Zen Tea

I had this with lunch today. May I horrify you? My hubby has failed to eat his leftover Chinese food. It is one week old tonight. Instead of baking it a cake or throwing it out, I decided to add some water chestnut slices and reheat it for my lunch since he doesn’t seem to want it.

I wanted green tea with it and I have a whole lot of matcha that I bought all at once, way way too much at once! I am working hard to drink it all and now look forward to my daily bowl. I LOVE having the real matcha bowl from Zen and it really does make a difference. The size and shape are perfect for whisking and drinking and also for swirling your tea as you drink so it doesn’t settle too much.

This is very good for lattes and drinkable as traditional thin matcha. Kai Matcha is definitely way better. I want to try some of the Red Leaf higher grades once I get some of my present stock sipped down. I also want to try DoMatcha. I would have to order, though, as I can’t find it anywhere.

This is a decent matcha for matcha lattes. I have had it for a long time and am continuing to try to sip down some of my older teas. I have been wanting to try a kefir matcha latte, and I chose an unflavored matcha to try to duplicate something like the Starbucks drink.

For those who are not familiar with it, kefir is a cultured milk drink, and thanks to Mercuryhime I am making it myself now. Think of something like a cross between Greek yogurt, unflavored Gogurt, and sour cream or buttermilk. The funny thing is that I have never liked buttermilk but I LOVE kefir. The chickens like it, the dog likes it, and my hubby and daughter like it. When a batch comes out just right, I can’t get enough! When it is really tart, the chickens get it, and they are quite happy.

This batch of kefir was thick and creamy. I added a tablespoon of sugar and a half teaspoon of matcha to eight ounces of kefir. I stirred it with a spoon instead of using a blender stick this time. The overall effect was like drinking a glass of matcha ice cream that has melted. I would call that a success.

I am not clicking that I recommend this tea, not because it is bad, but because you can get better matcha for this price.

I forgot I had this, so when I was digging around in the matcha drawer of the refrigerator I figured I had better finish up this tin. I needed some ice cold beverages to serve at lunch as we were hot and pretty wrecked from working in the garden and I hoped the matcha would restore some zip.

I put a teaspoon of the powder in a cocktail shaker that I scored for $5 at an estate sale. (It came with a bottle opener and something else, too.) I added a little sugar and some lime juice, rather a lot I thought so I was afraid it would be too strong. I shook it up and poured it – a nice, deep green!

Hubby came in to eat, looked at his glass and sarcastically said, “Well, that looks tasty!” Then he surprised himself by liking it very much.

I am satisfied with the quality of this matcha for the price, but the pricing confused me last time I reviewed it. Even now, the site shows the original price as 34.50 and says it is on sale for 24.50. It is a good price for this matcha and I am sure we will finish it off quickly now that I have a cold matcha recipe that most of the family loves.

I bought this because apparently I am a crazy person and I am trying to acquire every matcha that crosses my path that is under $40 a tin. Help.

On the bright side, this made a really good latte! The color of the dry powder is almost identical to the Olive Nation matcha, not nearly as bright as KaiMatcha Premium. I have a really nice froth lingering on my latte, and it has nice enough flavor.

I noticed that the above says it is $24 for a 40 gram tin. I went on their website to make sure I was looking at the right tea. On their site it says it is $34.50 but is on sale for $19.99. That is a great sale price for 40 grams of organic matcha. Most matcha comes in 30 gram packages.

Edited to add: I just looked at my account and I did indeed pay $24 for my tin. I wonder why their site now shows $34.50 as the price. Maybe the sale is to clear out the last of this batch and the next batch will indeed cost that much?

Oh dear, it looks like I might be ordering from Zen Tea after all…now I know why everybody’s abuzz about this! It has a very light note of coconut and a sweetness that is not in the other EGCs. What more can I say? I like this EGC a lot!

Thank you for sharing this tea with me, sweet Veronica ! (pretends to be visiting for afternoon tea) :D

This is my first hojicha ever. I must confess that I was scared of it, especially once I cut the sample package open. (This was a free sample included with my matcha order.)

Smoky, but with something that came across as a burnt toast aroma. Oh dear! But I determined to try it anyway. And guess what? It was pretty good! I really thought it must be very similar to coffee, but I am not a coffee drinker so I can’t say for sure. I thought it might get bitter or harsh as it cooled, but instead I liked it more than when it was hot.

The burnt toast aroma has now turned to caramel followed by smoke, and that is something I can definitely handle. This is so bold (though not in the least astringent) that it is hard to believe it is low in caffeine. I would think that people who can’t have caffeine in great amounts or in the evenings would really enjoy a nice bold cuppa like this – lots of strength and flavor but no jitters and no insomnia.

So – what I thought was going to be an ordeal has turned out to be a really pleasant cup of tea.
Thank you, Zen Tea, for expanding my horizons a bit today!

I know I have a sample of this but when one comes along already open, might as well try it. I love black pearls so I’ll just consider it having more.

These are really tasty, they aren’t entirely wrapped up so the expansion doesn’t take the entire steep which I think really helps the flavor. Last time I had some it wasn’t until the second steep that they really tasted good.

This is definitely cocoa, with just a little bit of honey, malt, and even a little woodsy…in a way I can stand!

I had two steeps of this before moving on to something else. It seemed like the second steep was even sweeter than the first one.

One of my favourite evening teas…

Last night’s bedtime tea!

…..berry berry good??

