Zhena’s Gypsy Tea – Biodynamic Green Tea – Caramelized Pear Review

From the Zhena’s Gypsy Tea Website:

Regarded by some as the first modern ecological farming and gardening system, biodynamic agriculture is modern science integrated with ancient wisdom that preserves the land by upgrading and nourishing soil and plant life through special processes and emphasis that exclude the use of chemicals in the soil. Biodynamic is the oldest non-chemical agricultural movement in the West, predating the organic farming movement by 20 years. The biodynamic approach looks upon the maintenance and furtherance of soil life as vital to the production of high-quality, pure and healthful food. Biodynamic speaks to the healing of the environment with consideration for future generations.

Implementing holistic practice and an understanding of ecology to the care and vitality of soil and plants, this ultimate pure experience of health-enhancing leaves, fruit and botanicals, is grown and processed according to the highest sustainable agricultural and environmental canons. Zhena’s Gypsy Biodynamic Tea is the result of one of the smallest carbon footprints of any agricultural method.

I love anything organic and green, so this tea already gets brownie points in my book for being organic and having a smaller carbon footprint than other teas.

The ingredients in this tea are: Organic fairtrade biodynamic green tea, organic pear pieces, organic pear flavor, organic caramel flavor and organic marigold flowers.

I steeped the triangular teabag (or couture tea sachet as they call it) for about 3 minutes in my Ovo mug at just under boiling point. The tea immediately became a nice dark golden color. Right away you could smell the sweet aromas of the tea wafting through the tea. The tea literally smelt like caramelized pears! Amazing! I could smell this tea all day and not even drink it.

At first sip, you could really taste the caramel. It wasn’t a sugary sweet, but you could definitely taste the caramel. The taste reminded me of candy apples actually! Yummy. The aromas of the pear arrived afterward lingering on the tongue as a soft gentle undertone. The tea had lots of complexity and character. It is definitely on the medium side of green teas in terms of body. The strong smell of the tea is always there to remind you of what you are drinking – dessert in a cup!

Don’t steep this tea for too long though, or the tea will become heavier and bitter as more tannins are released. Steep for 1, 2 and then 3 minutes and/or more to get the experience you want. For iced tea, double the sachet and add honey!

Sweet, fragrant and inviting, this tea is perfect as an after dinner snack or to share with friends. Or if you need a caffeine boost, you can always take a bath in this!

PS. Yes I saw Cirque du Soliel’s Ovo in Toronto and yes it was amazing!

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I Won A Steepster Prizepack!

I am happy to say I won a Steepster prize pack out of hundreds of entries and it arrived in the mail today! It was a beautiful Art of Tea gift set. It came with a delicate 3 piece glass teapot, a sample of the teas Chocolate Monkey, Iron Goddess of Mercy – Green and Mandarin Silk.

I immediately washed the pot and brewed Chocolate Monkey in the kitchen, I’ve actually been itching to try this tea for months now.The law of attraction finally brought the tea to me with a beautiful new teapot. I am happy to say everyone who tried the tea loved it!

The infuser within the teapot actually had tiny little slits at the bottom for the water to filter down without the leaves being mixed into the brew. It a great teapot if you have very fine tea such as roobios or yerba mate and you don’t want it to fall through the cracks, but it was very difficult to get the water to come out because all the tea was blocking the holes. I used a fork (pictured above) to stir up the tea and open up the holes. I absolutely LOVED the no drip pouring spout on this teapot. It was a nice surprise, because I was not expecting that to be incorporated into the design.

The Chocolate Monkey tea was divine. I’ve been so busy with moving, getting a dog (I adopted an abused puppy, but more on that in the future), and working that I have had absolutely no time for tea. This was the first cup of tea I have brewed in a long time. I’ve been drinking teabags for days and weeks now. Yesterday I had 3 cups of Pau D’Arco from teabags! I love it, this anti-fungal tea is one of my favs. You got to try it if you haven’t already. Click here to learn more about Pau D’Arco.

Anyways on the packaging of Chocolate Monkey it says that there are flavours of chocolate (duh), bananas, pink peppercorn, and fruit. The exact ingredients of this tea are: Organic Fair Trade Rooibos, Organic Cacao Nibs, Organic Apple Bits, Organic Banana Chips, Pink Peppercorn, Chocolate, and Natural Flavors. The color of the tea reminded me of brandy and came out sooo nicely from the teapot. I’m going to use this teapot for all my future tea reviews! The aromas were gentle and so fragrant. I had the opportunity to enjoy my tea while listening to Chakra Suite by Steven Halpern, so it made the experience that much more enjoyable.

