Zen Tea

This one has me baffled. I love coconut. I love oolong. I love coconut and oolong together. I just don’t much care for this one. I have read the other reviews and it seems everyone else has loved this tea. I must conclude then, that it is just me. Strange. I was very impressed with the previous 5 teas I have tasted from Zen Tea. Not so much with this one. To me, the dry leaf smells of coconut liquor (alcohol). The wet leaf smells pineapple and the mug smells like gym socks. When the cup cools, it does get creamy and the aftertaste is nice, like a floral tiguanyin. I just can’t get passed the smell. Do read the other reviews, as apparently I just don’t get it.

Thank you to Zen Tea for this sample!

I had a terrible night last night – obstinate, irritating, disappointing family stuff – so I am determined to drink tea until I feel better. I started the day with Queen Catherine, my usual bucker-upper. Poking through my samples to see what I could finish off, this one really appealed to me. I find vanilla to be a very comforting scent, full of “home” and peaceful. Paired with bergamot, which is bright and awakening, I hope this will help kick start me to a better attitude.

This one is so much about the aroma for me. It is so creamy and sweet smelling. Earl Grey lovers really should try this. The tea base is strong enough to be used for a wake up call, too.

I have read so many great reviews for Earl Grey Cream teas from various companies that it made me curious. Why do people love it so much? When Zen Tea offered to let me pick three teas to sample, it was easy to decide to put this one on the list!

And WHOA! I tore open the pouch and the creamy vanilla swirled up and kissed me smack on the lips. I am pretty sure there is a puddle of drool where I was standing because it smelled so good.

I don’t know quite what I was expecting, but I can tell you what I got. This IS what it says it is – Earl Grey tea with cream. But not just cream…it is rich, homemade fresh-whipped vanilla-imbued cream that has been sitting on top of a hot and decadent dessert.

Yummy! No wonder people love it! Thank you, Zen Tea, for allowing me to finally experience this tea! If you like Earl Grey and you like vanilla, you really should try this.

I got the pipe taken care of last night, though then this morning a different maintenance person busts in like whoa dude I’m just putting on pants here.

I do not feel good. I didn’t go to class Monday and I don’t think I am today either unless they want me to die on a computer. My throat is killing me. So I’m hoping this tea in the next half hour helps because I don’t have class at all next week. WOOOOO

I wanted to drink this yesterday but I decided I’d rather have more than a pot. I’ve been really into black teas lately, especially discovering Assam, and I already love Darjeeling. And Keemun is tasty, so I welcome Nilgiri into the mix.

This is great without milk. I think milk would ruin it actually. Mellow indeed.

I like how I can almost taste each tea. It smells very much like Darjeeling, and tastes like it at first too, but I get smokiness, maltiness, and honey notes. Honey definitely becomes the strongest, almost with a bit of peach.

Definitely feeling better after finishing the cup of this. I think I’ll make another for my travel mug and get myself to class!

The final tea of my tasting flight! I wanted something dessertish but one that I could drink without additions. It was between this and a creme brûlée tea. This one had a much better smell, though I almost thought about asking to put them both together.

The dry leaf smelled just like gingerbread cookies, but the taste was a bit lighter than I expected. It was still really good, because I’m not even typically a gingerbread fan. It was not super gingery. It was definitely more cookie-like in flavor because of the malty black base.

I was tempted to buy it but I had my eye on another tea that I didn’t try to take home.

Second tea of my tasting! I have the black berries version of this, which is black currant. This one I swear tasted like red currants, but they’re not even in here, unless they’re in the “red berry flavor.” But I think cherry and cranberry is a nice, different combination from the usual red berry types.

It was sweet and a bit tart, I just wish I knew what was in the flavoring, because I really do think it must involve red currants. I could taste cranberry too.

It was perfectly sweet, but I think I like the black berries one better.

I went to Zen Tea to have a tea flight, and I started with this. It’s like gyokuro meets kukicha, and it’s pretty tasty!

I of course at the time accidentally said it was like houjicha, but I meant kukicha. It’s doesn’t taste truly like a gyokuro, it has a bit of grassiness but then it’s a little roasty, it’s very different.

It seemed like a combination of Japanese and Chinese greens in a sense. A bit more subtle, a bit vegetal, and a bit roasted.

I didn’t even know this type of tea existed, and I’m glad I tried it.

Also operation leave Sebastian and see if he eats or even moves was a failure. I had to feed him with a lid again, and then use one of my gaiwan cups to give him water. And you have NO IDEA how cute that was.

