Pomegranate Green from Teaopia

Steeped 4 min. @176 degrees

I received this for Christmas from a good friend in Canada, and when I opened the envelope, I was surprised at how fragrant it is. The scent is a nice blend of sweet fruit and savory grass, very inviting and actually kind of invigorating as well. 

The tea itself looks like Sencha or Gyokuro, so I went to the web site, and it is indeed Sencha, one of my favorite greens. Surprisingly, it also includes cranberries, which explains the tart-sweet quality of the flavor. The liquor is very smooth, with a nice but subtle "zing" from the fruit. It is kind of drying, but has a good vegetal flavor.

Pomegranate Green is available online at Teaopia...and this is the first tea from them that I've tried, but I may well place an order with them in the future. I certainly enjoyed this particular offering...

Orange Sencha from two leaves and a bud

Measure: 1 tea sachet to 8 oz water
Steeped: 4 min. @180 degrees
Teaware: China teacup & saucer

Late on a Sunday night finishing up housework before bed, I decided to give this flavored sencha a try. I've always been partial to Japanese greens, and though the pieces of this tea were small in the bag, I still wasn't too worried. A light orange scent wafted from the sachet when I opened the package, relaxing and refreshing at the same time.

The brew is a dark golden color, with a lovely light floral-orange aroma. The overall flavor is also very light, with a drying quality on the tongue. Just a hint of the orange flavor comes through, lending sweetness to the unassuming vegetal qualities of the brew. The liquor is slightly thick and very pleasing in the mouth.It's a very pleasant and relaxing tea...certainly worth a taste.

Review: Caramel Dipped Apple from The NecessiTeas

Measure: 2 tsp. to 16oz water
Steeped: 3 minutes @less than boiling (180 degrees or so)
Teaware: Porcelain teapot, stoneware mugs

When I opened up the package of this tea, I expected a sweet, candy-apple fragrance. Instead, I experienced a very complex roasted caramel scent with spicy background notes. There's a hint of apple in there, but not much in the initial aroma. Honestly, I was a little disappointed in the scent, and was hoping the taste would be much different.

I'm still not sure if I like this tea or not. The flavor does indeed mimic the initial fragrance. The apple flavor is merely implied, the caramel roasted on the edge of burnt. None of the Japanese green tea flavor comes through at all, which is disappointing.

There is an intriguing spicy note to this tea that just might be it's saving grace. The brew is slightly astringent, not necessarily in a bad way. I plan on adding sugar to my next cup, possibly a little milk even and see how the caramel notes play out.
I think someone who likes slightly bitter, roasted flavors (think coffee lovers here) would probably really like this tea. As for myself, I'll give it another chance with sugar, but I don't think it will ever be a favorite.

Dragonwell from Andrews & Dunham

Scent in tin: Grassy and fresh
Ratio: 1 tsp to 12 oz. water
Steeped: 2.5 minutes @ just under boiling (180 degrees or so)

As I’ve stated ad nauseum in my reviews, I’m not a fan of Chinese green teas. I much prefer the sweeter flavors of Japanese green teas, so that’s what I normally drink. I wasn’t planning on buying this tea, but seriously – go check out the Andrews & Dunham site, read the hilarious descriptions, and I bet you’ll find yourself buying the three-tin set too.

So I was a bit hesitant to brew this up, but my mom wanted a cup of hot tea after Easter dinner, and I figured we’d try this one, since she prefers green & white teas. Our first whiff out of the tin was a grassy, fresh scent that was a good match for the lovely spring weather we were having. I really liked the look of the leaves too – thin and wide, with a nice fresh green color.
I paid attention to the label this time (see my Nepal review), and was careful to only brew it for 2 ½ minutes at just under boiling. The brewed leaves are only slightly more vibrant, but very highly scented. The liquor is a pale yellow, without much residual scent at all, just a hint of melted butter.The taste – well, I was pleasantly surprised. The flavor is rich and buttery, with just a slight floral note in there somewhere. The brew is smooth and creamy, with no astringency, no harshness, and no bitterness at all. The aftertaste leaves just a slight peppery tang at the end, but nothing that would ruin the overall flavor profile. I had another cup last night, and it was a most relaxing cup to end the day with. My mother enjoyed her cup on Sunday too.Another “damn fine tea” from Andrews & Dunham…I find myself eagerly looking forward to their next offerings.Don’t forget – the third tea in Series 1, “Ceylon” is the prize for this month’s “ID that Tea” contest!

