Green Tea + Smoothie

Pink Goodness

Ingredients

• Frozen raspberries + green tea (mixed in a blender)
• 1 apple,1 pear and some lemon juice + green tea mixed in a blender)
• Everything mixed together in a tall glass

Howdy!

Howdy! 

Long time, no see, my friends. How are you? I hope you're well, enjoying the sunshine wherever you are. Life here in Stockholm has been far from dull. Here's an update...

...I managed to burn my hand and thus decided to stop drinking tea. Apparently drinking tea is very, very dangerous. Fortunately it was my left hand and I have also forgotten my promise. So, there was no real harm done. In fact, a smoking hot cup of tea is waiting for me! 

...Belgium was lovely - much less conservative than I expected. To me, Brussels equals the European Union, a haven for all bureaucrats. Glad to admit I was wrong.

...Dutch is a funny language. All language learners have come across false friends. Klant is a spectacular false friend. Look it up! 

...speaking of languages, it's funny how one can hold a fairly decent level in a foreign language, but then struggle with other aspects. My fancy British university did not teach me how to write copy in English. Then again, I studied Politics and Russian, so maybe the initial plan did not include copywriting. Practice makes perfect, though, so no worries. I love writing in English, so I'm glad to be doing what I do. 

...we are addicted to Elementary. Or rather, I've got a wee crush on Sherlock Holmes. And that British accent. Lovely. 

...best of all - Friday is a public holiday, so there are not many days left of this week. All in all, May will be exciting and June will start with two weeks of holidays. Looking forward to that. 

Now, how are you? 

(Quasi) Homemade Chai Latte

This year... oh no, wait, last year I fell in love with chai latte. However, as the ones at cafes are usually too sweet (and very expensive in the long run), I have been experimenting in the kitchen. I tried mixing my own spices, that just turned out weird (after a re-search on Google, I have some ideas on how to make it better). So, today I settled for using two different types of chai tea bags and a lot of milk. The drink was warm and comfy, and sweet enough, even without the added sugar.

Things That I Adore Right Now

Cosas que adoro ahora mismo. Rzeczy, które uwielbiam teraz. Вещи, которые я обожаю прямо сейчас. Veci, ktoré zbožňujem práve teraz. 

Home-made chai latte

My new journal for 2015 and my red tea pot!

[Joy] Joy is.. saying no!

A couple of weeks back I decided to stop drinking coffee. As it turned out, it wasn't tasty anymore. The reasoning behind the decision was simply that what's the point in doing something that does not bring me in any joy. So I stopped. And I haven't looked back (yet)(who knows what will happen in the future).

And suddenly I realize that my life is slightly more joyful than before because...

...instead of coffee, I am now drinking tea. What's more fun than experimenting with different types of tea?

...it's easier to get up in the morning. Before I was unable to cope in the morning before having my coffee, now I cope a lot better since I know I won't be getting any coffee anyway.

The point being? I think that sometimes it is a good idea to break a routine to see what life can bring us. The change might be a positive one.

Snapshot, so into you.

what are you into… right now? The following things are making me very, very happy right now.

1. Polka Dots

2. Things that smell like lemon…

3. Delicious tea

4. Petöfi rádió at www.mr2.hu

5. Sleeeeeeeeeeping.

Tea

Perfect for all of us in possession of a sweet tooth: white tea with vanilla and liquorice tea. Very tasty indeed!

Thursday it is

 

Morning starts, as always, with a morning walk followed by checking e-mails and drinking a cappuccino and a cup of tea. This morning I was really good and did some works, so that I can start a bit later tonight, yey.

I have been here for exactly two weeks now, and today was the second time I made it all the way to town (at least I’m not spending any money). Walking in the sun and having lunch with almost-family was a very nice and relaxing way to spend a couple of spare hours.

Tea isn’t a very popular beverage here in Spain, but to my delight (and surely there are others who appreciate this as well) the supermarkets have started stocking up on interesting teas and fusions. Today I got some Vanilla Caramel tea from Lipton. It’ll be my new weapon in the eternal war against the Sweet Tooth. According to the Lipton website:

A perfectly sweet indulgence. Delicate vanilla blends beautifully with pieces of real caramel and the taste of rich chocolate truffles. Go ahead. You deserve it.

And yup. It’s sweet enough.

And if anyone can tell me where to find the following tea, I will be eternally grateful:

LIPTON® White Tea with Blueberry & Pomegranate Flavor

First discovered in the Fujian province of China, Lipton® White Tea is plucked by hand from the tips of tea buds before the tea leaf blossoms, to preserve the natural goodness of the whole leaf. Our tea is then packaged in our unique pyramid-shaped bags that allow the long-leaf to flow freely with real blueberries for a light flavor and authentic tea infusion. Savor the flavor of 100 years’ tea expertise in every cup.

