Savannah is one of those places that has incredibly delicious food, the most friendly of locals and lots of lovely quaint shops. I'd never heard about The Paris Market before, so visiting the shop was a special treat. I think I might have spent a good afternoon perusing the beautiful merchandise and sipping tea (and of course, a cookie) at the lovely little cafe....
Savannah: Back in the Day Bakery
Location:
2403 Bull Street
Savannah, GA
31401
One thing at the very top of my Savannah list of places to visit was the Back in the Day Bakery. I'd seen it on Jamie Beck's blog and she highly recommended it on the list of must-sees she gave me.
On a rainy day it was an amazing, indulging breakfast pit stop.
I mean, biscuits and jam? I could have those every day.
(Also, who knew that I could have been sitting so close to one of my Instagram connections - wow, small world!)
TEA WITH: Ana + Alaina at Tatte
Location:
318 3rd St, Cambridge, MAI had the pleasure of having tea with these two lovelies recently, after a wonderful afternoon at this place.
Here we are at Tatte Bakery, one of the cutest bakeries in Kendall Square. A bakery that is not new to my Instagram feed!
As part of a new series, here I am having tea withAna and Alaina.
Vancouver: Granville Island's Public Market
I love a good market. Vancouver's Granville Island's Public Market is ah.mah.zing. The only snag, not being able to buy fresh produce that I could actually take home. Hmm...although, I did buy the most insanely divine Ice Wine Chocolates from Rogers' Chocolates and beer from Granville Island Brewing Company (so my priorities may be questionable) BUT I must say, the beer served us well during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the public market....where the selection is vast and the freshness, out of bounds.
For lunch, I had fish and chips (obviously) from Celine's and I had to make a stop at the famous Lee's Donuts (as seen on tv) after which I parked myself at the Granville Island Tea Company with a pot of Earl Grey admist a crowd of market goers.
Come with me to smell the peonies, maneuver pyramids of fruit while oogling the abundance of fresh fish...
The Taj is fit for a Queen (aka Mother's Day)
By Queen, I mean, of course, MOM.
Although our reason for Afternoon Tea at the Taj recently were for a reason other than Mother's Day, I'm recommending this age-old custom to those of you looking for a Mother's Day outing.
Afternoon Tea has never been more elegant than at the French Room at the Taj in Boston. Located at the corner of Newbury St. and Arlington St, the Taj overlooks the beautiful (and especially lush at this time of the year) Boston Public Garden.
Once seated, service is gracious and attentive with beautiful live music wafting through the elegant high and chandeliered ceiling.
The Taj Royal is $38 and comes with finger sandwiches, canapes, tarts, scones, dipped strawberries, with clotted cream and lemon curd.
The tea selection ranges from white, green, black, oolong, herbal and chai, so there's definitely one for everyone. Reservations are recommended and be sure to wear your most floral clothes. We sure did.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
NEW: Little Nicky's Coffee
Location:
375 Queen St. W. Toronto
Open only 4 weeks now, Little Nicky's already seems to have a cult following of donut lovers.
Mini donuts, that is.
Made on a cute little mini assembly line.
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Old-fashioned, little, powdery-sugar-and-cinnamon-covered deep fried goodness.
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We love the retro, dinery vibe, and with Ray Charles playing in the background, "A.Mat" said it reminded her of The Cosby episode where the family performs Ray Charles' "Night Time is the Right Time". See video here.
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One thing they might want to add to their menu however, is Earl Grey tea. Orange Pekoe (from Tealish) just won't cut it, even if IS loose-leaf and IS quite delish!
Still, with lovely iced lattes and happy little donuts Little Nicky's is already becoming a definite favourite at work this hot summer.
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Vermont: Stowe, Black Cap Coffee
Location:
144 Main St
Stowe, VT05672
On Main Street, is the Black Cap Coffee shop, a quaint, picturesque coffee house, exactly how you would imagine there to be in a ski town.
For coffee, teas, hot chocolates, you can't go wrong. I didn't try any of there delectable delights, although the Easter sugar cookies were calling my name...
A tea to go and ready to explore a bit, although everything was closed for Easter...except Shaw's General Store...still, it made it easy to go back to our hotel.
This is London: Harrods
Location:
Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Rd, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 0NA, United Kingdom
An afternoon at Harrods means afternon tea at Harrods, which is something to be savoured, not devoured. Macarons from Laduree were the best part, much better than the first time I had the french confectionery.
As elegant and sohpisticated as the dining experience was, something (perhaps the lobster rolls or salmon sandwiches?) didn't sit quite right afterwards with us and I realize it's not "proper" to say so, but there it is.
A feast for the senses, I especially liked the food halls on the ground floor, which we couldn't leave without buying armfuls of marmalade (how could you not?)
Christmas time at Harrods can't be missed, if only to take in the beautiful window displays outside, which Liberty London also does so well!
Here, a glimpse into the flurry that is Harrods starting, of course, with tea...
Boston: Francesca's Cafe
Location:
564 Tremont St, Boston, MA
Everyone talks about the South End, so we made it there this past Sunday - it was cold you guys, and everything was closed! Why do they do that? Made it to Francesca's Cafe in a frozen state and thawed out nicely with a hot chocolate, tea and a tuna melt (apty named for this occasion). Oh, a pretty cupcake made the cut, too.