Kokeicha from Dragonwater

Scent in package: light “alfalpha green” scent
Brewed in: unbleached filter bag
Steeped: 1 min. 30s @ steaming
Cup: Café mug

Imagine you have a small ball of dark green dough in your hands. Now imagine pressing that dough through a piece of wire mesh, and having tiny square strings dangling down. If you cut those strings into small pieces, you have something that very closely resembles this tea, made from extruded matcha paste. Intrigued by the whole idea, I ordered a sample to try.

When I opened the package to smell, I was surprised. Somehow, I expected it to smell grassier, like matcha. But it smelled more like a wild field instead, and the scent is fairly light. The directions say to brew it for 1 minute, but that just didn’t seem long enough to me, so I left it for 30 seconds longer. The brew is a very light golden yellow, much as one would expect of a light oolong, or light green tea.

The brew has a very nice fragrance, green and “nutty” at the same time. The taste…well…the taste is superb, like a darker, more rounded Kukicha (one of my favorite Japanese greens). It’s very sweet, and very thick in the mouth, with warm, nutty notes encased in a very creamy, buttery shell (not the *taste* of butter, just that creamy smooth mouth feel). Like crisp-steamed buttered asparagus. I enjoyed it very much, and it seemed to pick me up a bit on this long afternoon at my desk. The aftertaste is like what you get after eating homemade ice cream - buttery and sweet on your gums...very good.

I don’t know about you, but my first inclination with extruded dough shapes is to squish them (I can’t help it!). So I had to see if these little tea-paste bits would smush, and they did, quite easily in the filter bag, creating a paste (that I assume is the original starting point for the mix). I have no idea if it would brew another satisfying cup in that form, but I don’t see why not, and I do intend to try it sometime.

In any case, I most heartily suggest that anyone who likes sweet green or darker white teas run out and buy some kokeicha to try. It’s most satisfying, rich, creamy, and simply delightful to drink. You won’t regret this purchase – I’ll be buying a full package soon.

Himalaya Green Tea from Choice Organic Teas

Scent in package: slightly grassy, typically green
Brewed in: came as teabags
Steeped: 3-4 minutes @ steaming
Cup: porcelain teacup, café mug

I was contacted shortly before Christmas by this company asking if I’d be interested in sampling a couple of their teas. Being broke, I said sure, and a week later or so, I received an envelope with two samples of teabags in them – Himalaya Green and an herbal tisane.

I’m not big on China green teas…but I’d never tried a Nepalese green, and thought I should. I brewed this up last night for the first time (since I can finally mostly taste again), and I have to say, I thought I must have done something terribly wrong. I used tap water, and brewed it at “steaming” for about 4 minutes. The brew was dark gold, rather than yellowish as one might expect from a green tea, and I was apprehensive about tasting it.

It was awful – I had two sips of the bitter soup, so astringent that it actually felt like it left a film on the roof of my mouth. Needless to say, I tossed the rest of it.

This morning, I grabbed the second bag and used filtered spring water at a lower temperature…just steaming for only 3 minutes steeped. And I hate to report that while the color is much better (a light golden brew typical of green teas), it’s still very bitter, like green tea steeped too long or too hot (or both). While I’m not fond of green tea in general, I know they’re not generally so bitter when brewed correctly…and I have to wonder if the fact that this particular tea is macerated into little tiny bits in a teabag is the crux of the problem. I suppose I could have steeped it for only one minute, but it hardly seems worth the effort. Unfortunately, this tea doesn’t seem to be offered in loose form, so there’s no way to find out how the original form stacks up to this teabag.

While I’m sure we all want to help save the Himalayan Kingdom (10 cents per box sold is donated to the cause), do yourself a favor. Make a donation directly, and skip this particular tea.

Kukicha from Rishi

Scent in package: fresh, fragrant, like wet grass after a spring rain.
Brewed in: unbleached filter bag
Steeped: 4 min. @ around 185 or so.
Cup: Café mug

I found this unopened package in my cupboard as I was going through tea this weekend, and decided that it would fit nicely into both my menu and my reviews this week. For me, this week is all about two things: words, and staying relaxed, and Kukicha both invigorates and relaxes me, becoming indispensable in reaching those two goals.

