Seagram’s Green Tea Ginger Ale

Since my tea drinking has still steadily revolved around my current rut (BLC, Shui Xian, and Huo Shan Huang Ya) my recent posts have only been able to be about strange or odd offshoots, today’s is no different unfortunately. However, with new spring greens popping up it all may change soon.

Last night I was presented with a two-liter bottle of Seagram’s brand green tea ginger ale with antioxidants. My love for tea lands me all kinds of tea-related oddities from well-intentioned friends and family. It apparently contains 200mg of antioxidants per serving, if you are into that sort of thing. The ingredient list is sadly not all natural and there are a number of preservatives and unpronounceable additions that I can’t recall without the label here to refer to… it’s probably best that way. But at least the green tea was naturally added.

It was unusually fizzy and pouring it gingerly (oof :) still resulted in a mass of 4-5″ of foam to 1″ of beverage. Waiting it out, I continued to pour and wait and pour and wait. Finally I had a respectable glass. It has a very fragrant green tea smell which stands out stronger than I had expected against the ginger ale. The flavor also certainly puts the green tea ahead of any ginger taste but in a pretty good balance. The flavor is more like an unnatural green tea/lemony instant drink, though, rather than a proper green tea. Disappointing to some degree but interesting enough to try once or twice. I do have an unnatural love for Tom Tucker brand mint ginger ale, though, and this one isn’t even close competition for my flavored ginger ale needs.

Rooibos - Eastern Shore Tea Co.

A while back I was hunting for some Rooibos tea for work, and limited in options I found a little ribboned bag from Eastern Shore Tea Co. It contained 20 individually wrapped gold-foil tea bags for about $3.00. The company claims that all of their tea bags contain the same whole leaf tea they sell just broken or crushed for tea bag brewing. They sell a ton of different teas, flavored and tisanes, but the African Red Bush tea is the only one I have tried.

I have to say that it is actually a pretty high quality Rooibos and it made a great quick and easy work tea. There are no additions or flavorings, just 100% Rooibos, which is actually harder to find as it seems everyone wants to muddy it up with flavorings. It is naturally caffeine free and said to contain a high amount of anti-oxidants. Sweet, slightly nutty and woody as well as a bit of sharp tang such as citrus and never bitter no matter how long it steeps… which is great for a work tea that can be neglected or forgotten during an unexpected issue or problem. The tea bags are good for an occasional second weaker steep, but offer their full flavor in the first run.

For a cheap find during a lunch break in the city I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and I plan on giving some of their other offerings a shot at work as well. Especially now that my beloved Mlesna brand Monk’s Blend tea bags appear to be discontinued. As much as I live and die by my gaiwan at work, sometimes I need a tea bag I can dunk in hot water cooler water for a meeting or on-the-go.

Yerba Mate Green

This was a spur of the moment purchase mainly out of curiosity. Yerba Mate Green is an unfermented form of traditional Yerba Mate. It has an herb-like scent, slightly woody, and reminiscent of regular green tea. Not having all of the required gourds and straws, and a failed attempt to brew it in my gaiwan, makes brewing the tiny green and brown flakes tough. I finally hit on drinking it through a double-barreled coffee stirrer straw which filters out the tiny specs. The flavor is actually close to a lower-grade green Puerh. Slight astringency, a bit of a roasted taste, and slightly woody. It’s actually fairly enjoyable. It’s said to contain higher amounts of the healthy stuff which fermentation kills in normal Yerba Mate if you’re into that sort of thing, to me, it’s a beverage. For a fan of Mate it would make a nice change of pace similar to switching up between a darker/fermented tea and a fresh green tea for variety.

Bali’s Best Tea Candy

A chance encounter brought me two bags of Bali’s Best Tea Candy, one “Classic Iced Tea” flavor and one “Green Tea Latte.” My sweet tooth is pretty small, but hard candy is one of my weak points and if it is a naturally flavored hard candy, well, that’s pretty much the pinnacle for me.

I started off with one of the individually wrapped translucent iced tea flavored disks. The flavor captured is almost unbelievable at first, it is that perfect glass of black iced tea in candy form. Totally natural, the ingredients: Glucose Syrup (tapioca), Cane Sugar, Tea Extract, Natural Tea Flavor, Salt. No added flavors or colors, just real tea. Next, was the Green Tea Latte. I was a bit more apprehensive with this one since green tea and latte aren’t usually found in any combination in my vocabulary. I have tried the Seattle’s Best Green Tea Latte before and while I can’t say it is a favorite, the combination does work. The candy again does an admirable job of conveying the green tea (sencha/matcha-like flavor) and milk combo. Also totally natural, containing: Glucose Syrup (tapioca), Cane Sugar, Milk Powder, Tea Extract, Natural Green Tea Flavor, Salt.