If you get your hands on this wonderful tea I highly recommend you take a few moments to really smell and enjoy the aromas of the tea before sipping it. This is an excellent dessert tea that I highly recommend with a bit of dark agave nectar. This tea actually gets bonus points in my book because it contains organic cacao nibs. Cacao nibs are actually crushed raw chocolate in it’s purest form, uncooked and without any sugar added. Click here to learn more about cacao nibs!

Upon second steeping, the aromas were still there but not as potent. The tea lost its luster and didn’t appeal to me as much anymore. I let it cool down and drank it cold as a digestive after my fettuccine primavera pasta dinner. The picture you see above is actually the tea upon second steeping. The color with the first steep is a lot darker and brown in color. Excellent tea, great start and end to my day.

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The Many Benefits of Dill (Antheum Graveolens) Tea Review

This is my first tea review from the Toronto Total Health Show 2009.  It’s also my last post from Toronto, as I will be flying in a few hours to go to San Francisco then Las Vegas!  I can’t wait but I’m also in denial that I’m leaving for 16 days!  When I come back, I will be reviewing all the tea that I was sent before I left for the show.

The dill I am reviewing today is from Black River Gatehouse. Their site will be up next week, so stay tuned.  You can find Linda, the owner, Saturdays at the St. Lawrence Market North in Toronto.

It’s funny to review dill as a tea because people normally associate dill with cooking or pickles!  On the package Linda gave me, it said that dill is a:

Spicy warming herb affecting the stomach, spleen and liver.  Used as tea for children’s colicky stomach aches; also useful for adults for insomnia caused by stomach aches.

I steeped about a tablespoon and a half.  Dill is actually a perennial herb originating from Eastern Europe.  You can see from the image that it is the thick stalk that I am steeping for tea and some of the thin willowy leaves.

When I steeped the tea, I noticed a bit of oil on the surface.  Dill oil can actually be extracted from the plant.  The nose is fresh and quite frankly, reminded me of pickles and salmon!  Not necessarily a bad thing, but when you already have that association embedded into your mind, it’s hard to shake off.

The liquor turned ever so slightly into a shade of pale yellow.  On first sip I was pleasantly surprised, as the tea was very sweet.  The tea itself is very refreshing and light.  I really like it.  After a while of sipping it though, the roof of my mouth became a little numb.  I wonder why that is.

I highly doubt anyone would drink this as a regularly daily tea, unless you are some sort of pickle fanatic, but for what it does it is a great tool.  If you have stomach problems or gas, this is the herb for you.

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The Tea Spot Organic Mate Limon Chai Loose Leaf Tea Review

A yerba mate and lemon party in a cup.

Today I will be reviewing The Tea Spot’s Mate Limon Chai.  I want you to look at the picture above this post before you read this review.  Click the image and really look at the leaves.  That is great color.  I love nature, so I love how the yellows and bright greens of the yerba mate leaves really compliment each other.  The ingredients of this tea are yerba mate, chicory root, citrus peel & essential oil, lemongrass, hibiscus, ginger, coriander and cinnamon.

Last week, was Yerba Mate week, and as I mentioned yerba mate is very hard to blend with, so I am looking forward to this tea and seeing how they blended it.  The tea liquor color came out a light smoky brown.  On the nose you can really smell the citrus essential oil, there is also a bit of spiciness to the aroma of the tea.  Time to try the tea.  The body is lighter than pure yerba mate, and very smooth.  I wouldn’t have even guessed there was yerba mate in here.  The flavours and personality of the tea that immediately comes out is a bold citrus.  It’s sweet, clean, fun and flirty.  The tea then becomes more mature and the body begins to soften and become rounder.  The tea then finally ends off more deep and mature.  I think this would be amazing iced in the summertime on the patio with a bowl of fresh fruit!

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The Tea Spot Green Roasted Mint Loose Leaf Tea Review

Super minty with a hint of smokiness.

I’m reviewing The Tea Spot Green Roasted Mint loose leaf tea today.  I actually steeped the tea this morning but I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to drink it and now I’m redoing the review again and it’s 11pm!  In the morning, me and Dean went to Dynamic Wheatgrass Farms and Charlinda’s (they have hot chocolate comparable to Max Brenner’s in NYC).  And in the evening I went to buy a house with my parents.  I’m super excited to move in because I’m going to have a huge storage space in my kitchen just for my teas!

