Jing Organic Dragon Well Green Tea

My mom found this tea in her guest room and decided that it was left by some family member or friend as a thank you gift. I've of course claimed it as mine own, my precious, and have proceed to drink pot after pot of the stuff.

Jing Organic Dragon Well Green Tea

Dry Leaf: long, flat and vibrant green tending to a darker forest green with hints of yellow-gold. Has a sweet fresh cut grass smell with a slight saltiness (I included a dry leaf picture from the JING website as my shot is not very clear).

Wet Leaf: pale green-yellow leaves and stems, uncurled and showing rough chopping. Malty scent with hint of seaweed, fish and iodine. Light butter tones.

Liquour: Clear pale lemony colour. Light smells of cut grass and steamed sweet chestnuts. Smooth almost oily texture with a cooling effect on the tongue when exhaled. Sweet herbaceous flavours with slight chestnut, butter and cream.

A good soothing tea with comforting flavours for those moments you want to prolong, like watching your favourite movie in flannel pyjamas.

Perfect Pot for Two

I recently moved back to London and as this was not a major move (not sure how long I'll be here or what life will throw my way next) and I could only bring over whatever would fit into two suitcases (mind you one of them was big enough for me to fit uncomfortably inside - below is proof for your giggling pleasure) I sadly had to choose function (clothes and important documents) over fun (books and knick-knacks).

Sadly this meant that my tea cups and teapots had to be left behind. I did have fun trying to drink through as much of my tea as possible and then gave it to grateful friends (good homes all). However, it meant that once in London I had no kettle, no teapot, no tea cups and no tea - HORROR!

Okay I exaggerate a little, I did bring one or two unopened teas with me from Montreal and I quickly started buying teas here to rebuild my collection (we're at about half the selection I had before but it does give me the opportunity to try new things, and some old favourites), yet I was still without the other tea essentials.

We moved into our new little flat (we call it the sub as it's a semi-basement place with a fridge that makes submarine noises - specifically the echo sound after the sonar ping) and found a kettle, bought tea cups from Ikea and a secondhand store, bought mugs from Sainsbury's, and were given a cute teapot as a housewarming gift from my mother.

Left: Ikea 365+ Tea cup and Saucer
Right: Sainsbury's Tea Time Mug set

This stumpy pot is the best teapot for two I've come across.

FORLIFE Stump Teapot

It handles well and the lid is solid but easy to open which is key in getting your loose leaf in and out at the right time.

Holds enough liquid for two mugs of tea or four small tea cups (ideal for two people or one tea-lover).

Keeps the tea warm for quite awhile (I haven't timed it, but I'm a slow sipper and have not had a cold second cup yet).

Pours well without being drippy.

Comes with a removable infuser (I know that a lot of teapots do these days, but this one has a nice little handle so you don't need to fiddle - and it folds down so not to block the lid).

Easy to clean...

And comes in great colours, mine is mandarin but I think it's more pumpkin orange (maybe I have Hallowe'en on the brain though). I also really like the lime, carrot and turquoise colour choices.

I have to say so far I haven't been disappointed by this little guy and though he's not as funky or beautiful as my other teapots he's pretty stylish for a stump.

Busaba Eathai Lemongrass Tea (Herbal Infusion)

I've been in London a few weeks now and though I have been drinking tea regularly (breakfast, lunch, tea time, before and after dinner, before bed... really whenever I feel I need a pick me up or something to sooth my soul) I have yet to get out and try some of London's many tea shop and tea house teas.

So far my first encounter with tea that has not taken place at home has been at a quite nice Thai restaurant called Busaba Eathai on Old Street. Whilst everyone else ordered wine or beer to accompany their spicy meals I decided to try out the Lemongrass Tea.

This herbal infusion or tisane was nicely presented in a little white teapot with sipping cup, honey and cashew and coconut cookies. There was enough tea in the pot to fill my cup four times and keep it nice and hot the whole time (forgot to look at the make of pot as it really was quite good).

As it is not a tea but rather a lemongrass infusion I cannot comment on the leaf. The lemongrass looked, well... like lemongrass, stalky and green/white.

Liquor: Was a lovely light pink-gold (not well captured by my old phone's camera) and crystal clear. Oddly it didn't smell much of lemon, rather it smelt of almonds and a bit biscuity. I thought maybe the cookies had contaminated my first pour, but even with my nose firmly in the teapot it still came out almonds. The taste was rather the reverse, with the lemon flavour coming out more (though still not strong which surprised me considering how pungent lemongrass usually is) then the biscuit and frangipani flavours.

Overall it was a light infusion that went well with the spicy Thai food, helping to cut the burn and not overwhelming the food's flavours, however next time I'd have a beer instead.

David's Cream of Earl Grey (Organic)

I've tried a number of David's Teas, but this is the only one I actually bought for myself.
I'm a lover of Earl Grey blends and have tried many, it's my go-to morning tea, so I thought I should give one of his a try.

The name is in French because I live in Quebec.

