Tea, best drink on earth,I would say. I love to drink my tea when it’s just prepared and warm, I drink tea all day. But sometimes plannings change and a pot -full of the best drink - cools down. Several things to do of course, few options I would consider: * throw away through the sink 😂 (not a real option) * drink it cold or even colder and ice it (more a summer option) * water the plants, they appreciate good tea too (sometimes they just don’t need to be watered and the hydroponics don’t drink tea) * make kombucha The kombucha option is new to me, as I got a kombucha scoby from a friend of my daughter only a few days ago. Thank you so much @maaique. Wonderful, new experiments 😊 So I hope to tell you about my green tea kombucha within a few weeks. In the meantime it is brewing in my kitchen, so I can check it every day. At the picture, plants and green tea kombucha brewing #lovelyday #teaholic #teahead #fortheloveoftea #green #tea #greentea #teatasting #teareview #kombucha #homemade #homemadekombucha #scoby #ferment #teadrink #teadrunk https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu_HcbMF9lU/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=29dgc4kkoh26

My favourite mug, the planting pots and the rose’s colours matched so nicely... So I brew a green and flowery tea and enjoyed the sensorial sensations. Gifts...daughter’s rose, my tea. A friend visiting Anhui in China brought me this wonderful pack of Huangshan Mao Feng. A picture of Xie Zheng An at the front side of the pack, he developed the recipe for this famous tea from the Yellow Mountains in 1875. The dry leaves are curled and come in shades of green, silver and gold. Lovely. Brewing instructions on pack tell me to brew at 90 degrees C. If brewed too warm, this one gets easily bitter. So personally I prefer to brew this one on 80-85 degrees so it stays nice and sweet, grassy, flowery, very soft and well balanced. After steeping, the leaves are bright green with hardly any oxidised edges. They have a promising fragrance, so I am looking forward to the next brew. I love these gifts 😊 How do you brew your Mao Feng? #lovelyday #teaholic #fortheloveoftea #china #anhui #huangshan #huizhou #yellowmountain #maofeng #furpeak #xiezhengan #green #tea #teatasting #teareview #xieyudatea https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu4CW2wFHS5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=awc72tplry77

So there we were, in the beautiful area of Ella (Badulla district in Uva), tea fields all around (altitude between 2000-4000 ft). We went to Newburgh estate, we had to catch a train lateron, so we were happy to know this is a rather small factory with a not too extended tour. We were welcomed and personally guided around by friendly people and could ask our questions as the ‘group’ was only us. At the end of the tour 2 young ladies served us a cup of tea and prepared a tasting session with teas from their green tea assortiment. I choose one of the smaller packs, as some Of their teas came in a huge canister, which doesn’t become handy when you want to buy tea everywhere around and still store it in 1 suitcase... We bought a small pack of Gunpowder special. Still a 200 grams pack! Shortly after 1867, when James Taylor started the first tea Gardens in Sri Lanka, black tea was made as this was the type of tea consumed in Europe. Also nowadays, Sri Lanka is mainly known for it’s black tea, factories produce traditional black tea and CTC, but some of them are specializing in other types, like white, green and even oolongs. Colonial heritage is still found in everyday life, in every hotel or guesthouse, black tea is served. With milk and sugar. Although Sri Lankan green tea is not as complex in sweet and umami taste (as Chinese and Japanese green teas can be), I like some of the Sri Lankan greens for a ‘daily’ tea. They are uplifting and have a fresh taste, the Gunpowder special with notes of smoke and leather. So, despite unfavourable reviews on traveller’s sites, I was happy to visit the Newburgh Factory (member of Finlays group). A nice and clean factory where production of green tea can be seen. Inside the factory it is not allowed to make pictures, so these are lacking, hope to give you some of the atmosphere in the pictures anyway. More a review on the estate then on tea this time. And still so many nice pictures of the lovely area of Ella to share with you... #lovelyday #teaholic #fortheloveoftea #srilanka #ella #badulla #uva #greentea #green #tea #teatasting #gunpowder #teareview #finlaystea #newburghteafactory https://www.instagram.com/p/Buv4LNyFlrG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=z0rguhq3tkbq

