Adagio

Review: Bella Luna Blue from Adagio Teas (Beautiful, Blissful, and Blue!)

March 30, 2018 by Joi Leave a Comment

Bella Luna Blue Tea from Adagio Teas

I have a beautiful and fascinating tea from Adagio Teas to review today – Bella Luna Blue Tea – and I’m, admittedly, pretty excited about it. I was sent a bag of the tea to brew and review (understandably my favorite perk of having a tea blog!) a while back and I’ve been waiting for today to do just that.

Why wait?

Bella Luna Blue Tea is extra special and rare – it is actually available only on days of the blue moon, so it will be available in 12 hours from the time I’m posting this – 10:50 CT. Click here to see when it is available in your time zone.

(Review Continued Below….)

Beautiful Bella Luna Blue Tea is Best Iced

This tea is, as you can see, exceptionally beautiful and I’m delighted to say that it tastes EVEN more beautiful than it looks. While it’s wonderful hot, it really, really shines as an iced tea. It is so good that I know you’ll want to stock up for summer. I plan to!

Bella Luna Blue Tea from Adagio Teas

Although I do, personally, prefer it iced, it is delicious hot, too. Since it contains no caffeine, it makes a perfect evening “after dinner” tea.

From Adagio Teas:

Experience the elusive mystery that is the phenomenon known as our Bella Luna Blue. Available only when there is a second full moon in a calendar month, our rare Bella Luna Blue blends the zesty freshness of lemongrass and the flavor of blueberries with the exotic Butterfly Pea Flower, which when brewed, turns this mystifying herbal tea indigo! For an even more exciting treat, add a few drops of lemon juice to the mix and watch as the real magic unfolds right before your eyes! Read More…

I was initially afraid that this tea would simply taste like blueberries (understandably, given the gorgeous color!) but I was very pleasantly surprised to find that it has a deliciousness all its own. The blend of lemongrass, blueberries, and Butterfly Pea Flower create something as magical as a blue moon, itself.

IngenuiTEA from Adagio (How did I live without this?!)

This tea is beyond special and I hope you’ll head over to Adagio Teas right away – this will become one of your favorite teas…. it’ll certainly be one of the most beautiful! Remember, this tea is only available on days of the blue moon.

Special teas deserve special treatment, after all.

Adagio Teas: Fandom Signature Blends

April 30, 2017 by Emily Dill Leave a Comment

Adagio has done it again, people. They’ve kind of broken the mold here, because their new fandom collection of teas is unlike anything else I’ve seen in the tea world before.

The Adagio Teas: Fandom Signature Blends is incredibly cool and creative. It features unique tea blends created by superfans based on different themes from TV, movies, anime, video games, etc. You’re sure to find one of your favorite nerdy topics here – Star Wars, Star Trek, Suicide Squad, Sherlock, and lots more. I tried four different samples, and not a single one disappointed me.

This Harry Potter fanatic just HAD to try a HP-themed tea, and it was every bit as delicious as I had hoped. The BeerButter Tea blend from Robert Pirlot was fantastic and probably had the best aroma of the four teas I tried. It’s a black tea with natural caramel flavor, natural creme flavor, and natural vanilla flavor. The caramel and vanilla flavors were very strong and it came together for one of the best black loose leaf teas I’ve ever had. A percentage of purchases of this tea also goes to charity, so it’s a win for everyone.

Due to my husband’s Delorean obsession, I had to get this one to try with him. This Delorean Tea blend from Mike Violette is highly flavorful; check out all of the delicious ingredients: black tea, green tea, cocoa nibs, natural chocolate mint flavor, natural creme flavor, orange peels, blue cornflowers, peppermint leaves, natural vanilla flavor, natural bergamot flavor. It blended to form a delicious tea that was accented with candy canes (yum?).

The Marty Tea was the other tea I tried from a Back to the Future collection (also from Mike Violette). (I couldn’t resist that adorable packaging.) This is a high-caffeine black tea with orange, vanilla, and creme flavors. It’s almost like a hot caffeinated cremesicle in tea-form, and I wasn’t complaining. The tea is accented with sprinkles, which was downright adorable.

