Spill the Tea: Tea Bar and Fusion Café Review

My friend transferred to Chico State for school and after she graduated she ended up staying in Chico for several years. I would go visit her from time to time, and once when I went she decided to take me to the Tea Bar and Fusion Café. I LOVED it! From that time on, whenever I am in Chico I have to stop there and get tea or food.

The Tea Bar and Fusion Café first opened in Chico in 2004, down by the college and high school. They later opened another smaller location close to the Chico mall. A couple years ago they launched a third location in Sacramento, CA; (although I’ve heard the service is not as good there.)

The Tea Bar has an extensive tea menu, you can order Kombucha, hot tea (various ones), frosted tea lattes, blended tea sorbets, iced teas, sparkling teas, and hot tea lattes. I’ve had most of the items off their menu and everything has been absolutely delicious.

My absolute favorite (besides A pot of Earl Grey) is their Matcha Mint Frost (Matcha green tea mixed with ice cream and topped with fresh mint.) It is so delicious that I dream of it sometimes. I have tried to recreate it, but I can never quite get it as good as theirs.

Even now I can’t wait until it is warm enough to go purchase one.

With their lattes I love the Matcha Sin, Chai Tea, and the Honey Lavender. They are all so good!

Their food menu is small but everything on it is so good. You can order snacks like hummus and naan, edamame, etc or you can get a build your own bowl/wrap. With the build your own you have the option of a bowl or a wrap; choice of meat, greens, rice, and dressing. My favorite is the bowl with Cracked Pepper London Broil, Romaine Leaves, and creamy teriyaki sauce.

This place is so good that if you happen to be in Chico, I urge you to stop by. The food is healthy and delicious, the tea amazing, and it is a fun place to be with a nice atmosphere.

For more tea house reviews, go to Spill the Tea: Tea List’s High Tea Review

For more tea posts, go to Tea Party Tea Terms Word Scramble

Spill the Tea: Tea List’s High Tea Review

So I have been wanting to do this for a while, a looong time! It’s been on my to-do list to incorporate tea shops and tea places reviews, but I just haven’t had the time. It seems I have a thousand different things I want to write and review and just no time to do them all.

So I ended up telling myself that when my tea photos popped up on my “on this day” part of Instagram or Facebook timeline it would be time to actually start reviewing them.

A few years ago some friends and I decided to meet up for tea. We tried to pick a place that we could equally meet up at, and settled on the Tea List in Davis, CA

The Tea List is located in Davis, CA right next to an antique shop and other cute little buildings. It opened in 2003, and except for closing in 2020, it has been available for a full tea service.

We had the High Tea Service which consists of your choice of Tea, a scone with fresh Devonshire cream & berry preserves, an assortment of small tea sandwiches (cucumber mint, veggie garden, turkey pesto and chicken salad), French deserts and fresh fruits.

They had us sit outside as it was a warm November. (We either have warm ones or rainy ones.)

Everything was delicious, although it was too much food for me. I ended up having to give the rest of my share to my friends. Next time I go, I will definitely choose a smaller meal option.

This place was a quite a win. If you are in the Davis area, I highly recommend that you drop by.

For more tea house reviews, go to Spill the Tea: Tea Elle C Garden Cafè Review

For more tea posts, go to Marmalade Rolls

The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club: Cucumber Aioli Canapés

So every Wednesday, starting in October, I have been a part of a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club on The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. This is different from my book club and the Book Club Picks I have been reviewing (and desperately need to catch up on). I also need to catch up on these recipes. Week three we had Organic India Tulsi Masala Chai Tea, Parmesan and Chive Scones, Cucumber Aioli Canapés, Ham & Apple Sandwiches, Cranberry and Brie Bites, and Mini Pumpkin Creme Brulee.

I couldn’t share the recipes in October as I was in the middle of Horrorfest IX, so I am catching up and of course next is sandwiches.

This comes from Teatime Celebrations magazine. The recipe did call for alfalfa sprouts but I forgot them, but I did have leftover parsley and threw that on top.

Ingredients Lemon-Pepper Aioli:

• 1/4 Cup of Mayonnaise
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Fresh Lemon Zest
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, lemon zest, and pepper-stirring well.
2. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to a day.

Ingredients Sandwiches:

• 3 Large Slices of Firm White Sandwich Bread, Frozen
• 1 English Cucumber
• Lemon-Pepper Aioli
• Parsley

Directions:

1. Using a 2-inch cutter, cut 12 shapes out of the 3 slices of frozen bread. Discard scraps.
2. Place bread in resealable bag and let thaw.
3. Spread the aioli onto each bread square.
4. Using a mandolin or sharp paring knife, cut 60 paper-thin slices from the cucumber.
5. Place 5 cucumber slices on each bread square, overlapping each circle.
6. Serve immediately.

These were good but not as good as the Cucumber-Four Peppercorn Goat Cheese Canapés.  But that’s okay, I like trying out recipes and trying to find the perfect cucumber sandwich.

