Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Rishi Tea's Green Tea Chai

A green tea chai! I have only ever tried one or two of these in the past, so this should be a novel experience. To begin, I was surprised at the directions. It said to boil together milk and water. While I have certainly made chai this way in the past, it has been a while, so this was pretty unique. After boiling the milk and water, I added the tea, turned down the burner on the stove, and let it simmer for four minutes. Pouring this whole mixture of leaf and herbs and liquid from a saucepan into a teapot (for holding) was an interesting endeavor. My tea now safely in a teapot, I poured myself a cup (straining out the leaves) and added a single sugar cube. 

The packaging for the tea had instructed to sweeten as desired, and one sugar cube was enough (for me, at least) to sweeten the individual cup of chai. 

This chai smells spicy! According to the packaging, there are a lot of spices in it, but the flavor still shocked me a bit. The second shock was the lemon aftertaste. This was not at all unpleasant, merely just different. I think that one description I read of this tea stated that the lemongrass in it was “zesty.” I wholeheartedly agree with this choice of words. If this tea is not enough to open your eyes wide, then there is a good chance that your taste buds are broken. (Kidding, kidding.)

If you like chai, then you need to try this tea. The green tea gives it an amazingly smooth flavor, and the herbal additions combine to create a unique and “zesty” drink. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this tea a 93/100.

 

 

 

Rishi's Green Tea Chai is available from their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2015, Built from Ink and Tea.
 

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Noodler's Rome Burning Ink

What an intriguing ink!

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Canton Tea Co's Jewel Flowering Tea

As I have been drinking a lot of oolongs lately, I felt that something new was in order for my tastebuds. This flowering tea from Canton Tea Co caught my eye, and I decided to give it a try. I have tried quite a few teas from Canton Tea Co, but never any of their green teas, much less a flowering tea ball. My past experience with flowering tea balls has told me that the tea is often mediocre in quality, but my hope is that Canton Tea Co will live up to their high quality, even in this decorative piece.

The directions say to steep this ball of tea in a cup of water until the flower blooms. While these may seem like vague directions, they provide the greatest enjoyment to the drinker, who gets to see the beautiful opening of the tea ball and the flower that “blooms” from within. Following these directions, I happily watched as the ball slowly opened, revealing a red flower in the center with small white flower buds moving off to either side on non-visible threads. Purely for the sake of my continued enjoyment, I decanted the tea from the cup with the flower into another cup, and then poured cold water over the flowering ball so that it continued to float in bloom.

Extremely interested in the taste, I eagerly tried a sip of the decanted tea. It is very sweet and thick, owing to the amaranth and jasmine flowers. The undertones remind me a bit of grain (not in a bad way), and the information on this tea says that the green tea contains some nutty flavors. I was certainly not expecting this flavor from tea, but I am pleasantly surprised, and I quite enjoy it. Plus, the flowering tea ball still looks very pretty.

This tea was a fun diversion, and it would make a unique gift, providing visual and taste stimulation for the recipient. Well done, Canton Tea Co. On my personal enjoyment scale, I rate this tea an 83/100.

Canton Tea Co's Jewel Flowering Tea is available from their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2015, Built from Ink and Tea.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Sailor Jentle Apricot Ink

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of DavidsTea's Pumpkin Chai Black Tea

Welcome to autumn (at least according to DavidsTea)! Here in northern California, it is still very warm, and it feels as though summer is hanging-on. However, I feel that a cup of chai is delicious, year-round (and can very easily be iced)! Today, we will be tasting DavidsTea's new (re-released) Pumpkin Chai, part of their fall collection for 2015. As I prefer my chai unsweetened and without milk (or substitute), our review will look along those lines.

My DavidsTea Perfect mug will be the vessel for this steeping adventure. Two teaspoons, five minutes of steep time, and twelve ounces of just-boiled water blend and steep to provide a spicy and sweet-smelling cup. The little orange pumpkin candies that were a part of the blend have dissolved into the tea, lending that sweetness that combines with the caramel that is in it. The aroma is definitely pumpkin and chai with undertones of cinnamon and clove. Much appreciated is the fact that the pumpkin and the chai flavors smell equal, each blending well with the other and not overwhelming the overall nose.

