175 Teas in 365 Days: A Koala Tea Blog

A Return to Tea

Oct.23,2012

I am thinking I might be a cool weather only tea drinker. Over the summer I tried some iced teas, tried to drink some hot teas, and even thought about cooking with tea….but alas, during the 100 degree summer, tea and I took a break.

At the end of September, there was a slight break in temperature, it was actually cool enough at night to leave the window open. I was drawn to 52Teas.com to check into what I had missed out on over the summer. I was bummed to find out that I missed out on Butterbeer tea (fingers crossed another batch will happen), but delighted to see Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake. I placed an order straight away.

Fall. Pumpkins. Cheesecake. Enough said.

Now we are almost done with October, rain is falling (my favorite) and I find myself rifling though the tea cupboard, digging though the mounds of little bags and thinking I really need to get drinking and organizing. We are on the hunt for a new place, so I will leave the organizing until then, and focus on the drinking for now. I still have well over 150 teas to document before the year is out. Now that their is a chill in the air, I don’t think that will be a problem. Now if only they would turn down the thermostat here in the office…..

Koala+Tea=Joyous Reunion

Where has the Koala been?

Filed Under : Uncategorized by

Mar.20,2012

Hey all, quick update as I am running out of lunch time.

Sorry for the absence as of late, I have been in the process of getting a new job (hooray end of three years of unemployment!), dealing with a computer that gives me a blue screen of death three or four times a day, and moving to a new place (hooray not living with parents!). Oddly enough, the two major life events were not influenced by each other, although the rent will certainly be easier with two people working full time (as well as buying a new computer since I am ready to chuck mine out the window).

Although I have not been updating, I have been drinking tea. I have done a couple swaps, participated in a monthly tea trade and have been keeping a book with ideas for the blog. I have also done some more cooking with tea (yum!). I have also been taking lots of pictures so I can play catch-up when I have a down moment or two, which should be later this week, and then much more next week, as we are doing the final push for the move this weekend.

Also my husband and I are working on a fundraiser for a local family, and one of the prizes may be of interest to the tea community, so look for a special post on that sometime next week!

Hope all is well in the rest of your worlds, but for now

Koala Tea out!

#10 The Jane Austen Mafia by Adagio

Filed Under : Black,Reviews by

Mar.1,2012

The first question you might have is “Wait! How did we get from Tea #5 to Tea #10? Can you count?” The answers are: yes, I can count, and I have fallen behind on my reviews, but wanted to do this one while it was fresh.

Number: 10 of 175

Date: Thursday March 1st, 2012

Tea Name: The Jane Austen Mafia

Tea Brand: Adagio Custom Blend

Tea Type: Black

Link: http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/blend.html?blend=14243&SID=b5338a3033ad65c50a2bf324d7062c2bSteep

Time: 3 minutes

Steep Temperature: Boiling

The dry leaf smells delicious. Like the crepes with boysenberry syrup I love to eat. Technically this tea has blackberry, but basically the smell reminds me of a berry syrup with a hint of vanilla. Used my IngenuiTEA pot by Adagio and threw in two heaping teaspoons and about 16oz of boiling water. Let sit three minutes. After steeping, most of the vanilla and berry smell had vanished. Sad. That was a delicious smell.

First taste makes me think that I used water that was to hot, or steeped it to long. Or perhaps it is just the strong Adagio base that I have read about here and on Steepster. It is a little bitter and seems to overpower the flavors of berry and vanilla that I want to be tasting. Added honey and a vanilla coffee creamer (because when I went to the fridge…no milk!). It sweetened it up a little, but it is still bitter. I will be able to drink it, but I look forward to trying it again at a lower temperature. There is a slight vanilla aftertaste, but I am unsure if it is the tea or the coffee creamer. I think this tea is most likely better than what I am experiencing now. If it is not, this is a tea that I would not buy again, but that I will finish my container of.

And now for a confession. If I am being honest with everyone, I totally bought this tea for its name more than the flavor profile. A blackberry and vanilla tea sounded good…..but drinking tea called “The Jane Austen Mafia,” that is badass. You feel cool while drinking it, like smoking a cigarette, only not bad for your health.

