Today’s tool: Thermos Nissan Tea Thermos with Infuser
Used by: caclob
Tea drinkers don’t always have time to sit around their parlors savoring their imports in delicate china (or like me, don’t have a parlor nor china). In the morning, I sprint to make my tea and slowly savor it during the morning after I’ve finished my commute. It’s a thing of ritual for me, but not in the Victorian traditional sense of having the ceremony and time. I just enjoy mulling things over with a good cup of Assam or Earl Grey.
I used to infused my tea in a cup or a bowl with a strainer and then pour that into a thermos. However, as anyone can realize, this is a horrible idea if you are in a rush, plus it means even more dishes to clean. It worked, but was pretty slow and tedious. I couldn’t steep and go. I went through the internet to find a nice thermos that I could brew my tea in. I found this thermos on Amazon, and man, was that a good idea. (more…)
Today’s tea: TeaGschwendner Earl Grey No. 69
Counted by: caclob
Updated: I found that the previous link was not the best one for buying the tea. It’s been fixed.
Earl Grey has been a tea staple of mine since I first tasted Stash’s earl grey tea bag when I first went to college years ago. However, since I now generally avoid tea bags as much as possible, I needed to find a good Earl Grey. The path hasn’t always been good (remember Teavana’s Decaf Earl Grey?), so I’ve approached this tea with a fair amount of skepticism, despite it’s pedigree.
The pedigree on this tea is quite astounding though. During the last World Tea Championships (yes, they do have such things), this tea won the best Earl Grey in the world. What makes this Earl Grey so special? It’s a combination of first rate bergamot oil, which I’ll describe later, and black teas from China, India, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The bergamot is silky and the tea goes down so smoothly, without that hint of astringency that could definitely be a problem in a poorly balanced Earl Grey. I’m glad that it’s number 69. It seems they learned from the previous 68 attempts.
Today’s Tea: Beauty of the East Oolong from Yixing Xuan Teahouse
Taught to: caclob
Once a year or so, I take an interesting trip to somewhere in the world. One of my friends, M, and I decided to take a trip together to Southeast Asia. After spending a summer in China and visiting Japan, it seemed close, but not the same as the other countries. We then booked the trip to spend 3 weeks in Southeast Asia. Our trip took us through Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. It was a fascinating trip.
Southeast Asia has huge fields of tea, which are quite beautiful, especially in the Malaysian Highlands.
All of these tea fields though produce black tea, no green, white, or oolong. However, in Singapore I had the opportunity to go to the Yixing Xuan Teahouse. The tea house, for SP$ 50 has a tea tasting of fine teas. M and I went one humid afternoon (and let’s be honest, when isn’t it humid in Singapore) for the tasting.
At Yixing Xuan, we met Vincent Low, the speaker/manager for the shop. He then explained the huge tradition and history of tea, which if you interested in look at Lu Yu. After the tasting, M and I were so impressed we bought some of the tea.
We tried 4 teas: white, green, oolong, and jasmine. This review only focuses on the oolong; the equipment and other teas will be reviewed in the future.
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Tea Time provided by: Little People’s Tea by My Cup of Tea
Sipped by: sakurae
I received some samples from MyCupofTea.co.uk with the cutest packing geared toward children and connoisseurs of cuteness (the category that I fit under ) with tea that produces a vibrantly colorful red color. It’s even fun to look at from a not-so-little-people point of view as the tea seeps immediately into a steaming rosy liquid.
The scent of strawberries immediately rises as the tea steeps but I found it difficult to taste the ‘cream’ portion of the tea. It makes a very good introduction to tea for children without affecting them with caffeine and the tea makes a refreshing cup when seeped lightly. It does have a tendency to become too tart for my tastes when seeped to a darker red but as goodtea noted, a sweetener would alleviate that problem or more water added to the tea.
I don’t usually drink many herbal teas due to the tendency for herbals to become too tart for my tastes but this was a very good start to a future in tea sampling for children and just to provide a comforting cup to anyone who would like to just enjoy the day and have a happy little strawberry treat.
Filed under: Decaf, Herbal tea | Tags: Decaf, Herbal tea, MyCupofTea, rereview, strawberry
Today’s tea: Little People’s Tea by My Cup of Tea
Playfully imbibed by: goodtea
When I was a child, the kindergarten I attended always had a fresh pot of herbal “tea” ready for the children to drink. Our teacher would announce the day’s tea, not by naming its ingredients, but by describing the part of the body it benefitted the most. Thus we spent our days at school drinking “Tummy Tea” and “Throat Tea” and what have you. Decades later, I still remember the flavor of an intense infusion of chamomile as I sat at a kids-sized table with a kids-sized cup of warm tea in my little hands.
