Diva Tea Time: Masala Chai Tea and ''The Mill River Recluse'' Book Review

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Diva Tea Time:
 Masala Chai Tea and ''The Mill River Recluse'' Book Review


Hi Divas!

Back in February on my Qatar trip I enjoyed a beautiful high tea experience at the famous Torch hotel in Doha. I ordered an exotic blend of tea called Masala Chai that was served in a vintage Arabic tea pot (Instagram picture here) along with yummy biscotti biscuits. Ever since I have been back in my home town Cape Town, I have been on the hunt to find this specific blend of tea or at least it's equivalent. Alas, my hunting skills have been really unsuccessful trying to find the perfect Masala blend. Instead on one of my grocery shopping trips with my mom I found a tea called, Rooibos Chai Tea. Now for my international readers, Rooibos is an indigenous plant group in South Africa that is used to make tea, skin care products and many other things. It is very common and cheap in South Africa. Any way the part that intrigued me the most was the Chai part. I read the box and it said the tea is infused with pepper, cinnamon, cardamom seed, cloves and ginger. From my taste bud memory, it kind of sounded similar to what I tasted in Qatar and decided to give it a try.


I have seriously been enjoying this blend of tea lately. It is spicy as the Chai ingredients suggests but not too overwhelming. I think the Rooibos tea leaves definitely tones down the spicy flavour and adds a sweetness to it. Now, I must say that this tea lacks the Masala kick, that I had in the Torch Hotel. There was just something about that tea that made it so unique and beautiful. Hence my hunt for the perfect Masala Chai Tea continues in my home town, but for now I am enjoying this local Rooibos brand to keep my taste buds satisfied. Drinking tea is a very calming and relaxing experience for me. I love to relax and unwind with my herbal flavoured teas at night while reading a good book.




Speaking of books, I think this will be my first book review on the blog ever. I am an avid reader and love going to the library and finding new books to read. My favourite books are definitely novels. I don't really enjoy reading autobiographies and self help books. I like to read a novel where my imagination transports me into another world or time. I bought The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan at a warehouse book sale more than a year ago. I think I paid R30 ($3) for it at the time. Now I know they always say never judge a book by its cover. But, I have to be honest and tell you I literally bought the book for the cover! Lol. There were so many books at this warehouse that this one and a few other pretty covers really stood out to me. I only started reading this book recently because I had so many other novels to get through. Here is my review:


The story is about an old woman who lives in a quaint little town way up on a hill in the biggest mansion looking over the community. She is known as a recluse and a bit of a strange old lady and sometimes described as a scary witch between younger children. She lives soul alone in this mansion and hardly ever ventures out the house or dares to meet anybody from the town. At the start of the book she dies and all her secrets of why she always lived alone, why she never opened herself up to people and who she really was is revealed. The people of the town hardly knew anything about this little old lady but she knew so much about them and she impacts their lives after her death in a major way. The sub plots are all based on the residents of Mill River and their daily lives. Their stories are all intertwined in one another like a fishing net.


The Book is described as a ''The love story that has touched a million hearts''. This is definitely not your typical romantic love story. It is a story about loving your neighbour as yourself. It is about how important community is and that there is always hope and new beginnings. I really enjoyed this book. It was light reading material and the story was easy to follow. There were definitely some predictable moments and parts where I felt the author took the easy way out with certain stories. But the book really keeps you in suspense with the main story line towards the end. It would be perfect to relax with this book on the beach or under a thick blanket at the fire place during winter. It is a heart warming story and I would recommend this novel if you are looking for some light holiday reading


Wishing you a stunning week.
Much love! Xxxx

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10 comments

  1. hey desle! i hope you can get the tea you really want. i hate when that happens. some things are so hard to get. And some things never compare. Now i want to read that book! how intriguing. i want to know what happened. hahaha so sad she lived alone. i don't want to end up like that :(
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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    1. OOH, If you do read the book let me know what you think of it Kim. xxxx

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  2. A lovely post, Diva Desle! This book sounds interesting. I am keen to try the Rooibos Chai tea, based on your review, it sounds good. :D

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  3. The tea sounds interesting, but I doubt I'll find anything like it here. I love stories about lonely people!

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    1. It is a really hard blend to find. I think you will enjoy this book too ;-)

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  4. Chai tea is definitely a weakness of mine. Pity the restaurants around Cape Town mostly serve that powdered mix :(

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    1. I know, the powdered mix is not great. I love the real deal ;-)

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