Review: Ocha & Co. Organic Japanese Fukamushi Sencha

It's been quite cold in NYC lately, and I've mostly been sipping on roasted, darker teas. But this blustery weather also has me craving something deeply vegetal, fresh, and sweet. Cue this beautiful Fukamushi Sencha from Ocha & Co., which entered my life at just the right time.

Ocha & Co. is an online business focusing on selling the freshest Japanese tea possible. Based in Japan, the company procures their teas on a weekly basis so customers from around the world will receive their teas shortly after they've been processed. The company recently reached out to me to try a few samples, and I decided to start with the Fukamushi Sencha as this is also part of a holiday giveaway we are hosting together (be sure to check it out!).

Japanese green teas can be tricky for me- sometimes they upset my stomach, and if they aren't prepared correctly (which happens much too often in restaurants), they can be bitter and almost undrinkable. But when it's prepared carefully, sencha can be a symphony of greenness (is that a thing? Well, it is now).

This is a 'deep steam' green tea, which is a little bit different from a typical sencha. From Ocha & Co.'s website:

The steaming process is twice as long as usual, breaks down the structure of the leaf, releasing valuable healthy nutrients and bioactives such as beta-carotene and Vitamin E into the brew.

The dry leaves are a rich, deep green. The flat, needle-like leaves are soft and delicate. The scent of these leaves are certain to help cure the wintertime blues. Sweet fresh green peas, tender baby spinach, and spring grass after a soaking rain.

The brewed tea is a vibrant green, with lots of little dark green bits. The liquor tastes as deeply steamed as the name implies. It tastes as if I took the freshest baby spinach I could find and steamed it until it was thick and concentrated. Not a crispy leaf to be found, just lush, soothing greenness (a symphony of it, shall we say?). There is a savory hint to the brew, as if I added a dash of soy sauce to the greens.

I prepared this tea in a glass teapot outfitted with a very fine mesh strainer, similar to a kyusu teapot. This tea needs short steeps, and water no hotter than 185° (I prefer using closer to 170°). You can certainly use a gaiwan, but I'd recommend pouring through a strainer if you don't want to have bits of broken leaf in the brew. This is a good tea for the morning or early afternoon; it's mild in flavor but complex.

If you are intrigued by this tea, please be sure to enter the giveaway I'm hosting with Ocha & Co.! You can win a 100g packet of this tea, as well as a beautiful Tokonameyaki teapot. Thank you to Ocha & Co. for this tea, I greatly enjoyed it. To learn more about this tea, please visit the Ocha & Co. website.

Holiday Giveaway: Tea and Teapot from Ocha & Co.

photo courtesy of Ocha & Co

Last week in my Tea Happiness 2018 Holiday Gift Guide I mentioned teas from Ocha & Co., an online business based in Japan. Ocha & Co. sells small batches of tea that they order on a weekly basis, so customers from around the world will receive their teas shortly after the teas have been processed. I enjoyed Ocha & Co's products so much that I've teamed up with them to offer you a fun holiday giveaway! The winner will receive two prizes- first a 100g pack of the beautiful Fukamushi Sencha, a deep-steamed sencha with a soul-warming vegetal flavor that's packed with umami (review coming this Thursday). Plus you'll also receive a lovely Tokonameyaki teapot, pictured above. This teapot is perfect for preparing Japanese green teas!

Click HERE to enter the giveaway!! 

The winner will be announced at the end of the month. Wouldn't it be fun to win this set after the holiday whirlwind is over? This giveaway is sponsored and managed by Ocha & Co. Best of luck to everyone!

Interview: Brandon Friedman of Rakkasan Tea Company

Brandon Friedman (photo courtesy of Rakkasan Tea Company)

I'm pleased to present an interview with Brandon Friedman, co-founder of Rakkasan Tea Company, a vendor trying to make a difference in the industry. Rakkasan works with small farmers in post-conflict tea-growing areas such as Vietnam, Laos, and Rwanda to help the economy of the area and bring their teas to US customers. Learn more about their mission, why this goal is so important to the founders, the challenges they face as a new tea company, and more, below.

A Visit To The Charleston Tea Plantation

When my husband suggested we visit Charleston, SC with our kids for spring break, there one was thing that instantly popped into my mind. Not the immaculate architecture, the historic sites, or the southern cooking. Naturally, the first thing I thought of was 'We need to visit the Charleston Tea Plantation!!'. 

Interview: Joe Muscaglione of Cha Gardens

There are many similarities between the tea and wine industries. Terroir, processing, local expertise, and a keen palate are just a few variables. I recently started corresponding with Joe Muscaglione, a well known wine sommelier that decided to jump into the world of tea. He has helped to set up tea programs in restaurants in Las Vegas, and also currently sells tea online at Cha Gardens. I was fascinated by the overlap in industries, so I knew we had to do an interview. Learn a little bit about the similarities between tea and wine, and the unique tea from the Daba mountain below.