So when My Cup of Tea sent me some samples of their tea made especially for children, I was rather delighted. It’s never too early for kids to start enjoying tea, and it’s one of those activities the whole family can enjoy, which makes me wonder why more tea companies don’t market tea for children. But enter My Cup of Tea. (more…)
Filed under: Black tea | Tags: assam, banaspaty estate, Black tea, comparison, madoorie estate, upton tea imports
Today’s teas:(1) Tippy Orthodox Assam GFOP, (2) Banaspaty Estate Assam TGFOP1, and (3) Madoorie Estate Assam TGBOP1, all by Upton Tea Imports.
Extensively compared by: goodtea
Today I learned two valuable lessons: first, comparing teas of similar types at the same time teaches you a LOT, and second, one should try one’s tea samples as soon as possible lest the tea ends up being unavailable for purchase later.
Upton’s handy sample sizes (usually costing only around $1-$3) are great when you want to try a lot of teas to expand your palate or to just find that one perfect tea to suit your tastes. A few months ago, I ordered three samples of different Assams, and today I finally put them through a full taste-testing: I compared them dry, infused, with lemon, and with milk and honey. Which one won? Follow me below the fold to find out…
Filed under: Decaf, Herbal tea | Tags: Decaf, Herbal tea, MyCupofTea, strawberry
Today’s Tea: Little People’s Tea by MyCupofTea
Slurped by: caclob
Usually we here at Tea & Procrastination focus on loose teas, since they usually are of a higher quality than the dust that’s in Lipton tea bags. However, high quality tea bags do exist by what are sometimes called gourmet tea companies. MyCupOfTea sent us 3 bloggers at Tea & Procrastination samples of their children’s tea, a strawberry cream tea called Little People’s Tea. First impressions? If sweetened lightly or told that it has magical power (ask goodtea what I mean), little kids probably would love this tea.
The one thing that bugs me is the name: Little People’s Tea sounded to me a tea targeted at people affected by dwarfism.
Filed under: Decaf, Herbal tea | Tags: Decaf, pepper, rooibos, strawberry, Tea Gschwendner
Today’s Tea: Rooibush Strawberry Pepper by Tea Gschwendner
Sampled by: goodtea
I just found an free sample packet that came in an order from Tea Gschwendner a few months ago, so I thought I’d drink it before it got any older. It was just enough for one cup, but I still appreciate free samples. 
Like the name says, this particular batch is a mix of rooibos, strawberry bits, strawberry leaves, and pepper. The mixture smells mostly like sweet rooibos when you open it, and among the red bits of rooibos I could see green pieces of leaves. The small sample sadly didn’t include any whole pepper corns, though the picture on the website shows them. Little specks of black pepper were visible, though, as they fell through my strainer into the bottom of the cup. (more…)
Today’s Tea: Sage Leaves by Tea Gschwendner
Experimented with by: goodtea
The first post in a while, and it’s not even a real tea? My apologies. But when I tried my first cup of this tisane, I knew I had to blog about it.
Sage is well-known as a spice in cooking, but it has a long history of medicinal use around the world. Even now, it’s used to treat everything from indigestion to menopause to Alzheimer’s (apparently with some success, too). Fortunately, it’s also very delicious! (more…)
Today’s tea: Lemon Green by Teavana
Giving energy to: goodtea
Ah, at last, the first days of warm weather are here! What could be better than a nice, peppy, citrus tea?
I received this tea as a gift, and it is quite delightful. Long leaves of green sencha tea are blended with even longer pieces of green lemongrass and bits of dried lemon peel. The dry tea smells nicely of earthy green tea and refreshing (surprise, surprise) lemon.
Some people on the Teavana site have complained that the tea is too bitter, but I’ve found that as long as the right water temperature is used, it can take a tiny little bit of oversteeping without ending up disgusting. The tea leaves can also be reused for at least a second cup without a loss of flavor. And you will surely go back for a second or third cup of this tea!
The energizing citrus scent with each sip is very natural, not artificial like some other flavored teas. The lemon flavors don’t overpower the green tea at all. The lemongrass makes this tea very refreshing and smooth, and a mellow citrus note lingers at the end after the earthier green tea taste has passed. There’s a nice depth to this tea that makes it a rather satisfying drink.
