India « Tea Spoon

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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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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May 8, 2009

Tulsi – Organic India

Filed under: Index, Tea Reviews — Tags: antioxidants, Basil, Chamomile, Growing, Honey, India, organic, Organic India, Rose, Sweet, Tulsi — elina @ 10:40 am

You can’t get Tulsi tea from Finland but Janine has been sending me every now and then various kinds of Tulsi tea bags. The tea is absolutely lovely and I must say I have become addicted. First time I got Tulsi tea bags I was pregnant and needed to find out about it if it is safe for me. Several web sites said that it is actually recommended in India for pregnant women. It has several health benefits and it is referred as Holy Basil tea over there.

As you can’t buy the tea in Finland, I started to think if you could actually grow your own. I grow a wide variety of different basils during the Finnish summer (short but usually quite warm) ranging from the basic one to Thai. I ordered some seeds so let’s see how this will go. We will report back! : )

There are several flavors of the Organic India Tulsi Tea. My favorite is the Sweet Rose tulsi. The taste is very sweet and smells and tastes beautifully rosy. Another favorite of mine is the Chamomille Honey. This one is the best Chamomille tea I have ever tasted. This tea is very sweet too and there is some interesting side taste that is difficult to identify, it is slightly like licorice. Both of these teas taste good without milk but I prefer to drink them with milk. Definitely no sweeteners needed. I will write later about the other Tulsi teas that I have tasted but these are my favorite ones and I give both of them easily five stars!

Rating: * * * * *

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February 19, 2009

Pitta Herbal Spice Blend – TeaGschwendner

Filed under: Index, Tea Reviews — Tags: Ayurveda, cardamom, Germany, herbal tea, India, lemon grass, licorice, mallow, mint, organic, pitta, raspberry, rose petals, Tea Gschwendner — elina @ 1:32 pm

Review (1-5): Hot 3, Cold 5
Brand: TeaGschwendner
Type: : Herbal

I am writing my first tea review about one of my favorite teas. I got this tea from Janine about a year ago when she visited in Finland. The tea consists of a wide variety of herbs. A very special thing about this tea is, that it tastes absolutely lovely when it is cold but I’d say it is average when hot. When I drink this tea, I usually brew it in the evening, let it stay in the tea pot over night, and consume it during the day when it is cold. I have noticed that quite often mint gives the tea a bitter taste if you brew it for too long, but this tea does not get bitter at all even if it has mint. The lovely taste of licorice gets very strong when cold, but is quite absent when drinking the tea hot.

This is what the tea package says about it: A spice and herb blend with lemony freshness, slightly sweet. Ingredients: lemon grass, mint, raspberry leaves, cardamom, licorice, mallow petals and rose petals.

- elina

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