The Tea Happiness 2017 Gift Guide

Just like that, Thanksgiving is over and the season of festive holiday gatherings begin. It's a special time to spend with family and friends, and of course everyone likes to come with a gift in hand. If you're still wondering what to get for the tea lover in your life, you've come to the right place! Here are my pics for this year's holiday gift guide. There is a little something for everyone on your list!

Green Tea Set: The beautifully presented green tea assortment from Ippodo Tea makes a perfect gift for someone just starting on their tea journey, or basically anyone that loves Japanese tea. The set pictured above includes three tins of Ippodo tea: a toasty and mellow genmaicha, a nicely creamy, vegetal matcha, and a soothing hojicha. This and other gift sets can be purchased at their NY store, or online.

Matcha Treats: For the matcha lover that already has all the necessary tools, how about matcha candy? I'm a huge fan of matcha kitkats- they are amazing but can be difficult to find. I recently discovered you can get them directly from Amazon, right here. Or for something a little more decadent you can order from Royce, the Japanese chocolatier. They make a fantastic 'macca chocolate' that is available on their website.

Necklace by A Gift Of Tea

Handmade Tea Jewelry: For the person that likes to wear their love of tea, consider the beautiful handmade tea-themed jewelry from A Gift Of Tea. She puts a great deal of love into her work, and it's versatile enough to wear for any occasion.

Traveling With Tea: For the jet-setting tea lover, I've got just the thing. It's difficult to transport loose leaf tea carefully for travel, especially if you are taking more than one type. To travel with your tea in style, this cleverly designed case by The Tea Lover's Archives is just the thing. The case includes two food safe tea tins for loose leaf tea, and there is a pocket on the inner lid is for fillable tea bags, conventional tea bags, or other small essentials. This kit is perfect for taking tea around town, or across the globe. The photos above are courtesy of The Tea Lover's Archives.

Oliver Pluff teas

Going to a holiday party, but don't know what to give the host? Here are a few ideas:
-I like gifting tins of Oliver Pluff & Co colonial tea blends. I love the graphics on the tins, and the blends are a great way to learn about teas often consumed in colonial America. They sell individual tins like you see above, and I also like the Teas Of The Boston Tea Party set.

-If you're already giving tea, how about a teapot to go along with it? I like to keep things simple when I gift teapots, since everyone has different taste. I find that the simple and cheerful color choices of Beehouse teapots are a great option. They are simple but fun. They are also quite sturdy and are great for home or office

Lauku Teas

-For something a little different, what about hand-picked herbal tea grown on a woman-run farm in Latvia? I've been enjoying beautiful herbal tea by Lauku Tea for awhile now, and haven't had a chance to post a review. But these herbal teas are lovely, and support a wonderful company. Lately I've been winding down with Evita's Twilight.

-For something a bit more handmade, I love all the little pins, coasters, paintings, and cards at Tea Thought's etsy shop. They even sell tea themed wrapping paper! I find that Etsy is a great resource in general for teaware and tea themed gifts. 

There are endless other options for tea and gifts. If you're still not sure to get the tea fanatic in your life, feel free to drop me an email, or comment on this post. I'd be happy to help with more suggestions. Happy Holidays everyone!
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Flights of Fancy: A Green Tea Tasting

 

Imagine a day where you get to drink green teas all afternoon, chat with some of your favorite people, and munch on perfectly paired sweets. I won't deny it, being a tea blogger has its advantages. It's always an adventure when tea people get together, and our last tasting is no exception. I had the privilege of joining some of my favorite tea friends for an extremely memorable afternoon, and thought it would be fun to share it with all of you.

To begin the day we started with a tasting of the new Matcha Gyokuro selection at La Colombe, expertly prepared by Alexis of Teaspoons and Petals, the resident tea consultant. She brewed the tea to perfection using a Silverton pour-over brewer, which was also fun to watch. I arrived late to our first tasting, so sadly I didn't get any good images. Needless to say, after a few sips of this well-balanced tea and exchanging hugs with some friends, I was ready for the adventure yet to come. 

We made our way to the International Culinary Center (ICC) and up to library, the perfect venue for our Rishi Tea tasting. The ICC library is a special place. The walls are made of glass and lined with shelves upon shelves of culinary books. I think this is what the library looks like in foodie heaven! We were greeted by the always elegant Keiko from Rishi Tea, and were sat at a long table decorated with flowers and adorned with plates of decadent French macarons and mochi. Like I said earlier, being a tea blogger has its advantages. 

Keiko chose the sweets well. The macaron flavors paired perfectly with each green tea, highlighting savory and vegetal notes. We had the chance to try Rishi green teas of various cultivars, something I've never done before. I don't know as much about Japanese green teas as I should (except that they are delicious), and I was grateful to learn and taste so many high-quality teas. This was a unique opportunity.

The teas were broken down into 'flights', small groups of tastings where we could compare and contrast (many of you have had either tea, beer, or wine flights before, I'm sure). I won't go too deep into specifics so be sure to check out Nicole's post for a look at the entire tea flight menu, as well as more photos from the day. I was focused on the experience and not as much on notes and photography.

