Cardamom & Curry

I am done with this blend for now, it’s been a busy weekend and I might have overdone it on the Super Bowl Snacks! Rooibos is nice and soothing for the tummy. I wouldn’t say there is anything special about this blend as it only contains rooibos and lemongrass. I added some of my own dried ginger to the mix which was a nice compliment. I’m not too sad to it go however…

Evening tea. I was at a workshop today on How to Start Your Own Consulting Business and I am exhausted. I have noticed that I can be very high strung and then I get tired easily. Tulsi is one herb I have found that really seems to help me cope with stress. I decided to try mixing it with this rooibos/lemongrass blend and it isn’t a bad combination, perhaps not something I would repeat however. I have a big tin of tulsi and I should make it a goal to have at least one tea with tulsi every day….

This came as a free sample with my last C&C order. It’s pretty basic, just lemongrass and rooibos but I like the combination. I wouldn’t mind a bit more lemongrass in this mixture and might add a bit of lemon peel the next time I make this. I recommend sweetening with a bit of rock sugar.

Tea of the evening here, I just finished off a small pouch of this that was around .75 ounce.

I’ve really enjoyed most of the teas that I purchased from Cardamom & Curry, the company I discovered at last year’s San francisco Green festival. This is a good honeybush/rooibos chai that has lots of spicy notes from the clove and nutmeg. The weather we’ve been having is seriously yucky (foggy San francisco).

This blend is very warming and tasty, especially with soymilk and cane sugar added. I wish I had more of this, but that will have to wait for my next paycheck.

This is making a very nice chai blend for the afternoon here. The orange flavoring is a nice complement to the chai spices and this is really good with a bit of soymilk. I didn’t feel it needed sugar, the honeybush is already a little sweet :)

It’s time to wind down for the evening and stop drinking caffeine. I am hoping I will get to taste and review some of the new teas & samples I have before leaving for a trip on Monday.

This is a really good herbal chai. It’s a bit different from some of the other ones I’ve tried because there is nutmeg, clove and also orange peel in this blend. It seems like a bit of a cross between a chai and a holiday spice tea. I added a bit of soymilk and some stevia to this and it is very tasty, glad I tried it.

This morning I was looking up home remedies for bronchitis and people mention herbal tea a lot, someone mentioned chai so that inspired me to steep this up. I got a couple of samples with my last purchase of turmeric tea and this was one of them.

Wow, yum! What an excellent chai. I can’t say that I am picking all of the flavors out individually (like mint or pomegrante seeds) but the other flavors are so good. Nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon, bay leaf, clove… this is perfect with soymilk and a touch of sweetener and is definitely warming me up. The flavor is very FIESTY and spicy so if that’s not your thing, look out! Hopefully this will be a perfect drink to help chase away the lingering chills. I would definitely order more of this someday.

I’m sad that this is a sipdown! I have really enjoyed this herbal chai from Cardamom and Curry. I will probably get some more of this at some point because I like the effects of tulsi but I don’t always like the way it tastes. This is good with vanilla soymilk and a touch of sweetener. Nice cardamom flavor here.

I got some “So Delicious” coconut milk creamer and decided to try it out this afternoon along with this tea. Unfortunately it isn’t coconutty enough for my taste… the tea is still excellent though. :)

Tea of the afternoon here, I was craving something chai like and decided to pick this out of the stash today. I’m a big fan of tulsi and this is strong on some other flavors I like, including fennel and cardamom. I steeped it a bit longer this time and that definitely helped bring out the flavor. I’m having mine with a bit of stevia and some soymilk. Recommended if you like a spicy, invigorating herbal!

This is the best tulsi chai I’ve tried so far and would repurchase this…

Feeling better after getting sort of loaded up on Sudafed so I figure I don’t need a lot more caffeine today. This is the last tea I have yet to try which I purchased from C&C at the SF Green Festival.

There is a fine powdered spice in the package, I think it’s the cardamom. I figured I would use my Finum fine tea strainer for this. If you don’t have one, you might want to give this a quick rinse before steeping it up.

This is a really nice tulsi chai. I have to say the tulsi taste is fairly prominent, so if you don’t like the minty-earthy taste of tulsi that would be an issue. Otherwise it is very gingery and I think the fennel and clove are providing a nice touch. I don’t get much orange peel but the cardamom is certainly there. It’s a very warming and spicy blend.

