Favorite tea.

vintage yellow rose cup and saucer
from my collection.

So, in choosing favorite teas to nominate for the Tea Bloggers' Choice Awards, I have more than one favorite tea in several categories!  I'm sure you can empathize!  Here are some of my current favorites: 

Earl Grey Creme from Satori Tea Bar 

Lady Londonderry from Satori Tea Bar 

The Valley of Heart's Delight from Satori Tea Bar

Bloomsbury Afternoon from The Ladies' Tea Guild 

The Royal Wedding from Lisa's Tea Treasures 

Earl Grey from The Good Earth 

Orange Blossom black tea from Whittard of Chelsea 

Yorkshire Gold from Taylor of Harrogate 

PG Tips from Brooke Bond 

Cream of Assam from Tfactor Specialty Teas 

Candy Cane Lane from Celestial Seasonings (makes a great iced tea!) 

Jasmine Green Tea from History San Jose (sold in their gift shop; don't know the actual source) 

Original Herb Blend from The Good Earth 

Lemon Ginger herbal tea from Stash 

Oregon Peppermint herbal tea from Stash 

In keeping with the Valentine theme of this month: Passion blend tea from Sterling Teas.

Passion blend tea from Sterling Teas. Image sourced from the company website.
Sterling Teas' Passion blend tea contains green tea, black tea, pineapple bits, papaya bits, flavoring, marigold blossoms, safflowers, and cornflower blossoms. This tea has a lovely floral and tropical fruity aroma and flavor. The green tea is not a prominent flavor, but adds to the light floral aroma; the strongest flavors include the pineapple and papaya. There is also a nice, yet mild, “black tea” flavor in combination with the tropical fruit and flowers, which taste and smell almost rose-like. The tea is a light amber color when brewed, and does well brewed hot or as a cold-brew in the refrigerator, although the flavor is lighter with the cold brew method. I received a free sample of this tea last year, from a friend, and especially enjoyed it as an iced tea last summer. I drink this tea, as I do most teas, without milk or sugar, but it can handle a little bit of sweetening; I made a sweetened iced tea version with Splenda for my family, and found it refreshing. I have really enjoyed this blend and I think it's a nice one to drink, especially these days when it's been cold, rainy, and overcast. It evokes the aromas of spring gardens as well as tropical vacations!

Sterling Tea company website
Some other tea reviews:
Republic of Tea’s Orange Blossom White Tea
Teagre Teas’ Chocolate Mint rooibos
Honest Tea’s Organic Lemon Black Tea
SerendipiTeas Buccaneer Blend

Review of Stash Coconut Mango Wuyi Oolong tea.

Stash Coconut Mango Wuyi Oolong.  Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

I am currently trying to assist a family member or two in improving their diet, substituting iced tea for the various sweetened and artificially flavored cold beverages that they usually drink. One person is extremely picky about everything and “doesn’t like the flavor of tea” but wants the health benefits, so I have been experimenting with flavored oolong teas in order to avoid the characteristic “black tea” and “green tea” flavor, but keep all the antioxidants.

I purchased Coconut Mango Wuyi Oolong tea, from Stash, at Nob Hill Foods in Milpitas. The tea is packed in Stash Teas’ characteristic brightly colored foil teabags, and is pleasantly fragrant. The aroma is fruity, but only slightly coconutty, and the flavor is similar. It makes a nice iced tea, sweetened with Splenda, but doesn’t taste like typical “iced tea” and contains all the great antioxidants of real tea.

To make a pitcher of iced tea for my family with this blend, I used this recipe:

½ quart water
several cups of ice cubes
6 Stash Coconut Mango Wuyi Oolong teabags
3 packets Splenda sugar substitute

Bring the water to a boil, remove from the heat, and pour over the teabags in a heat-proof container. Steep for 4 minutes, then strain. Add the Splenda and stir until it is completely dissolved in the tea. Allow the hot tea to cool for several minutes; meanwhile, fill a two-quart size beverage container halfway with ice cubes. When the tea has cooled somewhat, pour it over the ice cubes in the container. Allow to cool completely (the ice will melt) and chill. Serve with a piece of dried mango or tiny bit of unsweetened shredded coconut in the bottom of the glass, or a squeeze of lime juice if you like!

