Tea Rooms

I went to 2 different tea rooms over the last two weeks.

The first was "Angel Tea Room & Heavenly Treasures Gift Shop." I discovered in downtown Dade City one night a couple of weeks before Christmas. The downtown area was doing "A Christmas Stroll", and all the different antique shops were open, and music, and all sorts of activities were going on. Well, the tearoom was open, so I had to go in. There's lots of breakables in there, and I had my 3 year old son in there with me, so it was a brief visit, with me looking after him more than me checking the place out. So I vowed to go back.

I went back about 10 days later, with a friend of mine, and took some pictures. They said they have an assortment of teas, which I'm sure they do, but the lady that waited on us clearly had a strong idea of which teas we should have, and that interfered with the experience, I think, because I was very strongly steered in a direction I wasn't prepared to go. So I ended up w/ a green tea infusion, mixed with what I thought was peach, though my companion said it tasted like something else, but the flavor was so subtle I could hardly tell. I wanted to try a black tea, but that didn't happen, obviously.

We also got a scones, with the "Berkshire Cream" and Strawberry Jelly. The cream and jelly were in separate little sections on the plate. The presentation was beautiful! The scones were great, very flaky and flavorful, if a bit dry. The Berkshire Cream almost has the consistency of sweet whipped butter. But butter is churned cream, after all. The price was reasonable, and I wish I hadn't had such a big lunch before I got there! I took the scone home with me, and I ate it later.

The shop itself is quite beautiful, full of dainty things, and some teaware. I mentioned before that I purchased a teapot from this place when I was at the "Christmas Stroll" thing. They had some other "gadgety" type things, like a metal insert you put into the teapot spout to prevent dripping, or a few strainers for tea leaves. I also purchased a "tea measuring" thing...I'm sure it has a better name than that, though I haven't used it yet.

They have books on a carousel. The books are mostly about women, and sharing tea, and all the finery that goes with it. My standard joke has become "I'll open a tea room of my own with ducks, and guns, and bird-dogs" because this tea room is so girly and frilly, and beautiful. I had spoken with the owner about people coming in, and single men do apparently go there. This is quite unlike the experience I had at the other tea room I went to.

So 3.5 stars out of 4, with points docked because of the high pressure sales "suggestions" I got from the waitress. Also, too bad they don't have a website!

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"The Tea Cup Tea Room, Gifts & Events, Inc." is the other tea room I went to. This is a converted house situated off a busy roadway, yet is still hidden. My friend that I met there said she drives by there all the time and has never seen it! I can see why, since when I drove up to it for the first time, I had trouble finding it myself.

I drive up and the front entrance has a sign telling customers to go around to the back, and the front area didn't have any more parking anyway, so that was easy. Friend, who showed up a few minutes later, had to walk around the place to come in the back entrance. Now, the back entrance is the preferred side anyway, since it has a nice patio with a few tables for the outside taking of tea. It might have been more Victorian, though, if there'd been croquet out there, too. Ok, I'm kidding about that last part. It was really nice, though.

Because I went the day after Christmas, it was really busy! There were people waiting for a table in the main entrance/shop area, sitting on red velvet couches (which were comfortable), which was set up like a small living room. They really had the place decked out for Christmas, though, with all kinds of decorations, tea related things, and all kinds of curios and such. There was a table with everything 50% off, and they had some teapots for sale, that were only for looking, and not actually for making tea! I, of course, think this is a travesty, since teapots are typically beautiful with their designs and such...and they're functional, not just decorative.

I also came at the end of the rush, so I waited almost 20 minutes for a table, which allowed me some time to really browse the place. I'm always fascinated with the fact that different tea rooms have different kinds of hardware to make tea with. This place had some nice silver tea strainers that fit on the top of your cup, though I wonder how functional that is. And they had the traditional variety of screen-type strainers, but they were shallow like the silver ones. Maybe it's just for catching the leaves that the teapot strainers don't catch.

So we finally get seated, and the owner (I guess?) tells us that the waiter will be there to help us in a minute. So we wait and wait, and I'm glad I had good company, because we waited a while. And I'm looking around realizing that I'm the only male in the place, save the single waiter. I had noticed this before, but wow. I really am! There were other wait staff, too, of course. Meanwhile, I finally go ask the guy if he can wait on us, and he's like, "OH! My mom didn't tell me..." But it still takes forever for him to get to our table, and get our order, and then bring it to us.

We both ordered an artichoke chicken cream soup, and it was HOT! I almost burned my tongue! It was getting toward the end of the lunch rush, and the soup had begun to separate, but wasn't quite there yet. In spite of this, the soup was great! They served it in fine tea cups, which is a bit of a puzzle, but it worked well enough. I also ordered a turkey-bacon club, which was really good, too. I was very hungry, and that's the heartiest thing they had on the menu. My companion didn't have anything more than the soup.

The tea I had was a black tea, with cranberry in it. My friend had a much lighter tea, that the owner specifically said she didn't like, that it could steep all day, and that it would never get any stronger. And almost to the point of "Don't order it." Of course, she did, and it was pretty good. I don't know what was wrong with it. I should have noted which tea it was, just like the one that I had. They do have a website, but it doesn't have a menu on it. The teas were good; the service, on the day after Christmas, was poor, but understandable; the food was great, the atmosphere was elegant; overall it was enjoyable. I will definitely go back there. 3.5 stars out of 4.

