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.

The aromas of this white tea’s dry leaves are quite sweet and grassy. Fuzzy, short, white twists intermix with small green leaves for an enjoyable looking tea.  Canton Tea Co’s packaging suggests using 2 teaspoons of leaf per cup of water and infusing the tea for 2-3 minutes. Accordingly, 2 teaspoons of the tiny leaves went into my cup for a little over 2 minutes. The resulting aroma of this tea was somewhat different than the dry leaves suggested.

My cup of tea still maintained its grassy aromas, yet felt deeper and stronger with a light, roasted smell. I was further surprised when, upon tasting it for the first time, the flavour burst in my mouth, both sweet and fruity and without a lot of the formerly smelled grassiness. Impressed by the full flavour, I continue drinking.

This is one complex white tea…the flavour is not, in any way, straightforward. Slightly reminiscent of half a dozen different white teas, this is a must-try for white tea lovers. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it a 91/100.

You can purchase the Ye Sheng Wild White Tea directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

When I was growing up, my father loved cheesecake-flavored ice cream. Specifically blueberry cheesecake ice cream. So this aroma makes me nostalgic.  And drool.  Because oh my goodness! This tea smells amazing!  Creamy, cheesy, and fruity. I almost want to nibble on the tea leaves it smells so amazing. And there are GIANT blueberries included in the leaf.   It’s beautiful!

Brewing it, it turns into a very light yellow brew, with a light, beautiful aroma. It’s the same blueberry-cheesecake-y goodness as the leaf, albeit a lot more delicate and light.  Unsweetened, I got a lot of the bright, berry flavor. Sweetened, it was lovely. To me, the green tea flavor is, not particular strong or stand-out, but the blueberry, and a cakey/cheesy flavor are there, and they’re lovely. It was a lot lighter and more delicate taste than one might anticipate from the aroma of the leaf. But it’s very very yummy. And I got a second brew out of it, which is surprising for a flavored tea.

Lovely tea. I think I’ll be seeking this out again.

You can purchase the Blueberry Cheesecake directly from the The Necessiteas website.

It has been a while since I’ve been able to sit down and relax long enough to review some teas. I appreciate all types of tea but the tea that I’m having today is really special. It’s a Darjeeling and it is beautiful. It appears to be a second flush, dark brown, thin leaves with a sprinkling of tips. The dry leaves smell like typical black tea only a bit more musky, reminds me of my grandfather hmm. This is the first time I’ve had tea from the Maikaibari Estate (Kurseong, Darjeeling in West Bengal ,India) and I get the feeling I’m going to be impressed with it.

Steeping it in boiling water for three minutes. It has settled to a light orange color with a sweet and still musky scent to it. It does appear to be a Summer flush, possibly a late Summer though… The tea tastes rich and full, a bit sweet, with a perfect muscatel after taste. The color has lightened after a few steeps but the flavor is still strong. It is spicey and warming, perhaps more of a winter tea, but I am still going to cold steep some for later.

Love teas from India, also love that this one is organic and Fairtrade certified. Can’t wait to try more teas from Hampstead, the quality in this tea and its packaging is outstanding.

Namaste.

You can purchase the Organic Fairtrade Darjeeling directly from the Hampstead Tea website.

I may have mentioned this before, but one of my ever increasing number of hobbies* is researching and recreating Medieval cooking.  Much like today, medieval people were very into conspicious consumption.  They liked using expensive pricy ingredients to show off to their guests – “See!  Look how much money I can spend – just on dinner!”  Spices were always one of the most popular ways to show off wealth.  They were very expensive and very highly valued, and saffron was one of the more popular spices.

In the cooking I do saffron is mostly a coloring agent, as it turns the food a lovely golden color, and not used for flavor.  I find the flavor very light and subtle.  So I was very curious about what affect it would have on the tea.

The teabag smelled like generic tea.  Pouring water over the bag, it did turn bright yellow for a moment – then turned into a normal tea color.  The brewed aroma again smelled like a normal tea.  In drinking, I’m getting a bitter high note – like I over-brewed the tea, but it didn’t have the tannic drying effect that normally goes along with the bitterness.    I prefer my tea sweetened, so after a few sips of the tea unsweetened, I added my favorite sweetening agent.  It toned down the bitterness, and turned it into a very bright flavor.

Either way, I don’t think I like the addition of the saffron.  The tea behind the saffron tastes quite nice, and would have likely been a very nice cuppa on it’s own.  But as it is, it’s not really for me.

*My craft room is crying from from too much stuff and too many projects. You can almost hear it crying from the street, “no more stuff, take the yarn away!  I don’t need any more embroidery floss!”

You can purchase the BLACK SAFFRON directly from the Hampstead Tea website.

