Name: Golden Chai

Brand:

Type: Black tea, flavored

Form: Paper bagged tea, individually wrapped

Review: Cardamom lovers rejoice! If you like your chai redolent of the pungent, mouth-numbing stuff, Numi’s Golden Chai is just your cup of tea.

The cardamom content in this chai blend was evident when I opened unwrapped the bag. The nose was entirely dominated by the cardamom, and while the ginger managed to make itself known after the tea infused to a medium-dark amber,  the cardamom still dominated in both the nose and on the palate.

The chai itself is robust though not bitter, and tastes just fine on its own, but can also handle the addition of some milk and honey. While I prefer loose-leaf chais that have a more balanced flavor profile, Golden Chai is convenient, and its appeal to cardamom lovers can’t be denied.

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Name: Plum Blossom Oolong Reserve

Brand: Teas Etc

Podcast: Listen to my podcast interview with Beth Johnston of Teas Etc.

Type: Oolong

Form: Loose leaf

Cost: 1 ounce tin, $16.95, quantity discounts available.

Review: I drink a lot of tea. Most of it is either good or indifferent. Some of it is bad, and there is a very small percentage that I would define as “spectacular”. This tea falls into that last category.

Plum Blossom Oolong Reserve is a Bai Hao (also known as Dong Fang Mei Ren or “Oriental Beauty”) oolong. I am partial to these intensely flavorful oolong leaves, which get much of their unique flavor from having been bit by little insects called “leafhoppers” while still on the tea bush. This version from Teas Etc, however, is now my favorite.

The dry leaf is a dark, mauve-brown with a generous sprinkling of silvery tip. The nose is quite faint, slightly musty, with a bit of wood. The tea infuses to a light yellow-gold with a touch of green, and an intensely rich, fruity nose.

Sipping this tea is a delight, and may actually confuse some tea drinkers, as the liquor is so incredibly “juicy” that it is hard to believe that it hasn’t been flavored. The body of Plum Blossom Oolong Reserve is rich, full, and borders on creamy. The flavor is that of plumbs that have been drizzled with dark honey and baked.

Oh Yum.

Try this one, please. You won’t be disappointed.

Preparation Tips:

• Keep the water temperature on this tea down. Teas Etc recommends 180F-185F and I would agree. Yes, I know that darker oolongs are supposed to be “tough”, but the fruitiness of this tea really emerges at the cooler temperature.
• Don’t be afraid to add more leaf than the package instructions suggest if you want more intense fruit flavor.
• Try it on ice. Most delicious, and is great with food.
• This tea isn’t cheap, but it is good for several infusions. I have found that Teas Etc’s Glass Brew Mug is a great choice of teaware for this tea, because it makes re-infusion so easy.

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Name: Glass Brew Mug (click on link at right to view on Teas Etc’s site)

Brand: Teas Etc

Type: Teaware

Cost: $14.95

Podcast: Listen to my podcast interview with Teas Etc founder and co-owner, Beth Johnston.

Review: I do love well-designed teaware, and anything that makes drinking loose leaf tea more enjoyable gets a big gold star from me. Teas Etc was kind enough to send me their Glass Brew Mug at the end of February, and I’ve used it practically every day since!

This nifty mug has several advantages for loose-leaf tea drinkers:

• It is made from glass, which doesn’t affect the taste of tea and allows the user to watch the leaves unfurl.
• The infuser basket has very small openings, preventing too much silt from getting into the infused tea.
• The infuser basket is also quite roomy, so even large leaf teas will have room to expand.
• The lid is a nifty addition: It serves as a rest for the infuser basket, and if you need to step away from your tea for a bit, it keeps heat in and dust/insects out.
• Multiple infusions are a breeze with this brew mug. Just put the infuser basket in the cup each time you make a fresh cup.
• Like cold brew iced tea? Just add tea leaf and cold water, cover and place in the fridge. No muss, no fuss.

Are there any downsides to the Glass Brew Mug?

Actually, there are: The mug works by placing the glass infuser into the mug, then adding tea leaf and hot water. When the tea is infused, you need to remove the lid, place it  bottom side up on your table or desk, lift the infuser, let it drain, and then place it in the upturned lid.

