Tea Time!

It's one of those days where I'm trying to catch up on housework that gets left undone on the weekend. But I decided to take a break to make myself some tea. I don't like regular standard black tea...I prefer herbal teas, particularly mint tea. I discovered this Rishi Sweet Mint tea at my friends' house a few months ago, and after tastiung it, had to go out and get some myself...

It's officially my favorite tea now! Before this discovery, the previous favorite was Stash brand Peppermint tea.

This is why it's such a great tea...there's more in it than just peppermint. And they're all herbs/spices that I love. I was particularly intrigued thast it has basil in it. I never thought of using basil in tea before.

Mmmmmm...Sweet Mint Tea! I want to make a batch of this in a large, lidded mason jar and keep it in the refrigerator for some sweet iced mint tea.

Searching for Turkish Chai Recipe

ACK! I'm trying to do some research on Turkish Chai online and becoming slightly frazzled by it.
My dad lived in Turkey for a year while he was in the Air Force in the late 70's. He says he loved the Turks' chai tea, but he's never been able to find anything like it in the states.

A friend of mine gave me a recipe for homemade chai concentrate last night and I was wondering if my dad would like it if I made it for him. I remember him saying that the chai he had in Turkey was spicy, and I think having black pepper and ginger would make it taste pretty spicy. But researching online to try and find something about Turkish chai, I keep finding people saying different things. I found this thread on LiveJournal...the person asking the original question sounds exactly like my dillema, but all the comments she got in response are conflicting. Lots of people say that "chai" just means "tea" in the languages in Asia and the Middle East...and that Turkish chai is just a really strong tea. I hear "spiced" I hear "not spiced". I hear that "The whole notion of chai being a spice tea from Asia is a marketing ploy in North America." and that "Chai is just tea." then I hear the opposite, that "Chai is a stardard tea from India, meaning a spiced tea with milk, since India is in Asia, the notion is not simply a marketing tool." I guess I'll just make this recipe for Dad and let him decide if it tastes like what he remembers.

"Chai Concentrate Recipe:
Crush together:
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. fresh ginger root
6 pods of cardomon
10 inches of cinammon stick
3 tsp. cloves

Add to 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil and cook on medium for 10 minutes. Add 8 tsp. of tea. I use Darjeeling (OP. Steep for 8 minutes or so. Stain out the spices and tea. Add 1 tsp. of vanilla and 3 tsp. of honey.) This can be refrigerated for weeks. Heat up as needed and add an equal amount of steamed milk. Top with cinnamon.

NOTE:For a mocha chai, use chocolate milk instead of white.For herbal chai, replace the Darjeeling with 1 tsp. each of chamomile, fennel seed and peppermint."

Video of Flowering Jasmine Green Tea

This is my first time posting a video...it's of us (me, CJ, Mom, Dad, and Adam) at my parents' house Christmas Day brewing some flowering tea my mother gave me for Christmas.

(Forgive my Dad's commentary...he's a goof...but that's why we love him! I must admit that the thing does look rather science fiction alien-y while it's emerging.)

Here's an "artsy" still shot of the flower in the pot...

Here's what it looks like from above...