Posts filed under ‘reviews’
The Kiosque
The Kiosque is the first tea shop i have been to in Montrea. Its pretty small and very stylized. Very minimalist with white walls and wooden laminate tables. They have a nice selection of teas in all the major catigories. They can make any of their teas cold or as lattes. Asian infused baking wuth green tea.
I got a pai ma tan which was a nice white tea and was very good iced. Prices werent bad with a large being about 2.50. They sell the loose tea and an assortment of tea wear. Even a togo cup that had a cord that could be plugged into a car lighter outlet. The place was only about 100 to 150 sq feet. Great staff that were very helpful.
1428 rue Mackay montreal, Quebec H3G 1R3
www.thekiosque.ca
Davids Tea
a davids tea opened up in winnipeg a couple of months ago so i though it was high time to check it out. they opened up in Polo Park shopping center with a slick minalalist design asthetics. with a tea wall behind the cash registers. and product shelves on the rest of the walls. its a small store but it makes use of its space well.
store front
they have brewt type infusers, and ice tea makers, and even a drink making kit for tea infuses liquor. while i dont like it as much as Cornelia Bean this is a great location and a good introduction to tea. i also like how the tea comes in little tin containers, that you can bring back to reuse. this is the first davids tea in manitoba and they originally started online. it looks like tea is really taking off these days. at present this puts the number of tea stores up to three in Winnipeg.
my first pu-erh
sorry this has taken so long to post. so my first pu-erh its an anise. and i got it from Cornelia Bean, my usual place. when i first had a wiff of it i was a little taken aback because i hate black licorice and this smelt strongly of it but i went for it. after steeping it the licorice smell had dissipated and a more woody musk replaced it. the first sip was a torrent of visual imagery, there’s no other way to explain it. i just had images of a fall morning, steam rising off a farm house as the sun starts to rise. barns and hay, the out doors. this tea is pure fall and i love it. but be careful don’t steep it to long or you will get it way to strong and for me it was undrinkable. this tea isn’t for beginners but everyone should try a pu-erh for themselves. i also got a pu-erh in a the paddy form which i’m excited to try but don’t really know how much to put in a pot so ill have to do some checking for that.
ginger tea DIY
im going to make some ginger tea here is the recipe in going to use, well roughly the recipe im going to use Ginger tea
give me 5min ill report back
Russian Earl Grey
Russian earl grey from Cornelia Bean. is a strong dark tea with flecks of lemon and and what looks like lemon grass, in it dry the tea has a herbal spice rack smell. this would be a morning tea because it sure hits you and could do with some milk. the tea has a couple of infusions in it which is always a better bang for your buck. you can smell the lemon as it steeps which counters the strong taste of the earl grey. but this does just make the tea sharper. so in close its a nice morning tea probably with a touch of milk as you go to work, but good none the less. unfortunately i checked the website and it looks like they don’t sell this anymore, I’ve had this tea for a while oops.
tea recipe: Lapsang Souchong Gravlax
The following recipe was taken from an NPR article All Things Considered, November 14, 2006 (link)
Cooking with Tea
Cooking with tea is an ancient practice as well as a contemporary style. Teas are used in marinades, braising liquid, rubs, flavoring and garnish.
The following recipes are adapted from Eat Tea by Joanna Pruess with John Harney (The Lyons Press 2001):
Lapsang Souchong Gravlax
Scandinavian gravlax is cured with salt, sugar and dill Smoky tea leaves and Chinese five-spice powder make an Asian version.
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped cilantro
1 1/2 pounds fresh salmon fillet, cut into 2 equal pieces
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lapsang souchong tea leaves, lightly crumbled
1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)
Lime juice, to drizzle on gravlax (optional)
Sprinkle about one third of the cilantro in the bottom of a deep glass or other nonreactive dish large enough to hold the salmon flat. Lay 1 fillet, skin side down, in the dish.
