TeaAmigos Tea Reviews

Stash Holiday Chai – Meditate On The Possibilities

Amigos — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:06:12 +0000

Mike:

Got a chance to steep some Stash Holiday Chai last night while watching The Daily Show. Useless details aside, perhaps this chai tea is best steeped between Thanksgiving and New Years, the same way no one even considers drinking eggnog during other times of the year, because I wasn’t feeling this at all. I like chai and Stash tea has some decent blends available for the budget teasan but this Stash Chai felt unoriginal and uninspired. I’m pretty sure they relabeled their original chai with some new packaging and sold it as a unique blend but they can’t pull the wool over this teasan’s eyes. Let’s see if Dax agrees.

Like the Super PACs, we can’t coordinate. See how I tied the Daily Show back into this?

Rating: B

Dax:

I tried to get gangster with this Stash Holiday Chai. Usually when you are in the holiday spirit, you tend to put extra effort into the little things. Hanging decorations in your home, actually flushing the toilet after you use it; the list goes on. My attempt at this is that after I steeped the OG, I added a little milk, some cinnamon/sugar mix, and a diet smidgen of honey. The result was pretty tasty, but artificial by definition.
This isn’t my normal MO for steeping, but yakwii, holiday times call for holiday measures. The chai tea is pretty basic with a hint of nuttiness and I do agree with Mike that this is prolly their OG chai with a new packaging. But hey, ’tis the season to be bogus.

Rating: B

Bentley’s Jasmine Green Tea – Smells Like Second Place

Amigos — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:14:18 +0000

Dax

: Before I jettisoned to Arizona, I had a stash bag of teas that I didn’t get to share with Mike, therefore I get to HOTH a few solo steeps. Bentley’s Jasmine Green Tea is one of said solo steeps. It’s one of those Marshalls/TJ Maxx finds where they sell the collection of a brand on clearance. That being said, I didn’t expect too much. Upon steepage, a blast of jasmine hit my nose and told my brain to be ready for goodness. Upon sippage…average in the full essence of the word.
The jasmine tea is overpowering so I’m not getting that sweet green tea taste at all. Didn’t pass the oversteep challenge either, as I doubled up like R. Kelly on the water situation and entered into bitter country.

Rating: B

Steep and Resteep: The Mathematics of Teasanship

Amigos — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:24:56 +0000

Mike

: Let me start off by saying, we’re back! After a long hiatus with major financial and geographical moofs, the Tea Amigos have emerged from the ashes. That’s what it is, you already knew that because YAKWII.

Today I’m going to discuss a little technique I call the Steep and Resteep that I developed at work. I’m sure many of you have unknowingly performed this Class A-2 Teasan Bagged Tea Maneuver without even knowing it, kind of like accidently performing a FATALITY while the guy is all wobbling.

The Steep and Resteep is performed simply:

1. Steep some tea
2. Drink the tea
3. This is where a lot of folks screw up when trying the Steep and Resteep. Do not take the original teabag out. Simply add another teabag and fill with hot water.
4. Repeat steps 1-3.

You done good son; reward yourself with some tea.

The Steep and Resteep is a powerful style move but it has some other advantages. If you’re using plastic or paper cups like I do at work, then you’re helping save the environment by using just 1 cup. You’re also getting some of the flavor love from the previous steep to give your tea extra umph.

Everyone knows girls are impressed by guys that drink strong tea and when you got 9 teabags sticking out of your cup you’re definitely going to turn some poonheads. But how strong is it really? Let’s do some teasan math.

Assume that a cup of tea has total tea content of 1 and each time you steep it 80% of that flavor is infused into the water.

Steep 1: .8

Steep 2: .8+.16=.96

Steep 3. .8+.16+.032=.992

This is a series and the sum of a series is determined by this formula:

Sum=A/(1-r) where A is the first term (.8) and r is the common ratio (.2)

.8/(1-.2)=1

In reality, no matter how many teabags you put in or ratio you use, the strength of the tea will never exceed 1. By the time you have 3 teabags in the tea, that’s pretty much as strong as the tea will ever get, but people’s eyes will be popping.

