Tea Time: Rooibos Cream Caramel

Rooibos Cream Caramel Reviewed by: Juturna F.
Type of tea Rooibos, loose-leaf	Flavor aspects and Aroma Flavor Aspects: Natural Aroma: Hot caramel
Where I got it Tin Roof Teas	Cost $8.17/100g
How I brewed it 3 teaspoons in a tea strainer in a cast iron pot. Water boiled in kettle until just whistling, then poured over leaves. Brewed 2-3 minutes, not timed.	Rebrewing notes Haven't rebrewed.
Review It brews a beautiful caramel color. I've always found rooibos to be interesting teas. They taste vaguely fruity to me without tasting fruity (yes, I know that makes no sense!). This red tea brews a rich caramel color, and smells like caramel heated to the point of almost but not quite burnt (I think that's the "creme"), but doesn't taste like caramel. It's not dissimilar to black tea in taste, but lacks the bite of the tannins that give black tea the black tea taste, and is just a tad tangier. And that's the best I can describe it. I feel like this tea would do very well with sugar, maybe a touch of milk or cream. It practically begs to be blended with other teas. I'd add it to an early grey, I think, to enhance the black tea scent, or a maybe a "sweet" tea like a chai or Teavana's Slimful Chocolate Decadence. On its own, I don't find it particularly extraordinary in terms of rooibos teas. It smells amazing, but the caramel flavor is almost unnoticeable as compared to regular rooibos tea. Not quite as caramel-colored with milk and sugar... But tastier! I did add milk and sugar my second cup, and it much improved the flavor. Normally I dislike sweetening my tea, but in this tea it really balances it out. I highly recommend having milk and sugar at hand if you plan to drink this tea without blending it with something else. Not my favorite tea, despite the smell. The scent sets up high expectations for the flavor, but the flavor falls short of the promise without sweetening it, and I like a tea that can stand on its own. On the other hand, sweetened it's actually quite good. I'd say it's best for blending with other teas. If you like fruity teas and black teas, but want to cut out the caffeine, rooibos might be a good match for you. Also, if you like Indian tea such as served at authentic Indian restaurants, you'll like this one.
Reviewed by: No second review yet.
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Ack! Technical difficulties!

(Learning to Like Tea Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Guest Post: Types of Tea, Guest post: Getting the Best Cup of Tea)

Getting a good picture of a teapot
is harder than you'd think.

 

Tea Time: Festivus

Festivus Reviewed by: Juturna F.
Type of tea Black, loose-leaf	Flavor aspects and Aroma Flavor Aspects: Floral, Spicy Aroma: Orange and Cloves
Where I got it Tin Roof Teas (It's a holiday tea.)	Cost Somewhere between $7-$10 for 250 grams (can't remember exactly)
How I brewed it 3 tsp in a tea strainer, hot water from the break room coffee machine poured in until 12oz mug full, steeped for 2 minutes.	Rebrewing notes A little lighter colored on the second brew, not quite as strong in flavor. Didn't try a 3rd brew but I expect it wouldn't do well.
Review I expected a darker brew from a black tea, but it's fairly light even on the first brew. But since it's got at least as much in the way of other ingredients as it does tea leaves, that's not entirely a surprise. There are actually dried orange peels in this one. Despite the poor rebrewing, it's a pretty good tea, with half the pleasure in the scent. Spices include black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and pink peppercorn; it also includes orange and apple pieces. I'm pretty certain the black tea is just so you can say it's caffeinated, because I barely taste the tea at all. However, I happen to like the smell of orange and spices, so I like this tea. If you enjoy fruity herbal teas or Bigelow's Constant Comment, you'd probably like this one, too. I honestly haven't tried the latter, so I can't tell you exactly how they compare.
Reviewed by: No second review yet.
Type of tea	Aroma
Where I got it	Cost
How I brewed it	Rebrewing notes
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(Learning to Like Tea Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Guest Post: Types of Tea, Guest post: Getting the Best Cup of Tea)

