Cinoi

It’s so hot…I cold brewed some of this last night and have been steadily polishing it off as the day has gone on, almost time to make some more, but that’s a different story…

As I said, cold brewed: Three scoops of tea, a pinch of rock sugar, 4 ounces of hot water to start the infusing process, let sit three minutes, add ice cubes and cold water to fill the pitcher. Stir a minute till evenly distributed. Enjoy.

It is imperative that this tea be underinfused as it CAN get bitter with the rosehips and hibiscus, so some sugar and the underinfusion will make it refreshing and slightly sweet. Stay cool everyone…

Back to the heat wave on the East Coast – a quick cup of this will help me wake up and get ready for today…

Infused hot, three minutes, splash of half and half, no sugar, two ice cubes. Unfortunately, it is just TOO hot to actually drink hot tea, so I am enjoying lukewarm tea. The half and half adds the smooth and creaminess to the tea that it is otherwise missing, lightens the spices and thickens the pu-erh-esq and chocolate flavors.

For some unknown reason, it has taken me a very long time to get to these TeaFrog samples…oh well

This herbal is decent – not too sweet from chocolate and not too spicy from spices. Infused hot, no additives 7 minutes. Each sip is a complicated dance of flavors. It starts with peppercorn then melts into chocolate then finally into ginger. The peppercorn provides an initial bite, a spicy kick that is quickly replaced with slightly sweet, smooth and creamy chocolate flavor, but not overwhelmingly chocolate, the chocolate is rounded out by cacao which helps to extend the flavor without adding sweetness, finally the ginger provides a little spice but true in depth flavor. Quite a mouthful…

I especially like that the tea is made of both chocolate and cacao – I think it deeps the chocolate flavor and enriches the tea overall because it is not sweet or savory, but a decent mix of the two that acts as a bridge between spicy pepper and vibrant ginger.

Great work TeaFrog.

So this was another impulse buy on my Florida Vacation, and I am still trying to curb the tea purchasing and opening new ones while others live on my shelf unfinished. I am happy to say, that today I was able to finish off other teas and open this one!

The smell of the dried leaves is overwhelming. It smells creamy, strawberry, coconut, a hint of hibiscus and rose, some lavender. The leaves are beautiful: little black curls mixed with red pieces, small slivers of coconut, and purple-blue leaves.

I took two heaping spoonfuls and added them to my pot, hot water, no additives. I originally intended to infuse for the full five minutes, however as it was infusing the lavender/hibiscus/rose scent liberated and I got concerned of bitterness, so I cut my infusion to three minutes.

The liquor is a dark color, somewhat like spiced rum, guess that was intentional. The odor is still the lavender and hibiscus with the powdery rose note and unfortunately, I am having a lot of trouble getting passed that smell. The flavor seems to not really be anything, a bit of strawberry, a hint of coconut, and then the familiar bitterness of lavender/hibiscus and a smack of black tea.

I do not like rose, I do not seek out hibiscus on it’s own either, and to be perfectly honest, I cannot stand lavender. I wouldn’t say this tea is bad, because it’s not, it’s just not my cup of tea (pun intended) – I would not typically drink/enjoy this regardless of the name because it is just too floral for me.

Oh well…

Had some more of this today – brewed it up for myself and a few of the co-workers. Enjoyed hot, no additives, infused for three minutes. The impression from everyone at work is that they very much like it – good, I am glad. As for me, I still think this tea is a little too sweet to be enjoyed on a regular basis.

Second infusion, three minutes, hot, no additives. Still a little sweet for my liking, which I think is surprising, because I usually find hibiscus bitter and matcha to have a bite to it. I guess the mangosteens really have that much of an impact.

I was not entirely sure what to expect with this, but I needed a pick-me-up around lunch time, and with the heat wave, this seemed easiest to enjoy. The can does not really have any directions, instructions, suggestions, or really anything about the product you are about to consume. I knew it was Sencha tea, I knew it was cold, I knew it was unsweetened, and that’s about it.

I shook the tea, hoping that I was combining it, and insodoing, it frothed and foamed up so that the can felt dense and undesirable. This terrified me. I cracked the can open to find that it was not thick, though it was rather thin, amber yellow in color and smelled not-so-great. With the help of my co-workers, we bravely dared to drink the little shots we poured out of it.

You could not taste the smell, much like pu-erh, it was just an aroma, which was good news. The flavor was crisp and rich, definitely green tea, with the boldness and body recognized as sencha tea. Overall, this was pretty good, I am glad I gave it a try. I cannot say I was truly energized from the Sencha Shot, however, I did feel almost immediately better.

Happy drinking!

This started my day because it was easiest to grab. I must say that now that my commute has multiplied (it was 15 minutes and now is close to 55 minutes) I really find this tea refreshing in that I can let it infuse the ENTIRE time and it still taste just as delicious.

The fragrant spiced-cookie (please see other posts for more information) is so creamy, rich and delicious that it just may be necessary to get me through this commute and to work.

