If you’ve ever tried a flowering tea, you know there’s more to the experience than just the end result. A flowering tea is crafted as a beginning-to-finale art form. A tight little ball of mystery is dropped into a warm bath, and a breath of anticipation is held. Then, slowly and deliberately, petals of green …
Continue reading Longing Heart Flowering Tea and “Love Lies Bleeding” — A Taste of Mystery
The English Tea Store’s Jasmine Dragon Tears tea is a steamed, hand-rolled, jasmine-infused experience that is not to be rushed. Heated in water just shy of boiling, the pearls unfurl to reveal themselves and the top bud of the plant, still bearing soft hairs, so indicative of a gentle handling and masterful touch. The tea …
Oolong is a traditional Chinese tea that is only partly fermented, giving it an in-between character that lacks the bitterness and body of black tea, yet is richer and rounder than a conventional green. English Tea Store’s Oolong Orange Blossom Estate Tea is a particularly satisfying rendition of this Far East treat, with the gentle …
Continue reading Oolong Orange Blossom Tea and “The Secrets of Jin-Shei”
I have been a long-time fan of October, with its unassuming takeover of the season. It breathes in clammy summer air, and breathes out dulcet, cooling sighs of relief for heat-wearied brows. It transforms a soothing cup of hot tea into a spa experience. And, just before it relinquishes the stage for November’s dramatic entrance, …
Continue reading Chanakara Dragonfruit Tea and “Alpha-Oops, H is for Halloween”
English Tea Store brand Ginger Tea is a classic tea with a twist. The high-quality black tea leaves brew into a rich, golden liquid just right for polite tea society, yet the mild ginger brings a hint of glamor and heat to the overall sipping experience. It’s similar to what you’ll find in reading Mary …
Stash’s Fusion tea of a green and white blend is, at first glance, a tea of familiar elements. And yet their combination masterfully creates an entirely new flavor experience, unique unto itself. It is the taste expression of Jay Lake’s novel “Escapement”; a story of familiar elements masterfully combined—fused—into an entirely new world. In “Escapement”, …
Continue reading Stash’s Fusion Green and White Tea and Jay Lake’s “Escapement”
The English Tea Store’s French Blend tea is a romantic mixture of mystery, depth, and fragrant petals. It hints at royalty, but drinks smooth and easy. It’s a journey from the familiar into the magical, as the first nip of malt touches the tongue, and then fades into perfume. It’s the ideal complement to Magic …
Continue reading French Blend Tea and “Magic Kingdom for Sale- Sold”
Stash’s Ginger Peach Green Tea is a startling blend of traditional tea and nouveau fruit flavor, creating a taste experience that is more than the sum of its parts. With its daring ginger overtaste, it’s brave. Bold. Maybe even pioneering. It’s a taste found in reading Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We. The story is chronicled by D-503, …
There is, perhaps, nothing so impractical a food as gummy bears. A food that exists for the sheer pleasure of the mouth; for the taste, the texture, and the experience of the moment. The intrinsic value of gummy bears is exactly what they are created for, and that which makes them just a little bit …
Continue reading Lady Londonderry Tea & “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”
The English Tea Store brand of maple-flavored black tea may not quite be what you expect to taste upon trying it. The scent of maple wafts from the tin, promising a candy sweetness. As it brews, it releases even more aroma, watering the mouth in anticipation. With a little sweetener and a dash of cream, …
