Tea of the Week for January 18, 2021!
I created this tea in honor of a neighbor I had many years ago (many more years than I care to admit to!) who would make these amazing little cookies that went well with tea – they were a thumbprint shortbread cookie that were filled with a date nut mixture. These little morsels were delightful!
The cookie was a nutty shortbread with a hint of ginger & the filling was made with dates, nuts, orange & a kiss of cinnamon. She would bake them at least once a month & she would always bring me a plate of them. I think if there were more people out there like Sharon – this world would be a much better place.
So I created this blend with Sharon & her amazing little cookies in mind. The base is a blend of naturally caffeine-free Honeybush & Rooibos. To this, I added some date & nut essence (don’t worry, this blend is nut free!) & some dried orange wedges & a little cinnamon and ginger. I even added a little bit of date sugar to this (not a lot, but be sure to shake the pouch before you measure it out to make sure you get those mixed into your measurement). Finally, I added some pretty petals – calendula, amaranth & cornflower – for a little bit of color.
This is a really lovely blend that reminds me a lot of those cookies that Sharon used to make. It’s not only delicious, it’s also organic, VEGAN, gluten free, allergen free & naturally caffeine free – so you can enjoy this any time of the day or night without concern that it will keep you up later than you want to be awake!
organic ingredients: honeybush, rooibos, oranges, cinnamon, ginger, date sugar, petals (calendula, amaranth & cornflower) & natural flavors
I’m loving the way this one turned out! The honeybush & rooibos together offer a nice base that is nutty & honey-like & these flavors work well with the flavors I used in the blend. The date/nut flavor is sweet & yummy – it is accented nicely with the orange, ginger & cinnamon.
This isn’t meant to taste specifically like “cookies” but is inspired by delicious cookie memories of my former neighbor & this blend really takes me back to those Saturday afternoons when she would knock on my door & hand me a platter of those cookies. I’d brew up some tea & indulge in a cookie or two – so good! This tea definitely reminds me of one of my favorite tea time memories!
I didn’t use a lot of date sugar in this – just enough to add a little bit of sweetness to the cup & hopefully accentuate the date-y flavors just a little. After a previous experience with using dates in blends, I thought I’d try date sugar instead – I don’t know whether I prefer dates or date sugar – to be honest – but as far as the blending process goes, I definitely prefer using date sugar – it’s much easier to sprinkle in some date sugar versus mincing sticky dates and mixing them into tea leaves. (Messy!)