Summer iced tea!

First post in the new house! Yay!

So I made an iced tea concoction, and have been adding it to everything, including drinking it plain. All of them were great.







It was amazing to mix with Okanagan Peach Cider (yay booze and fizz!), to mix with water (perfectly flavored water, with no added sugar!).

Not to mention it smelled amazing! I'll be doing more specific ones on each of the teas involved, so no worries!

 -L

Liebster Award

So, we were nominated for this award by one of our longtime readers, John B. He writes Tea in the Ancient World, go read it. I know this took along time but I, Laura, forgot all about it. I even forgot to tell Kayla because I DID AN OOPS.

This award is for new blogs with less than 200 followers. Mainly, it looks like a team building, blog sharing, tool for world domination through tea drinkers.

So, we'll both answer the questions  (some of our answers may be the same)and then make some for others! And because John wrote out the background, check his blog for the links to that!

Questions for Nominees: 

1. What is it about your blog subject that is so compelling?
   Laura: Us, by far, our stunning personalities make everything better.
   Kayla: I would have to agree with Laura. We aren't very technical and we just let our thoughts flow.
2. Favourite tea?
   Laura: Oolongs or Rooibos. Oolongs mainly on their second steep, and rooibos because they are yummy and such.
   Kayla: I love oolongs. Milk oolong is probably my favourite. Oh, and black jasmine pearls are my other go-to.
3. What's the furthest from 'home' you've ever travelled? 
   Laura: Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands
   Kayla: Hawaii and the Dominican Republic
4. What's one thing Thailand is famous for, other than food?
   Kayla: I don't know much about Thailand... but my guess is... tea? haha
   Laura: Thai massage?
5. Guess your bench press
   Kayla: I have a bad rotator cuff and intercostal muscle issues and carpal tunnel (I'm a hot mess)... I DO NOT bench press.
   Laura: Well, considering my left rotator cuff is buggered, I'm going to say "not much".
6. Do you believe in ghosts?
   Kayla: Yes... but not the kind of crap where those asshats on tv claim to be hunting ghosts.
   Laura: Basically what Kayla said. Ghosts, yes. Paranormal activities/ghost hunting shit? Uh no.
7. Are people still evolving?
   Laura: Science says yes. I'm going with science.
   Kayla: The biology of all life is ever-changing.
8. Why can't astrologers detect dark matter?
   Kayla: I'm not Neil deGrasse Tyson! Or a scientist of any kind, for that matter... go ask a scientist!
   Laura: Dammit Jim! I'm a massage therapist/tea blogger not a astrophysicist!
9. What historical person would you visit?
   Kayla: This is too hard... Oscar Wilde would be fun to have tea with, I suppose... Probably Jane Austen, though.
   Laura: Charlotte Bronte to discuss Jane Eyre with. 
10. What is one thing you do that almost no one else can do?
    Kayla: There is nothing that I can do that someone else somewhere in the world can not do better than I; that's life, not cynicism. Of people I know personally...? I'm good at writing fiction? Or, if we are being philosophical or some shit... BEING ME!! ;D
    Laura: My friends think I'm hilarious, everyone else (including family) does not see my comical merit. Except, I only manage to be funny when not trying to be. Humor on purpose doesn't suit me.
11. What did Buddha teach?
    Kayla: I am not familiar with Buddhism. Religion of any kind just isn't my bag...of tea HAHA- okay I'm done.
    Laura: Sorry bro, I have only a vague and probably stereotypical idea.

Now for OUR AMAZING QUESTIONS!

1. NONE
2. BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN HERE FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS
3. HAHA
4. #LauraIsLazyAsShitBro

Gold Rush

Ingredients: Organic: mulberries, coconut, white Silver Needle tea. With natural and organic flavouring

My brother has been trying to get me to try this tea for at least a year now. I haven't because 1. It has coconut, I am so sick a DT teas with coconut, and 2. It isn't very cheap

So, he gave me enough to make myself a cup so I could see why he likes it so much.


I am pleasantly surprised.