I liked Adagio’s Kukicha enough to buy a larger tin of it just to keep it on hand. I’ll often have a cup in the late afternoon or evening, because it’s not only relaxing, but for some reason, it gives me a little “push” to keep going when I’m running out of steam. Naturally, I had to try another company’s blend to see if it was all Kukicha or just that one.

So today, I find myself incredibly behind on my word count for NaNoWriMo. After my obligatorily caffeinated first cup, I decided to open up this tea and see if it would propel me on to write fast and vigorously while helping me to maintain a state of calm determination (rather than panicked frustration, which is my inclination at the moment).

The scent of the dry leaf/twig combo is clean, and very, very fresh, like wet grass, as mentioned above. I love that smell, and couldn’t wait to brew a cup. Brewed up, it was lighter than an Adagio brew, but the scent was just intoxicating, like brewed artichokes in butter (yum!).

The taste is phenomenal…rich and buttery with clear vegetal tones. I must admit, I was expecting the two vendors to have similar tasting teas, but Rishi’s is richer, with a very clear, thick texture and more clarity to the light yellow-green color of the brew itself. Asparagus is the underlying vegetal note, and for lack of a better word, it tastes almost “creamy”.

It’s wonderful, and even now, after only half a cup, I feel life returning to my fingers and clarity moving across my brain. This tea is inspirational, and while Adagio’s is much more affordable at $7 for 4oz. vs. Rishi’s $7 for 1oz. – it’s easy to justify the expense for a superior taste profile *for occasional sipping*.

I’ll probably stick to the Adagio for everyday drinking, simply because it is *so* much less expensive, and still a very good tea. But I’ll keep a small amount of this Rishi blend on hand for luxury…it’s worth every penny for an occasional treat.

Orange Blossom Green Tea from Rishi

Scent in package: wonderful, floral-orange scent
Brewed in: unbleached filter bag
Steeped: 5 min@under boiling
Cup: café mug

One thing about Rishi that kind of blows me away is the sheer amount of flavor their flavored teas seem to have. Unfortunately, that means the actual “tea” is pretty well lost in the mix, but it’s sure a fun way to drink something different. This Orange Blossom green is no exception, and I enjoy every single sip, even though I can’t taste the green tea part at all.

This blend is very sweet – not for those who like their tea on the sturdier side. It’s very mellow, and really great for late nights before bed (or stressful afternoons at work). It really is a blend of things – the osthmanthus flowers and citrus dominating the other tastes. Lemongrass is included with this blend too, as well as lemon verbena and rose.

It’s wonderful, really, soothing and warm, and I do like it a lot, it’s just not really “tea” as per se. So I’m quite sure I’ll enjoy the rest of the bag, but more as something for when I want a different sort of beverage. I actually think this would be great carbonated (don’t kill me, please!).

So if you’re in the mood for orange flavored green tea, this probably isn’t what you’re after if you want to taste the tea too. But if you’re just looking for the health benefits of a little tea (there’s not much in this blend, it seems), with great taste, or just a soothing cuppa relaxation, this might be a good one to reach for, especially if you like your “tea” sweeter. The scent alone is worth it…goodness, it smells great even from across my desk (though it is kind of making me hungry…)!

Green Forest Fruits from Dragonwater

Scent in package: sweet and fruity, with a hint of sencha.
Brewed in: Tokoname style pot w/mesh infuser, unbleached filter bag
Steeped: 3 min. @ “steaming” x2
Cup: Porcelain teacup, café mug

So this weekend was basically a complete gluttony of sugary, carbonated soda with the occasional glass of iced water thrown in for good measure. We were landscaping, and needed the calories and salt, and honestly, soda just tastes good when you’re working hard and sweating all day (carbonation rules!). So no tea until late last night, when my bloated self decided it was time to start “detox-ing” my body from the sins of the weekend with a new green tea that had arrived on Saturday. I ordered it because it sounded interesting: a blend of Japanese sencha with strawberry, raspberry and rhubarb. I like fruit, I like sencha, I figured it would be a nice cup to relax and unwind with.
And it was…except the fruit seemed to overpower the sencha in a major way. It was very good, very light and refreshing even warm, just not really “tea” flavored, if you know what I mean. I figured perhaps it was the fact that I used tap water to brew it with, so I brought it to work with me today, and made a cup using the filtered bottled water we drink here. Which actually made it worse (so to speak), unfortunately. Rather than a mellow tea with too strong of fruit flavor, at work it turned into a tea with virtually no real “flavor”, just tart water (tart from the rhubarb, I assume). At least the minerals in my tap water brought out some of the fruity flavors…

I left my cup cool on my desk while I was at lunch, and I’m finishing it off cold (well, room-temp). It’s even good that way, seriously, but it still has no real flavor, and I certainly can’t taste the actual tea.