I ordered this tea because my husband is a huge fan of the video game Bioshock, plus I’m a big fan of creepy things, and nothing is much spookier than a Little Sister (just look at her!). The Little Sister Tea from Tara K is a decaf Earl Grey, but it also has strawberry, orange, raspberry, and vanilla flavors. The loose leaf tea is accented with sprinkles and rose petals, and it all comes together to make a fantastic-smelling strong tea. I loved it.

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about each of the Fandom Teas I tried or about the collection as a whole. I can’t wait to try another round of fan teas from Adagio!

Zodiac Teas from Adagio… Crazy Cool and Equally Delicious

April 18, 2017 by Joi Leave a Comment

Leo TeaBefore I get to the review of Adagio Tea’s Loose Leaf Leo Tea (say that three times fast), I want to just say, again, that Adagio is first-class. All the way. Everything they do is above and beyond what the average company does. They’re simply flawless and it’s always an honor to review anything they offer because I can rest 100 percent assured that they’ll do right by you.

Pictured here is a new obsession of mine… well, actually TWO new obsessions because the wonderful ingenuiTEA brewer is in the pictures (click the link to read my review of this little beauty). Adagio now has a line of Zodiac Teas and my own personal zodiac sign (Leo) is naturally the first one I tried.

The Leo Tea is almost impossible to describe. It is absolutely Heavenly, let’s go ahead and get that out there. The flavor is phenomenal and, like me, you’ll be at a loss for words.

Leo Tea

About Leo Tea: Oolong tea mixed with rooibos and orange peels boosts Leo’s self-confidence and sunny disposition. Leos are at the center of every tea party, entertaining the crowd with their creative charms. Chamomile and vanilla smooth this zesty blend, while the red safflower is an eye-popping touch of color that Leos can show off to their friends.

Steep at 212° for 3-5 minutes. Read More…

Leo TeaThe first flavors you taste are the orange and vanilla and they make beautiful music together. There’s a flavor in the background that, while insanely delicious, you can’t quite “pin down.” I think it must be the roobios combined with red safflower, which is a new flavor to me.

Let’s just say I fell more in love with Leo tea with each sip. It’s OUT. OF. THIS. WORLD.

Whether you, like me, are a Leo or not, you have to try this amazing tea!

The other zodiac signs are, of course, also available and, knowing Adagio like I do, I am certain they’re equally amazing. You can find your own sign and order the corresponding Adagio Zodiac Tea. There are also a few samplers available – which would be an ideal way to try several delicious teas at once.

The little tins are ridiculously adorable and would make darn cute gifts and perfect stocking stuffers (yes, as a matter of fact, I do think about Christmas all year long).

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ingenuiTEA from Adagio Teas: The Easiest and Most Ingenious Way to Brew Loose Leaf Tea (Review)

April 3, 2017 by Joi Leave a Comment

As a self-confessed Crazy Tea Chick, I love tea just about any way I can get it. This goes for flavor, temperature, color, loose leaf, pyramid bag, flat bag… if it’s tea, I am more than just a little interested.

While using tea bags is as simple as it gets, there is actually something kind of zen-like and relaxing about making a cup or glass of loose leaf tea. The fragrant tea leaves (especially when fruit is involved) allow you to thoroughly enjoy the tea experience before you even lift the cup to your lips.

Some people complain that fixing loose leaf tea is too timely or complicated. I’ve even heard people complain that it requires too many steps and too many “clicks and whistles.” That last part always intrigues me because I make loose leaf tea at least 4 times a week and I’ve yet to experience a click or a whistle.

But, in all seriousness, I understand where they’re coming from. We humans are incredibly busy (often too busy, if we’re being honest) and we want – even NEED – every aspect of our life to be simplified.

Here comes Adagio to the rescue. The ingenuiTEA Teapot (pictured here) is so simple and so blissfully easy that it doesn’t even come with directions. Why? None are needed!

ingenuiTEA and Blood Orange Loose Leaf Tea

You can find a VERY short video here that shows how ridiculously simple it is to use the ingenuiTEA teapot to brew loose leaf tea fast, easy, and without a single solitary click or whistle.

You simply place your loose leaf tea into the ingenuiTEA teapot, as it sits on a flat surface.
When tea has brewed, place the teapot right on top of your cup. This will cause a valve at the bottom to release: the beautiful tea flows down into your cup, while the mesh filter retains all the leaves with one of the best infusers on the market.