Te Teas Organic Forest Green Tea – Bonus Packaging Points

Amigos — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:23:46 +0000

Dax:

Just to start off, Te Teas get bonus points for their packaging choice. Biodegradable sachets, a trapezoid box, and marketing all day make for a great first impression. Their Organic Forest Green Tea uses whole-leaf Mao Feng green tea, so this is no scrap greenery here. The taste: magical. I can only think of Yamamotayama Sencha Tea which reaches a similar taste pinnacle, making your mouf greener than a 70′s hippy protester handcuffed to a dandelion. This one will do wonders for you, so check out your local grocer and grab some Te Organic Forest Green Tea now. I mean it. Put the iPad down and get some.

Rating: A+

Mike:

Te ain’t fooling around with their Organic Forest Green tea. It’s got the grassiness necessary to reap the pinnacle of the shrubs that grow atop the Scottish Highlands. This is also the first Mao feng tea we have reviewed, unless some previous ones were unbeknownst to us. For those ill informed, here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it:

Mao feng (毛峰) is a term in tea manufacture denoting the picking of a bud and two leaves of equal length. Mao feng teas have a broad, curved, flat shape. It is considered one of the choicest shapes of tea leaf.
Mao feng teas include Huang Shan Mao Feng tea, one of the Famous Teas of China, and Keemun Mao Feng.

The taste and smell of this organic green tea from Te tea displays good acumen on the part of Te, hand selecting premium leaves like true teasans. Few green teas are as fresh and as proper. Take this steep without a grain of salt.

Rating: A

Harney and Sons Organic Bangkok Tea – Immeasurable Pleasure

Amigos — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 20:09:36 +0000

Dax:

When you are steeping the Harney and Sons, yakwii. They call themselves master blenders and I can’t help but nod in agreement. This Organic Bangkok tea not only looks succulent with its silken sachet, it hits you over the head with a beautiful aroma of coconut and vanilla. Obtained at an airport lounge, Harney and Sons Organic Bangkok has a flavor explosion that combines lemongrass, ginger, and a nicely refined green tea base. Gotta love the quality.

Rating: A

Mike:

Mr. Harney and his progeny tout themselves as master tea blenders. As a teasan, I am in the privileged position to deem this true or false. We have done several Harney and Sons tea reviews and they have all been fire, but this one really takes the cake and shoves it in a fat kid’s face (unobscure 50 Cent reference). From here on out, Mr. Harney and his sons have been promoted from level 3 tea masters to teasans, the highest honor a tea aficionado can receive. Congratulations guys! Keep steeping the good steep.

Now as far as Harney & Sons Organic Bangkok goes…I can only imagine how rival tea company might feel about it. It’s one of those Winkelvoss types in the tea industry. 6’4″, Ivy League education, smart, rich, athletic, a real ubermench in every regard. You’re jealous, and so are their competitors. Man this tea is fresh and it doesn’t even taste bagged. Listen to these stats: organic green tea, coconut, lemongrass, ginger, vanilla. It smells of vanilla, and tastes of fresh coconut and the primest of green tea. Steep some if you know what’s good for you.

Rating: A+

Te Teas Sweetest Jasmine Pearls – Visually and Tastefully Crackin

Amigos — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:59:43 +0000

Dax

: When I first laid eyes on Te Teas Jasmine Pearls Tea, I thought, “why the trapezoid box?”. Little did I know what I was in store for. I copped this steep at a supermarket in the burbs and had to immediately applaud the packaging. Looks tight. Aside from the aesthetics, the individual wrapping is also on point. Can the steep come as correct as the packaging budget? In this case, yes indeed. This jasmine pearls tea got it going on. The tightly rolled jasmine tea expands to the delight of any aspiring teasan, and the flavor makes other tea companies kick rocks all the way back to the drawing board. I wouldn’t say these are the sweetest jasmine pearls, but who needs Splenda when you got some straight-shooting tea anyways? I recommend this one for a daily jasmine tea steep. My only complaint is that it could be a bit more potent, but who’s rating?

Oh wait, I am.

