Tea Tuesday Archives * Style Chicks

Tea: Amoda Organic Golden Turmeric Ginger Herbal Tea

November 30, 2016 · Leave a Comment

The Style Chicks love tea. The Style Chicks love glowing skin. The Style Chicks love not feeling incredibly sore after Arm Workout Day. The Style Chicks love organic, all natural products. For all of these reasons and more, Style Chicks love Amoda Organic Golden Turmeric Ginger Herbal Tea.

Amoda Organic Golden Turmeric Ginger Herbal Tea

Amoda Organic Golden Turmeric Ginger Herbal Tea is a magnificent blend of organic powdered turmeric, ginger, fennel, anise seed, true cinnamon, and vanilla. Sounds like a Chai variant to you? It is along that flavor line, but it packs far more flavor, not to mention health benefits. It is pretty rare that I find a chai tea that tastes as good as it smells. This herbal tea actually tastes better than it smells, and it smells amazing!

The anti-inflammatory benefits of the ingredients, especially Tumeric and Ginger, are well documented. I take Tumeric supplements for its’ anti-inflammatory effects, but I am trying to use high-grade Tumeric in cooking more to get the most benefit from it. I also try to incorporate fresh ginger into recipes as much as I can. But what I like about Amoda Organic Golden Turmeric Ginger Herbal Tea is that it contains high-grade powdered ingredients (with no additives!) in an easy to use way that incorporates seamlessly into my tea-drinking lifestyle. I stir the powder into hot water and enjoy the spicy, savory treat while getting an incredible amount of healthy anti-inflammatory benefits. I love that it doesn’t feel like I’m choosing the healthy option, but rather than I’m choosing the tasty option.

The benefits have been impressive. My skin is glowing. I had an angry blemish that was painful and very red. After a few days of drinking this tea, I noticed that while it wasn’t full flat yet, the redness had disappeared. Usually, blemishes stay red far beyond when they are flat on me, and the redness disappears over time. Because of the powerful anti-inflammatory effects of the tea, the blemish is flesh tone and far less noticeable!

My under eyes have also shown marked improvement. During Fall allergy season, my eyes always get puffy, and for the past two weeks, my orbital skin has been puffy and dark. The tea de-inflamed the area, and my eyes look great!

How the tea affects muscle recovery is also profoundly impressive. After a good Tracy Anderson workout, I tend to feel run over by a truck the next day. If I drink this tea as my recovery drink, I feel substantially less sore. It’s not just power of suggestion, either. I had a shoulder injury that leaves the joint quite inflamed. Last night I put my hand on the affected shoulder while I was in the middle of a conversation, and it was significantly less swollen than normal. Though I was absorbed in the conversation, the reduction of inflammation was enough to make me lose my train of thought. It took me a couple of minutes to realize that it is likely due to this amazing tea!

Not to split hairs, but technically this is a tisane since it is an herbal tea, not a true tea since no actual tea leaves are involved. However, this opens up options. If you want the health benefits of green tea but dislike the taste, try addition this mix into your tea, and the vegetal taste is greatly diminished. Lyn and I acquired a taste for straight green tea over time, but it took awhile (especially when we got into Matcha.) So if you are looking to start drinking green tea (or any tea), adding this mix turns a regular cup of tea into an amazingly tasty, incredibly healthy taste treat!

Amoda Organic Golden Turmeric Ginger Herbal Tea

Mom tried it today and loved how full-bodied it is. She doesn’t like tea as much as Lyn and I do because it is, as she calls it, a “thin-bodied” beverage. She loves this tea because it is full bodied (think Hot Apple Cider straight from one of the many amazing New England orchards) and she considers it more of a savory snack for break time rather than just a hot beverage. So, if you are looking to cut out some calories by ditching your carby, sugary afternoon snack and want to replace it with a tasty, satisfying, healthy drink, this is ideal for you!

Lyn found that it had similar results for her in that it cut out her craving for a buttery carb mid-afternoon. As a family, buttery carbs are held in high culinary regard as a treat, so this is truly a testimony to this tea!

And don’t forget, it is all plant-based, organic, gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and perfect for vegans!

Find this lovely tea at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HQWM6ZG?th=1.

And learn more about the incredible health benefits of Turmeric Curcumin!

I received this item for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer it!

Tea Tuesday: Zone-365 Oolong Tea Organic Loose Leaf Tea

September 20, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Oolong is amongst my favorite types of loose leaf tea. Not as well known as its’ green and white counterparts, Oolong is a delicate tea with lots of health and beauty benefits, including the ability to curb cravings for sweets and carbs. In this way, Oolong is superior to Green Tea, which does boost the metabolism but does not suppress the appetite. Oolong is a rarer tea and can be expensive.

