Zen Tea

Yesterday was such a lazy day that I feel just a tad guilty this morning… It’s VERY tempting to do the same today…hmmm, will have to debate on that.

This morning I woke up early and went to the grocery store to pick up some dragon fruits (pitaya). A friend mentioned them in a conversation and I’ve had a huge craving since then.

It’s the most spectacular fruit I know, the fushia skin aroud the snowy white flesh and black dots is just fascinating, isn’t it?

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/volff/volff0908/volff090800372/5309191-pitaya—dragon-fruit.jpg

Anyways, I wanted malty and fruity black morning tea to go along. I chose this assam cause I have only one serving left and I know more is on the way, so no need to be all sad about it!

This is a golden tip second flush with a long bud. This tea is one if my favourite assam. It’s very good quality and thanks to Zen Tea, very affordable! It’s on sale right now at 30% that’s why I took the opportunity to replenish.

Because it is second flush, it’s very creamy and malty, with fruity and chocolaty notes.

There’s an earthy/tobacco undertone that makes this tea feel organic.

It’s on the strong side, full bodied but no bitterness, just a little astringent. Very smooth considering it produces such a strong cup. Like pretty much all western brewed assams, the second steep is of no interest to me, I steep the first cup long enough that I extract all the good stuff I need from it, the second steep being just a pale version of the first, I choose not to have it. I do cold steep the used leaves occasionally though. Makes a decent ice tea the next morning.

This tea made my permanent stash a long time ago, and it’s not going anywhere!!

(See previous note)

Chain reaction:

Feed the dog.

Attention, kibble escape: reaches for the water bowl.

Vaguely notice, don’t care.

Dog notices.

Dog eats kibbles, keeps the extra juicy one for dessert.

Dog has a choice: drink the water (it’s full), but not that patient and thirsty.

Dog goes for what seems to be the obvious choice: spills the water all over the kitchen and eats kibble.

Dog now satisfied.

Water everywhere, slippery, I fall once. Soaked PJ’s, bruised tooshie.

Haven’t had a decent cup of tea yet.

Take a break and read some Steepster notes.

Get inspired by this tea, decide to fix myslef a pot.

Tin is out of reach.

Pull out the mini bench from under the counter.

Stretching, on the tip of my toes.

Tin is really at an awkwardly high place…

Oh-oh…feel a bench slip coming. Water…spill not cleaned properly.

Damn kibble.

Major dangerous off balance feeling…tin is grabbed at last second…

I go flying… I mean, FLYING folks.

Stainless steel stove drawer ends my fall.

Ouch.

Assam tea tin: checked! Still firmly held in one hand.

I know tea dedication when I see it.

Tea is good right now…was it worth it? Let me think about that…

ETA : in this disarray, I forgot to describe the tea, sorry!

It provides such a beautifully rich malty smooth assam cup, a tad astringent just the way I like. It’s on the fruity side this one. Very good quality, at such a decent price once again. Zen tea is so affordable, perfect place if you are starting a straight tea journey, you can buy many samples for very cheap. I buy this one by the tin, time to replace it!

I had just over 1tbsp left of this, so it’s all in my little pot for this steep.

On its own, this tea has a grassy and slightly malty taste. If I take a small sip, it almost seems overstepped despite its short steep time. If I take a larger one, this doesn’t show up as much at all. Adding milk and honey mutes the grassiness and makes it taste more malty. In all, a nice, standard cup.

omigod…. this is so stupidly good! and i love the aloe vera baseline! and even though it’s 3:30 in the morning it’s still not time to sleep nd i have no time to fully review it.

HOWEVER. HIBBIE HATERS… it is totally balanced in this blend! fruity, flowery, not overpowering, juicy…. beautiful. again, i have to go =0(

bye.

omigod…. can’t live without this one. wowie!

Sad sip down. I wish I got more but I was skeptical about the bazillion different fruits in here and thought it would be too sugary. Nope. So freakishly delicious. I’ll probably grab 100g next time I order from Zen.

This is so freaking intriguing! The liquor is hot pink. I made a cold brew and there’s nothing like it. The liquid is most definitely on the thinner/watery side, as OMGsrsly pointed out not too long ago. I’m very positive that the absence of hibiscus in this blend is responsible for its viscosity. I feel like I’m drinking water but I’m not.

As for the flavour, it’s uniquely tropical yet not sugary sweet. Normally, fresh dragon fruit has an odd cellar-like note to it, but here, it’s like drinking dragon fruit without that note. I think the papaya is contributing to the delicate tropical vibe too. And of course, the goji berries are another main note. Watered down strawberries in the very distant background too, but in a good way. I’ve never had chokeberries before so I can’t say if that is even a star note. No kiwi or pineapple. But all in all, there’s so much in here that I think they’re all blending into one another in order to create this one-of-a-kind concoction.

Easily a repurchase. I just wish I picked more up in the first place, because I only have enough to make one more batch. Bravo, Zen.

Whew, sip down. I’m happy I was able to finish my 1 oz. in two weeks. Now to maybe try a couple samples throughout the day.

After drinking nearly 2 litres of cold brew, two cups of this, and two cups of cookies ‘n’ cream milk, though, I should cool it for a while.

