Zen Tea Juicy Blueberry Herbal Tea

As you may know, I love blueberry herbal teas.  I love that combination of sweet, sour and floral that make it like a juice but lighter.  I also haven't reviewed a Zen Tea thing in a while, and still have quite a bit to review from them.

Outsides:  This tea has a wide variety of indredients including apple, hibiscus, currants, raisins, blueberry, lemongrass, more blueberries (?), cornflower, sunflower, marigold, rose, citric acid and vitamin C, so a really unique blend of ingredients.  The dried tea smells like blueberry jam though, so I'm excited.  I brewed about 2 teaspoons of this in 8 oz of boiling water for 5 or so minutes.  The tea is a nice berry red and smells sweet and juicy like a blueberry.

Insides:  This is definitely different than the other blueberry herbal teas I've tried thanks to the citrus flavor.  You get a strong, sweet berry flavor with a lot of fullness and depth but it's lightened up with the lemongrass favor and contrasted with the citric acid.  The fruity flavors really pop with a bit of added sugar.  This tea would be awesome for kids since it's basically a healthy Kool-aid with added vitamin C to it or iced and possibly used in a punch or sangria.

Overall:  I like it.  It's not as cheap as the other blueberry herbal teas, but it probably would be a better alternative for the summer.

I think I'm going to try to implement a bit of a different rating system.

Taste:  A strong fruity herbal
Price:  9 dollars for about 4 oz.
Uniqueness:  The general idea isn't that unique but the flavor is.
Uses:  Great for late-night and children.  Can be iced and tastes great with or without sugar.
My Rating:  Try it.  

Zen Tea is a Canadian Tea retailer that specializes n mid to high quality tea from all around the world.

Zen Tea's O'Sullivan's favorite (Irish Breakfast Tea)

Life Pro-Tip:  Baking Soda with warm water does wonders for carpet stains.

So, I'm going to assume this is an Irish Breakfast Tea, even though I've never had an Irish Breakfast tea before.  Now, when I hear "Irish Breakfast", the horribly offensive part of me thinks this is a coffee with a shot of whiskey in it, home fries with bacon and cheese as well as some pastry in the shape of a leprechaun.  What it actually is is a blend of different black teas, a majority of which is Assam or the dark roasts of tea (in robustness).  Zen Tea even suggests that it is great with milk and sugar.

Outsides:  I don't know what teas are in this (Boo Zen Tea!), but it is Cut/Tear/Cut processed, so the pieces are very small.  I brewed about a teaspoon and a half of this in 8 oz of almost boiling water for longer than I should have (6 minutes).  The color is dark and red and this has a bit of a malty, but strong breakfast tea smell.

Insides:  Without the add-ins, this tea has a strong malty flavor and full body, but is not as undrinkable bitter as I expected it to be.  There's also a natural sweetness to it and a full warmth from the maltiness as well as these slight floral notes.  Now, I probably should have stopped steeping after about 4-5 minutes, but if you oversteep then you can always add milk and sugar.  However, this is what I call breakfast tea.  With milk and sugar, the tea flavor is still strong and the sugar works well to bring out the natural sweetness in the tea.  This tea can certainly take its flavors and I'm sure honey and some booze would go well with it.

Overall:  You can find Irish Breakfasts in other tea companies and probably even cheaper, but this is a good one and may be worth investing in.

My Rating:  Try it!

Zen Tea is a Canadian tea retailer that specializes in bringing the world of tea to your cup.  They generally have mid to high quality teas.  

Zen Tea Ceylon Ratnaupra

Outsides:  This Ceylon Ratnaurpa is just ceylon tea and nothing else.  I brewed a teaspoon of it at near boiling water for 3 minutes and I'd recommend tasting it after 3 minutes to see if you like it and let it steep a few seconds longer if you want a stronger flavor.  The color is kind of a medium reddish brown and it smells very clean and a bit spicy with a note of breakfast tea.

Insides:  First off, this tea is going to be a bit more bitter than other types.  That's just the nature of it and I think the term used for this is a brisk taste.  This has a bit of a bready malty taste to it which reminds me a bit of wheat beer.  The body is less than the Darjeeling but still very full.  This has a nice aftertaste as well, a bit malty and a bit floral but actually sweet compared to the overall bitterness of the tea.