I picked this out with the intention of drinking it cold, but I was very curious to try one of these bamboo herbal blends hot.

It is very hard to measure this tea out because everything is big. Big leaves, big chunks of apple and carrot, big bits of lemongrass and other herbs. I feel like I’m making soup!

The lemongrass is a very strong scent, so this is not for the faint of heart when it comes to that flavor. Funny story, I know I have said before lemongrass reminds me of Fruit Loops. I don’t know how many of you watch Top Chef (or at least did before it got kind of lame) or are familiar with Richard Blais, but his burger restaurant has amazing milkshakes and one is always a cereal flavor. Right now it is Fruit Loops, and it is topped with lemongrass foam. I knew I wasn’t crazy.

That is really what this tea tastes like, fruit loops. It’s not entirely coming from the lemongrass, because you can definitely taste apple, lime, and carrot too.

Bamboo is so interesting, it’s cooling right? So even though this is a hot tea, I get the sensation that my mouth is entirely cooled after each sip.

Overall, it’s an interesting tea. Kind of like a fruit tea, but not too tart, because it has a nice hint of spice from ginger. I wouldn’t have known it was ginger if I hadn’t looked it up, but ginger combines so well with lemongrass I just like to picture them always together anyway.

I will have to give this a try iced also. I think the tropical fruit flavor of it will be good iced, it’s got a similar profile to Bamboozled, which I love iced.

Getting back to my Zen Tea samples…this one I’ve been thinking about since I got it, for some reason I just never wanted it. Totally kicking myself over that.

There are plenty of coconut oolongs out there, but even after just one cup, I feel like this one is my favorite. I like that it is really reminiscent of coconut milk and cake. Can you imagine a tres leches cake made with coconut milk? Coconut milk, cream of coconut, and idk what else, maybe you’d be set for life with just dos leches cake with coconut. That’s what I think of this.

It’s sweet, buttery, creamy, cakey, and most importantly it tastes like coconut milk. It’s not super coconut tasting, which I like because the oolong still shines through.

This is another I will definitely have to give a try cold brewed, because it’ll probably be amazing.

Drinking some more of this, since Azzrian suggested I drink some pu-erh tea and eat yogurt to help with my bloating. I do feel better, not 100%, but definitely better.

I tried to steep this tea longer to see if I could bring out more of that pu-erh flavor that wasn’t so strong last time. Eh, no dice. It’s still a really good tea, but I feel like it’s very overly minty and the pu-erh base is hard to detect. It could be any base, really. As it cools I think maaaaaaybe I could taste the pu-erh base a little more, but this is definitely very minty. Not bad at all, though.

Oh, and speaking of pu-erh, my testimonial was featured on Numi “Pu-Erh to the people” page, so I won two free boxes tea. It’s not a huge prize, but I’ll take it. Not sure if this shows up for the rest of you, but there I am (click “Share It/Testimonials” to see mine).
https://www.facebook.com/numitea/app_206491579464581

Thanks to Zen Tea for the sample.

For the most part, I dig pu-erh blends. Definitely more than I dig Pu-erh, which often tastes like “blech” to me.

I really liked this blend. It’s definitely not my favorite pu-erh blend, but it’s not bad. Unlike the other reviewers, though, I didn’t get the strong pu-erh taste. I was definitely getting the mint and vanilla. It was a very nice tea that didn’t need anything extra added to it, even though the instructions recommended adding milk and sugar to it a la chai.

I would recommend this to someone who didn’t like pu-erh that much, but wanted to drink it anyway for the strong health benefits.

An Italian friend of mine is very health conscious, buying organics, eating fresh, whole foods, making her own household cleaners. I asked her for a recommendation for the best, TRUE, olive oil and she referred me to a selection at Olive Nation. I love that company, by the way. Their matcha is great for lattes, nice and earthy but not at all bitter. Their vanilla beans are excellent and not expensive at all.

My new olive oils arrived this morning, so I decided to have a sort of Shepherd’s lunch – olive oil mixed with Penzey’s Tuscan seasoning, Parmesan, and dried garlic served with Italian bread, some Swiss cheese, and apple slices.

Something else also arrived – an adorable, handcrafted card by GMathis with some Tulsi inside. I have it displayed on my writing table! The color is prettier in real life and in the background you can see another she sent a while back. http://www.flickr.com/photos/24998856@N06/8552541342/

I needed a tea that would pair well with this strong Extra Virgin olive oil. As I pawed through my tea, I realized this was a great time to sip down a sample! This was sent to me by Zen Tea a while back and I reach for it whenever I want a nice, strong Keemun that isn’t rough around the edges.

