Yearly Archives: 2014

Giveaway: MarketSpice

For Today’s Tuesday Tea, I have a great giveaway, brought to you by the wonderful folks at MarketSpice in Washington state.

A little bit about MarketSpice:

  • The history of MarketSpice can be traced back to a small tea and spice shop established in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market in 1911, where they are still located. (How did I miss them during my Seattle trip?)
  • They offer nearly 200 teas, continually developing new blends which are made daily in small batches.
  • MarketSpice Cinnamon Orange Tea is their “Signature” blend of black tea with spices and flavorings, though it also comes in different tea bases now.
  • In addition to teas, MarketSpice has a large assortment of spices as well as their own candle line, honeys, cookies, hot chocolate blends, chocolates, drink mixes, sauces, and mints.

I’ve also received some great looking teas from them to taste and share with you. Unfortunately I’ve only had the chance to try one so far (Knockout Tea), but it was quite delicious! I’ll be sure to report back with my thoughts on all of them, including: Winter Spice, Sunset in Seattle, White Chocolate Mocha, Market Chai, Knockout, Jamaican Fruit, Pike Place Market Anniversary, Egg Nog, Emerald Surprise, and Jingle Bell.

In order to enter to win this spice-tastic gift basket, please check out the widget below.

At the least, please visit MarketSpice and leave a comment here as to what you would pick up at their market if you were transported to Seattle.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Persimmon Tree® Tea Company: White Guava

Dry Leaves
Ready for Drinking
Brewing

Tasting Notes

The first smell I get when about to sip this tea reminds me of trail mix with dried, juicy fruit. The taste itself is more mild and clean. The taste opens with guava and then leads into the white peony. The aftertaste is a mix of strawberry and guava bouncing back and forth and finishing with strawberry.

Flavors: Guava, Strawberry

Description

White Guava tea brews a light infusion with a beautiful, rich scent and a delicate tropical flavor. It comprises an exotic blend of white peony loose-leaf tea leaves, strawberries, ginger, and natural flavors, and as with all of our white teas, White Guava tea prepares nicely both hot and iced.

Available through The Persimmon Tree Tea Company | Facebook

Disclaimer: I was given these teas by The Persimmon Tree to review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Single Origin Teas: Candied Chestnut

Dry Leaves
Brewed Tea
Wet Leaves

Tasting Notes

The dry leaves smell of rum and sugared nuts (think of those roasted nut stands in Asia).

The smell of the brewed tea is of roasted nuts and smokiness with a hit of sweetness at the end. The liquor is a light amber. The sip starts buttery and sweet and finishes with a woodsy smoke reminiscent of tobacco. The finish is brought back to an earthy sweetness.

I enjoy this tea and its complexity. It is great as an “oolong” because black tea would be too astringent (it is a black tea made in an oolong style). This tea borders on being almost too astringent, but it pulls itself back from the edge with the sweetness and smokiness. From the leaf I thought it would be much sweeter, but it is actually quite well balanced. I could see this becoming more indulgent with sugar and cream, but I like it just the way it is.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Brown Sugar, Chestnut, Earth, Rum, Tobacco

Description

Candied Chestnut is one of our holiday teas! Made with candied chestnut pieces on a black tea base, this sweet tea is perfect for the season (or any time of the year). Made using marron glace pieces, French chestnuts that undergo a candying process, our Candied Chestnut tea is one of a kind.

This Chinese black tea is made in an oolong style. The tea brings out a delicious nutty taste many people associate with an oolong (despite the fact that this tea was fully oxidized)!

Available through Single Origin Teas (Limited Edition).

Packaging

Disclaimer: This tea was sent to me by Single Origin Teas. All notes & opinions are my own.

Banoffee Danger Pie

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Banoffee Pie is one of my favorite desserts. It’s a simple combination of bananas and toffee that together taste, as a whole, more than their parts. I’ve only seen a few banoffee “in the wild”, and whenever I see it I snatch it up.

That’s why when I was browsing Christie’s site “A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures” for this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I knew I had to make the Bannoffee Danger Pie. Not only do I get to eat one of my favorite desserts, but I also get to learn how to make it. Calling it a recipe is a bit of a misnomer. I took some shortcuts and what follows below is more similar to assembly instructions.

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Wondering why it’s called “Danger Pie?” From the source:

Why “danger”? Glad you asked. Danger is this pies middle name not only because is it tasty and calorically sinful but its also incredibly easy to make! A dangerous combination. If you are on a diet, avert your eyes.

You would think pouring a whole jar of caramel into a pie would make it far too sweet, but this is a case of “sum of its parts is greater than it whole.” The bananas and cream cut the caramel to the perfect level of richness.

I attempted to make a non-dairy whipped cream topping using coconut cream and it worked perfectly – except I let it continue to whip while I poured the caramel and it separated. I left half of the pie plain for my friends and family that are dairy sensitive. I also baked up a few of these as mini-pies and they were irresistible.

Head on over to A Kitchen Hoor to see what else she has, including: Emeril-famous Sweet Potato Skins, Creamy Jambalaya Pasta, Vanilla Cupcakes with Blackberry Curd, and Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies.
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Quick & Healthy Energy Bites

These energy bites are super easy to whip up and are ready in about five minutes. I always have oats on hand and whenever I’m in the mood for something sweet but not too bad for you, we make these tasty “balls”.

The flax seed adds a great roasty toasty flavor, especially if you grind your own from flax seeds. If you don’t have peanut butter, you can substitute it with any other nut butter. Sometimes I like to throw in a tablespoon or two of spiced speculoos cookie butter too. Because I can’t leave anything *too* healthy.