21 Days of tea October 2025

After enjoying the nice chamomile lavender herbal tea from Zen Kitchen, I was suddenly in the mood for my Lavender Vanilla White Tea.  

I just love this tea, not just because I blended it and it was a "highly commended" tea from the Leafy Awards out of the United Kingdom, but because it's just a beautiful tea. 

I love blending with white tea.  I find it delicate but also forgiving.  It's hard to make white tea.  I once asked a tea grower about processing leaf for this type of tea, and they told me it's one of the most difficult to process because there's not much to do to the leaf, making it difficult to have consistence harvest after harvest, year after year.  The tea plant and ultimately what it produces, is often influenced by its environment.  A tea processed in a year with lots of rain will taste dramatically different than a tea produced in a year with little rain.  White tea, requiring less processing, doesn't allow the leaf to be manipulated to gain flavor consistency.  Perhaps that's why I like it, because it's so delicate and unpredictable. 

When I crated this tea, I wanted to highlight the beauty and lightness of white tea, while enhancing it with flavors that would exude calm.  To me, vanilla and lavender were those exact flavors.  They blended so well with the flavor profiles of this white tea that it was a match made in heaven (to me). 

This tea took several months to blend and get "just right.".  It was important that no one flavor overpowered the other.  After several different versions (each taking several weeks to blend), I finally found the blend and flavor profile that I wanted, and that is the tea that we blend and serve today. 

As I'm sure you know from all my writing, I favor black teas, but this is my most "go to" tea when I'm looking for something other than a black tea.  

If you haven't tried this tea, I encourage you too.  It's light and lovely, and you can't help but smile when you drink it. 

Today I decided to try something completely different.  Now, I'm sure I know what you are thinking... surely I have tried matcha before, and you would be right.  I have tried matcha, especially flavored matcha, a few times in my life.  While I don't mind it, I've always found matcha to be a bit "green" for this dark black tea lover.  Still, I'm up for anything. 

This day, I knew I wasn't going to have time to fix my own tea since I was helping out at our brewery for the annual Cotee River Bike Fest, so before things got really going, I decided to head over to my friends at Gone Juicing to get something to eat, and more importantly, something to drink. 

When I asked about tea, they told me they had a matcha latte that they could make me that was plant-based.  While not usually my cup of tea, I thought, "why not?"

To me, matcha is an acquired taste.  It's not that it tastes bad, it's just really green to me.  

They made my latte with their house-made cashew milk, and because they know me well, they sweetened my latte with agave.  

I took my first sip, and it was nice.  I am sure the agave helped cut the "green flavor" and it was kind of an umami flavor.  It was nice and balanced on the palette, something that I could appreciate.  I enjoyed half of the latte and shared the rest of it with my mom.  My mom enjoys green tea, so this was right up her alley. 

I've learned that you either like or really dislike plain matcha.  I am leaning towards the like and the more I try it, the more it grows on me. I'm glad that I am starting to enjoy it more because it's super healthy for you (minus the sweeteners).  Unlike traditionally steeped teas where you drink the liquor extracted from the leaf, with matcha you are consuming the entire leaf.  The health benefits are tremendous, just do a quick search online and you will see how great this "super" beverage is for you.  

And, if you are ever in downtown New Port Richey, stop by and see my friends at Gone Juicing and grab a matcha latte.  Before you know it, you will be enjoying them too. 

I've said, during this journey, that I was going to try lots of different teas from different places (in addition to my own brand), and today I continue on that journey.  

Earlier this week, I found myself near Dunedin, Florida, and from my previous trips to the area, I had the pleasure of meeting Jennifer, the owner of The Spice and Tea Exchange franchise location near their downtown area.  When we stopped in on Monday afternoon, their store and the entire area was without of power. While I wasn't quite sure how I was going to purchase anything because without power, their register wouldn't work.  

As I talked with Jennifer, I looked through their tea collection.  I like that they have a similar system like we do, that you can smell the teas before purchasing.  On this particular day, I was looking for a black tea to enjoy during the day and a rooibos to enjoy in the evening. 

For the black tea, I ultimately decided on Hazelnut Cookie.  Not only did it smell delicious, but it was their tea of the day to sample, and I quite enjoyed it when I tried it. 

I decided to make this my tea of choice this morning at the tearoom.  I steeped it just like all of my other black teas, by putting the loose tea into a tea brew teabag and putting into my teapot.  I steeped it for just over 4 minutes and then took it out to our tea parlour to enjoy. 

I like this tea because the flavor of the hazelnut is balanced perfectly with the hints of cookie flavoring, making it not too sweet, but with just enough flavor.  Now, I don't know which black tea they used (as there are so many growing regions around the world), but this black tea was mellow and carried both flavors nicely. 