Too Strong!

I think I've figured out my tea problem: I'm making all the teas too strong. So now I'll have to scale back, and hope for a better flavor when I have them.

That's teapot that I bought? I'm having mixed feelings about it. It holds two cups, and I'm surprised that the infuser that comes with the pot doesn't let all the tea leaves out. A major problem is that you don't know how much water is in the pot because the infuser is in the way, with the tea leaves in it. But then you will overfill the pot, because by the time you can tell how much water you have, it's overfull. And then, if you want to fill it up first, then settle the infuser in the water, some of the leaves are going to float on top. And you're going to have the issue of having the infuser push out some of the water. Can't win with this stuff! I do like the way that the lid fits into the infuser, though, and then that little assembly fits into the tea pot.

And the tea that I had was the Keemun Superior. I made it too strong, but not too too strong, but enough that I lost some of the flavor, and it just tasted like tea, bland and plain.

I was at the airport yesterday, and there was a young woman who was talking to someone on a cell phone, mentioned a tea room that just got started in Georgia somewhere. I asked her about it, and she was clueless, beyond just knowing that it was opening up. I told her about my blog, and she's like, "what is there to talk about with tea?" So I began a small lecture on different teas, why they're different, and so on. And other tea related topics. There's a lot to discuss when it comes to tea, actually. A whole culture. I'm sure I'm just scratching the surface.

What I'd like to get is a tea brick, which is compressed tea leaves, with a design on it, usually as part of a much larger set. Settlers used to take the bricks with them, and scrape off enough to make tea on their trips.

A busy tea weekend

To start with, I had some of the Darjeeling from Mighty Leaf, and it tasted like, like...cut grass. What is it with the grass? Or maybe it was more along the lines of just tasting like weak tea. Maybe I didn't make it strong enough? I don't know...

Saturday night I went to a community event in Dade City, FL, and there's a tea room there, and they're open! I actually went inside, and bought another teapot. And some kind of tea measuring device, but it measures by volume, rather than weight. I'll have to take a picture of it or find one like it on the internet. And I'll have to do a complete review of the place when I go back. It was very frou frou, though. They don't have a website, which is bad, IMO. I offered to help them with it, but I'm a limited amateur, so I'm not sure they'd want me to "help" them...The reason I didn't get a full impression of the place is because I was playing watchdog w/ my son, because there's so many breakables in there. But they had a nice selection of books with tea themes, and all aimed at little girls, it seems. At least, I think so. Hmmm...

And on Sunday I had the Assam Superior from Mighty Leaf. THAT was good tea. It had a deep, rich taste, I thought, similar to the English/Irish Breakfast teas...It went well with the slightly burned cookies I had. I don't normally burn cookies, but these didn't come out well. Anyway...

Yunnan Again

I thought about what my mom said about Yunnan being smooth, and still don't know about this version. I have the used leaves drying in my cup sized infuser, and they smell good. I was letting the tea roam around in my mouth a little bit, just to see if I could get anything else out of the flavor, and it's not really there. Or it's just subtle to the point of I-can't-notice-it. I was so excited about the Yunnan Jig, and now I have this other Yunnan, and it doesn't make me so happy. Sigh.

Golden Monkey, Mighty Leaf style

Well, Golden Monkey is Golden Monkey. Good stuff! This one had a bit of aroma to it, which is nice. I don't have a whole lot to say about this one, though the flavor was light, and it was smoother.

Black Gold

I must be doing something wrong. This tea was subtly different from the Yunnan, but not a lot different. I was expecting the taste to different, and it really wasn't. Maybe a bit milder, but I did use a tiny bit less tea. I was thinking how my mother said the Yunnan Jig was smooth, but I don't remember thinking that when I was drinking the Yunnan yesterday. The leaves don't seem to dry in these pouches, either. And I still wonder about those little blue measuring spoons. They're nice, but if you put one in every bag, how many spoons is that? A lot of waste, if you ask me. And their usefulness seems a bit limited, too, given the different densities of tea leaves for each type. And another thing I wonder about is the labels. I've found that each tea has a specific amount to steep that is unique to each tea. Some require more, others less, to get the right flavor out of it. They should tell you (or give a guideline) as to the proper amount for each cup. They do talk about 12 ounce cups, but I don't know how much that is...is that a standard coffee cup? Yes, I use a coffee cup to drink my tea. It even lists different kinds of coffee on it. So anyway, I need a scale. Right now I'm eyeballing it, to determine how much is appropriate. Some day I'll get a scale. "Tea Nerdness"...

Yunnan

So I had some Yunnan. Nothing to write home about. It tastes similar to the Assam tea that I drink at home from Teavana. The leaves are long, unbroken, and almost grey-ish green-ish, with some golden flakes of leaves in there, too. I wasn't sure how much to put in my little cup sized tea strainer. I may have put too much in there to get the flavor, and just made strong tea...but not too strong tea. I'll try the "Black Gold" next, just because the name sounds interesting, and the Golden Monkey is just waiting for me...ok, so I've named 3 of the 5 teas that I got. Darjeeling is one more, and then...I can't remember the other one.