The first flight had Sincha Machiko and Matcha Okumidori. The Shizu (aka machiko) cultivar is known for its cherry blossom floral flavor, and the tea certainly kept its promise. It was like tasting a fresh blossom. The okumidori cultivar made a chocolatey thick matcha, which reminded me of a roasted tea. After these two teas, I was eager for more. A great way to start.

The second flight was dedicated to teas of the Sae Midori cultivar.  We had a hand-picked shincha which surprised me with its delicate flavor. It wasn't grassy or the slightest bit bitter. We then had an extremely savory and light gyokuro, and a matcha that was a touch more bitter than the first, but still chocolatey with an interesting buckwheat note. I usually stick with fairly cool water for teas such as these, but I was surprised to learn that Keiko slightly warmer water for the gyokuro, at 170°. It's a good reminder to keep an open mind about water temperature- experimenting a little bit can help enhance the flavor of the tea, or at least change the flavor to something your palate prefers. 

We then moved to the Yabukita flight, a cultivar that is more common than the others. But these teas were anything but standard. This flight started with a super sweet shincha without a hint of bitterness. We then moved to an even sweeter 'Nishi family Shincha' that was a bit deeper, with a little hint of bitterness. Oh and in case you were wondering, all the sips were interspersed with mochi and macaron goodness. Tough day, right? Unfortunately I had to leave the festivities early because responsibilities were calling. I didn't have a chance to try a few of the teas, but Keiko made sure I tasted one more before I left.

I finished the afternoon on a perfectly sweet note. Keiko whipped up Matcha Hekisui for me, and it tasted like vibrant sweet peas. It was my favorite of the various matchas we had. It wasn't easy to leave such a cheerful room of fabulous women, but obligations were calling.

Needless to say I was flying high on tea happiness by the end of our tasting, feeling grateful to have so many amazing women in my life. Thank you to La Colombe, Rishi, Keiko, and the ICC for such a dreamy afternoon. Being a tea blogger is, to quote Larry David, pretty, pretty, pretty... pretty good.

Tea Pairing 101: Green Tea and Mochi

Tea, sweets, and art. Add in a dash of fashion, and I'm one happy gal. What do all of these things have in common? I'm excited to present the next Tea Pairing 101 collaboration with Jee and Georgia! In this pairing we combined a few of my favorite things into an afternoon of green tea and mochi magic. Read on below to see how to pair green tea with a variety of flavors.

Interview: Tyas Huybrechts of The Tea Crane

Photo courtesy of Tyas Huybrechts

Tyas Huybrechts is not just someone that sells tea. He is a Belgian ex-pat living in Japan, teaching Japanese tea culture, and living the beautiful tea life. He also sells tea at The Tea Crane but, as he says, "I don’t actually consider myself a tea vendor, but rather something closer to a missionary spreading the value that tea can bring to our lives." These are the wise words of Tyas.

I'm excited to bring you our interview below. He explains the beauty of Japanese tea culture quite poetically. Find out what teas he recommends for Japanese tea newbies, the challenges of teaching the Japanese tea ceremony, and many more beautiful facts about his tea adventure.

Tasting: Organic Roasted Bancha by The Tea Crane

Last week's weather of 'sweltering hot and humid' seems to be hanging around. That's summer in NYC. I've been trying to catch up on tea reviews lately, which hasn't been easy since I have such an imposing pile to get through. But drinking hot tea actually cools the body, so I've been drinking hot tea just as much as the iced brews. Today's tasting is a roasted bancha tea from The Tea Crane. A mountain grown organic roasted bancha called 'The Mountains At Rest', to be exact. I love this name! It's poetic and quite visual. I can imagine a happily relaxed mountain, carefully tending to her tea trees surrounded by gently rolling mist.

The Tea Crane's owner Tyas Huybrechts has a wonderful blog that you should follow if you don't already know about it. He's a Belgian ex-pat living in Japan, and has become a certified Japanese tea instructor. His blog is extremely interesting and informative.

The Tea Crane's website describes the tea as:

Bancha employs that more fully-grown tea-leaf which is too mature, and has therefore become too bitter, for use in producing high-quality sencha, and is harvested later; such leaf is first processed just as for sencha – by means of a combination of steaming, rolling and drying – but is then stored until it is required, whereupon it is roasted immediately before packaging and shipping.  

The dry leaves are shades of dark army green and browns. There are some twigs, full, and broken leaves in the mix, which makes sense for a tea of this style. The leaves are quite large, and have an aroma similar to hojicha, but something slightly more vegetal and woody, not just earthy and toasty. I'm thinking of dried beans and old tree branches.

The brew gives off an amazingly strong roasty aroma, it reminds me of coffee. It's earthy but there is a hint of something vegetal. Maybe like those beans I mentioned?