“What’s that you are drinking?”"What this? oh nothing, just a little thing called Jane Austen Mafia. What are you drinking? Coffee?” “Yeah, its my double-soy half-calf vanilla latte.” “Yeah, mine is cooler.”

Koala Tea Out!

Tags : black tea, Review

Tea Lover + Inner Child: Shopping for Two

Filed Under : Shopping by

While browsing the depths of the series of tubes known as the interwebs, I have stumbled upon many interesting and intriguing tea related items. There are items to make it so you never over steep your tea, tumblers to keep your tea hot while traveling, and stylish and functional containers to help you organize your loose tea or bags. However there is another group of products; those products that are a little less practical and a little more Madd Hatter. Items that may not be the best at their jobs, these are the whimsical, magical things that make both my inner child and tea lover go “SQUEE!”

One of the first tea related items I fell in love with was DCI’s Tea-Rex. I have always loved dinosaurs, T-Rex and Velociraptors being my favorites, so this cute little green guy tugs at my heart strings. I have heard that he looks good and performs poorly, but that is okay. I still love him, and one day, I will make him mine.

To round out your stylish T-Rex Tea sets, why not pick up an apron and some tea towels from Mod Cloth?

While at Mod Cloth, check out their Tea-Shirt. It appeals to my inner Tea-geek, my inner child (oooo, puppies!), and my love of smart jokes (it’s no chemistry joke, but it will do). Be warned that they can get a little pricy, but they always have some rad tea related items if one types “Tea” into the search bar (Please someone buy me this!)

Lastly, but definitely not leastly, Squishables. I have never quite outgrown stuffed, huggable, cute, animals, and Squishables are a vice. Below is a photo of me with Dr. Worrible (one of the many awesome squishes available) on my wedding day.

That in mind, the masterminds at squishables.com have quite possibly the most awesome squish ever in the works…

It is Earl Grey Tea! Holy crap! I must have it! I want it in micro for my keychain, in mini for my tea cupboard, in regular for hugging and using as a throw pillow on the couch and massive for lounging in! I’m in love and cannot wait for it to go from prototype to reality! I hope they make it keychain sized so I can spread the squishy tea love to all my tea loving friends!

Well, that is all for now. I will post another when I find so much more awesome that I can no longer contain it. If you want to keep up on the awesome as I find it, follow my Tea board on Pinterest!

Tags : Boston Tea Party, Squishable, Tea-Rex, Tea-shirt

Tea and Baking: An Adventure into Deliciousness

Filed Under : Uncategorized by

Feb.29,2012

I have many passions, and one of the oldest ones being baking. Every year I earn my spring semester textbook money by selling my holiday pumpkin rolls, I have been told many times that I should start a bakery, and more importantly, baking is an amazing stress release (followed by stress maker as I realize I now have to burn off all those delicious calories).

Add to my baking love one relatively new tea addiction plus the black hole that is pinterest, and you have a magical and delicious adventure ahead! The first foray into cooking with tea was an Earl Grey Chocolate Cupcake with a Lemon Honey Frosting.

The recipe came from the Tart to Heart blog by Carly Sullivan. If you want to try the recipe, hop on over to her blog. I did make some changes, such as subbing in an Earl Grey Cream instead of just a regular Earl Grey. I went ahead and used The Earl Grey Cream from the Tea Table (you can see my full review of that tea here). I used it because it is not my favorite to drink, I have about 70z of the stuff, and I thought that using a cream based Earl Grey might work better in a sweet recipe instead of just a normal one.

The only bad part about this recipe was the processing of the tea. No matter how long I ran the food processor, I could not get the tea to turn into a fine powder. Due to this, The finished cupcakes ended up with little flecks of tea, which was not the most delicious thing in the world. Next time I will steep a ton of tea in the 2/3 cup of water (for the proper time…steep more, not longer, or you will get icky bitterness) and see if I can get the Earl Grey flavor without the Earl Grey pieces.

The cake itself was chocolatey, moist, and the tea and bergamot flavors were subtle but there. When I fed the cake to people that liked tea, they could pick it out. When I fed it to those that were not the biggest tea fans, they mainly picked out that there were tea pieces in the cake. My Dad just straight up likes cake, so he didn’t care either way.

