Ginseng Punch!

      After updating to windows 7 with the help of a very awesome, super, amazing friend I can do pictures again! yay! So how have you all been? Haven't had any comments in awhile so I just thought I should ask. Had any good teas I should try?

As you probably guessed I am drinking hotel tea at the moment. I don't fancy it much though.

Name: Honey Lemon Ginseng
Type: Green
Company: Chado
Purchased: hotel tea
Comments:  If I were to describe this tea like a fight it would go like this: You would step into the ring and the fight would commence with honey skating around you making everything sticky and slippery. He/she would bring you down with one clever roundhouse. Then Lemon would drag you to the floor in puckering fashion. Your eyes watering and your mouth stuck in the 'fish' position. Last would be Ginseng who would finish you off with a kick to the side. This tea is just too bitter with not enough flavor.

How do you like you bitter tea?

You say tomato I say tomato.

              Any addiction that affects your wallet can be a bad thing even if it's good for your health, that is unless it's keeping you alive. I know for sure that tea is not keeping me alive but man does it make one feel good after a good cup in the morning. I recently discovered a site called hitea.com. The hi stands for Hawaiian Islands and they have a lot of tea I haven't tried. I found this site via a little packet of tea my mom brought me when she came back from vacation there. I know I shouldn't buy more tea cause the cabinet is already overflowing but it's so tempting....

Oh yea but the tea I am drinking right now is quite good. Its purely green tea but I can't quite put a finger on what type. It reminds me more of a Japanese tea, such as a Sencha, then it does a Chinese tea.

Name: Pure Green Tea
Type: Green
Company: Hawaiian Islands
Purchased: I don't know where she got it. Sorry. (Well besides the fact that she got it in Hawaii haha)
Comments: Good flavor. Sencha aftertaste. Smooth. Still can't put my finger on the exact type of green.

What is your favorite type of green tea?

Hotel Tea

                                               

It's ALIVE!!!! Yes the blog is still alive. Don't worry I haven't abandoned this gig yet I've just been a little busy with being a flight attendant.

I have more hotel tea for you. I thought for sure that this was going to be one of those posts where I tell you to stay away from this tea but it actually ended up being pretty good. Most hotel teas are a mystery until steeped unless they are provided by big name companies like Numi or Lipton. Other hotels, like the one the company put us up in, make their own. Which I think is really cool but also makes me kinda wary. I hope more hotels jump on the tea band wagon and provide more tea from the big name brands or their own.

Name: Tropical Citrus Green Tea
Type: Green
Company: Aloft (the name of the hotel)
Purchased: In room by the coffee
Comments: Great smell. would be good over ice with a few flavor shots. But it is just fine hot. It is a light flavor but slightly bitter aftertaste.

Do you like hotel tea?

Long time no tea

  

        Training is done! I have my wings and a week before I go on reserve. So I'll do what I can to try out new tea and then some. If you have any idea's let me know. Also, I will be traveling so if you have any tea houses you want me to know of... let me know!

Anyway, here's the tea for today.

Name: Snow Mint
Type: Green tea, Mint
Company/Purchased: bloomingtea.com (from a friend)
Comments: Subtle green tea. Slight mint aftertaste. Kinda hard to taste the mint at first but it starts to come out after a bit.

Ever had a mint tea that left you in bliss?

Holy bitter tea batman!

 
   If you like bitter tea with a hint of citrus then I have just the tea for you. It's a green tea with... well I don't really know. There are no ingredients on the back cover. In fact they don't even give a brew time! So I used my general knowledge and steeped it for about two minutes. Maybe it needed less. Maybe. I might just try it again tomorrow at 30 seconds and then 1 minute to see if it's any better. But my brain and my mouth are saying, "Please no. I beg you not to drink that again..." Oh and the bitterness wasn't the only weird thing! When was the last time you saw a tea bag (or tea pod as they call it) fizzle like alka seltzer when you put it in the water?

