ashmanra Send Message

August 31 Sipdown Challenge Prompt – World Distance Learning Day: post a tea fact

———the following tea fact is not medical advice!———

I had a completely different tea fact in mind about “kill green” but recently came across this information and was pretty excited about it!

Because of the cancer medication I took until the side effects got too bad, I had to start getting bone density tests early, as the drug in question can cause bone loss. Usually you see warnings about caffeine and osteoporosis (which I have been diagnosed with) but I recently saw this when I was told to look at caffeine and bone health. It came from an AI overview, so big old grain of salt everyone!

*…moderate tea consumption may be linked with a reduced risk of osteoporosis and a positive effect on bone health. This contradicts earlier concerns that the caffeine intake could cause bone loss. The potential benefits are attributed to tea’s complex composition, particularly its polyphenols and flavonoids.

Tea contains bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and phytoestrogens that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Green tea catechins, especially EGCG, have been shown to increase the activity of osteoblasts. Tea compounds can also inhibit the function of osteoclasts, the cells that breakdown bone tissue.*

——-These internet tea facts do not constitute medical advice!——-

If this interests you, go on a deep dive search and see where it goes! I plan to learn more.

As for the tea, this is one of my favorite Teeccino blends. Served with fresh baked sourdough bread, it made for a comfort supper we really enjoyed.

*August Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a current favorite tea”

Ashman brought the mail in today and said, “You have a package.” I couldn’t remember ordering anything and was so puzzled but I saw the return address and gasped. “It’s from Cameron! What can it be?” Well, tea, obviously, but what tea?

Only one of my favoritest flavored teas ever, that’s what! I gasped again when I saw the tin. The nearly full to the brim tin! Even though it is past the time of day that we usually have caffeine, I made one cup and we split it because I just couldn’t wait.

It is as I remembered – such a lovely tea, dark and flavored with deep honey notes and a tiny hint of cinnamon, and rich with the scent and taste of real oranges. This is so much better to me than the orange/clove/cinnamon Christmas blends!

It still tastes like a holiday in a cup to me, and I was immediately excited that I can include this in our homemade advent calendar this December!

Thank you, CameronB! I am sorry that it wasn’t your cup of tea, but I am so grateful that you thought of me when it was time to rehome it!

August Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a guest favorite

Two neighbors and I have started having little meet ups in our homes on Friday nights, taking turns hostessing. They are both coffee drinkers but like tea, although they haven’t had many types and very little loose leaf.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I served this one as they both take milk and sugar in their coffee, but they both exclaimed that they loved it and it didn’t need anything at all.

This is the first flavored that I found truly arresting. It was about fourteen years ago that I received it in a swap, and I was so struck by it that I told Superanna all about it and bemoaned not having more, and she ordered me my very own for Christmas that year!
Even this batch came from a trip she made to France last year.

This is rich, biscuit-flavored (as in cookie), marzipan, fruit and floral. I have never had poppy on its own so I can’t say that it is true to poppy but others have noted on here that it tastes like poppy candy.

This isn’t candy-like to me, though. I think of it as a very “grown-up” tea, made for sipping with a satisfied sigh as you settle deeper into a comfy oversized chair.

August 24 Sipdown Challenge: Strange Music Day

Sample Sipdown

My strange music tracks (maybe not strange to many of you but definitely strange to Ashman who played bass in a metal band before we met and then went to college for classical guitar! Ha ha!) are Breathing and Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush.

This is a very generous sample from Martin – many thanks! I made a pot to sip on this evening and I have the rest cold steeping in the fridge for tomorrow.

This is one of the best berry flavored tisanes I have had. Sometimes a tisane leaves you wanting but not this one. The color of the steeped tea is almost as dark as many black teas. It is loaded with flavor and the berries are rich and deep. I taste primarily blackcurrant and elderberry. The apple pieces are not contributing tons of apple flavor but perhaps just their sweetness. I would definitely drink this happily any time it is offered.

Sipdown

August Sipdown Prompt – a green oolong

Is it cheating to drink a flavored green? No. I have decided it isn’t.

