Sunday, October 19, 2014

Tea Tasting: Oriental Route tea, from Thailand

+Wendy Marques brought me back tea from one of her trips to Thailand.  She has been waiting patiently for hot tea season to come around for me to sample it.  I finally did so this morning.

This is a fascinating tea.  It's very high quality black tea mixed with cinnamon sugar, jasmine, rose petals, sunflower petals and cornflower blossoms.  There are multiple layers of flavor going on, and they shift depending on the temperature of the tea, whether honey is added, and what you are eating with the tea.  The easiest notes to notice are the rose and cinnamon, but after a moment, you can also taste something like sunflower seeds.  It tasted slightly different with my morning bagel (a little more flowery) than it did with my afternoon snack of almonds and dried cranberries (more cinnamon and cardamon notes).  The taste also varied depending on the type of honey I used to sweeten it.  The buckwheat honey emphasized the cinnamon, while the clover honey strengthened the rose and cornflower.

I cannot say how much I love this tea.  Drinking it is an adventure.  I'm definitely going to have to see if it's available anywhere in the U.S.  Or hope +Wendy Marques goes back to Thailand some time soon.


Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Flying Pig Team Room, Milford, PA

Last Saturday, my mother and I went and tried Flying Pig Tea Room, in Milford, PA.  It's a fairly new establishment, open about a year.  It is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  It doesn't have a website, but does have a presence on G+ and Facebook.

It's a small space, fortunately well marked with signs, containing about 8-10 tables (it was hard to tell whether one large group was a single table or two tables pulled together).  The decor is a modern spin on the over-decorated Victorian aesthetic, with knick-knacks on every available flat surface.  There are hats and feather boas (!) for those inclined to dress up for their tea.  Reservations are strongly recommended as the tables fill up quickly and were never empty the entire time we were there.

The tea and food menu are small-ish, but satisfying.  Someone very familiar with tea brands (like me) will recognize the selection as relying heavily on Republic of Tea's brands.  This is not a bad thing: Republic of Tea has a lot of excellent selections.  I was particularly pleased to see their Raspberry Quince Black on the tea menu, as I've had a great deal of difficulty finding that blend in my usual stores.

Tea is available by the glass, in small pots and in large pots.  I had a small pot of Raspberry Quince Black.  My mother had a small pot of the Vanilla Coconut White.  Both were excellent teas.  The Vanilla Coconut had a rich aroma but a lighter and more delicate taste, and none of the watery tendencies I've often found in white teas badly brewed.  Like most Republic of Tea blends, the primary flavor of the Raspberry Quince black was black tea, with the tart and sweet notes of the fruits solidly in the background.  I love raspberry flavors, and the quince is a great additional note.

Flying Pig also serves several blends of iced tea.  I tried the mango, which was both pleasant and refreshing, although the mango flavor could have been stronger.  It was served in a large mug like a handled mason jar, and I very much appreciated the size of the serving.

My mother ordered a grilled chicken sandwich, which was nicely sized and grilled like a panini.  I had a savory quiche lorraine with an adequate green salad.  I waffled between ordered the quiche and ordering a chicken salad with apples and raisins -- I went for the warm meal because it was a nasty rainy day.  I look forward to trying the chicken salad.

We were both so full that neither of tried any of the offerings on the small dessert menu.

For a small start-up tea room, it was a good, comfortable experience.  I recommend it for people traveling through the Milford, PA area to go antiquing or visit the Poconos.  

Tea tasting: Zhena's Pomegranate Rose Green Tea

One of my readers kindly gave me a sampler of Zhena's tea blends to review.  Today's cup was Pomegranate Rose Green Tea.  I was somewhat dubious about this one -- done badly it could have been like drinking bad potpourri.

I was very lucky.  The Pomegranate Rose Green Tea is a nicely grassy green tea with the slightly sweet flavor of pomegranate lingering in the background.  I honestly did not and do not taste the rose elements at all.  At most, there's a slightly floral perfume to the brewed tea that could, I suppose, possibly suggest roses.  It's important to watch the brewing time one this tea.  If steeped too long it goes quite quickly into bitterness.  

A little bit of honey is a nice addition.  It enhances the pomegranate flavor.