Tea - Loose Leaf Tea - Ramblings

Archive for July, 2008

Thunderbolt Tea’s Arya Ruby ‘08 First Flush is a great example of a truly tasty Darjeeling. Thunderbolt touts this as one of their highest quality teas, but unfortunately for those of us who might be interested in ordering some, the tea is already sold out. From first glance, the tea does not look to be anything impressive. The dried leaves are black, long and wiry, showing a good degree of twisting; nothing would indicate that this tea is any different than other darjeelings. Luckily, however, the leaves produce a really delightful tea. I was impressed with the light color of the tea, even after infusing for nearly 4 minutes. The previously stringy dried leaves opened up to rather large pieces. The color of the tea was a greenish- brown, nowhere near the coffee-esque dark blackish-brown colors that some teas can develop after a considerably long infusion. The flavor of this tea is crisp and clean, with marked floral and fruity notes , followed by just a hint of butteriness. The fruity and floral tones gave the tea a natural sweetness that made the tea perfectly enjoyable without the need to add sugar. Thunderbolt tea’s website speaks of the fruity and floral flavors of this tea, and also mentions that a chocolate/caramel flavor is detectable. I tried to discern the chocolate/caramel flavor but was unsuccessful. I did notice, however, that tea had a slightly smoky finish to it, perhaps reminiscent of a weak Earl Gray. Overall, I was very impressed with this tea. The tea is a bit heartier than other first flush darjeelings I have had, but is still mellow and clean enough to not be too over-powering or pungent. I would describe it as having a medium body. And of course, this tea gets bonus points for being organic. It’s too bad for me, because if the tea wasn’t already sold out, I would consider purchasing some for myself.

There is a quote by George Bernard Shaw about living your life for the community, in my opinion Tetulia teas have embraced this ideal perfectly. They work through a cooperative seeking to advance the lives of the Bangladeshi people working their farms by education initiatives and a cattle loaning program.

Looking at this tea I am reminded of just how much I truly love a good basic black tea, a little rice milk and occasionally a little honey and I am set. I have to say this tea is probably the best basic black I have had in a while, slightly nutty, slightly smokey, and perfectly balanced. With a commitment to sustainability and the community I am a happy camper with Tetulia Black. I even found myself hoping that my local grocery stores would be carrying them while shopping yesterday, but I do not believe this company has gotten to the point of being carried on grocery store shelves.

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community…and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live… I rejoice in life for its own sake.” -George Bernard Shaw

Chai has become increasingly popular lately, and thus it is no surprise that more and more companies specializing in the spicy blend are emerging. The Slo Chai brand, which was completely new to me, is a fair trade company based in California. They offer a variety of tea types and products, including teabags, loose tea, already-brewed liquids, and a chai cream ales. My sample of their “Black Tea and Spices” was in teabag form. The teabag looks pretty typical, like any standard teabag. The tea smells pretty typical, like any standard chai. The tea tastes pretty typical, like any standard chai. There seems to be a trend here. In all, this was just a typical, average, standard chai, but still an enjoyable enough cup of tea. There is just really no stand-out qualities in this blend. The Slo Chai website mentions that their Black Tea and Spices blend contains the usual suspects in a chai spice line-up (cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, star anise, cinnamon, clove, black pepper), as well as orange peel. Like the tea leaves itself, all of the spice ingredients are organic. I thought that the orange peel would add a really interesting twist to this otherwise average blend, but disappointingly, I could barely detect any citrus flavor.

Chai is typically prepared with ample amounts of milk and sugar. However, I found that the addition of even a little bit of milk diluted the brew to a watery liquid with very little spicy flavor. Overall, while this tea was decent and certainly drinkable, it isn’t a tea I would recommend for die-hard chai afficionados that really like to savor a strongly-flavored and hearty chai. This one lends itself to mindless sipping, not contemplative savoring. Even though it is a product whose flavor and quality are comparable to readily available supermarket brands (e.g. Celestial Seasonings), Slo Chai Black Tea and Spices could be worth considering for those who don’t mind paying a bit more ($5.99 for 16 bags) to support fair trade companies.

Options for today’s tea drinkers seem infinite, as teas that combine seemingly impossible blends of fruits, flowers, candy, nuts and herbs are becoming more common. Don’t get me wrong, I love teas that offer fresh new flavors and complex blends of ingredients. But every now and then, I just want a good ol’ cup of tea…just standard black tea, with no frills, no bells and whistles, no extracts from an exotic fruit found only in Peruvian rainforests. Enter Mighty Leaf Ceylon Kenilworth. This is an honest tea, bearing no false pretenses. It is what it is, and that is what makes it so good. Mighty Leaf’s Ceylon Kenilworth is just what you would expect form a ceylon tea…slightly fruity/floral notes on a rich and almost creamy base. I found this particular variety of ceylon to be among the best ceylons I have had. The fruity/floral characteristics were somewhat muted compared to other ceylons I have had, but this allowed me to really experience the essence of the rich and creamy base. Whereas I usually automatically add a bit of milk and sugar to my black teas, this tea was perfectly drinkable and satisfying on its own. In fact, I think that adding milk and/or sugar would have masked the tea’s natural tastiness and taken away from the experience. I would have no problem drinking this tea again, and could see this becoming a staple in my tea cabinet. This seems like a great choice to start off the morning or to have as a late afternoon pick-me-up. When it comes to basic black teas, this one ranks pretty high in my book.