And another thing: they give you two free samples, and one of the samples isn't the one I ordered. I already have the Green Dragon one...whatever the full name is. Why would I order that?

I have so much of this tea I need to figure out a way to nicely store it at home and have some for work, too. Back to my tins idea. Sigh. I just don't want to have to buy some when I get them...but then I have to wash them, relabel them...ugh. And the ones I have are only one ounce anyway. Ugh.

I got my tea today

So I got my tea today. I was outside playing with my son when the UPS truck showed up. He's 3 years old, and very smart. He said I was excited to get my tea. He even said that to the UPS driver: my daddy's excited to get his tea! He wanted me to open the box right there on the on the driveway, so I did. But I had us go inside to actually open the packs. So they're soft, envelope packs, and I apparently got 5 of them. I don't have them with me right now, so I can't say what they are. Anyway, I opened each one to smell them, and they all smelled the same, which I was not expecting. One cool thing was that the bags have this little blue plastic measuring spoon, with markings for 5 ml, or 10 ml, a teaspoon and tablespoon, I believe. But I'm not sure how useful in measuring tea this thing is, given the way tea doesn't have a uniform density, like sugar or water.

Maybe having them in the tins (like Adagio) does something...I don't know. My son picked out the Yunnan for me to drink first. A few of them were really dusty in the bags (it was dusty inside the bags :-P). I wonder when I get larger amounts from Adagio if it'll be the same. Hmmm...

I was thinking that Adigio could sell the first order of teas in tins, and then subsequent orders for a little bit less, and send them in the envelopes, so that way you get them on how cool it is to get the tins, and then make it cheaper to stay with them. And you keep the labels and types of teas consistent over time. And the wastage isn't such a problem, either. I have tins I don't know what to do with, and they're not recyclable. Same issue with the Twinings teas that are sold in stores in tins.

Bigelow Tea

So I went to the Bigelow website, and it seems that they grow their tea in South Carolina. Nice! They also sell loose teas...so maybe I'll buy from them, but their tea is even more expensive than either Adagio or Mighty Leaf. I don't know why tea has to be such a major investment. I'm thinking it took me about two months or so to go through 4 ounces of tea...this is the tea from Adagio in the their little sampler packs. And that was $20 worth of tea, plus that IngenuniTea thing. Now I've invested something closer to $50 for not quite 20 ounces of tea, in 4 or 5 varieties. How long will that take me to go through, I wonder. Hmmm. I'll need some tea for home and for work, as I drink the majority of my tea at work, rather than at home. It's hard to be a loyal customer when there's so much tea out there to be had. I might just order some from Adagio anyway. I still like their "non-tea" things the best. The website, their promotion of tea culture...all good stuff. Maybe because they were the first that I found. I don't know what it is.

Boxed Tea

Bigelow tea. Tea in a bag. "English Tea Time" It's not too bad. It tastes like Ceylon tea, but I don't really know, since they don't say on the box anywhere! It surprises me that the directions call for the tea to be steeped for 1 - 2 minutes. I steeped it for 4 minutes, and it makes a BLACK cup of tea. I wish I knew what it was/is...It just says that it was blended and packaged in the US, but again, no indication of what blends...And while were at it, Wikipedia says that tea is grown in the US, but doesn't say where. I think I've mentioned this before...worth mentioning again, I suppose.

Email from Mighty Leaf

So I get an email from Mighty Leaf to tell me that their teas have shipped. Yay. I called earlier today to ask where it was, and the lady on the other end said that it was going to ship today. Nice. But the website didn't show that yet. I would have like it if the site would show what she sees. Another thing that would have been nice is that their toll free number go directly to customer service, either to buy or verify an order. Instead, we're presented with a menu for things like Accounting, or wholesalers. Also not very encouraging. I work in customer service myself, so I know the phone tree drill: BUY should be the #1 item, then the number #2 item should be customer service. And accounting, and "choose an extension of your party" should be a completely different phone number. Not something for customers to be exposed to. Just my opinion. So I should receive my tea in about 7 days, on Dec 8. A Monday.

Mighty Leaf Tea

I ordered a gift set of tea Mighty Leaf for my ex-wife for a Christmas gift...On Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, about 3 or 4 days ago, and have not received confirmation that it has shipped. I understand about Thanksgiving being in the way, but I still thought I would have heard something by now. Not a good sign, especially when I paid more for this tea that I would have from Adagio. I hope she likes it.

For myself, I ordered some black teas from Mighty Leaf, to try it out. I'm not feeling the love at this point.

A couple of weeks ago I came across a surprise stash of Yunnan Jig, and I was so happy! I made some for my mother and myself on a cold, rainy, overcast day. It hit the spot, and my mom said that it was "really smooth." I get why hot tea is such a revelation, and why the English in particular valued it so highly. They have many overcast, rainy, cold, wet days, and hot tea just does something for you that coffee doesn't. It may be the clarity of the liquid, in terms of its taste. Just something special. And then the different flavors...good stuff.

