Casablanca

I only get to go to my favorite restaurant in NYC once a year for dinner: on Valentine’s Day, because usually anything but the lunch menu is way outside our budget. It’s a Japanese place, but not sushi and tonkatsu Japanese (not that there’s anything wrong with sushi and tonkatsu!). It’s all small-sized, more traditional fare for the most part with some interesting twists thrown in.

We had an 8 course meal this year including smoked duck negimaki, baby scallop tempura, slow-cooked miso pork belly, black sesame creme brulee and a whole lot of sake. It was absolutely to die for, and so overindulgent I feel like I am going to burst hours later. After the meal I was so full I could barely down the genmaicha they give you after the dessert course, so I had to wait a few hours after I got home to make some tea of my own.

Peppermint is my go-to detox tea for that “oh god did I really just eat that much food” feeling, but I wanted something a bit special since it is Valentine’s Day! Originally I was planning on sharing a cup of one of the two Della Terra vday blends I haven’t tried yet, but they both contain chocolate and the thought of anything sweet was making me a bit nauseous. Then I remembered this blend—black tea, green tea, bergamot and peppermint! Sounds perfect.

Peppermint and bergamot are two flavors I’ve found that can really overwhelm a cup and drown out other notes. So how would they do in direct competition? Well, after a 3 minute steep the cup is a gorgeous golden tone and it smells strongly of both. At first sip it’s actually bergamot that is more present, but it fades into crisp mint. You can definitely taste the nuances of the base: a bit smokey from the black, but with a hint of that classic “green tea” taste. Okay, not the best description, but you know that one nameless flavor that makes you say “oh yes, this is a green tea”?

I love earl grey and this is such a great twist on it, the perfect way to lighten up a classic blend. Definitely one of my favorite variations! And it definitely cured my over-full feeling! In fact, it did its job so well I am now eying the box of Godiva on my bed…

Oof. Just got back from having dinner with friends. They decided to cash in our wedding present to them and get dinner at our local Brazilian grill. I didn’t eat all day in anticipation of the feast.

My tummy is seriously angry with me. So. Much. Meat. I’m thinking this might be soothing.

Dry leaves smell more like bergamot than anything else. Steeped liquor is a lovely dark honey color. The bergamot is what I notice first. Then at the end of the sip, the cool of the mint comes to the forefront. This is a nice, balanced cup and my tummy is approving.

I love my bergamot.

I got this as a free sample from the NM Tea Company and I wish I had a couple ounces of it, this is good stuff. I’m usually not too crazy about mint teas because the mint tends to get overpowering, but in this tea I can also taste the tea and more importantly the bergamot. The mint blends well with it.

I only meant to steep this tea for 2 minutes but got distracted, I think it would be better with a shorter steeping time but it was still good. Added just a little sugar and drink it like I drink my regular Earl Grey – enjoying and trying to make it last instead of gulping it down too fast.

TTB #18

Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me. I’ve been discovering recently that I just do not like mint in tea unless it’s straight mint that I am drinking because I am sick. This tea totally confirmed that.

I steeped it according to the instructions on the package, somewhat curious for a black/green tea blend, 160 F for 2 minutes. It tasted like… excuse me saying this, Bigelow’s Mint black tea. There’s mediocre mint and mint and mint… and then some really weak black tea base. I don’t find any bergamot in it whatsoever. Or green tea either.

I would still be interested in ordering from New Mexico Tea Co. some day, it’s just that I would definitely not buy this one.

Exuberant 4/5, tempted to make it 5/5. Still struggling with weird mental blocks about how I can’t put everyday pleasure things like this above stuff like, I dunno, gongfu tea, but I need to get over that.

Love this one, the way it’s the best things I crave from an Earl (just a couple days ago I was reading about how bilochun greens often have orange blossom notes and I was like “ah-HA! That’s why I’m a freak about them like never before with other greens…me and that darn orange floral stuff, whether it’s orange blossom or bergamot!”) but lightened up thanks to the geeen tea base and mint, really an Earl Grey + Moroccan Mint hybrid, ideal for this context (displaced Yankee who wants her Earl but in city that feels like the dog days of summer 9+ months out of the year :( ). A little surprised too as I’m not the biggest gunpowder green fan (I always want to like the idea of Moroccan tea, the whole gorgeous colored glass tumbler thing and the refreshing nature of it all, but anything that requires massive amounts of sugar to be palatable can kinda put me off…and that’s not an issue here).

It’s also a beautiful reddish gold color (quite bright!) in the cup.

Sometimes you hear of really novel blends and are like “I wonder why I’ve never seen that before, how cool!” and then you try them and think “…uh, that’s why”. This is definitely not a case of ambitious novelty with disappointing or weird offputting results. Feels rather East-meets-West in a good way.

Crossing my fingers it’s glorious cold steeped too, can’t wait to try it that way.

I really do adore NMTC. Still kicking my idiot self for going to Albuquerque this summer with time leftover to kill and totally blanking on the possibility of visiting the shop. D’OH.

T&C Box 6/18

Usually a mint tea is the last thing I’d go for, but NM Tea Company has been on my list to try and my stomach is a little off this morning.

This smells great in the bag and while it brews. The mint is there but so are the scents of the tea and bergamot, so it’s not just mint everywhere. I admit I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this one, because I’ve never had a green/black blend before. It’s very nice! It has some substance thanks to the black tea, a sweetness thanks to the green tea and mint, and a little citrusy spice thanks to the bergamot. I don’t think I’d keep it in my cabinet forever, but if I do a NM Tea Co. order sometime I may pick a bag of it up!

TTB&C #21

I saved a tsp of this before sending the box on its way. I enjoyed this for one of my morning cups. I love mint, and I love bergamont, so the combination sounded pretty good, and it was. Neither flavor out did the other. It wasn’t one of those, must run out and buy this now cups, but I could see myself enjoying this again in the future.

A very good tea that combines a solid mix of green and black. The mint taste is light and gives the tea a unique and refreshing taste . A solid and permanent fixture for my collection