Tea candy is somewhat of a rarity, and the only thing that could top these would be a Gyokuro or Shui Xian version… which, if you’re listening Bali’s Best, would be a dream come true. I’m totally impressed and these candies completely surpassed any expectation I could have had for real, quality, intense, tea flavor.

Raw Milk

OK, so it isn’t tea but it was in my cup and there are many folks who enjoy milk in their tea. Milk is one thing I am very serious about, and it isn’t even because I drink much of it or have any particular affinity. It is because of growth hormones, antibiotics, and poor feeding and handling. Milk is a super concentration of all of those factors and to drink anything less than ideal milk is tantamount to getting a super-dose of bovine hormones and antibiotics along with who knows what else. I am a huge supporter of rBST/RBGH Free milk and it is all I will drink, mainly in skim form.

My grandfather received a gallon of real raw milk recently and I had the chance to sample some of it. Before shaking the container the cream had naturally separated to the top which was neat to see. The scent of cow/farm was certainly present and it was a touch off-putting but also nice to actually have a totally non-processed food which is pretty rare these days. It was very thick and creamy and gave the feel of ice cream or a milkshake, it was excellent. Instantly dreams of an ultimate milkshake began dancing around my head and it doesn’t take much imagination as it would without a doubt earn the title. The second thought was how amazing it would be with tea since it actually had body and flavor of its own and not just white water as so much milk is. I didn’t get to test that theory but I have found a list of local farms which sell raw milk near me and will be making a trip to try it out.

I’d find it hard to enjoy in my cereal, and I can imagine the fat content is pretty high, among other things, but it was an experience and certainly makes you think about older, slower times and having a real connection with your food. It’s worth a shot, you can search for your state here: http://www.realmilk.com/where2.html

Ruhuna Estate OP Ceylon

This one was an impulse buy from a local shop since I haven’t had any black/red tea in a while at work. It was very inexpensive at about $9.00/lb. but seemed to be of good quality and smelled great. The taste is actually very mild and fruity with a pronounced hit of citrus but not overwhelming. Thin mouth feel and a touch malty. It is a low-grown tea and while it may not be as complex as some of my usual teas it is a nice break from my rut, takes some sugar well when I get the urge, and offers enough depth to make it enjoyable. With Spring upon us, I’ll hopefully break free from my Bi Lo Chun/Shui Xian/Huo Shan Huang Ya routine and get back to some exploration.

52 in 52

I created a challenge, both for myself and anyone else out there, to read 52 books in 52 weeks. Sadly, reading takes a backseat to many other forms of entertainment these days and to me it is one of my greatest pleasures. I read quite a lot of books in a year covering a wide spectrum of topics and genres but I never kept count or took note. Often people will ask me if I’ve read anything good lately and due to sheer volume I’ll forget about a particular gem, so this new blog will also offer a central point to refer back to and act as an archive. If you are a reader, and even if not, I encourage everyone to set their own goal and I’ll be happy to post your successes and lists as well.

Check it out: http://read52in52.blogspot.com/

Sencha Shot - Ito En

A local discount store by my house always is flush with Ito En product. A great deal for me because $0.99 for the 2L bottles of iced tea is pretty nice. I think the jasmine green is the best of the offerings (well at least from the three options they carry: pure green tea, jasmine green, and golden oolong). The last trip I made though was a great score. They had these diminutive cans of green tea called “Sencha Shots” and selling for what I’d imagine is a pretty steep discount of only $0.59 each. I wasn’t expecting much based on the other Ito En iced teas, but I was totally wrong. These things are amazing. The sencha they contain is perfectly brewed and tastes wonderful. Without a doubt, the best iced tea I’ve ever enjoyed. Perfectly bright green tea flavor, no sugar, and what has to be a very high quality sencha. The only downside is that you’ll be wishing for more since 6oz. is just not enough. Here are the facts from Ito En’s website:

Brewed from premium Japanese loose tea leaves, Sencha Shot uses an advanced, deeper brewing method that yields both a high content of natural catechin tea antioxidants and a more full-bodied green tea taste.

