Tagged with tea talk

The Persimmon Tree® Tea Company: Lychee Burst & Jasmine Passion

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One of the great things about the Steepster community is not only keeping tracking of the teas I have in my cupboard but also finding out about new teas and tea companies.

One of the new companies I’ve discovered is The Persimmon Tree® Tea Company. From the name I thought they would only have a few teas based from dried persimmons, but they are a full-grown company that has many teas!
persimmon_logo

About The Persimmon Tree®

The Persimmon Tree®, whose mission is to “enrich people’s lives through the pleasure of tea” (a motto I can get on board with) is a little different than most other tea companies I’ve encountered.

Their teas are “hand-blended and organically grown”, but some are also fair trade which makes me feel even better while sipping on them. They also have an emphasis on the health benefits of tea, as well on the sustainability of the tea process because their “passion is to instigate and experience positive change through the simple things.”

You can head on over to their Facebook or website to learn more about them, or browse their teas.

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Lychee Burst Tea

I don’t usually reach for lychee teas because they can be too astringent. This one is just right. It’s pleasantly juicy and fruity without tasting artificial orfloral. It is clean and the two stars (lychee and black tea) really shine through.

I would highly recommend this tea for those that have been burned by off-putting lychee flavored teas. I can’t find anything wrong with this tea and I enjoy drinking it. I love when teas that smell good have a matching taste, which this does.

Dry Leaves
Brewing

Jasmine Passion Tea

This tea is more floral and delicate than the lychee burst. The first taste and smell is the green tea and jasmine. The end of the sip is sweet from the passion fruit. I could see this getting a little astringent if overbrewed, but I brewed it just right & it tastes well balanced.

Dry Leaves
Wet Leaves & Brewed Tea

Disclaimer: I was given these teas by The Persimmon Tree to review. All opinions and thoughts are my own. 

February #TeaSwap

Custom Hapa-tite mug!
Full Swap
Loose Leaf Tea

The first round of the tea swap I organized in January was a great success! I was paired up with Suzie, who asked if I could procure some limited edition Spice & Tea Exchange Chocolate Candy Cane tea for her, which I was happy to oblige since it sounded delicious!

Suzie was so awesome and sent me a customized Hapa-tite mug!! I can’t express how much I’m in love with it. In addition to the mug and some tasty Amish Market treats including cinnamon graham pretzels (which were devoured immediately), she sent me:

Fronteir Tea & Tea Bags
Amish market Treats
Hand-written Touch

This package completely blew me away! It was the first thing I got in my new house and I was excited to tear into it. Sadly, I haven’t tried any of the teas yet (too busy eating those pretzels), but I’ll be sure to share my thoughts on Steepster and maybe even here. Most of these companies are completely new to me, and I’m so excited to try them all. Suzie went above and beyond the tea swap minimum requirements!

If you want to get in on the next tea swap or share one that you participated in, head on over to the tea swap page!

Tea Swap Sharing

House of Steep

Tea

House of Steep, a tea house and foot sanctuary, is a spot that has something for everyone. It is not too intimidating for those new to teas, but it also offers interest for tea aficionados. The staff is very nice and all of the teas smell and taste great.

The menu has tea on the front and “everything else” on the back. There are house blends, which I highly recommend. I almost always opt for the blend of the month since it’s always changing. They offer tea by the cup, pot, or tasting flight. You get unlimited hot water refills on your tea and it comes with a hourglass and savory lavender tea cookie.

Wasabi Dumplings
Tofu Veggie Bowl
Leonora Quiche

The edible part of the menu has room for improvement, but they are keeping with the “tea time” feel. Think – fruit & nutella sammies, rice bowls, and creamy quiche from local LeoNora bakery.

There is a separate menu for foot soaks, which take place in the sanctuary towards the back of the space. The chairs are comfy and the copper basin filled with warm water, rocks, and your “steep” of choice hits the spot. Refills on water during the 20 minutes keep your feet from getting too chilly.

