Happy Halloween

Halloween Brew

Trick or Treat!

Here's a twist on tea for fall...

Brew up your favorite ginger or spice tea

 in "piping" hot apple cider instead of water. 

Steep for 4 minutes and serve with a cinnamon stick.

Perfect for a chilly evening or

 bring it in your thermos when you go apple picking!

Enjoy!

Pix

 Pix Patisserie

Pix Patisserie is a kitschy-cute kind of place

with a Parisian cafe vibe.

On our recent trip to Portland, after an afternoon of shopping,

we stopped into Pix for a tea break

and what I like to call "macaron research"!

 Macarons

Pix is known for macarons. 

On our visit, my husband and I tried three flavors of macarons:

Bourbon, Fleur de Sel and Coconut Rum. 

Hands down, their Fleur de Sel was the best we've ever had!

As for macaron research...

Pix is always a fun stop for unusual macaron flavors. 

Pastry Chef/Owner, Cheryl Wakerhauser (a.k.a. Pix) and her team

create traditional French macarons only...
they kick them up a notch! 

They make unique macaron flavors such as:

Tawny Port, Chestnut Whiskey, Sesame Matcha,

Peanut Butter and Jelly and Apple Pie..

just to name a few.

Market Spice Tea

As for tea at Pix,

I was impressed with the tea quality

and table service.

Pix proudly serves Townshend's Tea Co. teas.  

 I enjoyed their Market Spice delivered to our table

 in an Art Deco silver tea pot.

My tea server raved about their teas

and told me  Earl Grey is their most popular tea. 

Naturally due to popularity it was out of stock. 

Pix Patisserie

There are two Pix locations in Portland.

We always visit the original Pix location.

It's a bit off the beaten path..

not touristy

and worth the effort to get there. 

Pix Patisserie

3402 SE Division St.

Portland, OR 97202

(503) 232-4407

I can't wait to go back and have a pot of Earl Grey tea

and do some more macaron research!

A Mad Tea Party

 Alice

I just returned from a Portland, Oregon get-away.

Portland is a groovy city. 

I expected to see a few yarn bombings...

but instead I found a wonderful wall mural of

A Mad Tea Party!

A Mad Tea Party

A Mad Tea Party wall mural on the side of:

Longfellows Books

1401 SE Division Street

Portland,  Oregon  97202

And yes,
Longfellows is a groovy used book store. 

Teance

The Tea Bar

I finally had tea at a tea bar...

Teance

in Berekely, California. 

Teance is located in one of my favorite shopping areas,

the Fourth Street Shops. 

On a recent trip to Berkeley, instead of shopping all day,

I treated myself to a relaxing afternoon of tea tasting

and learning more about Asian teas at Teance.

 On my visit, Co-Manager, Darius Moghaddam was tending bar.

I was so impressed with his knowledge of tea. 

Turns out,  he has been on 5 tea buying trips all over the world. 

So yes, he does know a thing or two about tea

and graciously shares his knowledge.

Darius and I decided that I should try a tea tasting of their

Flight of Three Teas. 

Flight of Three Teas

 Silver Needle Tea

My first flight was Silver Needle (Yin Zhen), a white tea. 

This prized tea is from Fuding, Fujan, China.

Waking up the Tea Leaves

To enjoy this tea,

you first must first "wake up" the tea leaves

by pouring hot water on them and removing the water immediately.

 Steeping

Next, the tea was steeped for 1 1/2 minutes in a Gaiwan. 

Darius told me "a Gaiwan is an ancient tea making tool". 

I had never seen one before.

 Tranquility

Silver Needle tea is very delicate and subtle in taste

with a pale color.  A tranquil, cup indeed.

 Flower Bouquet

My second flight was Flower Bouquet, a green tea. 

This tea is hand-tied into a heart bundle. 

It is also from Fuding, Fujan, China.

 Flowering Tea

Flower Bouquet tea is steeped in a glass tea pot. 

As it steeps, the leaves unfold and
a beautiful red hibiscus flower is revealed. 
It's magical!

It had a light Jasmin note and I enjoyed it.

 Mochi

Besides tea, Teance also has wonderful treats,

 like Japanese Mochi handmade locally.

I enjoyed a Pumpkin & Lima Bean Mochi along with my tea tasting.

It was beautiful with its edible flowers and
so much better than store bought Mochi. 

 Matcha

My third flight was Matcha.

Teance's Matcha is from Uji, Japan from Koyama En,

the most prestigious matcha company in Japan.

I was most excited to try Matcha green powdered tea

since I had never tried it before. 

 Tea Ceremony Whisk

Matcha is considered to be the healthiest of teas

because you are drinking all the leaves
 which are milled into a fine powder.

Matcha is prepared with a bamboo tea whisk.

I loved watching Darius make my cup. 

 Matcha

Matcha is like no other tea I have ever tasted. 

It is thick and frothy.  Matcha has a stronger green tea flavor and

I think one probably has to acquire a taste for it. 

I plan on doing just that so I can enjoy the health benefits of drinking Matcha.

The Great Wall of Tea

I'm so glad I took a break from shopping around Fourth Street

and enjoyed a break at the Tea Bar at Teance. 

It was a wonderful and relaxing experience. 

Thank you Darius for teaching me more about the world of tea.

I highly recommend Teance Fine Teas. 

If you can't get to Berkeley,

 they have an online store and Tea Subscriptions, too!

Only at Macy's

 Karl Lagerfeld for Impulse

I love designer collaborations with main street department stores. 

I think designer extraordinaire Karl Lagerfeld's

collaboration with Macy's is probably the best one yet!

Karl Lagerfeld is one of the world's greatest fashion legends. 

Today, he is probably best known as

Chief Designer at the house of Chanel
but he wears many hats!

 A Little Black Dress

If you've ever wanted to own a little black dress by Chanel...

here's your chance.  While this is not a Chanel dress,

I just can't help but see Coco's influence in this design by Karl. 

This chic black dress is available in-store and online in the

Karl Lagerfeld for Impulse collection at Macy's. 

It's a limited edition collection.

I saw Karl's collection at my local Macy's a few days ago

and the racks still have good stock. 

Surprisingly, I don't think many fashionistas know about this collection yet. 

While the dress looks nice on the rack,

it's gorgeous on a beautiful model...

 What Would Coco Think?

Ooh,la,la...

I can't help but wonder...

what would Coco think?

(Model photograph from Macy's)