My Cuppa Tea Peachy Liz White Tea

It can be both a good and bad thing to live three minutes away from a tea store.  On one hand, it's nice being able to quickly stop in if you need to pick something up.  But then you find out that they're discontinuing a bunch of teas and they're marked down 50% off and end up spending 30 dollars on tea that you just don't need.  Peachy Liz was something that I don't think I could part with partially because of the unique ingredients and partially because I love me some flavored white tea with peach being a classic flavor.  

Outsides:  Peachy Liz is a fruit and floral white tea with the ingredieents of Bai Mu Dan white tea, marigolds, golden chrysanthemum, peach pieces, vanilla bits, and peach vanilla flavor.  I love the big fluffy white tea leaves but am a bit conflicted on the scent.  On one hand, it's very sweet smelling and is reminiscent of peaches and cream.  On the other hand, it reminds me of cough syrup.  I brewed it for 2 minutes in 170 degree Celsius water.  It's a light yellow color with a peaches and cream smell to it.

I want to get a picture showing the color better but here's Rusty for now.  I've had this at home before and no, Rusty does not make a good infuser for this tea.

Insides:  This tea is pure sweetness.  Whatever floral is in here just adds to the syrupy sensation that this tea invokes.  The peach and vanilla flavor is very strong with a slight tea hint to it and the chrysanthemum and marigold add more of a rounded sweetness (and I'm guessing a yellow color) while giving it a bit extra body.  Even without the ridiculously strong smell, this tea is just naturally sweet.  Not sugar sweet, but there really is no reason to sweeten it.  That all being said, this desert white tea only has that strange syrupy taste which I think most people would be able to ignore, no bitter aftertaste or strange chemical tastes.  For a desert substitution, it works well.

Tilt:  Since I bought this tea on clearance, it's not fair for me to tell you to price I paid for it because of course it's worth it but you won't be able to get it at that price.  I found this site though and I have to say that as much as I love this tea, I would never pay that price for it.  Because of how light and fruity this tea is, it's very good for people who aren't the biggest fans of tea yet and also those watching their sugar intake since it's naturally sweet.  It's also pretty flavorful so it should make a wonderful iced tea.

Overall?  I already bought 8 oz of this (and considering how fluffy this stuff is, that is a LOT of tea).  I like it, my tea-newbie boyfriend loves it and if it's cheap where you live, you probably would at least find a use for it.

My Rating:  Buy it!

Margaret's is located in the Squirrel Hill district of Pittsburgh.

Teavana Berry Basil Blast White Tea

Outsides:  This tea is pretty much fruit punch in a tea, with a riddiculusly long list of ingredients including pinnapple pieces, white tea, hibiscus flower, orange pieces and other fruits and herbs.  I actually like the smell since it's super fruity with notes of sweet berry and tangy citrus.  I brewed 2 teaspoons worth of this (plus a giant slice of orange) in 4 oz boiling water and 4 oz room temp water for 3 minutes.  The liquid is pink and it smells pretty much like the dried tea.

Insides:  This is good, but it's pretty much just the Mount of Olives White Tea Berry with citrus added.  The tea flavor is a bit too overpowered by all the fruit, but what I can taste is smooth and light.  The sweetness of the berries are balanced out by the citrus and herbal flavors, which give a nice "freshness" to the flavor.  It's pretty flavorful without sugar and would make great iced tea (which is probably what I'll use it for).

Overall:  You can probably find something like it cheaper, but it's good.

Taste:  Basic white tea with berry and citrus.  Tastes a bit like a bagged tea in that the flavor is a bit weak.
Price:  11 or 12 dollars for 2 oz, so not worth it unless it's on sale.
Uniqueness:  You can find other blends like this.  Just add some lime juice.
Usability:  It still has caffeine in it so if you're super sensitive to caffeine, don't drink it before bed.  It would be good iced or with sugar or pretty much any way you want to drink it.
My Rating:  Try it.

Teavana is a chain tea retailer that can be found in malls across the United States and Canada.

