Remember that macaron craze back in 2011? Yeah, so I was late to that party by 3 years; I just tried to make them this month. My second attempt at making them went really well, but they were stuck to the wax paper, so I had to start all over. Almond meal is pretty expensive, so if you’re a Slowpoke like me in experimenting with macarons, you’ll want to get the cheapest almond meal you can find (Trader Joe’s) so it won’t hurt your wallet so much if you mess up. The art of making macarons is a science more than it is an art & when I get my hands on more almond meal, I’ll be posting up some recipes for macarons.
For the most part of last week, I came down with a terrible cold thanks to hanging out in a cold wet swimsuit for 5 hours at a day club in Vegas. I felt as though death was approaching as I figuratively coughed out my lungs, so the simplest throat soothing remedy was a nice warm cup of tea. When you’ve a cold, it’s best to go with a pleasant green tea with ginger to help make you feel a little better. Fortunately, I just purchased a tin of loose leaf coconut tea with ginger & lemongrass from Trader Joe’s the week before. Coconut is all the rage these days & it deserves to be! It’s got amazing healthy & nutritious properties such as having the same amount of electrolytes you’d find in a sports drink & it’s rich in fiber, vitamins (C, B1, B, E, B3, B5, B6), & minerals (iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, selenium). Using coconut water instead of plain water in your smoothies will help jump start your day to a healthier one, so imagine how wonderful it is as a tea paired with ginger & lemongrass.
Coconut Green Tea with Lemongrass & Ginger Pairing
This 5 oz tea tin was about $5.99 at Trader Joe’s & although that might seem expensive, the quality of the tea & the quantity are justified. This particular tea has a nice light green tea flavor with hints of coconut & ginger. The lemongrass is so subtle that it doesn’t derail from the coconut. I apologize I forgot to capture a photo of the actual loose leaf tea. Just blame it on my cold! Anyway, this tea pairs quite nicely with something light & sweet such as a sugar cookie or some coconut macarons.
If you follow me on Instagram, this might look familiar to you: my third attempt at making coconut macarons with vanilla buttercream. Sorry for potato quality, I took it on my iPhone & forgot to take it on my camera. The macarons turned out quite lovely, but the cookie’s exterior texture was rough like sandpaper. Macarons–a French confection made with egg whites, sugar, & almond meal–are famous for being these perfectly circular smooth french cookies, so I guess I’ll have to figure out how to sift my almond meal better. These are not to be confused with macaroons, which are bite sized coconut cakes. One “o” = French sweet. Two “o’s” = mini coconut cake.
Have any of you had macarons before or tried making them? What was your experience like? What are some of your favorite flavors? What’s your favorite tea to grab when you’re feeling under the weather?
P.S. sorry this was boring. I’ve been trying to get into Mad Men since Josh loves it so much, but I’m afraid my post is reflecting how I feel about the series: boring. Shots fired!!! I so funny, but not really.
Denysia Yu
I didn’t see the coconut green tea when I was at Trader Joe’s last time! I will need to find it! I do like to pick up their regular green tea, and their mango black tea.
Hope you are feeling better!
Tiff
It’s a brand new item!! π Thanks. π
Raisa
At least you’re trying with the macarons! I completely missed that trend even though a lot of people I followed on instagram was all over it. Now that I think about it, I haven’t tried macarons at all! But I do love macaroons. π
Gurrrl you were in Vegas? Where’d you stay? I was still there (frantically packing) but we’re on the road now.
Tiff
Haha they’re so pretty!! They’re really such a science to get down. Everything just has to be right or LULULZ NICE TRY HAHA. π I feel like that bully from The Simpsons is pointing & laughing at me when I make a bad batch. I love macaroons too!
I was there for the fourth of July weekend & I stayed at this resort that was off the strip. Wouldn’t want to stay there again because it was so far from everything, but it was nice. Have a fun road trip back!
Tina
Yummmy!! I love macarons. I feel like we don’t have very good ones in Seattle.