If you’re looking for a step 3, you can stop looking… that is it.

Not only is the ingenuiTEA Teapot embarrassingly easy to use, it’s just as easy to clean and… get this… it’s dishwasher safe!

I also love that it’s so great looking, as I (as you’d expect) leave my teapot sitting out on the counter at all times – always ready for active duty.

This ingenuiTEA Teapot is the 16 oz size, which makes two cups of wonderful tea.

Sometimes I use mine to make a huge hot mug of tea, but most of the time I prepare my tea for iced tea. If your glass has the right rim size, you can place the ingenuiTEA Teapot right on top. Just be sure there’s enough room in your glass for tea and ice.

I often drain mine into a large mason jar, then pour it over ice in my glass.

The ingenuiTEA teapot is, make no mistake about it, something you’ll love to distraction. You’ll fall more and more in love with it each time you use it – it’s just so effortless and simple.

But it gets even better…. keep reading!

IngenuiTEA Tea Set

While you can, obviously, use any of the links above to purchase the 16 oz. ingenuiTEA Teapot, I totally recommend buying the ingenuiTEA Tea Set. With the Tea Set, you get the teapot (which I literally wonder how I ever lived without) PLUS four samples of Adagio’s best-selling teas.

You can choose your sample set from the four below:

orchard black
apricot, peach, grapefruit, orange

orchard green
raspberry green, mango green, citron green, apricot green

berries black
blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry

orchard herbal
wild strawberry, berry blast, raspberry patch, blood orange

I chose the “Orchard Herbal” because I am ALL about both raspberry and strawberry tea… ALL about them… and I was beyond intrigued by the “blood orange.” I frequently buy blood oranges at the store and am infatuated with their flavor. The thought of having that flavor with tea made my knees weak.
When my ingenuiTEA Tea Set came, I actually brewed the Blood Orange tea first (which is kind of strange for a raspberry/strawberry addict) and it was every bit as amazing as I expected it to be. Honestly, it was just phenomenal. While it made a beautiful cup of hot tea, I actually liked it over ice even better.

I threw a wedge of a blood orange into my iced tea and it was a glass of iced tea I won’t soon forget. In fact, ordering more Blood Orange tea from Adagio is at the top of my Tea Do List.

ingenuiTEA Tea Set
The other “orchard herbal” teas in the ingenuiTEA Tea Set were just as perfect. I am blown away by the ingenuiTEA teapot and I know you will be just as blown away. It’s beautiful, effortless, ingenious, simple as simple gets… and dishwasher safe.

However, I’ll let you in on a weird little secret – I still wash mine by hand. Why? I just love it so very much that I want to make sure it stays looking as gorgeous as it does now. And after multiple (mul-ti-ple) washings it still looks like it did the day I took it out of the box.

The ingenuiTEA Tea Set would make a PERFECT gift for any tea lover in your life…

College students
Mother’s Day
Newlyweds
Father’s Day
Birthdays
Christmas
Just Because…

I’d just warn you to be sure and order your own while you’re at it.

I have a few other wonderful Adagio products to review tomorrow, but for now, I hope you’ll head over to ingenuiTEA Tea Set and check out this ingenious and beautiful little teapot. It’s unbelievably affordable – and comes with great tea when you order the set!

Pictured above is one of my favorite ways to enjoy Adagio’s Raspberry tea – on ice with a frozen peach slice. Impossibly delicious… you have to try it. If anyone has trouble drinking tea unsweetened (something I, too, have battled in my life as a Crazy Tea Chick), you’ll find that fruit-infused tea is the way to go. The natural sweetness of the fruit keeps you from missing the sugar…. like, at all. Tossing frozen or fresh fruit into the tea just adds another dimension of fun and flavor.

Sugar? Who needs sugar?!

I can’t say enough great things about Adagio – they do absolutely everything as well as it can be done. I do a lot of shopping online, so I order from a lot of tea companies, coffee companies, food companies, etc. Adagio stands out and, in my book, that counts for something.

See: ingenuiTEA Tea Set

ingenuiTEA Tea Set

Review: Adagio Teas’ Masala Chai Tea (Loose Leaf)… WOW!