So anyway... avoid this if you can. Or if you really want to try a bitter tea go ahead:
Name: Citrus Green Tea
Type: Green and mysterious
Company: Genvalia
Purchased: Tried at training
Comments: bitterness....

Have you tried any tea that has sent you riveting at the seems?

Oh and don't worry I am cleansing my palate with Evening in Missoula at the moment. Lovely tea.

Your chai, my chai.

Hello all!
   Don't worry I haven't forgotten you; not yet anyway. Just kidding. Training started this week so I am quite busy. Homework, tests, learning, learning, and more learning. As one of my instructors said, "It's like trying to drink out of a fire hydrant." If you've ever watch them release the water from one you know that that would be no simple task. I'm not here to talk about that though, no I'm going to talk about a good chai I discovered while I was there.

    Usually, like most other big tea people, I am not impressed by the general tea you find everywhere (like in hotels). I thought this was going to be your run of the mill chai. It was no such thing. It is actually a delicious blend of spices and green tea. Yes, that's right, green tea.

Name: my chai
Type: chai, green, spices
Company: one:one - Cooper's teapod
Purchased: Picked up in a bucket full of generic hotel teas.
Comments: Do not over steep. It will ruin the flavor. Steeps quickly for a chai so be mindful of the time. Once it's done you will have a cup o joy.

Do you have any chai you enjoy?

Tea squared

    Ready for yet another tea oddity? This one is a bit more down to earth then the other one below this post but it still has a few ingredients that I think will make your eyebrows raise. This tea, like the one below has Lemongrass, but that's not the eye brow raising ingredient. Centella Asiatica (Gotukola) is its name. Having an interesting background is its game. There is quite a bit that I could on and talk about with this herb, both its good and bad things but I figure if you guys are really interested you can do that on your own. It's a short article so don't worry. http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/gotu-kola-000253.htm

Name: Wellness Tea: De Stress
Type: Green, Spice, Herbal
Company: Tea of Life
Purchased: Tjmaxx
Comments:  Good taste. Light smell, nothing special though. And yea I do actually feel less stressed out.


What tea do you drink to calm down?

New herbs and green tea

     Just watched Julie & Julia with my parents the other night; good movie. I couldn't help but think that it would be awesome to have people send me tea from around the world to try and then blog about it. But no I don't expect you guys to do that. Actually, the only thing I really want to see are more comments and more recommendations.

And now on with the show.

      So I think I must really have a tea fetish because even when I go into stores like TJMaxx the one thing I always do is look for different types of tea. Ha! And wouldn't you know it. Today I found three. Well. ones Earl Grey but I haven't heard of the company before. But here's the one I'm drinking right now:

Name: Wellness Tea: Calming
Type: Green, Fruit, Veggie, Herbal ( I could keep going....)
Company: Tea of Life
Purchased: TJMaxx
Comments: I've heard of veggie drinks but never veggie tea. One of the main ingredients is hathawariya, which translates to Wild Asparagus. Next is Lemongrass and then wild cherry. The smell is really relaxing. The taste is better then I thought it would be. This would be a good night time tea to calm ones senses.


So people what weird teas have you tried lately?

Yunnan Pu er

    Yesterday I was at Indigo sipping on a Rooibos Latte (and then a Lychee bubble tea) and I came across a bag of Yunnan Pu er. Seeing as how one of our members has been raving about it I had to pick it up.

      Many people, including myself, think of it at first as a green tea. As I looked into the background on good old Wikipedia I found out that it is actually in two classifications and some people only classify it as a post fermented tea. The whole history and information on the tea is quite interesting if you have time to go and read it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pu-erh_tea

Name: Yunnan Pu er
Type: Green, post-fermented
Company/Purchased: Indigo
Comments: Honestly, I don't fancy the flavor. It doesn't come off as earthy like most green teas do. It reminds me more of green beans. However it isn't so bad that it's going to sit in my cabinet. I'm going to try different steep times and see if that does anything. I'll let you know what happens.