A quality Oolong we recently tried is Zone – 365 Oolong Tea. It is a Da Yu Ling Oolong, which are leaves from the highly prized Taiwan mountains. The high altitude creates a climate that grows leaves slower but with optimal flavor. Da Yu Ling leaves are often very expensive.

APPEARANCE
The first thing you notice about Zone – 365 Oolong Tea is the leaves are rolled into tight tiny orbs that unfurl during the brewing process. The curled leaf formation makes for the least oxidized of all the teas, resulting in a very pale, delicate, sparkling gold-tone brew. Once brewed, the leaves unfurl into full, unblemished leaves. I like how fresh and pure the leaves look, it assures me that this tea is optimal quality.

Zone-365 Oolong Tea Organic Loose Leaf Tea

TASTE
Zone – 365 Oolong tastes like the champagne or wine version of a cross between a green and white tea. Oolong tea is semi-fermented, which causes the smooth, silky, slightly wine-like texture and taste. There is not the vegetal taste associated with many greens, and it is much lighter tasting and texture than a matcha. Zone – 365 Oolong Tea does not have any artificial flavors to enhance it, as a quality Oolong stands on its’ own. Some may wish to add a bit of sweetener to taste; I liked it with or without just a bit of cane sugar, as lemon or milk would overpower the taste.

AROMA
The leaves have a lovely scent in the packaging, and the tea does as well once brewed.

PACKAGING
The 365 Oolong tea comes in loose leaf form, two attractive metallic silver bags. The bags are vacuum sealed and held in a colorful white canister with a blue floral pattern and blue metal cap. There is an inner lid to help retain the freshness of the tea. It makes for a suitable presentation as a gift for a tea lover.

Zone-365 Oolong Tea Organic Loose Leaf Tea

HOW TO BREW OOLONG

Zone – 365 recommends a specific way to get the best brew from Oolong. Kung Fu Brewing or the Gong Fu style of brewing is a common process in Taiwan for making tea. It is a detailed process that gets the best out of the Oolong tea leaves. The full process is seen on the 365 blog, and it makes for a lovely tea ceremony that brings out all the flavors of the Oolong.

Zone-365 Oolong Tea Organic Loose Leaf Tea

The gist of it is shown in the video, which is a modified version of the “Gong Fu style” Way when making Oolong tea for one person.

For the best quality tea, use the freshest, cleanest water you can find, such as filtered water or well water. Oolong is too delicate to conceal a bad-tasting water. Heat the water to an at-below boiling point.
Using a clay or glass pot (clay is preferable to enhance the flavor over multiple brewings but glass works as well) add about 2-3 grams of Oolong pearls to the pot.
Fill the pot less than halfway full. Swish the water around for about 30 seconds; this removes the outer surface layer of the Oolong, and any tea dust from settling in the bag. It is like how many people don’t eat the first pancake in a batch because they are just “priming” the griddle. Nothing is wrong with this tea; it is just not the very best brew.
Pour this water out into a discard container. In the video, I poured into the pottery ware cup. In the traditional method, this water is used during the rest of the tea ceremony and initially, is poured into the drinking cups to warm them. I skip this step and just discard the priming brew water.
Now pour the remaining water into the teapot. Within a minute or two, the Oolong unfurls into the beautiful leaves. I loved how fresh, unblemished and beautiful the unfurled leaves looked.
Brew for about 2-5 minutes, or a few more minutes to taste the deeper Oolong flavor. The traditional method groups many serving cups together and in a swirling pattern, pour the tea over all of them to get an even distribution of the flavor. It reminds me of being at a party, and many champagne glasses are being filled at once. A tea towel is used to clean up the cups before they are served. I don’t pour it the traditional way but do give the teapot a few swishing motions around to give the infusion a good stir before pouring.
You can immediately start the next brewing infusion off the same Oolong, and get a good four infusions from the same leaves, and maybe up to seven or eight infusions depending on the size and medium of your teapot. Clay works best for multiple Oolong brewings.

ABOUT Zone-365
Zone-365 teas support The Ethical Tea Partnership, ETP. This non-profit group works for improving and sustaining the tea industry by the raising of standards for tea production, supporting tea workers and smallholder tea farmers, and working for climate and environmental causes.

CONCLUSION: This is a lovely and very fresh Oolong Tea, I am so happy to have tried it! Even my non-tea drinking friends enjoyed this Oolong. I like a tea that curbs my cravings for sweets, and the aroma and brew color is just beautiful. I was particularly impressed with the unfurled leaves after brewing: fresh, unblemished, full leaves, the mark of a quality tea!

