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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Oolong Infused “Prosciutto” and Veggie Frittata Recipe

Thank you Karen from the Tea Spot for sharing this fabulous oolong tea recipe with our readers!  She recommends using their vintage oolong for this dish.  Please send in some pictures Karen if you have any or if any readers make this, I would be more than happy to post pictures!  As I am a vegetarian, I recommend substituting prosciutto with eggplant.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ medium yellow onion chopped (about ½ cup)
• 1 medium squash chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium red bell pepper chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2 cups of mixed mushrooms (shiitake, baby bellos & oyster) diced
• ½ bunch of asparagus, diagonally sliced into 1/4 in wide sliced (about 2 cups)
• 8-10 large eggs (or egg whites only)
• 1/3 cup soy cream (or heavy cream)
• 2 tablespoons of loose oolong tea to yield ½ cup of liquid Oolong Tea Concentrate

To make Oolong Tea Concentrate: Bring 5 oz water to a boil and let cool for 2-3 minutes, which will bring water to 180°, a good temperature to steep oolong tea.  Place 2 TBS of tea in an 8 oz measuring cup. Pour 4 oz hot water over tea leaves and steep for 3 minutes.  Strain tea leaves and place liquid in refrigerator to chill.  **Save tea leaves to make iced tea.

• 2 ounces sliced prosciutto coarsely chopped (optional if you are vegetarian like me!)
• 1 cup Dubliner cheese grated (About 4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• To garnish: 1 avocado chopped and 1 tomato chopped

Prep Time: 20-25 min / Cook time: 15 – 20 min
Serving Size: 4 – 6
Level: Easy

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to broil.
2. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium – high heat. Sauté onions until soft (Optional: add 1 tablespoon of chopped already steeped Oolong tea leaves). Add pepper, squash, mushrooms and asparagus and sauté. Cover and let cook for 3 – 4 minutes.
3. Whisk eggs and creamer in a large bowl.  Add chilled steeped oolong tea and whisk more thoroughly.
4. Pour in egg mixture to the veggies in the skillet and gently stir.  Cover & reduce the heat to low and cook until eggs are almost set (about 8 – 10 minutes).  Evenly add prosciutto and basil to skillet and let sit for 1-2 minutes.  Loosen edges with spatula and turn off stove.
5. Sprinkle cheese on top, place in oven and cook until the top starts to brown (about 3-5 minutes). Take out of oven and let sit for 2-3 minutes.  Loose edges with spatula.
6. Place a large serving plate over the pan, and carefully invert to turn out the frittata.  Let sit for 5 – 10 minutes
7. Cut into wedges & serve.  Garnish with Avocado & diced tomatoes.

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 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!

Don’t forget to sign up for our site to get all our latest tea reviews and other goodies straight to your mailbox! Click Here!

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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The Tea Spot Monkey Picked Organic White Tea Review

I hope no grubby monkey fingers actually touched my tea!

When I first opened up my Organic Monkey Picked White tea sample from The Tea Spot I was surprised.  I was faced with big beautiful and colorful tea leaves ranging from shades of greens, to golden yellows and rich browns.  The ingredients are only 100% single estate region tea from the Fuijian province in China.

The reasoning behind this tea from The Tea Spot is as follows:

Legend has it that Buddhist monks trained monkeys to harvest the leaves from the top of wild tea trees.  However, today the term Monkey-Picked refers to the highest quality tea.

As per instructions, I used 1 teaspoon and steeped my tea for 3-6 minutes in 176F water.  The liquor turned a beautiful dark yellow with an apricot undertone.  The aroma was nice and light.  The body of the tea had a thin body but had a beautiful gentle aroma to it.  As it is organic and fair trade it gets bonus points in my book.  I would recommend this tea who is looking for something that is light in caffeine, more on the delicate side, with big leaves and beautiful color.

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