Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Pot’

When this tumbler first arrived, I was a bit surprised at how small it was. With the double-walled design, intended to keep your tea hot as long as possible, the interior volume is quite smaller than it appears. After several weeks of use, I have determined that there are three primary ways in which this tumbler can be utilised.

First, the strainer can be removed from the mouth of the container, the tea bag or leaves put inside, water poured into the tumbler, and the strainer replaced. This allows tea to be steeped indefinitely, and tea to be sipped while the leaves are still inside the tumbler. This works well if you are drinking a tea that is unaffected by long or indefinite steep times.

Second, the tumbler can be used as an on-the-go container for prepared tea. Simply remove the strainer and leave it at home, and the tumbler could be used for keeping tea, prepared in a pot or other vessel, hot on the way to another location.

Third, in the case of a lack of another brewing vessel, this tumbler can serve for that job too. Remove the strainer, put in the tea, put in the hot water, replace the strainer, wait for steeping to finish, and then simply pour from the tumbler into cups for serving.

My experience with these three methods was varied. With the first method, I found that, because the leaves or bag float loose inside the container and are not held back from the strainer, they would often float forward with the steeped tea and block/clog the strainer while I tried to drink. The second method worked out fairly well. My only complaint was that it seemed as though the tea still cooled off a bit fast, despite the double-walled design. But the double-walls did insulate one’s hand from the heat of the contents. In the third case, this worked only slightly better than the first method, running into the same issues, yet being a little more controlled for pouring, as I was attempting to pour into a mug that I could see rather than my mouth.

Overall, while I appreciate the design of this tumbler, I am not sure that the functionality is quite at the best point yet to make it worth a purchase. For overall usability, I would rate it a 6.5/10.

You can purchase the Tea Tumbler with Stainless Steel Tea Strainer directly from the Blue Q website.

At a venerable 104 years old, Mark T. Wendell Company has perfected the art and science of selecting and purveying fine estate-grown teas. This variety, according to the website, was a favorite of the founder himself.

This is a great tea, but if you’re proficient enough to recognize a Keemun with your eyes closed, you may be surprised. This one behaves a little differently. Keemun teas generally have grainy, hay-barn, feedlot aromas. Dry, these big leaves lead with that smell, but there’s a fermented, fruity accompaniment that sets it apart.

Steeped, M.T.W. Formosa is a beautiful burgundy-brown. That magic “other thing” that changes up the dry aroma is present in the liquid as well, toning down the sharpish taste that I normally associate with Keemuns. Sweet…dry and a little puckery…it’s a little hard to describe, but extremely pleasant to analyze! Left (neglected for a couple of hours while I ran to the mall) to itself in the pot to cool, it reheats nicely without turning bitter.

Good tea reviews sum up with a pithy one-sentence summary recapping the tea’s personality in a few concise words. Because this one’s so not-run-of-the-mill-but-really-interesting, I’ll have to do in three: Steep. Taste. Repeat.

You can purchase the Formosa Keemun directly from the Mark T. Wendall Tea Company website.

I was really excited to taste this tea. The ingredients of orange peel, cinnamon and cloves sounded wonderfully delicious. The directions recommend steeping 1.5 tsp per cup of water for 5-6 minutes. I was using a 2-cup teapot, so I doubled my amount of tea and steeped it, using boiling water, for five minutes. The smell of cloves and cinnamon wafts up from the pot to my nose enticingly. This tea is aptly named, as it reminds me of sitting next to a fire, perhaps during the Christmas season, where these smells are often common around my home.

Pouring myself a cup of this dark, red-orange tea, cloves take the greatest part of its aroma, with edgings of cinnamon in that scent. Sipping this tea, it goes down smooth, the biggest flavour being the cinnamon and the rooibos (which is pleasantly not overpowered as in many rooibos blends I have tried). The orange aftertaste is quite appealing.

My overall impressions were that this tea has very well-balanced flavours and really does make for a very soothing beverage. I certainly enjoyed it and would rate it a 90/100.

You can purchase the Fireside Rooibos directly from the TeaFrog website.

The little leaves are twisted wiry leaves that are dark green in color. The smell of the dry leaves is sweet and nutty.

Recommended brewing time is 3 minutes. I started out with a 2 minute infusion. The color is light.

First smell reminds me of a Japanese green. The taste reminds me of Genmaicha. A nutty tone is present, smooth, light, savory. The nutty tone is described by Leaf Spa as a woody note. This is a “pan-dried fine spring harvest green tea from the Jiangsu province of Mainland China.”

Went for a second flush on the leaves, it is ok, but not as good as the first pot. The nutty/woodsy notes are much weaker in this second flush. All I taste now are the grassy notes. Not bad, just different from the first cup.

You can purchase the Organic Bi Luo Chun Tea directly from the Leaf Spa Tea website.

Starting my day with a taste of India, closing my eyes, allowing myself to be taken away to northern India with this charming, malty, CTC Assam from 52teas.

It’s called RadioactiviTEA and rightly so because it provides just enough of a jolt to get me going without the crash that I get from coffee. Steeped for five minutes with a fresh pot of boiling water (from cold) , and a couple of Stevia leaves to sweeten it. It’s a smooth and comforting tea with that zing that makes it just right for breakfast or to pick you up from a late afternoon lull.

The aroma is strong and inviting, the aftertaste is mellow and satisfying. This blend has never gone bitter (even when I’ve forgotten it was brewing, yes, my mind wanders some mornings), and it’s always had my coffee loving friends asking for more. You can add a touch of cream to it if you prefer but, to get the most health benefits from it, just a bit of Stevia will do. This isn’t a tea that I would suggest putting honey in, it’s malty enough on it’s own.

Sit back, clear the sleep from your eyes, and savour this amber brew.

You can purchase 52teas RadioactiviTEA directly from their website.