November 29, 2016 by Joi Leave a Comment

Slurp, Indeed.In a recent Adagio Teas order, I got to choose a free sample and, being the Chai Tea Latte FANATIC that I am, I went with Masala Chai Tea (loose leaf). Knowing Adagio the way I do, I knew it would be extra special (since every tea they make is outstanding) – and the thought of an extra special Masala Chai made into a Chai latte filled me with unspeakable happiness.

Like all fanatics, I can recall the exact day I became obsessed with Chai Tea Lattes. It was over 10 years ago… on a Saturday afternoon. It was the middle of winter and my husband and I had gone to a local coffee house for liquid warmth. As a Crazy Tea Chick, my hot drinks of choice in coffee houses are almost always tea. This time, instead of a hot black or green tea, I decided to try a Chai Tea Latte…. and my life was never quite the same.

To this day, my winter “go to” drink in all coffee houses is a Chai Tea Latte. My summer “go to” alternates between iced black tea, green tea frapps, and a Starbucks fixation, Strawbery Acai Refresher.

My winter drink does not alternate. Ever. Naturally, I make my own Chai Tea Lattes at home (can you say daily?) as well. I normally use my Breville Cafe’ Milk Frother (an absolute must if you enjoy lattes, coffee or tea) but a blender will certainly do the trick.

I made up a pot of the Masala Chai as soon as it arrived. As soon as I opened the pouch, I knew it was going to be a great afternoon. The aroma was unspeakably beautiful – I realized right away that most Masala Chai loose leaf tea doesn’t measure up when it comes to this aroma.

{Review Continued Below….}

Adagio Tea's Masala Chai Tea (Loose Leaf)

When making lattes at home, I always brew the tea stronger than normal. This makes the latte a real work of art. I add equal parts brewed tea and milk (any type – coconut milk from a can is AMAZING with Chai tea… AMAZING) to the Breville Cafe’ Milk Frother (or blender) and turn it on.

After you’ve poured the deliciousness in your cup, taste it to see how much (if any) sugar you want to add to sweeten the deal. More times than not, I will add a little whipped topping to the top instead of adding any sugar.

Another decadent treat is to stir the latte with a cinnamon stick. As luck would have it, I was all out of cinnamon sticks… so I just dove in without any frills.

Phenomenal. Seriously. Adagio Tea’s Masala Chai Tea makes one of the best Chai Tea Lattes I have ever had – and, believe me, I have had gazillions.

Confession – I normally use Tazo’s Chai Tea Latte Concentrate when making Chai Tea Lattes at home. It gives me that strong, addictive, utterly beautiful Chai Tea Latte experience I live by and, quite frankly, I’ve found very few Chai Tea loose leaf teas that can hang with Tazo’s concentrate.

Adagio’s Masala Chai (loose leaf) was more than up for the challenge and it blew me straight away. The concentrate has nothing on this beautiful tea. If you love Chai Tea Lattes, like me, or have never experienced one on your own… this is the Chai Tea for you. Trust me – if there’s one thing this Crazy Tea Chick knows, you’re looking at it below.

Find the Masala Chai and other Chai Teas on Adagio Tea’s website. Trust me, you won’t be sorry – these people know their tea like few people could ever hope to.

More Adagio Teas Reviews on Crazy Tea Chick:

Review: Adagio Tea’s Christmas Tea (Makes a Christmas Latte That’ll Rock You Right Around the Christmas Tree)

November 11, 2016 by Joi Leave a Comment

Adagio Teas Christmas Tea (Pyramid Teabags)

Adagio’s Christmas TeaAs they say, “It’s the most won-der-ful time of the year!” Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons have always been nothing short of magical for me. Although it seems impossible, I actually enjoy them even more now than I did when I was a little girl. For one thing, as an adult, I fully understand the meaning behind these holidays. For another – I not only get to enjoy the season through my own eyes, I enjoy it through the eyes of my husband, our three beautiful daughters, and our three wonderful sons-in-law (it may sound corny, but they are the sons we never had).

As you can tell, I am in full Christmas season swing and am flying high!

This time of year, I embrace (fully) everything about the holidays. I want to see, smell, and taste everything that reflects the season. As a “Crazy Tea Chick,” this most definitely means I expect my tea to march right along.