Herbal Infusions
Location:
404 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, ON
www.herbalinfusions.ca
Just west of Spadina on Adelaide is a hidden gem of a gourmet tea shop.
While rounding up everyone for our daily tea train, it's been referred to as "that fancy new tea place" and,when they were giving away free steeped tea a couple of weeks ago, "the free tea place". :)
Well, its name is Herbal Infusions, and even if the name doesn't stick, the tea flavours will.
The wall of teas is the focal point of the the store, with black, herbal, green and white teas all neatly labeled in see-through canisters. Part of the experience is having a canister presented to you for smelling. Unlike David's tea, these teas actually taste the way they smell!
I recently had the roasted almond tea (herbal tea but with soy milk) and it was incredible!
I hate to admit that I veered away (mostly from the urging of Lurgs to try something different) from my usual Earl Grey staple to try it. I was not disappointed. Clearly Dan and the gang know their teas and how to steep them, 'cause I've never had a steeped tea that tasted so good.
Everyone there is not only super friendly but also knowledgeable about tea and skillful in preparing the perfect cup.
Other touches that make Herbal Infusions stand out from the other gourmet tea shops in the city:
their variety of sugars (cane, beet)
that add a nice touch to the teas and the delicious desserts they have on hand, which I believe are from Sweets from the Earth.
Highly recommended if you like tea!
LE GOURMAND IS BACK!
NEW RESTO: Cafe Melektaus
Product: Mighty Leaf Teas
Notice anything out of the ordinary?
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Product: Language of the Leaf
Product:
Language of the Leaf Teas
www.languageoftheleaf.com
I'm so excited to review this product as it was a package sent to me from Neeta Khanna (founder, Language of the Leaf) herself after she saw my Zimbel's review. So about four weeks ago I received this package and have pretty much been getting drunk on teas ever since. Assorted Language of the Leaf tea packets
In fact, as I sit here writing this, I'm sipping on a lovely Rooibos Sunset tea . Outside, the leaves are the same colour. Fall 2009 © photohogger
Language of the Leaf: Rooibos Sunset
The Rooibos Sunset tea is much like a walk in the crisp fall weather with crackling leaves underfoot and a real sense of being at one with nature. Language of the Leaf: Rooibos Sunset
Its citrus flavour is refreshing and light and the high level of antioxidants makes it a winner all-around. I should also mention that this tea arrived as a wedding give-away sample; the tea in a gorgeous silken tea bag in a cute round metal container. Language of the Leaf: Rooibos Sunset as a wedding giveaway
Language of the Leaf: Rooibos Sunset tea bag
The Wedding Blend, a white tea infused with peach nectar and speckled with pink rosebuds is appropriately titled as it would make a very good wedding give away.
Language of the Leaf: Wedding Blend (as a wedding giveaway)
I found this to be a really enjoyable after-dinner tea. We'd purchased a rose-bud tea in San Francisco from a wonderful tea shop sold to us by a very knowledgeable salesman and he told us that the rose buds are great for complexion and said to relieve menstrual pain. I find the pure rose-bud tea to have too strong of a sweet scent (much like rose water), so the blend of white tea, peaches and roses was more tolerable. Language of the Leaf: Rooibos Lemongrass
The Rooibos Lemongrass tasted much like the Rooibos Sunset, I couldn't quite detect the difference, but I'm not complaining since I longed for more of the Sunset after the tea bag was finished, so this works just as nicely.
I have to admit that I am not a fan of green teas; I've never come across one that I've liked (until now), mostly because of their sometimes powdery and always bitter aftertaste. Language of the Leaf: Queen of Siam Green Tea
That said, the Queen of Siam is a green tea with a lemon ginger finish and I was hesitant to try it, it was the last one of the batch left for me to try and the lemony scent reminded me of NeoCitran, but then I tasted it and it was wonderfully not lemony at all...rather, gingery and smooth with a mild hint of green tea. Very soothing. We cracked this tea pack open at work one day when one of my friends was feeling a cold coming on...she agreed that it was very calming.
Okay, can I please talk about the Biscotti now? WOW! Imagine your grandmother's biscotti, or if your grandmother didn't make biscotti, imagine she did and now imagine it in liquid form. Okay, that probably didn't make it sound too good, but honestly, I was floored that tea could taste as if I were actually biting into a biscotto. It's great with or without milk. Amazing. Truly a tea to make you feel warm and fuzzy all over!
And lastly, y'all know how much I love my Earl Greys (and I have had some really pathetic EG teas...bags and loose leaves,but I shan't name any names...*cough Twinnings Lipton David's Tea cough*), and Language of the Leaf's Earl Grey is what I really should be talking about since it's what brought this whole review together! I fell in love with this LotL's EG at Zimbel's Cafe a while ago, enjoying it with some soy or lactose-free milk in the afternoons as a wake pick-me-up. I love the smell of it; it's got a milder scent of bergamot but it's not mild on taste. A wonderful version of EG that I adore and continue to purchase from Zimbel's, even with a batch of it at home. The one time Zimbel's didn't have EG, I decided to try the Ginger Peach Apricot black tea; I found it to be deliciously gingery and robust in fruit flavour.
I'd like to thank Neeta Khanna for this opportunity to review her fabulous teas, it was such a treat! And thanks to Language of the Leaf for making the days leading into winter so much more enjoyable.