For more from The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club, go to Parmesan and Chive Scones

For more recipes, go to Heirloom Tomato Tart

For more Tea Time Magazine Recipes, go to Lemon Gingerbread Cake

For more sandwich recipes, go to Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches

For more cucumber sandwich recipes, go to Cucumber-Four Peppercorn Goat Cheese Canapés

For more tea posts, go to Fotina Flower Puffed Pastry

The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club: Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches

So every Wednesday, starting in October, I have been a part of a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club on The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. This is different from my book club and the Book Club Picks I have been reviewing (and desperately need to catch up on). I also need to catch up on these recipes, week two was Chami Spice Ginger Plum Tea, Dark Chocolate Ginger Scones, Curried Egg Salad Triple Stacks Sandwiches, Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches, Fotina Flower Pastry, and Lemon Gingerbread Cake.

I couldn’t share the recipes in October as I was in the middle of Horrorfest IX, so I am catching up and of course after sandwich number one, we have sandwich number two.

YUM!

This comes from Tea Time Magazine. 

Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches Ingredients:

• 4 Slices Honey Wheat Bread
• 8 Slices of Smoked Turkey
• 1 Red Apple
• 1 Recipe Cranberry Spread
• 8 Leaves of Baby Spinach

Directions:

1. Using a serrated knife, cut and discard crusts from bread slices, creating a perfect 3-inch square.
2. Cut each square diagonally into 4 triangles.
3. Cover bread with damp paper towels to prevent drying out while preparing other ingredients.
4. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut 8 triangles the same size as the bread triangles from turkey.
5. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut 8 very thin vertical slices from the apple.
6. Spread a layer of the cranberry spread onto each bread triangle.
7. On the cranberry side of 8 bread triangles layer a spinach leaf, a turkey slice, and an apple slice.
8. Top each with a remaining bread triangle, cranberry side down.
9. Serve immediately, or cover with damp paper towels, place in a covered container, and refrigerate for a few hours until ready to serve.

Cranberry Spread Ingredients:

• 1/3 Cup of Mayonnaise
• 3 Tablespoons of Jellied Cranberry Sauce with Cranberries
• 1 Tablespoon of Yellow Mustard
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, cranberry sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper.
2. Whisk well.

These were delicious sandwiches and a perfect fall time tea savory.

For more from The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club, go to Curried Egg Salad Triple Stacks Sandwiches

For more recipes, go to Dark Chocolate Ginger Scones

For more Tea Time Magazine Recipes, go to Tea Time Magazine’s Ham and Cheese Tea Sandwiches

For more sandwiches, go to Cucumber-Four Peppercorn Goat Cheese Canapés

For more tea posts, go to Mini Apple Pies

The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club: Curried Egg Salad Triple Stacks Sandwiches

So every Wednesday, starting in October, I have been a part of a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club on The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. This is different from my book club and the Book Club Picks I have been reviewing (and desperately need to catch up on). I also need to catch up on these recipes, week two was Chami Spice Ginger Plum Tea, Dark Chocolate Ginger Scones, Curried Egg Salad Triple Stacks Sandwiches, Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches, Fotina Flower Pastry, and Lemon Gingerbread Cake.

I couldn’t share the recipes in October as I was in the middle of Horrorfest IX, so I am catching up and of course after scones comes sandwich number one.

This comes from Tea Time Magazine. 

Emma (1996)

Ingredients:

• 6 Large Hardboiled Eggs
• 1/3 Cup of Mayonnaise
• 1/2 Cup of Finely Chopped Celery
• 2 Tablespoons of Chopped Green Onion Tops
• 1 Tablespoon of Yellow Mustard
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Curry Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Ground Black Pepper
• 9 Slices of very thin Wheat Bread

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl and using a pastry blender, finely chop eggs.
2. Add mayonnaise, celery, onion, mustard, curry powder, salt, and pepper; stir until thoroughly combined.
3. Place egg salad in a covered container, and refrigerate until cold, about 4 hours.
4. Spread 3 tablespoons egg salad onto 6 bread slices.
5. With egg salad sides up, stack 2 of the 6 slices, and top with a plain bread slice.
6. Repeat with remaining bread slices to create 3 triple-stack sandwiches.
7. Using a serrated bread knife, trim and discard crusts from all sides of sandwiches.
8. Cut each sandwich into 3 finger sandwiches.
9. Serve immediately, or cover with damp paper towels, place in a covered container and refrigerate for a few hours until ready to serve.

Now I am not a big fan of curry, I am really sensitive to scents and the intensity of curry doesn’t appeal to me. These however were absolutely delicious! I could not stop gobbling them up!

For more from The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club, go to Dark Chocolate Ginger Scones

For more recipes, go to Mini Apple Pies

For more Tea Time Magazine Recipes, go to Cucumber-Four Peppercorn Goat Cheese Canapés

For more sandwiches, go to Tea Time Magazine’s Ham and Cheese Tea Sandwiches

For more tea posts, go to Tea Time Magazine’s Ham and Cheese Tea Sandwiches