He's certainly no Jay Z. In fact he might not even rank up there with MC Hammer, but here's a puppet rapping about the alleged joys of Teajay Teas.

The Breville One-Touch Tea Maker

Organic Superfine Moderately Roasted Tie Guan Yin “Iron Goddess” Oolong Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Oolong

Where to Buy: Teavivre 

Tea Description:

This Organic Superfine Moderately Roasted Tie Guan Yin has a little of coffee’s flavor, which is suitable for who loves teas with coffee taste. You will sense a familiar fragrance of coffee for first sip, and after swallowing the liquid, a sweet aftertaste will quickly upwelling to your throat. As it is 85% fermented, this Tie Guan Yin will not become bitter even for a long time infusion. Dry tea leaves are brown and curly, has a smell of charcoal fire. The liquid is in golden yellow color, which truly feasts to the eyes.

Organic Roasted Oolong with Coffee Aroma

Organically produced near Zhangzhou(漳州) in Fujian, China.

Harvest Time: September, 2012

Hand made into small, rolled up leaves

Roasted, 85% fermented

Golden Yellow color, bright and clean liquid

Sweet and soft taste with coffee fragrance for first sip, long-last flavor, sweet aftertaste around throat

Low caffeine (less than 10% of a cup of coffee)

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

The aroma of Organic Superfine Moderately Roasted Tie Guan Yin “Iron Goddess” Oolong Tea is milky and creamy, which is surprising since I was really anticipating a deeper roasted aroma. Regardless, I love a milky tea so if it tasted milky I would be fine with that. I decided to go ahead and let it steep for a couple more minutes since Iron Goddess does not get bitter with longer steeps. This seems to be the way to go because after two more minutes after an initial 2 minutes it became stronger, bolder, with a coffee like aroma and that roasted aroma I was expecting. I will later hate to try it with a shorter steep though as I am sure that milky aroma had something to it!

Finally, the first sip was delicious! I did initially get a little creaminess but the smokiness and roasted flavor took over. The tea is a bit sweeter than I had expected having it compared in the description to a coffee like flavor but I rather like it. It is robust, not as robust as some black teas but robust for an oolong.

While I really can see how this would be a great tea to serve to a coffee drinker I don’t want the tea drinkers out there who do not care for coffee to be afraid to give it a try. The quality of this tea is astounding, as are all of Teavivre’s teas and realistically nothing taste like coffee but coffee itself. This is clearly an excellent Iron Goddess, deep, roasty, and toasty, and the creamy texture of this tea on the mouth is really special.

Also this is a tea that keeps on giving. Even with my long five minute steep the first time around I can continue to keep on steepin! Following steeps have some interesting notes highlighted that bring about the thoughts of a green tea, such as green bean for example, but more like veggies that are fire roasted! So good! I love having this Iron Goddess with some milk chocolate, it really taste like s’mores between the creamy note in the tea and the smokiness with the toasty note, and of course the chocolate!

This tea has some serious NOM factor!

The post Organic Superfine Moderately Roasted Tie Guan Yin “Iron Goddess” Oolong Tea appeared first on SororiTea Sisters.

I think our resident "teddy" bears need to have their picnics somewhere other than my backyard.  I get tired of having to repair bird feeders, throwing out suet holders and jumping up and down on the feeder poles to straighten them out.  Besides, they stink and the cats won't even go in the yard for days.  A pox on them!

We've had summer weather for a good bit of April and May, but last night old man winter came back.  The wind died down and the thermometer plummeted to about 25.  I had all my unplanted things inside. I think everything survived.  Someday I am going to learn that May can turn on us gardeners and not be a bit pretty.

I am having another Williamson Tea to comfort myself in the cold.  This one is a High Grown Kenya and 1 pound of the purchase price of the tin goes to relief work in Africa.  I like seeing my money do that kind of work.  Again, these are tea bags.

This is not the best Kenya tea I have had, that honor goes to Royal Tea of Kenya, but it is far from the worst.  There isn't a whole lot to say about it.  It's dark and strong, with woodsy overtone, maybe a touch of cured tobacco.  It plays nicely with milk and on the whole, I like it.  Himself did, as well.

Yet another fancy schmancy altar.  What can I say, I like churches.  The somewhat darker structure on the left wall, would have been the royal box, so they could be separated from the common folk.

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Yerba Maté

Where to Buy:  Whispering Pines Tea Company

Tisane Description:

A wonderful and highly energizing blend of Yerba Mate, Safflower, and citrus hints to enjoy hot or cold. This very unique blend is the perfect thing to keep you going!