Tea Time: White Ayurvedic Chai tea

White Ayurvedic Chai Reviewed by: Juturna F.
Type of tea White, loose-leaf	Flavor aspects Spicy
Where I got it Teavana.com	Cost $2.50/2 oz on 75% off sale; normally $10/2oz
How I brewed it Heated water on stove until it was just beginning to make noise. Poured over 3 tsp dry tea in mesh basket in cast-iron teapot until teapot full (apprx. 16 oz). Steeped for 2 minutes.	Rebrewing notes Rebrews very well. 2nd rebrew same flavor as first.
Review I do really like this chai. It's got that spicy chai taste, but is lighter and sweeter than a usual black-tea chai. Hot, the spice really comes to the front, cloves and ginger right on the tongue. As it cools, the spice becomes less noticeable and the tea tastes sweeter and sweeter. Since I don't usually add sugar to my tea, it's really noticeable to me just how sweet the tea tastes at room temperature. At the same time, spicy teas without milk or sugar usually have a very faint bitter aftertaste to my tongue, and this one is true in that regard. I don't think most people get that, but it would be a great tea for a touch of sugar or honey. Not sure how well it would do with milk, as it's a white tea and I find those generally get overpowered by milk. The smell is fantastic. If you like a rich aroma, this is a great tea for you. I would especially recommend it to those who love chai teas but want to cut back on caffeine: white teas have much less caffeine than black teas or matés, but this has all the taste of a regular chai! If you're not a fan of spice teas, steer clear, because that's pretty much the defining point of this tea. As for lovers of pure white tea,be warned that the white tea flavor is very much buried under the spices. On an interesting point of note, I definitely overbrewed the tea one of the times I brewed it, and was surprised to find it did not become particularly bitter. White teas, if steeped too long, have a tendency to do that, but the strong spice taste covered up most of the scorched-leaf syndrome. And for the record, if you notice your tea smells strongly of potato, go wash your hands. You've probably just been chopping them, and I assure you the tea does not actually smell like potato--as I figured out after a morning of stew-making.
Reviewed by: No second review yet.
Type of tea	Aroma
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(Learning to Like Tea Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Guest Post: Types of Tea, Guest post: Getting the Best Cup of Tea)

Tea Time: Jasmine Green Tea

Sunflower: Jasmine Tea Reviewed by: Juturna F.
Type of tea Green, loose-leaf	Flavor aspects and Aroma Flavor aspects: Floral, natural Aroma: Jasmine
Where I got it Asian Market, but can also be found here on Amazon	Cost $6.99 for 1/2 lb
How I brewed it Filled a mug with hot water from the coffee maker at work. Walked back to my desk, added 2.5 tsp loose-leaf tea (in strainer) to 12oz mug. Waited about 2 minutes or so and removed.	Rebrewing notes Usually good for at least one rebrew.
Review The smell of this tea is heavenly. I'd know it was jasmine tea without ever reading the label! It's pretty sensitive, though: I think I burnt the leaves either by oversteeping or using water that was too hot, and since it was coffee machine water (slightly cooled, even) and I steeped it less than 2 minutes, that means it's a finicky brand. Definitely becomes bitter when oversteeped, but from prior experimentation, I know it can also be slightly sweet and completely not bitter if prepared carefully. I do taste both green tea and a floral note, which means neither flavor overpowers the other. It's a nicely balanced blend, and while I'm usually senstive to bitter, the strong jasmine scent makes me enjoy it even poorly brewed. I'm actually very fond of this tea (okay, so it was the first loose-leaf tea I ever tried, a gift from a college roommate) and while it's not the fanciest tea I've had, it's inexpensive, tasty, and sweetly scented. Despite starting on this tea myself, it's probably not the best first-ever loose-leaf green tea. Once you've come to enjoy green tea with a more resilient brand, then it's a nice tea for learning to brew delicate teas, as you'll know when you get it wrong but it'll still be drinkable. It does take some practice to not make bitter, but at the price (you can get a pound on Amazon for under $10), you can experiment all you want. It's also a good go-to tea for a pick-me-up anytime, especially on a budget--always make me feel like I'm drinking flowers! If you dislike floral teas, however, this is absolutely the wrong tea for you.
Reviewed by: No second review yet.
Type of tea	Aroma
Where I got it	Cost
How I brewed it	Rebrewing notes
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(Learning to Like Tea Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Guest Post: Types of Tea, Guest post: Getting the Best Cup of Tea)