While I have never tried a mulberry before and never really heard anything about them besides that silly ice-cream truck song... I could not believe that they taste like!
Caramel!

This fruit and coconut tea tastes like a light and creamy caramel.
It's the weirdest thing... but I actually really enjoyed drinking this tea.
It's delicious! And organic!
Plus, it's a DT staple, so I don't see it going away any time soon.

I would recommend everyone give this tea a chance. Unless you're allergic to coconut, that is....



Happy Steeping,

~K

Bear Valley Rescue: Abby

Abby Jan 23/15

Abby is a pretty little lady! And I do mean fairly little. She only measures 14 hands! (That's about 4.7 feet at the shoulders). She's not that old either, only about 11!
Even though she was rescued from a hoarding situation in 2008, she's friendly. She came to the rescue pregnant! Her baby, River, was a little mule.

She also is missing the tips of her ears, we believe that that happened because of frostbite.

She currently has no one sponsoring her.



Contact Bear Valley!

Facebook
Twitter
Website
Linkedin
Donation (cheque, money order, paypal, and ATB cares

payment methods all available!)
You can also sponsor a horse monthly or through one time donations!
Charity Focus

Bear Valley Rescue: Phoebe

Phoebe is a grey mare who is about 10 years old this year! She came to Bear Valley as part of a 2010 SPCA seizure of 26 horses. When this pretty little Arab came in, she was pregnant but sadly, in February 2011 she lost her foal.
She can be quite nervous, so while she is halter-broke, she is not foot-broke (which means).
A few years ago, in 2012, she hurt her eye, but the vision was able to be saved thanks to treatment.

Bear Valley Feature Horse: Ghost

This is Ghost in 2005. Such a beauty!
Note, she is not pregnant

Ghost is a horse near and dear to my heart. I sponsor her as much as possible (I sadly can't do a monthly sponsor due to finances). The first time I saw her, it was love. Seeing her before and after pictures, and her story just solidified it.

Ghost is about 15 years old (which isn't all that old for a horse! They can live until over 30!). She was originally rescued in 2005 from a feedlot (yes, horses are sold for slaughter in Alberta. For meat. Meat to be sold to eat in other countries. It is not legal to sell horse meat in Canada to Canadians), and then two years later she was adopted. You may be wondering, why, if she was adopted out 8 years ago is she back with Bear Valley now?

This is Ghost January 2015. She's pregnant.

Assholes. That's why.

She was sold by her adoptive owner, and she has, in her relatively short life, passed hands SEVEN TIMES, and, since being adopted out, been bred multiple times. Let me fill you in on some of Bear Valley's adoption rules.

Unless written consent is given by Bear Valley Rescue, mares are adopted or fostered on the condition that they not be bred. Colts are released on the condition they must be gelded as soon as possible and not be used for breeding. 

Please note that if ownership of the horse is transferred, these conditions must follow the horse to its new home.

Horses adopted or fostered from Bear Valley Rescue are released on the condition that they never be sold at auction or for slaughter.

Bear Valley also is always open to taking back a horse they adopted out, if it's adoptive owners can no longer care for it properly anymore.

She was bred without permission, the conditions of ownership managed to be ignored. Currently, she is going to remain a permanent residence of the rescue. 

She is currently expecting a foal, probably sometime in April 2015. 

Bear Valley Contact Information:

Facebook
Twitter
Website
Linkedin
Donation (cheque, money order, paypal, and ATB cares  payment methods all available!)
You can also sponsor a horse monthly or through one time donations!
Charity Focus

Hot Lips

Okay, if you like cinnamon hearts, you will like Hot Lips from DavidsTea (I can't find it on the site, but I don't think it's been discontinued). To be fair, its description did basically say those very words.

I hate cinnamon hearts. They don't taste like cinnamon, they just taste a mixture of sweet and hot sauce to me. Which, is basically what this tea tasted like to me. Because I hate cinnamon hearts and it tastes like cinnamon heart flavored green tea.

This is hate-speech pure and simple. I can't even say ignorant hate speech because it warned me, for once the DavidsTea description was 100% bang on target.

