Happy New year to you!

At Christmas, I received several new teas. Most of them I’ve tried and tasted.

Teas, in order from left to right:

Tea in Texas, Loose Leaf Black Tea, Big Tex English Breakfast. This is an average tasting black tea with a slight malt presence.

The Republic of Tea, Mulled Apple Spice Tea. This may be a discontinued brand. I purchased it at a close-out sale shelf at World Market. At The Republic of Tea site there is a Hot Apple Cider tea. The Mulled Apple Spice Tea is like drinking mulled apple cider in a tea bag form. Tasty. I enjoyed this tea drink during the holidays. The ingredients in the Mulled Apple Spice Tea are cinnamon, orange peels, cloves, citric acid, apples, natural apple flavor, allspice, natural orange flavor, stevia and natural cinnamon and rum flavors. The tea drink is flavorful but not a strong-tasting drink. Sometimes a cider or spice tea can be a bit tart or strong. I feel this is a tea that should be drank alone without an additional snack.

Highfield Cottage Tea. Link to Amazon-British Amazon, as I cannot find the tea at the American Amazon site. I cannot find the website for the tea. This is a hard tea to fine online. I’m not sure where my daughter-in-law purchased the tea. I’ve enjoyed drinking the Chai, English Breakfast, and Rose teas. All of these are black teas. I’ve also tried blending a tea in a pot with another tea, Barry’s Gold blend of Tea. The Chai, English Breakfast, and Rose teas are a little above average in taste. I prefer to blend a bag with the Barry’s Gold blend of tea in a teapot rather than as stand-alone teas.

Tetley British Blends, Dutchess Balmoral, tea bags. Link to Amazon. For $22.38, 6 boxes with 20 bags in each box and comes in 1 case. Enjoyable tea that tastes like a tea dessert. It’s a black tea and vanilla blend. I love it.

Harney and Sons, Tower of London Blend, sachets/fancy tea bags. Link to Amazon. All of the Harney and Sons’ teas I’ve tasted have been wonderful, some more than others. Tower of London Blend is a black tea with bergamot oil, honey, and a taste of stone fruit. I love it.

Harney and Sons, Florence, loose leaf tea. Link to Amazon. This is my absolute favorite tea of this bunch. It is a black tea, with a chocolate and hazelnut taste. The aroma of the tea is a high point as well as the taste. Luxurious tea. Excellent.

Link to Harney and Sons to see their full line of teas.

The teas are to be made with boiling water and steeped 5 minutes.

Books-my current reads.

1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. I’ve never read this book. I’m in a book challenge, and in January it is to read a classic children’s book I’ve never read before and must be written before 1960. I searched all the e-books on my Kindle and have decided to read all of the children’s books (total of 7+.) They’ve been on my Kindle a while. This is a perfect month to read them. Did you know The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is book 1 in a series of 14 books? After I’ve read the book, I’ll re-watch the film. I don’t know that I’ll read the other 13 books in the series. The other children’s books on my Kindle are Five Little Peppers by Margaret Sidney (a total of 12 books. I will read at least the first.) Anne of Green Gables (I’ve read before) by Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Story Girl Series (2 books. I may read both) by L. M. Montgomery. The link is to book 1, The Story Girl. The Boxcar Children (book 1) by Gertrude Chandler Warner. I finished this book on December 29, 2022. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgsdon Burnett. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.
2. Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross. A deep read. Sometimes I have to go back and reread a page. Paperback.
3. The Collected Poems of William Wordsworth. Paperback.
4. In Good Time by Jen Pollock Michel. Paperback. The author is hosting Zoom meetings for those of us who signed up. She will go over some of the points in the book and lead us to create healthy timely lives.
5. Adam Bede by George Eliot. I’ll be reading this book a while as it is the book to currently read in the chapter a day book challenge. Paperback.
6. Light to the Hills by Bonnie Blaylock. This is an e-book. This book is 80% read.