Tea Tasting: Zhena's Gypsy Tea Ambrosia White Plum

I've been putting off my write-up of Zhena's Ambrosia White Plum tea because it is a very hard tea to pin down.   I can smell the plum and rose elements in the aroma.  It's hard to taste them, however.  I get an initial sweet flavor, but as the tea settles into my mouth the tea flavors themselves overwhelm any sweetness or fruit flavor.  The rose petals supposedly mixed in the tea are completely undetectable.

I don't like it or dislike it.  It's simply odd.  I don't object to drinking it, but I am unlikely to buy it again after I finish the sample I was given.

Thanks to +Rachel Wertheimer for this sample!

"Arabic Mint Tea"

+Christine Dalessio and +Stacey Rothrock Steinfeld  tried out a restaurant on Wednesday that billed itself as "Lebanese Fusion Cuisine."   Among the drinks advertised on their menu was "Arabic Mint Tea."  Of course, I had to try it.

My former favorite restaurant, Pamir, now unfortunately closed, had an excellent mint tea drink made from a good black tea with extra muddled mint that had to be strained off unless you wanted mint leaves in your teeth for three days.  This "Arabic Mint Tea" did not live up to that.

It was good, don't get me wrong, but its potential to be so much better made it disappointing.  First of all, the base for the tea was regular old off-the-shelf Lipton black, which nearly made me cry right in the restaurant.   Rather than muddling the mint, they stuck a mint sprig the size of my hand in with the tea bag, and then added hot water.   While I love mint well enough that it was a nice drink on a cold, damp night, it could have been done so much better with a decent black tea.  Muddling the mint in the glass (like they do for mojitos) would have enhanced the mint flavor far more than just dumping half a mint plant into a mug.

For those curious, the restaurant in question was La'Mezza in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.   The appetizers were better than the entrees, and the menu was smallish.  Of the last two "not-Pamir" restaurants we've tried, this one is very much in second place.

Canadian "Blueberry Tea" is not really

During our trip to Nova Scotia this past weekend, I encountered something called "blueberry tea."  It was described to me as standard black hot tea mixed with a combination of liquors that caused it to taste like blueberry.   I didn't have occasion to try the blueberry tea at Friday night's dinner, but I couldn't pass it up when we saw it a second time on Saturday.

So, along with +Lisa Goldthwaite , +Jody Livingston and +Clark Wright , we ordered the blueberry tea as an experiment.  It was an experiment of dubious success.

The liquors added to the tea in this instance were Grand Marnier and Amaretto.  In no portion of this universe should the combination of Grand Marnier and Amaretto taste anything like blueberry.   And, for the most part, it did not.   +Jody Livingston  and +Clark Wright noticed some blueberry aftertaste and a little blueberry in the aroma.  I caught the slight hint of blueberry in the aroma, but the taste was all tea and almond from the Amaretto.   The drink was improved by icing, but it still did not taste like blueberry enough to qualify as "blueberry tea."

In hindsight, I likely should have steeped the tea for longer.  It was Tetley, so I probably could have steeped it for 5 minutes instead of 3, without its becoming undrinkable.

The failure of the blueberry tea experiment led us to a discussion of what other types of alcoholic teas might be worth concocting.  We have a few ideas that we will test out over the course of the winter.

Tea tasting: Adagio's Snowbud Tea

Adagio describes its Snowbud white tea as follows: "White tea from the Fujian province of China. An airy, light tea, which yields a cup worthy of its name: very delicate body, with a clean, barely sweet aroma and effervescent texture."   It is all of these things.  I also get a grassy flavor with a nice clean mouth feel.  It's a great palate-cleansing tea.

A little bit of good honey makes the brew light, sunny and golden.  Over-sweetening would kill the subtlety of flavor that makes this tea special.

Tea tasting: Adagio's Chocolate Chai

I am not a huge fan of either chocolate or chai, but +Kay White is, and I got a sample package to share with her the next time we were together.

Adagio's Chocolate Chai is a wonderfully aromatic brew.  It's spicy and rich.  You want to inhale deeply and roll around the scent in your lungs.  The cardamom, clove and cinnamon come out very strongly in the scent and in the flavor.  Unfortunately, the chocolate was somewhat muted by the lack of any milk to add to the tea.  I don't ever put milk in my tea and I didn't plan ahead.   Clearly I'm going to have to get another sample, and buy some milk while I'm at it.

Tea Tasting: Teavana's Youthberry White Tea

I'm not entirely sure why they call it "Youthberry."   It's a white tea with a lot of different mixed fruits -- red currants, açai berry, hibiscus, rose petals, candied pineapple, mango pieces and Fuji and golden delicious apples.  

The resulting tisane is sharp, bright and fruity.  The tart fruits come out more prominently than the sweet fruits, unless I add honey.   This is one of the few teas where I really want the sweetener to even out the flavors.  Also be very careful not to over-cook this one with a hotter water than is appropriate for white tea.  White teas are best at 175 degrees.  If you use hotter water, it makes the resulting tisane less flavorful.

Teavana recommends blending the Youthberry with its Wild Orange Blossom herbal tea and even sells it pre-blended.    I like the blended version better than the straight Youthberry.  It's a smoother flavor, with a better balance between the sweet and tart aspects.

Tea tasting: Dong Yang Dong Bei Green Tea

Dong Yang Dong Bei, sometimes called Dong Yang Dony Bei, is a type of green tea, rather than a particular brand.  It's a long-leaf tea grown in the Dong Bei mountains in northeast China.

I borrowed a sample from my co-worker, a fellow tea fan, who picked it up from a local shop.  It's a nice green tea, smooth and a little malty, not too bitter as long as it is brewed correctly.  Many people identify a strong floral note, but I'm not getting that in the tea I'm drinking.  I keep coming back to malty or leafy.  Above all it's a soothing tea.  There's no harshness to it.  It goes down like a warm hug.