Lapsang Souchong

Wow. I bought a box of Twinings Lapsang Souchong, just to try it out. Nothing fancy. Off the grocery store shelf. I was lamenting the fact that the box of tea comes wrapped in celophane...thinking about writing to Twinings to see if they can't just not celophane wrap it. But then I open it, and WOW. Smokey. They say smokey, but boy do they ever mean it! I have it on my desk at work, and I feel like I just got done camping, like when I was in the boy scouts, and you smell like campfire, and it's in your clothes, and everything, and you just want to take a shower!

So I make a cup, and the tea in the cup smells like smoke. Which means, I can't taste the tea. In fact, I'm thinking that this tea would be great for camping, since you couldn't tell the difference anyway! It's such a powerful odor, too. I just can't believe that the box smells so strong! As if the box itself was in the drying process -- on a bamboo stick, over a fire. I may have one or two more cups just to try it out, and then if I still am not impressed, I'll throw it away. Maybe I should try a premium brand, but I don't want to spend $8 on a tea I probably won't like. But then, maybe I'm paying for the cannister to keep this stuff in, so my desk doesn't smell like a fire.
Wow.

Mighty leaf green tea

So Mighty Leaf Tea sends me some more tea, this time it's two packets of green tea..."Organic Green Dragon" which looks and smells like cut grass. I like the silk pouch...this time it actually sank into the water, and brewed out pretty well. The color of the liquor is very light. I'm much more used to black tea, so this is a bit out of my experience. But the tea is described as having a nutty, buttery flavor...I don't find that to be the case...this is my "vocabulary is lacking" to describe flavors. I can go w/ sweet, sour, salty...but that's about it. I believe that green teas' flavors are extremely subtle, and since I don't have a base, it's hard to work with...So for me, the flavor is good. I like it, and I'll drink more! At first it was strong, but as the tea cooled the flavor improved. Not that it was bad by any stretch, but it did get better. The tea also is a bit of a cooling tea, which I liked.

darjeeling, From Old Pass Spice Traders

About a month ago I bought some black tea from Old Pass Spice Traders at John's Pass, in St Petersburg, FL...I had some today, and it was smooth and had body, like a cup of milk. An odd thing to be sure, but it went well with this tea. I was really happy I was drinking it. I wish I could figure out the exact proportion of tea, since it was soo good. It was a bit strong, and not cooling, but the body made it really enjoyable on my tongue...

IngenuiTea, revisited

I complained to Adagio about their tea-maker thing, and they sent me two new diffuser filters for it, and I saw how they snapped in, but then after the first time of using it, it shrank! Now it's the same problem as before. It doesn't fit on there right.

They did send me some "Birthday Tea" which is wonderful! The aroma of the raw tea is strong, but the resulting brew is fantastic! I will have more, that's for sure.

Finally figured out the Earl Grey Bravo!

Yay for me. I figured out the Earl Grey Bravo. Finally. It's such a strong tea that a very little bit really goes a long way. I think I need to buy a tea scale, since the way I measure it now is to eyeball it in the cup sized tea infuser that I have, and then put it into the ingenuiTEA...but I've modified this whole setup now. I boil the water in the microwave (takes 4 minutes! Much quicker than the stove with kettle) using the ingenuiTEA, since it works well there, and I can see the water boiling, then I pour the boiling water into my cup with the tea leaves in the infuser. It's not as fun doing it this way because I can't watch the tea leaves fall, but I feel like it's more efficient and I have more control over the brewing process somehow. And cleanup is a bit easier, too. The ingenuiTEA doesn't stain this way, either.

So I digressed: the Earl Grey Bravo is STRONG stuff! I use a very small amount to get a strong cup of tea. I need to get a scale to measure it more accurately so I can be more consistent in each cup, and come up with a proper amount for each tea that suits my taste. I know that I can't use the same amount of Yunnan Jig as Darjeeling.

Tea with Milk

Today I'm having a very weak English Breakfast, and it's still strong! So I tried it with a bit of whole milk, and it got closer to coffee...still not as rich. I guess I'm trying to understand why coffee appears to be the more popular of the two, by using English Breakfast as a reference point. It's not the same as all the other teas I've had so far. Tea is tea is tea, except for English Breakfast (and the Irish Breakfast). Go figure that one out.

The ingenuiTEA...that little filter thing should have a locking mechanism, since it just fits too loosely...and it's getting stained, too. It's to be expected, sure, but still. It only seems like an elegant thing for a while, but it's losing its appeal the more I use it. The filter should also have a longer rod that goes to the top. I see that it has holes to let hot water cycle through? Need an engineer for this one...

Earl Gray Bravo, Part II

Well, this time I tried the Earl Gray Bravo significantly weaker than yesterday, and it was still VERY strong. But it was better. I could really taste the bergomot... very citrus-y, and mady my teeth feel sticky, like I'd just eaten a lemon. I liked the way that it blended with the tea. I didn't put sugar in it, but I should have!