I recently ordered and tried Adagio’s Christmas Tea for the first time and I’m kind of wondering how I’ve gotten along without it all these years. The aroma and flavor are “Pure Christmas” and that is, as you know, an uncommonly beautiful thing.

Adagio’s Christmas Tea (Pyramid Teabags)

From Adagio: The tea to get you into the holiday spirit! This blend of bright, tangy Ceylon black tea flavored with warm cinnamon, pungent cloves, and orange peels is a Christmas delight. Spicy and fresh aroma, outdoorsy and cozy, with a balanced tangy flavor and slightly sweet finish. Perfect to sip while decking the halls, being jolly, or dreaming of a white Christmas.

Adagio’s Christmas Tea

The Christmas Tea has an unmistakable Ceylon black tea flavor that I love to distraction. It also has hints of one of my favorite flavors in the entire world – Chai tea. It’s like a beautifully delicious Chai Tea meets Christmas kind of experience and I can’t get enough of it.

The cinnamon and orange flavors bring the Christmas and the cardamom and cloves bring the Chai Tea. However, unlike Chai Tea, I love this tea without the accompaniment of milk. I’m not sure why, but when it comes to Chai tea, I don’t exactly love it black. But add some steamed milk and… HEAVEN in a cup.

Crazy Tea Chick’s Christmas Tea LatteThe Christmas tea is the best of both worlds. It’s amazing without milk and it’s amazing as a “Christmas Latte” with steamed milk (truth be told, it’ll rock your world… right around the Christmas tree and back).

To make a Crazy Tea Chick’s Christmas Tea Latte (or any tea latte, as far as that goes), brew your tea doubly strong. If using loose leaf tea, use twice the amount. If using teabags, go with two (or even three if you can handle it stout!). I then pour 1 cup of milk per cup of tea into my Breville Milk Frother and push a button. However, you can also combine the tea and warm milk in a blender and process.

If you happen to have a hand-held milk frother (love these!), you can simply heat your milk, then froth it before adding it to your tea.

I almost always add whipped topping to the top of my tea lattes and usually a little fresh nutmeg and/or cinnamon. In this case, I go with whipped topping, cinnamon and a little orange zest.

Out. Of. This. World. Delicious. Trust me, this is a tea latte you’ll want year-round. Maybe in the summer we can simply call it the “Thinking About Christmas Latte?”

I ordered the Pyramid Teabags and they’re every bit as wonderful as loose leaf tea. You get 15 teabags for $7, which is an unheard of bargain. Adagio also has a lot of fun incentives for their customers and, as much as any company I’ve ever seen, think of their customers first and foremost. Each step of the ordering (and even post-ordering) process makes you feel that it’s all about you… which, in truth, it is!

Adagio’s Christmas TeaI’ve honestly been just blown away by how they treat each order as though it were the first one they ever received. If you have ANY dealings with ANY businesses, you know how rare this is. The fact that it stands out to me says alot about Adagio, its people, how they choose to go about business, and who they choose to be.

I wholeheartedly recommend Adagio teas and gift ideas. In fact, I don’t guess I could be recommending them more if my tea kettle collection depended on it!

Also See:

Adagio Teas: Berries Teas Sampler (Raving Review)

November 8, 2016 by Joi Leave a Comment

Berries Teas Gift Sampler from Adagio Teas

Berries Tea Gift Sampler from Adagio TeasUndoubtedly you’re still doing your Christmas shopping (possibly you’re even just beginning!) – so this particular tea review may be just in the knick of time. The beautiful and delicious Berries Tea Gift Sampler from Adagio Teas is an absolutely perfect gift idea for the tea lovers in your life.

I am a bonafide fanatic when it comes to strawberries and raspberries – seriously, if I had a dime for every strawberry sundae or raspberry smoothie I’ve enjoyed this year, alone, I’d be able to buy my husband a fishing boat! The gal is obsessed with these berries… obsessed.

So, when I first opened the box , I knew right away I’d be trying one of these varieties of tea. Since I’d (of course) had some raspberry tea earlier in the day, I opted for the strawberry.

