Author Archives: abby sedenka

Review: Tenota Creamy Earl Grey

Posted on May 23, 2013 | Leave a comment

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Please note that while we were sent free samples of this tea to review we are just as critical of free tea. If we receive something we don’t like we give an honest review or skip it all together!

Overall Rating:

Taste: 4mof 5 leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 5 of 5 leaves – This tea is easy to make

Abby says:

Temperature: @ 210 degrees
Steeped: 4 minutes
Served: Nothing Added

For all of you who have read our reviews before, you know that we are big earl grey fans! Real big fans. So, of course, I was excited to try the creamy earl grey tea from Tenota. I thought it was great! I could taste the bergamot , the strong black tea and a sweet nutty flavor. Yes! The added vanilla and cream make the body of this tea soft and silky, making it seem more decadent, like a dessert. I found it fun to drink and it reminded me a lot of Stash Vanilla Nut Crème decaf. What makes this tea stand out though, is instead of vanilla, it has bergamot. Love . And it has caffeine and honselty, sometimes you just need caffeine. Most times actually. If you are planning to send a little tea note this tea is a great choice because it has a little bit of a guilty pleasure feel to it, without the guilty.

Taste: 4.5 of 5 leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 5 of 5 leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Tenota Creamy Earl Grey

Katie says:

Temperature: @ 210 degrees
Steeped: 4 minutes
Served: With milk & honey

As Abby said, yes, earl grey tea is one of our favorites. So, while I found this tea to be tasty I didn’t give it a higher rating because I didn’t find it to be very strong. The tea had nice creamy & bergamot flavors but to me was overall a bit mild. I prefer a stronger black tea flavor so it really stands up to adding milk & sugar or honey. If your expectations are for it to be a milder tea, like the vanilla nut creme that Abby mentioned, then I think you will very much enjoy this tea! And, if you send a tenota the recipient will of course also enjoy the oversize tea tag with your note!

Taste: 3.5 of 5 leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 leaves – This tea is easy to make

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Posted in black teas, tea review

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Review: Tazo Passion

Posted on May 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

Overall Rating:
Taste: 3.5 of 5 leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Abby says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 5 minutes
Served: Nothing added

Described on the teabag packet as “A magical blend of hibiscus, lemongrass, rose hips, mango & passion fruit flavors”, this tea has a lot to live up to. When steeped, it turns a vibrant red in the cup with a bright aroma. And, yes, there is a lot flavor packed in as well. I liked that. Typically, I’m not a big fan of herbal tea because I often find that there isn’t enough flavor, or there is too much flavor making it seem artificial. I didn’t find that here. It has good flavor and a nice tartness that paired well with the floral notes.

This would make a great iced tea as well and with is bright red color it would look really good in a big glass iced tea pitcher! For anyone who likes a bold, fruity herbal tea, give this one a try. Tazo Passion makes for worthwhile caffeine-free tea option.

Taste: 3 of 5 leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Katie says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 2 minutes
Served: with honey

This, for me, is a staple tea. I usually have at least a few bags in my cupboard. My favorite thing about this tea is that it is good in both warm and cold weather. In the winter, especially with a sore throat, the citrus tastes great! Although, I find if steeped too long for drinking as hot tea it can get a tangy bite. For this reason I do a short 2 minute steep. When making this as an iced tea I steep a little longer, or cold brew. Many Starbucks locations carry this as an iced tea in the warmer weather and it makes a great no caffeine and le calorie option.

Taste: 4 of 5 leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 leaves – This tea is easy to make!

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Posted in decaf or hearbal tea, Easy to make, herbal tea, tea review

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Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

Posted on May 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

… just in time for Mother’s Day!  Remember folks, it’s coming up THIS Sunday.  I’m sure you have planned something super great for the wonderful moms in your life, but how about adding one more little thing?  These unique and delicious shortbread cookies:

Cooked Cookies

The recipe comes from Martha Stewart (of course) and can be found here.  While making these cookies we did not video ourselves, but you can check out a video of Martha and chef Ellen Greaves making them.  I assure you that in our kitchen we looked equally as gracefully and tidy as these talented bakers look.  Promise.

