Two for Tea (Part 1)
About three years ago, we published a look at some of our favorite teas. Now, it’s time to update one of our most popular series, with a look at quite a few tea companies and several types of tea.
First up is Upton Tea, which offers over 400 varieties of loose tea. We didn’t try even a fraction of them, but focused on two brews that seemed appropriate to the season, the Mélange de Chamonix and the New England Harvest Blend. Both of them are dark, rich, black teas. The former has its origins in India and the latter in China. The Mélange de Chamonix was intense; cardamom, cinnamon and a hint of cocoa combined to make a chai-like tea without the often-overpowering clove flavor. The New England Blend was extremely fresh, perfectly mirroring the autumn season with a touch of apple, and a base of vanilla instead of chocolate.
Both of these teas are reasonably priced, as are all of Upton’s teas, running upwards of $10-$15 for a 250g packet, enough for about 100 cups of tea. Their website is easy to use, with excellent information on the steeping time and temperature suggestions for optimal brewing. We also recommend their inexpensive and handy Chatsford teapots — available in several sizes and colors and featuring a handy mesh infuser.
Next, we took a look at a wildly different set of teas: genmaicha and mint teas from Rishi, as well a bottled Chai concentrate. Rishi specializes in organic and fair trade teas, and was among the first to earn organic certification from the USDA. Rishi’s loose-leaf Genmaicha, brown rice tea, was among the best we’ve tried, and far superior to any bagged versions. Their site lists detailed origin information and offers beautiful pictures of the teas as well, and prices are generally around $27 for half of a pound.
We tried two different mint teas, and they were about as different as two mint teas can be — the Organic Fair Trade Maghreb was spicy and gingery, much more full than a normal peppermint tea, with some anise/licorice flavor. The regular Organic Mint was a bit plainer by comparison, with a slightly toasted flavor and obviously based on high-quality ingredients, sharp and yet strangely soothing. Finally, the Rishi Chai concentrate was too strongly clove and anise flavored for us, but it was certainly less sweet than most Chai concentrates out there. Simply add equal amounts of the concentrate and milk, and serve hot or cold.
Try both teas- Upton is best enjoyed by the pot; Rishi is better savored by the cup. And be sure to check out part 2 of this series!
