Tea Smitten

We simply adore tea parties!! Watch as we travel, taste and laugh our ways to tea rooms & patisseries *pinky fingers up*. -Jen and Flora

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Super cute!

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Green Tea is my favorite tea.  Kit Kat is a favorite candy.  Yet I have yet to get my taste buds on one of these babies.  Anyone that's had it, how'd you like Green Tea Kit Kat?

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Super delighted by the new teacup I got for my birthday!  It's amazing how a cute cup can improve my tea sipping experience.

This one is from David's Tea.  I love it so much that I want to get the others in the collection.  There's three total:  Honeydew, Robin's Egg and Coral.  These dainty porcelain teacups come with a matching saucer.  Elegant, yet modern!

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Macaron Monday: La Maison du Chocolat

La Maison du Chocolat New York, NY http://www.lamaisonduchocolat.com/en/

Jen traveled to NYC to visit and spend time with siblings last weekend, and from our very brief catch-up chat, it was a super-packed and whirlwind of a time (very NYC, in my opinion). While there, they visited La Maison du Chocolat and even brought some macarons home for me to try! Macarons from La Maison are loaded with flavored ganache fillings. Jen arrived back to SF right in the middle of the warm October Indian Summer we've been experiencing, which softened the macarons just a bit, but popping these little guys in the fridge to firm up did the trick.

Oh. So. Good. I promised myself to not eat them all in one sitting, I think I managed to spread it out in the course of 2 hours. Oh well, it was worth it...

Flavors: Pistachio, Hazelnut*, Raspberry, Passionfruit, Milk Chocolate, and Lemon *my fave

Toodles, Flora

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DRINK: Darjeeling 1st Flush, Teance

Darjeeling 1st Flush Red Black Tea Brewing Time:  1 minute Infusion: 3 cups

This is my first review on a darjeeling tea.  A darjeeling is usually a black tea that originates from the Darjeeling district in West Bengal, India. 

This tea has a light floral and sweet smell, but doesn't taste overly floral or sweet.  It's crisp and light.  If you leave the tea to steep longer than recommended, it does start to taste tannic and the bitterness is quite strong. MY MISTAKE!  I'll make note of that for next time...

But for now, this made the perfect pairing with my little wafer.

<3, Jenn

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Macaron Monday teaser (this one's from NY!)

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Taking a break this week for Macaron Mondays due to a very busy weekend coordinating a friend's wedding. We'll be sure to have one for next week! But in the meantime, here's something to hold you over.

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From last Friday's visit to Tout Sweet #unionsquare #sanfrancisco #team #teacup #teacups @toutsweetsf (Taken with Instagram at Tout Sweet Patisserie)

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Cute as a button!  This would be a perfect baby shower treat.

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TASTE: Fudge Brownie with Green Tea Mousse, Samovar Tea Lounge

Fudge Brownie with Green Tea Mousse - doesn't that just SOUND amazing?!!? 

I'm a dessert person, by nature (not choice), and during our visit to Samovar, we opted to get the Brownie with Green Tea Mousse to go. 

LOVE chocolate and LOVED my meal earlier in the day, but I have to say this dessert was a bit disappointing.  The brownie was SUPER chocolatey and had a dense yet dry, crumbly texture.  I prefer my brownies moist and chewy or even cake-like would have been better.  The focus was really the coco here, as it was bitter.  Sad face on that end, but I do have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the green tea mousse.  It was DELICIOUS!  The texture was perfect and flavor was delicate. You were able to clearly taste the genuine flavor of the matcha green tea.  Only thing is the green tea mousse component of the dessert looked more like an afterthought or decoration (for color and fluff) versus being an actual part of the dessert to compliment the brownie.

Whatever the case, that dessert DID inspire me to make some homemade green tea mousse of my own.  I'll let yall know when I get to that.  I'm not a cook by any means, so it'll be a fiasco, I'm sure. 

<3, Jenn

photo courtesy of:  foodspotting.com

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DRINK: Muscat, Lupicia

Muscat flavored Black Tea (#5218) by Lupicia Brewing Time:  2.5-3 minutes Infusion:  1-2 cups

After a long week at work, I needed a pick me up and immediately reached for my Muscat flavored tea.  The tea is very fragrant, and the grape scent very apparent.  Both taste and smell was reminiscent of grape candy from childhood days - but not too sweet.  It was a perfect balance of sweetness!  It is still a black tea after all, and it did not cross the line of being sweet enough to be a light juice.  I enjoyed this tea warm, but the refreshing and sweet nature of the tea makes it perfect iced as well!

<3, Jenn

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Macaron Monday: Tout Sweet Patisserie

Tout Sweet Patisserie San Francisco, CA www.facebook.com/toutsweetsf

Flavors: Sebrem: Coffee-Praline Cream Handi: Meyer Lemon Cream (my fave) Ken: Milk Chocolate Ganache & Passion Fruit Lady Buttier: Vanilla Infused White Chocolate Ganache

Located on the 3rd floor of Macy's in downtown, Tout Sweet is one of the newest SF macaron shops, brought to us by Yigit Pura, winner of Top Chef: Just Desserts Season One. I spoke with the lovely host who informed me that this is the first location in SF, but that Yigrit is looking to eventually expand throughout the city and nationwide. The shop strictly uses local ingredients, so that will be something to address when the time comes.

I stayed strong and only bought 4 macarons to taste (Jen would be proud). I prefer macarons with a nice weight to them and with creamy fillings, and these were just perfect. The space is beautiful, modern, and clean, and offers a quiet respite to sit down over sweets and tea, with large glass windows that overlook the hustle and bustle of Union Square.

Of course, Tout Sweet offered many other tempting sweets that I had to reluctantly pass up (I was definitely stalking that maple bacon scone). While I was there, I also got to sample a marshmallow that was covered with toasted coconut that had a little bit of rum (yummy...). And they have teas! I chose a green tea that had a nice balance with rose, berries, green date, and orange blossom flavors.

Dare I say that this is my new favorite macaron spot? I would have to say so! Sitting down with a cup of tea, tasting delicious macarons, and jotting down notes in my book was one of the most relaxing, pleasant moments I've had in a long time. 

Toodles, Flora

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So, I went to Starbucks today to buy one of my favorite green teas:  Tazo China Green Tips.  Usually, I buy a Venti size with one tea bag and I'm good to go! 

Today, the lady told me, "Do you want the second bag because we charge by size." 

Seriously Starbucks, stop charging for water.  That's lame.

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The variety of teacups makes a fabulous display!