Have you tried Pu er?

99 Bottles of tea on the wall

        Actually, I only have two but it's more then enough at the moment. I picked up two different (very different) bottles of tea the other night. One contains Kombucha and the other is an assortment of green teas. i could be wrong and it could be just one type but I feel like I'm tasting a couple of different types of green in there.

       Kombucha - The first thought that went through my head after I took a sip was, "WHOA! What a kick in the mouth!" I've never had a fizzy tea before and even now my mouth is going, "dude... its tea but its.... fizzy...." Then I read the nutrition facts. What an amazing little bottle of fizzy goodness. Antioxidants, probiotics, detoxifiers, and Polyphenols are some of the main body builders packed inside. They suggest you drink one a day to help with digestion, metabolism, immune system, appetite control, weight control, liver function, body alkalinity, anti-aging, cell integrity, and healthy skin & hair. Not approved by the FDA (figures) but still if they are mentioned this will most likely help out at least a little bit.

      Ito En - Japans #1 Green Tea. It's great green tea but it has a slight tad of bitterness to it which I think takes away from the overall taste. I can definitely see why it's considered number one though. The packaging is appealing and the taste will fit many different types of green tea drinkers, which Japan has a whole lot of.

If you feel like trying something new that might kick you in the mouth give Kombucha a try. Or at least do it for the health benefits. Otherwise just stick to Ito En. Can't really go wrong there unless you just plain don't like green tea.

Both were purchased at Valley Natural foods but I'm sure you find find local providers by looking on Google.

Arizona Green Tea!

       

          Canned Green Tea. Doesn't bring up a very pleasant thought right away does it? But it's not all bad. Take for instance Arizona Green Tea. Unlike some other canned teas it has no artificial color or flavor. They added ginseng and honey give it an extra added boost of flavor as well. So if you haven't tried it already don't worry and go for it.

Have any other pre-made green tea suggestions?

Green tea and Superfruit

Morning everyone!
       Ever heard of a superfruit? I thought it was just a term used by the company that produces the tea I'm drinking right now but it turns out that it refers to a marketing term about certain fruit. Key criteria for superfruit success appear to include novelty, perceived health benefits, convenience, reliable supply and effective promotion. Our superfruit in this case is Pomegranate. I'm not a terribly big fan of this fruit but it's not bad when mixed with green tea. You might as well just forget about your 'power' drinks too while your at it. This Pomegranate and green tea mixture packs an antioxidant punch. So even if you don't throughly enjoy the flavor you will enjoy knowing that you are helping your body in a big way.

Name: Pomegranate Green Tea
Type: Green, Fruit
Company: The Republic of Tea
Purchased: World Market
Comments: I steep it for about 3 minutes and it was fine. Ive steeped it over 5 before and it turned out to be really bitter. But I think you need at least 2 minutes to get the pomegranate to release its flavor.

Name: Green Tea with Pomegranate
Type: Green, Fruit
Company: Bigelow
Purchased: Tried it at my friend's place.
comments: What a pleasant flavor. I was expecting something mediocre but the taste is actually quite good. About 3 minutes of steep time.

Do you guys have any favorite teas?

Jasmine

                     Before I ever knew what tea was (not kidding) I drank a lot of Jasmine tea. Most of the time I would put about a 1/2 a teaspoon of honey while it was steeping to make it more sweet. I realize now that adding the honey in allows the tea to steep longer without having to worry about the tannin making it bitter. Which then allows the Jasmine to steep longer and provide that amazing floral flavor. The best part of the tea has to be the smell though. Even if you over steep it and it becomes bitter you can just sit there and smell it.

Name: Jasmine
Type: Green, Floral
Company/ Purchased: Caribou
Comments: Good taste, great aroma. Needed the honey to achieve the full flavor but still it tastes great.

Company: Yamamotoyama
Purchased: United Noodles Oriental Food
Comments: Same as above but honey is not needed as much.

