One More Time!

Hello Everyone!  Since my last blog post did get some attention toward my Kickstarter campaign, I thought I’d come back and try again, since we’re trying again with a new Kickstarter Campaign!

The goal of the last campaign was a bit too big and I wasn’t able to attain that goal.  However, we have now reached the goal for the new campaign and if all continues to go well with it – we’ll successfully take over 52Teas!

As those of you who have read my past reviews are probably aware, I’m a bit of tea freak and this acquisition is a DREAM coming true for me.  I hope that you’ll all support me and help me make this dream a reality!

While we have reached the goal – we still could really use your help in reaching the stretch goals of the campaign.  We want a new website and we need some other equipment and the extra boost of those stretch goals will help make those things happen for me.

So PLEASE – visit my Kickstarter campaign and contribute what you can to help us!

I’ll reward you with some awesome tea!  And really, is there a better reward than tea?

If Anyone Reads This Blog … Please Read This!

I know I’ve been absent from this blog for a long time.  I kind of got more involved with my tea blogging and decided to devote more time to that than to my foodie endeavors.

As you are probably well aware, I’m very passionate about tea.  I love tea.  I drink it several times a day (actually more than just several times a day!) and I write about it daily.

Recently, I was approached by Frank of 52Teas (one of my favorite tea companies) who told me that he wanted to narrow his focus.  You see, in addition to owning the brand 52Teas, he also owns the brand Southern Boy Teas which is an iced tea business.  His passion is iced tea.  I love iced tea, but my passion is really for hot tea.

So, he is ready to take Southern Boy Teas to new heights and he is ready to let go of his 52Teas brand.  He offered to let me take it over!  Wow!

What a tremendous opportunity for me!  It’s also a tremendous opportunity for my daughter who is going to become my business partner, and well, it’s a great opportunity for my family.

Which brings me to the reason for this post.  PLEASE help me take advantage of this opportunity that has been presented to me.  I can only do this if I get the help I need through this Kickstarter Campaign!

Please take a moment to check out the campaign and contribute if you can.  Please spread the word about the campaign!  Please help me make this dream of mine a reality.

Also, please help Frank build his iced tea business – Southern Boy Teas – with his Indiegogo Campaign.

I truly appreciate anything you can do to help me reach this goal!  Thank you for reading!

My Knoshy Box has Arrived – and Guess What? It’s Tea Time!!!

Yay!

OK, so I’m really behind on my posts.  I’ve got a few posts hanging out in the draft section of my dashboard, just waiting for me to put the finishing touches on them.  But, I had to put this post ahead of the rest, because … IT’S TEA TIME!

I don’t know if the great minds at Knoshy actually read my blog.  I hope they do.  But, I’ve been mentioning in several box announcement posts about my desire for a tea time box.  They’ve finally given me my heart’s desire!  The theme for this month’s box is Tea Time!

So, the first thing that needs to be in a Tea Time box is tea, right?  And what better company to select a tea from for this box than Steven Smith Teamaker?  There’s a full box of Lord Bergamot (one of my very favorite Earl Grey teas – in the top three – of all time!) and even though they’re sachets – tea tastes better when it’s loose leaf! – I won’t ding ’em for going with the sachets.  I understand … I get it … not a lot of people know what to do with loose leaf tea.

They also included a package of Amsterdam Wafel cookies from Rip Van Wafels.  I’ve had these before, and they’re totally yum.  I’m glad they’re in this box.  There is also a package of my favorite shortbread cookie baker – Lark Fine Foods!  These are Sweet and Savory Olive cookies.  Interesting.

Finally, there’s a jar of You’re My Boy BLUE-berry Bourbon Jam from the Jam Stand.  This sounds like a seriously yummy jam … it would be spectacular on scones.  I might have to make some scones soon to try it out.

I’m thrilled with this month’s box!  Thank you, Knoshy!

Cranberry Pecan Ancient Grain Granola from Purely Elizabeth

Photo from Knoshy. Click on the pic to go there.

Product Information:

Get ready to enjoy some of the best granola on the planet. Made with all natural, organic and gluten-free ingredients, including: quinoa, an ancient grain considered a complete protein; amaranth, high in b vitamins; chia seeds- providing excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and antioxidants; and raw virgin coconut oil containing medium-chain fatty acids that get used as energy rather than stored as fat.

I received a pouch of this granola in my January Box from Knoshy.

Tea Suggestion:

Because I ate this granola as a breakfast cereal with milk, I decided that a breakfast tea was the way to go!  Recently, I discovered Glen Arbor Breakfast Tea from Whispering Pines Tea Company, and it’s a great breakfast tea.  Very woodsy and rustic, a perfect complement to a granola cereal!