Tea two

First you will need tea!  Green tea powder to be exact.  This powered is easy to work with and makes these cookies a super cute great color!  Obviously, I didn’t have this at home (when do I ever have all the ingredients for a recipe? Never, that’s when.) So, I improvised.  I used Good Earth’s Super Green tea.  This does have some matcha (a type of green tea powder) in it, so I get points there.  It also has citrus, so I should get points for creativity there too!

GTSB Batter

Then you mix together all the other stuff you need.  Yum!

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Then you do a bunch of other stuff, like chill the dough, cut the dough and roll it out.  All found in Martha’s recipe.  She is much better at describing this sort of thing.  THEN! Then you cut them into your (or your mother’s) favorite shapes.  I like cats, so I made them all cats! Too cute! Then you bake them, let them cool and eat them.  Or package them up and give them to you ever deserving mother. Happy Mother’s Day!

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Posted in green teas, recipe

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Review: Tenota Organic Sweet Green

Posted on May 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

Screen shot 2013-05-02 at 5.27.33 PM

Please note that while we were sent free samples of this tea to review we are just as critical of free tea. If we receive something we don’t like we give an honest review or skip it all together!

Overall Rating:

Taste: 4.5 of 5 leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 3 of 5 leaves – This tea is a bit delicate.

Abby says:

Temperature: @ 190 degrees (below boiling)
Steeped: 2 minutes first steep, 3 minutes second steep
Served: Nothing Added

Tenota’s tea notes are just the cutest things. Delicious tea snail-mailed in a stylish envelop with a personalized message attached! For Katie’s b-day I sent her a tea note as soon as I discovered the Tenota. The website for ordering is super easy to use, and there is a nice selection of teas to choose from.

Their Organic Sweet Green is a classic green tea done right. There are nice big tea leaves in the sachet that match the big tea note! This tea already had points in my book because it is organic. With all of the controversy over GMOs and “where does our food really come from?”, certified organic is carrying more weight. I was delighted to find that it tasted great too. That light grassy flavor is there, which makes for a refreshing hot tea. After drinking the first cup like it was going out of style, I decided to resteep this tea for another cup. The results were pretty good. It was certainly more earthy the second time around and the flavor wasn’t as strong. It was good, though and I drank that up quickly too!

Tenota would make a unique and personal gift for tea lovers. I think a tea note would also make a great thank you note or invitation. Most importantly the tea is good, so you know that your tea note will be well received!

Taste: 4.5 of 5 leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 3 of 5 leaves – This tea is a bit delicate.

Tenota Green

Katie says:

Temperature: @ 190 degrees (below boiling)
Steeped: 2 minutes first steep, 3.5 minutes second steep
Served: Tried with nothing added & with honey

Tea with a note in a card? I’m in! Plus it comes in the mail in a cute little brown envelope so it automatically feels more special than the other mail. As soon as I heard about this I thought it was a great idea and just hoped that the gimmick wouldn’t be better than the tea inside. Happily, I discovered that this tea is delicious! Not only are tea notes a cute idea this is actually quality tea, worth sending to a tea-lover, inside the note. The only drawback for me is that the price for one bag of tea is a bit high, but you’re paying for the their adorable packaging and how easy they make it to send a personalized gift.

OK, on to the tea itself! We tried the Organic Sweet Green tea. I was intrigued that it was sweet and tried it on it’s own, and with honey. It was powerful enough for a second steep so I was able to try this several ways. First I had it hot unsweetened and while it was nice I decided to add some local honey. Yum! For the second steep I drank more unsweetened, from a longer steep, with the intention of pouring it over ice later. I think iced and unsweetened ended up being my favorite! It had just enough caffeine for an afternoon pick-me-up without feeling too wired. This green tea has a green, almost grassy taste, with a hint of sweetness. If you are careful to not over-steep and you’ll find yourself with a very enjoyable tea.

