LOYD Tea Infused with Manuka Honey and Cardamom

Tea is the most popular beverage in the world after water, and drinking tea is a quintessential custom in Great Britain and most parts of Asia. 

Great Britain popularized the concept of Afternoon Tea, a break from one’s routine in which tea is served alongside sandwiches and baked goods such as scones and biscuits. However, the tradition of drinking tea reportedly began in China.

The traditional tea varies by where the tea leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant are harvested and how they are grown and processed. And the taste varies depending on the season of harvesting and the method of processing. 

For instance, according to Harvard University's health studies about tea: "Black tea is made by crushing and drying fresh tea leaves and allowing them to ferment, which oxidizes the leaves and changes their color and flavor. Oolong tea is partly fermented, and green tea undergoes no fermentation. Matcha is a special form of green tea in which the dried leaves are ground into a fine powder".

LOYD Tea in Manuka Flavor

I'm a tea drinker for more than a decade now and I've tried almost all tea brands in the market, from Lipton, Celestial seasoning, and Gold Spoon, to Twinings, Bigelow, London Tea, and English Teashop. 

Recently, my sister brought home a pack of Loyd Tea's original recipe with the taste of Manuka honey, a product from Poland. 

According to its packaging, this tea is infused with Manuka honey from New Zealand, in addition to lemon, chamomile, and cardamom. It also contains cranberries, raspberries, and a vivid note of oriental ginger, giving this tea a distinct citrusy flavor. 

Cardamom is a spice that smells like mint or eucalyptus. The seeds, oils, and extracts of cardamom are thought to have impressive medicinal properties and have been used in traditional medicine for centuries. 

Cardamom may be helpful for people with high blood pressure, most likely due to its antioxidant and diuretic properties. It is also citrusy when infused with tea.

Chamomile is the common name for several daisy-like plants of the family Asteraceae. Two of the species, Matricaria recutita, and Anthemis nobilis are commonly used to make herbal infusions for beverages, particularly tea.

For centuries, people have used this flowering plant to ease upset stomachs, gas, diarrhea, insomnia, and anxiety. Some research suggests that it may help relieve generalized anxiety disorder, but there’s not much evidence to back other claims.

Manuka honey, known as the treasure of New Zealand, has a velvety and sharp flavor, which perfectly complimented the fruity notes of lemon and berries.

This box has 20 tea bags, each with 2 grams of tea.

My Review:

The infusion of honey, herbs, and fruits, made this tea a relaxing beverage. I love the combined flavors of spices, herbs, and fruits in this tea. The smell is so good and relaxing, it feels like I am chilling in an exotic location somewhere. 

It soothes the tired senses and calms the nerves, which helps mollify my "confused" mind recently. The fragrance and the fruity smell give me an easy day in every cup. It helps bring back my focus in writing despite the naughty pets in the house.

This is more or less an herbal tea, rather than a traditional tea because this is concocted from different herbs, spices, and fruits. But the good thing is, this is caffeine-free! And I love the fact that it has no after-taste of grass notes.

This is good for people who do not like the bitter taste of tea but just want a moment of relaxation sipping a fruity, sweet beverage, with some herbs in it.

The aroma has a calming effect on the senses. The flavor of honey and lemon made this beverage a perfect choice for morning tea. 

I love the citrusy scent and the combination of the sweetness of honey and other fruity infusions made this tea a relaxing aroma to sniff right after waking up. It helps calm a stressed mind. 

The taste is different from black tea or green tea, Loyd tea is milder, sweeter, and aromatic.

Some tips:

For the best tea experience with this brand, let it steep for 5 minutes in a hot water to get the full flavor. 

You may add a small amount of honey for additional sweetness if you detest the taste of an herb tea. But I am fine with the taste so I did not add any sweetener. 

Razon's scrumptious halo-halo and sizzling bulalo

I am not choosy when it comes to food it’s one of my stress relievers in life, food provides me comfort and thrill. Back in Davao, I and my good friend, Kathy Dacanay, used to go cafe hopping and we already visited quite a number of cafe houses in Davao City,  Chicco de Caffe, Cafe France, Cafe Demitasse, Annie Pie, Kangaroo to name a few, and the night before I left for Manila, Kathy and I once again spent few hours at Chicco.

My favorites include Carbonara,  Blueberry Cheesecake and Brazo de mercedes, Japanese food is another special craving, Maki for instance :-) The best California Maki I tried was at Sangkai Restaurant, an authentic Japanese resto in front of Central Bank in Davao.

But when I left Davao and relocated here in Metro Manila, this weekly food adventure halted, I've not yet visited a cafe house here so my craving for pasta and all sorts of yummy desserts was put on hold, not sure also where to go, I am not yet familiar with the place.