Learn more about this tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

Nice!

I am really enjoying the combination of the slightly smoky, slightly earthy taste of the Yerba Maté together with the citrus notes in this Painted Paradise Tea from Whispering Pines Tea Company.

Yerba Maté is not always a flavor that I favor, because it can sometimes come off as too earthy for my taste.  But in this blend, there seems to be a pleasing balance between earthy notes and the sweet citrus tones.  The citrus notes really brighten up the cup and keep the earthiness in check.

It is a little bit sweet, tangy, earthy, vegetative and even just a wee bit smoky.  It’s a well-rounded cup, and it’s very invigorating!  I love the citrus tones to this … just the kind of tisane you want to sip when you want to start the morning off right!  It has a nice sweetness to it – no additions needed – and it tastes great hot or iced too.

The post Painted Paradise Tea from Whispering Pines Tea Company appeared first on SororiTea Sisters.

Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: large, dark and mostly whole Ingredients: raw puerh tea Steep time: 30 seconds Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: deep gold I'm always amazed at how social media connects the tea community. A recent experience with +JalamTeas was a great example of that. I had never hard of this company before but I saw a tweet Nicole Martinhttps://plus.google.com/103097147251455801975noreply@blogger.com0

Comment: a more lightly oxidized dong ding wulong . Origin: Taiwan Score: 88 Price (as of post): 5 g sample = £0.79 Sample provided by Tea Story. Get even more in the Member Content. Walker Tea Review- a tea blog with tea reviews and tea tastings. Want to see a tea reviewed? Contact me: jason@walkerteareview.com Subscribe [...]

A quick look around the internet will show you that when it comes to the word used to describe land where tea is grown, there is no consensus. You’ll see tea gardens, tea plantations, tea estates, tea plots, and so on. Is any one of these right or preferred?

Read the rest of the article on The English Tea Store Blog.

© 2013 A.C. Cargill photos and text

When I think of the following words – fragrance, evanescence, and seasonality – I think of the many special teas sold fresh, capturing their season, but I also think of fresh cherries whose season seems so short that if you blink you miss it. So in celebration of cherries’ fleeting moment on the produce stage, I have created a cherry-based dessert to honor the highly seasonal Japanese cherry blossom tea.

Mind you, cherry blossom tea – called sakuracha – is actually made from salted cherry blossoms that come from a very different kind of cherry tree, one that produces no fruit. The ritual of making the beverage involves rinsing off the salt and then infusing hot water with the blossoms. There is no actual tea in the drink, although to make matters even more confusing, some Japanese tea vendors do, in fact, use sencha as a base and scatter dried cherry blossoms throughout the tea, a beverage far more accessible to the Western palate.  

For my concoction, I, too, use sencha in an homage to late spring, but instead of using cherry blossoms, which actually have very little fragrance (and probably are past their moment by now), I use the fruit of a different kind of cherry tree. The dessert is easy and quick to make; the only onerous part involves pitting the cherries, a task best done with a coverall apron, unless you wish to have cherry juice stains all over your best shirt.  

In this creamy fruit and tea gratin, the green tea flavors the cream with its grassy, gently sweet character, and the cherries, pitted and halved, are submerged under liquid custard that is baked and then caramelized. Here’s a bit of crème brûlée-like heaven in a shallow dish (you might wish to use ovenproof tea bowls as the appropriate vessels for the dessert to underscore the Asian correlative here).

Cherry-Sencha Crème Brûlée

Serves 6
1 lb. fresh cherries (the darkest, sweetest, plumpest ones you can find)
1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) whole milk
2 T. sencha (make sure it’s fresh and fragrant)
1 cup (8 ounces) heavy cream
5 egg yolks from large eggs (generous 3 ounces)
Generous ½ cup (approximately 4 ounces) granulated sugar
Additional sugar, as needed, used to caramelized the tops of the finished custards before serving

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Pit the cherries, halve them, and divide them among 6 ovenproof 1-1/2”-deep dishes, each with a 6-8 ounce capacity.
3. Bring milk and tea to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes more.
5. Pass the mixture through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl and then transfer to a heavy saucepan. Add the heavy cream and return just to a boil.
6. Whisk the egg yolks and first quantity of sugar together until the mixture is light in color.
7. Temper the heated milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and pour an equal amount over the cherries in each baking dish.
8. Carefully place the baking dishes into a baking pan. Add just enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the molds. Bake for about 30 minutes or just until the custard sets. Don’t overbake.
9. Remove carefully from the oven. Allow to cool to room temperature. When cooled, the molds should be covered and placed in the refrigerator to chill. The dessert may be made up to this point early in the day on which you wish to serve it.
10. Just before serving, sprinkle the second quantity of sugar, as needed, evenly over the tops of each dessert. Using a kitchen torch, carefully and evenly apply the flame to melt the sugar and serve immediately.