Teavana's Lavender Dreams (Flavored White Tea)

I was really excited for this tea.  Lavender has become something I'm obsessed with and this seemed like a nice fruity-floral blend that would really be delicious.  Plus, it was my most expensive tea at $3.45 for 2 oz (don't forget, I got these all at their 75% off clearance sale)

Outsides:  The ingredients are going to be summerized because there are just too many, but white tea, candied Jasmine (ok, these ingredients listed for these kinda make me feel...uneasy.  Like, thickening agent?  I guess they're trying to be thorough but most people just use dried flowers), color (o...k?), various fruits including apples, raisins and peaches, and various other flowers.  I made 4 oz of hot water and 4 oz of room temp water (which makes the temp a bit too cold but it works out) and put two teaspoons of tea in for 4 minutes.  Um...this tea is blue.  Like, yellow-tinted purple-y blue.  It smells sweet and florally.

Insides:  I had made 2 cups before this one and all three had turned out different.  The first one was not blue and was a bit weak with any flavor.  The second one was blue but still was weak in flavor.  The third one is blue and actually is pretty strong and complex with its flavors, so I don't know if I added less tea and more flavoring stuff or what happened, but it's kind of bad that I don't know what I'm going to get from cup to cup.  Overall, it's a very floral tea with a light tea taste underneath   The difference between the previous cups and this one is that I think I got some fruit or the candied violet in there because there's a sweet, almost candy-like note in there now.  It's strange because it has this blue raspberry taste to it, sweet and a little tart with a sticky sense to it.  This is definitely interesting.

Overall:  I like it but because it's so inconsistant, I can't really recommend it.

My Rating:  Try it!

Teavana is a chain tea retailer that is in malls across the US and Canada.

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'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.

Zen Tea BaihaoYinzhen (White Hair Silver Needle)

My Zen Tea order came today and I have to say, the gift box was IMPRESSIVE.  I was expecting 1 oz of tea per tin but I was really wrong and it’s clearly about 3 so for those people that managed to get the half-priced gift set, you are getting one steal of a deal.  I picked the white tea gift set which included this one, Toffee Dream and Tear of Peony.  Silver Needle is a rare, expensive white tea with supposedly a delicate taste and I’m really excited to try such a delicacy.  Hell, I almost think this tea is too good for me :(.

Outsides:  I love the long tealeaves, although I think I need a different infuser or a gaiwan.  The tea is a light yellow green with long leaves that smells fresh and floral.  I don’t normally comment on the texture, but these leaves feel soft and young, but they are dry (I ate a few).   I brewed this at a pretty low temperature, about 70 degrees Celsius, and put about a tablespoon and a half in the infuser and let it sit for about 2 and a half minutes.  The tea is almost colorless and has that same fresh floral scent to it.  It reminds me of the beginnings of spring and life, with dew falling off the fresh leaves, which is a pretty existential thing to think of when describing the smell of tea.

Insides:  The flavor of this is so delicate and pure, like the spirit of spring.  It has an extremely smooth body with top notes of fresh florals and vegetation with a slight mossy base note.  This is not a chugging tea like so many of my cheap green teas, but an uplifting sipping tea when you want to feel the life of spring go through you.  It’s really quite beautiful and doesn’t need sugar but would probably be lovely chilled, but not freezing.

Overall:  A bit pricy but something everyone should experience at least once.  Take advantage of this during Zen Tea’s half-off sale if you can.

My Rating:  Buy it!

Zen Tea is a relatively new online tea vender that seems to specialize in higher quality tea moreso than vendors like Adagio.

SALE: Zen Tea has a year-end clearance sale for 50% teas with code Holiday

This sale is from December 7th to the 24th.

Zen Tea is a small online tea retailer that's just getting started in the tea world.  I haven't tried their teas yet but they seem like they provide a high-quality product moreso than vendors like Adagio.  They also have a few killer deals going on like these 3 tin gift sets.  I got the white tea one for $15 and it comes with 1 oz each of Silver Needles (which is $3.50 per ounce at the cheapest), Toffee Dream and Teardrop of Peony.  I also got 50g of House Sencha and 50g of the Earl Grey cream, all together costing me $25.  Honestly, I would definitely get the tins because cute tins apparently have to cost a lot of money and this is a good way to try some fancy tea.

  

Also, their teaware seems relatively cheap.  You can get a $5 Gaiwan, which is the appropriate vessel for drinking green and white tea.  Unfortunately, I did not see this when I ordered but would have bought one if I did.

Did I mention that these make great gift ideas for tea drinkers?

Happy Drinking!

TasTEA Time! Touch Organic White Tea

Back from Thanksgiving festivities and working after black Friday.

