Zen Tea

What I enjoy most about this tea is the scent, it smells pleasantly of vanilla, which never fails to pick me up when I’m tired or not feeling well. After five weeks on the road (with a small child in tow) in the middle of allergy season, I’m feeling both tired and a bit run down. It’s great to finally be home, now if only I could stop sneezing long enough to finish unpacking.

Until my allergy attack has passed, much of my work is at a stand-still. It’s impossible to work on developing recipes when you can’t taste anything and even harder to write about the nuances of a great cup of tea (which is why today was the day to pull out an old favorite.) This is one of those rare teas that feels like someone blended it specifically with my tastes in mind. I love a strong Earl Grey and this one has nice brisk notes from the bergamot that are slightly tempered by the sweetness from the vanilla. From the first sip I was in love, which is why you’ll always find a 200g (7oz) package of it sitting on my kitchen counter.

You can read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2015/6/23/tuesday-tea-earl-grey-cream-zen-tea

Tea #44 from the Here’s Hoping TTB

I’m really dragging today, so I thought I would start my day off with a favorite. I absolutely love Earl Grey Cream, there is something about it that is really comforting to me. It’s what I turn to when the days are rainy and cold, or when I’ve had a bad day (in this case a several bad days.) I’m excited to try one from a company I haven’t ordered from yet.

The dry leaf of this tea smells pleasantly of vanilla, as tired as I am today I need a little pick-me-up, so I decided to stand there sniffing for a little while, just enjoying the scent. I love the way vanilla smells, it always manages to bring a smile to my face. I was really impressed with this tea once it steeped up, the balance between the bergamot and vanilla is perfect. It’s almost like someone blended up this tea with my tastes in mind. I love a strong Earl Grey and this one had nice brisk notes from the bergamot which were slightly tempered by the sweetness from the vanilla. This tea may have just become my new favorite earl grey cream, I’ll definitely have to place an order with Zen Tea as soon as I have some extra space for more tea.

Cold brew! Delicious. I don’t have much left, which makes me sad. I’ll have to restock at some point!

(HI TEA FRIENDS! I am busy. Bought the CUTEST CAT FABRIC for a dress. Also fabric for hiking pants. WHEE.
http://lizzyhouse.squarespace.com/sustainablyhappyblog/2014/1/24/catnap-dress-contest It looks like everyone who’s made a dress of this has done it in the green colourway, but I’m much more a purple-and-orange person. :D )

Mmm, I got more of this! So good cold brewed. I’ve packed some up in a to-go cup, and am heading out to Steam for a little something-something. There are two teas I need to replenish, and I also need coconut milk.

:D

I might run a few more errands. Not sure, yet. I just need to get out of the house!

This is SO GOOD as a cold brew. So. Good.

I need more.

Sipdown!

Had this with my BFF today. So delicious. Really sweet and desserty, so good with a splash of milk or cream. If you like hazelnut and creamy vanilla, check this tea out.

(2.5 tsp in 18 oz)

Had some of this when I got home from physio. I was just too tired to make something fancy to drink AND make dinner. So I made a somewhat fancy dinner of ‘breaded’ pounded chicken fried in ghee. OMG. Just. OMG.

This tea was a really desserty and amazing accompaniment to that seriously lush dinner (I had broccoli too…). It’s really good, and I think I need to just put it with my morning black teas, instead of leaving it in the cupboard with the green/oolong/white teas. Some oolongs are green and floral and for after work or weekends, and some are a kick in the tastebuds and potentially great in a travel mug.

Also: LOOK WHAT I FOUND! SASKATOON BERRY sorbet! Eee!!!!!
http://instagram.com/p/lrAgGoR5OJ/#
It’s so good! Incredibly ridiculously sweet, but so good. Makes me think of summers spent with my grandparents out camping. The best memories. :)

With coconut cream. So sweet and delicious. I can tell it’s a dessert flavour, but my taste/smell are still really off.

Still, I’ve really really enjoyed my mug of this tonight.

And now, soon to sleep. Or at least curling up in bed with my tablet instead of sitting in front of a computer.

Yum. A tea that doesn’t need additives.

It brews up SO pale, I was concerned I wouldn’t get any tea taste in it, but no worries. It’s a bit of a toasted oolong, which normally I don’t love, but goes perfectly with the toasted hazelnut and vanilla.

It’s like dessert. Except it’s just liquid in a glass.