Until one day, Jerome Abendan brought us to Razon's, a fine food chain along McKinley Hill in Taguig offering delectable dishes including yummy desserts. He told us about the scrumptious halo-halo that is so utterly different from other varieties, so I was thrilled to try this refreshment. According to him, there are lots of branches of Razon's in the metropolis but the one that offers the best halo-halo is the outlet along McKinley Hill.

Ultra delectable Halo-halo at Razon's!

Razon's along McKinley Hill, Taguig City

True enough, when we had lunch there and had halo-halo as our dessert I felt the hype of the taste perfectly authentic! So yummy and smooth, very gratifying, I did not feel any roughness effect on my tongue, you know the usual stuff in halo-halo that is so annoying sometimes -- the coarse ice granules. At Razon's that was so different, the sweetener was just right too and there were no excessive beans mixed in the ingredients.

Razons is a quiet place to hang out with friends, very relaxing with a cool atmosphere, perfect to enjoy the food and the refreshment! Jerome introduced us to another unique cuisine: Sizzling Bulalo. My God totally appetizing!!Something that should never missed out!I was used to the idea of bulalo in stew but at Razon's it was completely different, an extraordinary lip-smacking recipe.

 Luscious lunch treats from Anelyn and Jerome, thank you guys!

Sizzling bulalo, sisig and boneless bangus, soooooo delightful!

Halo-halo at Razon's along McKinley Hill utterly refreshing with a finely crashed ice that almost feel like powdery granules in your tongue, no extra effort of pounding to make, a little stir is enough. This halo-halo however has no blob of ice cream topping only Leche flan. Don't miss this out when you come to Taguig. Other food offerings are equally delightful, love to go back there some other time! 

More stories in my MY CUP OF TEA blog

ATHENA MILK

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Athena milk has been in the market for quite sometime now but it is only lately that this product had changed its packaging and improved its taste and nutritional value! 

And now this milk provides more health benefits to women, in fact this is the most perfect milk for women because of its balanced contents of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins necessary for healthy and glowing skin and bone-building requirements.

I'd tried the two varieties of Athena already, the creamy milk and chocolate flavours, and based on my taste preferences, I would prefer the creamy milk flavour because it is tastier than the chocolate flavour, even if I have to put four spoons in one glass of hot water, it still tastes better compared to 6 spoons of chocolate.

But when it comes to nutritional value, the two varieties differ. In milky flavour, folate, zinc, energy and carbohydrates are lower than those composition in the chocolate flavours, but nothing differs on the contents of Calcium, Phosporus Vitamins A, E and D.

Athena provides enough Calcium, a necessary mineral for stronger bones, no difference with those existing milk brands in the market with high calcium content. What I love about Athena is its nice effect to my skin, well, maybe because of its vitamin contents which aimed to give the skin a radiant and glowing effect.

Well, this is just my own opinion, I find the milk flavour as tastier and better than the chocolate flavour, the latter seems has this strange taste and the satisfaction is not really guaranteed but with the milk flavour pack, everything is just good and tasty. I also have a good sleep after drinking one glass of Athena before going to bed at night, it also prevents constipation.

CREPELATO!

Crepelato: The House of Crepe and Gelato in Davao City!

It offers a wide array of scrumptious desserts made from the finest ingredients of fruits, ice cream, frozen yogurt, pastries and nuts. Its most prized variety is crepe float with oh-so-yummy gelato topped with cereals, fruits of your choice--Almond banana split, blueberry, vanilla, strawberry, mango float and many more--lathered with whipping cream and fruit syrup!

Crepe Float!

 Crepe and Gelato in mango float flavour in cereals drizzled with fruit syrup and whipping cream

Pasta con Malunggay at Crepelato

Crepelato serves Belgian waffle in cones or cups, crepe float and combination of cake and pastries. I'd tried the crepe float variety and I was so overwhelmed with its super delicious taste! Served in a colourful china, the gelato attractively drizzled in fruit syrup and whipping cream sprinkled with cereals and bread crumbs and some nuts. 

Crepelato in eight flavors worth P300 and good for 5 people

Vanilla flavour drizzled in choco syrup

Crepelato has three outlets in Davao City: NCCC mall, Mayon street and Gaisano Mall. Other than ice cream and frozen yogurts, Crepelato also offers pasta, pastries, value meals like Bulalo, Adobo, Barbeque, Spareribs, Longganisa and Native Chicken, served with one cup of rice.

Native Chicken Adobo

Honestly, Crepelato chillers are just some of the best desserts I ever tasted, its super yummy and Italian-made ice cream, gelato, is really the best and very different from the leading ice cream brands I know in the country. Gelato, aside from its yummy taste, is very unique because it never easily melted plus it has something in it that made me want to eat more, hmmm very addictive! It is non-fattening because most of the mixtures are very low in sugar and fats.

Scramble Rumble

Cool and mouthwatering food concoctions for a splendid party experience!