What I Think:

This just may be the best granola I’ve ever tasted.  I was surprised with the first taste, because while it LOOKS like just about every other granola out there, the flavor is much better.

The cinnamon is well-defined.  The oats have been baked to a nice crispy texture.  A tasty nutty flavor from the pecans, and just enough plump, juicy flavor from the cranberry to give it contrast.

My one complaint:  I would like a little more cranberry in this.  That’s something that’s easily remedied by adding a handful of Craisins to the bowl, and even though I’d argue that the right amount of cranberries should be in the granola already, the flavor of the granola makes it worth it to me to open my package of dried cranberries and add a few to the bowl.

My Final Thoughts:

I really liked this.  It was a delicious granola, and I’m going to be picking up more from Chuck’s Produce, as I’ve noticed this on the shelves the last time I was there.  I’m definitely going to be wanting more!

Nature’s Immunity Nuts Snack from Graze

Photo from Graze. Click on the pic to go there.

Ingredients:

roasted unsalted cashews, brazil nuts and pistachio kernels

I received this in my March box from Graze.

What I Think:

No tea suggestion with these nuts, mostly because I didn’t enjoy this particular snack enough to try to find a way to incorporate it into tea time.

I’ll be honest and tell you that I went into this particular tasting certain I wouldn’t like it.  Oh sure, I like cashews, brazil nuts and pistachios.  Love ’em!  But, these are unsalted cashews, brazil nuts and pistachios, and I’m of the opinion that the nuts should be at least lightly salted.

I’m still of that opinion.  I think that these would definitely be tastier if they were lightly salted during the roasting process.

This might be the first time that I’m trying these three particular nuts unsalted, and I do appreciate the opportunity to try them without the salt.  However, I don’t think I like them enough to want this snack again.

My Final Thoughts:

I “trashed” this snack on graze.  I just simply didn’t enjoy the unsalted nuts enough to want to finish the tray of nuts, and I certainly don’t want to receive them again.  I don’t HATE them … but, I didn’t really find the snack enjoyable either.  They’re just kind of … meh … you know?

My March Box from Knoshy has arrived!

The box actually arrived a few days ago … but I’m behind as usual!  My box from Knoshy is always a box that I’m eager to receive.  It is a very carefully curated box and I usually love the product choices, and I also appreciate the opportunity to try something that maybe I wouldn’t have tried without this box bringing it to my door.

This month’s box is “Taste of Vermont.”  What does Vermont mean to you?  It means MAPLE to me, baby!  And that’s just what Knoshy seemed to have on their minds when they put together this box.  This box included the following yummy treats:  Maple Sugar Candy AND Pure Maple Syrup from Butternut Mountain Farm, Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps, Goat Milk Maple Cream Caramels from Big Picture Farms, and a Vermont Maple Cookbook.  (Some yummy looking recipes in the cookbook!)

I love maple, so I was quite pleased with the selections of this month’s box.  I’ll let you know what I think of each product as I try them out!

White Bean with Sea Salt Chips from Beanitos

Photo from Beanitos. Click on the pic to go there.

Ingredients:

Whole Navy Beans, Whole Grain Long Brown Rice and/or Long Grain White Rice, Pure Sunflower and/or Safflower Oil, Guar Bean Gum, Sea Salt.

I received a bag of these chips in my February Love with Food Box.

Tea Suggestion:

As with most salty snacks like this, I went with a glass of refreshing iced tea, and the tea that I had chilling in my fridge when I opened this bag of chips was this Very Big Hill Dew Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas.  I liked the sweet-tart contrast that the drink brought to this salty, savory snack.

What I Think:

Having previously tasted another Beanitos product, I was fairly sure I’d enjoy these too.  And I did enjoy them.

What I like best about them is the texture of the chip – crisp, but not dense like a typical corn chip.

I also appreciate that they’re not too salty.  I can taste the bean.  I can taste what seems like a hint of lime to these too … and I found myself wanting a little more of that acidic flavor.  I think that maybe just a little bit more lime would really brighten up the flavor a bit.

My Final Thoughts:

A tasty snack.  As I said above, I found myself wanting a little bit more of that lime note.  It would be really tasty with a guacamole with an extra squeeze of lime, I think.

Chocolates from Tcho

Photo from Tcho. Click on the pic to go there.

About Pure Notes Dark Chocolatey 70%:

TCHO PureNotes™ exquisite dark chocolates are the purest expression of the cacao bean itself. As with wine, what you taste is precisely, and only, what’s in the bean. There are no added flavorings, only pure dark chocolate.