The ingredients of this tea are peppermint and Hojicha, a roasted Japanese green tea.  A little background about this tea,

Hojicha is naturally lower in caffeine than other green teas, while peppermint aids with muscle relaxation and digestion.

I had a bit of an oily dinner, so I am looking forward to having this to help me digest all the food!  The nose on this tea is minty and refreshing.  The liquor of the tea came out a beautiful brown with a hint of gold.  Taste test time.  Mmm.  The tea is very minty.  Unfortunately, the peppermint really overpowers the more subtle taste of the Hojicha.  This is still a very good tea, cold or hot.  I just wish the taste of the Hojicha was stronger.  Velvety smooth, it’s helping me digest my meal very very well.  There is a hint of a smoky finish on the end which is very nice.  A nice twist to a classic tea.

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The Tea Spot Vintage Oolong Loose Leaf Tea Review

Sorry! This time my picture does not do the tea justice.

With so much to do on my plate, I needed an oolong to bring me back to my senses and hustle!  I’m reviewing the Tea Spot Vintage Oolong today.  When I cracked open the bag the tea came in, I was greeted by a strong vegetal smell, reminiscent of another oolong I had recently.  I let my dad have a whiff of the dried leaves, “Ahh smells nice.”

The ingredients of this tea are 100% pure single estate Taiwanese oolong.  I used one teaspoon of loose leaf tea and let it expand.  My cup was soon densely swimming with  tea leaves after a minute.  Watching tea leaves unfurl is always strangely comforting.  It’s like watching the introduction of a familiar story unfold itself.  The tea smelled very sweet.  It was a warm and inviting cup.  The liquor was a pale green and gold.  It was very clear, I could make out all the leaves in the cup.  Time to taste.  Wow.  This is a very nice tea with wonderful body.  it’s rich and complex with a slight hint of umami.  The flavour is continuing to linger in my mouth after I have had the tea.

Upon second steeping, the tea becomes more mature.  The leaves really take on the shape of their original size and the liquor becomes more green than gold.  The flavour deepens and becomes more floral with apricot notes.

When it comes to tea, my dad loves big leaves, beautiful color, and a bold taste.  He’s always fond of showing me the outrageously large tea leaves in his cup after he’s steeped.  I think this is one tea that I can finally share with him that he would enjoy as well.  Pair this with a good book and you have what I would call a perfect day.  I’m glad I started my day with this cup.

The Tea Spot as also shared that if you buy 2 Vintage Oolong teas now you can get 1 free. Just enter the total number of tins you want to receive (ie. 3 tins) and your shopping cart will take care of the rest (only charging you for 2 tins). I’m not sure how long this promotion will last for, but check it out!

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The Tea Spot Blue Mountain Nilgiri Organic Black Tea Review

MmMmm chocolate shavings....

The first thing that came to my mind when I looked that the Tea Spot Blue Mountain Nilgiri was chocolate. Why? Because the tea leaves look exact like chocolate chip flakes!  Mmm!  The tea leaves looked like chocolate shavings ranging from dark chocolate to milk chocolate when I started steeping them in my cup.

A little background before we begin.  This tea is single estate from the Nilgiri Mountains in India.  I love single estate teas.  I can understand why people would want to blend teas from different regions to get the best cup, but there is something special about drinking a tea from a specific region.  You get to taste the characteristics that comes from that the specific region and appreciate the quality of the tea from that area.  When you brew loose green tea for example.  You don’t combine Chinese gunpowder tea with a Japanese bancha.  You could, but you drink the teas separately to appreciate the flavours that come with each individual tea.

Anyways back to this single estate tea.  I used 1 teaspoon and steeped for 3-5 minutes in about 250ml of boiling water.  The liquor appears at first to haev turned a beautiful earthy brown, but upon closer inspection its a deep orange hue.  The tea had nice gentle fragrant aroma to it, it definitely reminded me of a Darjeeling.  Wow, I really liked this tea.  It was medium in body and had a very nice finish that lasts in your mouth.  It is quite gentle to start on the palate, but finishes off rich and a bit smoky.  There is caffeine in this cup, but lighter in caffeine then some heavier black teas I’ve had.  Organic and fair trade as well.  It’s a win win win situation.  I just wish I was actually in India sipping this, not at home in front of my computer.  Sigh.

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