Hamstead Teas mentions that saffron was revered in ancient India as medicine sent from the gods. Other sources claim that saffron use actually dates back a staggering 50,000 years. Ancient Persians, Sumerians, and Assyrians cultivated it for pigments and for its apparent medicinal properties. The first documented botanical reference was made by the Assyrians in the 7th century B.C.E.

To this day, I don’t know what actual saffron tastes like, but I’ve had five teas with saffron scenting or strands in them. From what little I could tell – by palately separating the taster notes for the tea base – saffron has a sweet-’n-spicy taste with a floral dryness to it. I could be completely wrong in this assessment, since it is – after all – only based on flavor comparisons between blended teas.

This Saffron Black marked the sixth tea I was trying blended with the over-expensive flower. There was very little information on the package or the Hamstead site as to whether or not actual strands were used. If I had to guess, I would’ve said it was scented with saffron, much like how jasmine green teas are prepared. On dry presention, there wasn’t much I could discern. It was a teabag, so I couldn’t really judge the contents. Nor was I sure how many saffron strands there were per black tea fanning. I can say that it had a really sweet smell to it.

Brewing instructions on the Hamstead site called for boiling water and a three-minute steep. At times, I’m relieved when a review sample is a teabag. I was at work when I tried it. All I had to do was dunk the bag in a 12oz. coffee cup filled with 200F water, then let it steep for three minutes.

The liquor brewed crimson-to-medium-brown with a very dry and floral scent. That was either from the saffron strands/scenting or (more likely) a high-altitude black tea base. Taste-wise, it opened up with a sweet forefront that segued (again rather dryly) to a middle with some medium malt to it. The finish was actually rather pleasantly understated for a bagged black. Whatever the floral contribution was, it helped cut back on any tannic quality this would’ve initially had on its own.

I’m still of the opinion that saffron needs to be treated with the utmost respect, and – as such – be paired with a high-quality tea base. I wasn’t quite sure that was the case here. Hamstead does say that it was blended with Fair Trade black tea, but no details were given as to what kind. I’ve often wondered if saffron might pair well with a first flush Darjeeling or a Nuwara Eliya Ceylon – given those regions’ tendency toward floral-seeming teas. As it stands, though, it’s a decent enough blend.

You can purchase the BLACK SAFFRON 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.

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.

Earl Grey is not a type of tea but rather plain black tea infused with the citrus flavour of bergamot. Hampstead’s Earl Grey comes in an attractive but difficult to open white tin canister. The picture on the front is an interesting image of two tea leaves in a brown and yellowish cloud of smoke. I had no problems opening the outside lid, but the inner one could not be pried with my newly-manicured fingernails (and I wasn’t favouring my fingernails). I had to use the end of a fork to pry it open.

The nose on the dry leaf is very lemony, however steeped clear orange infusion emits a surprisingly less citrusy nose as the aromas of the tea part of the beverage is now predominant. I think I had to take a second sip to make sure I was drinking an Earl Grey. That is because with many Earl Grey’s the bergamot flavour stands out and you really taste the lemony citrus note above all other flavours. There is usually a bright, tart, refreshing taste to most Earl Greys. I should note however, that the bergamot is often used to mask a lack of flavour in poor quality black tea. The quality of black tea used in Earl Grey needs to be checked.

The Earl Grey from Hampstead has a more muted bergamot note. The tea taste comes more to the forefront. So for those of you who do not like overpowering bergamot but prefer more subtle citrus flavours, I would recommend this tea to you. Does this mean that Hampstead is using better quality black tea than the other tea companies out there that they do not need to mask the tea flavour with an overpowering bergamot flavour? Perhaps. Their packaging says their tea comes from Makaibari, the first biodynamic tea estate in the world, situated 3-4000 ft high in the Himalayas. The dry leaf looks attractive enough. Short, black, dark brown, some Assam tea some tippiness, a good roll to it. It is a good leaf.

The question then becomes why deviate from the norm? If the majority of the tea companies are supplying the bergamot-favoured tea vs. the tea favoured tea and this is what consumers know is the norm, what they expect, is popular, and are eating them up then why fix something that isn’t broken? I can appreciate it being a better quality tea, but after tasting both “types” of Earl Greys, I gotta say, I like the “bergamot-favoured, plain, low-quality black tea” Earl Grey of the other tea companies, even though the tea is poorer. But then again maybe there is a market for an Earl Grey where the predominant taste is a good tea taste and a more subtle bergamot taste. I certainly prefer many of my flavoured teas to have a tea taste rather than a flavour taste. It’s just with Earl Grey that I prefer the opposite. And that is because I tend to favour lemony tastes. This is the first time I’ve tasted an Earl Grey with a stronger tea than bergamot taste and it is one I will not soon forget. Maybe there is something that can be said about the vantages of combining good quality black tea with bergamot? Hmm.

It is also notable that this tea is certified organic and fairtrade. What does fairtrade mean?