Mostly I drink tulsi to help me relax but I am not a HUGE fan of the taste. This is a fairly nice herbal though. Good plain but it was also good with some soymilk added. I don’t think I’ll have any problems finishing off the bag.

Mmmmm…
This is a good herbal and so healthy too. I need to be drinking more of this. The only time when I add coconut oil to my tea is when I am drinking this (due to the fact that some fat will help you absorb the turmeric).

I am going back to a gluten free diet tomorrow, I’ve been slacking a lot these past few weeks but I think it’s helpful for reducing muscle inflammation (for me anyway) and I really need that.

I had some of this tonight when I got home and then thought I’d do some yoga – BAD idea! I hardly ever get heartburn anymore but turmeric tea and the downward dog is not a good combination… oh well! Still tasted amazing tho’

This is the 2nd turmeric tea I’ve has from this company and they’re both good. Compared to the Malabar Coast, this is much more on the zesty and citrusy side. The lemongrass is really prominent and kind of overshadows the turmeric but also makes it “pop”. I don’t taste a lot of almond here but I do get lots of ginger and a bit of cardamom. I added a bit of coconut oil to this as well and that actually complements the tea really well. Hmmm, it’s difficult to say which was my favorite but I think Malabar Coast has a slight edge over this one. Very bright and cheerful. I think I will order some more of these turmeric blends at some point.

I’m so happy to have found two turmeric teas that I really like!

I discovered if you rinse the dry leaf before brewing this tea becomes a lot more palatable, that kind of rinses away whatever powdery substance was making it muddy before. Drank with soymilk and a bit of sweetener. Not destined to be a favorite but I think I can finish the bag now. :)

hmmm. I am not loving this blend. I brewed it in my Teavana glass teamaker which included a mesh strainer, but there is a lot of fine sediment in the tea due to one of the spices being powdered. The overall effect seems muddy to me, both in terms of flavor and appearance. Something seems “off” about this, I’m not sure if it’s the pear or the fact that the white tea can’t stand up to these spices, especially the pepper. I may try cold brewing this or simply mixing it with something else. Honestly I don’t think I would buy this again and I’ve had a few other white chais I’ve liked better in the past. It is better when you add sugar.

A nice sunny day calls for a nice sunny tea…

I went for a long walk today and ended up doing some tea tastings at Aroma Tea Shop but it’s a little too late in the day to drink the black teas I bought so I thought I’d focus on a nice anti-inflammatory drink instead. I really like this turmeric tea, it’s got green rooibos in it to help cut the flavor of the turmeric but that’s all about I really taste here aside from the saffron and a bit of ginger. yum yum!

Speaking of yummy I went to Burma Superstar today too and had the fiery tofu which was super tasty as well as a pot of ginger tea with fresh lemon slices. :)

Backlog. This is 1/4 teas I bought at the San Francisco Green Festival yesterday. I’ve been looking for a good turmeric tea for a while now and the ones I’ve found are really not that interesting. I bought two turmeric teas to try from this company Cardamom and Curry which makes chai and other Indian inspired blends.

First of all I’ve been reading a lot about turmeric and how it is fat soluble so it’s best dissolved with something fatty. I decided to add a bit of coconut oil to this as well as soymilk.

I thought this tisane was really nice. Well, you have to like the taste of turmeric, I suppose I am getting used to it. It is a bit like drinking a liquid curry, but I’m really in it for the health benefits more than the flavor. I like the fact that this was mixed with green rooibos and between that and the cayenne and saffron, this is a very warming spicy drink that made me feel like I had a healthy glow for about an hour after I drank it. Definitely the best turmeric tea blend I’ve ever had but it’s still a bit difficult to get used to.

I want to try all of their blends! If I’m ever in Livermore I will definitely check out their chai bar and shop. I love the fact that they use fresh hand ground spices. I’d say there is a definite quality factor here that I haven’t gotten elsewhere. sooo good!

I had the opportunity to try this tea while I took photos for a friend. He even heated the water up in a kettle that had a setting for green tea! Going to order it soon.

It had rather large tea leaves, and many of the spices were present as a fine powder. When it was brewed in a teapot I found most of the spices dissolved, and what didn’t left a decent layer which settled to the bottom. A little bit gross, but could be avoided with a finer mesh when steeping.

It was a light tea, sweet and complex in flavor. I could tell if it was more floral or more spicy — all I know is that the flavors blended together very well. There was little bitterness and no need to sweeten. Really enjoyed this. :)