The tea holds on to that roast, and coffee-inspired flavor. It is woodsy, earthy, roasted, with a toasted bread flavor. There is also a slight vegetal something, again I think of beans. I want to just put my feet up and sip it for hours. There is a lingering smoky flavor on my palate. It stuck around for a very long time. Quite impressive! This tea has a nice body and mouthfeel. It's comforting yet complex.

I can't wait to try and cold-brew this tea. I think it'll be incredibly refreshing, similar to the tea I reviewed last week. I would like to pair this tea with something smokey and savory, I'm thinking of a flavorful Chinese BBQ pork bun. Ok, now my tummy is rumbling...

Thank you Tias for the amazing sample! I have a few more to try, so stay tuned. I hope everyone is having a great week.

Tasting: Kumagawa from Mellow Monk

In NYC the season changes from spring, to sweltering hot and humid. There isn't much of a ramp up to summer; damp and unbearably hot seems to happen overnight. I like to drink hot tea year round, even on the hottest days but when that humidity gets unbearable, only a cold tea will do. I like to cold brew most of my teas. It's super easy to do and imparts a very smooth flavor. Jee of Oh How Civilized recently published a great how-to on cold brew, check it out here if you need a tutorial.

When I was recently given the choice of samples to review from Mellow Monk tea, Kumagawa caught my eye. This lightly roasted green tea comes in cold-brewable sachets, made for the fridge. I don't normally go for bagged teas but I love cold-brewed hojicha and Paul from Mellow Monk said it was a bit lighter than hojicha, but very refreshing. How could I say no to that? 

This green tea comes from tea maker Kazuo Watanabe, a grower and artisan in Kumamoto. The dry leaf is nutty and roasty, very similar to hojicha. It has a slight something different, something a bit more pungent, but it's difficult to describe. The Mellow Monk site describes a 'hickory' note, so that's what I'll say it is. It's a bit woody but something more savory. Actually the aroma is a bit smoky too, which leads me to think this tea would be good in a barbecue sauce. I'll have to think about that a bit...

I added 3 sachets for a 2 quart pitcher. This is a little more than suggested but I like my iced tea super strong. I popped it in the fridge for about 5-6 hours, and ended up with an extremely refreshing tea. I accidentally left the bags in the pitcher overnight and it was just as good after about 9 more hours of steeping. The brew never got bitter or overpowering. It's nutty, slightly grassy, has a little hint of what I imagine is 'hickory' and smoke, and is extremely refreshing. My family and I have been drinking this tea all week, and I took it on a walk through the park on a typical disgustingly hot, soupy day. It takes a powerful tea to cut through the NYC haze, and this one did the trick. 

This tea is light enough to reach for throughout the day. I don't think I'd start my day with it as I like something with a bit more body and heft, but this is a great choice for mid-morning, through to the evening. It can also be brewed hot, which I haven't tried yet since I love it so much out of the fridge.

To learn more about this tea you can visit the Mellow Monk website here. Thank you to Paul for the sample! I have a few more to review, can't wait to try them.

Tasting: Emerald Spring Green Tea from Nepali Tea Traders

I had the opportunity to taste a few unique teas from Nepali Tea Traders at the World Tea Expo this past June. The green pearls of Agni were quite memorable, and unlike anything I'd tasted before. I had a nice chat with the founder Maggie, and she generously sent a few samples shortly upon returning from the Expo. The company works with tea farmers in Nepal to improve the economic situation for the farmers and their families.

As much as I wanted to just drink more of the green pearls, I decided to sample a different tea first. The day was bright and sunny with a gentle breeze stirring through the leaves so I decided on the Emerald Spring green tea. It felt like the right thing to try on such a vivid day.

Here is what Nepali Tea Traders has to say about this tea:

After hand-plucking, the leaves are quickly de-enzymed and conditioned. The result is a cup with a lovely green liquor and aroma of wildflowers. The tea is sweet and vegetal, reflecting all the freshness and beauty of spring in Nepal.

When I opened the package I noticed a familiar aroma. I stuck my nose right in and inhaled deeply. It smelled like something I knew, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. A steamed vegetable? Maybe. After a few more vigorous sniffs (good thing I was alone), an image popped into my head. It’s seaweed. More specifically, the seaweed you spoon out of miso soup and happily slurp up. It has that cooked vegetal seaweed flavor, but also sweetness and a bit of something savory that brings miso soup to mind. I was instantly craving a sushi dinner.

The tea steeped up to a different flavor profile- the aroma of the liquor is much sweeter, and an interesting floral note emerged. I closed my eyes and imagined fresh cut spring grass and steamed asparagus (those two things together create a strange image but hey, that's what I saw. Maybe it was a picnic of steamed asparagus under an old oak tree). The brew tastes sweet and slightly floral but I can’t put my finger on what type of flower it would be. It's a lush springtime flavor. I really enjoyed this tea.

I could see drinking this tea all throughout the warmer months, and possibly in the darkness of winter to bring back images of vibrant green fields and blooming flowers. Thank you to Nepali Tea Traders for this sample!