Enter frosting. My frosting used her base, but I added some lemon emulsion to help pull out the citrus flavor in the cake. I also added about 2 teaspoons of vanilla (8x what the recipe called for…oops). The frosting is amaze-balls. I want to put it on cookies, and cupcakes, and just eat it off of a spoon. YUM!

The combo of the two made for a great first try at baking with tea. I think with just a few tweaks, this recipe could be used for an afternoon tea, a neat end to a fancy dinner, or just to eat all day long (that is what I did).

Suggestions for what I should try next? More sweets? A savory dish? A tea cocktail? Leave a comment.

#5 Lavender Dream by Teavana

Filed Under : Reviews,White by

Feb.28,2012

Number: 5 of 175

Date: Tuesday February 28th, 2012about 2am

Tea Name: Lavender Dreams

Tea Brand: Teavana

Tea Type: White

Link: http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/white-teas/p/lavender-dreams-white-tea

Steep Time: 2 minutes

Steep Temperature: 175* F

I’m a little bit nervous about putting this in my cup. When I decided I liked tea and wanted to try “fancier” ones, I placed a big Teavana order. At this point, I am kinda regretting it. Don’t get me wrong, I love some Teavana teas (Earl Grey Creme), and others are not bad, but I have learned a bit more and these teas are no longer impressive at all. Anyways, I digress. Back to this cup.

Just filled my tea bag with the stuff. I like the smell of lavender, but this is no dream. It smells like old lady. I thought I saw a rock in this, and weird sugary purple pieces, and whole little roses. If it sucks, I can use it for potpourri, because that is what it smells and looks like. I’m trying it because I need to calm down and get to bed (yay too much mt dew), not to mention it was not the cheapest tea. The water should be cool enough, I am gonna let it steep for the recommended two minutes. Here we go!

The two minutes are up, and the cup does not smell very good. Looking at the ingredients, the list is as follows: White tea, candied violet flowers, lavender blossoms, apples, raisins, papaya bits, peach pieces, orange peels, carrot slices, verbena, pink rose buds, cornflowers and passion flower blossoms. WTF? Why is there carrot in my tea?

Time to take a sip. Not as hideous as I was expecting. I can taste the lavender, but it is not overpowering. It is a little fruity, which was not what I was expecting. I keep trying to find a perfect “sleep maker” tea, and this one is not it. I can see it maybe making a nice iced tea, sweetened with a lavender syrup. Will definitely try this one on a hot summer night.

I added some honey to this cup, and I still cannot bring myself to drink it. It is not that it is bad, it is just that you would have to be in a very specific mood to drink it, and I am not in that mood tonight.

Tomorrow, I think I will enjoy a couple of black or oolong teas to get over this one.

#4 Buttered Rum by Davids Tea

Filed Under : Black,Reviews by

Feb.23,2012

Number: 4 of 175
Date: Tuesday February 21th, 2012
Tea Name: Buttered Rum
Tea Brand: DavidsTeas
Tea Type: Black
Link: http://www.davidstea.com/our-teas/black-tea/buttered-rum-1452
Steep Time: 4 minutes ( then 3 minutes the second round)
Steep Temperature: boiling (then a little under for the second round)

This was one of the teas that I got in my big box of samples from LiberTEAs. I was very excited, because it is one I have wanted to try for a bit now. One of my fondest memories of community theater was the Hot Buttered Rum we served during out Holiday Burlesque show, so I was hoping this might echo that flavor.
This tea was the first one to be brewed in my IngenuiTea pot. Separate review on that soon.
It smelled sooooooo good. Took a sip. I could tell it was a little over steeped. I should have been patient and let the water cool a little, but instead just poured the boiling water right onto the tea. I blame the sickness I was suffering from at the time. The brew time was also a little long. The first cup was slightly bitter. I could tell under the bitterness is a very tasty tea. A little spicy, a little coconut, a little sweet.
Since this is based on rum, I added brown sugar and since when I think of buttered rum I think of the worlds most tasty creamy fattening beverage…..I added some milk. I could not fully trust my flavor judgement, as my nose was stuffed up and my taste buds seemed wonky. I enjoyed it as a mediocre cup with a lot of potential.
I had intended to not try the cup again until I was better, but I went ahead and brewed this up again later the same day. I accidentally dropped in a bunch of brown sugar, so I went with it. Added milk. I felt like I am actually drinking hot buttered rum. This is a fine substitute, with just a fraction of the calories. After tasting it, I cannot wait to put in a big order at DavidsTeas. It was amaze-balls. I didn’t think I would ever find a tea I liked more than pancake breakfast by 52teas…..but I found one. So now I have a tea for breakfast and a tea for dessert!
So going to order a huge amount of this tea.