Available in:
18 Tea Bags

Ingredients:
White tea, green tea, dried apples, rosehip peel, chicory root, cinnamon bark, licorice root, ginger root, orange peel, modified corn starch, natural flavor, dried blackberry fruit pieces, dried black currant fruit pieces, pomegranate juice solids, dried blueberry fruit pieces, dried raspberry fruit pieces.

Raspberry Leaves for the Girls

Tea made on raspberry leaves is known to make a woman’s life a little easier. And gosh, I really wish I had some in the cupboard right now. Most of today has been spent in bed, with stomach cramps and an intense wish that this week would soon be over.

Well, this post was supposed to be about the miracles of raspberry tea. Raspberry “tea” is a herbal infusion made from raspberry leaves which are rich in minerals, vitamins and tannins. According to traditional lore, the infusion can be used as an aid during pregnancy and delivery (pregnant women should, however, be careful and always follow their doctor’s recommendations), and it’s also said to help against menstrual cramps.

However, not only women benefit from drinking raspberry tea, it can be used to control diarrhea, and to soothe mouth and throat irritations. It also acts as an astringent on irritated skin by tightening the top layers of skin or mucous membranes effectively reducing secretions, relieving irritation, and improving tissue firmness.

The infusion can be taken either hot or cold, and it tastes heavenly :)

(and this is me hoping that all cramps, allergies and the mean COLD will disappear ASAP).

Moroccan Tea Ceremony

 It seems like the Moroccans take their tea drinking very seriously. Traditionally tea is served three times during the famous Moroccan tea ceremony. The tea is green gunpowder tea with sugar and mint. Sounds like something well worth a try. The following proverb describes tea drinking quite well, I think.

Le premier verre est aussi amer que la vie,le deuxième est aussi fort que l'amour, le troisième est aussi doux que la mort.

The first glass is as bitter as life, the second glass is as strong as love, the third glass is as gentle as death.

Dandelion Tea

 

I'm not a great fan of herbal infusions: in my humble opinion they usually taste like grass and lack the strong flavour of tea. Because of my attempt to do a detox, however, I decided to try a dandelion infusion, as it is famous for its numerous health benefits. A borrowed list of benefits can be found below.

To be quite honest, I didn't like the flavour of the tea (from Clipper), but a big slice of lemon made it drinkable.

List of dandelion tea benefits

• Dandelion Tea is an agent for keeping optimum liver, kidney and gallbladder functions.
• Dandelion Tea enhances detoxification by stimulating urination, as well as replacing the potassium lost to the increased volume of urine.
  
• Dandelion Tea is used to help in the health maintenance of those suffering from Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes.
• Dandelion Tea can be used for treatment of such liver disorders as hepatitis and jaundice.
• Dandelion Tea can be used for purifying the blood and cleansing the system.
• Dandelion Tea can help in relieving digestive disorders such as constipation and diarrhea.
• Dandelion Tea has properties that can help cleanse and improve the skin.

Chocodate with the Girls!

Yes. You can really spend two hours on drinking a cup of tea/ a mug of hot chocolate. Good thing we had some salad before filling ourselves with chocolate, so at the end our eating habits might be considered quite balanced.  But anyway, who CARES about eating habits when you have the chance to spend some quality time with a couple of great girls.

No trip to town without shopping. The tea collection found some new members. I'll make myself a big cup now, while preparing for tonight (classes are starting) and the snowstorm that's on its way, while trying to avoid falling asleep. Five hours of sleep last night and I'm feeling quite dead. 

EU Foreign Policy & Muumintrollet

I finally took the EU Foreign Policy exam. And it was actually quite interesting. Writing about bilateralism, multilateralism and all other fun things related to international relations in Spanish was probably quite useful as well, from a strictly language learning point of view.

 Yesterday I found this mug, and as it was a gift it could also come home with me. The Moomins are very popular creatures here in Finland. Those of you who have never heard about these trolls, can find more information here.

The above mug is produced by Finnish manufacturer Arabia, and it belongs to a big collection consisting of about 40 mugs. I would almost dare to say that it is an essential part of Finnish culture, as almost every household has a mug or two (or 25).

No mug without tea. This organic infusion from Clipper is soo yummy!

Green Tea with a Hunch of Cranberry

This flavoured green tea from Twinings is a welcome addition in my collection. Although it's not the tastiest kind of tea there is (according to the people at Twinings, the flavour of cranberry is sweet; if you ask me. it's bitter), it is fresh and different compared to all the "old" varities of green tea (jasmine, sencha, with lemon, with mint etc).

It's definitely worth a try!