XD! I’m sorry. I love this tea, though! Most of my ZenTea order was caffeine free stuff, I had to get some interest going in that direction because I have the worst sleep hygiene and need all the help I can get. :P

So, I don’t generally like ginger, in food or in tea, and I love peaches (love love love) but am usually disappointed by them in teas… yet I still really needed to try this tea! It’s good, too. I’m not going to rate it just yet, but it’s definitely not boring! Not SUPER peachy, but not super.. gingery.. either. It really would make an amazing iced tea. I think K especially would loooove it.

ALSO, Zen Tea spoiled me with samples?! I am super excited to see their Earl Grey Cream in there because I can’t find my last bit from cavocorax and I NEED to try that again to see if the curry(?!)esque taste was just me being sick or WHAT. XD! Anyway, I have a satisfyingly large pouch of jasmine dragon pearl green tea (necessary for survival!) and I don’t have to scare the postman peeping out the door constantly anymore.

So this looks like the same ingredients as Crème de Menthe from DavidsTea, and I was considering buying it since they’re discontinuing it, but ZenTea has it $1.50 cheaper sooo we’ll see.

Thanks Kallieboo! for this sample!

I gave it a little rinse over prior to infusing. Maybe useless but whatever, I’ve been burned too many times by Chocolate Orange.

This isn’t mindblowing at all, so I don’t think I’ll be buying creme de menthe, I was hoping for minty mint mint but the cinnamon is a lot stronger.

I let it cool off and now it finally has more of that obnoxiously green mint candy taste but I think the rest of this sample from Kallieboo will suffice for me, and if I really crave it more, obviously I can order from Zen Tea instead.

Help me, lovers of this tea. It has such a high rating but I haaaate it. It tastes like cardboard. I have 50g.

So! any tips? haha

I don’t like black tea and never tasted any earl grey tea that one was ordered on the December 50% off sales from zen tea with my normal command i still try to find a black tea i would like.

I’m still sick but it way less worse than this morning at least i can talk now. Being in the mood for tea but not the one i’ve been drinking all day long that one was the perfect choice.

I know i should have tasted it with nothing in it first but i always find black too bitter i did put some honey in it before even drinking it not enough to change the taste but enough to cover any bitterness that might come with the first sip.

Unfortunately that was not the tea that will make me like black tea for that matter that was probably my last try black are just to bitter for me flavoured or not i still drink it with a lot of honey a chance for me it was just a sample.

I don’t give that one a note since i’m kinda bias against black tea

Thanks to Zen Tea for a sample of this.

How appropriate, I’ve been listening to a lot of house music and now I am drinking a tea to go along with it. It has such a pretty green color when brewed.

This sencha has a very vegetal grassy smell – it’s definitely green tea. It might be a little bit too much for my tastes, I prefer my greens on the mellow side. However, for someone who wants a quality sencha and isn’t as bothered as much by grassy greens, this is a good choice.

Too tired for a long review – but this was a free sample so I’ll do my best.

Lovely berry flavor but the smell throws me off a bit. The dry leaf (are they still leaves?) has a very medicinal smell. It doesn’t translate as much into the liquor but still slightly off-putting. In any case, not bad but I have other rooibos blends that I enjoy more.

I’m with Sil on this one. I am incredibly grateful to Zen Tea for sending out such generous samples, but there is something about this tea that is just not jiving with me. I’m not sure why, as I normally enjoy dessert-y flavors. But right from the get go the smell was incredibly off putting to me, almost to the point of making me a little sick. I hoped it would brew into something I liked, but that wasn’t the case. I can’t drink it. Sorry :c If anyone would like the rest of my sample, I’d be happy to mail it to you.

very strong floral and honey notes just as is noted in the description.

Not a huge fan of stronger floral flavors but this is still fairly enjoyable considering that

This is the third and final sample from Zen Tea in this round of tastings!

I requested this sample because a young man who works at the big tea company which shall not be named told me that this is one of his favorite teas. He really encouraged me to try it sometime. What better time than now when Zen is offering to let me pick a flavor to try?

I served this at tea party today as our final tea. The last tea is usually served after we have eaten all we are going to eat, so I often choose a flavored tea for that spot.

The dry leaf has an amazing coconut aroma. The wet leaves, when removed from the pot, scared me a little as they had a bitter smell. Nothing to worry, though, because the actual tea was sweet and smooth.

The coconut flavor is really dominant here and tastes very natural and pure. It is just like opening the bag of Baker’s Flake Coconut for the first time, and the smell of the sweet coconut rushes out.
There is nothing bitter or offensive in this anywhere.

Another great tea from Zen!

This is a free sample from “Zen Tea.” Thank you, Zen! I understand I have some presents on the way from your store!

When I opened the pouch, I thought, “Coffee! Foofy coffee shop flavored coffee all creamy and with too many calories!” I forgot this had hazelnut and thought it was just the vanilla until I looked at the description again! Ah yes, thus the deep, dark, rich aroma.

Now that I am sniffing the steeped tea, I can definitely tell this is hazelnut I am smelling. I think Bossa Nova is a great name for this tea. It evokes a sultry, somewhat sensual atmosphere. Think dark coffee house with slow freeform jazz, poetry readings, and bookish sorts wearing glasses that shouldn’t be sexy but they are. The glasses, I mean.

I could be wrong since I don’t drink coffee, but this seems like a tea that a coffee lover would love to drink. I don’t think I would drink this when I wanted an oolong experience, sitting quietly and experiencing all the changes of the different steeps, closing my eyes to focus in aftertaste. I think I would drink this just to evoke the atmosphere, playing some jazz, and writing letters to friends or chatting with one who is sharing a pot of tea with me.