I remember exploring the site of the Middleton's Party Pieces with so much amazement after the announcement of Prince William's official engagement to Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Though I detested her to be the future Queen Consort of England because of her non-aristocratic background, I admired how her family had put up an ideal mail-order-party business for children which eases the burden of parents' dilemma on what luscious food to prepare or how to organize a memorable party. The attractive packages, cute cupcakes and delightful marshmallows swathed in chocolate dips and fruit syrups, the balloons and all those fantastic stuff for kids, made Party Pieces one of the most sought-after party destinations in England.

Now back here in Davao City...

There's one fantastic trend also of oh soooo yummy toppings that made my eyes gleamed in excitement. Scramble Rumble offers a fabulous choices of delectable concoctions in Chocolate or Strawberry flavours. The package covers a minimum of 50 persons.

The concoctions are fantastically appealing and mouthwatering which will surely allure and entertain children, even adults will love and enjoy its delightful taste!

Choices of Toppings:

Choco Syrup

Strawberry Syrup

Blueberry Syrup

Buttermilk

Choco Sprinkles

Assorted Sprinkles

Mini Mallows

Choco Kisses

Nips

Rice Crispies

Fruit Loops

Turn your party into a unique moment of fun and pleasure with these sweet and scrumptious concoctions!

For more details how to place order, please send your inquiry to: scramblerumble@gmail.com

Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt

One cup of frozen yogurt with mango strips and blueberry syrup at Tutti Frutti Gaisano mall Davao

I adored fruit yogurt and often gorge several cups (nestle fruit yogurt) in a week to gratify my cravings, but I never tried the frozen version of it ever since so one afternoon, I badgered my friend, Kathy, to drop by at Tutti Frutti outlet to satisfy my curiosity, it was my first time to visit this refreshment joint so I was a bit excited. 

I chose Vanilla flavour and topped it with blueberry syrup and mango strips (I didn't experiment with other colorful dippings because I worried if my stomach could really stand the shuffling of chilly ingredients) and had it weighed at the counter and, well, quite shocked with the amount.haha!

Paying at the counter

I loved the taste, it was great! The yogurt is not too creamy nor sugary, I just love the perfect combination of vanilla and buttery, rich and smooth texture of frozen yogurt. The blueberry syrup (or jam, I am not sure exactly how to describe it) perfectly blended on the yogurt itself. 

But my appetite was a bit uncomfortable with the inclusion of mango strips, the sour effect or too sugary stuff of mango seemed did not compliment the vanilla flavour of yogurt and I was not delighted with its acerbic after-taste (though as a fresh fruit, mango is one of my favourites). But overall, Tutti Frutti frozen yogurt is worth trying, such an amazing treat for a punishing hot weather and an excellent get-away to escape the  annoying weather.

After finishing one cup, I realized I should have picked the smaller container

I would love to come back there some other time to try another combination but maybe pick the smallest cup because the one I'd chosen was somewhat too large for my chilling veins. After finishing one wintry cup, I felt my head was ready to burst with too much frostiness. Customers can freely choose the yogurt flavour by personally operating the yogurt machine and dippings, for those who have less tolerance on frozen food or icy concoctions try to pick a smaller container or cup to avoid the ugly experience of having your head wheeze in the "arctic"!

Starbucks Frappuccino Caramel

Abreeza mall recently opened in Davao city and with it comes one outlet of world's largest coffee house, Starbucks. I and my two friends tried its Frappuccino and while they chose the mocha flavor, I decided to select Caramel because I am not comfortable with some traces of chocolate stuff that goes with mocha, it has the after-taste effect and I don't like it.

Frappuccino Caramel with Whole Wheat Croissant, an excellent combination for a perfect afternoon break

And it tastes great! Frappuccino caramel, though not familiar among coffee drinkers as they usually pick mocha or other concoctions, is so delicious and yummy,  its smoothie luscious taste is just right, not sugary nor glaze with too much cream, just a balance between sweet and milky flavor and love it. It satisfies my craving for smoothies.

Trappistine Foods

I am not sure exactly if Trappistine cookies and fruit bars are available in the supermarket or grocery stores nearby as I saw these monastic food products only from the Gift Shop of the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Benedictine Monks in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon province (5 hours from Davao City). These delicacies are delicately packed in attractive and glossy cartoons.

