tea for two

I've always been a fan of tea for the most part, but the limits of my palette included varieties of bagged celestial seasonings or tazo teas. When I moved to this unforgiving climate, I took a huge liking to broadening my horizons when it came to heated beverages. Basically, without the extra warmth of tea, coffee, or cocoa your body will cease to function properly in the winter. That being said, I'm constantly on the lookout for a good cup of tea. A few months ago, I stumbled upon Teavana. I think that for the quality of tea that you get, the price is most certainly reasonable. Here is my review of 3 tea selections:





The first tea I tried was Teavana's " Earl Grey Creme." Upon opening the tea for the first time, the aroma that exuded from the packaging was a bit overwhelming. I recognized the familiar earthy tinge common to earl grey tea but the combination of the bergamot oils in addition to the blue mallow flower made for a most interesting scent. Per the instructions on the packaging I brewed my tea for 3 minutes in my handy dandy Bodum Tea Press. I will admit that the smell of the tea itself made me a bit aprehensive. However, I was pleasantly surprised upon my first sip, it was though the curious juxtaposition of the essences suddenly made sense. The flavor was classic earl grey but with a nice subtle twist. I'm going to give it 4 Britney C-Section Scars out of 5.








The second tea I tried was Teavana's "Ginger Peach Apricot." (flavored black tea) Unlike the earl grey, this tea smelled absolutely heavenly upon opening. The bits of ginger and dried fruit really helped to create a nice visual aesthetic. I found that brewing this tea for a bit longer than 3 minutes actually helped develop more flavor. The taste of the tea was just as it sounds, bright peach flavorings coupled with citrus like ginger undertones. I was really pleased with the flavor of this tea and feel it would translate well into an iced tea. I also found that through up to 3 consecutive steeps, the flavor remained fairly constant. I'm going to give this tea 5 Britney C-Section Scars out of 5.









The third tea I tried was Teavana's "Rooibos Thai Tea Blend." For those of you not familiar with rooibos "tea" its actually not "tea" per say. Rooibos or red tea actually comes from a bush in the legume family which is native to africa. Now that we're back from that tangent... Rooibos tea is brewed a bit longer than most teas because of the external "shell" on the bits of plant. (similar to cooking white vs. wild rice) I opted to brew the tea for about 8min or so. I absolutely loved the flavor of this tea. I did take the time to make an iced version with condensed milk as often seen in thai restaurants. The tea was delightfully mellow with hints of almost caramel (most likely stemming from the almond essence.) I'm going to give this 5 Britney C-Section Scars out of 5.











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I hope you enjoyed my ramblings.