Taste: 4.5 of 5 leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 3 of 5 leaves – This tea is a bit delicate.

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Posted in green teas, tea review

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Review: Trader Joe’s Pomegranate White Tea

Posted on April 19, 2013 | Leave a comment

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Overall Rating:

Taste: 3 of 5 tea leaves – A decent, tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Abby says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling)
Steeped: 3-4 minutes
Served: Nothing added to start, then with a dab of honey

If white tea wasn’t listed in the name, I would have thought this was pomegranate herbal tea. The pomegranate totally overwhelms any tea flavor. Granted, white tea has a very mild flavor compared to other teas. It is just too bad that it is completely hidden, I would like to have tasted a true blend of the two flavors. This tea also has hibiscus flowers and lemongrass and I don’t get much of that either. Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way. I like this tea!

The classic pomegranate color is vibrant and cheery. The pomegranate taste is true, not artificial tasting at all and plenty tart! In fact, I added a little bit of honey after the first couple of sips to tone down the tartness with a little sweet. Then, it was even better. I would recommend this tea to anyone who likes the flavor of pomegranate or strong tasting herbal teas. Keep in mind, that although you can’t taste it, there is actual tea here. That menas caffeine even though white tea has a lower level of caffeine. This may be a nice a choice for those seeking a little caffeine while at the same time getting a herbal tea experience. I would certainly drink this tea again, in fact, I think it would make a terrific iced tea. But I would not choose this tea if I was looking for a taste of actual tea.

Taste: 3 of 5 tea leaves – A decent, tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make!

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Katie says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling)
Steeped: 3-4 minutes
Served: Nothing added

Abby & I often have similar reviews, but this time reading her review was like she had been reading my mind! If this had been an herbal tea I may have given it a higher rating. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, it just doesn’t taste like it’s name and ingredients. If it didn’t list white tea on the box I’d think for sure it was an herbal tea. In fact, as Abby suggests, it would be quite nice as an iced tea. The flavor would be similar to the passion iced tea from Starbucks. This tea is a lovely red color and has a nice fruity flavor without tasting artificial. In my opinion the biggest flaw of this tea is that you can’t taste the white tea flavor.

Taste: 3 of 5 tea leaves – A decent, tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make!

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Posted in Easy to make, tea review, White teas

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#teatime :) 4-9-2013

Posted on April 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

Dry Tea

It isn’t ‘really’ tea.  It is a fig and rose herbal tea.  So, #herbalinfusiontime is more accurate, but doesn’t have the same lovely ring to it.

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Posted in decaf or hearbal tea, Easy to make, herbal tea, teaism

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Review: Good Earth Organic Apricot Ginger Black Tea

Posted on April 4, 2013 | Leave a comment

Overall Rating:

Taste: 3.5 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make.

Abby says:

Temperature: @212 (boiling point)
Steeped: Left tea bag in the cup
Served: Nothing added

I’m no stranger to Apricot flavored beverages. In fact, my favorite beer is Ithaca Apricot Wheat. So when I saw that Good Earth had an Apricot Ginger black tea AND it was organic, I was all over it! Unlike some of Good Earth’s other teas, I found this one to be more mild in flavor. While it steeped the smell of zesty ginger and sweet apricot was nice, but not strong. I found the taste to be similar. I liked how well the spicy ginger, the sweet apricot and the nutty black tea blended together. It all combined to make an easy to drink and interesting tea.

Taste: 3.5 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make.

Katie says:

Temperature: @212 (boiling point)
Steeped: Left tea bag in the cup
Served: A bit of sugar

First, let me say, this tea is NOT good with milk. It’s a good thing Abby gave me 2 samples because at first I added milk and, yuck! I’m not sure why I thought milk was a good idea but it wasn’t. My second cup, with just a hint of sugar was much better. I, like Abby, found that the ginger and apricot were a nice combination. It could have been a bit stronger but was still overall a nice tea.