In addition to me enjoying this tea today, my mom also enjoyed a pot.  Dawne tried a cup of it and said it tasted nice, but I do agree with her when she said that by adding some sweetener to it, it enhanced the flavors just a little bit more.  While I enjoyed the tea without any additives at first, when I added some of my favorite amber rock sugar to the tea, it did enhance the hazelnut flavor. 

All in all, this was a very nice flavored black tea, and I am glad that I picked it up while I was in Dunedin.  Oh, and if you are ever down in that area and can stop into Spice and Tea Exchange, make sure you say hi to Jennifer and tell her that you know me.  She's lovely and I have enjoyed my conversations with her when I visit. 

Today, I decided to go and enjoy one of my favorite lattes instead of making my own tea.  It comes from a local market right in my hometown of New Port Richey. 

I first enjoyed this latte about a year and a half ago when I had fallen in a crosswalk and hurt my knee. I was in Wright's Natural Market, and they suggested I try their turmeric latte as turmeric helps with aches and pains. I wasn't sure I was a fan of turmeric at the time but agreed to give it a try because I love when I can use natural remedies for aches and pains. 

Now, I know that this latte isn't a "traditional" tea, but in the US, when we talk about tea it often equates to anything we steep.  That could be tea, herbs, or a whole bunch of other beverages. This particular latte is made with a powdered turmeric.  Think of it like matcha.  They even use a bamboo whisk too!

I tried it and loved it. It wasn't spicey like I thought it would be, which was nice. It was also warm and soothing. I loved it!

Since enjoying this latte for the first time, I have found that I actually crave it from time to time. This morning was one of those mornings. Off I went to Wright's to get my drink and start my day.  

Jordan was in the cafe this morning and he knows exactly how I like my latte, with coconut milk. He and the rest of the team know how to make all of their drinks and offerings, which is nice because it's always consistent, and I love that! 

If you ever find yourself having a craving for a nice and mellow latte that isn't overly sweet, I encourage you to go down to Wright's and try this one. If this isn't your "cup of tea." they have lots of other options too. I just tend to stick with what I know and love.  I'm a complete creature of habit. 

When Dawne asked me what tea I wanted to enjoy this morning before the tearoom and gift shop opened, I didn't hesitate.  I knew exactly what tea I wanted.   

Now, I know I said that I was going to try to enjoy different teas every day, ones that I don't always enjoy.  It really is hard when there are teas that I really love. And so, I figured that because today is Sunday, that maybe it would be ok for me to share one of my all-time favorite teas. In fact, this is the first tea that I made that I actually enjoyed.  When people visit our tearoom and tell me, "I don't like tea," this is the tea I always suggest. It was my "gateway tea" and it has been the same for so many of our guests.

Monk's Blend.  If you've ever stopped into the gift shop and asked for a recommendation of a tea, this tea is one that I share nearly 99% of the time.  

Monk's Blend is a mix of a mildly bold black tea, with hints of vanilla and grenadine.   It's very smooth and the flavors that accompany the tea aren't so overpowering that it drowns out the actual tea.  I think that's why I like it so much. I mean, as much as I love vanilla, I don't like when its too strong or tastes fake.  And, as much as I know there's a slight hint of grenadine, unless your pallet is really sensitive, you probably won't even realize it's there. 

One of the reasons I really like this tea is because the depth of flavor is a little deeper than an English Breakfast, but that it also holds milk / creamer and sweeteners well. Of course, I stick with my favorite amber rock sugar (I love sugar. lol).

I also love that this tea makes a great latte.  If I'm in the mood for a latte and it's still early enough in the day, I will use this as my base because it holds up well to a heavier creamer.  I also feel like, when making a latte, the hint of grenadine becomes a little more pronounced. 

I am so grateful that this was one of the first teas that I purchased for my tearoom, and that it was the tea that turned me on to other teas, and I especially enjoy seeing a guest's smile when they try it for the first time, knowing they weren't previously a tea fan.  Afterall, if I can expose someone new to tea, something they didn't like, then I feel like my mission to share tea with the world becomes a little more possible. 

Today I enjoyed several cups of tea (well, actually a pot and a cup).  My first pot today was of one of my old standby teas that I enjoy several times a week, Monk's Blend.  As much as I love it and its consistent flavor (and joy it brings me), I really wanted to share about teas that I don't drink that often.  Hence the need for me to steep a second cup of tea and stay true to my 30-day project.

If you are anything like me, I find myself very sensitive to caffeine in tea.  It's crazy but I can drink soda until I go to bed, but if I drink black or green tea after 3 pm, I am up all hours of the night, bright-eyed and unable to fall asleep.  Not only do I know this about me, but so does my team at the tearoom.  They know that when I go looking for tea in the afternoon, that I have do find something that has an herbal or rooibos base.  Today, I picked rooibos. 