Combine the salt, sugar, tea and Chinese five-spice powder and sprinkle over the fish. Cover with another third of the cilantro. Drizzle with the mirin and place the remaining salmon, skin side up, over the first fillet. Scatter with the remaining cilantro. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place a plate or dish with two 8- to 12-ounce cans on it to weight it evenly.
Refrigerate for 48 to 72 hours, turning and basting ever 12 hours, until the flesh no longer appears translucent. Once cured, remove the fish from the dish, scrape off the cilantro and spice mixture and pat dry. Thinly slice the salmon on the diagonal, working from the tip of the tail. Drizzle with a little lime juice, if desired.
Serves at least 6 for hors d’ouevres
The Canister
The Canister is a nice little tea and coffee store that i have recently discovered in my neighborhood. it’s a cozy little place that sells a selection of tea and coffee ware some nice some bordering on tacky, and they also have a selection of specialty chocolates. they have fresh roast coffees and a couple of fair trade ones. along the back wall is their tea selection. they seem to mostly have chai’s and black along with allot of herbals not as many green though i think i saw one and there were no oolong. they also had some tisane and some blossoms. the nice thing is the prices are pretty reasonable for the amount you get. the owner is quite a nice man a really helpful this is a place that i’ll come back to.
Winnipeg, MB R3L 1Y5
Yunnan Jig
This is a black to from the Yunnan region of china far south. The tea is pretty mild as black teas go it has a subtle woods taste kind of musty but still subtle not overpowering and actually soothing. this is one of those teas that you dont have to worry about over steeping which is always nice. I hate worrying about my tea and wondering is it supposed to taste like that. think this would be a good tea for those night classes to stay awake in. this is an adagio tea and the 4 oz tin is $10 (link)
golden monkey
OK I’ve waited a while to give this review on the golden monkey tea mainly because its disgusting and i kept on trying it because i thought I’ve been brewing it wrong but I’ve changed times and methods on it several times and nothing so i am just going to right it off as something i don’t like. maybe its a bad batch but i don’t really want to waste money to find out that’s what it really tastes like. the tea is so strong and the smell so powerful that you notice it immediately on adding the hot water to the leaves. its pungent and the taste stays with you I’ve added milk but it almost has a spoilt quality to the taste that i just cant bare. i got the tea from adagio, from there black tea sampler which i do enjoy but this one is the odd bally of the bunch it just not for me. if there is anyone that knows more please contact me leave a comment.
Domo Tea
I gave a bit of a review of this stuff before but that didn’t seem like enough so here is a full one and with a little background on matcha itself.
Domo teas are a matcha blend that comes in three flavors (at the moment) you has ginger kiss, vanilla cloud, and chocolate ecstasy. They are made with evaporated natural cane sugar juice and skim milk powder, which goes well as a latté or in a smoothie among other things and has only 20 calories per scoop (I’m not a calorie counter so this doesn’t mean anything to me). Domo is a Canadian company started by two women from Vancouver Tammy Olsson and Anne Yeo it can be found in western and central Canada and will be in Ontario and Québec soon but until then you can order from there website (US and international as well). There website also has a recipe section so you can make smoothies and some cocktails as well.
I thought I should also give a little bit of background on what matcha is so you know what you’re drinking. Matcha is a Japanese preparation of the carnellia sisensis plant by grinding the whole leaf, which is different from other types; this gives it the most caffeine out of all the teas. The tea is ground and the more finally it is ground the higher the grade is Tencha grade is the only grade that can be considered matcha all others are just considered pulverized. It can take up to an hour to grind 30 grams of the leaves so matcha is usually more expensive then other teas. It is produced in Japan in the Uji region of Kyoto, the Nishio region of Aichi along with Shizuoka and Kyushu. The plants used are shade grown and are covered with blankets two weeks before picking to protect them from any direct light. Matcha also has some of the highest antioxidant count out there with 70 times that of orange juice (fresh I assume) and many times that of green tea. Hoped you learned something about matcha and go out and try some of those domo blends there just great and one glass and your fine for the whole day it doesn’t make you all jittery like coffee.