Zone-365 Oolong Tea Organic Loose Leaf Tea

Being able to infuse multiple brewings from the same Oolong leaves works out to be very economical. I am very pleased to find a high-quality Da Yu Ling leaf Oolong!

Find this tasty tea at Amazon.

I received this product for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer it!

Tea Tuesday: Coastal Tea Company Mango Green Tea

September 6, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Coastal Tea Company’s Mango Green Tea

Here at Style Chicks, we drink lots of green tea. Green tea is a beauty powerhouse for youthful, glowing skin as well as a metabolism and energy booster. For example, studies indicate if you have a cup of green tea each day instead of your standard afternoon coffee for a year, that alone can result in up to a ten-pound weight loss. But to get the beauty benefits that green tea can offer, the brand of tea one chooses is critical in order to make sure it is the quality of tea to derive benefits. And, if you are not a fan of green tea, it helps if it is a tasty, flavorful tea. Coastal Tea Company makes a delicious Mango Green worth giving a try.

GREEN TEA
Green Tea has often been touted as the miracle drink for glowing skin, weight control, increased energy, improved immunity, and reducing inflammation. EGCG in doses of green tea shown to be effective in preliminary studies for cancer prevention. Multiple cups of green tea per day are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers. But not all green teas are created equal when it comes to taste, quality, EGCG levels, freshness, and safety.

WHAT MAKES COASTAL TEA COMPANY MANGO GREEN TEA SPECIAL?

– Coastal Tea Company’s Mango Green Tea is a 100% leaf sencha green tea blend with dried mango pieces with hints of peach and mint. The chunks of mango are plentiful and big, how they appear in the pictures is how the tea looks poured directly out of the bag, they were not “arranged” for the photo. What you see is what you get.

– All natural. There are no artificial flavors, chemicals or additives for flavor.

– It is tasty. Green tea can taste somewhat vegetal and is something of an acquired taste. This mango tea has a sweet mango and peach flavor with a notable mint infusion.

– The tea is actual full leaves, not dust or remaindered tea. This is the freshest type of tea, the best of the batch, and it holds the most benefits. The batches are small batches to ensure freshness and quality.

– In addition to being an organic green tea that is tasty, low caffeine and healthy, Coastal Tea Company takes special efforts to avoid the risks associated with green tea: lead and radiation.

Coastal Tea Company’s Mango Green Tea

LEAD
A concern with the otherwise incredible health benefits of green full leaf tea is the level of lead it can contain. This problem is inherent to green tea, as it is highly prone to absorb chemical pollution, especially so in leaves picked in China. This problem exists in many brands of tea. The cost of the tea is not necessarily always correlated to the probability of higher levels lead, but small batch, hand-picked teas had the least possibility of containing lead.

According to the New York Times Well Blog, an independent study analyzed the lead content of various brands of green tea leaves. The study stated that the leaves in the Lipton and Bigelow tea bags contained 1.25 to 2.5 micrograms of lead per serving. (What’s in Your Green Tea?, May 23, 1013)

Coastal Tea screens their tea leaves for lead and metal traces by running it through a metal detector, a sorting machine, and a heavy magnet to sort out any tea leaves that have absorbed any lead or metals. I haven’t heard of a company taking such efforts to screen their tea leaves, but it gives me much more confidence that Coastal Tea Co teas are safe.

RADIATION
Another risk for green tea leaves is it is susceptible to absorbing radiation. While this is chiefly a concern with matchas (because the leaf is actually consumed not just steeped), it is something to be aware of in the selection of tea. Coastal Tea tests tea for radiation levels, as well as only selects tea leaves from areas that are known as safe (Uju City) and have never had reports of radiated tea.

TASTE
Brewed for 2-5 minutes, the tea has a lovely, golden-yellow hue and tastes of peach, mango, and a crisp, fresh-tasting mint. I got a second brew out of the same leaves that were just a flavorful as the first.

Coastal Tea Company’s Mango Green Tea

CONCLUSION: A tasty, natural tea that has all the benefits I look for in a green loose leaf tea without any of the risks associated with some loose leaf tea brands. I am impressed by the strict standards and precautions Coastal Tea Company undertakes to ensure their teas are fresh and safe.

Coastal Tea Company’s Mango Green Tea

Find this tasty tea at Amazon.

I received this product for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer it!