Review: Teavivre Organic Tian Mu Mao Feng Green tea

A photo posted by sara shacket (@tea_happiness) on May 21, 2016 at 9:22am PDT

It's a great time of year for tea drinking (ok, when is it not a great time of year for tea drinking?). Many spring teas have been released, and I recently received a package of fresh teas from Teavivre. It just so happens that I needed a Chinese green tea to review for a tea class that I'm taking through ITEI, and I decided to try Teavivre's Organic Tian Mu Mao Feng. Teavivre describes this tea as pure tea buds and new leaves. In fact, Mao Feng refers to the fuzzy tea buds. This is an important thing to note for later in the post.

I've been delving deeper into tea tasting through my class, and I think the more structured tastings are helping me to identify more characteristics in a tea. Since this is a Chinese tea, we decided to use a gaiwan. The leaves had a lot of flavor to share with me, and I was able to get quite a few steeps out of them.

Teavivre lists the harvest time as April 14th, 2016. This tea is from Tian Mu mountain in Hangzhou City. I've had very good experiences with the teas I've had from Teavivre in the past. They package the teas in well sealed vacuum bags, and they have a nice selection.

The dry leaves are a deep, dark foresty green with a little bit of white fuzz scattered about. The leaves are small, and tightly twisted. This tea is supposed to be processed the same day that it's picked. Processing the tea quickly to stop the oxidation causes this tea to have a nice deep green hue, darker than many other types of Chinese greens I've had.

I've been learning about the different grades of Chinese tea, and this one appears to be close to a 'grade 1'. Special grade teas are young buds with the first appearing young leaf. They're plucked before the Qingming festival, which is an ancestral memorial day holiday in China that happens in April on the 15th day of the spring equinox (I think this year it landed on April 4th). The grade 1 teas are 1 bud and 1 leaf, plucked before April 21st. Since this tea has more (tender) leaves than buds (but does contain some buds), and was plucked on April 14th, it probably falls closer to a grade 1.

The dry leaf has a raw green bean aroma, it is sweet and every so slightly floral. It smells very fresh! My first infusion produced a pale yellow tea. The infused leaves had a brisk aroma and a dark green, fresh smell. After examining the wet leaves, I was surprised to see a lack of buds.

The first steep had no astringency at all. It was gently vegetal and delicate. After a few steeps a bit of astringency emerged, which could be because I upped the steep time by a few seconds. There were hints of dryness but the vegetal notes were still there. There was a soft sweetness as well. It became a little more floral as the steeps went on, and kept that fresh vegetal green flavor. This combination brought yellow dandelion flowers to my mind. I could see them as I sipped. It brought back childhood memories of sitting in the spring grass, making chains of dandelion flowers for my friends to wear. This is a medium bodied tea with a beautiful long finish. I tasted it long after I sipped!

As I mentioned, upon inspecting the infused leaves I was hard pressed to find the tell-tale mao feng buds. I found a scant few, and they weren't attached to the leaves. Since Teavivre doesn't mention anything about the grade or quality of the tea, this isn't much of an issue. I'm surprised by the lack of buds, but I still think this is a tasty, enjoyable spring tea. This tea is light, yet flavorful enough to drink all afternoon long, even on the hottest days. Thank you to Teavivre for providing this sample!

Review: Mizuba Tea Company Daily Matcha

I recently had the good fortune of attending an online tandem tasting via google hangouts with other lovely tea folk. The tea discussed was Mizuba's daily matcha. The tea friends in attendance were: Geoffrey Norman, Rachana Rachel Carter, Jo Johnson, and Nicole Martin. Now let me explain first that this tasting was taking place at 9pm, and I suffer from frequent battles with insomnia where I spend way too much time contemplating every creaky, creepy sound at 3am. I was worried the matcha would aggravate the insomnia, so I decided to just enjoy everyone's company and sample it on a morning when I had time to savor it. It was torturous to hear everyone's rave review without a bowl of my own, but I've since had my turn to give it a try.

Now I have to admit I enjoy matcha but I don't make it at home as much as I should. My matcha whisking skills are adequate, but require more practice. On the morning I decided to finally taste this acclaimed tea, I was focused on my matcha setup when I felt a presence sniffing about. I looked next to me and the Littlest Tea Critic had grabbed the sample bag and stuck her nose in it. I asked her what she smelled, and she said 'green tea, vegetables'. This kid knows what she's doing.  The first thing that came to my mind when I put my nose to the dry powder was 'matcha cotton candy'. Seriously, if you could create matcha spun sugar, this is how I think it would smell. Sweet, fresh and creamy like white chocolate studded with spring freshly picked sweet peas.

I started whisking and the Littlest Tea Critic was delighted. She asked if she could try her hand at it. I have to say, the kid's got promise...