Rating: A

Mike

: Light travels faster than sound which is why you see fireworks before you hear them. The same holds true for tea because you see them Jasmine Pearls expanding with the quickness on that ass so you receive your visual stimulation well before you get to try it on your buds. Once you do, you will also be pleased because the jasmine tea comes proper. What it lacks is a little bit of the green tea flavor to balance the jasmine What’s tight is Jasmine Pearls is still a superior product because it strikes this balance, possibly over the head. Still good.

Rating: B+

Lipton Mint Soother Tea – “Did I Do That?”

Amigos — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 01:22:00 +0000

Dax

: Lipton Mint Soother Tea was not held in high regards upon purchase. Well, actually, I got it for free at Pubcon 2011 in Austin, Texas. Still, as a teasan with full standards, I pocketed it with my head held low. Sometimes you gotta steep some mess for the love of the game. Anyways, Lipton Mint Soother tea is neither tea nor an adequate soother. I tasted not one micron of actually tea, and got a mouth full of “other natural flavors”. This Lipton Tea review is another struggle, and tastes like water with a quarter sprig of mint leaf in it. Flavor-lacking.

Rating: C

Mike

: We’ve been talking behind Lipton Tea‘s back for a long time but now it’s time to come out and just say it. Can’t you do anything right. Lipton Mint Soother is anything but soothing, it’s got wackness painted on all sides. It’s pretty hard to mess up mint tea, I mean there’s only one ingredient and the quality of mint leaves varies far less than the quality of tea leaves. Lipton, you’re on notice because your tea residues (yes, I just used residue as a verb) my mouf with the unemployable taste of wack.

Rating: D

The Wide World of Tea

Amigos — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 05:30:10 +0000

Sometimes teasans have a lot of time on their hands, and also a lot of tea at their residence. The homies over at Wiseman Tea decided that the world should be made of tea, and did just that (kinda). Notice the true teasanship as they used rooibos for most of Africa. Steep on…

East India Company Assam Black Tea – Make’s A Teasan Reminisce

Amigos — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 20:16:36 +0000

Dax

: This is a SOLID black tea that hit home hard for this teasan. Much like a real man has his own steak making strategy, a real teasan has a stock black tea as his/her daily drinker. The East India Company brought their A game and hothed us with The First Estate Assam. With refined packaging, this assam black tea made me think back to Hedley’s black tea. It has that “go-getter” agenda with assam leaves that are surely free-range and hormone-free. I’m not sure about the price point of this assam tea, but I’d drop duckets to get this on my everyday to-steep list.

Rating: A

Mike

: East India Assam Tea is definitely a solid steep for the black tea fanatic. A strong black tea flavor penetrates this brew the way water peculates up your toilet paper when just the edge hits the water. Aromatic and sensual in its flavor, this is a steep that reminds me a lot of Hedley’s and I am allowed to say this: Teasan’s privilege. Anyway, despite the quality of the steep you got to discount this archetype for its plainess a bit. It lacks the mesquitability necessary to satisfy my palette in this genre so I’m giving it a rating probably below what it deserves. Solid daily drinker.

Rating: B

Runa Amazon Guayusa Tropical Ginger Citrus – Crispity Gingery Tropical Fun

Amigos — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 20:07:51 +0000

Dax

: Runa Amazon Guayusa popped us off with a Tropical Ginger Citrus blended green tea. Featuring a very picturesque sachet with ingredients that seemingly knew no bounds, this Tropical Citrus Green Tea did put a smile on my face. The taste was light and crisp, but didn’t hoth me with an overpowering hammer of authority. This could be a greater achievement if there was a greater amount of actual green tea. Nice touch and I’d be glad to steep another.

Rating: B

Mike

: Runa Amazon Guayusa Tropical Ginger Citrus does not have what it takes to reach the pinnacle of a teasan’s must-steep list, let alone a teasan’s daily drinker list. I’m not feeling it at all. The ginger jives with the green tea like the Real House Wives of jive with each other. Reality TV inside your cup. You really want it? Maybe my steep was a bit watered down. We were on the steep-n-share program and I left the bag in Dax’s tea. When I tried his it was a league better. Still improper. Go somewhere else.

Rating: C+

ADDENDUM

It has come to our attention that there is NO GREEN TEA in this tea, therefore our review was “tea oriented” and should be taken as such. Much love to Runa for pointing this out, and a teasan knows when to stand corrected. Steep on…