Another thing, with the ingenuiTEA, I have a candy thermometer, so I was testing the temperature of the water...when it forms bubbles on the inside of the pitcher, it's about 200 degrees F. I didn't get it up to a full boil, but it was bubbling a bit...I'm discovering that the heat of the water makes a difference in how strong the tea is...

Tuesday Tea

I'm drinking the Earl Grey Bravo from Adagio. I love the tea leaves, mostly smaller black leaves, with some odd looking blue ones that almost look like blue fuzz. The aroma of the bergamot orange is quite powerful in the tea tin. The flavor is even stronger! Wow! I still get the aroma, not as strong though. I may need some sugar for this cup...it hits you right in the back of the mouth! Yikes.

Meanwhile, in thinking about the ingenuiTEA, I have some suggestions. First, the filter basket at the bottom doesn't stay at the bottom when I pour water into the pitcher. It comes loose and gently floats to the top. Then I have to stick my hand into the water to get the basket back in its spot. This is not optimal. I think the basket should have a rod that is as tall as the top of the pitcher, so it will be heavier, and I can stick it in the pitcher without getting my hands wet. In fact, I don't know how to do this, but it would be nice if I could lift the basket out without losing the tea leaves in the water.

I do like that when the steeping is done that the leaves begin to fall to the bottom of the pitcher. That's nice.

Languid Monday Morning

It's cool today, and I'm outside watching my son play in the front yard, and I'm drinking Yunnan Jig from Adagio. I love the way this stuff smells! I think I made it a bit strong, because it lacks in some flavor that I'm expecting, but the aroma does wonders for me! It's smoky without being too much so, and it's got some other taste that I don't have words for. I've probably complained before about the overblown sounding vocabulary for describing tastes, that to me belong in a wine cellar, or other way too expensive kind of place.

It's a good day!

Back to having tea

I've taken a bit of a break from drinking hot tea, or at least, not as much as I was before...so I'm back in the habit...

This morning I'm having English Breakfast from Adagio. Once again, it's strong like coffee, but not as rich. I was talking to a friend of mine about how strong it is, and she asked if I put milk in it. No, I don't put milk in it. I'm a tea "purist"...uh-huh, right. I don't usually care about the health benefits of drinking tea, I just like it. Yet, I'm reacting almost superstitiously about not putting milk in my tea. Go figure. Maybe I should get over it an try it with milk.

And it's mother's day...It would have been nice to take my mom to tea. Hmmm...maybe I can this Friday. That might be fun.

Tea Tins

You know, Earth Day was a couple of Sundays ago, and it occurs to me that the little tins I get from Adagio would be great to recycle somehow. Maybe they should make the containers out of aluminum so we can recycle them easily. Maybe they could take them back? I wonder how much it would cost...It seems a shame to have to throw them away. I know I solicited feedback on Teachat.com (?) and people just said they use them for other things, but I think that's unsatisfying. The tea tin I have from Twinings is the same way: it's beautiful, and should be recyclable somehow.

ingenuiTea

I'm having Darjeeling from Mighty Leaf. The cool part is that I made it using the
IngenuiTEA
teapot/maker thing. I'm not sure if the tea tastes a bit soapy because I didn't wash it before I used it, though I did rinse it out a couple of times; or if the tea I made is a bit strong, or what. I really see the need to get some kind of scale or measuring device for the amount of tea that needs to go in the thing. It's got no measuring for an amount of water. I know it's 16 ounces because the box says so, but it's nowhere on the pot itself. It was cool to watch the leaves sit on the top then gently fall to the bottom. I also don't know how much water to put in the pot since there's no markings...I just filled up my cup and then put it in the pot, so I know how much water to use, but still...

Darjeeling Okayti:Better than OK!

I had some great tea today! It was the darjeeling black this time, and it was wonderful. I think I made it a bit too strong, but the only "penalty" for doing this is that it isn't as cooling as weaker tea. Even so, it was cooling in a different way, and the liquor was darker, also a consequence of it being stronger. Sometimes I look at these teas and think that I always make it too strong, as compared to a lot of pictures/websites I see (even an occasional TV show) that have the teas much much lighter than what mine turns out to me. The variety I had was the Mighty Leaf Tea sample that they sent me a couple of weeks ago. I had two cups, and they were quite satisfying.

I wanted to use my amazon.com coupon I got from my sister for the mighty leaf, but the only way they sell it there is with the teabags, which I'm not a fan of, since the bags tend to 'inflate' and then stay on top of the water, not allowing for good steeping. I will still probably buy some tea directly from Mighty Leaf, though. I bought adagio tea instead, and I got their "IngenuiTea" teapot/kettle thingie, and I'll try it out later this week to see how it goes.

April 20, 2008

More oolong today. I surprised myself because I forgot that I was drinking the oolong, so that means I made it wrong: I didn't allow the water to cool to the appropriate temperature. Now I have none left! I'm sure that the Darjeeling black will be better, because I'll be more likely to make it right! Feeling dumb here..sigh.

Meanwhile, it occurs to me that even though it's probably correct, "Okayti" is not a good choice for a name, since it's likely to be mispronounced as "OK Tea" which is not what you want if you're selling premium, high quality tea.