The Littlest Tea Critic tried her hand at whisking #matcha! A nice first attempt! Delicious matcha from @mizubateaco. Finally trying it after our group tasting with @lazyliteratus @iheartteas @teaformeplease @agiftoftea. The LTC said she could 'drink this all day'. Needless to say she only had a few small sips 😜More pics and review to follow! 🍵

A video posted by sara shacket (@tea_happiness) on May 14, 2016 at 6:34am PDT

After whisking, we both gave it a taste. I have to agree with my fellow bloggers, it's an insanely smooth, velvety matcha. Visions of cream and steamed green beans came to mind. The tea only has a whisper of that sweetness from the dry powder, but it's so fresh, so green. The Littlest Tea Critic also had a few sips and her feedback came as contented sighs.

This Mizbuba daily matcha is affordable and a perfect choice for anyone looking for a matcha fix.I'll definitely purchase some of this once my sample is gone. The Littlest Tea Critic wouldn't have it any other way!

Thank you to Geoffrey Norman for the delicious sample and to Rachana Rachel Carter for organizing!

Review: Rosali Tea Box

I'm a born skeptic. My parents were both immigrants raised primarily in the Bronx and they rubbed their skepticism off on me. I question most things, especially those in business of selling. When I was first contacted to try a subscription box from Rosali Tea, I wasn't sure if this would be like so many other subscription boxes of generic teas without much information. But I started to doubt my skepticism once I saw the beautiful box with the three teas inside. Upon further inspection I knew this would be one of the exceptions to the norm.

Founder Rosa  has worked hard to source her teas and prides herself on the curated selection she sends to subscribers every month. There are three box options per month. For $14.95 you get 3 teas at 1oz each. That gets bumped up to 2 oz at $19.95 and 3 oz at $29.95. I like that you can choose your size. The teas come with disposable tea filters to make sure you have a way to brew your loose leaves. Each tea comes with a nice card with a description and brewing instructions.

The box is more of a drawer, with a lovely leaf design on the outside. I like it when vendors send reusable, useful packaging and this is definitely something I'll be reusing. But lovely packaging cannot tell you anything about the tea. So, here's what I tried:

Milk Oolong: I've had milk oolongs before with dubious origin. It's hard to know if the one you have is the real thing. I've been asking tea friends and doing some research and I've learned that if the scent is too overpowering, or you have a slight film on the top of your brew, you probably have a flavored oolong. The buttery flavor will dissipate after the first steep as well. It appears that the tea in this box is the real deal. This is Taiwanese oolong from the Jin Xuan cultivar, which is what you should look for if you want the good stuff. The dry leaves are buttery, creamy, and sweet. It reminded me of vanilla buttercream frosting, but with a slight greenness to it, if that makes any sense. My first two steeps were very buttery, and reminded me of movie popcorn, which isn't really a bad thing. I tasted a sweetness and mellow floral flavor as well but the buttery and cream notes dominated. By the 3rd infusion there was less buttery flavor and texture, but it was definitely still in the background. The sweetness and floral flavor was more present, getting more of a light oolong characteristic. I think I'm not a fan of the milky flavor in general, but I do appreciate the complexity of this tea. This week Rosali is selling it separately for anyone that is interested in purchasing just this tea.

Hibiscus Orange Nectar: I'm not too keen on rooibos in general, I'm just not a fan of the aftertaste I get from it. But the dry leaves smelled like an orange creamcicle, so I was a bit intrigued. I knew just who to share this tea with, The Littlest Tea Critic. Ingredients are rooibos, orange, hibiscus, rosehips, apple, rose, vanilla, and citrus flavor. The nostalgic creamcicle flavor was also quite strong in the brewed tea. I do think vanilla works well with the natural rooibos flavor, and the hibiscus and orange masked a bit of the aftertaste I don't usually care for. It really tasted like a creamcicle to me, mostly from the juicy orange and smooth vanilla. The Littlest Tea Critic and I both enjoyed our sips, but we agreed that this isn't a tea we'd drink every day. She's just like her mom, she's not a big fan of flavored teas. But if you grew up eating creamcicles, this is a fun treat to have! The flavors also taste clean, without any chemical aftertaste.

Sencha Matcha Bliss: Now this tea, is more my style. This beautifully vibrant, sunny green tea perked up my afternoon. The dry leaves are pure vegetal sweetness like sugar snap peas. The brew is delicate, grassy and sweet. I get a hint of savory umami as well, especially as it cools. This is a light and refreshing tea and even though it has a good amount of caffeine, I couldn't resist having a small cup in the late afternoon. I felt a burst of sunshine on my face even though it was an overcast day. A soul satisfying cup, for sure.

So in the growing space of tea subscription boxes, Rosali Tea is one to try. Thank you to Rosa for this beautiful box. I wish her all the best with her new subscription service! If each month has teas as interesting as these, she'll do quite well indeed.

Devotea USA Green tea

A photo posted by sara shacket (@tea_happiness) on Nov 21, 2015 at 1:05pm PST

I've been meaning to review this tea for awhile, and I'm happy to finally have a few minutes to write down my thoughts on it. I received a few samples to brew from The Devotea USA and this one intrigued me most. This is a Taiwanese green tea, and I admit it isn't something I'd had before. I was happy to taste something that's new-to-me and rather enjoyable. I've had many oolongs from Taiwan, but this is the first green.