Contains 152 mg of Catechin Tea Antioxidants per 6.4 fl oz can—5 times more than the average ready-to-drink green tea based on the USDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods. All Natural Unsweetened, No Calories Vitamin C No Added Color or Flavors No Genetically Modified Ingredients Brewed from Premium Loose Tea Leaves Imported from Japan Caffeine Content: Approximately 40 mgs per can. Ingredients: Purified Water, Green Tea, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

Well worth a shot (oof, bad pun) if you ever come across them.

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World - Room To Read

Reading has had a profound impact on my life. From early on, to when my mother would walk us to the library where we would sit and read and discover for hours on end, to teaching myself about computers, programming, networking, and more. It has formed my foundation, given me escape, allowed me to see places that would have otherwise been dark, laugh, cry, go to college and start a life. It has been one of the most important parts of my life, and me. I still devour technical and computer books weekly and just about any other book I can get my hands on. I also still find an evening at Borders in a leather chair, a terrible cup of tea from Seattle’s Best, and a stack of books to be pretty close to heaven.

I have a “system” where occasionally I’ll buy a totally random book based simply on title, cover art/photo, or some other gravitational pull. Running With Scissors was one of these, and opened me up to Augusten Burroughs’ other work like Magical Thinking. But this one hit on multiple levels. The title: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, which appeals to me and my dislike for the company. And the cover: A man standing next to a heavily burdened yak. Undeniable.

The book is written by a man named John Wood who decides to leave a high paying job in the heady bubble days of technology to start a non-profit organization which builds schools and libraries in poor countries such as Nepal. He’s no professional writer, but the book does a great job of following his trajectory and the high and low points of his journey. One particular part that stuck with me was a piece about one of his initial trips to Nepal where he was taken to a school “library.” The room was barren with an outdated map and a locked cabinet. When the locked cabinet was opened it contained a few castoffs from travelers and hikers like Danielle Steele romance novels and other English literary masterpieces of the same ilk. Totally inappropriate for the children in both reading level and content… not to mention quite an introduction to reading. He then decided, somehow, he would have an impact in these kids lives and give them a chance to succeed.

A great book and certainly a Good Read. The organization is called Room to Read and can be found online at: http://www.roomtoread.org/

Gaiwans

Today’s “In Cup” post is actually about the cup itself. Since, like most, I spend most of my waking hours at work I tend to do much of my tea drinking there. I have tried all manner of approach to good tea at my desk, and many have worked well but always had a drawback or two. I’ve gone from three piece ceramic tea brewing mugs (which were a pain to clean), to People’s Brew Baskets in regular white coffee mugs (again a pain to clean and wear out/break quickly), and a few other failed experiments in between… but I never seriously thought of using a gaiwan at work. I always thought them too fragile. I was dead wrong. While I wouldn’t bring a very high-end gaiwan, I have only had one incident in two years, a nice regular quality $10-20 gaiwan is perfect. I’ve been using a very inexpensive one I bought at Kam Man in NYC for about a buck or two for almost all of those two years daily. Here she is:

I had initially thought them to be a bit clunky and formal but the great folks at Rec.Food.Drink.Tea (Usenet group) finally wore me down, and I’m glad they did. I quickly realized that the lack of a basket/infuser meant one less thing to clean which was perfect for work. Except for my one slip up while drying one out at the sink at work where I spent a good half hour cleaning up ceramic shards, they are extremely capable and resistant to the occasional flub. A good rinse and wipe out can keep one in service for some time before taking it home for a full cleaning.

I tailor my teas to the water cooler/heater temps in my office rather than add another piece to the equation for hotter temps. I’m lucky in that we have two water coolers with two different temps so I have some variety. Greens, some oolongs, and yellows do very well and that is fine with me. I enjoy the more serious teas when I can relax and put forth the proper effort at home. I get between 130 and 175 degrees and in between by going to the hotter one and letting it cool to the desired temp. Bi Lo Chun, Huang Shan Yellow, and occasionally a Shui Xian I have that responds well to 175 degrees are my mainstays, but any and all of my work teas get brewed in this manner in my gaiwan. It takes some trial and error but totally worth it. I had used a Hot Shot personal water heater to get hotter temps, but I’ve given it up and just go with what works.

The smaller size is perfect for work since I find I can actually get through the whole cup without being called away for some reason and coming back to ruined tea. I can make multiple infusions or change up teas in the course of a day with no fuss. The only downside is having to explain it to coworkers, but even that can be a good chance to open a dialog.