Choice Organic Teas: Early Grey
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
Choice Organic’s Earl Grey is made from Fair Trade Certified black tea, organic orange peel, organic oil of bergamot, and organic safflowers. This tea is another example of Choice Organic’s commitment to social responsibility and customer satisfaction. Their Whole Leaf organic products contain loose leaf tea in a pyramid tea bag; which gives the tea consumer a quality tea in an easy to use tea infuser.
Earl Grey is a popular black tea blend often referred to as an afternoon tea. I like it anytime of the day, especially in the morning. There’s one catch to liking Earl Grey, you have to like the flavoring of the Bergamot oil. Bergamot is a citrus fruit described as a cross between a pear lemon and a grapefruit. The flavor combines to create a flavorful black tea that is a favorite of many. With the Choice Organic Earl Grey, I didn’t find the flavors to be overpowering. I typically do not add milk, sugar, and honey to tea, but this one needed something extra to bring it to its full flavor potential. I think most people that enjoy Early Gray in a tea bag will enjoy this tea. If it had just a bit more flavor from the start, I would have been more satisfied with my cup. Keep in mind this product is organic and fair trade.
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I’m sitting here enjoying a 500mL bottle of The REPUBLIC of TEA’s Blackberry Sage iced tea. It is such a crisp and relaxing beverage. The unsweetened tea pops with a delicious ripe blackberry flavor and scent. The iced tea is very smooth and pure. I find the blackberry flavor to be very polite. In other words, the flavors in the bottle are not offensive and overpowering. I’ve never been able to detect the sage flavor in this bottle, but personally I’m satisfied with the black tea and blackberry pairing. As I’ve mentioned in the past, The REPUBLIC of TEA’s glass bottled teas are meant to impress. If you are a blackberry flavored tea drinker, this is a must try. Buy a couple of bottles and serve them with a nice meal.
Earlier this year I was pleasantly surprised by the crisp, smooth, delicate flavors of The REPUBLIC of TEA’s glass bottled iced teas. I’ve been craving one ever since I finished my last bottle. At the moment, I’m drinking the Mango Ceylon glass bottled iced tea. It is absolutely delightful. There is such a purity about this tea. The tea is unsweetened, yet it is so flavorful. The base Ceylon tea is just so smooth and refreshing. As your mouth is cooled and refreshed there is a release of tropical fruit that coats the palate and excites your taste buds. The fruit flavor is very light and well-defined. The mango flavor is perfectly balanced to the tea. Again, this is not a beverage loaded with sugar. The bottle itself is a work of art. I’d highly recommend serving this tea as a compliment to a luxurious dinner. If you like to have a special meal from time-to-time or you want to impress your guests with a high-quality tea beverage - this is it.
Today, I’m trying Dr. Andrew Weil for tea - Darjeeling Elemental Purity. Dr. Andrew Weil for tea is distributed by ITO EN. This is an individual tea bag. The mesh tea bag came sealed in a plastic wrapper. The wrapper appears to do an excellent job at retaining the freshness of the tea. Since the tea bag is mesh, you could clearly see the finely cut Darjeeling black tea. The string on the bag was very short. Depending on the cup you use to steep the tea, it could be problematic. I steeped the tea in water that was just below a boil. I let the bag soak for about 2-3 minutes. The scent from the infusion was fresh, and it gave me hope that this would not be disappointing. I could smell a faint grape-like scent with a classic muscatel vibe that was inviting my mouth to take a sip. Unfortunately, that’s about all of the positive things I can say about this tea. It was lacking the powerful taste properties usually present in Darjeeling teas. All in all, it was very bland. The finely cut tea in the mesh tea bag does not even lend itself to presentation points. There was nothing awful about this tea. It smelled good, and it didn’t taste horrible. It just fell below the standard set by so many other tea brands.
It’s rare that I ever put lemon in my tea, but when I think back to when I was a child, the iced tea that was made for me usually had lemon in it (or at least lemon flavoring). As a kid, I remember running in the hot sun or riding my bicycle nearly all day long and not being able to wait to get to the refrigerator to take a big gulp out of the tea jug. My friend’s mom used to make tea using Lipton’s tea bags, and she would let it sit in the sun for hours. This method of tea brewing has been frowned upon for years due to all the nasty bacteria that can grow during the process. I can remember being so thirsty that my friends and I would take long drinks and then pass the container around. When you’re a kid, there are too many other things important in your life to be a germaphobe.
It was great to see the Kejriwals at the 2008 World Tea Expo. They always take their time to give you the best samples and explain their products. I didn’t want to take up too much of their time. I feel like I could sit and talk to them all day. Their profound knowledge of tea is fascinating to me. The Kejriwals have owned the Jungpana tea estate in Darjeeling and Ghillidary tea estate in Assam for over 50 years.
Twisted Tea is an alcoholic malt beverage (flavored beer - tastes nothing like beer - actually tastes like tea) that starts with real tea. I’m drinking their Original Recipe in a bottle. Twisted Tea comes in a variety of flavors (Original Recipe, Light, Half & Half, Peach, Raspberry, Midnight, Green Citrus). After a few drinks of the beverage, I was a fan. I enjoyed the beverage over ice as well as out of the bottle. The beverage really does have a traditional iced tea flavor. It’s very sweet with a light lemon accent. It is a smooth drink with no carbonation. I thought that added to the authenticity of the traditional iced tea flavor they advertise. Twisted Tea’s “Be A Little Twisted” marketing campaign shows the company’s vision to create a product that people can relate to. In the end, you may not get the exact great flavor as your favorite iced tea, but you do get a fun product that can appeal to the tea drinker looking to enjoy a ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage. Who knows, maybe you will like this better than your home-brewed iced tea. The product label states 5% alcohol by volume (drink responsibly).