Rooibos is an herb that is grown and processed in South Africa.  From the honeybush family, rooibos has long been sought after because of its health properties (high in antioxidants, benefits of heart and bone health, anti-inflammatory, may help with digestion, among many others) and because it is caffeine free, it can often be enjoyed any time, day or night.  I have always liked rooibos because I think it has a mouth-feel similar to black tea, but without the caffeine and the potential tannins.

I went searching for a cup of tea in the mid-afternoon range today so that meant that I needed something without caffeine, i.e. rooibos. I also wanted to keep with "fall inspired tea" so today I chose Cinnamon Cha Cha. 

The name is exactly what it implies, a lot of cinnamon.  In fact, I don't recommend this tea if you don't really love cinnamon.  It can seem a little "hot" on the cinnamon side, but I think that's one of the reasons I like it so much.  I also like that I can add a little bit of sweetener to it (I vote for amber rock sugar, its caramel flavor bodes nicely with the heat of the cinnamon) and even a little creamer (for me it's plant-based French vanilla oat milk creamer), and it's the perfect Fall latte.  Though, it's also important to note that none of these additions are necessary to enjoy this very nice tea. 

One of the other reasons I enjoy rooibos is because you really can't over steep it.  Well, maybe you can, but I have yet to.  On this day, I went back to work and forgot about steeping my tea for nearly 20 minutes.  When I finally did, it was still extremely enjoyable and didn't have any bitterness like that which happens to black teas.  

If you really enjoy cinnamon and are looking for an enjoyable Fall inspired tea, I recommend you try this tea.  Even my niece enjoys it.  She texted my mom the other day and told her she loved this tea and it was "AWESOME."

I wasn't sure what tea to start my 30-day tea adventure with, but since it's officially October, and the heart of the Fall season (in every other location than Florida, it seems), I thought I would start this journey with a "fall inspired" tea from my personal tea brand. 

I've never been a fan of pumpkin.  I know, call me crazy!  I have never cared for pumpkin pie at the holidays (give me apple all day!), so when I decided to make my first tea a pumpkin inspired tea, I'm sure my team at the tearoom was questioning my sanity.  I mean, prior to bringing in any tea to our establishment, I thoroughly sample them.  From cupping sessions (a tea protocol for sampling teas), to making a pot, each tea goes through a rigorous test before it makes it on our shelves.  This tea was brought into our shop several years ago so I have not actually sat down and enjoyed a pot of it in years. 

When I hear the word "pumpkin" I automatically shy away from it, whether it's pie, bread, or tea.  But when someone says "chai", count me in.  I love the spices that come with traditional chai.  From cinnamon and cardamom to peppers and ginger, I love just about every aspect of what a "chai" is.  Because of that, I decided that our Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai from Driftwood Tea Company would be my first tea on my journey.

Because of my aversion to all things pumpkin, I have to admit that this tea surprised me.  I appreciated the mellow, not overly tannin black tea (there's nothing worse than a tea that dries your pallet the minute it hits your mouth).  Because this tea base was on the lighter side, I believe that contributed to the overall lightness of the pumpkin flavor.  It was there, just not as pronounced.  What did come to the forefront was the accompanying spices like ginger and cinnamon, which complimented the overall pumpkin characteristics of this tea.  

Upon first sip, the ginger and cinnamon sat in my mouth, slightly tingling my tongue.  It was only after a few moments the pumpkin became more pronounced on the back of the tongue.  As I enjoyed several more sips, I was pleasantly surprised at how the spices continued to dance on my tongue, but that as I drank more the pumpkin became a little more pronounced.  It never became over-powering but just enough to let me know it was there.   It may have been the temperature of the tea that caused the pumpkin to be a secondary note as I first started drinking it.  It was very apparent that as the tea cooled, the pumpkin notes became more pronounced.  

My only caution with this tea is, if you are looking for a robust and strongly pronounced pumpkin flavor, perhaps a non-chai version of a pumpkin tea would be better for you.  If you tend to like chai, and are looking for a nice Fall blend, I think you might enjoy this one. 

As traditional with chai, this particular tea would take milk or a splash of a vanilla creamer very well.  I traditionally enjoy my teas (especially black teas) with sugar, but with the spice blend in this tea, I didn't feel it was needed.  I feel like adding milk and sugar, or honey, or lemon, are really a preference left up to each individual drinker so if you try this tea and decide to add things to it, please know that there's no judgement here.  I always say tea is like fashion, everyone likes their own thing and none of us are wrong. 

If you decide to try this tea, let me know what you think.