It’s raining tea….

Filed Under : Uncategorized by

Feb.14,2012

….Well, not literally, but that would be cool too, and delicious. The past week has been very tea heavy, but not so post heavy. I have a bunch of reviews stacking up, and will dedicate some time to those in the coming days. I have been working on job applications, packing to move and finishing my thank you cards that I should have wrapped up several months ago (according to wedding etiquette, I am now douchebag).
At the end of the week, my Koala Tea arrived. Then over the weekend I had a tea party with friends and my 52teas order arrived that day. Hooray Strawberry Orange Scone and Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha. Monday my giant box of samples from LiberTEAs arrived, and OMG, 56 different teas to try, including a milk oolong (my secret tea obsession since I first read about them on steepster). I also baked a batch of Earl Grey cupcakes, which I will do a full post on later.
Today, my samples from Teavivre arrived. The do not mess around, big ol’ box, between two to five individual samples of each type of tea, 5 teas in total including Jasmine “Dragon Pearls” Green Tea, Organic White Peony (Bai Mu Dan) Tea, Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea – Golden Tip, Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong Tea, and Organic Tie Guan Yin “Iron Goddess” Oolong Tea with Honey. I’m really excited to try all of the teas. Thinking I might start with the Iron Goddess one. Also today, my Earl Grey lip gloss arrived from an etsy shop based out of San Francisco.
I also ordered an IngenuiTEA from Adagio today, a cute steeper with saucer that looks like an acorn on a branch, and a Claddagh teapot and cup. My textbook trade-ins got approved and amazon happened to have a bunch of items I found on pinterest for my tea wishlist, so I picked some up.
So anyways, lots of awesome tea reviews to come on tea, neat products, books, and recipes I try that are tea based.

Tea #2 and #3: A Creamy Earl Grey Face-off

Filed Under : Black,Reviews by

Feb.7,2012

Earl Grey is my go to tea. Lady Grey by Twinings is what made me first like tea, and Teavana’s Earl Grey Creme brewed in milk with a little vanilla syrup is one of the most tasty things on the planet. I found The Tea Tables Earl Grey Cream and thought they looked pretty similar. I ordered 8oz (paying only $1.91 an ounce) hoping that it would be the same as Teavana’s. Below are the results. Let’s start with the competitors!
Number: 2 of 175
Date: Tuesday February 7th, 2012
Tea Name: Earl Grey Creme
Tea Brand: Teavana
Tea Type: Black
Link: http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/black-teas/p/earl-grey-creme-black-tea
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Steep Temperature: 192* F

Number: 3 of 175
Date: Tuesday February 7th, 2012
Tea Name: Earl Grey Cream
Tea Brand: The Tea Table
Tea Type: Black
Link: http://www.theteatable.com/p/EGC/Earl+Grey+Cream
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Steep Temperature: 192* F

For each of the teas I steeped 1 tsp in 8oz of water for three minutes. I did it at the same time so I could truly compare. Teavana’s Creme had a very overpowering dry leaf. It does not smell like vanilla or citrus or really much of anything, but whatever it is, it is strong. The Tea Table’s (TTT) Cream was not as strong, but had a similar scent, although it was a little bit earthy.
Teavana’s brewed up a cloudy light brown with a hint of red and had a very pleasant light vanilla scent. TTT was a clear red brown and had a nice smell, but it was more fruity than vanilla.
I tried each tea three ways. Plain, with milk added, and then with honey added on top of the milk.
Teavana’s was very nice on its own. You could taste that it was an earl grey and the vanilla was just barely there. Once milk was added, the creaminess really started to shine through. I like my tea sweet, and if there was no sweetener available, I could easily drink this tea with just milk and really enjoy it. Once the honey was added, what I had before me was a cup of creamy earl grey deliciousness. Yum.
TTT was not drinkable by itself. It tasted a little bitter, as if the tea had been steeped to long. I will have to retry with a shorted steep time later. I did not get any hint of vanilla in the steeped tea. Once the milk was added, the bitterness mostly disappeared, and the creamyness began to surface. Add honey, and you have a decent cup of tea, but with a slight bitter aftertaste.

