kokomo tea

Helloooooo everyone! It’s been nearly a month since my last blog and even though I have been extremely busy, I have not forgotten about tea or any of it’s amazing flavors and aroma. Despite the fact that I have stopped blogging about tea lately, I haven’t stopped drinking it. If anything, I have increased my intake of tea substantially!

Easter was my first experience at brewing a bit pot of tea for my family. I was a bit worried about having to make so much at once, since I’m used to making only a cup for myself or my husband. However, I decided to buy one of Kokomo Tea’s Chantal Tea Steep with Ceramic Infuser, and thank God I did! Making a large pot of tea for my family was super easy and nearly effortless!

The first pot of loose tea I made was Kokomo Tea’s Darjeeling Malt #235. I decided to start with a Darjeeling, also known as the Champagne of tea, since this Darjeeling tea has a wonderful refreshing mouth-feel and a great flavor that I thought would appeal to everyone. Everyone, except for my coca-cola loving Uncle Jimmy, really enjoyed this loose tea.

After dinner, rather than making a pot of coffee to go with desert I made my second pot of loose tea. This time, I decided to go with a tea blend to appeal to everyone’s sweet tooth. I made a pot of Orange Blossom Oolong and it was an even bigger success than the Darjeeling Malt #235. I absolutely love the way Kokomo Tea describes this tea as tasting just like a creamcicle, because it really does! Everyone thought that this loose tea has the most interesting flavor due to the medium bodied Oolong.

Overall, introducing tea to my family was a huge success. I’ve decided to make it a tradition to make a pot of tea at family get-togethers and it’s one that we all enjoy.

To read more about loose tea or the health benefits of tea, go to www.KokomoTea.com.

Green tea is either instantly adored from the very first sip or it is thought of as a wretched drink that is an acquired taste.  For the non-green tea lover or for even some of the most devout black tea lovers, learning to drink and love green tea is quite the undertaking. I will admit that I am not one of those who instantly loved the steamed or roasted vegetal taste that so many pure green teas seem to posses.  For me, learning to love green tea was, and is, a difficult task. 

As you know, I write this blog as a newbie to tea, describing my journey into the world of loose tea.  Before writing this blog and being privy to the fabulous premium loose leaf teas Kokomo Tea has to offer, my only experience with tea was the occasional stale tea bag.  Now, I am quickly on my way to being a seasoned connoisseur who actually knows what light bodied or malty actually means. 

Becoming a connoisseur of black or oolong tea is a pleasure and joy.  I have come to love black teas for their robust flavors and tasty blends, while oolong teas just fascinate me with their unusual earthy flavor.  Pure green teas, however, have been the bane of my tea existence!!  The overwhelming vegetal aroma and flavor of many Japanese green teas used to turn my stomach.  I quickly began to identify green tea by two words: vegetal and bitter.

About two weeks ago, after discussing my thoughts on the merits of green tea with my friends over at Kokomo Tea, I realized I had been making one HUGE error in my quest to love green tea.  I was making green tea entirely the wrong way!  I had been steeping the tea with water that was way TOO HOT! I was burning the leaves, and in turn, causing my cup to give off that incredibly bitter and overwhelmingly vegetal aroma and flavor. 

Two days later, I mustered the courage to try green tea once again.  I began by scooping a teaspoon of Kokomo Tea’s Finest Jade Sencha into my clamped tea ball (I think its official name is something like Tea Ball Spoon).  Then I began to boil my water.  I only have a regular electric kettle that heats the water up to a roaring boil, so I had to pour the boiling water into the cup and wait until the water had cooled to the appropriate temperature. Not being a seasoned tea drinker quite yet, I had to use a thermometer to know when the water had cool to about 170° F.

It took about two and a half minutes for the water to cool down.  I won’t tell you to use two and a half minutes as a rule of thumb but I will tell you to use a thermometer and experiment to find what works best for you until you’re comfortable without a thermometer. I then placed the tea ball into the cup and let it steep for a little less than two minutes. 

I was a bit hesitant to even sniff the tea after my disastrous experience with green tea in the past but I knew I had to give green tea one more chance.  Immediately, I was surprised by the aroma.  It no longer smelled like a cup full of spinach had been let sit to blanch in hot water for far too long.  I now noticed a bit of delightful sweetness where before there was only bitterness.  Daring to take a sip, I could automatically taste the difference in the degree of vegetal flavor.  Rather than being over powering and intimidating, Finest Jade Sencha was now smooth, mild, a bit sweet and quite pleasant compared to before.

