Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Loose Leaves’

My uneducated acronym for Assam is A Specially Strong Awakening Morning tea, and this selection from Tea Forte’ fits perfectly.

You’ll find it in Tea Forte’s organic filterbag selections, although my sample was loose, which gave me the opportunity to really enjoy the bready aroma of the small loose leaves.

Steeped toward the five-minute edge, Forte’ Breakfast is a beautiful red-brown color and has the strong and hefty kick you need to boot yourself out the door on a cold morning.  It lives up to the malty and full-bodied adjectives typically connected to an Assam. Need a little milk and sugar? It’ll take it.

Should you feel a need to procrastinate and drink a second steep, you may be glad you did (little less water, little more time). Minus the “boot prints” of the first strong cup, you’ll pick up some lighter, nuttier notes that continue to coax you up and around: “Come on, dear, it really isn’t that bad; take off the ratty bathrobe, splash a little warm water on your face and you’ll be fine, just fine.”

This is a good one: a tea you can spend a whole morning with.

You can purchase the Forte Breakfast directly from the Tea Forte website.

My first experience with lapsang souchong was pretty disastrous—reminiscent of sucking pork rinds—so when I first opened this tea packet and the first whiff that hit my nose was souchong-like “smoke,” I was very apprehensive.

But, intrepid tea taster that I am, I persevered and was pleasantly surprised. The big, black loose leaves brew up a luscious, clear red-gold color. At three minutes with boiling water (again, I erred on the side of caution thinking this was going to be really strong) the smoke taste does lead the caravan, but the other teas in the blend add a little sweetness and balance–think “cozy library with leather bound books and a crackling fireplace” instead of “Bedouin campfire with charred wood fumes stinging your eyes and snoring camels.”

But is lapsang souchong responsible for the smoky taste? That’s where this turns into a mystery. As you can see, the origin of the teas in this blend are represented in the ingredient list, but the type of tea must be a closely guarded blenders-only secret.

All the Wendell website reveals is that Victorian Afternoon was once a private label blend for the Elizabethan Club of Yale University, which Wikipedia tells us is dedicated to “conversation, tea, the art of the book, and literature, focused on—but not exclusively of—the Elizabethan era.” This tea is a perfect fit for that mindset. I suppose that if I asked the good folks at Mark T. Wendell to reveal the recipe, they would simply quote me some good ol’  Elizabethan Shakespeare: “No, pardon; ’tis a secret must be locked within the teeth.”  Oh, well. Whatever makes up this nice blend, if you’re a fan of smoky teas, Victorian Afternoon is one you’ll want to lock within your teeth, too.

You can purchase the Victorian Afternoon directly from the Mark T. Wendell website.

I found myself in the mood for some Chinese red tea and reached for this one. The loose leaves are full and black, mixed with bits of ginger. The smell of apricot was the first to hit me when I opened this bag, then came the scent of peach, then ginger. Perfect scents to fight off the rainy night. The brew turned red as soon as the water touched it and the apricot smell intensified. Steeped for three minutes in boiling water then I set it down to let it cool while I enjoyed the scented steam.

The taste is smooth like you’d expect with a red tea, unfortunately, the smell that drew me in is just a bit too intense for my tastes. I would have loved it if this tea had more ginger to balance out the stronger fruity taste. Looking forward to brewing this one up with some added fresh ginger….

You can purchase the Ginger, Peach and Apricot Black Tea directly from the Boston Tea Company website.

I was surprised at the size of this infuser. It is small. When you see it online, it looks really big. Filling it to the brim gets 16 ounces in the infuser. In reality, you are only making 12-15 ounces of tea with this infuser.

Now, I have water and tea leaves in the infuser. I wait the prescribed amount of time depending on the type of tea. A word of caution here, make sure the cup you intend to use is large enough to hold 12-16 ounces of tea and that the brim of the cup is as wide as the bottom of this infuser. When the tea is ready, place the infuser over your cup and gravity does all the work. Thank you Sir Isaac Newton! When you lift the infuser off your cup, the mechanism closes. No drips.