I soothed my tea hankering with a special concoction I made, which is going to be next weeks review!

-L

Bear Valley Feature Horse: Beth

*WARNING. PICTURES OF AN EMACIATED HORSE BELOW*

Picture 1: Beth July 

Bethie's life story has not been an easy one. Even when she came to the rescue on July 9th, 2014, she was in horrible shape and her prognosis was pretty grim. When she came to the shelter, she had a body conditioning score of about one.
She had had a halter left on her, probably from when she was a weanling, and it grew into her face, leaving a big dent in her nose and turning the hair on her head white in a halter pattern on her face.  

Picture 2: October 22nd

She had also had some sort of injury, perhaps from being hit by a car, to her hips, causing either a fracture or muscle tear.  She was emaciated and had sores, most likely from struggling to stand. A horse who cannot stand is often a horse that doesn't survive. This was the first clue to how much of a survivor she would end up becoming.
She has grown stronger every day, and always maintained a sweet and gentle temperament. She is currently now able to be outside with the senior horses, can get up on her own! It will be a long road before she is recovered, but we believe, I believe, she can and will do it. 

Here is her progress photo album!

Jan 23rd

Contact information for Bear Valley:

Facebook

Twitter
Website
Linkedin
Donation (cheque, money order, paypal, and ATB cares  payment methods all available!)
You can also sponsor a horse monthly or through one time donations!
Charity Focus

Bear Valley Rescue!

I've started to volunteer with Bear Valley Horse Rescue!

I'm going to start making posts on Wednesday's having a feature animal, some progress reports, donation information, contact information, etc.

About The Rescue

"Bear Valley Rescue was founded in 2004, and we registered federally as a charity in January of 2005.

Back in 2002 or 2003, I was reading the novel 'The Grave Maurice' by one of my favourite authors, Martha Grimes.  It's a murder mystery, but part of the plot involves a pmu (pregnant mare urine) farm.  I'd never heard of 'pmu' before and started researching it.  Finding out about all the foals being born each year to pmu mares, with no future but slaughter ahead of them, started me thinking: If only people knew about these horses...!  From there we learned about horse auctions and horse feedlots. On our first trip to a feedlot, we went with our 2 horse trailer and came away with 12 horses (no, they didn't all fit in our trailer - the feedlot owner delivered them for us for free!).  Then we started buying pmu mares (all pregnant, of course) that were being culled, and had the privilege of meeting Jennifer Kunz through pmuFoalQuest (she is now the manager of Duchess Sanctuary in Oregon).  The rest, as they say, is history.  The Rescue has taken on a life of its own, and we now have well over 100 horses in our care, along with other residents such as rabbits, chickens, pigs, goats, and cows."

I hope that these guys capture your heart like they've captured mine!

Here's all of their contact information!

Facebook
Twitter
Website
Linkedin
Donation (cheque, money order, paypal, and ATB cares  payment methods all available!)
You can also sponsor a horse for $50/month!
Charity Focus

Many thanks!

Laura

Egg Nog Tea

Ingredients: Green rooibos, white chocolate chips, meringue powder, natural and artificial flavouring
 Contains: Milk, eggs, and soy.


First, my apologies for this being late, especially after my holiday hiatus.

I tried this tea for the first time at my best friend's house just before Christmas. She made it as a latte with eggnog, and it was pretty fantastic. Well, now I am trying it without anything added.
Unfortunately, I have left this a little late and this tea is nearly GONE. But! If you are feeling ballsy, or just have some disposable income, they are selling 250g for 40% off online, and I'm sure the DavidsTea stores may still have it in stock.


I steeped until the chocolate was melted, stirring twice during the process.
This tea smells excellent. Well, if you are a fan of eggnog, and if you know me, well! I LOVE eggnog.

It looks positively unappetising, with a strange, murky orange sort of colouring, but don't let that throw you off. It's simply the chocolate giving it that dirty-water sort of look.

High in spices, I can't say that I really tastes the chocolate (which there was a generous helping of), and it reminds me more of a weak chai that has had the smallest wisp of milk added to it.