Chances are when you have a cup of tea in the morning, you are not thinking about the working conditions of those involved in getting the tea from the gardens to your cup, yet with the growth of social conscience today, this topic is becoming more and more relevant as can be seen by the growth in interest in the Fair Trade movement. Fair Trade tea has been around since 1994 in Canada and was slow to catch on. Today, its market share remains tiny, making up about one half of one percent of all tea sales in Canada. But it’s growing fast. The range of Fair Trade teas available is wider than ever.

How does Fair Trade work? TransFair, the certifying body, has a rigorous audit system which verifies industry compliance with Fair Trade criteria and allows companies to display the FTC label on products that meet these standards. TransFair belongs to Fair Trade Labeling Organizations (FLO), an international organization headquartered in Germany. Just as TransFair audits the activities of licensees, FLO manages certified producer cooperatives and importers. The work of TransFair and FLO complement each other so that the chain of commodities is tracked from the farm to the finished product, making sure that the Fair Trade criteria has been met. A Joint Body – a special council on the estate made up of workers and estate managers – is created. The Joint Body decides how the Fair Trade premium paid by licensed importers to the certifying body will benefit the whole community.

Proponents of Fair Trade argue that the FTC system works to improve the quality of life for tea plantation workers, their families, and communities in a number of ways. Fair Trade provides fair, livable wages and premiums, opportunities for social development programs, improved access to higher education, and funds to repair dilapidated housing and facilities. Other concerns that Fair Trade can address include health and safety issues such as water contamination, worker health, unsanitary sewer systems, access to healthcare, and emergency transit. Fair Trade promotes worker empowerment, worker autonomy, and facilitates social and economic mobility for workers and their families.

Today where consumers are looking for social accountability from producers, fairtrade teas are becoming a growing share of the market. This was the first fairtrade tea I’ve reviewed and I’m sure not the last.

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

I have two tea bags with which to form a review of this tea. So, I will be sharing my thoughts on this tea as I progressed through both tea tastings.

First tea bag:
The smell from the dry tea bag is minty. The teabags from Hampstead Tea are really full, not your typical tea bag. I brewed the bag for 2 minutes, added a splash of milk and sipped. “What does this remind me of? Dirt? No, mint.” For me the tea has a mint aftertaste. Is this bad? It depends, do you want your breakfast tea to remind you of mint? I decided on this first cup that I did not want mint with breakfast.

Second tea bag:
The smell from the dry tea bag is minty. No denying the mint flavor. As I brewed for two minutes, I braced myself for the previous flavor profile. I sipped my first sip and hum…it seems better to me. Is it a tea that I would pick for breakfast? Probably not. I did read another reviewers take on this tea and they compared it to a Darjeeling. I can see that comparison now that I have drank two full cups of this robust black tea.

Overall, I like Hampstead Tea tea bags, they are full and brew up nicely. This particular EB left me wanting something else. It is just not my cup of tea.

You can purchase the Organic Fairtrade English Breakfast directly from the Hampstead Tea website.

When you start reviewing a large number of teas, it may feel like you are reviewing many that are just mediocre and coming across a real gem may seem hard to come by. But of course it is really worth it when you do find that one tea that stands out above the rest. “Pure Zealong,” a New Zealand Oolong tea is just that special tea. And you know you’ve had a good tea when the review starts to write itself.

This tea came with a brochure that boasts its purity, and that is the perfect description for it; it is clean and pure and refreshing. Pure it certainly is. Unlike with Chinese and Taiwan Oolongs where the first infusion is usually poured away to rid of impurities and the second infusion is consumed, with the Pure Zealong the first and second infusion are just as drinkable. Moreover, it is difficult to be refreshing when you are a hot tea but the Pure Zealong has that bit of tang you get when you taste something refreshing. It is long in the mouth having a lingering aftertaste, a sign of a quality tea. Be careful with the time and temperature used in steeping as poor time and temperature can lead to a soapy taste. I recommend 90-93C for 2 to 4 minutes. It has a bit of an aftertaste that is sweet like a Baimudan. I’d say the taste is in between the taste of a Baimudan and a lightly oxidized oolong.

Before seeing this tea, I never knew New Zealand produced teas, and why not? As they say on their website, New Zealand has a pure, clean, fertile environment. That coupled with the hand pick of the finest tea leaves and plants from Taiwan, and processed with the best Chinese traditions and world leading food safety standards, you inevitably are left with the “world’s purest Oolong tea, with superb fragrance and flavour.” And I agree. This is certainly a special tea. The price at $58.00 for 100grams certainly attests to that. But it is worth it, with a delicate green infusion, soft perfumy aroma, and refreshingly sweet aftertaste. This is a superb tea. And superb teas are best to be taken on its own. I would not pair it with any food. Maybe try serving it gongfu-style to appreciate the nuances of each infusion. Imagine that, superb tea with good company and good conversation – one way this tea can be and enjoyed. Just the way I like it.

You can purchase the Zealong Pure directly from the Chicago Tea Garden website.