A Mizuba Matcha Moment with Friends
Country of Origin: Japan Leaf Appearance: vibrant green, very fine powder Ingredients: matcha green tea Water Temperature: 175 degrees Preparation Method: traditional whisking Liquor: deep green It’s been a while since I posted about a Tandem Tea Tasting. Part of the reason for that is that we aren’t holding them as frequently. Life also seems to have gotten exponentially busier with each passing month. I first made the acquaintance of Lauren, the maven behind Mizuba Tea Co., at World Tea Expo 2014. We had been following each other on Instagram and we agreed to meet up at the Teas Etc booth. The moment I found out that she was moving to Portland, I…
Tandem Tea Tasting: A Series of Seven Cups
I can hardly believe it but its been more than a year since the last time that I blogged about a Tandem Tea Tasting. For those of you that are new to the blog, a bunch of fellow tea blogger friends and I hold tastings via Google+ Hangouts since we are scattered across the country in some cases across the globe. There’s always lots of laughs as well as plenty of nerding out and comparing notes. These are truly some of my favorite people in the whole world! It was a packed house this time around with +Robert Godden (and Lady Devotea), +Jo J, +Rachana Rachel Carter, +Geoffrey Norman, +Nicole Schwartz, +Jen Piccotti, +Linda Gaylard, +Darlene Meyers-Perry and +sara shacket all in attendance.We had…
Tandem Tea Tasting: Maison de thè THEODOR Je T’aime
I’ve been so busy lately that I never even got around to blogging about last month’s group tasting. February’s was unique in that it took place on a Sunday morning and because we were joined by +Xavier Lugherini. The time differences when gathering tea drinkers across the country and bridging continents can make things difficult. Thankfully we scheduled things just before I had to leave for work so I was able to join from the comfort of home. Xavier generously sent us all samples of tea from Maison de thè THEODOR with the assistance of +Jackie D. Since time was restricted I opted for a tea called Je T’aime because it was flavored like macarons. If I…
Tandem Tea Tasting: Feng Qing Black Tea Mini Bricks
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Tandem Tea Tastings, some tea friends and I get together every month to do a group tasting of a particular tea over a Google+ Hangout. It’s a wonderful way to connect even though +Geoffrey Norman is on the west coast, +Rachana Rachel Carter is in the midwest and I’m here in New Jersey. December’s tea was certainly unique and it is one that I had been looking forward to for a while. Although it appears to be a puerh, it is actually a compressed black tea. Sir Geoff picked these up for the group from one of his local haunts, +Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants. I received my brick several weeks…
Tandem Tea Tasting: Le Palais des Thés Thé Du Hammam
The Tandem Tea Tasters (is that what we are calling ourselves?) took a bit of a break while we awaited the arrival of +Rachana Rachel Carter‘s bundle of joy. There was a lot of catching up to do and the usual contagious giggle fits started early on. Our tea this month was Thé Du Hammam from Le Palais des Thés. Some of might remember that I have already reviewed the tea in both the loose leaf and iced tea bag. Thanks to the tea’s French origins, we were treated to several Pepé Le Pew style outbursts from +Geoffrey Norman. +Darlene Meyers-Perry shared with us the amazing Turkish style glasses that she found at Goodwill and +Jo J did well as always…
Tandem Tea Tasting: iHeartTeas Creamy Pumpkin Spice
The tandem tea tasters met once again this week to taste a seasonal blend call Creamy Pumpkin Spice from our own +Rachana Rachel Carter. I’ve been a big fan of the other teas that I’ve tried from her company, +iHeartTeas, so I was really looking forward to this one. In addition to the usual crowd we were joined by +Tea Temptress of Bingley’s Teas. +Jo J was missed by all as technical difficulties prevented her from joining in on the fun. I have dreams of making a really tasty latte with it soon but for this tasting I prepared it straight up. My standard brewing procedure for most black teas fit the bill, 212 degrees for 5 minutes. Most…
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