Win free tea for a year from The Tea Spot

http://www.examiner.com/article/win-free-tea-for-a-year-from-the-tea-spot

The Tea Spot, one of my very favorite tea companies, is running a contest on their Facebook page. It is a chance to win a membership in one of their seasonal tea clubs.

After writing the article, I started thinking about tea clubs. I have never joined one, but they might be a good idea. It is a good way to introduce yourself to new teas.

It is also cheaper in the long run. There is an initial outlay of more than $100 most of the time, but it is less than the total price of the teas and the shipping costs if they were purchased individually.

It is a really convenient way to buy tea if you have the money to put out for it. It comes right to your door and you do not have to pay any additional shipping costs. It is like getting a nice little surprise package once every three months.

The only drawback that I can see is that you do not pick the teas that you want. You pick a category of tea, but not the individual teas. While I am sure that the tea clubs, no matter which company they are from, have great tea. They may just not be the teas you would choose for yourself.

That does not necessarily have to be a problem. There are a number of tea exchanges on the Internet. You can always trade any tea you do not want with someone who does.

Tea review: Rishi Tea's Keemun Royal Reserve - National tea | Examiner.com

Tea review: Rishi Tea's Keemun Royal Reserve - National tea | Examiner.com

The nice thing about having a tea blog is being able to write in first person. On Tea Examiner I must be an impersonal, neutral journalist. When I blog, I can put some emotion into what I write about.

My experience with Keemun is not vast. I have only tasted a few of them, less than a dozen, I am sure. Therefore I researched Keemun for a week or two before even tasting the tea. I wanted to know what I should be looking for in the flavor and fragrance.

Since I am not STI trained, I find this helpful in defining the flavors and scents in the tea. I know what I taste, I just do not know the terminology for it. I am, however, learning every time I write a review. It would be nice to have the time and the money to take the STI classes, but that is not within my capabilities at present.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the Keemun. I steeped it too strong the first time, but for subsequent steepings, it was truly lovely. It was one of the darkest teas I have ever drunk. It looked a lot like a stain one would paint on unfinished wood to make it dark. The highlights are so pretty the cup of tea might be a jewel.

Keemun Royal Reserve was the darkest and strongest Chinese tea I have ever tasted. It made me realize just how little Chinese black tea I consume. When I think of Chinese tea, I mostly think of oolong or green tea, sometimes white, but when it want black tea, I usually turn to a Ceylon or Darjeeling. The Keemun had a completely different flavor that I will now add to my list of flavors to enjoy. 

Tea review: Rishi Organic Vanilla Black tea

Tea review: Rishi Organic Vanilla Black tea 

I do not normally enjoy vanilla flavored teas. The vanilla added usually tastes and smells like vanilla perfume. This tea, however, was very delicious.
The fragrance of the dry leaf is sweet and very rich with vanilla flavor. I immediately thought of how well this tea would go with desserts from the richness of the vanilla.
I steeped it according to the directions on the envelope in my favorite teapot and cup set that I use for tea reviews. The cup is wide and has a white interior, so it makes allows me to see the color very well as well as appreciate how the tea smells.
The picture does not show it, but the color of the tea liquor is a rich brown with reddish highlights. The aroma coming rising from the cup was more subtle than the fragrance of the dry leaf, but it was still very seductive. I waited very impatiently for the tea to cool enough to be sipped without burning my lips.
I was not at all disappointed. I was, in fact, very surprised at how good it tasted. The tea beneath the flavor of the vanilla was very smooth and very compatible with the vanilla. It would be very good with any dessert that I could think of, from chocolate to fruit to spicy.
It occurred to me after I wrote the review linked above that Rishi Organic Vanilla Black tea would also be a good tea to cook with. I could imagine pulverizing this tea and using it to make shortbread cookies or cupcakes. I also imagined adding it to my popular 4th of July three-chip oatmeal cookies or using it as a tea concentrate to flavor frosting, sauces, or a pudding. Think it would be excellent steeped in cream and then used as a sauce over pears that had been poached in cinnamon. Better yet, the pears could be poached in a good masala chai.
I seem to be obsessed with cooking with tea these days. I recently red Culinary Teas by Cynthia Gold and Lise Stern and I have been consumed with the idea of cooking with tea ever since. That aside, however, it would still be a great tea to drink with dessert or to cook dessert with.