Tea Travels Iceland

Time for Tea Please?

I love a Tea Travel and having the chance to explore a different place or country to where I live. There’s a whole world out there to explore and new teas to find ! So Iceland here I come !

Like any new adventure a mug of tea to kick start it.

A mug of Earl Grey by Gestus . Served to me black just the way I like it.

For a first time try of Gestus Earl Grey, I really enjoyed it. The aroma was very distinctly that of any earl grey tea from anywhere in the world . It was punchy and strong with a light floral tone to it. A perfect cuppa for a tea break.

In Iceland there isn’t much of a tea selection on offer like I’m used to in the UK. Which is mainly down to the locals telling me that coffee is much more favoured to tea. As you can see from this photo taken in a supermarket the little choice on offer.

Now finding tea wasn’t the only reason for choosing Iceland but it was certainly going to fuel my way round the country. This time my adventures round Iceland is being made possible thanks to Mink Campers.

With the help of mink campers I’m able to explore and camp my way round Iceland in complete comfort, while creating those all important memories and exploring the Icelandic landscape. In the Mink there isn’t just gas for my all important cups of tea in the mini kitchen: there’s heating , solar power for charging devices via USB, lighting, sound system and even its own Wifi!
From one of the 10,000 waterfalls

To Glacier Lagoons

Brewing with a view is certainly a highlight of the trip, as well all know how important a good cup of tea gets you through the day!

As well as being lucky enough to glimpse an Arctic Fox.

And some puffins !

Oh and relaxing in a hot spring or two!

Happy Sipping 🙂

Goa Tea Travels

Time for Tea Please?

This is my last instalment of my Tea Travels to Goa. I hope you’ve all enjoyed my mini adventure but there was just a few more pieces I wanted to share with you.

For my base while in Goa I stayed in Palolem , with its amazing Palm tree lined beaches. Not only that but from there you can hire kayaks and mopeds or go on dolphin and eagle boat rides.

The sunsets are also pretty amazing here too

Or take a Tuk Tuk / Rickshaw

To explore the market stall lined streets and even come across a few surprises strolling down the street….

You’ll also see a lot of Tea Stalls !

However while there I was informed by a local that it’s all the same tea and it’s only the aroma you can smell and that it won’t taste like your expecting. So the risk is up to you. However it does still look good.

The food is pretty tasty too and not needing an excuse to have curry for breakfast was also pretty cool!

For a further piece of paradise I’d highly recommend Cola Beach, where a natural river almost meets the sea. It’s such a tranquil place.

Or travel further a field and discover the monkeys

At Dudhsagar Falls (which translates as Sea of Milk ) , a four-tiered waterfall located on the Mandovi River.

While here the freshly squeezed sugar Caine is well worth a try and only 50 rupees, it is a bit sweet but a must try.

I also couldn’t not have a henna tattoo..

I absolutely loved my time in Goa and would love to go back again one day.

Thanks for reading my tea travels and Happy Sipping 🙂

Cafe Del Mar

Time for Tea Please?

While staying in the beautiful beach resort of Paloelom , Goa just a few minutes from my accommodation was a lovely cafe come bar called Cafe Del Mar. On most occasions I ate and drank here for its location but don’t worry I’m not guilty of always sticking to the same food places I explored around the area!

What I love about all the food eateries here is that everything is so fresh and truly tastes amazing.

On this occasion it’s time to show off the Tea!

This being Ginger and Masala.

Ginger Tea

What I love about this tea is the getting to brew it how you like it. The ginger is already brewing but all the other components you’d traditionally drink together you can add as much as you like to your taste.

Therefore I added the lemon straight to it, lemon and ginger is a perfect combo and honey is the best accompaniment. It was such refreshing in flavour and it was lovely knowing how fresh it is. On sipping there’s a massive ginger kick but with a zesty undertone. The honey here tastes amazing so I probably did add a bit too much ! However this didn’t effect the overall tea flavour just the sweetness but the honey tones just added extra comfort to the sipping experience.

In a total contrast to this tea you have the:

Masala Tea

I was very intrigued by this tea with its name association to that of the curry but I’m open to trying anything once!