Creating Rituals

One of the amazing things that has happened to me lately is our Saturday-date-ritual. A friend of mine and I will meet up each Saturday, find some random coffee place and talk crap for hours (the topics this weekend included psycopathy, crazy family members, literature, education, work, etc.) Not only is it a great way to get rid of some steam, but we also get to try new places in Valencia. This time we stubled upon a British pub (forgot the name, sorry!) which claimed to have 85 different teas. Although I ended up not getting what I asked for, I am more than willing to give the place another chance (if I can find it, that is!).



Now I´m drinking some yogi tea while trying to get ready for tomorrow: the cold has almost disappeared, and it feels to be back in business again.

Warm and Sweet

Aih, it's cold today, and my computer decided to close the programme in the middle of one of the lectures I had to listen/watch today. The keyboard is covered in kiwi... slimey. No big deal... it might work out.
Right, there is actually a point with this post, and the point is called rooibos vanilla tea. Rooibos, which is also known as red tea(but shouldn't be confused with pu-erh) is made from the rooibos plant that can be found in Africa and it has several health benefits (please consult wikipedia).
So, today I got myself some, spiced with vanilla. This particular tea has 7% vanilla in it (real, fake, sugar, I dont wanna know...) so it smells delicious and tastes sweet, which is a nice change to the bitterness of green tea. Definitely worth a try!

Christmas Tea

Autumn and winter are definitely the best seasons for a piping hot cup of tea (it would also be nice to be drinking it while watching the snow slowly falling outside, covering everything in white...). It is also this time of the year that christmas-related products start popping up wherever you go.
Admittedly, the green Christmas tea from the Tea Shop* does manage to increase the Christmas feeling, it smells delicious, and the taste is not too bad either(could be a bit stronger)**. I would inform you about the ingredients (it is in an infusion of green tea, almonds... and a lot of other things), but unfortunately the webpage does not work properly.

* it took a fellow Scandinavian to attempt to change the lousy tea culture in this country.
** using a 20-year-old microwave for brewing tea will not guarantee the best taste possible.

Choco Tea

Yogi has a tastyyy tea named Choco tea, and just as the name indicates, it does indeed have a nice flavour of chocolate. Other spices include vanilla and cinnamon. Can a mix like this be anything but delicious? Well, the first time I drank it, the taste was a bit strange... but little by little I got used to it, and now it´s part of my lunch – replacing other sweets as dessert.

Teekokeilussa Indian Goa

Ostin muutama päivä sitten Twiningsin appelsiini-teetä ihan vain kokeiltavaksi. Kyseessä on musta tee johon on sekoitettu appelsiinia. Tee on vahvaa, mutta samalla ihanan raikkaan makuista. En kuitenkaan suosittele kuppia enempää.
Teetä juodessa ajattelin taas vaihteeksi omaa elämääni; voin ihan rehellisesti sanoa olevani tyytyväinen työpaikkaani ja umpirakastunut poikaystävääni, eli sillä saralla eivät asiat voisi olla paremmin. Silti minulta puuttuu jotakin, olen eksyksissä. Se puuttuva pala ei liity yllä mainittuihin asioihin, vaan ihan itseeni. Elämä tuntuu vaan niin tyhjältä ilman opiskelua, ilman haasteita. Nyh, minä haluan takaisin koulunpenkille. Nyt on kuitenkin löydettävä itselleen aikaa, kuunnella päätä ja sydäntä, sekä muiden mielipiteitä. Helliä itseään, nauttia elämästä. Mitä haluan elämältäni? Mitä minä voisi tehdä että kehittyisin, oppisin? Mistä löytyisi intohimo? Miten järjestäisin elämäni niin, että kerkeän tehdä kaiken mitä suunnittelen? Kysymyksiä on vaikka millä mitalla, mutta toivon ja uskon kuitenkin että pikkuhiljaa palaset asettuvat paikalleen, nyt ei ole mihinkään kiire ja vihdoinkin voin olla ihan oma itseni.

Kokeilussa: herättävä tee

Kuulun niihin ihmisiin jotka pystyvät nukahtamaan aivan missä vain ja milloin vain, taito josta on tällä hetkellä enemmän haittaa kuin hyötyä. Tänään meinasin nukahtaa toimistossa (tällä menoa saan kohta potkut), joten kahvin ja kokiksen seuraksi oli aivan pako löytää vielä jokin ylimääräinen energian (lue kofeiinin) lähde. Lähikaupassa löytyikin ihan halvalla "activa tea":tä joka sisältää valkoista teetä, vihreää teetä, minttua, kanelia, guaranaa ja kaikenlaisia yrttejä. Mikä parasta: 100 ml sisältää 172 mg kofeiinia (onkohan tuo mahdollista, vai valehtelvatko ne mulle?).
Nyt hörppäilen tätä ja ilmoitan sitten miltä se oikein maistuu (ja herättääkö se ihan oikeasti oikeat unikekot!)