Dried Fruit Tea Is Everything

For anyone who likes fruit tea, here is my 'recipe':

• Find a good quantity of dried fruit (I found this brand and it's more affordable than this brand made specifically for infusion). If you like adding sweetener (the brand of fruit might be sweet enough on its own) I suggest using honey. I use a natural honey or a creamed honey. However, dried fruit (depending on the mix) is pretty sweet on it's on. 
• With dried fruit, you have to steep a lot longer than with regular tea. I generally start drinking mine after 15 minutes but I notice it tastes better and better as it continues steeping.
• I use about a tablespoon of dried fruit (it will depend on the size of the pieces) to about 10-12 ounces of boiling water. 
• Sometimes I will use more water and add a bag of another tea.  I sometimes like adding a bag of Raspberry Zinger or hibiscus tea.

The fruit I am using is of such good quality that I can eat all of it after I've finished the tea. Some of the pieces still retain a lot of their flavor. I love eating the bits of coconut because the steep has softened them.

Love the coconut and raisins

                                          

When I started drinking fruit infusions, I was using a Korean brand of fruit tea. It was good but not as good as this Oregon Farms brand. For one thing, it was almost $20 for a jar ($1.62/oz)...

...while the Oregon Farms is $0.71/oz.  It's also fresher. The Korean brand was in smaller bits and not all of it was edible after the tea was finished. Another downside is that I had to use more of it to get a good flavor.

I like everything about this dried fruit mix. The seller was also good about communication when I had questions - before I even made a purchase.

The labeling is good. I like knowing the ingredients, nutrition facts, and the lot number. There is even an expiry date on every bag.

And I love, love, love the ingredients.

I enjoy eating the 
raisins & coconut afterward

What I like about making tea from dried fruit is that, uh, I'm not crazy about eating dried fruit out of the bag but I do like the taste! Weird, I know...  Also, I could not find a good tea made from real fruit. the keywords are "good" and "real fruit". Tiesta Tea's Maui Mango tastes awesome but it's a bit stingy on the fruit and the fruit size. Also, there are too many pieces of bitter rind to eat all of it. It is at least $1.60 per ounce and can be as much as $3.00+ per ounce.

The Oregon Farms fruit not only looks plump and fresh but tastes as good as it looks. 

The Korean brand also looks good but it's not as fresh feeling compared to the Oregon Farms brand. 

As I mentioned at the start, the Oregon Farms fruit is even more plumped (of course) and delicious once I finish the tea.

Even though I use a specific brand, that doesn't mean that you can use another or one with a different mix of fruit. I suppose some folks might even dry their own fruit for longer storage. I can offer a couple of suggestions:

• Make sure you look at the calories/nutrients. I have to watch out for this!
• Make sure that you are not allergic to (or might have problems with) anything in the mix. 
• Try to use boiling water of at least 200F. I finally have a kettle that is consistently that hot. (The hotter the water, the better the steep).
• It helps to have a cup/mug that holds the temperature long enough for a good steep. I have several mugs and thermal cups but the one I use is my favorite for this tea. It's the right size and it keeps the water super hot. As a matter of fact, I have to open the lid to let it cool down enough for me to start sipping. (The mug is this cheap-o one that I can use with my Yeti lid!)
• If I don't eat my fruit right away, I save it to add to the next brew.

Peace

-- Free

DISCLAIMER: I am not receiving any compensation of any kind from any of the brands mentioned. I am no medical professional so I'm not making any claims.

**Wordly World** Is It Really 'News"?

  Reading the news makes me worry about society. Not because the news is so bad but because of what is considered 'news'. I might be making regular posts about this so here goes. This is what I saw in the 'news' this morning.

In addition to all the hate and madness going on, the thing that really caught my eye was the "mystery man" running for office in Ghana. What a world. Here in the US, we have schoolyard bullies, mean girls, and every kind of silliness going on in politics. Something in my Christian soul reacted to the idea of a "mystery" person seeking a political office.

Why is "partying" with a political leader even part of the current conversation? How about trying to find a candidate we'd like to have a serious conversation with?

Speaking of a lack of seriousness, this is the first of many articles mentioning the pop star Taylor Swift. 

I was having a conversation a few days ago with my brother about how I've been seeing this woman's name every time I scan the news.  And I'm not talking just lightweight news sources. I've seen her popping up on what I used to consider serious news sources.

Maybe it's just me and my disdain for pop culture but I find it weird. Seeing such frequent mentions of pop stars on the same page as stories about wars, deaths, and deadly politics is a little disconcerting. 

Here's Swift again. (Did you know they call her fan-actics "Swifties"? Beyonce has her Beehive - or whatever - so why not? Kids today, am I right?

And again. Newsweek really is into her. At least this mention is on one of their "culture" pages. Because this is so much "culture"...

That's it for today. There is more, I'm sure, but I'm a little tired of looking. I have to try to try to find some real and actual news to catch up on.

Peace

--Free

Oh No, They Di'int... (Update)

UPDATE: BTW, in case you, like I, have been wondering how to dupe this fancy product... Here's my take.  Since Cetalox is the primary scent in Not A Perfume, I am assuming I can make my own version of this detergent. I already use Cetalox in the DIY scents I've been making. 

Why was I momentarily tempted to order this?

I found it via Shoprunner

One of my favorite fragrances - in a laundry detergent? Honey, please! You know I thought way too long about getting this. Thankfully, my common sense kicked in...

If you can afford it, go for it!

Peace

--Free