August Round Up: The Best, Most Interesting Blogs this Month

Another month has already passed by us. Can you believe it? The Cup of Life has been a bit slower this month than usual, but that will change next. Slowly I have been working on some reorganizing of the blog and that has been a more time consuming project than I expected so my writing moments have been affected. Also, I’ve been trying my hardest to soak in the last few weeks of summer but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited for Autumn. The thought of curling up with Netflix, a soft blanket and a homemade masala chai latte is very appealing.

Luckily, just because I paused a bit this month, the entire blog world didn’t follow. In fact, I found myself doing a lot more reading this month than I usually do, which was nice. I finished some books (I’ll be sharing here on the blog soon enough) and I have stumbled on and read some of the most wonderful posts throughout August. I’ve been looking forward to the end of the month just to share them with you!

Tea

Steep Stories | The Battle of Five Tea Rants – This was definitely my favourite read all month. In fact, if I did a year end blog round up, this would absolutely make the list. I’ve always found it hard to remain polite when I have people telling me their obsessed with tea only to hear them later go on about their “teatox” collection. Geoff has the guts and does an outstanding job at saying pretty much everything that is on my (and other tea blogger’s) mind. He does it in such a way that is quite comical, no offense should be taken. Also, the cute angry gaiwan image was icing on the cake.

The Tea Stylist | The Scent of Jasmine: Making Tea in the Heat of the Night – As I was just finishing Linda’s book, I was excited to come across more reading material from her. She takes the readers on a trip by sharing one of her tea travel stories where she assisted with making jasmine tea. I especially love that this was a changing experience for Linda as she mentions that prior to she was not a fan of jasmine tea.

Thirsty for Tea | The Tea Time Toss-Up – You know that feeling when you get the urge to have some tea, head to your stash only to be left standing there for what feels like hours to decide on 1 tea out of the 100+ you have? I think Bonnie just solved problem with this nifty tea DIY post.

Food

Heart Foodie | Pear Cardamom Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oat – This is a new blog I came across this month and was pretty much day dreaming of this specific recipe for a few days after I noticed it. Unless you can find a way to make oats taste so much more than just oats, I’m not a fan. This recipe is so jam packed with flavours I can not resist. Pair it with a cup of tea (I suggest Darjeeling) or swap the water for steeped tea for another exciting flavour.

Tea With Me | Jasmine Green Tea Lemonade – Another new blog I have officially added to my reading list! Whether I like it or not, summer in Canada is soon ending and I’ll be enjoying the last bit with this delicious and refreshing recipe from Heather.

Health

The Honest Leaf | Bees, Teas, Plants and Trees – How the Bees May Be Responsible for Your Morning Brew! – It’s ironic that I came across and read this blog post while I was sipping on Blend Bee’s Save the Bees tisane. I was always aware that if we want wholesome, delicious foods, we need bees. If bees didn’t thrive, neither would we. Sometimes I can often forget that this also applies to tea. The Camellia Sinensis plant needs bees as well. This informative post talks about how we can be a part of the solution, save the bees, teas and our food supply.

Beauty 

The Girl With Bangs | My DIY teatox journey (part 1) – Natalie came to me with questions regarding the “teatox” trend. I was happy to hear that instead of just giving in and buying “tea” from a teatox company she did her research to see if it’s really even worth the hype. In part one of this series, we briefly chatted about my thoughts on this trend. The best thing that came from this? Natalie is trying to make true tea a part of her daily lifestyle (not just for “health benefits”) and will report back about her experiences in part two.