Teabook Premium Tea Gift Box

June 7, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Teabook Premium Tea Gift Set

THE SET
This Teabook Premium Teas set is a tea tumbler with a boxed set of pre-portioned loose tea pouches that come as four each of rare Greens, Whites, Oolongs, and Reds plus a Special Collection bonus pouch of a rare tea, in this case, a specialty Red. The sampler provides a taste of some of the loose teas available from the Teabook Premium Tea service; a discount subscription card comes with the box for 20% off.

The teas are pesticide free. The tea flavors are:

WHITE: Silver Needle white tea is a delicate tea that tastes of melon, blackberries, and a warm bread sort of aroma.

GREEN: Green Bud Green tea is mild and buttery tasting, more of a mint leaf leaning than a vegetable leaf one. This tea is an authentic green, which if one is unaccustomed to greens may seem bitter. I am a hardcore loose green tea drinker, and I like this blend. I got two brews out of the same leaves. If you are a seasoned green tea drinker, you will find this to be a pure green but not bitter, slightly sweet without any added flavorings. If you are new to green teas, you may wish to add some sweetener to the first brew, or you may prefer the less beneficial but still tasty second brew.

OOLONG: Bai Hao Oolong tea (Oriental Beauty) from China is a sweet tea with dark chocolate and raspberry overtones. To me, this Oolong has a bit of a liquor taste while still being delicate and this is my favorite of the four with a very pale golden color when brewed.

RED: Sunset Red (Hunan Hong) from China, it tastes like caramel and chocolate. I am personally not much of a fan of red teas, but this one does have a certain appeal with unexpected flavors that are tasty on a red tea base.

A concern I had about these teas, especially the White and the Oolong, is would they overbrew in the tumbler since most delicate teas should only be brewed for a minute or two? These teas do not seem too bitter to me; Teabook says this is because they chose only high-quality teas. Even when I drink the tea over the course of a few hours, it does not get bitter. I can also get a second brew off of the same pouch, not as strong as the first but still tasty.

PRESENTATION
This set could make a lovely gift although the outside of the box that the teas come in does not seem very gift-like. There are tea-related quotes and sayings inside the box itself, and it does keep the tea pouches in good condition. I, however, would be happy to get this as a gift or give it as a gift for a tea lover, and it is probably something I would not have noticed if I wasn’t for examining the item for review purposes.

This set contains a quality twelve-ounce tumbler. I like this tumbler because it has a double wall so it is heat insulated and I don’t burn my hands holding it. It is relatively easy to clean considering the infusing filter that is used to keep the loose tea away from the drinking area of the tumbler. The filter is sturdy and keeps any tea “floaters” away from the brewing area with a well-designed drinking compartment underneath the stainless steel cap. The tumbler can also be used for fruit infused waters and cold tea, but it should not be put in the microwave. It is sturdy.

I especially like how beautiful it is to watch loose teas unfurl, especially the green, as they infuse in the water like a slow motion dance! Having such a well-designed filter compartment keeps even tiny tea leaves strained away from the drinking area, and makes it easy to drink loose teas.

Recommended item because it is a well-designed tumbler that doubles as a fruit water infuser, tasty tea choices, and coupon code for discounts on future tea purchases at TeaBook.

Tea Tuesday: Willow & Everett Glass Teapot Infuser Warmer

April 26, 2016 · Leave a Comment

This is a functional yet attractive piece, it hold 40oz and comes with a warmer that looks like a zippered sweater for a teapot to keep the tea warm and to make it portable.

This is suitable for personal at-home use, at the office and attractive for entertaining as it has the capacity to serve tea to five or six guests. The pot is glass and the lid and built-in strainer components are a rust-free stainless steel. The design of the strainer fitting into a funnel-shaped holder keeps loose tea leaves out of the water and allows the loose tea leaves plenty of room to unfurl and brew. I like using this with some of my loose teas that have dried fruit pieces in them because it allows plenty of room for them to expand and infuse the tea with flavor.

The stainless steel portion of the lid and strainer and funnel-shaped strainer base can be easily removed, and the glass container itself can be microwaved to reheat the tea, but delicate tea such as whites, oolong, and some greens, it may be preferable to just keep it warm with the cozy so as not to make the tea bitter with a re-heating. It is also convenient to be able to easily remove the strainer after brewing delicate teas such as some whites that only brew for a minute or two.

The only issue I am concerned about is how fragile the glass is so I will be keeping the zippered warmer cozy on the teapot itself most of the time. Makes for a nice gift for a tea lover.

Find it at Amazon.com.

Willow & Everett Glass Teapot Infuser Warmer

I received this item for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with the product, leave a comment in the box below!