It really isn't a terrible flavour at all, but I definitely prefer it as a latte. It certainly tastes like it was meant to be made with generous helpings of either milk or eggnog. In which case, I would recommend going about 50-50 or 25-75 in favour of milk product, and brewing the tea really strong.

I would have to say this one is up in the air for me.
It's an interesting treat around the holidays, and really great for those who can't have eggnog or find it too rich.



I hope that everyone had a lovely holiday.

Happy Steeping, and keep warm.

~K

Kenyan Tinderet

Black tea from the Tinderet Estate in Kenya. 


This is a very strange looking tea. Like tinny little balls that resemble bird seed - Yoshi certainly seemed to think so.

DavidsTea recommended 4-7 minutes for steeping. I had to stop at three minutes because it was looking incredibly dark and I really did not want something too strong.

This is a very robust tea. Take it slow on the steeping, I would recommend even starting with one minute. It reminds me of orange pekoe, if it had been steeped for about ten minutes. There is a very slight hint of honey, but it is by no means sweet. Incredibly earthy.

If you want a kick in the ass of caffeine from your tea, this is definitely something to give a try.

I really don't think that this tea is for me, it is just too strong, but some people may really be in to that.



Happy Steeping,

~K

Pom Springs

Ingredients: Apple, apple pomace, beet root, rosehip shells, green tea, hibiscus, sweet blackberry leaves, rhubarb, pomegranate pits, natural flavouring.


On my brother's advice, I decided to try this iced, as he informed me that it is way better this way. And that I should make it pretty strong. So I have done both.

I used two spoons in 20 oz of water and steeped for about 4 minutes. It has same incredible colour, and kind of looks like Koolaid.

I am not sure what I was expecting to taste, but I was pretty confused on my first few gulps. I couldn't put my finger on what it was supposed to taste like... Then I got it. Bubblegum. No joke, it tastes like Chiclets! Those little colourful Halloween gums in packs of two that you chew for two minutes before all the flavour is gone? Yeah, this is the tea form of that amazing childhood flavour.
If you really sit on it, you can really taste the pomegranate and apple, but my mind always falls back on Chiclets

Kids would go NUTS over this one! And you very well could, too! I think I would prefer it mixed with gingerale to make it a tea-pop, but it is still pretty interesting.


I definitely recommend giving this a try, even if you just order one iced from a DavidsTea store. It is an incredibly interesting flavour.


Happy Steeping,

~K

Pineapple Oolong

pineapple oolong from DavidsTea

Ingredients: Tie Kwan Yin oolong, pineapple, apricot, and natural flavouring


Honestly, I thought that this tea was going to suck. (pretty sure that's why Laura gave me her sample of it - so she didn't have to try it... the fiend!)

This tea really surprised me.
Now, it's nothing to get me jumping up and down and screaming to the heavens like milk oolong, or raspberry oolong (if we are sticking with a fruity oolong theme), but I actually liked this tea. It's unique, and if you love pineapple, DEFINITELY don't skip buy this one.

You get a perfectly even balance of everything... if you add a pinch more Tie Kwan Yin like I did. LOOK at that sample I got. There was practically NO tea, so I used some of my plain Tie Kwan Yin and added a couple leaves. Is that cheating? I would imagine that if you got a couple grams from the store you wouldn't get so shafted on the tea - so I did not cheat. I didn't.  ... maybe a little... I made it FAIR!

But I digress... the apricot smooths out the pineapple, removing all acidity, and the tea is still the major contributor. Like I said, I am very impressed. Give this a try, you may be just as impressed as I was. And it is priced around the same range as the average tea in DT's collection.


Happy Steeping,
~K


It's like a tropical adventure!

Caramel Corn

Caramel Corn from DavidsTea

Ingredients: apple, pineapple, caramel (milk, sugar, glucose syrup, butterfat, sorbitol, tara powder), currants (currants, vegetable oil), almonds, beetroot, coconut, popcorn, natural and artificial flavouring.
Warning: contains nuts, dairy, and coconut.


