Test Teas Tuesday
17Coconut creme? More like coconut…dream?
Our first installation of test-teas ™ where I, self-proclaimed Teamaster @riskybryzness, and initiate @cythwulf will go over our weekly teas that we drink. So, come with us if you want tea leaves. 
White Coconut Creme:
If you enjoy lighter, refreshing teas and mainly coconut, I’d recommend it. I know smacking coconut oil on everything is all the rage right now. We’ve found that the taste is 100% dependent on how it’s brewed, science and all. Details can be found below.
Before this started, I used to just throw some in a tea bag, get some hot water and let it steep. We now have this rad water boiler that keeps water at a stable temperature, allowing us to properly brew the tea without burning it or ruining it in any way. Foolproof is the best when dealing with two fools.
About this tea:
- Like most lighter teas, it looks like pee.
- It smells like suntan lotion.
- The longer you take to drink it, the better it gets.
- Refreshing.
Serving info:
- Water Temperature: 175 - 185 F degrees
- Steep Time: 1-3 minutes
- Suggested Serving Size: 1 Tbsp/8oz
On average, people gave it about a 5/10 in taste. Keeping in mind, this is from a variety of people in the office. Some are not fond of lighter teas or fruity teas so they rated it lower. Tasting notes from @snapster himself included that it wasn’t as crisp as he’d like.
For looks, it was a 7.125/10
For smell, it was 8.8/10
Basically, don’t confuse this with potpourri. When we brew this, you can smell it about 10-15 feet away.
On Art of Tea, it gets 4.9/5 stars
Their description:
“Immerse yourself into a cup of this dreamy tropical infusion! With its light body and smooth creamy texture, it’s no wonder this tea is a favorite of many Art of Tea customers! Delivers a sweet and soothing balance of coconut and is great hot, iced or as a dessert tea.”
I guess the real question here isn’t just asking @CardiganB why it smells like suntan lotion, or @feralrants why it reminds him of wax…or even @nommynoms and her fond memories of checks notes again oatmeal?
The real question is, would you try a cup?
This isn’t an advertisement. In the next few weeks you’ll see various brands being posted. We’re just this excited to try a new tea. Unless you want to sponsor @cythwulf and @riskybryzness on this weird venture, then, by all means, send us tea and we will brutally rate it. by brutally rate we mean calmly enjoy and ask the opinions of the office and prepare information on it
Let us know what your favorite tea is, brand, flavor, whatever it may be. Drop us a tea gif or show us the cup you’re drinking now. Let me know if you’re like my grandmother, 100% English and milkless tea is a sin. We have a few places in mind for future tasting so if there’s one you want to see, let us know!
- 23 comments, 53 replies
- Comment
Hey everyone.
I’m sure you’ve got lots of questions, like “Why are you doing this?” or “Geez, did you even stop to think about what that name sounds like?”
The answer to both of those questions is YES.
First: a quick layout. We’re brewing teas to be reviewed on “Teadays” (Tuesday and Thursday). We force people in the office to drink it and tell us what they think. After a series of rigorous questions, like “Sup? How’s it going?” we write down what they say and refine it into pearls (get it?) of wisdom for all of you.
Now ask us more questions, and we’ll try and answer them the same or better.
This reminds me I need to pee
I have no interest in this topic, but I wish you good luck in your endeavor.
So … you only try out manly teas?
Glad that someone out there understands that different teas need to be steeped for different amounts of time at different temps. I really hate it when someone says they didn’t like the jasmine green tea they steeped for 10 minutes in boiling water.
My usual response is something like a deadpan: "But you need to try it with a pizza you baked for 45 minutes in a 450-degree oven! They go together perfectly!"
One of many favorites: Stash Mojito Mint Green Tea, properly made with 175-degree water, steeped 3-5 minutes.
I dunno about your tea. My brain refuses to put “coconut” and “tea” in the same pot.
@rockblossom I was one of those until @riskybryzness set me straight. I believe my exact words were, “I don’t like most green teas. They’re too bitter.” It only took .5 seconds to realize I’d never done it right in my life. I’m learning now though.
@rockblossom I was kind of in the same boat. I tried this at the local boba tea place and fell in love. I don’t put any sweetener in it but others prefer it. I personally have always been an english breakfast or earl grey type. It honestly makes for a pretty good summer drink.
@riskybryzness @rockblossom
Recommend the Breville BTM-800XL. Settings for each tea type/temp and steep times.
Best tea maker I’ve had. I make my own Chai all the time.
