This oolong was great and it was like no other oolong I had ever tasted before. Along with our tea pots that were carefully placed over the tea light candle came a self timer. The gal who served us our tea told us each how long we should steep our tea and we could use a timer for help. That was a new one for me! Having tea brought to you with a timer. It just shows how this tea cafe respects all the different needs a tea might have. At this point my husband and I were both very impressed with Remedy Teas and having a ton of fun at the same time! OK, so we had our wonderful teas, now all we needed was a little food. We ordered the three tiered "high tea" serving platter. The presentations was gorgeous! Started with a whole wheat sesame pesto cream cheese sandwich. Next, was an organic multi grain berry scone to die for! Kiwi, grapes, and sliced oranges adorned everything. The top tier was the best! An assortment of homemade cookies made by a local baker. The "tea" experience was complete!

I want to thank Chris Arnold, owner of Remedy Teas for being so gracious and for allowing me to take so many pictures! I highly recommend stopping by Remedy Teas. You will only want to go back for more and more and  more! I still need to try the Champagne Matcha Mojito!

For complete information on Remedy Teas, you can go to www.remedyteas.com or PH 206-920-8629

Peace~TeaBoat

Now here is a fun and personal gift to give your tea fanatic! Nothing says “I love you” or “I know you’re kooky for tea” more than Tea Pot Sugar Cookies! A must bring to any Mad Hatter Tea Party!

4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring (I like almond myself)
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture.  Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.
Chill for 1 to 2 hours

Roll to desired thickness and cut into Tea Pot shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350
degrees for 6 to 8 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. This recipe
can make up to 4-dozen 3” cookies.

NOTE: I use powdered sugar to dust the cutting board, not flour. Make sure you let your oven preheat for at least 1/2 hour before baking these or any other cookies. Cookie cutters were purchased at The Perennial Tea Room. perennialtearoom.com (Seattle)

Enjoy ~TeaBoat

Finally, an ice tea that doesn’t need any sugar! This recipe was inspired by a spring day in Seattle. Sure, I could have jumped into the convertible and dragged out the shorts. But oh no, I'd rather create ice tea madness! And when you taste this tea, you too will think it is madness that a tea could taste so good!

2 Bags White Pomegranate Tea (Trader Joe’s)

2 Bags Blackberry Tea (Trader Joe’s)

2 Bags Peppermint Tea (Stash)

Boil enough water to fill a gallon size pitcher. Place tea into pitcher, pour hot water over bags and let sit for 1/2 hour. Place fresh tea into the cooler and wait until cold. Approximately 2-3 hours. Garnish with lemon and strawberries. This truly is a wonderful tea on a warm spring day.

Enjoy!