Mango Bars

One pack of Trappistine Mango Bars, which weighed 270 grams, contains 8 pieces of individually cut-squared cookie. It has a distinct taste of fruity cake concoctions, actually this super delicious snack bar consists of dried mango chips stuffed in chewy butterscotch cookie which makes it very addictive. Depends on your taste bud, this food is just moderately sweet with a sour tang on the tongue brought by mango strips. Its ingredients are mainly flour, butter, egg whites, leavening, mango strips with little amount of sugar. Its nutritional facts in the cartoon indicate that this product is zero in cholesterol. P120.00 each pack

Oatmeal Cookies

Very yummy, tasty and healthy because it is primarily made from oats and raisins. Each pack contains 6 pieces of large cookies. It has an excellent taste of butter and vanilla and best remedies for hunger pangs especially when traveling or simply craving for something sweet and tasty. Unlike other cookies, this trappistine delicacy is super tender in the mouth and very easy to chew because it is made from pure oats and butter. Its net weight is 220 grams. P140.00 each pack

These foods are proud products of the Trappistine Monastery of Landan, Polomolok, Cotabato which are also available in the Gift Shop of the Benedictine Monastery in Bukidnon. Both Mango bars and Oatmeal cookies are baked and packed by the nuns of Our Lady of Mount Matutum Monastery.

Brazo de Mercedes

Luscious and mouth-watering dessert! That is Brazo de Mercedes.

Brazo de Mercedes from Goldilocks

Delectable Brazo. I love its light effect to my stomach

Light and all white Brazo

This is one of my favorite desserts, because aside from its super yummy taste, it has no excessive fats and cholesterol as it is primarily made from white eggs, it has milk and flour ingredients but the white eggs component is more prominent.

What I love about this dessert is its distinct creamy taste: not overtly sweet but not too dry for the mouth, both tender and succulent in nature. Unlike other desserts where I can feel an annoying “bulk” in my stomach after eating, brazo is different maybe because of its super light form, the effect is not heavy in my stomach. It is not solely a carbohydrate food but more on light protein and you don’t need extra effort to chew it, it will just slide in the mouth.

It is not only delicious but offers great advantages to health. It is not loaded with too much fats so its effect to the body is lighter. According to some, this dessert is good to be eaten by people with "beri-beri" or inflammation of veins. Its succulent appearance is very tempting and I often crave this every time I pass at any Goldilocks outlet.

Enjoy it with one cup of hot green tea at any cafe houses. Aside from Goldilocks, cafe in Davao which offers delectable Brazo is Chicco di Caffe along Roxas Street.

Kelloggs Frosties

I always love cornflakes because aside from super yummy, it is loaded with vitamins and minerals which can supplement the recommended dietary allowance for my body.

When I am in a hurry, especially in the morning and no time to dash to the kitchen to cook something for breakfast, I would just prepare one bowl of cornflakes with milk then finished it with one cup of hot green tea. One of my favorites is Kelloggs Frosties. When it comes to food brands, I have only two choices: NESTLE AND KELLOGGS.

Although not in a regular basis, Kelloggs Frosties consist my breakfast and sometimes dinner. I love this cereal, not because this is the favorite food of the late Diana, Princess of Wales (Kelloggs hold a Royal Warrant for cereals in the British Royal Household), but because I find it very tasty, creamy and satisfying. In fact, every time I eat one bowl of Kelloggs Frosties in the morning, my stomach is already full and no need to recharge it with rice.

It is a practical choice for me for breakfast because I am feed up with the same menu offered in the carenderia every morning. Eggs and fish are fine but hotdog and chorizo? My God! I don't want to stuff my body with too many carcinogen. So devouring one bowl of cornflakes in the morning becomes ideal.

Kelloggs Frosties are coated with sugar, I mean it is super sweet already so there's no need to pour sweetened  milk. I am not into sweet foods, I hate it because it spoil my appetite, so I have this very unorthodox practice of eating cornflakes---diluting fresh milk with small amount of warm water before pouring it to the flakes, well, it may sound weird, but it tastes great! But when I eat other varieties of cornflakes, I often drizzled it with whipping cream topped with some nuts or fruits.

Unlike other cornflakes, Kelloggs Frosties had super thin textures which appeared like, well almost, Italian confetti, the flakes are seemed soak into sugar and cream. I can even have full breakfast with it, drinking one cup of hot green tea after one bowl of Kelloggs made me super contented because the bitterness of tea compliments the sweet taste of the flakes perfectly so there's no time to exclaim "yucks"!. Over-all, eating Kelloggs Frosties each morning is a very healthy habit.

Gardenia Whole Wheat Bread

When it comes to healthy lifestyle, eating whole wheat bread is always a wonderful choice.

In fact, Whole Wheat bread is the most recommended food by health professionals to be eaten because of its nearly perfect nutritional components. The bran in whole grain foods is still intact unlike other varieties like processed flours and milled grains. Bran carries high concentration of fibers, niacin and other vitamins and minerals necessary for our body's important functioning.

Among the brands of whole wheat bread I'd tried, the one from Gardenia is the best because I could feel the real whole wheat granules in every bite, aside from wonderfully tasty, whole wheat from Gardenia is extra soft  which is not difficult to chew especially if I am in a hurry. It has a pleasing scent too. I regularly eat this bread at dinner time accompanied with milk or tea.