What:  Organic White Tea (with a little bit of green mixed in)

Where:  China

Why Should I Care:  It's pretty hard finding inexpensive white tea (even more when it's organic) and in a way, this brand is cheating.  Touch mixes lightly oxidized silver-needle white tea with green tea for a supposedly young taste.  Another thing is, I usually find white tea to be too weak.  Maybe it's because I get the cheapest ones though.

Packaging:  The sachets are in these foil envelopes and the paper used looks more brown-paper-bag than other sachet papers.

Non-Taste Senses:  It has a light green tea color and it's practically odorless, although it had a strong tea scent in the package.

Taste:  Now, I've tried the fruit-flavored white teas from this brand and those were nice (more reviews coming sometime).  I don't know if it's the green tea mixed in there or if this brand is just so much better than what I've been getting because this tea is really good.  it's light, there's no bitterness and there's this sweet, floral flavor to it.  For something with such a light color, it actually has a nice, full-bodied taste.  Sugar only brings out the light hints of floral and sweetness and I'm sure if you like iced white tea, you'd like this (mix in some fruit too).

Overall:  Freaking great is the only way I can describe this.  Brew it at a slightly lower temperature (about 70 degrees Celsius) and it'll still be strong.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's the site.   It seems to be a little pricey online but I got it at Big Lots for 2 dallas!

TasTEA Time! Touch Organic Apricot White Tea

What:  White Tea with Apricot

Where:  China

Why Should I Care:  Inexpensive White tea is relatively hard to find, organic is even harder.  Now, this particular brand mixes with green tea which isn't that uncommon of a practice (I read in an article that dim sum restaurants usually mix in a little black tea to add color and flavor).  Plus, apricot is a unique flavor.

Packaging:  I would say it's IFWS, but it's in this folded envelope style as opposed to the foil pillow (yes, that is how i'm describing them).  Also, the paper used in the sachets is like brown bag paper.  I'm pretty sure it's unbleached so that's a plus.

Non-Taste Senses:  It's this nice yellow color and has a light, apricot smell.

Taste:  Both the tea and apricot flavors can be described as light and refreshing but that doesn't mean that they're weak.  I'm also gonna suggest that you lower the steeping temperature too since there's a mixture of green tea in it.  It's nice with some sugar and would be refreshing chilled.

Overall:  It's pretty hard to screw up white tea,   This has a nice fruity flavor with a light tea taste.  Is it freaking amazing?  No.  Is it worth checking out?  Yes.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site.

TasTEA Time! Mount of Olives Berry White Tea

What:  Berry White Tea

Where:  Israel

Why Should I Care:  Yeah, my mouth is still try from the previous review and as much as I love the Dilmah Mango Tea before that, that's also a little bitter.  Yes, I could have grabbed water but this was sitting nearby and I figured I could review one more thing.  White Tea is generally light and consists of the first few tea buds, but unlike green tea, it is oxidized a little.  Also, you can't go wrong with berry.

Packaging:  Unfortunately, this was wrapped in paper.  This particular brand is actually relatively inexpensive but still, if you're going to make something portable, you should make sure it can go through the elements.

Non-Taste Senses:  It has a really interesting color which can be described as pink with an overlay of light brown.  There's a light berry smell to it.

Taste:  I was right to think this would quench my thirst.  It has a light tea taste (which can also be attributed to it being old) and although the berry flavor is there, it doesn't overpower the tea.  Since the taste is so light, it makes a great chilled tea in the summer and is pretty good with or without sugar.

Overall:  I like it.  I think it's a good tea for tea newbies and is very versatile, plus it's relatively inexpensive.  Actually, it's one of my favorite flavors from this brand (Apple spice is also good if i don't get to review it) so check it out if you can.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's the site.  You can probably find it cheaper at other places, but that's true of any tea I post.

TasTEA Tips #1: How to Brew Tea

It's really quite simple.  You boil water, throw in your tea, wait for like five minutes and enjoy!

Not really.

Most of the tea-drinkers I know say they like black tea a lot more than green tea.  Now, I don't think this is completely due to your inborn taste preferences but because when you don't brew green tea properly, it's pretty much just bitter water with a hint of grass flavoring and that doesn't sound good to anyone.  Heck, I've been brewing green tea properly for about two months now and when my mom (who brews tea by sticking it in a coffee pot DON'T DO THAT EVER) gave me some "green tea" she brewed, I just wanted to punch something.    It's really not that difficult and if you don't have time, this is where I really recommend getting a water heater since it's quick, easy and safer than a stove.