MAIN | IMAGE 1 | IMAGE 2

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Who knew tea and rap was such a popular combination? Here's one from The Tea Mafia.

Adagio Teas - Best Tea Online

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Damn Fine Tea

Tea Description:

Long a cherished landmark, Mount Gray is truly monumental. Since its discovery in the early 19th century, generations of adventure-seekers have been drawn to the dense woods which blanket its gentle slopes. Breathtaking heights abound with lush, fragrant vegetation, and scenic trails offer surprises for even the most frequent visitors. Mount Gray was formed by a geological process involving black tea from Asia and citrus oil from southern Europe, a remarkable combination which continues to delight visitors of all ages.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Whenever Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea comes out with a new blend, you know I’ve got to have it.  Like GOT to have it!  I love receiving tea from Damn Fine Teas, it’s always an adventure!  The delivery is super fast, and the tins are beautiful, and there always seems to be something a little extra.  Something that goes along with the theme of the tea.  For example, with the Double Knit Blend, there was a little plastic, black comb … kind of like you might find in the pocket of the nerdy types that would wear double knit shirts.

In the package with this Mount Gray Tea from Damn Fine Tea (an Earl Grey Tea!), there was a souvenir magnet that says “I survived Mount Gray.”  Now, see, these little extras … they might not seem like a big deal, right?  But I like these little extra touches.  It’s just that little bit of fun and cleverness that makes it so much fun to receive a package from Damn Fine Tea.   I don’t buy the tea for the extra – of course! – but it makes the receiving of the package all that much more enjoyable.

But what really sold me on Damn Fine Tea is their quality tea!  Their teas always prove to be top notch.  And I’m loving Mount Gray!  This is a subtle take on Earl Grey.  The bergamot is on the softer side here, and I’m tasting the fruitier quality of the bergamot.  Yes, of course I know that bergamot IS a fruit, however, it tends to have some floral qualities to it that make it taste somewhat “perfume-ish” sometimes.  But with this particular Earl Grey, the bergamot is on the citrus fruit side … not the soapy/perfume-y side!  BONUS!

The black tea is right on par with the bergamot here – with this tea, I can’t say that the bergamot is the strongest flavor … the black tea definitely plays its part well here. It’s a good, strong black tea … rich and flavorful, and the bergamot brightens the cup, giving it a sweet, acidic taste that is very lively!

Normally, my favorite Earl Grey teas tend to be those that have a hefty bergamot presence … a strong bergamot flavor that manages to taste strongly of bergamot without tasting strongly of Uncle Arnold’s Cologne.  This Mount Gray is different … I like it because the flavors are so well balanced.  It doesn’t taste off or chemical-y or perfume-ish, it just tastes like tea and citrus!  (And yes … this one is definitely right up there with my favorite Earl Grey teas!)

If you’re a lover of Earl Grey teas … this one should be next on your list to try!

The post Mount Gray Tea (Earl Grey Tea) from Damn Fine Tea appeared first on SororiTea Sisters.

Lemon Pepper Melange from Della Terra Teas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Black

Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas

Tea Description:

This black tea has the wonderful, crisp taste of lemon with the spiciness of pepper! Our Lemon Pepper Mélange has a taste that will let you know that spring is on its way!

Ingredients: Black tea, lemon bits and flavor, red peppercorns, ginger pieces, orange peels, bits of apple, lemongrass and cinnamon

For more allergy info visit our FAQ

Suggested brewing tips:

Serving Size: 1 level tsp./6oz serving

Water Temp: 210°F

Steep Time: 2- 3 minutes

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I won an ounce of Lemon Pepper Melange from Della Terra Teas on their Facebook page. If you do not follow Della Terra on Facebook I suggest that you do. They often run drawings for tea, and always post their most current sale there. Anyway, I was the lucky winner of this tea and I love it, not because it was free, but I really love it. So what is wrong with this picture? Well the fact is, it has lemongrass in it! Some of you may know how much I despise lemongrass. This is not a tea I would have ever paid for in a million years, so it is a good thing I won it because I would have been short changing myself from a stellar tea!