Why Cream of Earl Grey over one of their other Earl Grey blends? Well because I liked the idea of it already having the creamy taste I enjoy from adding a bit of milk.

In case you are having a hard time making out the description and ingredients they are as follows:

Description: Lovers of Earl Grey adore this creamy alternative to the original blend.

Ingredients: black tea, cornflowers, vanilla flavour, bergamot oil.

David's Tea Cream of Earl Grey (Organic)

Dry Leaf: twisty black-brown leaf with small blue flowers and yellow petals. Has an intensely orange scent with a hint of dark chocolate and sweetness.

Wet Leaf: rough edged light brown tea leaves with a hint of olive green to them. Pale yellow petals. Light orange scent and a touch of vanilla.

Liquor: clear orangey-caramel colour. Velvety texture with delicate orange and vanilla flavour and a creamy nut finish.

It's not an overly complex flavour, but I find it just right for lazy weekend mornings where I putter around the house whilst sipping my tea. Not something I'd drink to wake myself up quickly on work days.

Pure Leaf Iced Tea

I was recently in the Plattsburgh with my husband and friends for some State side shopping. We decided to have a picnic at the beach so stopped at a Stewart's convenience store because I thought they'd carry Stewart's sodas and I wanted to try one of the flavours we don't get in Montreal. The answer was they didn't carry ANY Stewart's sodas.

You can see why I was confused.

So in my disappointment I took a Pure Leaf™ Iced Tea instead. The selection was small (4 flavours) and I went with Raspberry (I don't drink anything that says "diet" so that knocked out two choices immediately).

Find out more here

Picnic purchases done I got back in the sweltering car and we continued on our merry way to the beach. Once we'd found a shady spot and spread out our blanket I cracked my ice tea open.

The smell was sweet and raspberry heavy but I could still make out the black tea bite.

The taste was overwhelmingly raspberry and nectar sweet making it hard to taste much of the tea flavour. There was a hint of astringency, but whether that was from the tea or the citric acid added to "provide tartness" I can't say. 

I'll admit I was disappointed as it uses real brewed tea (though I have no idea of the quality of this tea anyways) so was hoping to be able to taste it. None-the-less it is one of the better ready made ice teas I've had as it left no aftertaste and did somewhat quench my thirst. My major complaint was the incredible sweetness of the drink, but there are apparently 10 flavours; 2 of which are labelled as not too sweet and 1 is unsweetened so maybe I'd prefer those.

Ice tea days

It's getting really hot here as summer pushes on.
The heat and sun, though nice after a long winter and wet spring, are not my friends. My fair skin burns easily, my hair frizzes and my brain feels like it's melting. So I spend most of the time hiding indoors, yet the heat still finds me (I don't have AC in my apartment and fans only do some much).

Oddly though I love tea I had never really tried iced tea, except the ready-to-drink versions from Snapple, Nestea, Lipton's and so on, which I don't drink too much of due to their usually high sugar content.
I knew about the existence of iced tea made from real tea, but had some how failed to ever try it (maybe because my family will drink hot tea even if the roads are melting) until I was in Burlington with tea drinking girlfriends and we found a magical tea house that served amazing home-brewed iced teas (I'll tell you more about this wondrous tea house and shop another time). 

I fell in love.

After a few trials with plastic pitchers, teapots, and large bowls I realized the error of my ways (trying to filter out loose leaf tea from a large bowl is VERY messy) and bought a Takeya Iced Tea Maker (because it seemed simple and was on sale when I saw it).

I haven't been disappointed at all.

And it's very straight forward to use (I prefer the cold brew method, but you can also hot brew the tea and add ice to chill it).

Step 1
Take the Takeya Iced Tea Maker and remove lid and infuser.
Fill almost to brim with cold water (I use filtered water).
Measure out 8 tablespoons of loose leaf tea into the infuser (you can use bags or blooming teas as well).

Step 2
Twist the infuser back into the lid.
I then swirl the infuser in the water a bit to get the leaves wet, so they don't all float immediately to the surface, before securing the lid in place.

Step 3
Leave in the fridge overnight or for 8 hours.
Remove the infuser.
Drink your lovely iced tea!

 Pros
- Simple to use
- Nice way to use up older teas that are loosing flavour
- Can mix in fruit, herbs and other things or make your own blends
- Airtight lid means no fun smells/tastes picked up from food in your fridge (my husband loves making spicy marinades so this is really important for us, I don't relish the idea of garlic tea)
- Lots of space in the infuser for tea to expand

Cons
- infuser is hard to wash (really that's all I've got after 3 months of use)
- my infuser is a bit short for the pitcher, but it still works well and I've noticed that now they come with a sort of extender to make the infuser reach further into the pitcher.

I really do love the simplicity of it all and though cold brewing is a slow process I find the tea has less bitterness too it. The hot-brew method is very fast, about 10 minutes and it's ready, so better if you need to make some quick.

There are lots of different iced tea makers out there just be sure to find one that allows the tea to expand so you get the most flavour from your leaf and is airtight to keep it fresh and tea tasting!