30 Tasting Notes
woo-hoo, just got back from Grocery Outlet where they’d gotten four, new, high-end bagged teas for $1.99 each! The first one I’m trying is Woman’s Dong Quai Tonic by Yogi Tea, which is pretty nice! It smells wonderful, and I taste the anise (which I love to add to loose tea mixtures), as well as the cinnamon bark, and a little ginger or pepper because it’s a little spicy. I added it to the system as a new tea with the name listed on its current packaging, though it’s also listed on Steepster with what looks like older packaging as menstrual tea, however, my victorian inclinations prevent comment on that. Anyway, shout out to Grocery Outlet!
As a Bay Area resident, I am happy to present and review this local company, finally making tea fairly traded to connoisseurs after hundreds of years of British economic colonialism. Zawadi Karibu Spiced Chai is a mild tea that gets the job done. The flavor is earthy and spicy without being overwhelming. I have been drinking it with sugar and soy milk, and it has been a joy to keep refilling the cup. Additionally, as the box mentions, I don’t seem to get the jitters that black tea and caffeine can sometimes give me. This unique tea is complemented by its easy pre-packaging, which is both convenient for the user and accessible for anyone to try. It is perfect for the season, and I’ve been keeping my snowman mug full.
Don’t miss the website for this company where sippers can read about the impact of colonialism on access in the tea trade of England, India, and the rest of Europe and the Middle and Near East, fair-trade in Kenya, and the Kenya AIDS Intervention/Prevention project.
Preparation
It certainly has a strong almond smell and taste, but little vanilla, and really nothing that exciting going on. Might pair well with some cookies. I think it’s funny that the manufacturer suggests a strong brew could withstand pairing with milk, because milk challenged all vanilla notes in my cup. The brew is really rather weak.
The aroma of the tea bag waiting in the cup while the water heats beckons what one might think is a refreshing cup. The tea actually more closely approximates a citrusy cold medicine, which is actually how I prefer to use it, to ward off illness.
I also cannot taste the raspberry note in this tea. The Earl Grey combined notes come through just fine without being overpowering, but the headliner for this tea is missing. I wouldn’t buy it again, but not a bad addition to the sampler of Zhena’s Teas it came in.
I like this little chocolatey tea. It’s very nice with milk, especially if you heat or froth that too, and best to just let it steep. There has to be a fraction of the calories in a cup of hot chocolate, but gives you a very close feeling of being as indulgent.
Preparation
It certainly does have whole tomato pieces, and while the brew isn’t as luscious as the box picture suggests, it does make a slightly spicy tea. The problem is that it has little flavor otherwise. I normally take my black tea with milk and sugar, and this tea makes that experience more like a supercheap cup of tomato soup. I won’t buy it again, but it wasn’t bad to try at $1.99 at Grocery Outlet.