Overall:  It's good, but I'm glad I did this experiment because I found out that Ceylon is not my favorite black tea.  I still recommend getting a sample of something like this just to find out how much you like Ceylon versus other tea.

My Rating:  Try it!

Zen Tea is a Canadian Tea retailer that specializes in mid to high quality tea.

Zen Tea Tie Guan Yin, ofren called Monkey-Picked Oolong

Here I am with yet another Zen Tea purchase.  Tie Guan Yin is a common type of Oolong and what makes this one interesting is that you are supposed to do multiple infusions using this.  There are lots of different types of tea that can be used for multiple infusions but they work best with Oolongs and not the terrible ones. 

Outside:  The tea looks like little rolled leaves.  I brewed the tea at a 80 degrees Celsius (which might be a bit too low for this) and varied the steeping time depending on which infusion I used (you're supposed to add some time each infusion).  The first infusion is light but it gets a little darker each infusion.  The first one smells the most vegital while the second smells more floral and the third is a weaker floral.

Insides:  I'm going to divide this into the infusions.

First infusion:  The tea is very vegetative in taste with a floral note intertwining.  Overall, this is a light tea with a medium body and a slightly sweet taste.  It reminds me a bit of sencha except a bit heavier and with more of a floral scent. 

Second infusion:  This one is a LOT more floral and my favorite infusion.  Less vegetative than the first infusion but this one has a nice floral scent (my first thought was jasmine, but the bag says jasmine and orchid).  It has the same body as the first infusion but the tea is a little bit sweeter.  This is really a nice introduction to multiple infusions.  Also physically, the leaves are opening up so if you put a tiny bit of tea in the infuser, the tea has doubled or tripled in size.

Third infusion:  This is the first noticeable drop in flavor, but still drinkable and actually good.  The tea is light-bodied and there's still the floral scent, but no vegetative taste and yet the same amount of sweetness.  I won't brew any more infusions of this because it lost about a third of the flavor.

Overall:  I really like this.  It's a light floral with a medium body and you definitely get your bang for your buck.  Check it out.

My Rating:  Buy it!

Zen Tea is a Canadian Tea retailer that sells mid to high quality tea.  

Zen Tea Bamboo Integrety

Outsides:  This herbal tea containes apple bits, carrot bits, bamboo, lemongrass, verbena, ginger, sunflower petals and natural flavor.  I'm not gonna lie, the carrot sounds really interesting to me.  I've had carrot in drinks before but never in tea.  Anyway, I put 2 teaspoons of this in my mug and steeped it in 8 oz of boiling water for 5 minutes.  The color is a light green and it smells citrusy.  This also is a beautiful tea to watch steep because the liquid is almost clear and the herbal portion has so many colors in it.

Insides:  The box suggested that this would taste tropical but it's really very citrusy and fresh tasting.  The apple and carrot add sweetness to balance out the rest of the flavors such as lemongrass and verbena so although it's citrusy, it's not very sour.  This really tastes like fresh squeezed lime with herbs in it as well.  Although I wouldn't advise adding too much sugar, this seems like it would be a good alternative to lemonade.

Overall:  It's interesting.  Not amazing, but if you're into herbal teas then it's worth a try.

My Rating:  Try it!

Zen Tea is a Canadian Tea Retailer (happy Boxing Day!) that specializes in mid to high quality tea.  

Zen Tea Jasmine Dragon Pearl

So, my last 4 days have cinsisted of 7 to 9 hours of baking cookies (we have at least 13 different kinds right now) and honestly, I need a break.  NO MORE MOM, I'M GOING ON A DIET!  Anyway, I need some jasmine tea to relax and this one looked interesting. 

Outsides:  The tea is just chinese Jasmine Green tea buds, but it's shaped like little spheres.  The instructions say that you can use 3 to 5 of these per cup, so I put in 4 big ones and one derpy looking bud in 8 oz of 80 degree Celsius water and just kept them there (I want to see if they bloom, which they kinda do).  The fluid is a very light orange (it almost looks pink to me) and have a nice fragrant scent of jasmine.

Insides:  This actually works pretty well without an infuser because the leaves are very tender when brewed.  What really surprised me was how naturally sweet the tea is without sugar.  It has a light body and a delicate green tea flavor with a pleasant jasmine scent, but there's a sweetness to it which makes this extra special to me.  Plus, it's so fragrant that you can probably get away with using 3 buds.  Anyway, this is a fantastic tea to help introduce people to floral tea and for people who don't want to consume as much sugar.  I image that this is great cold.