In lieu of recent sad events, I figured I could use a cheerful, crazy tea; it seems only fitting.

The ingredients in this tea are complete madness! Madness that smells like complete deliciousness!! Wow.
It does make me think of caramel-assaulted popcorn. Even if I did not get any pieces of popcorn
inside of my sample. Actually, considering the lengthy list of ingredients, I have a feeling that I may not be getting the real nature of this tea considering how plain everything looks.

I steeped for the full seven minutes suggested, and I was a little bit disappointed by the colour. It looks very pale, I was expecting to taste water that someone dropped a Wherthers in to. I wasn't completely wrong, it is very weak. You just don't get enough in a sample.

But, if you actually got a full perfect spoonful, I think this would be a really delightful, sugar-y tea.
You get a lot of apple flavour, so maybe it would have been more apt to call it Caramel Apple. It really does taste similar to the way that it smells.

Wrapping this up; it is definitely worth giving a try if you are a fan of caramel. I think I might actually buy some. I really enjoy the combination of apple and caramel.


Happy Steeping,
~K

Butterfly Jasmine

Butterfly Jasmine from DT

Ingredients: Chinese green tea from Fujian Province, scented with Jasmine blossoms

So exciting!!!

I have been wanted to try this tea for quite some time.
What was stopping me? It is the most expensive tea that DavidsTea sells! Twenty dollars for fifty grams! 
What finally got me to buy some? The fact that I didn't have to buy it! I used my DT frequent steeper points and got 50 grams for free! (I used the other 50 grams of free tea I had saved the points up for and got more Quangzhou milk oolong)

 Not going to lie, I had my nose inside of the bag the entire drive home from the mall. I think I told Chris "This is the best smelling tea ever" about fifty times within those ten minutes. This tea makes Dragon Pearls jasmine smell like afalfa.

I steeped these gorgeously wrapped leaves for four minutes my plain old ceramic pot. 
Everything smells amazing!

It tastes exactly the way that it smells. 
This is the smoothest, creamiest jasmine I have ever had. It is beautiful. The floral accents are at the perfect level and there isn't a hint of bitterness. I'm sure that the second cups worth that is still in the pot may be a little too strong by the time that I get to it, but it won't be long. I am powering through this absolutely perfect cup I have right now.

I was wrong. Even with the second half of the pot sitting for fourty five minutes, it is not at all bitter or overpowering; just stronger and still delicious and perfect!
Holy shit, this tea is magical!

Beautiful. 
Everyone should treat themselves to this tea at some point in their lives.
I am in LOVE.

Best tea?
I might just have to say YES.


Happy euphoric steeping,

~K



Update:
Yoshi loves it so much he is trying bathe himself in it!

Huckleberry Tea

My mom got this tea for me when she was in Coeur d'Alene on a mini-vacation.

I loved Coeur d'Alene before, but now that I know you can get this tea from there. I love it even more!

They literally used natural huckleberry oils for flavor, and just black tea. Like it's amazingly simple, but it's also amazingly amazing. You can taste the black tea, but it is a very yummy, very laid back flavor. It allows the berry to shine, and they very much so compliment each other. I've definitely had some other flavored black teas where you drink and the tea and other flavor(s) and just there together, instead of actively working together to make your mouth happy.

I don't really have any pictures because I'm a tool and forgot to take pictures until I was done. And I only have 18 bags left so I'm not wasting any!

I can't wait to make this as an ICED TEA though. I'm making it for this upcoming weekend. I'm going to a cabin and horse riding and woooo.

But seriously. Drink it. You won't regret it. I'd buy it just to SMELL it!

-L

I've been slacking with my reviews I promise I'll try to do better

Birthday Cake

So, my birthday was on the 19th. I'm now 23! Go me! I promise I'm a real adult. I DO MY OWN TAXES, GOD DAMNIT.

And because all birthdays need birthday cake, I decided to up the anti and have not only cake flavored cookies from my lovely tea sister, but a TEA that is all about the birthday cake.

It's my birthday, I make the rules now!

