colorful café

Turkish Café II  -- August Macke, 1914

when life gives you meyer lemons

...perhaps contemplate a tartly fragrant cup or chilled glass of Stash Meyer Lemon herbal tea and/or even enter Stash's Meyer Lemon Tea recipe contest.  Categories are for Savory, Sweet and Beverage recipes, and the prizes are appropriately worthwhile.  The tea itself combines an appealing blend of lemongrass and Meyer lemon oil, rosehips, orange peel and hibiscus -- while the deadline for any contest entries is June 17th.

(Pictured:  The Lemon -- Edouard Manet, 1880)

mulled and feisty

Since we're stuck in hopefully one of the last cold and chilly spells in Chicago before summer arrives, I figured it was time to fire up the kettle and try another cup of Loyd Tea's Mulled Wine Tea with Honey and/or Grzaniec Kozacki.  I had this a couple of months ago and found it a bit harsh, but now with some additional honey and an appropriate windy rainy 40 degree temperature backdrop, it was a unique but not unwelcome taste.  The box that the tea comes in reveals various things -- that it's a Polish brand, that fur-hatted cossacks seem to be  involved, and that it has a rooibos base with cinnamon and apple and "a hint" of alcohol.   I can buy this tea around the corner but for others it might be difficult to find; I did, however, come across this sweetpoland.com website which sells the Mulled Wine and Honey Loyd flavor and wonderfully describes it as being like "Polish gentry - exuberant, dissolute, swaggering and eager for a brawl."