The tea, on its own, has a nice flavor, both hot and cold. The coconut flavor is really mild and only detectable in the aroma when the tea is hot. The mango flavor is sutble, as well, but ads a nice element to the oolong. We went though a box of this tea fairly quickly – since it takes 6 teabags to make 2 quarts of iced tea – and I’ll probably be looking for this more in the future, although my family was not in love with the flavor, because it doesn’t taste like juice or soda!

Stash teas can be purchased at most major supermarkets in the San Jose area; I purchased Coconut Mango Wuyi Oolong tea at Nob Hill in Milpitas.

Review of Buccaneer blend loose tea from SerendipiTea.

I recently received a sample of this tea blend and have really been enjoying it. The Buccaneer blend contains Fair Trade certified organic black tea, chocolate, coconut, vanilla and rooibos. The first aroma that I noticed upon opening the foil pouch was the toasted coconut, with a little hint of vanilla and chocolate and the kind of citrusy fragrance of rooibos. When brewed and served hot, the flavor of the tea blend changes slightly; I thought it tasted mostly of toasted coconut and rooibos, and couldn’t really taste the chocolate and vanilla. On a second and third brewing, the chocolate and coconut are very much in the aroma, but the vanilla is still hiding behind them, I suspect. The black tea flavor wasn’t there at all for me, and I had to look at the tea leaves themselves to make sure they were there. Sort of disappointing for me, as I expected the black tea to make the blend taste more substantial. On a second and third brewing, I detected the black tea as a faint presence behind all the other stronger flavors, but not as a distinct flavor in itself. I tend to want my tea – even flavored tea – to taste at least a little bit like “tea”, but I may be alone in my preference. All in all, still a tasty blend, which can withstand 2 infusions per serving. I’m not sure this blend is one of those that tastes equally good as a hot beverage and a cold one; I drank some both freshly brewed and after it had cooled, and I prefer this blend hot, definitely. The chocolate flavor really needs the heat in order to have a presence, I think. But as a hot drink, with a flavor of the tropics, the Buccaneer blend is a good one.

1.888.TEA.LIFE
www.serendipiTea.com

Book Summary and Review: Her Royal Spyness, by Rhys Bowen.

image from www.RhysBowen.com
Her Royal Spyness, the first book featuring heroine Lady Georgiana Rannoch, set in 1930s England and Scotland, is a mystery with charm equal to the writings of Agatha Christie, in my opinion. Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie (otherwise known as Georgie), great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and daughter of the 3rd Duke of Rannoch, is 34th in line to the throne of England and has the royal reputation to uphold. The problem is, her father died penniless, and she has no money to use in upholding the royal image.

When her small income from the family estate is withdrawn upon her 21st birthday, and she is unable to find a likeable man among the aristocratic suitors chosen for her, Georgie determines to take her future into her own hands. She moves to London and begins a double life: spying on the Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson for the Queen, and earning a small income (disguised as a maid) cleaning houses for the upper-classes while they are away. This is a difficult job for a girl who’s never been without servants, herself!

Then, a man who claimed to own the deed to her family’s estate in Scotland, is found dead in the family’s London house, and Georgie’s brother, the current Duke of Rannoch, is arrested for the murder. Georgie has to identify the real murderer, clear her family’s name, and dodge attempts at her own life, while avoiding the Queen’s efforts to marry her off. Meanwhile, she re-connects with some old friends and meets an attractive, but penniless, Irish aristocrat.

I found this story to be a very enjoyable read. Her Royal Spyness contains an interesting and believable plot, with personable characters who are skillfully rendered. The solution to the mystery is neither immediately obvious, nor impossible, and the author has combined her "artistic license" with the right amount of historic details, so that the characters and situations, while fictional, don’t seem overly modern, faults which I have found in too many contemporary "period" novels. I recommend this book as perfect for curling up with a cup of tea!

The author, Rhys Bowen, was born and raised in England and Wales, and is the creator of three series of mystery books, including the Lady Georgiana Rannoch mysteries. Mrs. Bowen has won seven awards, including the Agatha and the Anthony Awards, and has been nominated for every major mystery writing award. She is currently located in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she has lived for many years with her family. She is also a fan of tea! I met her on a tea-related Internet group, and she has expressed an interest in meeting The South Bay Ladies' Tea Guild! So, mark your calendars for September 12, and our Tea with Rhys Bowen! Tickets will be sold until Saturday, September 5; e-mail southbayladiesteaguild@yahoo.com for more information. To learn more about Mrs. Bowen, visit her website at http://www.rhysbowen.com.