The trouble is that both the lid and infuser are hot, and you may have a fair amount of hot steam rising from the glass. This can result in burns and in dropping the somewhat-fragile glass while screaming “ow, ow, OW!”.  After some trial and error, I have the following tips for minimizing burn/breakage risks:

• Try using the brew mug for teas made with cooler water. I’ve had the most problems when brewing black teas with boiling water. The cooler teas are a lot more manageable.
• Don’t completely fill the cup with hot water. Instead, fill to the bottom of the infuser rim. This leaves the rim fairly cool, allowing you to pick it up without injury.
• Pick the infuser basket up from the side, rather than the top. Don’t allow the palm of your hand to be above the cup: That is how you get a steam burn.

Pros: Leaves have plenty of room to unfurl in the large and roomy infuser basket. Light, elegant glass feels good to hold. Lid is a convenient rest for the infuser basket, keeps tea hot, and protects tea from contamination.

Cons: The lid and infuser rim can get very hot, and this can result in an urge to drop the infuser or lid to avoid a burn.

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Sample Provided by Manufacturer: Yes

Tony Gebley during his tea-travels.

Greetings,

Just a few bits of news for my tea-loving readers:

• The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story today entitled “The Tea-He’s: Men Savoring Brew by the Cup”. My good tea-friend, Tony Gebley passed this on to me, and I thought it a great read.
• Speaking of Tony, he just opened his own online shop, The Chicago Tea Garden. Read my story about it on Examiner.com, in which I recommend a few of my favorite teas from Tony’s selection. In-depth reviews coming to Lainie Sips soon!
• And speaking of Examiner.com,  the good folks at that publication are looking for sponsors. If you have a business and want to sponsor me, or any other Examiner, click here.

Name: Be Cool

Brand: Kusmi Tea

Type: Tisane

Form: Loose leaf (teabags are available)

Cost:$18.40 for a 3.5 ounce tin (quantity discounts are available)

Review: This is the latest in Kusmi Tea’s line of “Wellness Teas” and while “Detox” remains my favorite in this range,  “Be Cool” is nonetheless a tasty tisane.

Be Cool is a caffeine-free blend of rosehipseed, apple, verbena, peppermint, aniseed, and licorice root. Like the other Kusmi teas that I’ve tried, the flavors are well balanced, (though the mint inevitably dominates). The other flavors are pretty seamless, though, with the licorice root supplying a nice sweet backnote.

Incidentally, the body of this tisane is fairly light, making it quite refreshing, but perhaps not substantial enough for a winter nighttime drink. Try it on ice for a super-crisp pick-me-up.

Preparation Tip: Because of peppermint’s tendency to dominate blends, be careful with how much dry leaf you use in the preparation of Be Cool. One scant teaspoon of leaf to 8 ounces of water worked great for me.

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Name: ZeroWater Pitcher

Brand: ZeroWater

Type: Water Filter

Podcast: Listen to my interview with ZeroWater’s VP of Sales, Robert Roney, on Friday, February 26th, at 2pm central time. The show will be archived at this same link (and on iTunes) so you can listen in at any time.

Review: As folks know, I am a stickler for using good water to make tea. The trouble is that good water isn’t always easy to find. While I’ve had great success making tea with spring water, spring water can be expensive and isn’t always handy.

Through my involvement with OpenSky, I became aware of ZeroWater. The ZeroWater filtration system is designed to produce water that meets the FDA standard for “purified” water.  The filter itself has five layers, each contributing to the purification of the water.

ZeroWater also includes a TDS Meter (TDS stands for “Total Dissolved Solids) with the pitcher, so you can monitor your water’s purity. Used correctly, the ZeroWater pitcher will produce water with zero (000 on the meter) dissolved solids. Once the meter indicates that the total dissolved solids are at the 006 level, it is time to change the filter.

(And speaking of changing filters, ZeroWater does have a recycling program for its used filters.)

The water filtered by this pitcher tastes good, fresh and clean (and better than the water from my carbon-filter pitcher). The pitcher also has a nifty design feature: One annoying aspect of water filter pitchers is that you have to wait for the water in the top basin to filter  completely before pouring water from the pitcher (if you try pouring while filtering, filtered and unfiltered water will pour out together).  The ZeroWater Pitcher includes a spigot at its bottom, which lets you pour filtered water into your kettle even as other water is running through the top filter.

Highly recommended.

