black pepper « Tea Spoon

November 9, 2009

Chai Red – Yumchaa

Filed under: Tea Reviews — Tags: aniseed, black pepper, cardamom seeds, chai, cinnamon, clove, ginger pieces, London, rooibos, Yumchaa loose leaf tea shop — Rooibos @ 1:37 am

Chai Red is an exceptional chai rooibos blend Elina shared with me from her trip to the Yumchaa shop in London. It has a sweet, full-bodied, fruity taste that is unlike any of the other chai blends we have tried.

I highly recommend it and would get more of it if I could. The sweetness may come from the cinnamon pieces or from the aniseed. It’s truly remarkable and almost has a flowery scent in the background, though there are no flowers among the listed ingredients.

I prefer this blend warm, though it could also work well chilled.

Thank you Elina . . . who may have more comments to add, as it is another favorite of hers from Yumchaa.

My rating *****

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August 20, 2009

Dragonfly Tea – Organic Rooibos and Organic Cape Malay Rooibos Chai

Filed under: Tea Reviews — Tags: Africa, black pepper, cardamom, chai, chicory, cinnamon, citrus peel, clove, Dragonfly Tea, fair trade, ginger, organic, rooibos, Spice, tea bags, UK — Rooibos @ 12:54 am

Elina sent me a beautiful surprise assortment of bagged teas – for tea on the go when at work, on errands or even for an outdoor hike. These are really fabulous and have a smooth taste too. The organic ingredients make such a difference to me in taste. It is not easy to find purely organic teas, and in a variety of flavours.

The two flavours Elina sent me to try by Dragonfly Tea in the UK are Organic Cape Rooibos Tea, which is a pure Rooibos, low tannin and caffeine free. The other is called Organic Cape Malay Rooibos Chai. The ingredients are organically grown Rooibos tea, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, chicory, cloves, black pepper and citrus peel. Steep time is only 2-3 minutes, though I generally do 4-5 for any Rooibos leaves. Both of these teas are pleasing to the senses and I will look for them in my area; they can also be ordered online. I highly recommend Dragonfly – the company is fair trade and offers a rather large selection of appealing choices. Elina has a unique talent for finding new things, which I admire of her.

It is interesting to note that Cape Malay Rooibos Chai has a similar taste to the Spicy Rooibos tea by Indiska that I liked so much (though it is missing the sweetness from the licorice) and the Auyrveda Knockout Tea by théhuone that has chicory – but is more convenient to steep. Some people really like loose teas, and some will only use tea bags. If you are looking for a quality tea bag to try, this is a great one that may be similar to having loose tea – because the ingredients are organic and wonderful.

My rating: ****

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May 31, 2009

Spicy Rooibos – Indiska

Filed under: Tea Reviews — Tags: Africa, Alexander McCall Smith, anise, Ayurveda, batik, black pepper, chai, cinnamon, clove, drawings, fennel, Finland, ginger, gratitude, India, Indiska, mendhi, rooibos, Spice — Rooibos @ 4:56 am

This is a thoughtful tea Elina sent me last week from a shop in Helsinki called Indiska that I am really loving. It came in a dazzling red cellophane bag, decorated with an intricate paisley mendhi design filled in with hearts that reminded me of some drawings I made, some of Elina’s drawings she sent me and of Batik artistry too.

When I opened the bag, all of these exotic scents came about that made me think of India and Africa, all mixed in together and our connections to these places. Here is a remarkable passage in between mentions of bush tea that comes to mind from Tears of the Giraffe, the Alexander McCall Smith series Elina started me on in the New Year:

“We are all children of Africa, and none of us is better or more important than the other. This is what Africa could say to the world: it could remind us what it is to be human.”

And for me, this tea has done just that, reminding me of my humanness and all of the wonderful people in my life, how every breath we take is truly a gift. With every sip, gratitude filled my heart. THANK YOU ELINA!!

Ingredients: rooibos, fennel, anise, cinnamon, ginger, clove, and black pepper.

My rating *****

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