Strawberry Tea from Adagio Teas

From Adagios Teas:

Crazy for berries? Tart and sweet, this sampler can keep summer in your cup year-round. Each sample makes about 10 cups of tea. This set includes:

blackberry – Ceylon black tea infused with sweetly tart berries. Floral-fruity and bakey aroma, like fresh berry scones.

blueberry – Ceylon black tea with fresh blueberry flavor. Highly aromatic, slightly sweet, rounded texture. Perfect hot or iced!

raspberry – Crisp black tea with playful raspberry flavor. Candy-like aroma, jammy flavor, tangy dry finish, not too ‘cheeky.’

strawberry – Fresh strawberry flavor and bright Ceylon black tea. Fresh sweet-floral and berry flavor, smooth and sugary texture.

Strawberry Tea from Adagio Teas

As soon as I opened the packet of Strawberry, the unmistakable aroma made me unmistakably giddy. Loose leaf teas and tea bags usually (to me, anyway) taste the same, but loose leaf tea does give you the extra benefit of making your nose as happy as your taste buds.

When reviewing tea, I always try it hot and iced – to see if it’s good one way or both ways. The strawberry tea was delicious both ways but I liked it even better over ice. It makes a beautiful glass of iced tea – extra points if you cut up one or two real strawberriesy and add them to the cup.

Raspberry Tea from Adagio Teas

The second tea I tried… oh, come on, you can guess!… was the raspberry tea and it was, quite possibly, EVEN more delicious than the strawberry tea. I’ve tried the rasberry tea both iced and hot and cannot decide which I prefer. It makes an excellent cup of hot tea and it makes an excellent glass of iced tea.

My favorite way of enjoying this delicious tea just happens to be how I’m having it at the time. That’s one of the beautiful things about tea. Most drinks are better either iced or hot, but most teas are wonderful either way. That’s certainly the case with the raspbery tea.

Perfection when iced. Perfection when hot.

Strawberry Tea from Adagio Teas

While I am the biggest fan of strawberries and raspberries in the world, make no mistake about it, I love blackberries and blueberries too, so I looked forward to trying each of these teas as well. They were also uncommonly delicious. In fact, they were as good as the strawberry when served iced and possibly even better than the strawberry when served hot.

Blackberry Tea from Adagio Teas

The blackberry tea (like the raspberry) was delicious iced and hot. It’d be tough to say which way was better, but if my arm were twisted, I’d probably say hot – simply because it made an extraordinary cup of hot tea.

The blueberry tea actually surprised me. I had no idea it’d be as delicious as it was both hot and iced. I’ve never tried blueberry tea and didn’t know what to expect. I’m used to fraternizing with blueberries over cereal or oatmeal, but now that we’ve met for tea, I’ll be a regular blueberry tea drinker.

Adagio Blueberry Tea, Iced

I got kind of cute one day and actually combined the leaves for a “Berry Mix” tea. Results? Insanely good! I’ve only tried my “Berry Mix” hot, but I’d imagine it’d also make a beautiful glass of iced tea.

I see myself easily (easily) ordering more of each one of these four Berries teas from Adagio. They’re simply delcious.

The Tea Gift Sampler would make an excellent gift idea for any tea lover in you life – just be sure to grab one for yourself while you’re at it. Each sampler is less than $10, so it’d be nuts NOT to pamper yourself while you’re at it.

I have more Adagio tea reviews coming this week including a Christmas tea review (tomorrow) that I’m expecially anxious to share with you.

bbb

Adagio

Review: Bella Luna Blue from Adagio Teas (Beautiful, Blissful, and Blue!)

Adagio Teas: Fandom Signature Blends

Zodiac Teas from Adagio… Crazy Cool and Equally Delicious

ingenuiTEA from Adagio Teas: The Easiest and Most Ingenious Way to Brew Loose Leaf Tea (Review)

IngenuiTEA Tea Set

Review: Adagio Teas’ Masala Chai Tea (Loose Leaf)… WOW!

Review: Adagio Tea’s Christmas Tea (Makes a Christmas Latte That’ll Rock You Right Around the Christmas Tree)

Also See:

Adagio Teas: Berries Teas Sampler (Raving Review)

On the Crazy Tea Chick’s Bookshelf

Let’s Have Tea and Talk About Happy Things….

Beautiful Hario Tea Pot

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Adagio

IngenuiTEA Tea Set

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On the Crazy Tea Chick’s Bookshelf

Let’s Have Tea and Talk About Happy Things….

Beautiful Hario Tea Pot

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