I never had the luck to have a real Vietnamese Lotus tea, ‘trà sen’, the tea traditionally ‘flavoured’ by the floating Lotus flowers at West Lake Hanoi. So nothing to compare to either. A friend brought tea from Vietnam and as it wasn’t in the original packaging I had no idea what I got. I brewed the tea and was quite overwhelmed by it’s taste. Luckily the friend had kept the original packaging. Tea brand was ‘Hao Sen’, which helped me to find some additional information. The tea contained both leaves and (quite big) stalks, a green tea, colours of the leaf varying from olive green to almost black. The dry tea smelled roasted with a light perfume-like fragrance. Although a green tea, instructions on pack mentioned it should be steeped with boiling water for 2-3 minutes. So I followed the instructions, this gave a dark yellow coloured liquor. The roasted notes now less distinctive, but dominated by the sweet and flowery flavour. The way the flavour ‘exploded’ while brewing confirmed the use of flavouring in this tea for me. Regarding to Lotus tea, I will keep on looking out for the ‘real thing’, the original Lotus tea. As exploring tea is a lovely journey, I hope it will take some time before I’ll find it 😊 Nevertheless a lovely gift and very nice to try, so thank you so much Corrie for reminding our talks and bringing this tea. 1 dry leaves in the pot 2 while infusing, spring tulips at the table 3 production at Hao Sen (from Hao Sen video) 4 serving trà sen 5 Lotus flower #lovelyday #teaholic #trasen #vietnamesetea #haosen #lotustea #greentea #tea #teatasting #teareview https://www.instagram.com/p/BugrGk5FUdS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=nhwyyqkcwuki

Tea tasting with @_me.mar_ who brought an incredible tea stash from Japan... So she made us Japanese teas in her beautiful kyusus and we enjoyed several brews. And of course, there was more to explore, also Chinese origins, a nice Jin jun mei brewed in the fine glass pot and and a ‘mystery’ oolong from Wuji mountains, brewed in a gaiwan. So, lovely teaware, nice teas enjoyed in good company. Thank you _me.mar_ for a perfect T-day! #lovelyday #fortheloveoftea #tea #oolong #wuji #rocktea #jinjunmei #teaware #japanesetea #chinesetea https://www.instagram.com/p/BucILmglhCC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=cy7i6al0wvjq

African Malawi steamed green tea, from Zomba, a sample from tea in motion (thanks so much #teainmotion). The dry leaves have some shades of dark olive green and consists of leaves and stalks. Some of the leaves look flattened, others slightly curled. The leaves smell somewhat nutty with hints of dry wood and toasted bread. A 2 min. brew at 80 degrees Celsius resulted in a beautiful yellow liquid and tasted slightly umami & sweet, and remembered me of the taste of popped corn. Although this one will not be on my list of ‘all time favourites’, it is a nice tea, suitable for any moment, as it is tasteful and not overwhelming. I bet it combines perfectly with (butter)cookies and with cheese as well. Have to check my cupboards and fridge for a bite to go with the second cup... (as you can see in the second picture, I found butter cookies) #fortheloveoftea #greentea #green #tea #teaholic #tealicious #lovelyday #malawi #teainmotion #perfectbrew https://www.instagram.com/p/BuWbGoZFf19/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13h9zq8r1lgy

A lovely day in Deventer. Good company, lovely tea, nice location. Roemar Coffee & tea. Small Coffee roaster, with a nice shop and a small restaurant. Wonderful atmosphere. In my glass an oolong from Africa. When in Deventer, don’t forget to visit Roemar for a cup of tea, a high tea, or, of course a good coffee 👍 #lovelyday #roemarcoffee&tea #teaindeventer #fortheloveoftea https://www.instagram.com/veenstraels/p/Bt8HXROFHgu/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1vup3meq3a8lh

Bamboo tealounge, fantastic tea location in Köln, Germany. Two nice guys proudly brewing their teas...wonderful dark oolongs, fresh and light white tea....so good to first try my next new teas...and some of the other teas of course. Beautiful teaware too, too much to chose from. Went home with 4 bags, containing the favourites of choice... Four seasons oolong, Kwai Orchid (guilty pleasure...with osmanthus), Mu Dan King and a fruit and spice mixture for infusions. @hackerandre thank you so much for recommending this place! #fortheloveoftea #goodteastore #tealounge #teabar #teastore #tea #oolong #teainkoeln #perfectbrew https://www.instagram.com/veenstraels/p/BrxhMzklpdy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1h9csizby95wm

Hot chocolate, different types to chose from...beautiful & delicious! In good company too, #Hop&Stork, Den Haag #barista070 #deliciouschocolate #lovelyday #hopandstorkthehague https://www.instagram.com/veenstraels/p/Bre33d2lyd8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=x8z6yp7hp9hk

Yesterday at Het Zuyderblad in Soerendonk, NL. A wonderful day in the tea fields. Owner Linda lead us through her tea fields, sharing her story. After the tour she prepared for us several lovely tea & food combinations. Thanks Eric & Linda for organizing! The other people of DTC thanks for your company & sharing your tea stories. #fortheloveoftea #wonderfulday #dutchtea #tea-s-me.com #teatour (bij Soerendonk, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands) https://www.instagram.com/veenstraels/p/BpfTxYqiFUR/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=726oftaufp42