April 19, 2008

well, had more Darjeeling Oolong from Mighty Leaf Tea the other day. This time, I have enough for about 3 or 4 cups, depending on how strong I like it. The first cup was a bit of heaven. It was great! I love the aroma, and the flavor...but it wasn't so cooling to the mouth...not as much. Not sure if that's a function of the time of year the tea is picked...the Darjeeling is labeled as "autumn flush"... The second cup I had another day or two later, the tea tasted like the leaves. This is not altogether a bad thing, since that's where the flavor comes from, but it's not the best thing, either. I'm finding the oolong can be hit or miss...It may be my fault because I didn't keep the dried tea in a sealed container, and it's pretty humid in my neck of the woods. I'll have another cup tomorrow (Sunday morning), and we'll see what happens. It should be okay. Then I will be on to the Darjeeling Black. I've got to work out how to figure out the correct brewing temperature. I should experiment with just the boiling water, see how long it takes to reach the right temp for steeping the leaves. I had another of those oolong tea bags from the oriental food place, and it was much better. Not great by any stretch, just not completely terrible.

Meanwhile, I think I may purchase some tea from mighty leaf if they sell through Amazon. Otherwise, I'll get more from Adagio. I think they're great!

Mighty Leaf Tea

Got some more tea from Mighty Leaf today! Yay! It's truly loose tea: oolong and black, "Okayti Darjeeling Autumn Flush" So this ought to be good. I can't wait! It will probably be a few days before I'm able to sit down and enjoy the teas properly though. :-)

March 24, 2008

I tried the Green Tea Tropical, which was really good! The packaging didn't say how to brew the green tea, which, to my understanding, requires a lower temperature than black tea, but I don't know how to get the correct temp without a thermometer! Obviously for black tea, you boil the water and it's 212 degrees. But green tea? 190? And what about oolong and white? How do you tell? Do you wait until a certain amount of time has passed?

So this tea did benefit from the added ingredients, and yet wasn't overpowered by them. I'm looking forward to more tea like that!

March 21, 2008

Mighty Leaf Tea sent me three sample teas. One black (Orange Dulce), one green (Green Tea Tropical), one tisane (Chamomile Citrus). It's from their "Artisan's Choice" three-pack. I got the single three-pack last night.

This morning I tried the Orange Dulce. I'm not thrilled. It's not a "pure black" tea: it's a blend. It's got green tea, black tea, jasmine, citrus, and "natural flavors." I think the jasmine overpowered the flavor of the rest of the tea. It's almost like I could taste the flower as if I had pulled it the branch! Maybe it would do well with sugar? I like to drink my tea without adding anything in order to get the full flavor. I only got the one pouch, so maybe I'll try it next time.

And speaking of pouch, I didn't expect the teas to come in "silken pillow pouches." I thought I'd get loose tea...oh well...not a big deal. I imagine the pouch is nylon, though...it was "loose" tea, I suppose, since it had room to unfurl in the bag. I had hoped the tea would be loose in the pack sans bag...I had my diffuser all ready.

Another thing about the tea is that I don't know what kind of black tea or green tea is used in the blend. Not sure where it was grown, or any other details about it.

Lastly, the aroma was pretty powerful, but I don't think it added to the experience of the tea. It almost took away from it. :-( I'm being pretty hard on this one.

March 18, 2008

Today, I had some horrible oolong tea in a bag from some Chinese restaurant that's been sitting in my desk for way too long, it would seem, since the tea was so bad. It had no flavor, smelled bad...ultimately, I couldn't drink it. The brand is "Kari-Out Company" White Plains NY...ick!

I haven't had a lot of tea lately, and it is very depressing. Mightly Leaf Tea says they will send me some samples, and they think of this as 'a conversation'...which is cool with me. I didn't realize that I've become a tea reviewer, but that's kinda what's happened. "The only way to get to be an expert wine drinker is to drink a lot of wine," I've heard it said, so I imagine the same applies to tea.

I also don't like that I feel limited to the Assam Gold Rain. It's just too strong, or something. I have other moods and feelings about what tea to drink. Maybe I should have more of the Christmas tea...

March 10, 2008

More Assam Gold Rain...and my infuser problems. I was reading somewhere recently that you're supposed to brew in one pot, then transfer the tea to another pot. Just seems wasteful somehow. The infuser basket just collected the leaves, and they all floated to the top, so they didn't all actually brew. Then I get tea-dust-grit in my first cup of tea...ick.

Separately, I was contacted about getting some tea samples to review for a tea website. Should be fun. I realize that I've become a tea reviewer without even trying. But for me that's the fun. I'm sure that there's more I like about tea, but I'm just getting started.

Found another website call specialtyteas.com...it's got a lot of stuff, but I like adagio's site better for look and feel. My sister gave me a $20 gift certificate to amazon, but it's intended to get me a blue-tooth headset for my cell phone. ... sigh. I'm too tempted by the tea. I can buy another Adagio sampler from Amazon, and get a teapot thing to go with it. Maybe...

March 9, 2008

Assam Gold Rain, from Teavana...I am not thoroughly impressed with this tea. A friend of mine bought some for me as a gift, and I've tried making some several times. The result: too strong, too weak, almost just right. It lacks fragrance, aroma. And the flavor is a tiny bit tinny, which depends on how strong or weak I make it, the stronger, the tinnier. It's more astringent that I think the Assams should be, though.