Overall:  Apparently you can get this cheaper at the Asian markets, but this sample size gives you good bang for your buck and it's darn tasty!

My Rating:  Buy it!  

Zen Tea is a canadian tea retailer that specializes in mid to high quality tea.  

Zen Tea Earl Grey Blue Flower

 
So, I made a mistake.  For some reason, probably my own stupidity, I thought this was the same as Earl Grey Creme.  Well, it isn't.  It's just normal Earl Grey, which I'm ok with but I really love that Earl Grey Creme.  But, Prestogeorge seems to have something similar to that so I might not be out of luck.  Anyway, I'm sure this will be a perfectly good Earl Grey.

Outsides:  This tea contains black tea, bergamont orange and blue cornflowers, I feel as though the flowers are almost pointless because you can't really see them that well in the blue base, and they don't really change the color of the tea.  I brewed a teaspoon and a half of this in 8 oz of near boiling water for about 4 minutes.  The color is a medium orange like most Earl Grey teas are and smells strongly of bergamont. 

Insides:  I immediately added milk and sugar to this because the bergamont is too strong to drink on its own for me, but it goes great in milk.  The flavor is strong, citrusy and a bit spicy and floral, but there still is a noticeable tea flavor that pokes through so Zen Tea clearly didn't use the extreme bottom of the barrel when it comes to tea. I think this earl grey is actually well balanced, doesn't lose flavor in cream and yet doesn't taste like soap.  It's not quite as good as the Earl Grey Creme but it's pretty close to a perfect normal Earl Grey for me.

Overall:  If you like normal Earl Grey, you'll probably like this.

My Rating:  Buy it!

Zen Tea is a canadian tea retailer that specializes in mid to high quality tea and bringing the world of tea closer to your home.  

Bonus:  Lazy Christmas Mani

Zen Tea Yerba Mate

Yerba Mate is extremely fitting for Christmas Eve.  It's a relative to a holly plant, is often shared by people in South American as they sit around a gourd and drink from metal straws called a bombilla (my source here), and has a stimulating effect on heartrate much like caffeine does.  Mate is also supposed to contain vitamins and minerals, so theoretically, it's healthier than coffee (but that can be said about a lot of things).  Anyway, I need this today so let's drink.

Outsides:  Yerba mate is just yerba mate, and I don't have a gourd so I guess my authenticity is out the door.  I got it in Zen Tea's sample size and have to say, this is a pretty good size and can easily make 10-15 cups of this.  One thing I did wrong was that I used near boiling water when apparently (from Wikipedia and not the directions on the packet), you're supposed to use hot water and not boiling, but I let it sit for about 5 minutes (1.5 teaspoons in 8 oz).  The color is greener than a typical herbal blend but still that same shade of yellow.  It smells like a light green tea.

Insides:  Well, it's not bitter so that's good.  This drink has a medium to light body with a sweet and slightly planty flavor (kinda like green tea).  Another thing is that this yerba mate seems to be very mild in flavor, especially compaired to something like coffee or energy drinks.  I went and added some sugar to see if any new flavors would be brought out and with that, this drink tastes like the Dilmah Ceylon Green Tea or Lipton Pure Leaf Green tea.  I like it and am curious to try some of the fruit flavors.

Overall:  If you don't like coffee or energy drinks but still want to get your caffeine in somehow, try this out. 

My Rating:  Try it in general.  I'm probably going to get some from Prestogeorge, but Zen Tea still has a decent price on this.

Zen Tea is a Canadian Tea retailer specializing in mid to high quality tea and has a wide variety of teas around the world.  

Zen Tea Anti-Strain Herbal Tea

I'm going to assume Anti-Strain is supposed to be the Canadian Tension Tea.  I don't really drink normal tension tea, but figured I'd try a bag.  Plus, I've had too much caffeine already and don't want to be up forever.

Outsides:  This tea contains cinnamon, licorice, ginger, fennel, orange peel and cardamon and i have to say, it smells amazing, like a sweet and spicy chai tea.  I put a teaspoon and a half in 8 oz of boiling water and let it sit for 5 minutes.  The tea is the normal yellow herbal color (It's funny how many herbal teas get that color) and still smells amazing.  This also apparently supports the Dosha "vata" in accordance to Ayuvedic teachings, which I know very little about.

