Monday, December 21, 2015

Bottle tea: Teas' Tea Unsweetened Black

I may finally have found that elusive unicorn of tea -- a bottled black ice tea that tastes like really good black tea, with no sweetener or weird aftertastes.   In the grocery store this morning, I found Teas' Tea bottled black tea, which advertised itself as "unsweetened" and "rich & subtle."

This is a serious tea drinker's tea.  It tastes like tea, with tea-like qualities and tea flavors.  And it's strong black tea.   As in, "I probably lost a layer of enamel on my teeth" strong and "I hope I don't drop this on my desk and dissolve a layer of varnish on the wood" strong.   Probably strong enough for +Rhiannon theCurious.   But it's oh so delicious for people who love the inherent taste of tea.  After little diluting with water (about 1/4 water to 3/4 tea), it has been a perfect morning wake-up tea.

I found this tea in King's, but I bet it will also be available in Wegman's or any similar upscale grocery store.  It's also available for ordering on-line.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Guest review: Trader Joe's Vanilla Rooibos

My loathing for rooibos is never going away, so I've asked +Christina Kirk to review this tea.  She's drinking it with a tablespoon of honey.

"It's a very nice blend.  The vanilla is not over-powering.  It's a typical rooibos flavor.  The aroma is light and the flavor is well-balanced.  The honey helps add to the quality of the tea by changing the rooibos flavor to something more gentle and mellow."

"If you want a rooibos, with some vanilla, this is your tea.  If you want a vanilla with some rooibos, I'd recommend other brands."

Tea tasting: Adagio's Silver Needle White Tea

Silver Needle (or Bai Hao Yin Zhen) white tea is grown in the the Fuding and Zhenhe districts of China's Fujian province, and is picked only for a few weeks in the spring.   It's a tea drinker's tea.  There are no flavorings and no distraction from the tea taste.

This is not a bracing black "oh my god give me caffeine" wake up tea.  This is a sipping tea that requires proper attention.  Supposedly, there's an inherent sweetness to the tea, but with my over-sugared American palette, I don't quite taste that.  However, this tea has layered flavors that I'd need days of swishing around in my mouth to identify properly.

Pay attention to the brewing instructions with this.  There's a substantial difference in flavor depending on how long you steep this tea.  Steeping too long (as, for instance, when your humble reviewer gets a call from work in the middle of brewing) kills off the subtleties of flavor.  The over-steeped tea isn't bad by any means.  But, it lacks the intricate flavor of the properly steeped cup.

Adagio sells a 5-cup sample pack of its Silver Needle (unflavored) for $6.00.  They also sell a Jasmine Silver Needle, which I think I may need to buy for my jasmine-loving friends.  I recommend that anyone who is a serious tea drinker (or wants to be) try this lovely, intricate tea.