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Wow, that sounds really, really good!
It does sound yummy!
Best vanilla rooibos I’ve had! I’m not sure if I would pick up a tin, but if I had to pick up a rooibos tin, I’d get this for those rooibos craving days.
I’m glad you liked it. I don’t do much rooibos, but I thought that MF did a phenomenal job with the vanilla.
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wikipedia says: Usucha, or thin tea, is prepared with approximately 1.75 grams8 (amounting to 1.5 heaping chashaku scoop, or about half a teaspoon i.e. level teaspoon) of matcha and approximately 75 ml (2.5 oz) of hot water per serving, which can be whisked to produce froth or not, according to the drinker’s preference (or to the traditions of the particular school of tea). Usucha creates a lighter and slightly more bitter tea. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matcha
Woah level teaspoon for 2.5oz of water… I did a heaping for 8oz of water… hmm…
Thanks for the info!
i mean….i haven’t made mine yet, and wiki could be all wrong, but that’s what i’m going to try tomorrow with my wisk and bowl!
I’m jealous! I need to purchase a whisk and a bowl already. I’ve been searching and nothing really catches my eye.
It doesn’t help that all those accessories are rather expensive when you add the costs of them together. D:
Jillian, I know! I’ve wanted to start drinking matcha but looking at the cost of all the accessories is really daunting, and it feels like such a process! But the 52teas strawberry matcha is just too tempting!
It’s close to sixty dollars for a set! =( The nice bowls are so pricey.
actually it’s my whisk whisk….like the kind you get in the multi-tool kitchen basket at kmart :) and the bowl is my soup “mug”
Wikipedia also says 3 scoops is ~3.75g… actually it’s more like 7 scoops… blech… Kathryn Ann and Ricky- don’t make the same mistake I did and think that all matcha sets have to be expensive. Check out this link for some good ideas around $30. http://steepster.com/discuss/313-recommendations-on-a-matcha-kit Get a basic kit (chawan, chasen, and scoop) to see how you like preparing it then if you want a different set later, rehome it to another matcha newbie. Kathryn Ann, not sure what you mean by it being a “process”… the preparation? Finding your perfect water:matcha ratio is half the battle. After that, it’s just measure matcha, place in chawan, measure and heat water, add to bowl, whisk, and enjoy!=D
It depends on what you mean by a “weeee bit”- most matchas are supposed to be that way. Mouthfeel is a good judge for me as to whether or not I have too much matcha for my amount of water… it gets chalky.
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Looks like I am going to have to place an order with American Tea Room soon!
Could it be that SpecialTeas is the supplier for both companies? Maybe Almond Cookie = Brioche = Almond Biscotti. They all look the same from their pictures—even down to the safflower petals!
Ahh, Italy. I want to go back there before I die!
I need to quickly drink more tea so I can make some more tea purchases. I still have way too much.
Haha they very well can be. All these almond teas look the same and taste about the same. It’s crazy!
I need to go back to Italy!
Stephanie: It is very possible.
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Beach Bunny? Sounds a bit naughty…
It’s a naughty tea ;)
Imagine this in Jacqueline’s cupboard? Oh boy….
She’d be the only one with an X-rated cupboard… o.O
Thanks for that mental image. Really. Thanks. :s
I’m not sure what would happen if both Thomases and Jackee saw a Beach Bunny saunter into the cabinet! I am sure if it got out of hand the Samovar teas would intervene – they are very PC and would perform an intervention if not a citizen’s arrest!!!! And then my tea cabinet would also have a JAIL – I think on the third level near the food processor accessories.
Food processor accessories? O.o Your cupboard jail has torture things???
We have done several reviews of Compass’s teas on the Tea Review Blog.
Angrboda – The Samovars would report me for that!! I better do some rearranging!
Poor teas! You’re going to throw them into the food processor with all the shiny blades!?!? It’s a torture chamber! Even the beach bunny doesn’t deserve that!
Thanks for the heads up LiberTEAs =]
Someone ought to write the Saga of JacquelineM’s Cupboard… :p
I think it would make a great graphic novel or animated short!!!
Someone please send JacquelineM some beach bunny! I wanna read her review. :)
Fwahaha ;)
We can have the Beach Bunny and that tea that Alicia said was the Dita Von Teese of teas in the cupboard and see what happens!!! Personally I think Dita should give the Beach Bunny a makeover! Then they can do a show a la Crazy Horse Paris in my tea cupboard! Now that the Tiger is gone, I can turn his cage upside down to be a stage! Tupelo Honey will most likely perform too (if that isn’t a great burlesque name, I don’t know what is!!)
Just wait until those Damn Freres Brothers joins the cupboard. Oh man, Jacqueline’s cupboard is going to come alive!
What fun! Have you seen Pagnea Teas? They have a “NaughTea” and a “NaughTea Monkey” and a series of “Tea Enhancers”. Very SoCal!
When Frank sent out an email announcing a new blend this morning I was shocked. Tuna Melt? I mean come on. I like Tuna Melt paninis, but Tuna Melt tea? And it’s not even black tea. It’s green! What was Frank thinking? Clearly, he wasn’t. American cheese, buttery, greasy fries and tea. Somehow that combination doesn’t strike me as being particularly good, in terms of taste and for your health.
I pulled out my trusty cellphone that’s been dropped quite a number of times (poor thing) and speed dialed to 52teas. Frank picked up, but only after what must have been the hundredth ring. He was probably getting overwhelmed from the Strawberry Matcha orders a few days back or was it numerous phone calls asking him about this crazy blend of his… tuna melt. I still don’t know what Frank was thinking. I told him, I though he was crazy. He told me it was amazing and I should try it. He was like, you know what? I’ll even send you a pouch for free, rush delivery, free of charge, cause your my number one favorite customer. Wait, or was it Chelsea that said that? Ahhh, I forget, I’m getting old. Must be all that ginko tea I’ve been drinking. Was it ginko? Darn it, I forgot what I was talking about.