I had this yet again, on the sole premise that I want to finish this before opening something new. Sometimes it doesn’t even taste like oolong, just hazelnut. But I think that’s what makes it so easy to drink.

My first cup of the day, and I finally started using one of my Nordic mugs yesterday so I’m feeling quite proud of myself for not “hoarding” teaware. What’s with that? It’s like I’m afraid of staining or damaging them.

This is like having Frangelico for breakfast.

So, about that tea binge I went on over the past few weeks. I present to you my Christmas present/reward for completing my coursework/comfort and sustenance for the next 8+ months of thesis craziness:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/incendiare/Tea/photo-2.jpg

On that note, I actually bought this one back in the spring, and realized that I still need to open it, especially now that I made another Zen order to take advantage of the year end sale.

And what do you know, I’m kind of kicking myself for stalling because it’s quite pleasant. Essentially, it’s like pouring a teaspoon of Frangelico into a cup of oolong. I was worried that it would have a stale nut taste, or the flavouring wouldn’t match well with the base, but Bossa Nova has proven me wrong.

A million times better than David’s Choconut failure. Although I wouldn’t buy it again, as I can think of many oolongs that I prefer, it won’t be a huge chore to finish off. Glad I ignored the mixed reviews and finally tried it.

Ah, this tea. Normally a comforting cup of pure pleasure, I decided I wanted to try all my “vanilla mint” combination teas, to see if I could find a replacement for Twining’s Buttermint (which truly is divine for a cheapo bagged herbal – but only available in the UK and some parts of Europe).

This isn’t a replacement, sadly. It’s still lovely – creamy from the vanilla without really the flavor, cool from the mint again without the flavor, a bit earthy from the puerh, a bit rugged and windswept… this is kind of like the Fabio of tea, all smooth and sassy yet with an outdoorsy, bearded edge. Yep, I think this’ll do. :)

Gosh I love this tea, and keep on forgetting that I have it. Lots of notes here: cocoa, vanilla, coolness of mint (minus the actual flavor of mint, if that makes any sense), a touch of something creamy in the mouthfeel. I feel decadent every time I have it, and I should really have it a lot more.

Was it Tea Sipper that had this the other day, that also prompted me to go find this in my cupboard and finally try it? It was one of you, and whomever it was — thank you!

Smells of peppermint mostly out of the (sample) bag), more earthy after brewing. This is a nuanced blend, and quite surprising. I taste little of the vanilla, it just seems to smooth things out a bit, and then the peppermint is what’s mostly present, but it’s more of a creamy candy cane -type mint than an in-your-face mint. Will definitely need to order a normal amount my next Zen Tea order.

I smelled this tea and went “yes I want a pot of this tonight.”

It’s interesting, though. I think the thing I like least about this tea is the immediate taste. There just doesn’t seem to be much to it at first, just a hint of creaminess. However, the vanilla taste lingers, just as you can smell it at first. And that, I must admit, is lovely.

So, I wish it were stronger, but find it nice and relaxing just the way it is.

This tea is really amazing…as a blind test, one could never tell 100g sells for under $10! For real, what a bargain ratio.

It’s a sweet Yunnan, full bodied. It offers plenty of cocoa and honey, with earhty undertones, vague smoky notes emerge here and there. It reminds me of a milder keemun from Teavivre.

The leaves are more curls than what we usually call pearls. Cute nuggets that you can steep at least three times Western style. I made a gigantic pot tonight using my new Scandinavian pot and matching cup (Shelley if you’re reading, you know what I mean, lol)

I treated myself with so many good teas today, I feel fully satisfied!

There’s something cloying on the aftertaste of this that’s sticking in the back of my throat. I am disapoint.

This fruit has a lovely fruity and flowery aroma from the berries within. It’s the kind of scent that I could be content to just breathe in for quite a while. The taste has a splash of goodness, and a creamy sweetness to it, with a hint of tartness. I wish the taste lingered longer, though I do enjoy it while it lasts. I wouldn’t say that it’s my favourite fruit tea, but it’s certain one I’d enjoy having again (and again).

Thank you OMGsrsly for this lovely sample. I made it in the Breville to make sure I steeped it properly, so this is a whole liter of tea, plus a sipdown.

This is actually cup #2; cup #1 was devoured hours ago, and I liked it more for some reason. Perhaps because I re-boiled this cup so that I had hot tea? Before it tasted more like an herbal, an unusual fruit herbal, and now I’m mostly getting apple in there, with a bit of something that makes me think of bamboo.

As… an eggnog latte. Hahaha, omg. I found MORE almond noel nog stuff at yet a different grocery store today. WHEE! So of course I bought it.

This tea is really woody. I’m not sure if it’s gotten worse as it’s aged or what, but it’s REALLY woody. The ginger is pretty mild right now. Thankfully it does go pretty well with the nog. I’m getting a teensy bit of warmth from the ginger, but I really can’t taste it.

I don’t know if I’ll buy this one again, but I did enjoy it last winter.

It’s mostly rooibos.

Sherlock is a jerk, seriously. Mary is lovely. I can hardly wait for more fanfic! Any recs? Happier endings are better. :)