Jade Oolong is the second Rishi tea I have sampled, and if my first two experiences are any indication of Rishi’s entire tea line, I can hardly wait to sample more of their teas. Rishi’s Jade Oolong, is, as its name suggests, an oolong tea whose leaves have a deep green color to it. Compared to other oolongs which are more heavily oxidized, the brewed tea is much lighter in color and has some characteristics that are comparable to green tea. Rishi’s website says that this tea hails from the Nantou region in Taiwan, so I was expecting a tea that tasted much like a Formosa (Taiwan) oolong. However, this tea is much more like a Tea Kuan Yin variety (typically from China’s Fujian province) than a Formosa, as it has very strong floral attributes observable in both the aroma and flavor. There was also a sense of a somewhat muted green tea vegetal quality to this tea, which heightened the complexity of this tea’s flavor profile. The tea brews to a pale greenish-golden color, again much more similar to Tie Kuan Yin and green tea than to Formosa oolongs. On the website, Rishi also mentions that this tea is a consistent favorite of their customers, and it is not hard to see why. This tea has a smoothness to it, despite a pretty strong floral element. It is worth noting that the initial appearance of this tea is somewhat deceiving, as the leaves appear to be in small nuggets/particles. But once steeped, the leaves opened up to a volume that was completely unexpected. With this tea, a little definitely goes a long way; in fact, my infuser could barely contain all of the unfurled tea leaves. For future steepings, it seems that 1 teaspoon of dry leaves could easily suffice for a small teapot’s worth of tea. Also, I double-dipped the tea leaves and found that the second pot was equally as satisfying as the first, as the flavor was just an intense and enjoyable. Rishi Tea Jade Oolong gets a thumbs-up from me.

I’m not a Chamomile fan, I never have been. To me pollen is just not an appetizing flavor. I’ve recently found that I don’t know what Chamomile actually tastes like. You see Chamomile is often used as a trade name for Pineapple weed, and as I’ve found most of the Chamomile I’ve had is in fact Pineapple weed, I again iterate that I have no clue what Chamomile tastes like. I’ve tried a few real chamomile teas, but so far the other flavors have safely covered anything I could describe as Chamomile. This tea is no different.

Coulrophobics beware, this Tea smells strongly of Lemon Meringue Pie. Its odd that it smells so strongly of Lemon Meringue since it only has a mild tangy lemon flavor that gets lost on the tongue as quickly as I loose car keys. Its also got a bit of an odd color, why on earth does it smell of Lemons, yet holds the color of dark green beans. This tea could totally screw with an 8 year olds taste-color perceptions, but that aside its very drinkable, although I just don’t think its for me.

Zhi Tea’s website states that this blend includes the following ingredients: organic Red Rooibos, cinnamon, anise pods, cacao nibs, coconut pieces, safflowers and stevia leaf. The website also states that the leaves can be re-steeped 2-3 times. As I am writing this review I am enjoying my second cup from the leaves and it is a little different than the first, but every bit as good. One of the reasons I rated it a 10 is the added value of being able to re-use the leaves.

Due in large part to the glowing reviews this blend has been receiving, I was quite anxious to try it myself. Tonight, I found myself in the mood for “something” but couldn’t quite figure out what it was. I finally decided it was the perfect time to try this sample. First of all, the aroma of this blend is nothing short of amazing! Rooibos blends are generally very forgiving in terms of brew time, so I have to say I didn’t actually time it, but I’m sure I let it brew more than 5 minutes. The result was a near perfect sweet treat! The flavor that was most noticeable to me was the coconut, which added a deliciously creamy sweetness to the blend. The rest of the ingredients appear to be perfectly balanced. Rooibos was the perfect base for this tea as it enhances the other flavors rather than overwhelming them. The second infusion was much the same but with the coconut being a bit more subdued, I detected more of a creamy chocolate flavor. Being caffeine free, this is an excellent choice for an evening cup, but it tastes so good that I could see enjoying it any time. I have tried many rooibos blends and this is one of the best so far. This is one tea that I actually found myself ordering more of even before I finished my review!

This tea was really, really delightful. And yet another completely different tasting oolong. There seems to be a world of varying flavor in regards to this type of tea.