About Mokaccino Serious Milk + Blue Bottle Coffee:

Warm, roasted nuttiness and complex dried fruit notes from freshly roasted Blue Bottle coffee blend seamlessly with the dense caramel and cocoa notes in our SeriousMilk chocolate. Named Best Flavored Milk Chocolate in America by the International Chocolate Awards.

Both these bars were in my February Love with Food box.

In my February Love With Food box, I received two squares of chocolate.  The first is a dark chocolate square:  Pure Notes Dark Chocolatey 70%.  This is an intense dark chocolate.  A nice snap.  I allowed the chocolate to melt on my tongue a little and I could taste notes of rich, dark fudge, reminiscent of a rich, creamy fudge that you might have drizzled over your ice cream in the really good ice cream parlors.  I could also taste roasted notes, like a roasted nutty flavor.

This dark chocolate square reminded me a little bit of a really, really good Fujian black tea – rich, malty and even a little caramel-y.  So much complexity within the layers of this chocolate.

Photo from Tcho. Click on the pic to go there.

The second square is a milk chocolate with coffee square:  Mokaccino Serious Milk + Blue Bottle Coffee.  Now, normally, I frown at coffee flavored things, but, this chocolate bar is quite yummy.  I could happily devour one or more of these chocolate squares daily.  The coffee notes bring out something extra in the chocolate, and it becomes a very full, rich, decadent flavor for the palate.  Sweet, creamy, and indulgent … and reminds me of those mocha drinks I used to love but can no longer drink because I realized that coffee consumption causes me to feel sick a few hours later.  Fortunately, I didn’t feel that way after I ate this chocolate square … the only thing I felt a little later is a desire that I had more chocolate!

My Final Thoughts:

These chocolate bars from Tcho were amazing.  Then again, when is chocolate not amazing?  But these were really, really good.  The next time you’re looking for really, really good chocolate, you won’t go wrong with Tcho.

My March Box from Graze is Here!

The day that my Graze box arrives in my mailbox is a happy mail day, indeed!  And this month is the first month where I am seeing the “power” of choice with Graze.  I received two products that I previously liked/loved.  Yay!

Both of the revisited products are from my very first box from Graze.  The first snack is the Fruit & Seed Flapjack snack – I had marked this one as a “like” and the second snack is the Toffee Apple snack, and it’s a snack tray that I LOVED.  I’m especially happy to have this snack again … and I’m eager to find out if I enjoy it as much now as I did then.

As I write this, I’m snacking on the Fruit & Seed Flapjacks and they’re so yummy!  I’d take a tray of flapjacks to a granola or energy bar any day.

Also in this month’s box are two new-to-me snacks:  Bonnie Wee Oatbakes and Nature’s Immunity Nuts.  I’ll be writing reviews on these two snacks later (after I’ve had a chance to enjoy them), but I won’t be writing another review on the previously reviewed two snacks.

Interested in getting your own Graze box?  I can give you a “friend code” that will allow you to join Graze!  Just comment on this post with your email and I’ll respond to your email with the code.  It’s a great price:  just $6 per box!  It’s a great way to get yummy fun in the mail.

Dark Chocolate Covered Blueberries from Emily’s Chocolates

Product Information:

Besides being delicious, blueberries specialize in true-blue anti-oxidant power and are particularly bewitching covered in chocolate.

I received a pouch of these chocolate covered blueberries in my February Love with Food box.

Tea Suggestion:

I decided to go with a fresh tasting green tea to drink while I devoured these yummy blueberries, so I chose this Organic Gunpowder Green Tea from Simple Loose Leaf. The tea has a light, brothy texture and a delicious nutty background of flavor, and I liked the way this contrasted with the sweet-tart flavor of the blueberries and the bittersweet dark chocolate.

What I Think:

I was recently told that I “like everything!” by someone visiting my blog and reading a few of my reviews.  And I guess, yeah, I’m guilty of that.  Most of the foods that I’ve reviewed here, I’ve enjoyed.  Occasionally, I’ll try something I don’t like, and I’ll tell it like it is when I come across those foods.

I sometimes wish that I had a more “discerning” palate, but, when I think about it, there’s nothing wrong with finding something that I like in most foods.  It means that I get to enjoy more variety in my diet.  Variety is the spice of life, baby!

And I do like these blueberries from Emily’s chocolates.  First of all, I love that this is a local company.  (Well, kind of local.  We’re in the same state, anyway!)  The dried blueberries are big and plump, and the dark chocolate shell is soft and decadent.

My Final Thoughts:

I devoured the bag in no time, and I found myself wishing that I had more.  Because this IS a local company, I know that I’ll be able to find these products in some local shops, so next time I see them on the shelf, I’m going to be putting some in my cart!  Yum!