Here are a list of pros and cons to help you decide if the IngenuiTEA is right for you:

Pros
It is clear, you can watch the agony of the leaves as they unfurl. And with it clear, you can easily get it clean.
With it being gravity fed, it is effortless to pour a cup of tea.
The IngenuiTEA is microwave and dishwasher safe. I personally would never put it in either appliance, but you could if you wanted.
This is great for using loose leaf tea to make iced tea. It fits right on top of my iced tea pitcher.

Cons:
It is plastic.
The lid does not come off, so it sits at an angle in the drain board.

I would recommend this to any tea drinker. It makes the using of loose leaves easy and fun. This is great for anyone who travels or wants to make great tasting tea at work. The IngenuiTEA is smart looking. It would certainly start a conversation about tea.

You can purchase the IngenuiTEA directly from the Adagio website.

The Product Description on the Tea Forte Site is:
Our double-wall ceramic tumbler and integrated stainless steel infuser make brewing loose tea by the cup simple. The innovative double-wall construction keeps tea hot and the tumbler cozy to hold. Brews a generous 12 oz cup and is dishwasher safe.

My findings on the products…
First – I would like to mention the tumbler itself…
It’s heavy-duty which I LOVE. I am keeping this at work so I tend to walk around with my WORK mug. I will say that THIS has officially REPLACED my old ‘mug’ completely. I really LOVE the design! Like I said, it’s the GRASS one and it’s “so me” because some people refer to me as a tree hugger or hippie! It’s earthy, natural-looking, and FUN!

I really appreciate the fact that it has a LID. ONE…because it keeps the tea itself warmer than if the tea is exposed while steeping or infusing like I did it before. And TWO because I am a klutz and will really benefit from the usage of this lid!

The double-wall ceramic that the description refers to – is something else I must mention!  I also like this feature because you are still able to pick it up while hot. YES, it’s still warm to touch but I would have to say it cuts down on the ‘holding temperature’ by about half…this is my estimated guess I haven’t officially or technically tested it…but this is just to give you an idea of the ‘heat to hand’ comparison..

As for the “integrated stainless steel infuser” I would give it a thumbs up as well! I did find it a little less heavy duty than other strainers I have used but it also allows for more movement of the loose leaf. Having said that – it’s also easy to remold into the original shape. 

The Strainer PERFECTLY fits the tumbler! While the loose leaf is infusing the leaves stay put regardless. They DO NOT “Jump Over Board” into the liquid…NO FLOATIES!  YAY!

When you discard your loose leaves they do stick a little but it’s nothing I can’t deal with.  Just simple whack or flick the ‘leftover’ loose leaf out or rinse, even.  I have tried this tumbler and strainer with all kinds of teas.  I have found that Green Tea tends to be more stubborn than others, generally speaking.  I have also done Rooibos in the KATI and haven’t had much of a problem with the very thin Rooibos sneaking thru the cracks…that’s a definite PLUS.  Heck I have even tried a teabag (minus the strainer, of course) and the tumbler works well…as a matter of fact, I have noticed that all of the tea bags I have tried in there so far have floated to the top when fully wet so there is no fishing around in your tea for the bag to discard because it’s right there!

The only thing I miss is a handle on the side…but because I am so excited about the actual product and ‘know’ it’s supposed to be ‘different from a mug’ I will certainly look past that!

So far I give the Tea Forte KATI 2 thumbs up! It’s a great addition to ANY Tea Lovers Collection!  I even have non-tea drinkers EYE BALLING it!  By getting this KATI it just might encourage me to get into more accessory hunting/purchasing.  When you purchase this little darling you will receive the Tumbler, Strainer, Lid, and 3 Loose Leaf Tea Forte Samples.  A great deal for the price!

You can purchase the Kati Loose Tea System directly from the Tea Forte website.