There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t make myself a cup of tea. I’m always trying out new brands and flavours, on a quest to find my perfect tea. My go-to tea has been Japanese Sencha loose leaf for years, but I like to spice things up once and a while.
I recently fell head over heels for President’s Choice Chocolate Chai tea. It’s made from a lovely base of roasted chicory root, carob pod, with hints of spices like ginger and cinnamon. The price is very reasonable too; I think the tea bags work out to being less than 20 cents each. I find flavoured teas can be hit or miss, but this one is definitely a hit.
It really does have a chocolaty chai flavour like it claims. Before the weather got so hot, I was enjoying this tea piping hot with almond milk. Once the heat wave hit, I’ve been chilling a pot of brewed tea overnight so I have lots to drink the next day. The other plus of chilling tea overnight is that you don’t have to dilute the flavours with ice. [Thanks to Averie for giving me this tip a long time ago!]
Obviously, you guys know how to make tea and this isn’t a “recipe”, but I’ve been enjoying it so much I thought I’d share it anyways. Before bed, I boil 4 cups of water and pour it into a pot along with two chocolate chai tea bags. Then I place it in the fridge overnight (or until chilled if making it during the day), leaving the tea bags in for a stronger flavour (and more caffeine!)
In the morning, I stir in 1 cup of almond milk and 1.5-2 tbsp maple syrup. Sometimes I stir in 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract too. If your milk is already sweetened you might find you don’t need much sweetener. I’ve made this with many other flavours too, including regular black tea.
I love to pour a glass first thing in the morning or as an afternoon pick-me-up. Much like vegan overnight oats, it’s really nice to wake up to! You can also pour it into a travel mug and bring it to work or school with you or on the road.
It’s chocolaty, it’s creamy, and it’s so refreshing in this heat.
[Apparently there is something green floating in my tea. Totally normal…!]
What are your go-to summer drinks? Do you make any at home? What are your favourite teas?
My other fav summer beverages include Iced soy lattes, green monsters, and other smoothies. I know I’m about a million years late to the latte party.
In other news, I have a new summer blog header up! The theme was inspired by my Crumble Bar photoshoot yesterday. I hope you enjoy it. Hold down Control + F5 to refresh the page if you can’t already see the new blog header. (Update 1): Some of you are saying the header looks distorted in Chrome and Safari browsers…not sure why, but I will hopefully have this fixed soon! Update 2) The header should now be fixed in both Chrome and Safari. Please let me know if the image is working for you! Thanks)
Here is the original shot before editing in Lightroom, cropping, and writing the blog name in Photoshop.
You can also check out my post on Chatelaine this week where I talk about two easy summertime smoothie recipes.
Stay cool & have a great weekend!
Sounds amazing! Beautiful new blog header!
LOVE the new header (but then again, I’ve been a big fan of all of your headers!). I’ve been wanting to redesign mine for… ever? I just need to carve out the time to do it!
The tea sounds divine!
LOVE the new header! Great job, Ange!
Summer = homemade iced coffee. It makes mornings wonderful! I put the coffee in a french press over night to cold brew it, then press the top down in the morning- voila! Delicious.
Here are some pics!
http://cornervegan.blogspot.com/2012/06/frosty-coffee.html
I’ve heard of that method and Im dying to try it & use my press again. Maybe this weekend! Thanks for the link.
No problem. It’s funny because I like hot coffee brewed rather than pressed, even though the french press is supposedly ideal for making good, strong coffee; but, for iced coffee I can’t beat it!
Are there any Mac users who know how to get the new header up? I’m still not completely mac literate. Thanks!
I rarely comment but I LOVE the new header.
Beautiful new header!! I love it – the colors are perfect! If you ever wanna collab – I’d love to take one of your photos and design a header with some custom typography for you, maybe even something hand drawn! Would be so so fun! You can see our work (my hubby and I) here http://heroandsound.com/store/ and here http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeroDesignStudio
Thanks for your offer Beth! I checked out your designs and everything is beautiful. :)
I always enjoy your beautiful photography. I love the new header :)
I made your blueberry shortcake pancakes this morning. I used light coconut milk in place of almond milk and they were delicious! The whole family loved them. Thank you for all of your lovely recipes.
Hope you have a great Friday and weekend.
Yum! I will have to look out for that tea next time i’m at the super store. The PC brand chocolate mint tea is also really good and chocolatey!
This looks sooo freaking good! I love using mason jars as glasses, it makes everything seem cuter in my opinion :) Definitely buying this tea on my next grocery run.
Love the header! So clean and fresh looking!
since i loved your old blog header, i hated to see it go – until i saw the new one! perfect summer.
I always squeal a bit when I see your name pop up in Chatelaine! And I LOVE the new header. The font especially is great!
LOVE the new header! The cherry as the ‘O’ is just brilliant!
And that tea sounds incredible… I need to remember to make tea the night before, because whenever I think of it during the day I always decide it will take too long to chill it. Will have to try that flavor, too, it sounds divine!
That tea looks and sounds great!
Unfortunately I can’t have caffeine so i’ll try and find a similar tea that is caffeine free.
The new header looks great! love it x
LOVE LOVE the new header….I’ve liked them all and those crumble bars…WOW! You amaze me with your talent…..
That tea looks incredible! I have been on a huge iced tea kick and would love a sweet and caffeinated way to start my morning. I have just started adding almond milk to my tea and I LOVE it!
Thanks for sharing this idea! I would have never thought of picking this tea up from Superstore but now it’s added to my shopping list. This would be perfect to have after dinner on the patio.
Love the new header by the way. The red cherries and color of the font is perfect!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
-Michelle
Thanks Michelle, I hope you enjoy the tea! I hear they also have a chocolate mint and Im dying to try it…
That looks fantastic! Perhaps this will be one of my new summer drinks.
I also love iced soy lattes or coffee and strawberry shakes (frozen strawberries and soy milk)
and of course Arnold Palmers.
Oooo I must make some tea so I have it iced in the morning!