I wonder if perhaps sencha is just too light as it is to draw out the lovely green flavor through any other flavorings (fruit bits, in this case). I can’t say I’m disappointed in the brew itself, as what flavor there is is quite pleasant, but I am disappointed that I can’t taste the sencha. Perhaps I’ll try mixing the rest of it with more plain sencha, and see where that gets me. I'll definately try a longer steeping time next go-round as well.

In any case, good as a fruit tasting drink, not so good as a “tea”, in my opinion. Actually, this would be great carbonated, now that I think about it…

Tenbu Sencha from T Ching

Scent in package: light for a green tea…a hint of sweet grass, but nothing notable
Brewed in: cup w/ice, Tokoname style pot w/metal infuser
Steeped: a couple hours w/ice, 3 min. in pot
Cup(s): glass drinking glass, china teacup

Yeah, I sort of “mixed media” last night brewing in a Japanese style teapot, then drinking in an English teacup. But hey, just think of it as “fusion tea brewing”, without the whole mess of fusion tea.

The first time I tried this was a style of cold brewing I’d read about in the “In Pursuit of Tea” newsletter. They said to try steeping it by simply letting ice melt over it. I think this would have worked fine had I not used too much tea, but I’m not positive. The resulting brew was very astringent and bitter, and very sweet at the same time. An odd contradiction of flavors in one glass. I was too impatient to wait for the ice to melt completely, so I added ice water to finish the brew, but even diluting it didn’t really help. I think if I decide to try it again, I’ll need to get some sort of scale to measure out the right grams or something – but it didn’t really make me want to repeat the experiment with this particular tea.
Last night, I brewed it hot for 3 minutes – a minute too long, I think. It was good, but unremarkable…grassy but too bitter for my taste (I should note that the bitterness in this tea is not the same as a bitter black tea…this is more drying than anything else). The viscosity was nice, not too thin, but not terribly thick, and the scent was wonderful, like dewy grass. It’s not that I didn’t like it – the taste was good, soothing and calming like any Japanese green, but I prefer the Gyokuro or Kukicha.

All in all, it was an “okay” tea. I’m not all that familiar with sencha, so it’s possible that I need to taste more of them before I can really taste more of the nuances and know if the bitterness is normal or not. So I’m reserving judgment on this tea for now, and may revisit it later, when I’ve developed a better “feel” for sencha in general.

Green Earl Grey from Dragonwater

Scent in package: mainly floral, roses, and a slight bergamot background
Brewed in: filter bag
Steeped: 3 min@ steaming, 4 min@ steaming, 2.5 min.@ steaming
Cup: Café mug

This is an interesting tea – sort of the green version of Rosy Earl Grey. The base tea is Japanese Sencha, which I prefer to most Chinese green tea, and it’s quite a beautiful mixture in the package, the thin green “tea strips” mingling with pink rose petal bits. It smells lovely, preparing one for a relaxing experience.

I’m on my third cup now, and I think I’m finally starting to figure out what’s been stumping me about this “Earl Grey” tea. In a typical earl grey, the bergamot is quite citrus-y, but not quite orange. In this particular tea, the natural sweetness of the sencha is a perfect backdrop for the not-so-subtle rose flavor. Highlighted by those two flavors, the bergamot tastes more “lemony”, which is quite refreshing when everything is taken in together.

The first thing you taste is the sencha – light, and naturally sweet, almost like someone added sugar to the cup. The rose flavor is really more of a “scent”, but it binds with the taste as I sip, wafting up through my nose as the tea rolls over my tongue. It has a beautifully thick viscosity. The aftertaste is where the bergamot comes out to really bind everything together. It’s very complex, with hints of grassiness sneaking out in the sencha here and there.

