Wabi by the Tea Emporium Green Kombucha Lime Tea Review

No idea what those pieces are. It doesn't say online. I'm assuming lime pieces.

A little background before we start.  “Kombucha is the Western name for sweetened tea or tisane that has been fermented using a macroscopic solid mass of microorganisms called a kombucha colony” – from Wikipedia.  There are supposedly a whole host of health benefits to drinking this tea.  From Seeds of Health:

Many of the benefits reported include improvements in energy levels, metabolic disorders, allergies, cancer, digestive problems, Candidiasis, hypertension, HIV, chronic fatigue and arthritis. It ‘s also used externally for skin problems and as a hair wash among other things.

Whether or not the health benefits are there though is another story.  On the Tea Emporium website:

A delicate Japanese green tea that has been blended with the goodness of kombucha and the delicious flavours of lime.  Kombucha, an old Chinese remedy, binds the toxins in your body so that they can be flushed out of your system.

I used two pyramid teabags because I had a lot of water

The pyramid teabag smells strongly of lime and I love lime!  The brew is very very light.  The color of the brew is a golden green.  The aroma of the lime is very apparent initially in the brew, but gently tapers off after a while.  This doesn’t taste like a Japanese green tea at all – it lacks the umami and distinct seaweed richness.  The brew reminds me more of Chinese green tea.  The taste of lime lingers in your mouth long after you drink the tea!  A good or bad thing depending on your relationship with lime.  There is definitely caffeine in here, I can feel it’s kick.  I think this brew would be better used in the summer to make an iced tea with some fresh lime, mint, and honey.

I overall I would recommend this tea to be used as a base for an iced tea in the summer or for someone who wants a light green tea with lime & caffeine.

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The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) 2009 Trade Show Review March 8-10 Direct Energy Center

CRFA swag

My friend Liz gets tickets to the CRFA show every year and invited me to go. Not knowing what to expect, I agreed thinking I might be able to get some ideas for my The Kingdom of Tea.  I anticipated 2-3 hours max of food industry people talking about their products.  Boy was I wrong.  We got there around 10am and the first booth I walked by was giving away chocolate brownies and cheesecakes.  What the heck?  I opted against the desserts and selected a lighter fare of goat cheese on a cracker.  Oh this was going to be good.  The CFRA show was held at the Direct Energy Center inside the Canadian National Exhibition Center.  There were almost 300 1100 exhibitors!  1100!  *Diana’s Note. This morning I woke up and I realized I was estimating exhibitors from the addendum last night when I wrote this post.  These were exhibitors who were not included in the already published CFRA Show guide which had around 750 exhibitors.  Including the ones in the addendum this totals the tally to about 1100 exhibitors or so.  Holy cow.  Next year I’m going at least 2 days in a row or for a full day.

OM OM OM!

Most of the booths had samples and many of the companies such as McCain’s and Cedar were serving multiple items.  Okay I don’t eat meat, but here is a sample of the food that was there (meat and all included) lobster, sashimi, bacon, sausages, eggs, fresh steak, prime rib, muffins, tons of cookies, cakes, gelato, Greek food (dolmades, spanakopita), Italian food (pasta, pizza), slushies, ice cream, endless coffee stops, waffles, beer, hard liquor, cheese, chocolate fountains, condiments galore…etc.etc.  It was insane.  I’m a huge huge foodie, so I had lots and lots of fun.  I want to highlight all the tea exhibitors I came across there.

Ceylon's finest bagged tea?

The first tea I encountered was actually Dilmah Tea.  Their rep was bouncing off the wall telling me how fantastic their Ceylon tea was and encouraged me to leave my teabag for more than 10 minutes in my tiny sample cup filled with hot water saying it wouldn’t be bitter.  It was disgusting!  I had to chuck it out.  It was way too concentrated.  I proceeded to take one sample of each tea he was offering and review them in the comfort of my own home.  Next I encountered The Tea Emporium.  They were there pushing their new tea company Wabi Tea.  I got some samples so I will definitely be reviewing those for the website as well.  The next tea company I came across among the tons of food I was sampling, was actually Numi!  I’ve always wanted to try Numi.  Numi was kind enough to give me a full sized box of Chocolate Puerh Tea (oh course they’ve heard of Rocking the Republic!) so I will be sampling that as well.  I also got Morning Rise breakfast blend and Aged Earl Grey from them.

