4/8/2017 Nitro Everything - Now Nitro Tea!by Cassandra Vincent I’m a fan of nitro – the smooth and creamy texture is a huge plus to my enjoyment. I love good tap beer on nitro. Our old friend Guinness and close mate Murphy’s are great examples of the nitro stout with a fine foamy head that gives the impression near to whipped cream which I love also. I randomly discovered a chocolate milkshake stout that broke me out in a rash of cravings that lasted for weeks. Then I discovered ice cream made fresh sans any preservatives, using liquid nitrogen to freeze the ingredients as they are being blended resulting in a deliciously fresh and velvety creamy gorgeousness. That caused another rash of cravings. Marvelous! I have tried nitro cold brew coffee as well. Though I definitely prefer cold brewed coffee to it’s hot brewed version I didn’t feel the nitro was as good a fit here for me. Strange, as in every other case I really prefer it. May be I need to try some more brands to find a better fit as it may have had more to do with the roast than the nitro. Now the nitro trend has found its way to tea with tea on tap and also canned versions for purchase at specialty food stores like Whole Foods. I tried B Sweet canned nitro matcha green tea. I thought it might have the widget that causes nitrogen to be released into the liquid upon opening, which I’ve experienced in beer cans, but it did not. The can includes the suggestions “shake well and pour hard”. I think I would have benefitted more from the suggestion “shake hard and pour fast” as I clearly did not shake hard enough and got chunks of matcha at the bottom. Ick. I found that the creamy head on top of the matcha reminded me more of the crema on an espresso shot rather than the thick head on a Guinness. This matcha is unsweetened but has a naturally sweet and mellow character. To my palate it is less grassy than some matchas I have had and is not at all bitter. Everyone has their preference as to matcha taste and there are many grades of matcha. There is no indication on the site or can of what grade is used but I have been told the company uses a blend.
I think the nitro version of matcha is a fun experience that I would repeat. I am interested in trying B Sweet nitro Thai tea and also trying their nitro teas on tap to see if there is a more intense nitro effect. Have you tried nitro tea yet? Are you up for this adventure into tea innovation? Let us know about your nitro experience on facebook, twitter, pinterest. Cheers! 9/28/2016 Tea in an Aerosol Can??by Cassandra Vincent
I am all for innovation but this one made me look twice. You have spray tan why not spray tea?! No More Tea bags has created a canned tea that is intended to be sprayed into hot water. The idea is to avoid preservative and use aerosol instead and also avoid any bag/ball/basket stuff. Well, I kind of like the basket stuff myself. But if you are on the run and don’t expect to have access to a cuppa I suppose this could be a method to employ. I like that you can control the strength by amount of ‘spray’ to water though. Frankly, I would love to see a period drama where the butler sprays the tea into delicate China cups just for the jollies. Now this looks to be a black tea item with an original, Earl Grey and Jasmine option. I want to see the look on the faces of the more snooty tea drinkers when someone offers them a cup and then pulls out a spray can. The item is worth talking about for that image alone! Here’s the link to check out so you know that this is real: http://nomoreteabags.com/ 7/17/2016 MY FIRST TASTE OF KENYAN PURPLE TEAby Cassandra Vincent Info sources: Chado Tea Room; Tea Research Institute of Kenya Ok. So it isn’t exactly new, but Kenyan purple tea is not yet prolific and this was my first taste of it. Apparently this tea is a ‘clone’ that was created as a means to increase tea revenues for the country. This tea has a higher concentration of anthocyanins than average black and green teas, which give its leaves a partial purple cast and of course give the consumer a higher dose of these powerful antioxidants. It is also said to be easier to grow as it is less susceptible to pests and temperature issues. THE LOOK AND TASTE I don’t generally ‘review’ teas, per se, because I think everyone’s palate is different and my experience may not match that of others’. Our taste is so affected by our depth of experience, our health, even what we ate that day. Still, as this is a new tea type it seemed a fun idea to share my experience. So, here we go: I like the hardy feel of the dried leaves, their dark, rich color and the way they curl and twist. They smell very vegetal dry and as I was told are more like green tea in characteristics than black, which I found to be true to my palate. The scent of the wet leaves reminded me of juicy tomatoes and collard greens. The suggestion was to brew for 4 minutes at 195 degrees, but I also did a 2 minute and 3 minute steep, because…why not? I did find I preferred the 4 minute steep. At the 2 minute steep I found the tea to taste as it smells – vegetal. It reminded me of mustard greens and bamboo shoots for some reason and there was a faint buttery aspect. There was a bit of a buzz on the tongue too. At 3 minutes the buzz was greater though the tasted mellowed with less bitterness. At 4 minutes the vegetal aspect is more refined, sweeter, richer. The buzz on the tongue lessened. Reminded me of a bubbling stream in a forest. The colour was a pale green gold with minor depth increase with each minute of steep. The nose on the steeped tea was interestingly less than from the dry leaf to me. I am told the caffeine content is mild with this tea. Also, an interesting chemical note: if lemon is added (or any acidic source) the colour of the tea turns pink to melon colored – depending on how much is added. I was told this is the acid working on the anthocyanins. The acid adds hydrogen to the anthocyanins altering their structure ( yeah, tea gets all science-y and shit) The tea doesn’t necessarily get enhanced flavor-wise by the addition of lemon (tasted like grapefruit to me) but it was a fun fact to play with.
As to multiple steepings I didn't get anything clear on how many it can take. I think it comes down to taste. Thus far I've only done up to 3 and I still experienced enjoyable flavor so it is worth a try. Many thanks to Chado for hosting the tasting and opening our experience to this new tea! |
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