Insides:  Well, this smells great and it might possibly taste great except for the smack in your face of weird sweetness that is the licorice.  Is there supposed to be that much licorice in accordance to Ayuvedic principals, because the aftertaste is riddiculous.  Putting aside the licorice, which is pretty near impossible, the herbs used are the spicy sweet kind and the tea has a nice brightness to it.  But you better like licorice.

Overall:  Works great as an air freshener, not as a drink.

My Rating:  Pass.

Zen Tea is a Canadian tea retailer that specializes in mid to high quality tea. 

Zen Tea's Darjeeling Margaret's Hope Second Flush FTGFOP1 Organic

Yes, that is the full name and yes, it's a bit overwhelming but this is actually more of a personal project than just me writing whether I like a tea or not.  It starts with a question.  What is the difference between this tea and that tea, whether it just be a different type of tea like green versus oolong or a different region that the tea is grown, like Ceylon versus Darjeeling or maybe the difference between good quality tea and poor quality tea?  You can read how they taste on blogs (like mine) but it just isn't the same as actually tasting it.  It was a slippery slope to this, going from Big Lots tea bags to loose-leaf flavored teas to reading about these different origins and extremely detailed teas to finally just getting a bunch of samples and trying a bunch of high quality teas.  I picked Zen Tea for 2 reasons:  The teas I have tried from them have been of a pretty high quality in terms of ingredients and they were having a 50 percent off sale, so I got about 18 teas (some sample and some big sizes) for $35.  But ultimately, I want to know what a good quality Darjeeling, Keemun, Ceylon, etc. tastes like and that's what I'm doing now.

 

Outsides:   I know there's something you guys want to know and that's what FTGFOP1 means.  Well, here's an answer but the short version is high-quality, unbroken leaves.  Darjeeling is a mountain range in India where tea is grown and honestly, I have no idea of Margaret's hope means anything.  I brewed about a tespoon for three minutes in 8 oz of boiling water.  The color is the golden amber color while the smell is fruity with almost a hint of honey to it.

Insides:  The tea is extremely smooth with a medium body and very little astringency.  It's sweet, with a warm, nutty note to the flavor and a fruity aftertaste as well as a hint of floral.  So far, this is sweeter than the Assams and Ceylons I've tried, but closer to Ceylon in body but reminds me more of the Assam in flavor.  The flavor is bright and crisp and I'm sure you can drink this iced (it's definately mild enough to drink without sugar or milk).  Honestly, it's taking a bit of self-restraint not chugging the thing.

Overall:  For all of the high-quality teas, I'm going to say try because everyone should figure out what they like, but I really like this one

My Rating:  Buy it!  It's very good!

Zen Tea is a Canadian Tea Retailer that specializes in mid to high quality teas.  The sample size was normally $2.20 but I got it half-off.  Also, apparently this wasn't the most expensive one, but it's still very good.

Zen Tea Genmaicha

 
Genmaicha is not really an uncommon sight for tea lovers but toasted brown rice paired with green tea can turn a few heads for those not accustomed to it.  It has a unique flavor similar to that of popcorn and has more of a savory flavor than most flavored teas.

Outsides:  As you can see, this is Sencha green tea with a TON of brown rice and puffed rice.  I brewed about a teaspoon in 8 oz of 80 degrees Celsius water for about 3 minutes.  The tea is a nice yellow green and smells like tasty popcorn.

Insides:  This is probably one of the better quality genmaichas I've had.  The tea has a nice subtle vegetative quality while not being too strong, and the popcorn rice adds just the right amount of nuttyness and roastiness.  As it cools down, the vegetative quality becomes more prominent but still keeps a good balance between flavors.  This isn't really made for iced tea so drink it warm.

Overall:  At the price it's at right now, this is cheap so get it at 50% off or try a sample.

My Rating:  Try it!

Zen Tea is a Canadian tea retailer that specializes in mid to high quality teas.

Zen Tea Cape Town Flavored Rooibos

So, I ordered from Zen Tea all of TWO DAYS ago and just got their order.  WOW!  Anyway, I bought a crap-ton of sample-sized teas as well as a few bigger ones, so you guys are going to get a lot of reviews for their stuff.  This is the only Rooibos I bought though because quite frankly, Rooibos is a pain in the ass to clean up and although I like it, it's not something I reach for often.  This one seemed interesting in that it had floral blossoms and is quite colorful with blue and red and pink flowers inside the rusty orange base of the rooibos.