I heart yerba mate!

Numi was being pushed by their distributor who was also displaying Pixie Mate.  Which is… Yerba Mate in a bag!  Love it!  I’m a huge fan of yerba mate.  So I love the idea.  I got some samples of the tea so I will have to be reviewing that.  At the booth I sampled their instant yerba mate chai from a tetrapak type box and it was super yummy!  Oh yes I also sampled from Rooibos tea in a bottle.  It was phenomenal.  Too bad the company was new and hasn’t been picked up by a distributor yet.  Hopefully someone will carry their product soon.  Other tea samples I snagged were Yama Moto Yama’s Gyokuro green tea.  Tea candy by Bali’s Best.  An an instant chai tea latte mix by Oregon Chai.  Japanese sencha from supposedly the best sencha tea producer in Japan.  It was good!  They also had sencha cookies.  Oh and Stratford Tea Leaves was at the show which came as a surprise to me.  They were doing tea tastings and promoting their program for restaurants and cafes.

Tabasco smoke and fire!

I also tried various bottled Japanese and Chinese teas throughout the day.  Nothing new that I haven’t tried before.  My camera was buried at the bottom of my purse under all the food samples that I didn’t take that many pictures!  I will definitely definitely go to the show again next year.  It was like the Auto Show but MORE FUN!  Every booth had something unique to offer.  The Tabasco company had a fire erupt from the top of their booth occasionally and there was smoke that SMELLED like Tabasco sauce.  How cool is that.  Go with a starving stomach.  You will leave like you just visited the greatest buffet $30 could buy (a cost of a ticket).  We were there from 10am, left around 3pm and there was still lots to see!  When we were leaving Chef Michael Smith was on stage doing a demo.  I love him!  You know Chef at Home on the Food Network?

Oh I just want to add that if you clicked on the picture at the top, there is a picture of two McDonald’s Big Mac hamburgers in the picture.  This is because we bumped into Liz’s neighbour who works at McDonald’s head office and that was his business card.  Not because McDonald’s was there.  His business card entitles you to a free burger of choice.  Pretty cool eh?  He gave me two.  Even though I would never eat that disgusting crap again.  Okay maybe.  I do love being a vegetarian though.  Anyways, I cannot wait till the next show!  Jeni from the CRFA also brought to my attention that there is a CFRA Blog.  Which allows you to follow the show.

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Daytrip – The Best Tea Shops in Toronto

Mr. T (get it get it?)

Yesterday me and Lilac went to almost every single tea store in downtown Toronto that was rated in the BlogTo Best Tea spots in Toronto. We missed 3 of them on the list and went to 2 others that weren’t on there but here’s my review of the rest.  The first coffee and tea spot that we went to was actually Lettieri at the corner of Spadina and Queen W.  because Lilac was dying  for a coffee .  But I don’t count that one.  The selection was okay but as their focus isnt on tea, I don’t consider it a tea shop.

The first tea shop we went to on the list was David’s Teas on Queen West. David’s Tea was really impressive. The store is originally from Montreal, so I think the owner David has room to play around with a few ideas before he mastered all this.  Right when we went in we were immediately handed two tiny teacups with the tea of the day.  The store was packed with girls who were all oogling over the cute little tea samples set up inside David’s.  The store was brightly lit and modern, catering towards the younger more trendy Queen Street types.  They also sold cute little cupcakes along with a large selection of teas.  The female staff were fairly knowledgeable and good at promoting their various blends.  The store is fairly small though, and they only sell the tea leaves so you can’t grab one to go.  Oh and there is no room to sit.

We then headed over a little further west to Niche at 626 Queen Street West.  I missed the fact that the name is Niche Coffee & Tea Company.  There wasn’t a lot of tea in the store maybe around a dozen loose leaf tea choices, so I couldn’t even consider this a tea store but they had a good selection for people who just want to eat, relax, study and have some good tea.

