New Favorite: London Fog

Wednesday, 7 May 2014Wednesday, 20 April 2016 Starr2 Comments

I recently did a local event that was essentially like a local business/restaurant crawl? Several local area businesses (not my locality, but a friend’s) had special tasting menus, gave you a stamp for purchasing something off that menu, and you could turn in your stamped “visa” for a grand prize raffle!

One of the places I newly discovered was Kaldi’s Coffee Bar, which is a really cool coffee shop that definitely gives chain spots a run for their money. The ambiance is great and the offerings are yummy! I had some delicious macarons, they have the most decadent looking desserts…

But guys.
I have a new favorite coffeeshop beverage.

londonfog05 — Christine at justbella.com knows what I’m talking about

I have never been much of a coffee drinker. It’s so bitter to me, and I have not really acquired that taste. This may be because I was over-eager for “grown-up drink” as a child and so my dad gave me black coffee when I was age 7. X_X

I do, however, love love love tea. Tea is my favorite. Tea soothes the soul. It calms my mind. It makes me feel like I can be a better version of myself.
… getting a bit carried away, but I love tea!

I started drinking Earl Grey tea with my trip to London this past summer. (That post is coming, I promise you guys it will be out before I die.) Before that, I mostly drank green teas, oolong teas, or whatever generic Lipton/Nestle tea was available. I really love Earl Grey because I think that the bergamot gives it just… the most delicious fragrant notes. Mmmm… one of my souvenirs for myself was a little tin of Earl Grey that is one of my favorite little gifts for myself after a long day.

Back to Kaldi’s. So I spotted “London Fog” on their tea menu. I had heard of this drink before and I just vaguely knew it as an Earl Grey latte. I think lattes are all right, considering I don’t really like coffee, and I haven’t had some good Earl Grey in a while, so I ordered a small cup for myself. I actually didn’t know that they made lattes (“lattes”) with tea, so I figured swapping out bitter coffee for yummy tea would be a great upgrade.

Sean of locallovesnanaimo.com knows, too!

OOOOOOOH YUMMMMM it was so delicious. Sweetened Earl Grey tea with steamed milk and some vanilla. Such a simple combination but so delicious. I will now ask for this wherever it is offered. It is up there with bubble tea as far as favorite beverages go, that’s how much I loved this. I would probably love it even more with steamed soy, since I don’t really like milk that much.

I am eager to try to recreate this ASAP at home so that I can enjoy more of this goodness, especially when winter inevitably rolls around again. Here’s a great recipe I found on Gimme Some Oven, who also is mindful of people who aren’t fancy enough to have milk steaming apparatus in their kitchens AND makes hers with lavender, which makes it somewhat more of a Lady Grey beverage but I love Lady Grey anyway! Lavender is an ingredient I’d really like to be tasting more of in my foods and beverages.

London Fog Tea Latte (Earl Grey Latte) | gimmesomeoven.com — Also, I need to get me one of these nifty glass mugs, they just make hot drinks look so great.

I imagine that other Earl Grey varieties would also make delicious London Fogs, like French Earl Grey with hints of rose…. mmm.

I’ve never really frequented chain coffee places, but I may have to see how Starbucks’s “Earl Grey latte” holds up.

I am so obsessed with this right now. The taste of this London Fog is still lingering on my lips…

Have you ever had London Fog? If so, do you like it?
What’s your go-to drink to order at a coffee shop?

Songs to Stay On

Monday, 21 April 2014Monday, 21 April 2014 Starr2 Comments

I have 5 radio stations that I switch back and forth between when I drive. (Not including my 2 classical music stations.) Often, what makes me change the station is either an irritating commercial or a song that I can’t stand/am tired of. I’ll stay on a station if nothing else is better.

OR.
If one of these songs comes on. When one of these songs comes on, I immediately crank up the volume and sit back to enjoy. I will never switch off these songs:

“The Worst” – Jhené Aiko
“Body Party” – Ciara
“Lotus Flower Bomb” – Wale (I’m seeing Wale perform live in a few weeks!!)
“Party” – Beyoncé ft. J. Cole
“Marvin’s Room” – Drake

Also “Marvin’s Room (Can’t Do Better)” – JoJo
“Work Out” – J. Cole
“Don’t Stop the Music” – Rihanna
“SexyBack” – Justin Timberlake
“Toxic” – Britney Spears

NOTE: These are car radio picks. I would include other songs that I would never dream of switching away from, but they don’t really get airtime on the radio. Some of these songs don’t get much play anymore, but every now and then I’ll still hear them. A testament to their staying power, I think.

I will think of more later, but I think you guys may see that I have a preferred genre for songs that I stay on… (Although I definitely veered away from that towards the end of this list XD) I will definitely come back with more of these as I remember them.

What song do you NEVER switch away from and/or turn UP when you’re listening to the radio/Pandora/etc.?

Friday Favorites (Pi Day!)

Friday, 14 March 2014Saturday, 15 March 2014 StarrLeave a comment

Today is Pi Day, so I thought I’d dedicate some of today’s Friday Favorites to my favorite types of pie.

Now I gotta be real with you guys: I really like pie. A lot. There is a heated pie vs. cake debate, and I don’t want to get started there because I don’t understand who is making anyone choose, you can have both.

I digress.

Here is a list of my favorite pies!

Apple, ever the all-American classic
Pumpkin, which I really only eat around Thanksgiving but I’m sure it tastes good all year round
Cherry, although sometimes the tartness is too tart
Key lime, where my current favorite is served at Red Lobster (it is so good) (so good)
Chicken pot pie, which is the first and only pie I’ve really eaten that is not a dessert pie
Pizza, because I’m from New Jersey and apparently not everyone calls it a pizza pie?