If you have a Jasmine tea you love let me know!

Tea Blocks

Tea never ceases to amaze me. I’m always finding or trying something new that I didn’t know existed. The other day one of our regular customers came in while I was working at Dunn Bros and said he had something for me. He remembered that I liked tea and handed me a bunch of green packets (which you see above). At first I thought it was some type of candy; maybe tea candy. Turns out that it’s called a tea block. There are no instructions on the little 2 by 1 inch packets. So I just did what I thought would work best. I poured the water directly over the tea block without a strainer not realizing that it was going to come apart. Luckily the tea is in rather large pieces so it was easy to filter them all.

Name: Mi Xiang/ Mixiang (Sticky Rice Tea)

Type: Green, Mixiang

Company: Yunnan Haichao Tea Blocks Co

Purchased: Given by awesome regular at Dunn Bros

Taste: Nutty, Grassy, Coppery aftertaste, musky

Comments: Most of the tea I drink smells good. This is the only one so far that I have not liked the smell of. It wasn’t terrible but not something I would sit there and keep under my nose. Once it was fully stepped I could tell why they call it sticky rice tea; because it really tastes like sticky rice! Can’t say it smells like it though.

Strawberries and Tea

Name: Strawberry Green Tea (Actually not real sure if that’s the name cause there isn’t a name on it.)

Type: Green, Berry

Company: Cameron’s Bulk Tea

Purchased: Coborns

Taste:  The typical green tea flavor is there but it is balanced nicely with a touch of strawberry but not so much so that the berry overwhelms it.

About a year ago and half ago I purchased a tea in bulk which I came to despise almost instantly. I bought it for its name and thought it would taste wonderful. Not so much. It was bitter and had absolutely no strawberry flavor whatsoever. However, today I decided it was time to open it again and see if perhaps I was the one at fault. And sure enough; I was. What was the problem you ask? Simple, I stepped it for too long. Usually green tea is steep from 1-3 minutes. Heaven only knows how long I steeped my first one for.

            So moral of the story is always give tea a second chance and make sure you check the taste every minute. Everyone has different taste so even though it says to steep for 1 minute you may not like it and if you ruin a cup you can always try again later. 

You say Longjing, I say Dragonwell.

Good morning everyone. I’m sitting here in St. Cloud, MN waiting for my tea to cool. I don’t want to get antsy and put cold water in there because what I’ve tasted of it thus far tastes pretty good.

Name: Longjing tea also known as Dragonwell here in the states.

Type: Green, Chinese

Company / Purchased: Caribou Coffee. Apparently they make their own tea too?

I’ve been sitting here for about 10 minutes not and it’s starting to take on some taste characteristics that I’m not too fond of. Not my favorite green tea but it has a subtle flavor that makes up for its lack of uniqueness. If I were to put a finger on it I would say it’s the after taste I don’t like. The initial flavor is somewhat grassy. I’m sure if I were to try the higher quality version it would be a bit more satisfying but unfortunately I just can’t find myself enjoying this one. Not bad, just not my favorite. Oh, and according to the wiki the tea leaves can be eaten after they are infused. Sitting here and ripping into a tea bag and then eating the leaves would probably look pretty weird to the other people around me.

(Side note: I can’t help but laugh whenever I hear her call out drinks. Cause now I know exactly what they are and what goes into them. Is it wrong that I work at Dunn Bros but like Caribou? Don’t get me wrong though I know Dunn Bros has better coffee but Caribou has my Passion Fruit Green Tea Smoothie.)  

Ginseng and Green Tea

Name: Ginseng

Type: Green, Ginseng

Company/Purchased: Honestly, I don't remember or know the name of the first Ginseng tea I had because I bought it while I was in China. But if I ever go back there I remembered exactly where I purchased it. 

Taste: Amazing. Left a wonderful, but strong aftertaste.

Company/Purchased: Dynasty / United Noodle.

Taste: Somewhat coppery. Not as good as the first but still had that wonderful aftertaste.