Verdict: At about $2.80 an ounce, Tevana’s earl grey is better, by far. Although I may have saved $8 buying the Earl Grey Cream from TTT, I don’t see myself going through my stock as fast. Hopefully when used to make London Fogs, I won’t be able to tell the difference.

Tags : black tea, earl grey, Teavana, The Tea Table, vs.

A List of Teas to Come….

Filed Under : Uncategorized by

Feb.6,2012

Here is a list of some of the teas I will be trying in the upcoming weeks and months. All of these are already in my cupboard or on order.

Red Velvet Chocolate by The Republic of Tea
Chocolate Malt by MySweetHoneybush.com
Coconut Cheesecake Honeybush by MySweetHoneybush.com
Good Hope Vanilla by The Republic of Tea
Lady Grey by Twinings
Acai Matetini by Teavana
Coconut Chai by Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Strawberry Lemonade Herbal by Teavana
Passion by Tazo
Wholeberry by Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Amandine Rose by Teavana
Organic Apricot Ginger Black Tea by Good Earth Teas
Blueberry Bliss by Teavana
Zen by Tazo
Thousand Mountain Jasmine by Teavana
Cocoa Chai Tea by Good Earth Teas
Honeybush Vanilla by Teavana
Irish Breakfast Tea by Twinings
Pomegrante Superfruit by Good Earth Teas
Peachberry Jasmine Sutra by Teavana
Earl Grey Creme by Teavana
Herbal Revive Tea by Twinings
English Breakfast by Twinings
Earl Grey by Twinings
Bedtime by Yogi
Frutto Bianco Pearls by Teavana
Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha by 52Teas
Darjeeling by Twinings
Lavender Dreams by Teavana
Strawberry Orange Scone by 52 Teas
Authentic Thai Iced Tea by Wangderm Brand
5 different teabags from Stash
Pancake Breakfast Tea by 52teas
Maple Bacon Black Tea by ManTeas
Rainbow Rooibos by The Tea Table
Antony and Cleopatra by The Tea Table
Earl Grey Cream by The Tea Table
Champagne Formosa Oolong by The Tea Table
Caramel Cherry Cheesecake by The Tea Table
Peaches and Cream by The Tea Table
Darjeeling from Zucchini and Vine

So that is the list of what I have. Below is a list of what I want:

Darjeeling First Flush by Jeeves and Jericho
Earl of Grey by Jeeves and Jericho
Girlie Grey by Jeeves and Jericho
Winter Brew by Jeeves and Jericho
China Jasmine by Jeeves and Jericho
Japanese Gen Mai Cha by Jeeves and Jericho
Vanilla Apple Blackberry by Twinings
Blossom Earl Grey by Twinings
Jasmine Earl Grey by Twinings
Lavender Earl Grey by Twinings
Royal Wedding Blend by Twinings
Dreamtime Insant Tea by Whittard of Chelsea
White Tiger by DAVIDsTEA
Creme Brulee by DAVIDsTEA
Honeybee by DAVIDsTEA
Love Tea #7 by DAVIDsTEA
Quangzhou Milk Oolong by DAVIDsTEA
Cream of Earl Grey by DAVIDsTEA
Creamsicle by Joy’s Teaspoon
Plum Crazy by Joy’s Teaspoon
Mahalo by Joy’s Teaspoon

I love earl grey’s and am very interested in trying as many different milk oolongs as I can, so you will most likely see a lot of those throughout the year. I also think my friend is headed to England this year, so maybe I can give her a bunch of cash and she can bring me back most of my wishlist….without me having to spend over 200 dollars in shipping.

A Koala Tea Blog