Tea Time with Melody Q

Monday, October 7, 2013

Fall at the Local Farm Market (or Fruit Stand)

We have one that is very near us, Stauffer's Farm Market.

You can find it in Pennsburg on Rt 663 between King and Hill Roads very close to the Strawberry House restaurant.

Kaya, Kirsten, Lanie, Melody, Xyra

Check out these cool little pumpkins.

And the bales of hay and scarecrows.

And corn!

Find your favorite pumpkin.

These are great too. A little too big for us, but perfect for Xyra.

Let’s find one for her.

What about this one? Or this one?

I like this one?

What Else Can You Find There?

Check out all the jam and jelly!

Which is your favorite?

Oh, apple butter! I love apple butter. And Bauman's is the best – all natural, no preservatives or artificial anything.

They demonstrated at the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival. Xyra says they are there every year.

Speaking of Apples

Find your favorite apple!

I like these Mutusu.

Jonagold is my favorite.

I can’t decide. I like Jonathan and Macoun.

Cortlands are my favorite.

Time to head out…take everything to the register.

Back Home

They look great on the front porch.

We can decorate them for Halloween!

That's another day!

Happy Autumn! Have a great day!

#Stauffersfarmmarket

#Farmersmarkets

#pumpkins

#apples

#fallfruit

#fallproduce

#falldecorations

Never Hurts to Ask Nicely

Back in August we did a couple of posts getting back to Tea Time. In the second we talked showed you Octavia Tea Company's Chocolate Mint Rooibus. We mentioned that it had a lovely aroma, but was just not one we favored. Even after another try. The chocolate mint tea was a gift from Nana Kestral and we felt bad that we didn't like it that much, so we contacted the company.

I politely noted that it wasn't our favorite and wondered if we could exchange it. For sound reasons a return or an exchange was not possible. HOWEVER, we were able to discuss the different blends and compromise.

Today we share the results.

Kirsten, Xyra, Kaya, Melody, Lanie

The Other Day

We have a package! I wonder what's inside!

Hey, everyone, we got a package!

So what's inside?
Let's open it!
Who's it from?
Says Octavia Tea Company.
Oooo, new tea! Open it! Open it! Open it!
There is a guide to tea. That will be really helpful.

What are the little packets?

French Breakfast.

And Moonlight White. Cool!

Look! The tin is Ginger Peach. That sounds so yummy!

This Morning

Hey, Xyra! Do we have time to try one of the new Octavia Teas?
Sure. I feel bad we haven't had a chance to try them all yet.
Let's do French Breakfast today.
Sounds good. Let's go to the kitchen.
Ingredients: 100% organic Fair Trade Certified black tea, organic vanilla bean, organic rose petals, and natural vanilla flavor

Hmmm, vanilla, eh?
It says it has a caramel taste to it.
Okay. It's always good to try something before making an opinion about it. What are the brewing instructions?
Let water cool a bit. Pour over 1 tablespoon leaves. Let steep 2 1/2 minutes.

Got it. Measure the tea please.

Time for steeping.

Oh, this gets dark quickly.
Smells wonderful!

How does it taste?
Tastes good too!

Overall Review

We did not put milk in this one, but tried it alone with a bit of white sugar. It was really good while hot and even lukewarm.The combination of rose and vanilla really does create a caramel flavor that is very pleasing. I did not like it cold and reheated it a couple of times.

This blend has very small tea leaves. Many filtered right through our infuser to the cup, but did not make the drinking unpleasant. In fact, they stayed at the bottom of the cup.

I'm looking forward to trying it again with a bit of milk.I'd like to see if it results in a dulce de leche flavor.

We will get to the Moonlight White and Ginger Peach in the very near future.

Love the people at Octavia Tea. They have great customer service and will help you find the right blend. They use fair trade and organic ingredients.

Have a great day!