The dry leaves are rolled like an oolong and have a grassy, slightly floral aroma with a buttery finish. The butter had me imagining a nice big bowl of popcorn to accompany the tea! I think I have to try that pairing out in the near future. The steeped tea is grassy, with a strong cooked green vegetable flavor but it's also sweet and a little floral. It has a nice creamy texture. I imagine it would be the result if a light oolong and sencha had a baby. This tea has a lot of flavor for a light green tea, it's very easy to drink and I found myself quite relaxed after a couple of steepings. After letting the 2nd steep cool down (ok, so perhaps it cooled down because I got distracted for awhile) it was refreshing and had an interesting barley-like note.

This tea is quite interesting, and would make a nice gift for someone that loves oolong and green teas but hasn't had much experience Taiwanese greens. It's a tea I could see myself drinking at any time of day since it's light but nuanced. I'll probably try cold brewing it, which I could probably do this weekend, giving this crazy warm December we've had thus far!

Thank you to The Devotea USA for the samples!

Tasting: Saffron & Green Tea from Buddha Teas

Tasting a saffron green tea from @buddhateas this afternoon. Very earthy, a bit savory, and the bright yellow infusion is super cheery. #tea #teatime #saffron #greentea

A photo posted by sara shacket (@tea_happiness) on Jul 23, 2015 at 12:17pm PDT

Buddha Teas has a large selection of traditional and herbal teas focusing on wellness for body and mind. They sell teas that contain organic and/or wild grown ingredients.

From their website:

The name “Buddha Teas” was chosen not to reflect a religion, but a philosophy. One of the key aspects of Buddhism is living a life in harmony with the world, one of simplicity, generosity and filled with compassion for all life. As a company devoted to offering natural teas that are healthy for consumers and for the environment, this philosophy was a perfect fit. By taking from the earth no more than what we need, and giving back to it through recycling and compostable products, Buddha Teas would strive not to profit from the earth, but to honor it and its many blessings.

The company recently sent me their saffron and green tea blend. I've never had saffron in tea before, and I was intrigued. Saffron is an expensive ingredient and I was curious to see how much was actually added to the tea. The tea is bagged, so I opened one and had a look at the leaves.

You can see quite a few bright orange saffron strands within the bits of green tea. The dry leaves have a sweet and vegetal aroma. The steeped tea is earthy, a little bit sweet, and a little savory. There is a steamed green vegetable flavor from the green tea. Overall it reminds me of steamed rice. This could be because I often have saffron in rice dishes. My favorite part of drinking this tea is the cheerful bright yellow liquid it produces. It's sunny and brings an immediate smile to my face. The saffron and green tea work nicely together creating a calming experience. The flavors don't compete or mask one another.

This creates a unique flavor. Not something I'd drink every day, but a nice change of pace. The color alone would be a helpful remedy for grey winter months. The savory flavor would also work well in recipes, and I might give it a try with a rice dish or two. 

Each tea tag has an inspirational quote. This could feel cliche, but it actually adds to the meditative experience. The last cup I had said 'Positive mind positive vibes positive life'. A nice little reminder for cranky work days and chore filled weekends.

I'm not usually a big fan of herbal teas and do not promote any wellness information. But I admit I am curious to try some of the relaxation teas that Buddha Teas offers, to see if they are at all helpful. These days I can use all the help I can get!

Thank you to Buddha Teas for the box of tea!

Tasting: Blooming Jasmine Tea from Terrace Bloom

Such pretty tea samples arrived in the mail from Terrace Bloom. I don't even want to open it yet! So lovely to look at! #tea #teamail

A photo posted by sara shacket (@tea_happiness) on May 8, 2015 at 9:19am PDT

Summer is finally here, and that means sunny beach days, impromptu picnics, and children anxious to get out of the house and into a pool. For me, that means I need to savor each small moment of relaxation while I can. Of course that means as much tea as possible. While I do drink cold brewed iced tea in the summer, I still enjoy many cups of it hot, even on the most humid of NYC days.

I recently received beautifully packaged samples from Terrace Bloom, and the vibrant floral envelopes were calling to be (carefully) opened. I decided to try the Blooming Jasmine tea first, to go with the flower theme.

The packaging is actually handmade paper. From their website:

The Terrace Bloom “Down to Earth Collection” utilizes handmade paper in it's beautiful packaging.  Each parcel incorporates paper that is produced traditionally in Yunnan by people from the Dai Minority. 

The dry green tea leaves are tightly rolled, with added dried jasmine flowers. The tea has a luscious jasmine aroma that masks most of the green tea scent. I wished the leaves weren't encased in the teabag, since their beauty can't truly be appreciated and there isn't enough room for the leaves to expand. I cut open the teabag and steeped the leaves loose. Really no reason not to. 

