A sweet lil' discovery

A nearby neighborhood had a "dessert crawl" today. You buy a ticket, you get a map. At each participating location in the shopping district, you get a sweet sample. Our group enjoyed brownies, toffee, truffles, cookies and more — the winner: the red velvet cupcakes, made with beets and with a hint of citrus, from a Southern joint. Suffice to say, when we got home, bloated and bleary, we needed a pick-me-up.

One of the stops along the route was the plainly titled Middle East Bakery. After enjoying bite-sized baklava, I perused the market's tea aisle — bags, bags, bags. But wait, at the end were several plastic tubs of tea blends with homemade labels: Moroccan mint, a hibiscus blend, and an inspiring-looking chai. Turns out they're blended at the market with overnighted tea and spices. The chai is made with northern India black tea, plus sizable chunks of ginger, bits of cinnamon sticks, whole cloves and broken cardamom pods, all evenly mixed. And the inkjet-printed label said, in all caps, 'WONDERFULLY WARMING TEA."



Well, on a grey, chilly evening like this — autumnal, sure, but almost wintry even — it hit the spot. Fine on its own, but wholly satisfying with soymilk, maybe in need of a little sugar — but, thank you, I've had quite enough for today.