Even though I had completely transformed the flavor into something enjoyable, I still couldn’t quite get used to the “green tea” taste.  I was looking for something more, something to help make green tea an acquired taste that I loved.  I found that something in a bottle of honey on my countertop one evening.  Deciding to take a risk, I squeezed a little into my cup of freshly steeped Finest Jade Sencha.  The result was absolutely fabulous.  For me it completely rounded off the flavor in the cup in the exact way I needed it to.

I hope my story has encouraged those of you who are weary or dislike green tea to give it another chance.  I think most people like me who find green tea to be a bit too bitter and vegetal will take a look at their steeping method.  For me a simple fix in how I steeped my green tea was the beginning of my journey with green tea. Adding a dash of honey to my green teas just pushed my further along the road.  If you already do not love loose leaf green tea, I hope you take the time to acquire the taste like me, for there are many health benefits of green tea.

Green Tea Steeping Tips

·         Let your water cool!!! Steeping green tea at a temperature too high can cause your cup to turn out bitter and overwhelmingly vegetal.  I recommend steeping your tea no higher than 175° F.

·         Less time = Lighter Flavor  Play around with the amount of time you let your green tea steep.  Sometimes all you need is a quick infusion for no more than a minute or so.  

·         Add a sweetener or flavor shot.  Try adding a dash of honey, sugar, agave nectar, stevia or try a flavored syrup to add some flavor to your green tea.

To read more about green tea or the health benefits of green tea please click the following links to visit Kokomo Tea’s website.

Green Tea

Health Benefits of Tea

Kokomo Tea - Home

Over the weekend, my husband and I got ready for spring by doing a bit of gardening on Saturday.  It was a beautiful, sunny day and plowing the earth to make room for our vegetables made us both rather hot and sweaty.  Being the sweet man that he is, he went inside and brought me a drink he had mixed himself.  The moment I took my first sip, I fell in love.  It was the most refreshing, delicious drink I had ever tasted.

My husband called the drink he made a “Peachy Palmer”, a twist on the traditional tea and lemonade drink, “Arnie Palmer”, which we usually buy from the store.  He made it by combing iced Pai Mu Dan Peach Blossom, a white tea blend which I had made the night before, and fresh lemonade.  It was fantastic!   The subtle flavor of the white tea and peaches mixed with a dash of lemonade was the perfect treat after working hard outside in the hot sun. 

Needless to say, we now have an entire pitcher sitting in our refrigerator waiting to be sipped.   The best part is that making a pitcher of Peachy Palmer is a tiny fraction of the cost of buying an Arnie Palmer at the store.  Thanks to the affordability of loose leaf tea, I’ve found a way to save money and indulge in a healthy, high quality beverage. 

Peachy Palmer (1 pitcher)

Ingredients:

Pai Mu Dan Peach Blossom loose tea

Fresh Lemonade

Directions:

1.       Make ¾ of a large pitcher of Pai Mu Dan Peach Blossom iced-tea. 

(Use about 2 heaping tablespoons per quart, adjust to taste.  Steep the tea as if you were making a large amount of hot tea, then let cool on the counter.  If in a hurry, use less water and steep the loose tea a bit stronger than usual and then add ice. The ice will cool down and dilute your tea.)

2.       Fill the remaining ¼ of the pitcher with your favorite lemonade and give a twirl to mix together.

3.       Pour over ice and serve. Add a leaf or two of fresh mint for a real treat.

*Adjust amount of tea to lemonade to your liking.

For more information on loose tea or the health benefits of tea, please visit: www.KokomoTea.com

It’s been a long time; a really really long time since I wrote my last blog.  The holidays have passed, New Year has come and gone and I am now a married woman.   Everything has happened so fast and I’ve been so busy that I’ve forgotten to take care of myself and to honor the promise I made to blog for Kokomo Tea.  However, that all changes today. 

Today, now more than ever I need to get into tea and reap the numerous health benefits of tea.  Over the past few months, I have been abusing my body and filling up on unhealthy junk food, sodas and pretty much anything and everything I can get my hands on.  I can feel the preservatives and fats running through my body like a poison and I desperately want to be cleansed.  My friends, the founders of Kokomo Tea, always look like they’re so full of energy and life.  They attribute it all to tea, and loose leaf tea in particular.  They say the antioxidants in tea keep them feeling young and invigorated.  That’s exactly what I’m looking for.

A few months ago, when this whole thing was supposed to start, Kokomo Tea sent me a large box full of beautiful loose leaf tea.  I opened a few and let me tell you they smelled divine!  Unfortunately, that’s where it stopped. I sniffed a few and then got distracted with the rest of my life and never got around to tasting them.  This morning, I went back to the box and picked out Organic Assam Breakfast, recommended to as awesome Assam breakfast tea, and opened it.  It still smelled as good as when I first received it, which proves to me that with proper storage, a cool, dark and dry place, tea can last a very long time.