The tea has a delicate jasmine flavor. There is a slight astringency and bitterness, but steeping the tea a minute or so less would help with this. There is a gentle vegetal green tea flavor that reminded me of cooked snap peas. Sweet, green, a nice relaxing cup. It is floral, but not 'in your face' like many other jasmine teas I've tried. This would be a lovely iced tea as well. My recommendation would be to take this tea out of the bag, and enjoy watching the leaves unfurl. They can be steeped a few times this way.

The Terrace Bloom website mentions all of their teas are grown on 'mountainside terraces' in Yunnan. The ingredients come from farmers in Yunnan but I wish there was more information about the specific farmers, and techniques used to create the teas. I would love to learn more.

Tea after one steeping

The company partners with ethnic minority groups in Yunnan to create everything from the tea to the packaging, which I found interesting.

All Terrace Bloom teas and the paper used to package our Down To Earth Collection are produced by people belonging to the minority groups found in China’s Yunnan province.  The specific people we partner with belong to the Hani, Bulang, Lahu, and Dai minorities.  

Thank you to Terrace Bloom for the samples!

An Evening Of Matcha And Meditation

At any given moment I have thoughts zipping through my brain, crisscrossing like train lines on a subway map. I use tea-focused moments to pause the commotion and mindfully taste the brew I've prepared. Tea and meditation pair up in a matcha meditation event at The Shinnyo Center I recently had the pleasure of attending. The event consisted of a Japanese tea ceremony, guided meditation, and a tasting of matcha with a sweet biscuit.

The tea ceremony was presented by members of the Urasenke Chanoyu Center (a place I've wanted to visit for years). Every movement had grace and intent, sending a wave of fluidity through the room. Watching each gesture I felt a flutter in my tummy. Respect, intention, mindfulness, gratitude. There is so much skill and knowledge needed in order to conduct a tea ceremony, it would take a lengthy article to discuss it all. This link gives a good overview. The matcha was whisked effortlessly yet with precision. I was hoping we'd learn more about the matcha served, but we were just told matcha from Kyoto was used. I wonder if it's from Ippodo?

After the ceremony we had a guided meditation with Qalvy Grainzvolt who led us through a 20 minute session where we started off with 'staircase breathing'. We took a breath for each count to 10, and down back to 1. After a few rounds I was very relaxed, and when it was time to visualize a pleasant place with warm sun, I felt my body getting warm, and even started sweating! Afterwards I felt lightness of mind but with a heavy relaxed body. Similar to how I feel after a yoga class but far more intense.

After our meditation we were given a Japanese sweet, also from Kyoto. It was thin and crispy with a nutty, bean-like flavor. It had a design that looked like a ginko leaf. We were instructed to eat the biscuit carefully, making sure any crumbs we created were wrapped in a small white paper (you can see it in the above picture). After the sweet, we all received an artful chawan with matcha. We were instructed to turn the chawan twice before observing and enjoying the tea. To learn more about the etiquette of the Japanese tea ceremony, please see this link. The matcha was light, smooth and subtle, with a wonderful frothy texture. As part of the etiquette, we were told to slurp the very last bits of tea in the bowl. This helped me get every last drop!

Qalvy explained that tasting the tea and the biscuit should be done as a walking meditation, which is basically meditation in action. We brought our awareness to every flavor and movement as we tasted. We examined how the tea interacted with our body. Bringing mindfulness to tea is something I try to do whenever I have a tasting session. It's hard to carve out time to do this, but even 5 minutes to observe, taste, and reflect brings more awareness to the day.

The Shinnyo center is offering two more matcha meditation sessions, March 17th and 31st at 7pm. The cost for the event is $20. You can find out more information and purchase tickets here.

Thank you so much to The Shinnyo center for inviting me to such a memorable evening. I look forward to deepening my meditation practice.

Tasting: Palais des Thés- Long Jing Premium

This brutal winter has me longing for everything green. Outside everything is gray, grayer, grayest, with some white thrown in. Lately I've been staring at our house plants long after watering them, trying to soak up some of their color. 

I've been greedily clinging to the green teas in our cupboard, hoarding vibrant colors. Recently Palais des Thés sent their new grand cru green teas to sample, and the little envelopes felt like a sunny life preserver thrown into a sea of frozen numbness.

For this tasting I decided to try the Long Jing Premium. The leaves are a shade of green that sing springtime. The dry leaves are vegetal and grassy, slightly nutty. The brewed tea is extremely subtle. It has a gentle mineral flavor, a slight bitterness and a green vegetable flavor reminding me of steamed asparagus.The flavors slowly opened up on the palate and lingered for a very long time.

A note on the designation of 'grand cru'. I've previously mentioned this is a term used for wine. One thing I hadn't thought of before is how randomly this term can be thrown around. I recently read a post from JAS eTea about it, and found it interesting that in the tea world grand cru seems to be a subjective label. It basically means the tea is exceptional. I'm curious to see if this term will become more widely adopted in the tea industry.

I don't doubt that this long jing is very high quality. It may not be for those that are looking for a tea to loudly cheer its flavor, but very nice for those that enjoy a subtle green tea that slowly reveals its flavors. It's a peaceful sip that reminds me spring is just around the corner.