#Postcard teas, London When in London, there are many places to go for a good tea... This was our first time at Postcard teas. We had a Rou Gui Jin Long Ke from Master Xu. This Wuji rock tea is full of flavour and fragrances. First steep is impressive, in later brews new flavours are revealed...lovely. This oolong is sweet, floral and has a peachy taste. Second brew gives a somewhat woody, dusty flavour and while the leaves unfold theirselves, more and more perfume-like fragrances appear...this makes the tea even nicer and more balanced. And, I almost forgot, served in beautiful teaware... #postcardteas #lovelyday #fortheloveoftea #tea #oolong #rougui #wuji #rocktea #masterxu #tea-s-me.com https://www.instagram.com/p/BnJA66nHzgo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=kobxifysmie

Honing-lavendelkoekjes Dit recept is genoeg voor 2 bakplaten koekjes...genoeg om ook nog wat uit te delen. Gebruik kwalitatief goede ingrediënten voor het lekkerste resultaat. Dus gebruik boter (geen margarine!) en gebruik een zachte, smakelijke honing (ik gebruikte Flevolandse honing, uit mijn eigen omgeving) 170 g gesmolten boter 165 g suiker 75 g honing 1 ei 1 theelepel vanille aroma of een zakje vanille suiker 300 g bloem 2 theelepels bakpoeder Snufje zout (Extra) Suiker om de koekjes in te rollen 2 eetlepels lavendelbloemetjes, vers of gedroogd 1. Meng de gesmolten boter, honing en suiker tot een glad mengsel 2. Klop het ei en het vanille aroma erdoor totdat het ei goed is opgenomen, meng dan de bloem, bakpoeder en zout er doorheen 3. Zet het (zachte) deeg voor minimaal 30 minuten in de koelkast 4. Verhit de oven voor op 175 graden Celsius (165 voor hete lucht oven) 5. Gebruik per koekje ongeveer een eetlepel deeg en vorm er een balletje van, maak het balletje plat met je hand en rol deze door de suiker zodat het hele koekje bedekt is. 6. Strooi lavendelbloemetjes over de koekjes en druk ze zachtjes in het deeg. 7. Leg de koekjes op bakpapier in de (warme) oven. En bak ze 10 minuten, de randen moeten dan iets licht bruin en crispy zijn. Haal de koekjes uit de oven en laat ze afkoelen tot kamertemperatuur. Geniet! Erg lekker met een -wat sterkere- kop thee

Time for tea. Chinese tea. Chinese oolong tea. I have finally taken some time to explore the other Wudong oolongs I received as a sample. I had 3 out of the 4 samples left. Other already used up as a result of my impatience. Wu Dong Mi Lan Xiang (left at the picture) Yu Lan Xiang (in the middle) and Ba Xian Sha Ren (right). They are fantastic, each in their own way. It is easy to see differences in the brew already. WU Dong Mi Lan Xiang is a traditional style, oxidised and baked oolong. The taste is roasted, soft, sweet and both flowery and fruity. Lychee, peaches...sweet, strong and overwhelming. Yu Lan Xiang ‘magnolia’ has no roasted taste but is rather fresh and green. It has a slight dusty taste. Smells and tastes as sweet as candy... Ba Xian Sha Ren, also a less oxidised and baked one. ‘Green’ taste, sweet, hints of fruit and a uitspoken flowery taste. All these oolongs are beautiful in their own way. Filled with flavour and exotic fragrances. So sweet and almost juicy. Wonderful. Thanks Wudong teas for these samples! #wudong #chaozhouteagrower #chineseoolong #phoenixoolong #tea-s-me.com

Back from lovely travel through Sri Lanka, bought some nice teas. Very curious about Lumbini brand, with several ‘handspun teas’ that look stunning already in the pack... This one is made into the shape of wild roses, taste is soft, sweet, honey with a hint of flowers. Also some ‘dark’ slightly roasted tones. Is it chocolate? Sweet tobacco? Warm pie crust? Not sure, but enjoying this delicious tea... After steeping a 2nd time, some of the flowers unfold to a whole leaf, while others stay in shape, the beauty in tea... #fortheloveoftea #happyteaday #lumbini #blacktea #ceylon #ceylontea #tearose #dalu #handspuntea #manjari #teareview #tea-s-me (bij Netherlands)

Galle, Sri Lanka, shop, advertising they have best tea in town. We wanted to know...and brought some tea from different places in Galle area. We’re still exploring 😇 #lovelyday #lovetea #galletea #tea-s-me