I also get why Irish and English breakfast teas need to be strong. I almost couldn't taste the tea when I was eating with scrambled eggs. But I at least made it right this time. So it was pretty good, just not great.

1/29/08

My son knows that I drink tea. It's amazing. He's 2 and a half! When I drink it, he says "TEA!!" he shouts everything when he gets excited. He's still learning how to talk, after all. He tastes it, but doesn't have more than a small sip...but he points it out when he sees it. It's very cute.

Oh, and here's my Adagio correspondence:
Hi Russell,

Thank you for your note. Unfortunately, we cannot make any substitutions at
this time, but we are considering putting together an oolong starter set-
thank you for the suggestion!

Please visit us again soon,

Adagio Teas
http://www.adagio.com


From: "Russell Hires"
Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2008 09:45:07 -0500
To: michael
Subject: When you were offline (via LivePerson)

Hello! I'm wondering if it's possible to get the starter set with the oolong
teas instead of black or green. I will be making a purchase no matter what,
but this would be a wonderful thing if you can do it. I have a friend that I
will be sending this to, and she is a big oolong fan. Thanks so much for your
wonderful site!

Russell

1/28/08

I ordered tea for my sweetie in Vermont. An oolong sampler from Adagio. And the tea guide.

Separately, on the weekends I have been drinking the Irish Breakfast tea from Twinings, just the way they say to: one per person, and one for the pot. Teaspoons of tea. In fact, it became utilitarian, rather than an experience, like driking coffee. I miss my other loose teas.

I went to adagio to order more tea, and came up with $64 worth of tea! But I realized that I don't drink tea at work anymore, and so I don't need so much, but it didn't make sense to order the smaller amounts, either, because of how much smaller they are. I know tea keeps for a while, but still, it didn't make sense to me to buy it all at once, and since I eliminated buying smaller amounts, I ended up with nothing. It was mostly 4 ounces at a time, rather than 1 ounce.

1/24/08

I went yesterday to the Kalesia Tea Lounge, and had a giant cup of Yunnan Gold...whooo wee... a large cup. I had too much of a headache to enjoy it much, though. They have free wifi, but I didn't have my computer...They only have about 6 or 7 black teas, though there are a number of tea combinations, and oolong, green, and white teas, along with a few other things, like teaware and such...I should have had the Assam tea instead, though. I was more in the mood for that.

Today, I'm drinking a bit of the last of my Ceylon sonata. I'm still pondering what I'm going to buy from Adagio...The ceylon tea is very smooth today. I didn't steep it as long, so that may have something to do with it. I don't know how long I did brew it...meanwhile, I sent and received more correspondence from Adagio...I'll post it later.

MLK Day

I have been drinking cafe con leche this last week and it has solved my going to the bathroom problem, but I don't feel as good. The teas I've been drinking have definitely been making me feel pretty good...

Meanwhile, I sent a request to Adagio about having a sample set with the oolong tea instead of the black or green teas...and they haven't responded. Maybe because of the holiday? I sent it on Friday, too...

1/16/08

Went by the Milk and Honey tearoom yesterday, at about 2:15, and guess what? They were closed. They closed at 2. I was looking in the window when the proprietor came up and said they were closed, as if the sign on the door and locked door didn't indicate that. I realized, though, that tearooms seem to be all about frou-frou, and not about tea. They have very flowery teaware: teapots, teacups, and so on. Not at all masculine. There should be ducks and rifles on the wall. Foxes and horses, like the English countryside. Hmmm...but then again, what about the people in China and India? It's not so gender specific there, I don't think...

Also, had a great tisane: Peppermint tea. It was surprisingly satisfying. It ended up just like tea in terms of the liquor and the taste, but with the peppermint cooling...that would be a great addition to a milder black tea...not sure which, though. Not well enough developed to make a suggestion.

1/15/08

I think I'm going break down and buy some more tea from Adagio. Although, since I'm off today maybe I'll go into Teavana, just to check it out, since it's a "random Tuesday" and it is unlikely to be very crowded. Their little shops are small. Or maybe I could go to a tearoom/teashop, like Kalesia...or somewhere else. I'll have to look at the teamap website, to see what I can find.

Meanwhile, I'm home today, drinking more Irish Breakfast. It does come on strong! Even though I used far less than the last time, I understand why people talk about it being strong. Whew! It's also more astringent that I expect, too. In fact, it's strong like coffee is strong. It of course has a different flavor than coffee, but it has the taste kick that coffee does, yet isn't as bitter as coffee. It would make sense to drink coffee with milk and sugar, and I can see why you'd do the same thing to tea, yet, this tea doesn't need the milk or sugar as much. I have the impression (inaccurately, I'm sure) that the poor would have preferred tea to coffee because it's easier to drink without milk and sugar. When I think about this, though, I realize that the French didn't go this route. Just the English. Of course, tea would have been cheaper than coffee because of the trade monopolies that the English had with India and China, in a way that the French did not. Or the Italians, etc. Interesting...