Taste: 3.5 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make.

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Posted in black teas

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Review: Cafe Escapes Chai Latte for Keurig

Posted on March 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

Overall Rating:

Taste: 3 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – this is easy to make!

Abby says:

Temperature: Hot straight from the Keurig!
Served: Nothing added

Who knew that a chai latte and leftover Irish soda bread would make for a good afternoon snack. Really, it was a pretty good combo. I found the Cafe Express Chai Latte to be quite sweet, so it was nice to pair it with something not-so-sweet with depth of flavor. The Keurig chai latte was one note in flavor, sweet. It completely lacks any spice which is synonymous with chai. That being said, I still thought it was pretty good. For it was more similar to powered hot chocolate in consistency: creamy and sweet. Not really like tea at all, more like a guilty pleasure (the fast food version of chai latte). :)

Taste: 3 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea(ish).
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – this is easy to make!

Cafe Express Chai Latte

Katie says:

Temperature: Hot straight from the Keurig!
Served: Nothing added

Hmmm, I’m beginning to wonder if Keurig is just for coffee! This chai wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really taste like traditional tea. Have you had the coffee shop “chai” lattes that are made from a powder or syrup and not tea leaves? Well, this k cup is like that coffee shop drink. It’s warm and even a bit tasty but more like hot cocoa that tea. Once you’ve had real brewed chai I think it’s hard to ever go back and be satisfied. If you’re a tea drinker and find yourself faced with a stack of k cups I bet, like me, you’d still greatly prefer this to coffee. It is decent, but not great. Hopefully Abby & I can find a k cup tea to review that we think is better than decent! I’d love to share one we think is quite good. For now, the hunt for a great k cup tea continues.

Taste: 3 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – this is easy to make!

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Review: Tazo Refesh

Posted on March 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

 

 
Overall Rating:

Taste: 3.75 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Abby says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: Left teabag in the cup
Served: Nothing added

The review for this tea could not have come at a better time. I woke up this morning not feeling the best and with a little bit of a scratchy throat. I just wanted something that would make me feel better, keep me warm and taste good. Cue Tazo Refresh. Typically I’m not a peppermint enthusiast, but today it worked. The peppermint, spearmint and tarragon blend together well to create a minty flavor that though pungent, isn’t too strong or too sweet. For a mint tea, I found it very easy to drink even though I left the teabag in my mug.

For me, the perfect time for mint tea is when you aren’t feeling good because as the name says, it makes you feel refreshed and has a soothing quality to help you feel more like yourself. I would certainly recommend this tea for those times. I also think it would make a really interesting iced tea for when you are looking for something cooling a refreshing.

Taste: 3.5 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Tazo Refresh Wraper

Katie says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 4 minutes
Served: Nothing added

It must be the time of year! I too woke up with a bit of a cold. Abby had her tea cure in the morning, but I’m drinking my refresh before bed. You know, that dreaded time of day when colds tend to settle in and make you feel worse. This is a perfect “feel better” tea. It is great for a cold or even just a bit of indigestion.

What I love about this tea is it’s mild mint flavor. Some mint teas taste so strongly of peppermint that is all you taste. The mix of peppermint and spearmint along other flavors in refresh make this tea truly refreshing and easy to drink. I highly recommend tea blends like this one over a straight peppermint tea.

Colds, please go away! I hope that spring is right around the corner! But if you do find yourself with a case of the sniffles or a sore throat reach for this tea!

Taste: 4 of 5 tea leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make!

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Posted in decaf or hearbal tea, Easy to make, herbal tea

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Epic Tea Time with Alan Rickman

Posted on March 5, 2013 | 1 Comment

For some reason (maybe it’s Alan Rickman, maybe it’s because I love tea or maybe because this video is so cool) I just can’t get enough.  Hope you enjoy as much as I do.  And, maybe, if I can stop watching this one, I’ll be able to check out more videos from the project Portraits in Dramatic Time by David Michalek. So neat!

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Posted in Tea Video

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