I love this tea – it’s relaxing and refreshing at the same time. Not only does it calm my mind on a busy afternoon, but also sort of “wakes me up” a bit, perhaps that’s the bergamot. In any case, I’d highly recommend it – a sample is just $1, or you can get a full quarter pound for just $5.00…very affordable.

Kukicha from Adagio

Scent: very light, sweet, grassy scent
Brewed in: unbleached filter bag
Steeped: 3 min@180 degrees
Cup: Café mug at work

Continuing on with my sampling of Japanese green tea, I opened up my little tin of Kukicha this afternoon. Japanese green teas just don’t look like their Chinese counterparts at all. The leaves are thin, like strips rather than whole leaves, and this particular tea is mixed with white bits of tea twigs. Overall it’s a very pleasing mixture to the eye – the dark green of the tea leaves mixed with the stark white twigs. I used about a teaspoon and a half of the mixture, not wanting to make it too strong to begin with.

The taste is really very mellow – not crisp and fresh like the gyokuro, but rather smooth and sweet, very relaxing to the palate (and to the mind, by extension). The flavor is not “in your face”, but rather just lingers in the background. It’s not quite grassy, more “roasted asparagus” in nature. It does get slightly more astringent as it cools, but never turns bitter (I’m a slow sipper).

All in all, it is very good – and excellent for a break to kind of mellow out in the middle of the afternoon. Would be a good “before bed” tea as well, I think. It’s certainly not something I’d mind having on hand for daily drinking – and for a $2 sample, it won’t break the bank either. Very nice.

Gyokuro from Adagio

Scent in tin: Sweet and grassy.
Brewed in: Tokoname style teapot w/metal infuser basket
Steeped: 3 min. @ 180 degrees w/tap water
Cup: matching cup to the pot

After experimenting with Matcha, I decided to try some other green teas from Japan. Chinese greens are often not really “my thing” unless scented (though as I learn to brew them better, they taste better – imagine that). But for some reason, the Japanese greens seem more to my taste. So I ordered several sample tins of Japanese green teas from Adagio to try them out.

According to the In Pursuit of Tea site, Gyokuro is the type of tea Matcha is made from. It smells grassy and vegetal, and I used a Tokoname style pot to brew a cup before bed last night. It brews up rather bright green in the cup (though my cups are green, so probably enhanced the color, as you can see). The scent in the cup is also grassy and vegetal, but the taste is light and sweet. It’s an interesting tea, as it is rich at the same time, and tastes like crisp, fresh vegetables that are perfectly cooked (no mush here!). You can almost imagine the texture of bright, sweet asparagus crunching in your teeth…as unappetizing as that may sound when we’re talking about tea, it’s the sensation that came to mind as I was sipping. The tea does seem to get more astringent as it cools, but not in a bad way.

Ironically enough, though the tea itself is bright, fresh and “crisp”, the brewed leaves are mushy and unappetizing.

It is an expensive tea – my little sample tin from Adagio was $6, but worth it, I think. It’s not really something I’d drink everyday, but it was a very pleasant cup, especially late at night while winding down to sleep. I certainly enjoyed it more than many Chinese greens, and I’d recommend tasting it at least once just for the experience.

Hojicha de la crème from Art of Tea

Scent in package: Absolutely heavenly – sweet vanilla and sugar.
Brewed in: Tea for one pot here at work.
Steeping: 5 min@ 212 degrees, 5 min@ 180 degrees
Cup: tea for one café mug

When I got my first shipment from Art of Tea last week, I had a hard time deciding which tea to try first. Part of the problem is in the packaging – I always expect that there will be a brief description of the tea & brewing guidelines on the package, but increasingly, that’s not the case (a few companies do stick to that, and I appreciate it greatly). So I had to go back to the web site and read descriptions again before deciding which tea to try. I also had to unseal all the packages – I choose what to drink largely by the scent of the tea. I was looking for a morning “wake me up” tea, and though a bit apprehensive about this one, I decided to try it. I really should have looked up the meaning of the word “Hojicha” first. It is not defined on the AOT site (that I could find), and being unfamiliar with the term, I had no idea that it is, in fact, a type of low-grade green tea roasted over charcoal in an attempt to give it a more “nutty” than vegetal flavor. Honestly, I thought it was merely a “hip” name of some sort. Yes, I will most certainly be more careful in the future.