This tea is so perfect. The lemon is the obvious leading role in this blend but the pepper and spices give it a nice kick. Some of the spices in this tea remind me of a chai blend, while others a fruit tea blend. This would be delicious on the holidays, but I am thinking it will be an amazing tea to drink iced this summer too. This is so fresh, lemony without being sweetened, which is nice because the fruits give off the perfect amount of sweetness naturally. There are very nice spicy notes here too, and the pepper kick is the right amount. It tastes very fresh and is refreshing as well. A great morning or anytime tea.

You know, really the lemongrass does not bother me at all in this blend. I really do not notice it is there and trust me I have tried to find it! In a way, and this may sound bizarre, but I believe it is the lemongrass giving tea blend an almost bubble gum like flavor at the very end of the sip. Not that I have ever thought lemongrass, on its own, taste anything like bubble gum. But with all of the fruits, the spices, the black tea, somehow at the end of the sip I get this bubble gum type note that I really feel comes from the lemongrass. Maybe I just convinced myself of that. Anyway, for someone who has literally sworn off ALL lemongrass teas, Della Terra has opened my mind, my eyes, and my taste buds. I tell you what though, if anyone could do this it would be Della Terra as they have some of the most stellar tea blends.

Now I do not feel I will be trying every lemongrass blend I come across or anything, but Della Terra does have a few others I have skipped over that I think I will give a try now. Maybe in one of their Try Me packs.

The post Lemon Pepper Melange from Della Terra Teas appeared first on SororiTea Sisters.

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  Life in Teacup

Tea Description:

Production Year – 2012
Production Season – Spring
Production Region – Taiwan, Taizhong County, Li Shan Range, Gu Mai Tea Farm, 1800-2200m
Style – Modern green style

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Yeah, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – Li Shan/Ali Shan Oolong teas are among my favorite teas … in my top three!  (#1 is Yellow Tea, and the Li Shan/Ali Shan Oolong teas would be #2 … and probably my favorite Earl Grey would be #3.)  And THIS Taiwan High Mountain Oolong from Life in Teacup is one of the VERY best that I’ve ever tried of this type of Oolong.

I mean … Oh Wow!  This is so delightful!  Sweet, creamy, lush!  Beautiful layers of flavor.  The high notes are that of sweet cream … so smooth that it feels creamy as well as tastes it.  Melding with that note of cream is the faintest hint of vanilla.  Just beneath the creamy tones is a hint of exotic flower that develops as I continue to sip.  Sweet honey-esque notes as well as a slight vegetative tone lie just under the floral tones.  There are quiet notes of earth in the distance.

I love how smooth this tea is … no sharpness!  There is a slight astringency that develops as I continue to sip, but it is so slight that unless I’m really focused on the nuances of the sip (which is something I need to do to write a review!) … the astringency can go unnoticed.  There is nothing bitter whatsoever about this tea … it is so pleasurable to sip from start to finish.

Do yourself a favor and brew this tea in a gaiwan (or Yixing teapot) to get the most out of the leaves.  I managed TEN very flavorful infusions … making this tea not only a wonderful treat for the palate, but also a very economical one!

If you like Ali Shan/Li Shan High Mountain Oolong Teas – this one is one you MUST try!

The post Taiwan Li Shan High Mountain Oolong From Life in Teacup appeared first on SororiTea Sisters.

Country of Origin: Taiwan Leaf Appearance: deep green, tightly rolled Ingredients: oolong tea Steep time: 45 seconds Water Temperature: 195 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: gold Everlasting Teas was one of the standouts for me when I attended the New York Coffee and Tea Festival. Even though I had promised myself that I wouldn't buy anything, I couldn't resist picking up a Nicole Martinhttps://plus.google.com/103097147251455801975noreply@blogger.com0

Zona Taragüi Y el mate llegó a los bares La nueva propuesta de Establecimiento Las Marías para disfrutar del mate en más de 100 bares. Llegás al bar y además de un café o un té podés disfrutar de otra … Continue reading →

Hostmaster Pattern / teacup by New Martinsville Glass Company

Vintage Youngsware China Fantasy Pattern  

Noritake China April Cook N Serve Teacup ¿dónde consigo la taza? My Eclectic Heart  

Details from Willow / colección Teapot diseño by Richard Brendon