@mike808 @riskybryzness @rockblossom I may upgrade to that someday but it’s pretty expensive
@sammydog01 Agreed. I think I will wait till one shows up at a thrift store (my more upscale ones). I know one will in time
That tea sounds pretty good. I have a ton of stuff from Teavana hoarded away- I have one called zingiber ginger coconut that I used to drink. I’ll make a cup tonight.
Where did you get the cool water boiler thing? I have always wanted one because my green teas say to steep at below boiling but that’s too much work.
@sammydog01 We got ours on Amazon. The one we have is Coctione, and it’s 1.7L. It’s really neat. It keeps it hot and ready to go.
@sammydog01 Also that is just fun to say, zingiber ginger
@riskybryzness @sammydog01 Shout out to @denboy for pointing us toward this water boiler!
@sammydog01 I’ve been using the same water kettle, nearly every day, for the past 8 years. It’s a Cuisinart with variable temps. It even has a “cheat sheet” on the temp settings:
@rockblossom @sammydog01 See above for my vote for the Breville BTM-800XL.
@rockblossom @sammydog01 I own that Cuisinart and liked everything about it except for how it pours. So I got this gooseneck kettle and I love it:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005YR0GDA
@rockblossom @sammydog01 Oops, nope, I mean this one that has variable temperatures (to the degree, so I can decide to believe that 204º is perfect, not 203º or 205º): https://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-BV382510V-Variable-Temperature-Gooseneck/dp/B005YR0F40
@dave That’s the one I just ordered! It got a good review somewhere.
@dave @sammydog01 Looks good. If mine ever dies, that’s probably what I would buy to replace it. A gooseneck spout would save some spills.
Interesting topic, I’m looking forward to further posts. As a coffee hater who grew up with a tea drinking mother, tea is my go-to hot drink. Unfortunately I’ve never really gotten deeply into the minute details of teas. While I stay away from the Liptons and Tetleys of the world, I will pick up random boxes of Stash or Tazo at the local market. If I’m out and about and see a flavor that I find interesting I’ll give it a try but I really don’t have any favorites. Guess it just depends on the mood at the moment. Regarding the coconut tea mentioned, I’d definitely give it a try.
@cinoclav We will have them as bi-weekly installments on Tuesday and Thursday. If there’s something you’d like to see up there or if you’re interested in but not wanting to commit just yet, let us know and we’ll try and find it!
@cinoclav @riskybryzness
@cinoclav @Cythwulf @riskybryzness Y’all should do a blind taste test ranking store brand black tea, lipton black tea, the English Breakfast teas from Twining, Bigelow, and Tazo.
Maybe throw in the Whole Foods store brand and any other plain black tea you stumble upon.
Bonus points if you include a tea that you have literally stumbled upon.
The teas would all need to be brewed simultaneously and for the same time, of course.
@cinoclav @Limewater @riskybryzness I love this idea. I’m adding it to the list.
@cinoclav @Cythwulf @Limewater
“looks like pee, smells like suntan lotion”
We’ve got a real Don Draper here with these pitches.
@dave
@cardiganb
@cardiganb @riskybryzness
DNS - Did Not Swallow
can confirm: tasted better in the long run
I will be reading. I should get a gadget for the proper brewing since I am one of those that steeps until it looks good. I generally do not get fancy but this coconut one sounds good.
This seems like a winter project unless you plan to include iced and sun teas. How large is your tester pool?
@speediedelivery So far, each of the teas we’ve made have tasted great hot or iced, but take that with a grain of salt, I just drank a cup of tea that brewed at 200+ and it’s in the low 90s here.
Our tester pool cycles, but so far we’ve been able to round up 10 or more people before they notice and scatter.
I really need to cut down on sugar and used this as an excuse to order a variable temperature kettle (I went with a stainless one because I drop things). Plus I have a ridiculous amount of Teavana tea including a ton of Fruita Bomba which is green. I’m excited about your new tea thing!
What’s the Twitch.tv channel y’all are on?
@therealjrn meh.com/forum
Since I make my own tea blends, I’ve been getting/using Vahdam loose teas via Amazon. Great pricing and you know which harvest (how old/fresh) your tea came from.
@mike808 Interesting. We were tossing around the idea of possibly doing our own as an experiment. We will have to look into that! Which ones have you tried from them?
@riskybryzness I’ve used their Masala Chai as a starter (I add in clove, star anise, cardamom, black peppercorn, ginger root, and cinnamon to taste - that’s the beauty of mixing up a batch), and also their Black Assam tea plain or to start from scratch.
@mike808 What do you use to get a fruity flavor? I love fruit teas,
@ripper69 Um, add fruit and dont put tea in them. Think herbal teas with freeze-dried fruit or cheat and use fruit flavoring liquids.
At some point, you’re just making sno-cone soup, not tea.