There were no steeping instructions on the package or the web site (it is listed as a “custom fusion” tea, and not mentioned on the “green tea” page), so left to my own ignorant devices, I looked at the leaves and twigs mixed with shavings of sweet vanilla candy (I tried one - pretty good), and decided to brew it like a black tea and see what happened (the leaves look more “oolong-ish”, something I’ve since learned is a typical characteristic of Hojicha tea). Needless to say, the result was less than impressive, and not just due to the taste.

The first cup brewed looked like a light tea mixed with non-dairy creamer (the kind that never really mixes in right), and an oily slick on the top of the cup. Rather disgusting, really, and I was highly disappointed as the tea smelled so good in the package. I took a sip though, and felt my nose wrinkle as the taste of over-cooked green tea (think burnt vegetables) mixed with artificial too-sweet vanilla ran over my tongue. I realized then that it was a green tea, and that I had ruined it by brewing it too hot. Not one to like wasting tea, I tried to make myself drink it, but tossed out half the cup, vowing to try again with a proper water temperature. Not a good way to start the day – I promptly brewed myself a cup of strong Yunnan tea to wake up with and “cleanse the palate”.

So for my second cup, I was careful to brew it at lower temperature suitable for green tea, after I had had sufficient caffiene to wake up with. I still wasn’t impressed with the look of the tea – I’m very fond of clarity and crispness in tea, and this just reminds me of a bad powdered mix like Nestle iced tea in a jar. It did taste better the second time around…amazing what proper temperature can do for a tea. But it’s still a very vegetal tea, even with the roasted marshmallow undertones, and I didn’t really get the nutty flavor I was hoping for. And my poor cup is still slicked with oil from the candy shavings, even after a few good rinses and some very strong black tea infusions – I think it’s destined for the dishwasher tonight, to get the last of the oil out. Kind of a pain when brewing at work, where the only sink is in the rest room so proper washing of dishes is difficult.

So the tea isn’t bad – if you like green tea, and marshmallows, you’ll probably like this tea if you don’t look at it while you’re drinking it (it’s wonderful to look at before brewing – would make great potpourri!). But for me, not a huge fan of the grassier green teas, and definitely not a fan of oily flavorings & muddy looking cups, I think I’ll have to pass this one on to someone else.

Tea Parties and Teaware

I'm drinking a couple of new teas today, and will post a review of Hojicha de la creme from Art of Tea later this afternoon, after I have a chance to brew another cup (jury is still "out"). Yesterday was a big day for deliveries, and aside from my order of 9 teas to try from AOT (yeah, I went a little crazy), I also received two packages with teaware I ordered for my tea party.

From the Republic of Tea, I ordered two teapot warmers - one porcelain, and one made of silver wire (pictured to the left). The porcelain one wasn't as large as I'd hoped, so I'll keep it to use with my smaller ceramic pots, but won't be using it for my party. It's a nice piece though, and packaged very handily in a fabric covered box that keeps it quite safe and snug...would be a nice gift item with a small personal sized teapot.

The silver wire one, however, is absolutely stunning, and large enough for even my biggest teapots. I'm very impressed with it, and ordered another one today to take the place of the porcelain warmer that's too small on my tea party table. I ordered the glass teapot you see in the picture as well, because of what happened with my Adagio shipment.

I knew something was wrong the minute I picked up the box from Adagio. It's never a good sign when you hear glass pieces rattling around in there. I opened everything up carefully, and took out the tea I'd ordered (Jasmine green blooming tea - perfect display tea for a party), and a box of filters, then opened the box my 42 oz. glass teapot was in. Unfortunately, the lid had come lose from it's packaging, and cracked. It was at the side of the teapot, next to a nice round chunk of glass that had been knocked neatly out of the side of the pot, I assume when the metal infuser knocked against it. I was pretty bummed - I'd ordered the smaller version of the same teapot months ago, and it got here with no trouble at all, but I'll have to return this one now for a replacement.

Needless to say, I didn't even take it out of the box (didn't want to damage it more, though I'm not sure why - it's completely unusable). I took a few pictures in case Adagio needed them, and just closed the box back up to get it ready for shipping. I went to the Adagio site this morning, and printed out a return label - I'll send it back on it's way this afternoon, but I doubt my replacement will be sent out to get here in time for my party on the 15th, allowing time for the damaged one to get to them, and another one to be sent to me. So I ordered the other pot from ROT, and it should be here by Thursday of next week, at least. I can't serve a display tea without a clear pot to display it in!