As always, hot, no additives, infused more than 60 minutes, drinking the whole time out of my giant travel mug.

Brewed a pot of this today – multiple times – and like my previous Shanti Tea experience, it is very good. Following infusion instructions, I counted out 20 little “arrows” of tea, dropped them in my basket, boiled some water, allowed it to cool for one minute and then poured it over my tea. I let the tea infuse, hot, no additives for three minutes.

The tea is stunning as described, the little arrows unfurled and showed their green and dark red colors, the aroma is light and crisp, but unmistakably oolong. The liquor is pale yellow. The flavor is clean and crisp, it is mild and medium-bodied, the flavor is oolong, yet not typical oolong. It is almost so faint you cannot even tell that it is actually oolong, yet it is light and sweet and crisp.

Infused two more times with similar results – a clean, delicious oolong tea that can be brewed multiple times with perfectly mirrored results.

Overall this, like my other Shanti Tea (Blue Unicorn) are very light and clean though definitely oolong tea. I enjoyed both of these very much, though as described they flavor is faint and not quite what we have come to know as oolong.

This tea is actually pretty good if you do not abuse it too much.

The bag contains black, green and oolong tea, which makes for a strange brew time. The bag (I do not have a box) does not give any indication of how long it should be infused, so I played around with the few bags.

First, infusing hot, no additives, three minutes. Pretty good, light on all three flavors, but mostly a sweet clean green with a base note of black tea with the final mouthfeel-taste of oolong.

Second, infused hot, no additives, five minutes. Starting to get a little bitter, not really the best, can still pick up the green and oolong while the black plays a background note.

Third, infused hot, no additives, seven minutes (strictly because I forgot about it). Really super bitter, overpowered all flavors except the black tea.

The final verdict: this tea is decent if infused 3-5 minutes. It does not need anything added to make it taste good and be able to pick up on all three flavor teas. The brew is very good, especially for my morning cuppa on my way to work.

Great start of the day today…

So when the weather changes here, and it finally gets hot, the air conditioning units go on pumping cool air along with dust, pollen, dirt, etc etc into the air. Needless to say, I have had a cough/sore throat for over a week. They are not a cold – I have no other signs, they are from the AC and then outside into the hot NJ air.

Not complaining, just trying to remedy it with some of this tea. This tea, though licorice flavored, is good, especially for the throat, it definitely does help to coat and soothe. I think that the warm slightly sweet liquid also has some coating and soothing aspects, but I am glad I had this this morning. Now onto my caffeine…

In celebration of today, I wrote a haiku about this tea (not real haiku mind you using moras, fake American haiku using syllables) but an attempt nonetheless:

Getting to work
Requires caffeine Green Black
Tazo Does the trick

This tea is simple and it gets the job done.

First and foremost, I received this as a gift for my birthday – thanks Madison!

The blooming buds of tea are delicately tied into small bundles. The smell of the dried tea is enchanting – delicate white tea, light floral peach and jasmine scent. I do not have a clear pot for flowering teas, but I do have my large infusing pitcher. Added one ball to the bottom, and gently tipped the hot water down the side so as to not damage the tea. Filled about 10 ounces of hot water, no other additives.

The ball floated to the top, but as it began to unfurl after about a minute, it slowly sank to the bottom. The liquor started to turn a pale green color and the peach and jasmine aromas were released. I allowed it to steep for four minutes. Then gently poured the tea so that I could get another visual infusion.

The flavor is sweet, light, floral, very slight peach, definitely more floral and jasmine. It is not so jasmine or floral so as to have that flower petal taste, but it is gentle and delicately added in such a way that it is delicious without being overwhelming.

I managed a second and third infusion (four and three minutes respectively) with similar results – however, I have to say that the beauty is lost if the tea ball is jostled too much, there is a seed packet or twist of seeds inside the center of the flower that is actually quite unsettling, (I will not unsettle you with such details) but if you do not shake the bloom too much, there should not be an issue.

Overall, the tea is very good. Enjoy!

Many thanks again for the birthday wishes all, and to move forward, I needed to wake up today for my extremely early commute to work. The best way to do this was with a hot steaming mug of this one from LeafSpa!

Infused (hot) with no additives, 5 minutes. A darker brew has the rich, yet delicate aromas of the pepper and black tea, and with a longer infusion time, some smokiness that I love :)

Perfect pick-me-up this morning, enjoy!

I received so much tea in the mail today, you would think it was my birthday (wink wink, nudge nudge). Of them, I was extremely excited to try this one and be the first reviewer on Steepster. I have to say, that all of the reviews (shantitea.ca) and hype (facebook) about this tea are completely justified! The tea is visually BEA-utiful: tiny spears of perfectly rolled tea, a dark color with highlights of silver (tips) and gold and cinnamon-red colors. The smell of the dried tea is very faint oolong, clean, light, wonderful.