Oh yes, back to topic. Tuna melt! Argh, the idea still disgusts me. So yeah, an hour later the guy in the brown suit arrived with a brown package. I signed for it and unwrapped the package, sorta. Well, you see. I think the UPS guy got a bit hungry, the package was already torn open. At least he saved me half of the contents. I got out my Sorapot for this special occasion and patiently waited for my Zojirushi to drop to 175F. Pondering why this is a green tea base. Ring ding, plays a melody. Whatever, I meant to say the zojirushi made some noise and the water was finally ready. Wohooo, three minute infusion and I was ready to dive in!
Woah. Takes another sip. Woahhh. No seriously… WOAHHH. I thought Orange Ginger was good…. but this? You’ve out done yourself Frank. What does it taste like? Well, if you think of your favorite tea, for some people that might be matcha, for others it may be Japanese greens or pu-erhs. Whatever it is, close your eyes and just imagine it, imagine drinking it and sharing a cup with your favorite person, OR hording the cup. I mean if it’s your favorite tea you’d probably want to drink it all for yourself. Okay, now imagine all that plus your happiness moments in life. Yeah, it’s that good.
Yeah, that’s actually all a pile of BS. It tastes like nothing at all. It’s like drinking air or waking up from a bad dream. Darn you Frank!!! You would have totally gotten me if you had created a Peach Matcha blend. At least I didn’t get rick rolled ;)
This note is dedicated to Frank for making great, interesting, (insert adjective here) tea all year around. Sure there are some hits and misses, but in the end it’s the good ones that matter.
And our fellow Steepsterite member, Cofftea. Cheer up, it’s April Fools. Sure these jokes can definitely be annoying at times, but hey, we’re all adults and we only get to be pranksters children once again every year. If it can brighten up someone’s day, why not. Let em have their fun and games.
Preparation
Vaporware tea!
WOOT Ricky! :D
Your review is wonderfully evocative and beautifully written.
Thanks all :)
I bet Frank is secretly making this tea and it’ll really be a blend next week and we’re all going to be like, Frank, April’s Fool was last week and no one’s going to purchase the Tuna Melt. Wow, talk about run on sentences. I went to the park and I bought an ice cream and it dropped on the floor and I cried and I really didn’t do anything of this, but I just enjoy using the word and and that’s it.
I love it! Amen to your tiny print.
Go, Ricky!!!
Thanks all. Tuna melt is most popular tea! Success!
Amen to your fine print section- I ‘liked’ it for that reason and because the joke make me happy on april fools, which it apparently didn’t do for some people. Cheers!
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Hmm. Have to check my samples and see if I have this one. If not, will try it next time I place an order with Samovar. Which would be now, except that they don’t have any Breakfast Blend in stock so I’m trying to wait patiently….
What’s this! I don’t have your address! NOOOOOO! I can’t tea surprise you =(
I’m sure Samovar be on Steepster Select very soon.
Hehehe. Though that sounds wonderful I’m reluctant to venture into the swapoverse a the moment because I rarely have time to get to the post office with work, kids, etc. and I know I’d be one of those people everyone muttered about as not being timely. And if you tea surprised me, I’d feel it was only fair I surprised you back. If things change though you’ll be the first to know if you’re surprising with breakfast blend! Lol.
YES! Love this post.
This tea really is amazing… If anyone ever makes a Samovar order, this tea is a MUST if you don’t have it already! I’d highly recommend at least getting the 2oz tin, totally worth it for the $6.
I love this tea, whenever it is getting late and I want tea, or if I just want something sweet, I usually go straight for this one.
I have to get this when I place my next Samovar order (in MAY! Really! I’m not going to order any more tea til MAY! :) I love ginger, orange zest, AND I am always on the lookout for good ones for late night. YUM!!
lol…you cracked me up! I didn’t include this one in my last Samovar order, but it is at the top of my next order. I’ll go for the 2 oz tin. Sounds great!!!
Thanks, Ricky & Co – added to Shopping List. Imagine if one already likes orange & ginger …!
@__Morgana__ Haha, I’m totally with you on the whole swap thing. I have soooo much tea and just ordered more! I’m never going to finish all my tins and samples. I even started bringing tea to work and giving some away to co-workers. Still too much tea!
@Garrett Yeah, I wish I went with the tin for this one. Sometimes the price difference in a sampler / a tin is just $3/$4, but I always contemplate if it’s worth it. Why do I bother? Samovar’s just amazing so I shouldn’t even think about it. BUT! If I went with the small tin instead of the samplers, I’d be broke!
@JacquelineM No ordering tea until May!??! You have more self control than I do. I just ordered some more tea. I wouldn’t have, but people’s birthdays are coming up sooooo yeah… that’s just an excuse to order tea for myself ;)
@LENA I didn’t include this one on my first go with Samovar either. I caved on the Tencha sale and went through the rest of their teas to figure out which samplers I still wanted to try. The good thing is that Samovar only offers about 61 teas. Some of those are premium so you can’t even get samplers for them. I think their samplers are still a bit pricier than other companies, but whatever it’s good and I’m done with Samovar samplers, only tins from here forth!
@~lauren I know! It’s so delicious cold too! The weathers getting warmer, I need to start making some delicious ice tea!
I agree 100%!
It’s sooo delicious that I finished my cup before noon arrived. With the hot weather I haven’t been able to finish the tea in my thermos very often!
I hate that hot weather is likely to decrease my tea consumption quite a bit!