The staff is very friendly and the chief steeper knows all the properties and uses for the ingredients used in their teas and soaks. I stopped in for some anti-inflammatory remedy and she was full of recommendations.

House of Steep | 3800 Lee Hwy, Ste D, Arlington, VA 22207 | (703) 567-1589

Drinks Using Gourmet Spices from Marx Foods

I was given some exotic ingredients from Marx Food and challenged to create a cocktail and mocktail recipe. I often make cocktails based on drinks I’ve had at local places or weird flavor profiles that I think up in my head. It’s easier to think of cocktail recipes because you set yourself down a path based on what spirit you choose to start with. It’s actually harder to make a non-alcoholic drink because the possibilities are endless and overwhelming. Sometimes you don’t want to have alcohol in your drink due to lifestyle, medication, age, or just to be family-friendly. In the end, our house liked the mocktail better because we could drink as much as we want and share it with everyone.

Update: The poll is now open! Feel free to see the other contestants & vote for your favorite!


Community Garden

Makes 1 drink. This drink is a mixture of herbs and vegetables you might find in your backyard garden. It’s very fresh with a slight savory note. Because it’s not too sweet, it stays light and you can taste all of the flavor layers. Saffron adds an exotic spice while the dill pollen sprinkled on top is the first thing you smell before sipping.

  • 1 ounce cucumber vodka
  • ½ ounce cointreau
  • ½ ounce RHUBY
  • 2 dashes celery bitters
  • 2 ounces club soda
  • 1 teaspoon yuzu juice
  • 1 pinch saffron leaves
  • 2 basil leaves
  • 1 dash dill pollen
  • cucumber slice for garnish
Muddle basil, saffron, and cucumber vodka. Add remaining ingredients except for dill pollen and club soda and shake until combined. Add to glass filled with two handfuls of ice. Top with club soda, stir. Sprinkle top with dill pollen and garnish with a cucumber slice.

Pacific Shrub

Makes 2 drinks. This drink is a more complex version of iced tea. This black tea from Hawai’i is spicy and has citrus notes and is inspired by the island’s volcanoes. It is brewed hot and then allowed to chill while being infused with dried pineapple and saffron. The club soda helps to keep this from getting too sweet and too muddled. Note: Bitters range in percentage of alcohol. Fee Brother’s has no alcohol % on its label so I am assuming they are alcohol-free.

Add tea leaves to hot water. Brew for 5 minutes and then strain tea leaves. Add to refrigerator-safe container and add saffron and dried pineapple. Refrigerate until cold (2 hours to overnight). Take two glasses, fill with two handfuls of ice, put half of the iced tea in each glass (½ cup), reserving the pineapple. Add ½ tablespoon of strawberry shrub to each glass, followed by ⅛ (2 tablespoons) of ginger drink and ⅛ cup club soda in each. Add 2 dashes of Fee Brother’s Aromatic Bitters to each glass and stir. Top each glass with a pinch of fennel pollen and a no-longer-dried pineapple wedge.

Kung Pao Tofu and Tea Talk

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August 12th – Okay, I lied. THIS is the last of the purple potato salad. This is a new bento that I purchased from Bento Crazy. I don’t know how I missed this store before, but she’s right by me in Maryland too! Many many (too many!) cute things that caused me to spend an exorbitant amount of unnecessary money. This bento is now living at my sister’s house. She started college yesterday and I thought this would be a nice and fun bento to ease her into making lunches. It comes with a nifty bag and I love the gold glittery interior. Chopsticks are from UGM (loFt, Japan).

Some homemade kung pao tofu (read: Chinese fried tofu cooked in store bought kung pao sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds), purple potato salad, raisins, and a ginger senbei cracker. Rice is sprinkled with some scallions. The tofu had gone bad before I cooked it. In fact, the outer fried skin of the tofu had some mold spots on it. But, I took my dad’s advice and just cut around the molded parts and cooked it anyways. I don’t know if this was part of the equation, or if I just don’t like big triangles of refrigerated fried tofu, but the texture was off.
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