Tina
http://www.justatinabit.com
Tiff
You can always try to make them yourself if you’re feeling adventurous! I’m sure there’s a great French pastry shop somewhere that’ll have wonderful macarons. Just gotta Yelp it!
Tina
My best friend is a pastry chef so I always get my sweets from her! But she hasn’t made macarons yet but now I will bug her for it heheh
Nancy
Macarons are expensive! I’ve only had 2 in my life, which one of them was from the Farmer’s Market next door to The Grove. I heard making macarons can be expensive because it’s delicate and needs extra caution annnd I’ve seen a couple of posts from Ivy about it. Coconuts are delicious! Especially if you have it cracked fresh and all of that stuff.
You’re getting there with the macarons. At least it’s not cracking at this point and working on that texture should do some good :). I feel the same way about The Walking Dead; 6 episodes in, I’m done with the series :I.
Tiff
Yeah, they really are! But I can now definitely understand why. Almond meal from my local grocery store is about $15 ….. -_- It’s less expensive at Trader Joe’s, but the almond meal is expensive, plus the labor, plus the other ingredients, & boom, there you have the $1.50 price for each small little cookie.
I’ve actually never had my macarons crack before & I know others always have this problem, but my problem was just the texture & whether or not they had feet. I want them to rise more, so it has to do with proper mixing technique haha.
HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF THE WALKING DEAD LIKE THAT!!!!! There are zombies eating people, how is that boring?!? -_- Josh just got into it & now he’s on season 3. He’ll say, “just one episode” & then 3 more happen haha.
Kalliste
I had my very first macaron today and yes someone was calling them macaroons… Anyway it was raspberry and chocolate and eh, not for me I don’t think, the texture was right but I didn’t like it.
Tiff
Did you not like the flavor or the texture combined with the chocolate? If you like sweet cookies, they’re pretty good haha.
Kya
Eeee. I love love love macarons. They are so delicious. π I have tried making them, but failed terribly so many times. π It is however, great to see that even though they are a little lumpy and hard they are looking good! π
I hope you feel better soon!
Tiff
Aw don’t give up!! I actually tried making it with coconut flour & that was a fail. DON’T DO THAT; learn from my noobness.
They were actually perfect in moisture & texture in terms of chewiness, but they were physically not … beautiful as I’d like them to be because they weren’t smooth.
Thank you! Still sick, but recovering. π
Jamie
Your pictures are always beautiful. I especially love the wood background in all your food pictures -beautiful, and authentic looking.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a macaron before. Every time I go to Starbucks, I always see them there, but I never bother to buy one – even though they’re tempting. I could be wrong and had one a long time ago and don’t remember trying one; it’s a possibility, but I really don’t think I’ve tried one, so I can’t say what flavor I like best. But, they do look rather tasty.
When I’m sick, I try to buy Lipton’s Green Tea/Honey/Lemon tea bags – the kind you dunk with the string attached–I think that’s the title anyways–and it comes in a box of 100 tea bags. My boyfriend introduced them to me and I’ve loved it ever since. We haven’t really been getting sick because we try to stay away from public places. The only times we’re ever sick is from sinus related things, such as headaches, migraines, sneezing etc. It’s funny too, because it’s been a year to two years since I’ve last had a laryngitis fit. My last one was two years ago before I moved into my apartment. The last time I got sick was at my apartment. Gotta love being sick *rolls eyes*. I hope you get better soon!
Tiff
Thank you, Jamie! If you ever try a macaron on one of your days of indulgence, try to get it from an actual French pastry shop somewhere so you get a great first time experience (Yelp it!) instead of Starbucks.
Honey Lemon Green tea is a great remedy for when you’re feeling under the weather. I’d recommend loose leaf tea over the satchel teas any day though. They’re much more potent, higher in quality, & taste better. You’ll find that even though the initial sticker price might be kind of expensive, you’ll see that they last a really long time.
