Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Tea Bag’

So many not-so-great grocery-store brands of tea tout themselves as Orange Pekoe (it’s a tea grade, not a flavor) that some fine tea appreciators associate Orange Pekoe with bland or acidic brown water. Hot leaf juice. Nothing to get excited about.

Therefore, I am pleased to report that TeaFrog has rescued Orange Pekoe’s reputation and elevated it to a really fine morning cuppa. This is flowery broken orange pekoe, which adds the flowering plant to the leaf mix. In the packet, the leaves have no resemblance to the smooshed and crushed dusty stuff you see in a mass-market tea bag–you actually see leaves.

And when said leaves are steeped at the 3-4 minute mark, they result in a nice, hefty cup that feels a little thick on your tongue. It  has a little fruit-and-flowery sweetness. No additives needed.

Priced quite reasonably, this is a good go-to pantry tea. Stock up!

You can purchase the Orange Pekoe directly from the TeaFrog website.

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.

Valerian root is the one thing I recommend to people that complain about insomnia. Perhaps I’m sensitive to herbal effects, but relaxants knock me the “eff” out. Valerian, especially. The stuff is like NyQuil in leaf form. Kiss the next twelve hours of your life good-bye. Too bad it smells wretched. Other herbs are needed to dial back the skunky, weed-like odor it emits. Usual suspects for this task are of the lemony variety; verbena- for instance – works wonders.

Hampstead Teas does something similar by employing strong lemon balm to counteract the pungent Valerian. Funny thing, though. I didn’t smell it when I put nose to tea bag. Chamomile came to mind. No surprise since the Roman-borne relaxant was the third ingredient rounding out the pass-out pastiche.

The HT site recommended a steep of three-to-five minutes in boiled water. No mention of cup size. I went with a 10oz. glass and a six-minute steep. It was knock-out juice. As such, I felt obligated to brew it strong.

The liquor color was…well…herbal-looking. Everyone knows what that looks like – kind of off-yellow with a tinge of green, like pond water only shinier. The mouthpiece aroma screamed herbaceous as well with a mixed message of citral, flowers, and sleepy wilderness. I somehow pictured myself falling asleep on first sip. Luckily, I didn’t. This was a damn smooth ride to relaxation. Lemon balm took point, followed by fluttery/creamy chamomile, all wrapped in a grassy, Valerian-coated blanket wrought with pillow-whispers. I eyed my bed after finishing this, I’ll confess. It was a mighty splendid sleepy-time capper.

You can purchase the Lemon Valerian directly from the Hampstead Tea website.

Earl Grey tea is one of the most popular and well-known kinds of tea in the Western world. It was named after the second Earl, Charles Grey, of Britain in the 1830s. Charles Grey was the prime minister at the time the act was passed to abolish slavery in the British Empire. This is quite an accomplishment, yet people know him for his tea instead.

Tea tasting one:

The smell of the dry tea bag is of a classic Earl Grey tea with bergamot oil.

A three minute infusion and the tasting profile are of citrus. No perfume as some EG’s tend to lean. This one needs no milk or other additives. The tea base is smooth, no astringency. Overall, a mild EG teabag with balanced notes.

Tea tasting two:

Brewed the teabag for 4 minutes. First sip and I am getting the same citrus notes as last time I enjoyed this tea. But, as I neared the bottom of my cup bitterness overtook me. The obvious observation to make from this to not overbrew this tea. Three minutes and the EG was smooth and very drinkable. Four minutes and the tea is nearly undrinkable.

I do think that Hampstead tea bags are better than what you might find at your local supermarket. These bags are filled to the brim with quality tea and make an enjoyable cuppa.

You can purchase the Biodynamic, Organic and Fairtrade Earl Grey directly from the Hampstead Tea website.

Smell from the bag is sweet, ripe raspberries.

I followed the directions on the sample packet: empty entire contents of bag into 8 ounces of boiling water and steeped 5 minutes.

Ahh, isn’t that pretty? Pink tea with fruit notes. But where is the green tea? The raspberries seem to overpower the tea base.

This brew is tart and tangy. It makes me feel like I am drinking hot Kool Aid. I don’t understand how Rishi can call this green tea. I taste no tea at all.

I tried for a resteep and was forced to pour out the hot pink mess. All I could taste is hot water and even that was not very good.

This should have been tagged as an herbal tea, then I might have liked it better. But with the mention of green tea on the bag and then not being able to taste the green tea base, I am left to say that this tea is not very good.

You can purchase the Organic Fair Trade Raspberry directly from the Rishi Tea website.