The aroma was similar to moist soil while working in a garden. Or perhaps a greenhouse or nursery fragrance would be a more flattering description. It is an earthy and fresh experience when the bag is opened.

The oolong leaves are rolled up in round balls and unfurl when steeped. The brew is a very pale amber color with a tinge of green. Again, it has a very natural and earthy aroma.

I enjoyed it very much. Some teas smell a certain way, even strongly, and the taste falls flat in comparison. Not the case with this tea. The taste is just as green, earthy, and natural as the aroma indicates. It is a thirst-quenching and smooth tea that has just a slight natural bite to it in the aftertaste. What comes through is a high quality and very leafy tasting tea. I loved it!

I will also never forget it because while it was on the table at work brewing in my ingenuitea mug, my boss asked who had a glass of seaweed sitting on the table. I have to chuckle at that – it did look like seaweed floating atop a mug of water. After he said that, I had a hard time not thinking it smelled like seaweed, either. But here’s another bonus for this tea: I had to leave it on the table for quite awhile at work before I could drink it (and get the seaweed comparison out of my head) and it remained delicious and smooth even after an hour in the water.

Chalk up another delicious oolong on my growing list!

I feel like I’ve reviewed quite a few jasmine teas since I started. That’s all right because I love jasmine tea. Sometimes, like today, I crave not only the taste of it but the aroma as well. So today, I brewed some of Just4Tea jasmine pearls into my travel mug and left for work. It smelled heavenly. I made everyone at my work smell it even though they already consider me a tea freak. I’m glad to have that title.

The fragrance of this tea reminds me of my gardens right now after a long winter: springy fresh flowers and green exploding everywhere. Perhaps that is why I have been craving it.

This jasmine tea is similar to all the others I’ve had lately. They’re all delicious and delicate. One thing stands out with this company’s blend, though. I find it more refreshing and thirst quenching even while hot. The more I drank it, the more I pinpointed the reason why.

I think there is a very even balance of green tea taste and jasmine taste to this blend. The smell is crisper and less floral than previous jasmine greens. The first taste on the palate is the smooth and dainty flower itself. That first gulp, I just let roll around in my mouth with all its velvety goodness. But it finishes off with a punch of crisp and quenching green tea flavor. There is no bitterness or astringency present, just a delicious and satisfying brew. I do like other jasmine greens for the overpowering and heady jasmine, but this one I’d consider drinking daily and not worry about getting tired of it. It would be a great pick-me-up during the day. The only drawback is that it’s a little pricey, but worth it for a special treat. There goes my idea of drinking it every day! Nonetheless, I’d definitely recommend it for jasmine lovers. It’s really delicious and a little different.

Rishi’s Organic Snow Buds White Tea is no impostor. It is no phony. It is what it claims to be, and what it claims to be is subtle, complex, balanced (though bold), and of course, delicious.

True to its written-in-corny-text-across-its-unoriginal-container word, its grassy notes are harmoniously high (though never sharp). I found it to be an especially nice touch that allows the tea the characteristic of remaining traditional while being slightly different.

Its “hazelnut finish” ends each flavor-stream nicely, in a quiet, low-key manner. Most importantly, the tea itself was not overwhelmed by its accompanying colors (in the metaphorical sense), but remained consistently dominant with a controlled fullness that some may be tempted to call “friggin awesome.” This important and rare quality (that, as we all know, marks only the best of teas) is worth cherishing for “a sec.”

LET US NOW OBSERVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE IN PRAISE OF THIS TEA’S BEAUTY

(MOMENT)

DONE.
I suppose it may seem like a silly thing to do, but I believe that all good things, especially increasingly- rare good things, should not go unnoticed or “un-meditated” upon.
For example, I once bought “Green Tea with Rose ” tea that tasted only like rose buds. This really annoyed me, because if I wanted to drink rose buds I would have bought rose bud (hip) tea (not green tea with rose), or just stolen some flowers from my neighbor’s yard and thrown them into some boiling water. However, to be “fair and balanced,” I should have known better since the tea was from Hawaii. As we all know, Hawaii is a very flowery place. The other thing is that the tea was really, really cheap (in both cost and quality). Another thing that might have affected my tasting ability was the fact that I had recently watched the movie “Citizen Kane” (just kidding).
Anyway, back to the review.
The tea’s near-perfect harmony allows for its lively and sensuous rhythm. Unlike other, lesser teas, this one doesn’t “fall flat” on the tongue, but moves effortlessly into different “tones” throughout the duration of time between each sip and swallow. If you don’t believe me and/or think I’m full of it, try it yourself.

P.S. – I recommend drinking Rishi’s Organic Snow Buds White Tea while listening to Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 28 in A or any Pink Floyd song (though it won’t make you hallucinate and see pink monkeys or anything…).