Sweet teatime treats from Portland

When I met my friend Marilyn for lunch last week, she came bearing some unexpected but delightful gifts of tea and chocolate. How did she know? Ha! What made these gifts even more meaningful was that they were made in (and transported to Georgia from) Portland!

I’ve had tea from Steven Smith Teamaker only a time or two before, usually found at Whole Foods, I believe.

These Meadow blend herbal tea sachets were individually wrapped (which very much came in handy when I took them on an overnight trip this weekend), and the silken sachets were especially pretty because of…

This blend of ingredients: chamomile, hyssop, rooibos, lemon myrtle, rose petals, and linden flowers. I merely scanned the list of ingredients before I first tried this tea, and when I tasted it, I detected a sweet little something that nicely balanced the flavor of the chamomile.

Only then did I take a second look and realized this tea contains rooibos, which I absolutely love!

And I must say this Creo chocolate bar is one of the prettiest ones I’ve ever seen. Look at these lovely embossed blocks of chocolate and the freeze-dried strawberry slices.

I even enjoyed reading the info on the package about how this chocolate is made. It had a creamy smooth chocolate taste that was definitely enhanced by the strawberries and hibiscus. It was certainly a generous gift that I’m continuing to enjoy, and now I’m jealous that Marilyn has both a tea blender and a chocolatier in her town!