I recently tried a new (for me) brand of tea. Lo and behold:
Gold Leaf Organic White Tea. Gold Leaf is a local tea brand. They also offer herbal infusions and bottled iced teas.
White tea is produced by allowing the leaves of Camellia sinensis to lightly oxidize. It then takes a whitish appearance, hence the name. It has less caffeine than black tea and the most antioxidants than all kinds of tea.
I prepared the tea by steeping a teabag in a mug of boiling water for 3 minutes.
This tea is very mild tasting. It is like a weaker version of Lipton Yellow Label or when you steeped a teabag for the second time. I guess this is suitable for people who do not like the strong flavor of tea but still want to drink tea. It wasn't so bad but I probably won't buy it again.
Do you like white tea? Have you tried this particular brand of tea? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
I've been drinking Lipton's Yellow Label variety for as long as I can remember but I have only appreciated it for what it is a few years ago. As most (or some--I don't really have the stats) of you might agree, Lipton tea is associated with mornings with an upset stomach or nights troubled by sneezing and clogged nose due to colds (but then, that could only be me). Tea, in general, ranks behind coffee, hot cocoa and milk as a beverage of choice among Filipinos, unless one is not feeling well; thus, tea becomes more of a medicine rather than a beverage that can be enjoyed anytime.
Personally, tea, coffee and hot cocoa all rank at number 1 for me. Though the Philippines is known for it's warm weather and these beverages have their cold versions, I would rather enjoy them hot. I have a very high tolerance for caffeine too. As a matter of fact, I used to drink around 3 mugs (yes, not cups) of coffee everyday plus hot cocoa or tea in the evening and I can still sleep like a baby. But that was before. I may not be feeling the bad effects but that doesn't mean they're not there. I am now limiting my coffee to a cup a day so I still have room for tea or cocoa before I go to bed.
So for those nights that I am in the mood for tea, one of my default choices is the Lipton Yellow Label variety. Why? Well, maybe since I grew up with this, I automatically reach for it. Story was my grandma used to bathe me with it when I was a baby--for a beautiful skin she said. It is also readily-available as this is one of the cupboard staples at home. And, experienced tea-drinkers might crinkle their noses at this but, I like how it tastes. It has a very basic taste that I don't really need to be in a mood to have it.
Perhaps, I like this tea a lot for its nostalgic factor.
So, what is your default beverage? What are your thoughts about Lipton Yellow Label Tea? Please share them in the comments below.
Milk tea has been gaining popularity in the Philippines for the past few years. A lot of people regard it as a 'healthier' alternative to coffee. It has become a staple in most cafes and it has become hard to walk a few blocks without seeing a stall or kiosk that offers it.
Readily available as it is, supporting your milk tea habit regularly can bore a hole in your wallet.
With that, instant tea mixes sprung in the market to aid the people's 'need' for milk tea while being gentle in the pocket.
So, when I saw boxes and packets of 3:15 PM Milk Tea at the grocery store, I dismissed it as one of those milk tea mixes. However, upon close inspection, I saw that these milk tea packets are not the same as the ones I am used to because they come in tea bags. Yes, they are not your regular milk tea mixes--they are milk tea tea bags!
My interest got piqued and I decided to get a sampler pack.
Three packets of milk tea in different varieties. It says that each packet contains a multi-use tea bag.
Here they are out of the plastic packaging.
Here's how the tea bag looks like. It is not stringed and tagged. It smells so good!
There are five varieties of this milk tea (the other two being original and coffee milk tea) but I decided to get the pack with Earl Grey because it is one of my favorite tea blends.
Needless to say, I tried the Earl Grey first.
3:15 PM Earl Grey Milk Tea
This milk tea is definitely not on the sweet side. It is rather mild tasting but the Earl Grey taste is still distinctive.
Next is...
3:15 PM Roasted Milk Tea
I am actually excited to try this one because a lot of my friends say roasted milk tea is delish. I haven't tried it though 'cause I usually order wintermelon milk tea and, I must say, this roasted milk tea is indeed yum! I thought I'll be liking the Earl Grey the most but this one certainly surpassed it. It is not very sweet. It is creamy yet it did not overpower the tea taste.
And finally...
3:15 PM Rose Fruity Milk Tea
I had a feeling this milk tea would taste like perfume but boy, was I wrong! This has a perfect balance of floral notes, fruitiness and creaminess. I like it a lot!
It's hard to decide which one I liked the most because they were all so delicious. In addition, it's nice that these milk teas contain real tea leaves and not powdered tea concentrate. However, if you are used to overly sweet and milky milk teas, these tea bag versions may not satisfy you. Furthermore, though the packaging says they are multi-use tea bags, I don't think their flavor will live up to two steepings.
Nevertheless, I liked these milk teas and I would probably buy them again. Perhaps, I would try the original and coffee flavors next time.
Do you like milk tea? Have you tried 3:15 PM Milk Teas? If so, what are your thoughts about it? Share them in the comments below!
My favorite kind of tea is black. You can never go wrong with a nice and strong black tea. So, when I saw this tea at the supermarket, I didn't hesitate to grab a box.
English Tea Shop Organic Black Tea Chai. This is my first time to have this brand, so I decided to get the sampler box. It contains 8 individually wrapped tea bags.
The packaging is so cute! It is also emphasized that this tea is organically grown and processed.
Chai or masala chai originated in India and is prepared by blending black tea with spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, mace, ginger, licorice, anise and black pepper.