Pretty cakes and tea

Tea store number 3 was The Red Tea Box.  The Red Tea Box is a very interesting store.  The store is Asian run and they sell an assortment of Chinese and Indian teas along with fondant cakes, and cute tea related accessories.  The ambiance has a very asian antique feel and is very beautifully decorated.  The girl who they hired to work there though was a noob though.  So don’t do there expecting quality tea advice.  They have limited seating there and in the back, it was cold so we didn’t bother looking.  Maybe next time.  Oh yes and you are not allowed to take pictures inside the store, so don’t expect to have a cute little tea party inside with lots of photos to commemorate the event.  Their teas averaged 9-12$ for a small tin.

Tea store number 4 was Tealish hidden on Walnut Avenue.  The store is brightly lit and modern and reminded us a lot of David’s Teas except it was bigger and you could order tea,  There were the cute little trinkets The staff there were not very friendly when we went .  Maybe that’s why they got a 2.8/5 rating on BlogTo.

Teas right by the door

We then headed over to the Moonbean Cafe at 30 St. Andrew Street in Kensington Market.  This place was packed!  I’m surprised that Starbucks is still moving into Kensington with a great tea and coffee place like this in the area.  All the patrons appeared to be regulars.  The atmosphere was really laidback and cozy here.  They had lots of seating inside and out.  The carried tea canisters near the door in large glass jars.  Their tea selection was pretty decent with around 30 tea blends or so, but again as their focus isn’t strictly on teas, I wouldn’t call it a tea store.  You just grab the giant loose leaf jar of tea you want, bring it to the counter and they make you a fresh blend.  The staff were super friendly and chill there.  It’s less than $2 a cup of tea.

Next up was actually Essence of Life in Kensington Market.  I was checking out their selection of Organic teas.  I discovered a couple of new brands today including Dr. Stuarts from the U.K..  I love Essence of Life.  Their organic food is pretty decently priced and the store is actally owned by a really nice Taiwanese couple.

We then headed up to Rosedale and went to the House of Tea.  The store had a really old school Britisha Indian feel.  They had a large selection of pricey teapots, tea accessories and of course lots of loose leaf teas.  They gave me and Lilac a sample of loose leaf teas each.  Mine was Ginger Apple and Lilac’s was some tea with a rock in it.  Hahaha added minerals right?  They had a really good selection of teas in large tin canisters on the wall.

I have to mention this.  Even though it’s not about tea.  Me and Lilac while we were walking I saw Rainbow Tree!  I’ve been dying to try this place since I read about it on Veg.ca!  I quickly dashed inside and got a vegetarian vietnamese roll.  It was pretty good.  The owner was a little super duper nice Chinese lady.  We also got dried mock beef to bring home and cook with.  It’s located at 925 Yonge St.  You gotta try this place.  They even cater!

Tea store number 7 was Golden Mint Coffee & Tea Co. at 911 Yonge Street.  The was very dimly lit and rustic.  There was a giant toy boat on display on one giant wall of teas.  They have a very large selection of teas in canisters and even though they are a coffee and tea co, I would consider this a tea store as well as they seem to take their tea very seriously by the quantity of their selection.  They also sold matcha whisks, bodum teapots, and tea accessories.  Golden Mint reminded me of a cigar store actually, but darker.  Two elderly gentlemen sat alone solemnly at the window sipping their drinks and reading.  Morbid!  Actually their candy apples looked pretty damn awesome behind the display counter.  So I would go back and try some of those.

Underground tea market

We then headed to Pusateris and Whole Foods and actually walked about another tea shop!  The Tea Market in the underground walkway between Yonge and Bay.  Love it.  If more people were into Tea they would really appreciate this store.  They have a good selection of teas and have lots of seating area.

The last tea shop we went to was actually the Tea Emporium in the Hazelton lane mall, but it was closed by the time we finished at Pusateris and Whole Foods.  Boo!  But it was an eventful day, I had a lot of great field research done and I am that much closer towards my goals!  =)

So that totals 8 tea stores, 3 organic supermarkets and a countless number of cool little shops we went to including the Magic Pony, and the Paper Place.  Phew!

Ps.  I apoligize for the eye sore I’m going to change the layout again soon. I was just playing with a different theme because I didn’t like the old one.

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