One of the great things about drinking tea is that you don’t have to worry about it becoming a bad addiction or it doing unhealthy things to your body. Although, I don’t like to go a day without a cup I know I can get by just fine without it.  So anyway, today felt like a Ginseng type of day so I put on a cup of Ginseng tea. As you can tell from my comments above I love the aftertaste. It’s my main reason for drinking it besides the fact that it’s good, really good, for you.

Ginseng is typically grown in Northern Asia, however there is other types now being produced in other parts of the world. Canada for instance produces the most American Ginseng. Go figure… There's a lot of good that Ginseng does for the body, Listed below in this site are some of them:

Just check out all that they list here on the bottom of the article, it's amazing: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/health-benefits-of-ginseng-tea.html

If you don't mind trying out new things I really suggest you give this tea a try. It's going to taste a bit weird at first but as it begins to cool down the flavors really start to emerge. On my tea packet it says between 1 and 3 minutes steep time. I usually do mine at about 2 minutes. I like to obtain all the flavor but I don't like to risk it being bitter.

Good Morning Genmaicha!

Name: Genmaicha

Type: Japanese, brown rice tea

Company/Purchased: Indigo

Company/Purchased: Numi / TjMaxx

Taste: Sweet and nutty, and somewhat grassy. Once its cooled past tongue burning hot its very enjoyable. This tea is actually quite hard to explain when it comes to taste because it is unlike any of the other green teas out there.  

             This tea is known as brown rice tea because it is combined with roasted brown rice. It is also called Popcorn tea because of the resemblance the rice has to popcorn when it pops. So if you ever buy Genmaicha and find 'popcorn' bits in the bag, don’t worry its only the rice grains that have popped. This tea, like Gunpowder, is very finicky with its steeping time. If you have about a teaspoon of the tea you should allow for no more than a minute and a half for steep time.

By the way: Please feel free to comment about anything you read. Comments are nice.  

Tea + Bubble + Milk = Bubble Tea!

We're going to take a slight detour today and talk about a new fad in tea land.

Bubble Tea!

Bubble tea is tea, usually black tea, served with boba balls (prepared by mixing tapioca and carrageenan powder). The liquid part of it is called milk tea. This can then be blended with other flavors such as Lychee, Jasmine, kiwi, etc. I won’t go into it too much because there is a lot more to milk tea then one would think. Just Wiki and find the extra info you want. You can also get bubble tea without the bubbles (or pearls as they are really called) but what is the fun in that?

The tea house I currently buy my drink infatuation from is called Indigo. It's a small shop located in Burnsville, MN. They have by far some of the best tea I have ever had. Not to mention their bubble tea is just astounding. So far I’ve tried both their black and green versions, and I am happy to say that both are great. While you can get the traditional types of bubble tea, I am hooked on the Taro flavored bubble tea. Sounds gross right? I know, but the flavor is amazing. It has a somewhat chocolaty taste to it. I first learned of Taro from an encounter with Poi in Hawai’i. That is a whole other story in itself.

 For now here's a quick look into the others I’ve had:

Taro Coconut Bubble Tea – Made with black milk tea

-  Its good but almost a little too flavorful; if that's possible. It's one of those drinks where you want to stop but can't.

 Honeydew Bubble Tea – Made with green milk tea

 - Really tastes like honeydew melon! It was amazing. Not my favorite but one I would recommend it to other people who like honeydew melon.

 Strawberry Lychee Bubble Tea – Made with black milk tea

 -  I think I was in heaven when I first tasted it. The combination of tropical Lychee with good old strawberry made for a great taste combination. I was told it is also good with raspberry.

I'm finishing up my Taro Coconut at the moment. So many pearls at the bottom!  Oh, word of advice, if you don't like tapioca don't get the pearls.

If you are new to bubble tea and are not sure of what to try just go with your tried and true favorite flavors to mix with your tea. If you need suggestions let me know!
Adiós!