Lightly smokey with cocoa notes, it was brilliant with my lunch. I am finishing the second steep (by the pot, not the cup!) now. Thank you, Zen Tea!

By the way, their teawares are awesome and I really want that Zen Brushstroke matcha bowl. Maybe soon…

I am finishing my China Keemun sample from Zen Tea this morning along with a cherry vanilla bagel from Panera – the ones shaped like a ribbon for breast cancer awareness month. Since I had breast cancer last year, I am particularly attached to these bagels, especially since a friend came to have bagels and tea the day after my surgery! :)

This is a very good Keemun, it has the strength to pull off being a morning tea, the chocolate flavor to let me know it is a Keemun, and the smoothness to still drink it plain. I can’t say that about all Keemuns! This is one that would also be great with milk and sugar if you are so inclined. It won’t shrink under the additions, but may be even heartier.

Thank you, Zen Tea, for the opportunity to try your tea! I can’t wait to order the black bamboo matcha whisk, the scoop, and the sifter. I think I am going to get the Earl Grey Cream as well since I have never had one and they get such great reviews on here.

This was an unusual tea party day in a way. Today we didn’t do a set of three different teas. Instead we had two of the same type of tea but from different companies to compare them. We also had a flavored version of a tea my guest normally does not like. For our snacks, we compared two of the same cheddars but different ages from the same company.

The results were mixed. Both Keemuns were excellent and both went well with food, and we drank them quite easily without milk and sugar, something I couldn’t handle with Keemuns a year or two ago. The other tea being tried alongside this was Teavivre’s Organic Superfine Keemun Fragrant.

This Keemun tasted the most like what I consider to be a classic Keemun. It had rich, cocoa-y flavor and I found that it really stood up well to the salty aged cheeses we were tasting. It had the power to wash down those strong flavors without wilting.

The Teavivre Keemun was less of a “classic” Keemun flavor to me, but it was nevertheless an amazing tea. I don’t think you can go wrong buying either of these if you know the differences between the two and know what you want from your Keemun. Teavivre’s was smoother, less cocoa-y, more baked sweet potato with a hint of molasses.

Seriously, these were both so good you don’t want to miss either tea.

I was fully prepared to not be that impressed with this. Every tea company has a caramel cream rooibos. And I made a cup of this once before, and I think I only half finished it. But I wanted something to sip in the evening, and it wasn’t offensive, so I brewed up a cup. Dry scent was pleasant, but nothing that special. I decided to try and eat one of the caramel bits and it was kind of gross and fake tasting. So, anyway, to stop being negative, this turned awesome when brewed. For like, 10 minutes. Do it long, it won’t hurt. Also, I feel like my water hasn’t been hot enough in general, cause I don’t remember all the caramelly pieces melting like they did this time. It brewed up really dark and amazing smelling. So much richer than the dry leaf. Add a little sugar and…man, that’s good stuff. Like I’m actually eating caramel. Get on this, people!

This one was pretty alright for me, nothing really extraordinary. But I do love watching oolongs unfurl! It didn’t have as much of a rich, creaminess that I tend to associate with oolongs, and I didn’t get ANY hint of vanilla, but it did taste and smell very nuttytoastyroasty to me. I didn’t put any sugar in. I went outside in the cold and read Norse creation myths while drinking this. Kept me warm!

I must say the main reason i choose that tea was because i love the legend that go with it ( the Wei legend ) ans because i always wanted to taste it

The dry leaf: look like uneven small pearl ( seeing that i should have made it in my perfect steeper and not in my perfect cup they quite expend and maybe use less leaf so they could expend more i put that mistake on another cold coming since i get 1398129387 colds by years that normal ) It as the grass smell of green tea and some flower fragrance too i can’t say which im no good with flower smell and flavor yet for my re-steep i will transfer the leaves in my perfect steeper.

Once steeped the water get a pale green color that look wonderful in glass mug the aroma is still grassy but a smooth grassy i can’t detect any other smell in it no bitterness at all in the taste some astringency that one taste better when hot as he cool down i find that the taste become bitter ( mostly i like my tea when they become a little cooler i suppose everything need a exception lol ) for now i really like that one it’s goes on my maybe keep in stock list will taste it more before giving it a note

Updates: For the second steep i transfer the leaves in my perfect steeper and just WOW some much leaves no surprise they did not expend well in the perfect cup half my steeper was made of leaves lol 3:30 steep this time
Already a more strong green color appear it still really taste like a green tea it’s so smooth and buttery

I had received a sample of this many years and I am pleased to get it once again with a recent order.