Outsides:  Cape Town Rooibos contains rooibos (duh), hibiscus, rose and blue mallow blossoms and marigold.  Despite this, there are not many other colors in the leaves other than rust, but it's still rather pretty and the occasional blue flower really adds to that.  I brewed about a teaspoon and a half of this in about 8 oz of boiled water for at least 5 minutes, but I didn't really keep time.  The tea is a clear rust orange color and smells like normal rooibos with a hint of sweet floral.

Insides:  So, rooibos is not really my thing but even with that being said, this is definitely a higher-quality rooibos.  Sometimes, a cheap rooibos will taste a bit like seaweed or dirt, but this one has a medium body, vanilla undertone and sweet floral notes.  That being said, this is not really that exciting for me.  The floral touch is nice but not really making it worth it for me.  I can't deny that this is decent quality and if you need some rooibos, this is not a bad base for adding juice to.

Overall:  Meh.  I'd say try it because it's cheap and not bad quality but you don't need to bend over backwards for it.

My Rating:  Pass/Try it (I need to think of a word for this).

Zen Tea is a tea retailer that specializes in mid to high quality teas.  They're having a 50% off sale until December 24th, so now is the time to try.

Zen Tea Tender White Tea 3-tin Gift Set

Not many people know about Zen Tea, but they are a Canadian Tea retail company that seems to specilise in tea drunk in the international style.  The variety they have is small, but mostly consists of mid to high quality teas with high quality flavor.  They also are having a 50% off sale until December 24th on tea and tea gift sets (including this set) so I figured that now was a good time to try.  Plus I needed tea tins, which apparently have to cost $10 if you don't want them plain (I'm thinking about just making them myself).  So in conclusion, this white tea gift set ended up costing me $15 and included 3 tins of tea.  Does the tea suck?  We'll find out.

I received this in the mail about 4 days after I ordered it, which isn't too bad considering that it was from Canada (you have to get Canadian Priority or USPS Priority, which isn't cheap at $5 but isn't exorbitant either).  The tea set came in a sliver box with a cute little bow in it, so perfect for the lazy and extremely cute.  Each tin is metal with patterned paper on it and apparently holds about 3 oz of tea, although if you want to get rid of the label then you are going to have a bad time ripping the paper.  Now, I was a bit surprised when I saw just how much tea was in there because the website said something like 3.5 oz of tea, so I was expecting about 1 oz each.  This was an extremely pleasant surprise and an astonishing buy for $15.

the big Silver Needle leaves

The teas included in the Tender White Tea set are BaihaoYinzhen (White Hair Silver Needle), Tear of Peony and Toffee Dream.  I feel a little bit at a disadvantage because I've never had these kinds of tea before so I can't really comment that much on how it compares to others.  I will say that the tea leaves in these are huge and it's better to invest in a gaiwan because they don't really fit in a normal ball infuser.  All three teas are unique from each other and there seems to be something for everyone from the purists to the floral fans to the desert fans to the fruity fans.

Now onto the teas:

BaihaoYinzen:  Very pure and delicate.  It's not the most flavor heavy and is more of a sipping tea, but it's very nice for relaxing and reminds me of a forest on a spring day.

Teardrop of Peony:  I'm actually drinking this right now and think this is the most heavily flavored of the teas, but still has that light quality that white tea has.  I like that although this is pretty heavily floral scented, it actually tastes very sweet and fruity.  I also like how the white tea flavor here is less subtle.

Toffee Dream:  Probably my favorite nutty tea and one of the nicest desert teas to drink without sugar or milk.  It's definitely a lovely drink to have when you want a bit of caramel but not the calories.  It's also one of  the most colorful with these random blue flowers in it.

Overall;  This set is what I would want someone to get me because I love tea and all three of these are delicious.  For $15 or even $34, this is a great buy and a great way to treat the tea lover you love.

My Rating:  Buy it!

Zen Tea Earl Grey Creme

I've been craving Earl Grey lately, which is strange because I was never really into it before but it's become a regular part of my tea routine.  It's also a bit difficult finding a good earl grey; something that is strong enough to add milk to but not going into the soapy tasting category.  This particular Earl Grey was pretty cheap (50 grams for 2-something with the sale price) and the hint of vanilla sounded interesting.