I am not a coffee drinker and love tea! I recently tried some Rooibos Vanilla and LOVED it.
@tinamarie1974 that sounds amazing! I love a good vanilla tea.
More recently, I’ve been drinking Alwazah tea. It’s a Ceylon tea that’s popular in the Middle East. Strong, but not bitter. Inexpensive too; under $5 at the international market that I go to every once in a while.
@narfcake Under $5 for how much? You didn’t quite give us enough information there…
@Limewater 110 bags.
I went through a Teavana phase awhile back, not really by choice, but I didn’t exactly resist.
My mother got me one of their little plastic brew pots and a selection of a few teas.
For awhile, I was really into it, but my mother started gifting me more tea on every gifting occasion.
I got tired of it after awhile, went back to my habit of only drinking tea when I’m sick, and had to tell Mum, “please, stahp with the teas already!”
I did, however, settle on my ‘staple’ tea - rooibos.
Just plain rooibos, nothing else added (except honey and lemon); I mean, no other herbs or fruit or leaves added to the tea mix.
I still only drink it when I’m sick, but I’ve always got some on hand.
It’s a slightly sweet, fruity red tea with no caffeine - when I need caffeine, I drink coffee or Dr. Pepper.
Also got tired of cleaning the Teavana plastic brew pot thingie - you put the dry tea in, add hot water, let it steep and then you put the pot on top of a mug and the tea drains out the bottom leaving the leaves behind.
It was a neat novelty but a bitch to clean.
So then I went on a search for the best loose tea brewing method - tried a tea ball and similar things, but eventually settled on one of these:
It’s simple to use and simple to clean - perfect.
(In case you’re not familiar with the concept, it’s sized to sit on/in a tea cup/mug.)
It’s a rare occasion that I have guests for tea (i.e., make more than a single cup at a time), but when I do, I have a 32 oz. one of those Teavana plastic brewpot thingies.
Coconut is not my thing, so I don’t think I’d like your test-tea of the day.
There were quite a few Teavana varieties that I liked - don’t remember the names anymore, but one was a pearl type, and they were all green, white, or herbal varieties.
But, just gimme that good old rooibos red - that’s all I need.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@DennisG2014 I miss Teavana. I always bought a ridiculous amount ot tea at their after Christmas sale.
@DennisG2014 An old travel mug is great for brewing loose tea. Add the tea, add the water, put the lid on, let it steep, then just open the mouth opening and pour the tea into your cup. The opening is usually small enough to just drain the tea and retain the leaves, unless you’re drinking weird stuff that’s super fine.
If you’re drinking green tea and do multiple brews, it’s sitting there ready for you to add more hot water.
A french press also works well.
@DennisG2014 @Limewater More work than needed. I just use unbleached paper tea bags, add the right amount of loose tea, brew, then put the bag and tea leaves into the compost bin.
Like these.
@Limewater @rockblossom I’ve been meaning to try both of those.
The french press because I only drink one cup of coffee a day, don’t like Keurig cups and they’ve stopped making my brand of instant.
I don’t know why I haven’t done the bags yet, it makes the most sense.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I ran out of loose Rooibos and bought a Wegmans store brand box of it in bags, but when that runs out I’ll have to find a new source for the loose tea and get some of those bags.
Have suggestions for a source or brand for tea?
@DennisG2014 @rockblossom Yeah, but then you can’t re-brew your green tea. Serious green tea drinkers will often tell you that the second brew is the best. I’m not sure about that, but it’s still good.
Nobody puts whole-leaf tea in a bag.
@Limewater @rockblossom You can’t re-brew bags?
edit: BTW, rooibos is not a leaf (I don’t think), it’s a fine, grain looking tea.
@DennisG2014 @rockblossom SevenCups is really good. It’s expensive, but if you were used to paying Teavana prices, you’ll find they have a much better quality to price ratio.
I’m honestly not too picky, and don’t have the most refined palate. I’ll occasionally buy cheaper whole leaf green tea at international grocery stores.
@DennisG2014 @rockblossom I mean, technically you can, but I don’t think it works very well, and you don’t get a lot of the benefits of multiple brews if the tea is stuck in a bag.
Lest I sound like a tea snob, 90% of the time I mostly just drink cheap to middling bag tea because it’s free and convenient at work.
Also, SevenCups does not sell Rooibos, if that’s all you’re after.
@DennisG2014 I use those Teavana things- I bought a few at the 75% off sale and throw them out when they get really stained- you’re right about them being hard to clean. The nice thing is that you can put it in the fridge with the used leaves still in it and brew a second batch later. That’s what the Teavana guy said to do (you can see I spent too much time hanging out at the store).