The next step was to actually make a cup of tea.  I was a bit hesitant at first since this was my first time making a cup of loose tea but it turned out to be rather easy.  I used the YoYo Tea Infuser.  All I did was put it in my favorite coffee cup, add a teaspoon of Organic Assam Breakfast, pour in just boiled water, put the lid on and then waited for 3 minutes.  After it had finished steeping, all I did was pull lid off, take the YoYo out, place it in the lid and then enjoyed my tea. 

Needless to say, I was rather proud of myself considering I made a perfect cup of tea.  The only thing I might change is that next time I will experiment by steeping it a bit longer.  I found that I really enjoy the “malty” flavor of Assam teas.  The Organic Assam Breakfast was delicious; it had a rich, spicy flavor and what I believe to be a great mix of body and briskness.

For my first day as a tea drinker, I think I’m off to a good start.  I am under no allusion that over night I will rid myself of all my evil soda pop ways.  However, I do think with a gradual increase in my tea consumption, I will be on the road to reaping all the wonderful health benefits of tea.

To learn more about Kokomo Tea and to buy loose leaf tea, please visit our website.

Last month the founders of Kokomo Tea came up to me and asked if I would write a weekly tea blog for them.  I was a bit shocked at first.  I’ve known them all for years and they know not only am I not a tea drinker but I know nothing about tea; my area of expertise is the economy.  My usual beverage of choice is either Gatorade, soda or the occasional coffee or iced-coffee.  I typically drink tea when I’m sick or freezing, not on a regular basis.  It’s not that I don’t like tea; it’s just that I don’t ever think about drinking it.  Because of this, I told them I was flattered but that I didn’t think I was the right person for the job.

As it turns out, that is exactly why they wanted me.  They wanted someone who doesn’t drink tea on a regular basis to try and incorporate it into their daily life and record their experience, both the good and the bad.   To be honest, I was a bit hesitant at first and was unsure if I would have the time or enjoy doing it.  “Why should I change the way I live?” I thought to myself.  But then they started telling me about loose leaf tea and that’s when I started to think about giving it a try.

First they sold me on the health benefits of tea.  I had no idea tea was as good for you as it is.  Loose leaf tea is filled with antioxidants which not only help fight the aging process but they also prevent and repair damage done by free radicals.  In plain English, that means tea has anti-cancer properties, can help prevent heart disease and help ward off numerous other problems contributed by oxidative damage (those pesky free radicals!).  Studies have also shown that tea might help lower cholesterol, prevent diabetes and boost the immune system.  All good stuff, right?

After telling me the above, they had me listening.  I still feel young but the reality of it is that I’m not getting any younger nor do I want to feel any older.  Besides, with my family’s terrible health history, I need all the help I can get in regards to preventative care.

What they told me next struck a nerve with my vanity and really got me thinking that switching to tea wasn’t such a bad idea.  Apparently, tea not only benefits your health by helping prevent numerous diseases but it can also help improve metabolic rates.  Clinical trials have shown that drinking green tea helps increase energy expenditure.  They also suggest that drinking green tea can increase endurance in exercise by improving fat metabolism. 

As soon as I heard that, I was about ready to agree to write this tea blog.  All I could think of was how the health benefits of green tea could help me.  I wasn’t thinking of clinical trials or the technicality of it all, I was thinking about a trimmer waist line, easier workouts and feeling healthier in general, all of which sound great.

There was only one more problem to tackle and that is I’m pretty set in my ways and can be a bit picky about what I like.  As good as the health benefits of tea sounded, what about the taste?

Apparently, there are as many flavors of tea as you can think of. Not only are there hundreds, if not thousands, of pure teas available each year but there are also tea blends.  And when it comes to tea blends there are as many ways to blend it as you can think of.  With that in mind, I started to think that perhaps I could find something just for me.

To sweeten the deal I was also told that I would be given a selection of pure teas to try out as well as a selection of tea blends based upon my flavor preferences. After thinking it over for a few days, I realized I had nothing to lose, except perhaps a few pounds and I could see nothing wrong with that.  So I have agreed to write this blog and give up my previous bad habits for the fresh taste of tea.

My shipment of tea is due to arrive tomorrow and so my adventure into the world of tea will begin.  I don’t know what I’m in store for but with as many options and health benefits of tea as there are, what’s not to like? 

To read more about the health benefits of tea, please visit the Tea & Your Health section of Kokomo Tea’s website.