  

Outsides:  Black tea with bergamont, vanilla and blue flowers.  I have to say, this stuff smells DIVINE!  Citrusy and spicy and sweet!  I brewed a tablespoon and a half in near boiling water for 4 minutes.  The tea is actually lighter than I expected but is that nice Ceylon color with brownish gold tones and smells sweet, spicy and citrusy.  

Insides:  First off, this is too strong for me so I had to add a bit of sugar and milk.  Second off, this is probably the most perfect cup of Earl Grey I have ever had.  The base black tea is very flavorful with little bitterness and a smooth body.  The amount of bergamont makes this tea slightly spicy and slightly citrusy, with a floral undertone here or there, but the thing that really makes this special is the vanilla, which transforms this into a relatively low calorie desert.  It's warm and fresh and uplifting and I am definately buying more of it before this sale ends.  Oh, it's good cold too although I added sugar to mine.

Overall:  I love it.  Seal of approval indeed.

My Rating:  Buy it!

Zen Tea is a Canadian online tea vendor that specializes in mid to high quality tea.  

Zen Tea's Tear of Peony

Hey guys!  Anyone else see the Hobbit?  Apparently Bilbo loves a fine chamomile tea.

The reason why the label is messed up was my fault, not the company's.

 

Today, I have the last of my tender white tea gift-set, the Tear of Peony.  Floral teas used to scare me because well, who wants to drink a flower?  They still cause me a bit of apprehension because some jasmine teas are just too strong.  But the pairing of peony and delicate white tea actually seems like a nice way to balance out the floralness and give the white tea a bit more oomph.  Plus, white tea and flowers just makes you feel fancy.

  

Outsides:  This is the last tea I got in a tin, but apparently you can upgrade you 100 gram orders by adding a tin for 2 bucks!  The only ingredients in here are white tea leaves and GIANT peony petals.  I basically brewed 1 teaspoon and a half on 70 degree Celsius water for about 3 minutes, which is longer than you're supposed to but my temp was a bit low.  The tea has a bit of a yellow tint to it and it smells sweet and floral.

Insides:  This is such a lovely tea.  The white tea provides a nice, delicate base while the peony gives a strong scent and a subtle sweet taste.  It's smooth, subtle and just fancy, although you need a really delicate sweet to go with it.  I'd imagine this being good in the summer with some sweet oranges soaking in it and a bit of sugar.  

Overall:  Very nice.

My Rating:  Buy it!

Zen Tea is a Canadian tea retailer that specializes in mid to high quality tea.  They're having a 50% off sale until Dec 24th if you enter a code on their front page.  

Zen Tea Toffee Dream White Tea

The second tea from my White Tea Gift Set, this is probably the most interesting in terms of flavor combination.  When looking at flavored white tea, you typically will see it paired with more delicate and sweet fruits such as peach or blueberry but never with toffee.

Outsides:  A bit of a different style of white tea (Pai Mu Tan) with blue cornflower (which is not listed in the ingredients) and little toffee squares.  The tea smells fabulously nutty, a little like fresh-baked almond cookies, and I like the contrast of the blue cornflowers to the brownish-yellow of pretty much everything else.  Again, I brewed about a teaspoon of this at 70 degrees Celsius but I prolonged the time to about 3 minutes (it didn’t taste nutty enough for me).  The liquid is more golden than the Silver Needle and has a delicate sweet and nutty smell to it.

Insides:  A lot of times when you get flavored tea, the flavor ends up tasting really fake and detracts from whatever qualities the base tea had.  This is the opposite.  The nutty flavor is very light and delicate while also tasting very real.  There’s also a complexity to it, with the nutty flavor adding a nice musk and earthiness while the white tea adds a bit of a floral undertone and the little squares adding a subtle sweetness.  One thing I advise which may seem like a total no-brainer to some people is to use filtered water.  I sometimes don’t care about that and this tea really brings out the flavor of the impurities in our water.  I also think that it tastes best on it’s own without sugar.

Overall:  Very nice and something that I’m definitely ordering again from Zen Tea.

My Rating:  Buy it!

Zen Tea is a relatively new online tea retailer that specializes in mid-to-high quality tea.  Right now, they have a 50% off tea sale until Dec 24th if you enter the promo code Holidays and I have to say, it's pretty worth it.