Note:  These are general guidlines for people who probably don't get any really fancy tea and who don't have any special equipment  If you have a really expensive tea which requires you to be ultra-specific when it comes to temperature and timing, you're going to have to do research on your own.

1.  Tea is not Coffee:  My mom isn't the only person out there who uses a coffee pot to brew tea.  Coffee tends to need a higher temperature to release the right amount of flavor and even if you are dealing with something like black tea, you're not going to have the correct steep time.  There's also those Kerug machines which leave me feeling apprehensive.  I don't know if all of them are like this but the one at work uses the same setting for tea and coffee.  Plus a lot of the tea they offer is green tea!  Just trust me on this one and don't do it.

I couldn't find anything to do with rinsing so enjoy this picture of a cat in a cup!

2.  "Rinsing" the Tea:  I've just started practicing this recently.  Fill the cup or teaware with enough water to submerge the tea leaves, let it soak for a couple of seconds then dump the water out.  This is said to yield a better brew and I have to admit that my tea doesn't taste as bitter as it use to.  Something controversial I've noticed is the amount of time, some people say 1 or 2 seconds while others say a full 30 seconds or even 3 to 5 minutes!  I think it all depends on the amount of caffeine you want in your tea (high: 1-2 sec, low: 30 sec) so rinse longer if you want less caffeine.

3.  Each specific tea is different:  So, we aren't brewing our tea coffee-style, we rinsed the tea and now we're going to brew it.  When I said that tea isn't coffee, I also should have added that each type of tea is its own special little snowflake (or...tealeaf).  You should treat black tea and green tea differently or else you'll have crappy tea.  Heck, some people think you should treat tea from specific regions differently and honestly, that's all up to you.  Here's a list of tea and what's an appropriate steeping time, temperature and measurement.

Black Tea:  
-The most common type we see in the US and Europe.  Strong taste and lots of caffeine
-Temperature:  90 to 100 degrees Celsius
-Time:  3 to 5 minutes
-Amount:  1 teaspoon per 8 oz cup

Green Tea:  
-Picked then dried.  Freshest and has tons of antioxidants.  Also, some of the highest variety.
-Temperature:  65 to 85 degrees Celsius
-Time:  1 to 3 minutes.  I've even seen as low as 30 seconds
-Amount:  2 to 3 teaspoons/8 oz.

White Tea:  
-Made from the youngest tea leaves.  Slightly oxidized like Oolong.
-Temperature:  75 to 90 degrees Celsius.
-Time:  2 to 3 minutes
-Amount:  2 teaspoons/8 oz.

Red Tea:  
-Not technically "tea", made from the African Rooibos plant.  No caffeine, high in antioxidents.
-Temperature: 90 to 100 degrees Celsius
-Time:  It doesn't matter.  The tea doesn't get bitter.
-Amount:  1 teaspoon/8 oz cup

Oolong Tea:  
-Slightly oxidized, halfway between green and black.  Good for weightloss.
-Temp:  75 to 90 degrees C
-Time:  2 to 3 minutes
-Amount:  2 teaspoons/8 oz.

Herbal Tea:  
-If it's with a tea in the above list, follow suggestions
-Temp:  95 degrees C and above
-Time:  3 to 7 minutes depending on the herb
-Amount:  Depends on the herb


There are other types of tea out there, the most "common" type is Pu-erh which behaves like black tea for quick reference, but I haven't even found anywhere that sells yellow tea or any of the other crazy blends.  My advice for them is that the internet is a wonderful place and looking up info on them (or even some of the teas I just made a few points about) is not a bad idea.

4.  Multiple Infusions:  This goes along with the rinsing point.  Some people use tea meant for 1 cup of tea to make several cups of tea (like grandma used to).  I understand that tea is expensive but I feel like most tea just ends up losing too much flavor/getting bitter after the first batch.  Rinse it for 30 seconds if you want it decaf but after that, just use the bag/tea once.  And this is coming from a cheap person!

Well, these are all the basic tips you need.  And because I just LOVE bullet points....

-Don't brew tea in a coffee machine
-Try to rinse the tea with hot water for a couple of seconds
-Each tea is different.  The less done to it, the more gentle you should be in terms of temperature and time.
-Don't be a cheapo and just use the teabag for one cup of tea.


Oh, and here's the obligatory cute picture of Tommy.

Happy Drinking
-Domino

Here's my sources:  Wikipedia, Teachat and Enjoying Tea.