I put three of the “horns” into my infusing basket, used water just below boiling (as I typically do) and infused hot for 4 minutes with no additives. The spears unfurled a little, in that time and released a new aroma; still clean and light, but a little more body and a typical sweet oolong scent. The liquor is pale yellow. The tea is almost divine, it is like no oolong I have had before, it is light, sweet, a slight crispness at the end of each sip with an overall cleanliness that is more typical of white tea. The slight undertones that are similar to champagne also help to round out the flavors.

Second infusion, same three horns, brewed hot, 3 minutes. Liquor, aroma and taste is similar, no overdone or “burnt” flavor of the oolong. Still wonderful.

Third infusion, same three horns, brewed hot, 2 minutes. Liquor is slightly lighter, but aroma and flavor remain unchanged.

This tea is so wonderful that it can only be harmed by additions. Absolutely wonderful-highly recommended.

It has been an insanely stressful couple of days, to help relax (and apparently celebrate Iced Tea Day!) I had an icy cold bottle of this today. As always, it is sweet, without been sweetened, the jasmine is subtle yet floral enough that you do not miss it. Overall, a wonderful tea, if you spot a bottle, I highly recommend buying it.

Today, I steeped two cups of this to get in the zone. There is a ton going on over here, test taking, appointments, planning, scheduling, applying, so much and I needed to focus.

First cup, add cake, unwrapped, not that it is important, but I really must say that I LOVE using the Golden Moon steeper mug for this (link: http://www.goldenmoontea.com/Whole_Leaf_Steeper_Mug_With_Te_P84.cfm) I only use it for rinsing the pu-erh, because the cup can get very hot if you are drinking out of it. Nonetheless, I rinsed 25 seconds, at this point it was a little too light and a little too wet-dog, so another 25 second rinse – no dog, liquor is almost black and looks thick. Finally, one 30 second infusion, no additives, hot, no dog again, but the earthy, chewy thickness I have grown to love and enjoy. Drank that cup in near 3 minutes.

Second infusion, 30 seconds, liquor dark and thick, same earthy aromas and flavors. Finishing up the cup now. I’m officially, in the zone.

Walked outside to get the mail, not expecting anything, and I have a box…YAY! This box contained my Memorial Day 52 Teas order that I did not expect until tomorrow. In celebration, I brewed up a cup almost immediately.

This is the tin, and though I never received the pouch, the tin is FILLED to the brim and it is layered with big slices of coconut! The smell of the dried leaves is delicious: coconut, vanilla, black tea.

I did a quick brew in my in-cup basket, heaping scoop of tea, hot water, no additives, three minute infuse. The tea is a dark honey-amber liquor with aromas of fresh coconut and vanilla. The flavor is perfect, a slightly sweet blend of coconut and vanilla, a creaminess that you would expect from coconut cream pie and a blend of mind-blowing black tea with a little bite at the end to make sure you know it is there. Absolutely wonderful!

After a long, but very enjoyable day yesterday, I brewed up a large pot of this around midnight. Hot, no additives, two minutes. The simplicity of this tea is divine, it is slightly sweet, with a hint of vegetal flavor, yet a light, almost floral fragrance.

Two cups in, I was fully relaxed and ready to go to sleep.

Had this again today with the orange juice. It is really, really growing on me. I added a full tablespoon of matcha and 8 ounces of orange juice, whisk the hell out of it, get a dark green thick, foamy matcha. Wonderful.

I raised the rating on this today because I am seriously considering buying some more because now I am almost out.

Previous rating: 72.

Needed a pick me up a little while ago, took a generous tea-spoon of matcha, added about 8 ounces of orange juice, whisked for a minute or so, making a nice gentle foam and breaking up all the little chunks of matcha.

Sweet and though it is orange flavored from the orange juice, it is not bitter or tart like I tend to find with Mandarin Matcha. This was nice, cool, refreshing and got the job done. Feeling another one, really soon.

Extremely long story short – I was in NYC last night and went to a decent restaurant. Excellent selection of food, beer, wine, sake and tea. Fantastic! Had this tea and was extremely disappointed. It was bitter and burnt, did not have any decent flavor at all. Actually had to add sweetener to try and finish it.

My best guess is that the restaurant did not follow correct parameters – temperature, time, infusion instructions, etc, etc or that they simply gave me a different tea than I asked for.

sigh Will have to get some and brew it myself. Am I becoming a tea-snob? Sounds like it…No rating until I have a proper experience.

As a second note: second infusion was fantastic – 3 minute infusion, hot, no additives. Definitely added to the caffeine of the day :)

Third and final infusion – 6 minutes, hot, no additives – still good. Might be able to get a fourth infusion out, but at this rate, I wouldn’t want to risk it…

Ahhh, Good Morning! What a day already, super busy since 8:30 and started to drag a few minutes ago. Realized that it was tea related and quickly remedied the situation.

Brewed up a full cup of Lapsang Souchong; hot, four minutes, no additives. The liquor is a golden brown color, it smells smokey but faintly sweet. The flavor is to be expected, smokey, hearty, full-bodied and rich, very faint astringency at the end, but still some how refreshing and rejuvenating. Overall delicious.