Once home, I immediately prepared a cup of this chai.
This tea smells strongly of spices.
I steeped a tea bag in a teacup of freshly boiled water for 4 minutes. The resulting brew was this nicely colored, aromatic tea.
You can enjoy this tea as it is but chai is best enjoyed sweet and with milk.
I like my chai sweet and milky. So yum!
This smells so spicy and some people may not like it because of that but this tea tastes much better than it smells. English Tea Shop's Black Tea Chai is really good and I will definitely buy it again.
Do you like chai? How about English Tea Shop's teas? Let me know in the comments below.
I've been wanting to try Celestial Seasonings Tea for some time now. I am mainly intrigued by the graphics on its box. In fact, my boyfriend and I jokingly call it 'stoner's tea'. The graphics on the variety I got is a little toned down, the others are really worth checking out! I am so interested with this tea so I researched about it and see if it is really worth buying. Majority of reviews I've read are positive so I bought a box on my next trip to the groceries.
I learned from my research that Sleepytime is one of their most famous blends. I read the ingredients and I saw that it contains spearmint. I have mentioned before that I am not a fan of mint tea, so I decided to get the Honey Vanilla Chamomile instead.
I like chamomile tea. I like honey. I like vanilla. Need I say more?
This box contains 20 tea bags. Let's see what the blendmaster had to say about this tea.
"Our satisfying Chamomile tea is cherished by many as a soothing antidote for life's complications. We've added the delicious flavors of creamy, nutty vanilla, golden honey and just a hint of refreshing orange to complement our perfect blend of Egyptian and Mexican varieties of chamomile in this relaxing herbal tea."
Let us check the ingredients.
INGREDIENTS: chamomile, orange peel, natural honey flavor with other natural flavors (contains soy lecithin), licorice, roasted chicory and lemongrass -- basically the same ingredients as Sleepytime, sans the spearmint. It's calorie- and caffeine-free too.
Open sesame!
The tea bags are not stringed and tagged, hence, they are more appropriately called tea pillows. Nice!
Let's try it!
This tea bag smells really good.
I steeped the tea bag in hot water for 5 minutes.
Now, it's ready. Look at that lovely color!
I added a bit of honey to it before tasting it and it was divine! It smells good, so sweet and creamy. It tastes good, smooth and very vanilla. And this tea is really calming, a perfect drink right before you go to bed.
Have you tried Celestial Seasonings Tea? How was it? And what do you think of their awesome graphics? I hope to hear from you in the comments!
Peppermint Tea: calms your knots and relieves you of unwanted body hair--seems like nature wanted you to evolve to the human you are supposed to be.
While going around the interwebs one day, I saw a recipe for mint tea. After a few more clicks around a few sites, I learned that mint tea (peppermint, spearmint, etc.) is known to calm upset stomach (which I think is already a given fact) and lower down androgen levels in the body, thus, lowering the amount of body and facial hair (women rejoice!). The recipe I first saw (sorry, forgot the actual site) calls for fresh mint leaves which I didn't have, so this piece of peppermint info was pushed back to the back of my mind.
Then one afternoon, I was walking down the beverage aisle at the grocery store when I saw the boxes of Lipton Peppermint Tea. There were also a few other mint tea brands but upon checking their ingredients list, they were black teas with mint flavoring. Lipton, on the other hand, was made of real peppermint leaves and nothing else. Though technically not a real tea (it is what is called an herbal infusion), I decided to get this instead.
Mentha × piperita -- a watermint and spearmint hybrid.
I gave it a try the minute I got home. It smells really good, kinda reminded me of Wrigley's Doublemint Chewing Gum. I was out all day and I did feel myself winding down bit by bit as I sip this tea. The smell alone was really calming. However, it smells better than it tastes. It was like your regular black tea which was okay but this infusion is somewhat oily.
I steeped one tea bag for around 3 minutes. The brew was initially bright green in color which turned darker the longer I steep. By the time I was ready to drink it, the color was that of a black tea.
The oiliness, however, does not mean the tea or infusion is of low quality or has gone bad in any way. It simply means that the leaves were pan-fried or exposed to some sort of heat prior to packaging. It could also be that the water is too hot, the leaves released oil while being steeped. I'm sure my water was not too hot then, so I think the reason for the oiliness was the former. The mint taste was not that pronounced either, you just sort of get a hint of it at your palate.
Anyhoo, I decided to give this tea another shot and tried it cold.
I steeped two teabags in a cup and a half of hot water then allowed it to cool down. I then popped it inside the refrigerator overnight.
I guess this tea works better cold because the low temperature enhanced it's mint flavor but still, I am not a fan. I guess because of it's sweet, bubblegum-my smell, it's kinda disappointing when it doesn't taste as sweet. Adding more sugar is not a good idea either.
Lipton peppermint iced tea.
Bottom-line, if your goal is to wind down after a long day, then this infusion does the job. It does not contain any tea leaves, so it is caffeine-free. If you are after a strong mint taste, serve it ice cold or try other brands. Better yet, grow your own peppermint and brew your tea from scratch. The latter may seem like a lot of work but mint is actually one of those herbs that you can grow in a small pot by your window. I actually have half the mind to do this!
Have you tried Lipton's Peppermint Tea? How about growing your own plant/herb (the legal kind, okay?) Please share your thoughts at the comments below. :)
Krissie is a coffee-lover and tea enthusiast. She likes kitsch and pretty much anything with a vintage vibe to it. She is a sucker for carbs and has a very special sweet spot for cats.