Loose leaf tea! And, a hearty breakfast.

So, Dave and I are proud tea fanatics. Really, we're passionate about caffeine, in general. It's easy to support this addiction because I work at Starbucks, which entitles me to either a free pound of coffee a week or a pack of Tazo brand tea, either of my choosing, of course. Because, there's always such an abundance of both at the apartment, we very rarely try other kinds of teas, let alone superior loose leaf.















For about $30, we got like, 6 tin cans of loose leaf tea from Adagio. Each small tin is good for about 10 cups of tea. We got the green tea starter package, which came with the tea steeper thing and four kinds of green tea: gunpowder, citron green, genmai cha, and hojicha.
And, damn. So good. This thing is so easy to use and I'm pretty mad that I didn't manage to conjure up this simple design.
















Dave and I also ordered two extra sample size tea cans. I'm a huge Earl Grey junkie and Dave's been wanting to try darjeeling tea. There ya' have it.
















Along with our starter set, Earl Grey sampler, and darjeeling sampler, we got complimentary stuff, too! Because I entered in my date of birth when setting up my account, they sent me Scorpio tea. I guess they have a line of astrological or horoscope teas. I have no idea what it is, really, but it smells fantastic. I know that there is real dark chocolate in it, but I don't know if it contains dairy. I still need to email Adagio and find out. Along with it, we got one of those weaved flowers that blooms in your tea water. Talk about clever fuckin' marketing. They send me one of those, but not the pretty transparent tea pot to make it in. Alright, Adagio, you got me.





















And, above you see it in action. Setting atop your tea mug pushes something up that makes space for the liquid to come out but not the loose leaf tea. And, that mug- it rules. It was one of Dave's birfthday presents and it have the actual molecule for caffeine on it. How perfect.















And, this morning I made brunch which is probably the best meal of the day. I think I've assigned myself this recipe as my signature tofu scramble recipe. It's kind of an adaptation of Julie Hasson's and the one I posted from It Ain't Meat Babe. It was accompanied by some tempeh bacon from VWAV, which I wasn't very happy with. Abrupt post ending, commence.

Back from the Rotten Apple!

And, I couldn't be more unhappy about it. Seriously. Dave and I had such a blast and are definitely returning viddy viddy soon. In all honesty, we probably would've stayed behind if it hadn't been for our cat babies. Oh, the sacrifices..

Obviously, while in NY, we ate TONS of yummy vegan treats. It was a complete culture shock to actually be able to go into an eating establishment and not have to second-guess what was and what wasn't vegan- even more, to be able to go into a place that was specifically for us! Our eating excursions ranged from swanky, upscale restaurant to quaint cafes.

Day 1:



We made a trip to Teany! The sammie that we got, which for some reason I can't for the life of me remember it's name, isn't actually listed on the website menu. This cafe is located in the East Village which was probably my second favorite area we visited. The cafe is extremely small, which kind of sucks because you can't not be apart of everyone else's conversation. However, it was a very awesome and unique experience.

Dave and I ordered the exact same thing- some radical veggie sammie on wheat and tasty Earl Grey. They steep their tea in vanilla soymilk! It rules. I don't know why I'm so floored by this technique because it's essentially a tea misto minus the water.. which I make myself quite frequently. Dave and I are still kicking ourselves that we never bought some of their loose leaf tea.

The dessert.. my goodness. Peanut Butter Chocolate Bomb Cake. That's the ever so appropriate title. Not the adorable bluberry garnish!

Day 2:


We made a trip to Cafe Blossom, specifically the one located in the Upper Westside. It ruled, as expected. Unlike Teany, everything in this restauraunt is vegan. Dave and I, once again, got the same exact thing- soy bacon cheeseburger. They use Teeze on their burgers! Yum! The only difference in our meals was that Dave got sweet potato fries and I got herbed potato salad. Sooooo gooooooood.

Blossom was so nummy we ate their twice during our two and a half day trip. A tad expensive, as this was our upscale dining experience, but definitely worth it.

For dinner, we had Slice! We got the 20" pie, which I ate most of. They rule for three reasons:

1. They're super healthy use all organic ingredients. (Even their meat products were free-range.)

2. They offer soy cheese!

3. They serve bottled Teany beverages. Peach infused grean tea and pizza? NOM NOM NOM!

They were, however, a little pricey. They charge $3 per initial veg topping on a 20" and add an additional $1 for every other. Dave and I got the herb crust with garlic, tomatoes, and brocoli.

*This entry doesn't include the countless giant soft pretzels Dave and I ate.

well, I'm beat. I shall leave you with a picture that sums up my entire trip:

Coney!