In the words of my other half its curry in a cup! He wasn’t too wrong. There certainly was some major similarities, with not only the aroma but also in taste. Masala itself means ‘mixed-spice tea’ with a black tea base. Traditional Indian flavours include green cardamon, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and cloves ground together. When trying the tea it was quite grainy which I presume is from the ground herbs / spices. I decided to add honey too it and it did slightly improve the sipping experience. I think that the overall mix of flavours was a bit too much for me. However after researching the tea I think it would have been better as a masala chai made with milk and lots of sweetener. It wasn’t that it was unpleasant, it was just not what I expected!

Tea Advice

A quick tip when ordering tea is to make sure you ask for separate milk. This might seem like a pain but if you don’t all you’ll taste is the milk and little if the tea.

I couldn’t not just show you the tea on offer at Cafe Del Mar but some of the food too:

It was some of the best tasting on the beachfront.

You also get a pretty decent seat for sunset if you didn’t want to venture to sunset island.

Happy Sipping and Travels 🙂

Spice Farm

Time for Tea Please?

While in Goa I had the chance to visit a spice farm. It was actually really interesting, who knew that 5 spice was from plant not 5 mixed together or that pineapples grew like this ….

Not me !

Another major plus was that the spice tour included lots of Tea, a freshly made brew of their own Lemon grass , cardamom and ginger tea. Which was the perfect first quencher with being 34 degrees.

Served in glasses not much bigger than a shot glass, it was the perfect refreshment.

On first sip it wasn’t overly strong in flavour , but it’s one of those teas you are able to taste every part of each flavour as an individual. Particularly the lemongrass and ginger. It was only at the end of the Tea that the cardamom is overly obvious. It was perfect sip by sip and it was unlimited ! Safe to say I took advantage of this.

I was also quite surprised how un sweet it was compared to similar teas you’d get within the UK. I’m guessing this is down to how fresh the ingredients are.

In India like many other countries the use certain herbs and spices for illnesses and ailments. I’m all for herbal remedies so it was interesting to see the Indian thoughts on this.

I also had one of those once in a life time opportunities and fed two elephants !!!

Happy Sipping and Happy Travels 🙂

Karma-Cafe Bakery

Time for Tea Please?

In my next instalment of my Goan adventures is Karma-Cafe Bakery.

A Patnem road side cafe, I found this while mopeding and the sight of a bakery caught my attention. Unlike other cafe and food outlets I’ve seen while in Goa it offers gluten free options. Seeing as it felt like Tea Time it was the perfect time to try. Tea and Cookie Time!

Vanilla tea.
One thing about ordering teas here is that it always comes served already brewed so you never know what sort of strength your going to get. You just have to hope they know what there doing!

The aroma of the tea is light on vanilla scent and presuming it’s a black based tea due to its colouring.

It’s not until siping the tea that I have a feeling this may actually be a kind of rooibos based tea. As it’s got that distinct flavouring you’d expect from it.

The only difference is that the vanilla does a lot of the talking. So they weren’t lying that it was vanilla but like many things in India they tend to get lost in translation.

Banana, Fruit & Nut Cookie

Its not a traditional cookie in the sense it’s not super sweet and not crunchy ! The banana is a clear taste and it made sweeter by the the nuts and raisins. Mixing its with the sprinkling of seasmae sees and the pomegranate for a nice sweet treat but also being healthy too ! It was delicious.

Happy sipping and travels 🙂

Tea Travels – Goa

Time for Tea Please?

I love going to new places to see different cultures and of course trying to discover new teas. So let’s fly away to Goa, South India.

This was my longest flight ever! 9 hours from London, Heathrow to Mumbai with a further 50 minutes from Mumbai to Goa. It was a long day including the time difference.

I was very amused by my inflight meal with the first taste of my Indian adventures,

Oh and a very much needed cup of tea, even it was quite weak, but I wasn’t complaining!

I was even greeted with tea while waiting for my connecting flight !

After what seemed like a life time of traveling , I was met at Goa airport by Lacto the owner of Lacto Cresida Coco Huts in Palolem , South Goa. Just look how beautiful it is and only 200m from beach.

Happy Brew Year!

Time for Tea Please?

Well what a year!

I’ve drank plenty of cups of tea, traveled to new places and vote to continue to do the same in 2017!

Don’t change doing something you love and never give up!

Happy Sipping x