@DennisG2014 Rooibos tea sources. There are so many, and so many variations/blends, that it’s hard to know what someone would like.
The last pure rooibos I bought was from: Arbor Teas and I’ve never tried any of the flavored ones. Good, but expensive. That’s where I also get Jasmine Pearls green tea. Buying enough to get free shipping usually means I have tins of tea that get old. Still good though, even after a couple of years, if kept in an air-tight container.
Amazon carries a pure rooibos called Tealyra that I’ve tried and liked, though there was a lot that was so fine it escaped the tea bag and settled on the bottom. I liked the air-tight resealable bag it came in, but a lot of the fine stuff also filtered to the bottom of the bag, so the last mugs were “rooibos dust” tea.
I’ve tried some rooibos blends, but I haven’t really loved any of them enough to remember where I got them.
@rockblossom Something I learned yesterday while poking around Amazon for Rooibos; there is short- and long-cut.
People don’t seem to like the short-cut because it’s too fine to be held by whichever device you brew it in and ends up in the bottom of the cup.
Apparently, one of the most popular South African brands recently switched from long to short, and customers are not happy.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
FWIW, yesterday I also learned that Rooibos tea is a mix of ‘needles’ and leaves.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@DennisG2014 I stopped by my favorite tea place today. They have an organic Good Hope Rooibos that smells good. I can get you some or you can order from the website. It is a family owned place that specializes in coffee but they have a good selection of tea too. They have lots more teas (and coffee) than on the website when you visit.
https://outofthegreycoffee.com/collections/luxury-loose-leaf
Phew to coconut
WizeMonkey
nuff said
Pretty much the only tea I drink is Lipton black with cream and a shit ton of sugar. If I’m at a Chinese restaurant that serves oolong, it needs sugar as well.
I’ve not been fond of any other kind of hot tea.
The only cold tea I drink is usually Arizona canned tea or that Lipton lemon tea mix.
I try to avoid caffeine so I usually don’t drink any of that anymore.
I’m a terrible tea drinker.
Drinking Terrible (Tea) by @RiotDemon
My go-to for a quick cup is a bag of Tetley that comes in a purple box for pretty cheap. But I tend to do tea like I do my coffee: dark, probably overbrewed, and a little bitter.
That said, I did have a friend that worked in a local coffee shop a long time ago. He gave me a big bag of lapsang souchong because it reminded him of “fall and running through the woods” when we were kids. I loved it!
Never have found a good source for it since though(that I trust). So, if y’all want to try some and give some reviews, I’d definitely be interested!
@thejackalope
That sounds awesome to me. I’ll hunt down a few for us to try here soon.
DIPLOMAT! RAT-A-TAT! FAT CAT! AWESOME!
I LOVE this idea of testing teas! I’ve always hated coffee. My grandmother raised us and she was Canadian (which is a very short step away from being English). Then we lived in England for 3 years and became totally English in drinking our tea. However, I do not do the milk thing with herbal teas–only normal teas (is that would you would call them?) I have also found I hate teas made out of rosehips. It give the tea color and add a yucky taste that covers up what it is supposed to taste like. Question though–how long do you figure herbal teas will last in the pantry? I stash teas away and take them out later. I have family members that love to come to my pantry and paw through the teas to find their favorites. I wonder how yucky they have become in the last 10 years or so.
@ripper69 I hate rose hips too and hibiscus. I always check for hibiscus on the label before I try a new tea.
The Teavana guys said that teas last a really long time if they’re stored correctly- they recommended mason jars. I would also guess the foil wrapped ones like Bigelow are ok too. I’m drinking stuff I bought years ago but I’m not particular. (As long as there’s no hibiscus. Blech.)
@ripper69 I was told in a jar or tin, tea should last about 2 years before it starts losing its flavor.
I went through a phase of trying different teas a few years back but am about ready to try again. I don’t remember any particular teas to recommend from then.
Recently I was craving a really cinnamon/spicy tea and tried a few and the spiciest I could find was Harney & son hot cinnamon spice. It has a really nice cinnamon flavor but also a natural sweetness. I’m obsessed. You can’t really brew it a second time though because it just tastes like black tea the second time. If you know of anything spicier let me know though!
@chellemonkey Loose leaf and mix your own. Try whole black peppercorns and shredded/crushed cinnamon sticks (like from Penzeys).
Tea? Here in ‘Merica we drink coffee.
@Gypsigirl213
/giphy fuck yeah
@Gypsigirl213 Exactly! Ever since the Boston Coffee Party, it’s been the rule.
Y’all should also try Postum sometime.
@Limewater
Thanks for the reminder that there’s sometimes an upside to having celiac disease: it gives me an ironclad excuse for staying far, far away from that 
shi…crap.