This is such a lovely tea. It was a Mother’s Day gift from Superanna and I liked it so welk that I bought another pouch immediately. This is that last pouch. It is a definite repurchase for someday when I need to restock teas. Ashman and I both enjoy it.

Be prepared because these leaves SWELL. There is hardly room in the pot for the water on the second steep, so make sure you steep it such that the leaves have plenty of room to expand.

It has lovely light plum flavor and resteeps well so we always make two steeps and combine them. We usually have it hot but we have had it iced and sweet a couple of times this summer and it makes a delicious fruity refresher to go with lunch and just slake a summer thirst.

Sipdown

I don’t like coffee so I thought I was going to dislike this. Instead I find it quite tasty with milk and sugar. Who even am I? This tastes like pure coffee with no bitterness.

I bought several boxes of Teeccino for our dear neighbors and they are head over heels for it. It is fun to share with people and find something they love!

August Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a spicy tea

Sample Sipdown!

I got a bag of this with my last order. This is Harney’s top seller but it is a bit too spicy for me. I used to keep it on hand for guests and I liked the green version over the black version in the past. I decided to cold steep it today to have with supper.

I must confess that it serves a great purpose as a cold tea – it tastes sweetened even though there is no sweetener of any kind. It is still a bit spicier than I like, but I like it better cold than hot in the black tea version. I have sometimes paired it half and half with plain black tea when I drank it hot years ago.

August Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a summer refresher

I am finally remembering to cold steep this!

Lunch today was an Asian-ish style soup. I picked baby eggplant and baby green beans and chives and herbs in the garden and added some frozen corn and fresh diced carrot. All was cooked in chicken broth and ramen style noodles were added. Normally I would have matcha with that sort of thing but I had a fresh, ice-cold steeper full of this and it was perfect with it.

The texture is quite different than when drinking it hot, of course. It is rather creamy hot. But cold, It has lighter body and since the steeper is glass (it is the one sold by Rare Tea Company) it is blissfully cold. After picking the veggies and then cooking and then EATING a hot soup on a hot day, the tea was especially refreshing. Its nutty flavor was excellent to pair with food. It had steeped for two days and was not at all bitter, so I would call it very forgiving.

August Sipdown Challenge Prompt – International Youth Day: drink your newest tea

Not a tea, I know. But it is my newest.

I only purchased it because AliasHali needed to hit free shipping on Vitacost and asked if I needed anything. I remembered they have Teeccino and it happened to be on a buy one, get one 50% off sale but they had to be exactly the same. You couldn’t choose a different flavor. That worked out well, though.

I occasionally give tea and such to my wonderful neighbors. I took a large sample of the loose grind in a jar over to them knowing they have coffee each morning and the husband has another cup – with caffeine – at precisely 9 pm. I thought the wife would like it, and the husband would find it okay. Boy, was I wrong.

They both loved it so much that they were bargaining over the remainder of the sample I had taken them to see who would get it and when, even though I had promised to give them the unopened bag I had at home. Before I went to bed I received a text that the husband was on his second cup. The next morning the wife was eyeing it for a second morning cup and the husband was insisting on saving his portion “in case she doesn’t make it over here today with the new bag”. Needless to say I made it over and let them know that I have ordered an assortment for them to try different flavors, although they vow that nothing can be better than the Vanilla Nut.

I am betting that the wife is going to adore both Hazelnut and Dark Chocolate (which I have never tried) and the husband will love Dark Chocolate and French Roast. We shall see…

Meanwhile – they have tried it plain and loved it (the husband drinks his coffee black, wife with milk and sugar), wife tried it with milk and loved it and said it didn’t need sugar, wife tried it with milk and sugar and said it was like having a cup of hot cocoa, and I sent a picture of our true decadence, milk and sugar with whipped cream and sprinkles.

So you can enjoy it any way, from plain to extra fancy. This morning I made biscuits for AliasHali and had a slightly more restrained mug with milk and sugar, no whip.

Sipdown

August Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a tea with hibiscus or rooibos in it

I think this was our second tin and we will most likely repurchase again in the future. This is lovely hot with no additions, cold and plain, and cold and sweetened. It captures the rich flavor of carrot cake and is refreshing. S&V does a great job with flavored green rooibos.

Great with and without food.