Ciara
I saw that tea at Trader Joe’s the other day, but I decided to get the peppermint one instead, lol. I totally should have gotten that one! Next time, next time! Some of my favorite teas would have to be peppermint, honey lemon ginseng and chamomile. I remember tasting this tea at Teavana called Peach Champagne (I think) and it was absolutely wonderful! I really want to try some new teas, but I haven’t had the chance to shop for them.
Macarons! I love how pretty they look! I’ve tried them twice. Once from Central Market (which were horrible) and the frozen ones from Trader Joe’s (which were pretty good). I haven’t found a bakery that sells them, but I’ve been searching on Yelp. I would love to learn how to make them though. I follow a few people on Instagram who sell them and the flavors they think of sound amazing! I would love to try my hand at making them someday!
Also, thank you for linking me! It made me smile! ^_^
Tiff
Girl, branch out haha. But now I have to get the peppermint one because I’ve never had it from them. Teavana has some really good teas, but they are really expensive. I was told by a tea expert that their teas are more expensive than their actual quality. She worked at a tea store & I tried her store’s teas … lemme tell you, I believeeee it. Try tea shopping online! Search around to see what others are saying about their teas before you buy it, but always go for loose leaf. π
Oh it’s too bad the ones you tried from CM weren’t good. Try the ones from a French bakery or teashop. Those should be much better in terms of quality. I just tried making another batch today. Tasted great, looked…not great. IT IS SUCH A SCIENCE. I wish I understood how to figure this out. Sigh. π I hope you document your attempts at trying them one day!
Holly
Making macarons is apparently really difficult, so good for you for having a go. They certainly look like macarons. π I haven’t actually tried them before but I really want to.
I’ve also not tried drinking tea to help when I’m ill. I drink hot blackcurrant juice which I find really helps to sooth a sore throat.
Tiff
They’re really quite tricky. I think because I live right next to the ocean & the air is quite moist, I have a much more difficult time getting them to set correctly. I’m also having problems with the baking part now. They taste just fine, but … there are so many methods on what is & isn’t right. SIGH. I’m so determined to get this right so that I can finally have a master recipe for it. Next time, it’s gonna be RIGHT.
Ah the thing is, when you have a sore throat, the best thing is to try a drink that isn’t an acidic fruit juice because it’ll hurt your stomach more. A nice neutral tea, however, is much better for it. I do love blackcurrants though. They have great antioxidant properties so they’ll help boost your immunities, but they can be harsh on your throat.
Cat
I hope you’re feeling better! I don’t really drink tea, but a tea with lemongrass and ginger sounds nice π I feel like macarons are still really big. I like them a lot, but so many places have popped up and not all of them have good macarons. There’s only a couple places in Austin that I actually like to buy from.
I think that’s awesome that you’re making your own macarons! I’ve been meaning to give that a try, though I’ve heard it can be hard to get right. My favorite flavors are just a good ol’ vanilla and a few others like salted caramel, lemon, and orange.
Tiff
They’ve definitely passed over here on the west coast. We’ve passed the cronut too & onto donuts + ice cream. Also ramen burgers are huge now. Lines for days! I’m surprised that you’ve never tried them yourself (to make macarons I mean) since you’re a baker! I’m sure you’d get it right on the first try.
AnneMarie
I love Macarons! I’m surprised you jumped on that bandwagon late because I know you’re a big foodie. In terms of the almond meal, isn’t an alternative taking almonds and grinding them up yourself? I’ve never actually made them before but I figured that’s really all that almond meal is. Correct me if I’m wrong though.
And that tea sounds delicious. Maybe I’ll grab some when I’m back in the states. I’m still going through a tin full of vanilla coconut green tea I got for my birthday last year. I’ve been savoring that tin because it’s some of the best green tea I’ve ever had…plus it was a gift.
In terms of favorite flavors, I always love something with chocolate. I really love chocolate ones filled with nutella. Other good flavors I’ve had before though include passion fruit, green tea, strawberry and coffee. There’s so many flavors though so go wild! I can’t wait to see your future attempts at making macarons (they’re tricky but I know you’ll master it in no time!)
