Tea, anyone?

[buscardelalma]

Hi JenW Just wanted to put my 2cents if you like chai tea I recommend Yogi's Redbush organic Chai tea is is yummy Caffine-free to I believe. add a lil sweetner and milk and it's perfection edit to add I believe you can find in the 'organic' section of most grocery stores.

[zeebs]

Man alive, coming from the country famous for loving tea drinking, I'm reading this thread in awe because we don't have *anything* like that here. Yes, we've got shelves of the famous black teas - darjeeling, english breakfast (of course), earl grey, assam, but anything more exotic than that is hard to find in the UK, even mail order. I only know of about two companies.

We've got chamomile, peppermint and occasionally you might find Twinings teas in a couple other herbal flavours like fennel, or a multi pack of fruity ones. That's it. well, maybe one kind of green tea although that still tastes to me like yesterday's brussels sprouts were boiled in it.

You Americans don't know how blessed you are with the vast amount of things you have available to you.

Actually...Europeans don't know how blessed you are with the historic buildings and general lack of unsightly corporatized shopping centers and strip malls in your cities and towns...

But you're right... we do have more choices here in terms of what to consume. The "melting pot" is pretty great like that.

[zeebs]

I suppose it's a bit like chocolate. American chocolate like Hershy (sp?), not that I've ever had any, reputedly has about 10% cocoa in it. British stuff has 25%-40%. Nip over to Belgium and they have endorphin-fests with 70% + pure cocoa.

Aye, when ye need the good stuff, nothing else will do the job.

Would you believe that I won't eat American chocolate unless it's the gourmet kind? It's mostly made of wax, and I find it atrocious, plus I refuse to eat corn syrup or any of that other corn-based additive stuff.

So... if anybody with access to "real" chocolate... you know, the kind made with cocoa, milk, and sugar, and *that's it*... wants to work out some kind of trade for American stuff... let me know.

[zeebs]

or else it was some crazy concoction involving Tang (a really sweet orange drink mix),

Jen, this is totally OT, but I have to tell you about Tangchos. DH knew a guy in school who would make nachos in the microwave, basically corn chips plus shredded cheese, and dust them with Tang powder. Tangchos.

Also, one of my college acquaintances taught me how to make Tang Pie. She wouldn't reveal her secret ingredient to anybody who wasn't from the Midwest until after they'd tasted it and tried to guess what it was. A lot of people guessed orange sherbet. That's pretty much what it tastes like.
http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/157780/tang-pie

Sorry about the OT (plus this is like my third one in a row).

Honeybush Chocolate sounds delicious!!

[la_canadiense(01)]

Cupcake, I am surprised you can't find a good selection of herbal teas, have you tried Holland & Barretts? They have'nt got an enormous selection but pretty good. At least the ones in Ireland.
Now that I am in Switzerland, there is massive amounts of herbal teas around, whole sections and stores. Amazing. Nothing like that in Ireland as I recall.
I recently got a tropical one with Roobios but I haven't tried it yet. Most of the ones I find are loose so you need a strainer/infuser.

great thread, btw.

[Cupcake]

Holland and Barrett (health supplement chain store) have a good reputation but they're not easy to find in Scotland. There's a tiny one in Inverness, a few hours drive away, literally right next door to the remarkably ugly and pernicious town centre strip mall.

[egerandi]

Would you believe that I won't eat American chocolate unless it's the gourmet kind? It's mostly made of wax, and I find it atrocious, plus I refuse to eat corn syrup or any of that other corn-based additive stuff.

So... if anybody with access to "real" chocolate... you know, the kind made with cocoa, milk, and sugar, and *that's it*... wants to work out some kind of trade for American stuff... let me know.

Ugh, gross, I don't eat it either. My fave used to be Milka and Ritter Sport (being close to Austria when growing up), but now I favor the stuff with 70%+ cocoa, and no fillers.

You could try making your own too: cocoa butter or virgin coconut oil mixed with raw cacao powder and whatever dried fruits and nuts (if any) you like and maybe some sweetener. I got tired of paying $8 for four pieces of gourmet chocolate, hehe.

[JenW]

I thought I would post some pics......the sample bags are in the foreground, and the infuser basket is a stainless steel one I picked up at Crate&Barrel. It fits in all my mugs (although not down into the smaller mugs I have...that one is a jumbo mug from fiestaware.) I like that nothing is plastic on this infuser, and there are no filters to mess with.

P1010302 by JenW70, on Flickr

P1010304 by JenW70, on Flickr

P1010305 by JenW70, on Flickr

[zeebs]

You could try making your own too: cocoa butter or virgin coconut oil mixed with raw cacao powder and whatever dried fruits and nuts (if any) you like and maybe some sweetener. I got tired of paying $8 for four pieces of gourmet chocolate, hehe.

Wow, that is ambitious. Sounds fun!

[zeebs]

Jen, great haul! That looks yummy