This was my lunch tea to go with some ramen noodles that I had doctored up. I like to ditch the flavoring pack that comes with it – way too salty – and add my own seasoning. Younger people may not remember that the first ramen noodles we could buy here in the US said that it tastes best with a bit of oil added! I usually make my own seasoning with a little bouillon paste like Penzey’s or Better Than Bouillion, then a smidgeon of low sodium tamari or soy sauce, a smidgeon of fermented mushroom sauce, maybe a little Korean Sweet Chili sauce – whatever we have on hand and I am in the mood for. I usually add frozen peas and this time I added some leftover diced sautéed onion, too.

I made three steeps and I had added extra leaf to my Kamjove to make up for the fact that I was planning to do so. And this was really good! Delicate and soft, it would win over a green tea hater. It is lightly buttery, lightly vegetal in a creamy way, and after you have a cup or two the flavor lingers more as well as developing a slight drying.

Really good with a meal or by itself.

This is a sample provided for review by Zen Tea. Thank you for the generous samples!

The name of this tea is CURLED Dragon Silver Tip, so why was I surprised when I poured out some leaves and they were curled? LOL! I don’t think I have ever seen a green tea curled this way, only oolongs. This is really pretty, so into my little glass pot it goes! The little dragons are green and white and the dry leaf smells very nice – floral with a bare hint of mineral. I want to watch this pretty tea steep. All steeps were two minutes. I think next time I make this I will try a three minute steep and see what happens! My samples were large enough to play with the parameters a bit.

First steep: the leaves are only partially unfurled and the liquor is pale. The aroma is sweet and floral, with a hint of buttered sweet vegetables. The taste matches the aroma – buttery, floral, fairly light, not sour or bitter, the taste of sweet, tender vegetables. Very nice!

Second steep: the leaves are fully expanded now. This is a very nice green tea that you could enjoy every day. There is no sour taste and it is sweet, smooth, and mild. The more you drink this, the more flavor lingers on the tongue. There is a tiny bit of pleasant drying, not much.

Third steep: pale peachy gold, very pale. Aroma now faint, flavor lighter but present. The third steep is really a stretch for me but you could probably do three rapid steeps in succession and combine them in one pot as I sometimes do and let all the flavor levels of the steeps blend and balance each other. Or just use two steepings!

Thank you, Zen Tea! This is a lovely green, both in appearance and flavor!

I had two nice surprises today. I found this rice pattern tea set at an estate sale for $5. I almost didn’t get it because I really don’t NEED it, but who could possibly leave it there when it is only $5?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24998856@N06/8036999258/

Then I got home and discovered that my samples from Zen Tea had arrived! These are very nice size samples, too, leaving plenty of room for experimentation.

I love roasted oolongs and I especially love monkey-picked tieguanyins. I was glad to see steeping instructions on the front of the packet so I didn’t have to stop and check the instructions online.

The dry leaves are large and very dark, and you can readily tell by smell that this is a dark roasted oolong. After steeping the liquor is a beautiful golden color, very pretty in my double walled glass cups.

The flavor is nice and follows through on its roasted aroma like a memory of the processing it went through. This reminds me a little of a Da Hong Pao. There are hints of spice and baked apricots – you know the ones near the edge of the cobbler where things start to get crispy. The more I drink, the more the flavor is lingering. As it cools, it just keeps getting better. Yum!

The description says this is a good tea for digestion, and I am grateful because I am trying to get off of omeprazole and need all the help I can get!

This resteeps well and seems to be a very good quality oolong tea. Thank you, Zen Tea, for the opportunity to try it!

Oh, and all you folks who are getting into matcha, keep an eye on Zen Tea’s site. They have a great sifter like you see in videos but I have NEVER been able to find, but they are sold out right now. I want one!

I have loved everything from Zen Tea thus far but this one is not one of the loves.
The flavoring is too artificial tasting to me.
It leaves this almost oily feeling in my mouth and reminds me of what I dislike about many of David’s Teas.

Many thanks to Zen Tea for this sample!!
I really wanted to try this; chai is such a comforting beverage that I always crave it at bedtime, but never have it because of the caffeine. Perfect solution!
Well, almost. I think I’ve decided that rooibus isn’t my favorite, but this will do in a pinch, especially when paired with milk and honey. Then I don’t taste the rooibus as much and I can still have the rich spiciness that I find so cozy.
I think rooibus enthusiasts will like this one! For people that want chai at bedtime, it’ll do. :)