This is delicious. It’s full of dark cocoa and honey flavors. There’s another sweet note, too. Hay maybe? It’s been quite awhile since I had this one. Steeped it twice and found the flavors consistent between the two cups. I might try a third steep later if the siren call of my pillow isn’t too alluring. I’m really glad I dug this one out and showed it some love. It’s a good one.

Earlier today I read bluebelle’s review of this tea, and it reminded me that I had one serving left that I’d tucked away. Yay! This is very nice. Deep chocolate, malt, and grain notes in a thick tea. As happy as I was to have it in my cup, I’m also glad I had that last serving because it made me realize that I have several teas in my cupboard with the same flavor profile, so saying good-bye (for now) to this one isn’t so hard.

I’m sipping on my last bit of this tea. Each and every cup has been sooo good. Wonderful maltiness. Rich chocolate notes. Sweet caramel. It’s a very well rounded tea, and I’m going to miss having it in my cupboard. At some point I will restock it. I’m trying really, really hard to get myself down to 30 or so teas, and this one will definitely make the cut.

Tea of the morning, and it was so good. Bread-y, chocolate-y, malt-y perfection. The second steep was just as good with less of the crusty bread note and more sweetness. This has become my Saturday morning tea because it is such a treat, and I like being able to sit and really enjoy all of the flavors. Also, this pairs exceptionally well with a veggie omelet.

Backlogging from yesterday.

Such a cozy cup. I really like how this tea smells like a nice crusty bread but has lots of cocoa notes and little hints of caramel. It’s like a treat inside a treat.

Tea of the morning. I woke up wanting this tea. Oh, it’s a good one. At first there is a bread-y note and then chocolate and honey. Yeah, this is my perfect lazy Saturday morning tea.

Oh yeah, lots of cocoa notes and very very smooth. This tea is nothing short of wonderful. There is also a honey like sweetness at the end of the sip that makes me smile. Even though i’m sitting here thinking chocolate! honey! this is not a sweet tea. Rather it’s a wonderful plain black tea that hints at some things I find incredibly yummy.

This is a tea I can definitely get used to drinking. Thank you OMGsrsly for sending it my way!

thank you for sharing this one with me Cavocorax it’s pretty tasty :) I had a weeeeee bit of licorice taste still in my infuser lol but i can taste the malty deliciousness of this one. Not a bad offering from Zen. It won’t replace any of my current favourites but it would do in a pinch!

Hmm. This made a pretty thin tea latte, now that I’m out of eggnog (again).

But still, it’s nice with the chocolate biscotti. Unfortunately the cookies aren’t quite what I was looking for. They’re pretty good, but the flavour isn’t quite right. I’m going to make some almond date biscotti later this weekend I think.

Chilly tonight, with all the windows open. Perfect to wrap up in a pile of blankets with the cat, and sip on some hot tea.

This one has a really nice bitter almond flavour over the rooibos, and is super good with cream. Such a nice treat tonight!

Yup, I still really like this tea. I really like the marzipan flavour of almonds, so this with some cream and a little maple syrup = amazing dessert tea.

I kind of wish there were more honeybush options around, because I’d really like to try something like this as a honeybush rather than the woody rooibos. That’s something to think about.

Yum. Dessert (not desert!) in a cup. Just with some almond milk. A+ decision, me getting 50g of it.

I ended up getting 50g of this. It’s good. I really like it.

Yes, it’s rooibos and no, you can’t pretend it’s not.

The almond flavouring is definitely flavouring, but in the good way. Like if I steeped this up with cacao it might resemble chocolate covered marzipan bars. The cheap ones you can get around Christmas.

Yum.

I am thumbing my nose at the elimination diet and having this as a latte. Not that this isn’t allowed, because I can’t see why it wouldn’t be, but because it FEELS like it shouldn’t be allowed.

Mmm, marzipan rooibos. I made it with coconut milk and water. Steeped about 10 minutes. Delicious. This rooibos might need to find a place in my cupboard.

This is the second time I’ve had this tea, and I’m still getting a sour note from it. Some rooibos teas just don’t work for me, while others are fine. I steeped it in a paper bag this time, and that’s helped.

The smell is amazing. Boozy amaretto. Mmm.

The flavour is also better with a touch of brown sugar and some milk.

I don’t think I’ll get this one again, but I’ll definitely consider these flavours in the future.

Edit: Darnit! I was hoping the sweet would counteract my sour cravings. Fine, I’ll have some more dill pickle chips, you ridiculous and hormonal body.