As for the rest of the party - I've finalized the menu of scones, tea sandwiches, and sweets (mostly a traditional English tea menu), the 3-teired server was delivered this week (and I *love* it - it will be well-used around here), I have two of the three teapots needed, and I'll be serving Jasmine green blooming tea from Adagio, Earl Grey de la creme from Dragonwater, and White Pear from Adagio (unless the white tea I got from AOT really impresses me...we'll see). I thought about serving a rooibos too, but decided that three teas are enough - if someone needs an herbal, I'll make up a filter bag for them. I'll serve iced tea as well - Cranberry Blood Orange from ROT in a lovely hand-blown glass pitcher I got from Dillards (it's gorgeous - I'm using it to serve iced tea for Easter lunch this weekend too).

I'll have a second pot of the Earl grey made up in my triniTea for refilling the serving pot, and I'll keep a kettle warm on my stovetop for refreshing the green tea, and resteeping the white. The blooming tea will be served from the glass pot, of course, the Earl Grey from my standard white English teapot (brown betty style), and the white will be served from my Lenox Butterfly Meadow pot. My mom and sister are bringing some english style teacups we can use, and I'll use mine as well...might go thrift store shopping and see if I can find a few more cup/saucer sets for a reasonable price. The table will be quite bright with spring placemats and a couple of african violets in bloom, not to mention the teaware, overflowing server with the goodies, and clear glass plates for the guests to use. I'll try to remember to get a picture to post when I get it all set up.

This is kind of a trial run for me - I'd like to do a tea party once a month or so for friends...just a time to get together, hang out, talk, watch movies, whatever. So we'll see how this goes. It will probably be a little skewed, since it's paired with a Home & Garden Party, but mostly I just want comments from my guests on the tea, food, etc. If it seems like a success, I'll set up another one in a month or two just for tea & chatting. :-)

Tea Pebbles…uh…Ginseng Oolong by Teas, Etc.

Scent in package: very light, “green” scent
Brewed in: unbleached paper tea filter
Steeping: as per package, 1 tsp. @ 180 degrees for 4 minutes, then 6 minutes
Cup: My trusty stoneware “For Life” café mug here at work

I’m not a huge green tea fan. I fully admit that my aversion to it probably comes from the fact that before I knew anything about tea, all tea was brewed with boiling water until I remembered to take the teabag out. Well, and I prefer the taste of dirt & leaves (puerh) to grass, I guess. So when I got this sample with my order from Teas, Etc. last month, I was excited to try something that looked like little green pebbles of tea, until I realized that it really was a *green* oolong (I generally go for the darker oolongs too). It’s been sitting in my desk drawer here at work ever since, waiting for me to be desperate enough to try it.

I’m not necessarily desperate this afternoon, just adventurous, I guess. So I thought about it for a minute, decided to use a filter bag rather than my tea-for-one pot just in case the little tea pebbles broke apart into dust upon steeping, and started heating some water. I measured out one level tsp. of…uh…tea rocks (leaving myself one more session, as the sample held two tsp), and set about steeping a cup.

It’s very light for a green tea, and has a nice body to it. It’s very smooth, though not honey-like in the least. There’s the tiniest bit of an after-“tang” on the tongue, probably from the ginseng. The taste is definitely vegetal, though not grassy in the least, which is my main complaint with most green teas. Perhaps being processed as a “light oolong” saved this tea from the grassy undertones. Other than the very light vegetal taste, and the ginseng tang, there’s not a lot of other tastes to this tea…it’s just light, smooth, and I dare say might be good iced as well, for the texture and that unique aftertaste.

I actually liked it well enough to finish it quickly, which left time to sneak in a second infusion before I headed home. The second infusion was darker, and a teensy bit sweeter, and a tad more astringent (though not bitter). The tang was gone as well. Nothing terribly remarkable about the second infusion, so I wasn’t too upset about leaving it at that. I suppose the third infusion might hold more secrets, but I’ll have to find out later, with the last of my sample.

This tea is good, but not something I’d drink often, or pay $13 per 3oz for. It’s always good to try a new sample, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy the rest, but I don’t think I’ll be ordering it again unless I have extra money to burn and am ordering other teas anyways.