Tiff
Honestly, I’m not the hugest fan of macarons. I tried them when they were popular, but I was like, “yee meh”. I think that there was way too much hype over them & I prefer cupcakes to them, but I am still so determined to make amazing macarons. I’m a perfectionist so I just have to get them right, especially because I’m not much of a bake so if I can do this, I’ll feel as though I can bake anythinggg.
As for the almond meal, yes it is just ground up almonds, but the process of doing that in a food processor can be kind of tedious. It’s also expensive to buy tons of almonds to grind up too. Gotta make sure the almonds aren’t toasted or salted, just plain.
That tea you’ve been savoring sounds great! You should definitely get yourself a new tin that’s similar or completely new. π
jolene
Ohmygosh I love love love macarons! But they’re so expensive to buy. And I’ve heard so many horror stories about how they’re difficult to make, so I’ve never tried yet :s
Tiff
Yeahh they’re tough to buy & I think their prices are justified haha because they’re so difficult to make!! π
Michelle
I have yet to find a tea that I like, but I’ll continue looking for it.
I’ve never tried macarons, but I should. I’m going to really try and taste and experience new things. I should at least. Life is too short to order the same old thing.
Amy
I’m pretty late to the macaron party too. I bought my first few I think last month. (And they were so good! Taro and mango glory!) Oh I’ve been ogling macaron recipes but I’ve never managed to muster the guts (or, you know, leg muscles) to chase down the recipes and poke at batter. I’m not much of a baker.
I bought a tin of Harney and Sons coconut green tea and it tasted absolutely scrumptious! I’m not really into green tea (drank too much of it growing up, haha) but it does pair nicely with fruit!
Tiff
Taro & mango!! Wow that sounds sooo good. Yummm. They’re really just so difficult to make, but when I figure them out masterfully, I’ll probably encourage giving them a go since I’ll have some…you know, tips to not fail. I’m not much of a baker either. I’m much more of a cook (it’s more practical anyway!), but I’m really determined to get these right.
Harney & Sons, yum! My brother got me a tin when he was in NYC & it’s so good. I can only imagine how wonderful yours is!
Alice B
I haven’t eaten anything other than bread and drank milk today and now that I read macarons on your post, my stomach is grumbling T-T your blog is a baaaaad idea.
It’s awesome that you’re trying out on making macarons. Post them pretty pictures when you have a collection of them (I’m imagining a tiffany blue colored macaron right now). Are you interested in cronuts too?
My first experience with macarons, it wasn’t that satisfying. If I remember correctly, I first bought macarons from pierre herme in hong kong. They were too sweet that I found it uh..kind of disgusting? It was then when I came back here and tried macarons from Bakerzin (not sure if you know? they’re available in singapore, I think) that I kind of changed my opinions on them. It was a massive trend though, just like how overrated red velvet is. Funny how nowadays people don’t seem to care about macarons at all.
Eh, I wonder how does coconut green tea tastes like. The package is adorable though. When it comes to green tea I always opt for the japanese ones – like genmaicha green tea kind. I like black tea too~ π like earl grey or english breakfast… TWG tea is the common choice, I suppose?
rika
Trader Joeβs is one of my favorite groceries to go to, they are affordable and I live just few minutes away from TJs! Iβve seen that product before, βCoconut Green Teaβ, I tried their matcha (passion fruit or something) and I hated it. I must give this a try since I like a bit of sweet or fruity tea. Wow, your green macarons are gorgeous (and your nailsβ¦hehe, I love different nail colors on my nails, too), I wish I can eat them π I need some vegan macarons now! I donβt think I have had macarons before, I imagine I would like any flavors. I love fruity teas (the loose one or dried fruits) and mostly black tea (no mylk, no sugar).
Tiff
Really? I liked it okay, I think I still have it, but it’s really too sweet. I add more water to dilute it, but then it’s not as good. Their regular green matcha mix is really nice. The coconut tea is really light & subtle. It’s not too fruity, but it’s really soothing. I would love to try making a vegan macaron, except macarons are completely dependent on the egg whites. We need a food scientist to help us figure out a vegan alternative!