My first sip of the tea tastes like a malty black tea with just a tinge of sweetness. Then the pumpkin flavor comes-in. The pumpkin is strong enough to be consistent and leave a pleasant aftertaste, combined with the spices. Flavors of clove and pumpkin mostly comprise that aftertaste, which I enjoy, as it leaves a bit of sweet, lighter (than the flavor of the tea itself) flavor behind.

On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate DavidsTea's Pumpkin Chai an 87/100. Pumpkin is a great flavor to have combined with chai, and I can see this making a great cold drink, too, whether with milk or without.



Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
DavidsTea's Pumpkin Chai is available from their website, here. and in DavidsTea retail stores.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2015, Built from Ink and Tea.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Super5's Delhi Ink

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of DavidsTea's Organic Jasmine Black Pearls Tea

As previously established, here on Built from Ink and Tea, I think that pearl teas are pretty great. While a majority of pearl teas involve green tea (if you do not count rolled oolong as a pearl) with jasmine dragon pearls (jasmine plus green tea) being the most ubiquitous, I have recently discovered a number of great black tea pearls. A couple of months ago, we looked at Adagio Teas' Black Dragon Pearls - pure tea flavor in pearl form. Today's review tastes the Organic Jasmine Black Pearls from DavidsTea, wherein Chinese black tea combines with the scents of jasmine blossoms for a dark, floral treat.

Three pearls in twelve ounces of just-boiled water for five minutes. The recommendation is two to three pearls per eight ounces of water and four to seven minutes of steep time. As the tea has only been scented with jasmine blossoms (as opposed to jasmine blossoms being rolled in the pearls), the aroma - both of the dry leaves and steeped tea - tends to feature the jasmine notes more as highlights than strong, primary flavors. Personally, I find this to be a good thing, as jasmine is quite capable  of overwhelming the tea flavors (with green tea) or of becoming bitter, if steeped at a high temperatures for a long period of time (with black tea).

Given that the black tea base is a Chinese black tea, it tends toward lighter, slightly-malty notes. This works quite well with the jasmine, which also tastes quite light in this blend. Five minutes proved to be sufficient for my leaf-to-water ratio, and a slightly longer steep would have made flavors astringent. The cup tastes satisfying. In that, I mean I take a sip and feel "This is a tasty cup of tea, and it satisfies me." I would not describe the tea as overly amazing, but it simply is a good cup of tea. Smooth, clear, and clean-tasting, I would rate these Organic Jasmine Black Pearls an 88/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
DavidsTea's Organic Jasmine Black Pearls is available from their website, here, and in DavidsTea retail stores.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2015, Built from Ink and Tea.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Super5's Frankfurt Ink

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of DavidsTea's Alpine Punch Rooibos

Welcome to September! Today's review branches off tea and enters the world of rooibos, again. DavidsTea's Alpine Punch is a seasonal offering, first released in late 2014, but now coming to Built from Ink and Tea for your review enjoyment.

Brimming with ingredients that one might likely find in cookies, Alpine Punch contains such things as coconut, apple, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, almond, and more. The aromas of the dry mix are heavily focused on coconut with some spicy notes on the edges. Just a touch of floral is in the smell, due to the addition of rose blossoms.

Two teaspoons of rooibos mixture, boiled water, and seven minutes of steep time produce a rich, reddish cup, murky from the oils of some of the ingredients. Almond and rooibos are the primary scents coming from the liquid, but my first taste explodes with the flavors of coconut and almond. Definitely punch-like, when combined with the rooibos! The aftertaste is juicy, and the overall flavors are sweet, though verging on cloying.

On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this rooibos an 80/100. It is good and very punch-y, but the flavors just seem to coat the mouth in a way that gets unpleasant after a while.



Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
DavidsTea's Alpine Punch is available from their website, here and in DavidsTea retail stores.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2015, Built from Ink and Tea.