chai « Tea Spoon

February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year

Filed under: Tea Reviews — Tags: Africa, chai, cinnamon, clove, ginger, hibiscus, lavender, lemon grass, licorice, Okakura Kakuzo, orange peel, organic, rooibos, Samovar, San Francisco, Valentine's Day — Rooibos @ 6:33 am

This is a special weekend – it is the birthday of Teaspoon – and Valentine’s Day too, the birthday of Okakura Kakuzo, author of The Book of Tea, and this year, it is Chinese New Year. In celebration, here are a few favorites that we have exchanged with each other – but really, they are all favorites to me ; ) Thank you Elina!

Croco Rooibos
Punainen Bambu
Spicy Rooibos
Lucid Dream
Sweet Rose Tulsi

Pictured here is Wei Chi Cha from Samovar Tea Lounge – which is one of the few teas I am able to refill that Elina has sent me, as it is available in the U.S. from San Francisco. In a word, it is mercurial, with a super boost of energy that has a calm underlying feeling to it. The ingredients are organic orange peel, organic, fair trade hibiscus, organic lemongrass, organic licorice root, organic clove, organic lavender and organic stevia (sweetleaf) from the U.S. Steeping times depend on how deep you like the flavors, and the same with the water temperature. I prefer this one steeped for 4 minutes and to drink at room temperature. I have refilled my order and recommend other blends by Samovar, including Nocturnal Bliss which is really beautiful when swirled with a spoonful of cherries at the bottom of the cup and Ocean of Wisdom, a chai rooibos tea, “custom blended for His Holiness The Dalai Lama.” The ingredients are Rooibos and Honey Bush from South Africa blended with Ginger, Clove, Cinnamon, and Licorice from United States. It is very smooth and mindful:

“When you contemplate the big, full sunrise, the more mindful and concentrated you are, the more the beauty of the sunrise is revealed to you. Suppose you are offered a cup of tea, very fragrant, very good tea. If your mind is distracted, you cannot really enjoy the tea. You have to be mindful of the tea, you have to be concentrated on it, so the tea can reveal its fragrance and wonder to you. That is why mindfulness and concentration are such sources of happiness. That’s why a good practitioner knows how to create a moment of joy, a feeling of happiness, at any time of the day.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

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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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October 8, 2009

Tulsi – Red Chai Masala – Organic India

Filed under: Index, Tea Reviews — Tags: chai, Tulsi, Tulsi Chai Masala Red Tea Organic India — elina @ 6:53 pm

I’m sipping another amazing Tulsi tea by Organic India that Janine sent over to me. The taste is rich and very spicy. The tea was probably at its best after about five minutes of brewing. For some reason, this tea makes me think of pumpkins, maybe it is the pumpkin cake spices, Halloween that is nearing, or the Autumn.

I like to drink this tea with milk but it goes well without as well. It makes me feel sleepy and dreamy. The tea is perfect for cool Autumn evenings when you want just to cuddle in a warm bed and fall asleep, listening to the wind blow and rain hit the roof of the house. It is easy to give this tea full five stars * * * * *

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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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August 3, 2009

Ayurveda – Vata – Tea Gschwendner

Filed under: Index, Tea Reviews — Tags: Ayurveda, chai, Helsinki, India, organic, Spice, Tea Gschwendner, théhuone, Vata — elina @ 7:50 pm

This Vata tea from Tea Gschwendner I have been waiting forward to review for a long time. Now when the tea bag Janine sent months ago is finished, it is the last moment to do so. I would have probably already finished the tea a lot earlier but I found a pretty good substitute over here in Finland. I totally love this tea and it is one of the best teas I have ever tasted.

When I first tasted the tea I was totally amazed. My first thoughts were along the lines “how could I have not tasted anything like this before? This tea is so amazing that anyone would love to drink it”.. I tried it hot and cold, with and without milk, everything works but my favorite is cold and without milk. My morning routine quite often has been brewing a small pot of some strong tea and a pitcher of Aurveda Vata (or substitute) in the morning, consuming the strong tea first and sipping the room-temperature tea from the pitcher during the day.

I’ve been also brewing this for other people but surprisingly it is not for everyone’s taste. One visitor even left half of her drink because she thought it tasted weird. Most of the people I have served it have liked it, though. For me, it is difficult to imagine how someone could not fall in love with this tea : )

The ingredients of the tea are: licorice, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, anise, and mallow blossoms. Now just a few words about the substitute. I went to Théhuone (a wonderful tea shop in Helsinki) and described this tea to them. They suggested for me to try their tea that is called Ayurveda Organic. The ingredients in this one are anise, cinnamon, ginger, orange peel, gloves, pepper corns, cardamon, licorice, plus some aromas they do not explain in detail. The taste is diffirent but quite close to the Vata tea. The Vata tea is easier to make so that the quality is each time the same because the incredients are smaller and similar in weight. The other tea has a bit of a problem with getting all the ingredients in one brewing.

My rating for the Vata tea is * * * * * .. I would give more if I could!

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June 14, 2009

Ayurveda – Pharoah’s Dream – Knockout Tea

Filed under: Index, Tea Reviews — Tags: Ayurveda, cardamom, chai, cinnamon, Finland, licorice, Licquorice, Spice, Tea, théhuone, valerian — pakua @ 8:03 pm

I must say, I love tea, but I enjoy cold tea’s more than hot tea. Milk in tea? Not for me. So, when Elina started talking about this Knockout Tea (our nickname for it) I was curious. So – you want to get to bed with an easy tea. This is the one for you. Drinking it cold you feel the spices filling your body – the licquorice, the cinnamon, the peppers, the cardamon all circulating in phases that keep bringing you back for more. The first mouthful leaves a taste hanging on the back of your throat, as if it is cleansing you. The thing about this tea is that the brewing time greatly effects that taste, and hot or cold, the tea knocks you out. You feel energised from the first drop, but then, you begin relaxing and pass out nicely. I love this tea! More from the girls!

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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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