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Sample Provided by Manufacturer?: Yes

Name: Organic Passionfruit Green Tea

Brand: LeafSpa

Type: Green tea, flavored

Form: Loose leaf

Cost: $9.95 for 4.23 ounces

Review: Flavored green tea lovers rejoice: This is a well-crafted tea that marries a sweet Chinese green tea with passionfruit and other flavors. A sniff of the (very pretty) dry leaf reveals a subtle nose of passionfruit. The tea then brews up to a light yellow green with a (still) subtle nose of passionfruit.

The first sip reveals more of the green tea, which is slightly sweet and has a touch of bitterness (not offensive, however), the flavor then develops into a decidedly fruity finish which is quite nice.  This light-bodied tea is also great cold: The fruity-tart finish should make it a great thirst quencher in the summer months.

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Name: Keemun

Brand: Teas Etc

(Check out my interview with Beth Johnston, owner of Teas Etc.)

Type: Black tea

Form: Loose leaf

Cost: $5.95 for a 1 ounce tin, quantity discounts available

Review: I do love me some Keemun. You can keep your English breakfast blends, I want some rich, wine-y, Keemun to  clear my palate of my bacon and eggs (or bacon and peanut better on white toast…breakfast of champions!).

Yes, I know that some folks think that Keemun is wimpy, and that the Brits swapped out their morning Keemun for Assam (or various African blends) many moons ago. But while I sometimes want a tea that packs a punch, I like a bit of refinement too. Plus, as most of my readers know by now, I don’t want to have to add milk and sugar to make my tea palatable.

Teas Etc has sourced a good Keemun here. The dry leaf is pretty, with muted brown, thin twisty leaves. The nose is also muted, with some mild spice and floral notes. The tea infuses to a light-medium amber, with notes of honey in the nose.

The tea is more aggressive on the palate than I thought it would be. It certainly has the red-wine characteristics that I expect, some hints of bitterness, with a smooth, but moderately astringent finish. Bit of black currant there, too. Yummy, and a perfect food tea.

(Not bad on its own, either, but may be a bit intense for some.)

Recommended for those who want a more intense Keemun.

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(Note: This review was previously posted at Examiner.com.)

Name: Sugar Daddy

Brand: Shui Tea

Type: Black tea, flavored

Form: Loose leaf

Review: This is a curious item from Chicago-based Shui Tea (check out my podcast interview with Shui Tea’s president and founder,Jim Schreiber). Black Ceylon tea is blended with stevia leaf to create a sugar-free “sweet tea” with anise overtones.

If you are unfamiliar with stevia, here’s the scoop: Stevia is a very sweet herb, often used as a calorie-free sugar substitute. While you are most likely to encounter it in its refined version, the unrefined leaf is what goes into Sugar Daddy. Stevia naturally has an anise/licorice-like flavor, which actually meshes well with black tea.

Sugar Daddy is very sweet and when served hot the licorice/anise note dominates. When served on ice, the sweetness remains but the herbal notes fade: Add a bit of fresh lemon juice and you have a very smooth, virtually calorie-free sweet tea.

Another nifty thing to do with Sugar Daddy is to prepare it as an iced tea (double strength) and then top it with some half-and-half: A key ingredient in the famous “Thai iced tea” is star anise, and because of the anise note in Sugar Daddy, this preparation makes a tasty, and lower calorie version of that lovely bright orange beverage.

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Sample Provided by Retailer?: Yes

Name: Flirty Aprons

Cost: $27-$30

Review: One of the best parts of being a tea-lady is all the fun schwag that goes with it. Cool teapots, retro clothes, and yummy tea-sandwiches make teatime special.

What’s even more special is getting dressed up to make tea. I have begun collecting aprons (including this one, stitched just for me by my stepsister). Yesterday, I received the beauty below from Flirty Aprons, and I was so impressed, I added the range to my OpenSky Shop:

Pretty, isn’t it? And what’s more, they come in several different designs and colors (there is even a range of girls-sizes, too!) all great for getting “dressed up” to make some tea.  Even better is that the aprons are sturdy, fade resistant, and have long ties that ensure that they will fit most women.

Since I am all about making tea-time a meaningful experience, a bit of “dressing up” in a super-cute, functional apron can only add to it. I can’t wait for my next cup.

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