Birthday Cake tea from DavidsTea.

So this tea is much more cake scented than flavored. It tastes basically like a sweet rooibos tea. Which isn't a bad thing at all. I enjoy the tea.
But, I don't have it often because the smell can be overwhelming when made in my than a cup. If I make a pot, then I tend to be overpowered by cake-tea smell!

THIS REVIEW IS SHORT BECAUSE MY BIRTHDAY.

-L

Oh Canada!

See how interesting Canada is in one stock photo

The amazingly evil kitchen renos are done. Finally. Three months of being miserable, over. Three months of not being able to drink my favorite teas whenever I wanted, over. Being able to eat well and do what I want...I could cry!  (this was the only part I pre-typed and now I regret it because the renos still aren't done)

What a perfect thing to have for Canada Day! Not to mention, this was NOT scheduled ahead of time. Hell yeah. YESSSS. But, I did plan to do this tea on this day months ago. (I mean, I did it on the 27th because I have long weekend stuff to do. Sue me.)

What is this tea you ask? Oh Canada! by DavidsTea. I also have some Maple Flavored Agave Nectar, also from DavidsTea, just in case it's not quite Canadian enough!
I've only tried this once before, and it was along time ago in a baby sample. So now I need to perfect it. Because IT'S CANADA DAY.

Let's get a move on with the review!

So, it's an okay tea. Which is disappointing because Canada is awesome and it could have been just more. I just found that, even with some maple agave (which taste just like maple syrup), it was kinda boring. By itself, the tea didn't even taste super maple-y or toffee-ish. Just kinda...flat.


I dunno, maybe I'm being too picky, but they could have literally done so much more. Like a maple, apple (can anyone say Okanagan Valley?), caramel, mate with some honeybush (and the maple candy)! That is the one I'd gun for. You know what, I may try to make that one day. Maybe next Canada Day I'll make a tea like that.

It's good but not great. I'm not buying more because I'd rather spend my money on something else.



Happy Canada Day!

-L

June 27th

Jessie's Tea

Notice it looks different than the website

Let me start out with what I did to brew this tea. I feel kinda gross so this is going to be short and sweet.

Jessie's tea by DavidsTea

I used one scoop using David's Perfect Spoon. I set it to the "herbal" setting on my kettle (200F), steeped it for like...5 minutes, then let it sit for a few minutes under Stanley the tea cozy

More fucking coconut. DavidsTea, please calm your shit with the coconut.

This tea is okay. Just okay. It smells kinda funny. The mix of lavender and rooibos AND the coconut just smells funny. Not a BAD funny...just funny.

I dunno, it also tastes how it smells.

I don't like it enough to buy any more, but I do like it enough to have a glass.

Now, to wait for the renos to be over to make a good cuppa,

-L

The Last of Us: Mixing of Obsessions Part 2

On my first steep, I used once scoop with my David's Perfect Spoon and steeped it for about 5 minutes. There honestly isn't much of a smell to this tea, and it doesn't taste bad. A little herby, but not savory or sweet. So, for a tea made for healing instead of flavor, I'd say that's pretty ace. BUT if you steep it too long it becomes bitter and completely undrinkable.

Now, for the true test, out of all my steeps did it work for what the ingredients are supposed to do...

The answer is a resounding, kind of. Since there were no steeping instructions, I can't be sure I was even doing it correctly.

I did have a decrease in pain by about two points when I had it. (5/10 down to a 3/10 etc) But nothing super spectacular that made this worth using when we have access to pain killers.

BUT in the world of The Last of Us, steeping this on a cold night, when you're bruised and sore and have nothing else to soothe it, a tea like this would be awesome and incredibly helpful!

In the end, this is perfect for the apocalypse if you are in the North Eastern USA or Iceland!

Oh yeah, and here is the video I promised you.

 

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No, seriously,
We DO NOT take responsibility for any possible consequences from any use of the information provided by this information, or information contained in this blog. The post of this information does NOT constitute the practice of medicine or replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider(s). Please seek the advice from your doctors.