Handmade Tea Maia Lemoniou
Country of Origin: India and Sri Lanka Leaf Appearance: dark, varied shapes Ingredients: Assam, Ceylon, glazed lemon peel Steep time: 5 minutes Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: ceramic teacup and mesh infuser Liquor: dark reddish brown As you can all tell, I’m terribly behind on tea reviews. Life just seems to get in the way sometimes. This blend was the May shipment from +Handmade Tea. What I love most about their teas is that they are truly blends, no additional flavoring beyond the basic ingredients. This one is made up a 50/50 blend of Assam and Ceylon along with some glazed lemon peel. The taste was bold yet mellow with just the…
Tea People Russian Caravan
Country of Origin: China and Taiwan Leaf Appearance: varied black and green Ingredients: black and oolong tea Steep time: 3 minutes Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain teapot and mesh infuser Liquor: dark amber This is what I affectionately refer to as a “kitchen sink” tea. It’s a blend of Keemun and Lapsang Souchong along with a Formosa oolong for good measure. The taste was actually quite a bit softer than I was expecting. It had the requisite smokiness but in a more subtle way. There was surprisingly little astringency. A subtle hint of brown sugar sweetness lingered in the finish. Perhaps that came from the oolong? All of the Russian Caravan…
The Tea Spot Mile High Chai
Country of Origin: India Leaf Appearance: small, dark with lots of spices Ingredients: black tea, ginger root, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, peppercorns, cloves, natural chai flavoring Steep time: 5 minutes Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: ceramic teacup and mesh infuser Liquor: dark brown Somehow the word chai became synonymous with spiced tea here in the U.S. even though the word is actually Hindi for tea. Therefore when you are in line at Starbucks and order a chai tea, you’re really asking for tea tea. The correct term would really be masala chai, which indicates the typical spices used in this type of blend. This rendition from The Tea Spot was a fairly typical, plenty…