1/13/08

I bought the Irish Breakfast tea from Twinings at the grocery store. Yesterday I made some, and it was nice, mild, and decent tasting stuff. Today I made it and it was too strong.
It comes in a tin, and the tea itself is granules, rather than loose leaves...they are loose, though, but it's more like very loose sand than anything. I can dip my teaspoon into the tea without fear of breaking any of the tea leaves up. I just have to watch the portion.

I like the label. When you open up the tin, it has a foil wrapper, with instructions on making the tea. A teaspoon per person/per cup, plus "one for the pot." Nice. I like that. I'd heard of the 'one for the pot' before, but it was nice to see it somewhere in writing. The issue with the tea's being in granular form is that it goes through the little strainer in the spout of teapot, so you end up with tea granules in your teacup. Not optimal. It is a step up from the tea bags, though. I'll have to work on that. Maybe put a mesh over the holes to prevent that. Also not optimal. I'll figure something out. There's still some rough edges with the whole tea thing that I haven't figured out, and that I haven't seen solved anywhere.

One last thing. The tin for the Irish Breakfast is green. Naturally. The problem, of course, is that this is the same color for DECAF everything. Of course, this isn't decaf tea, but I think they got it wrong by choosing the Irish color for their tea tin for this variety of tea. People might stay away from it because they would automatically think it's decaf, when it isn't.

1/10/08 Part II

I think I'm going to have to change my tea consumption at work. Drinking the whole pot of tea, two and a half cups, sends me to the bathroom at least 3 times, and sometimes 4. It's interfering with my productivity at work. I could drink it at home at night after my son goes to bed, so I can stay up, but not too late, to do some writing. Keeping this blog is a first step to my writing. I'm still trying to get into a routine after getting my son back less than 5 days ago. Maybe a tea ritual will be a help to that.

On a separate note, I really like how Adagio has created a tea community, with their different websites with the different themes.

1/10/08

Sigh. I'm running almost completely out of tea. I may buy the Twinings Earl Grey loose leaf just to get me by until I decide on the Adagio varieties I want next. I may also buy their English Breakfast, just to see if it's any different from the variety that they sell in tea bags. It's at the grocery store, which is something. It's the only loose leaf that's there. I'm still leary of going to Teavana because of the expense...on the other hand, there's a few tea rooms in the area that may have some loose leaf...I'll have to try those. Saturday maybe I'll go out see what I can find.

Today I had just the ceylon sonata...a bit strong, though. I knew it when I was making it that it would be strong...I wish I could resolve the many trips to the bathroom after drinking two and a half cups of tea in the morning...

1/9/08

Cafe con leche today. My two least favorite teas are still sitting on my desk: Darjeeling #22, and Ceylon Sonata. I've got to bite the bullet and spend some serious money on the Golden Monkey, and a few other teas. It will turn into a $50 order by the time I'm done. But I'll have lots of tea, hopefully for longer than a month. If I spend $15 month on the samplers like I've done, then it will turn out to be 15 x 12 = $180/year!

Maybe buying in quantity will help...

Jan 8, 2008

I mixed the last of my Assam Harmony and Darjeeling...it turned out pretty good. I liked it a lot. It was strange at first, but then it turned out well.

I sent another email to adagio:

Hi Russell,


Thank you for your note. Unfortunately we do not any suggestions for
recycling the sample tins, nor do we offer a recycling program. As you may
know we do offer refills of our larger tins. We know that other customers
have discussed what can be done with used sample tins at www.teachat.com.
Maybe they would be the best people to ask. Hope what little information we
had to offer may be of help :)

Thank you for visiting Adagio Teas!

Kind regards,

Customer Service
http://www.adagio.com



Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2008 15:32:07 -0500
To: Adagio Teas
Subject: E-mail

Hello! I wrote you a week or two ago...here's another: what do I do with all
of the tea tins? When they are empty, it seems a shame to have to throw them
in the trash. Do you take them back for recycling? Or do you know if there are
local programs that would?

Thanks for being so great!

Russell

----
They are great. I added my blog to their list o' blogs...so this hopefully means I'll get some readers. I read a few of the other tea blogs with more than 30 posts, and they are nice, with pictures...I wonder where they get those pics from. I haven't put anything nice like that together...not sure I could.

Lately I'm thinking I need to develop some kind of contact out in India...or maybe explore teas grown in the US...wikipedia seems to think that tea is grown here, but I can't imagine where...

1/6/08

I'm running out of tea from Adagio...I'll have to order more. The other day when I had that tea I felt overall much better, rather than simply hyped up on caffeine. I wasn't jittery, or anything else...I was just "up".

Meanwhile, I can't believe I haven't written here for a while. I need to have some of the same teas for here at home, and at work. I miss them when I'm at home. I have the very low quality Darjeeling and Nilgiri from the Soulard market, and I don't like drinking it. Maybe I'll buy some of the Nilgiri from Adagio, if they sell it, and see how it tastes.

I've gone through most of the tea that I bought in about a month. $15/month for tea. Youch! I still have the Darjeeling #22 in the greatest quantity...I'm not real impressed by that one. So I've waited until I'm out of all of the other tea...