Aldi's — a source for tea lovers

 

When tea friend Susan B. emailed last week to say that she'd found some fun new teas at Aldi, I immediately made a mental note to stop by the next time I was near ours, and that was Saturday. What I actually *needed* was carrots and raisins to make the carrot salad that Daddy always likes on Father's Day, but I picked up quite a few treats for myself as well, including the comestibles that made the above teatime snack possible.

I didn't find the teas Susan did, so I will have to make a return trip, but I did find these two (and for just $1.19 each). I haven't had English Breakfast tea in a while, and for some reason, the idea of a nice brisk black tea suddenly appealed to me. When I opened the package, I was happy that the tea bags even *smelled* like fresh tea. I absolutely loved this tea and had two cups, hot, which tells you something, as it's already pretty hot and humid here in Georgia, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this tea. I haven't tried the lemon tea yet, but I expect it to be good as well.

And when I was looking for the tea, I came across these "Cakebites," which were a delightful cinnamony treat. While not quite the quality of homemade, they were nonetheless rather tasty, with very tender cake layers, and these three bites were just enough to feel like I'd had an indulgent little snack that afternoon.

Another indulgence? These Lemon Crème chocolate bars. Since a serving is two bars, I realized that a single tiny bar at a time, slightly smaller than a Kit Kat wafer, would be a nice 105-calorie treat alongside a cup of tea, and the lemon filling was sunny tasting but not too tart.

I am still rather new to Aldi shopping. This was, I believe, only my third or fourth trip to the store, and every single time, I forget that you're supposed to take your own grocery bags. I was about to find one of their dollar bags to hold my groceries, but I saw some pretty totes for just $8.99 that were spacious and comfortable to carry. The rubberized, lightweight metal handles called out "craft supply tote," so this is the one I got instead of the flimsy bag, and it held all of the above items plus my carrots and raisins, some artichoke hearts for Alex, and a bag of mandarin oranges. And I plan to return soon to see if they have the teas I originally went after!