Is it a Hoax? And Zhena's Raspberry Earl Grey

So I am getting a tea post done in time. Or almost on time, depending on when I finish typing and hit publish.

Am I the only one who thinks this story about a woman drinking 100 cups of tea a day for 17 years is just a hoax? Those who have not read the story a woman supposedly drank 100 cups of tea a day for 17 years and now has high bone density. The story is usually under the headline about how tea is actually bad for you. There are a few things about this story that make me think it's a joke.

• The story came out shortly before April Fools Day. Tea being healthy is being exaggerated all over the place, someone overdoing tea drinking until her bones got messed up is something of a joke.
• How can this woman afford 100 bags of tea a day? I understand that not everyone drinks fancy expensive teas but even so that much tea adds up.
• How can anyone drink 100 cups of anything a day and not die of water poisoning? Was she working out hard and sweating it out? Unless she kept the tea near the toilet she would not have enough time to drink half that much a day- the human bladder can only hold so much for so long and tea is a diuretic. Did she just stay home all day drinking tea? That's what I do most days but even I don't have enough time to drink that much.
• Another story says she did not drink 100 cups but actually made a pitcher of tea every day with 100-150 tea bags and drank it. I go through about 100 cups wit ha tea in a month. That tea had to be strong enough to float a horse shoe. I drink a lot of tea but if I drink more than 4 cups too closely together at regular strength I get the caffeine jitters. Unless it was decaf or a caffeine free herbal she had to be getting way too much caffeine. The average 8 oz cup of tea (how much you get with the average teabag) has 15-70 mg of caffeine, if she used 100-150 teabags she was consuming 1.5-10.5 grams of caffeine a day from tea alone, even more if she just left the teabags in the pitcher all day. She probably stretched out her tea drinking all day but she had to be close to caffeine toxicity. I can only imagine the insomnia and anxiety she would suffer.
• Then the article ends with this: "she is now hooked on another beverage: Diet Coke". Diet Coke is another drink that people think is healthy because it does not have sugar, but it's not healthy at all. Diet Coke and other sodas are said to lower bone density and contribute to osteoporosis. Another reason why I think this whole story is a joke. Or at least is being treated as one.

 If the story is true of course I wish this woman well.

Now how about a tea review?

Zhena's Gypsy Tea Raspberry EG

I had been wanting to try a raspberry Earl Grey ever since I heard about Ovation Teas Raspberry EG. Ovation Tea is no more but I googled up another raspberry Earl Grey, this one by Zhena's Gypsy Tea. I thought the price on the website seemed a little high, especially for a bagged tea so I never ordered it. But last week I was browsing the teas at Ocean State Job Lot (a store almost identical to Big Lots) and was shocked to find tins of Zhena's Raspberry Earl Grey for only $2! I can afford that, though I was afraid that the tea would not be very good. Most of the tea I buy cheap at Ocean State tends to be dried up, stale, weak and not very good tasting. But I was curious and bought it. The tin had a small dent on the lid, I think the other tins may have also been dented, so maybe they were at Ocean State and on sale for so cheap because of the lightly damaged cans being unsuitable for sale at full price?
I steeped it for about 3 minutes with freshly boiled water. Here's my Steepster review:

Zhena's Gypsy Tea Raspberry EG

 It's been so long since I last posted a tasting note. Class has me so busy lately. *sigh*

I have been wanting to try this tea for a while, and was surprised to find a tin of it at Ocean State Job Lot. Ocean State's teas aren't always the best (Ocean State is a lot like Big Lots) they tend to be old and dried up. So I was worried that I would not be getting the best possible first impression of Zhena's Gypsy Tea. However the tin must have been well sealed, or the tea fresher than most tea I have found at this store, because it did not taste the least bit stale and has a nice aroma dry.

I steeped it for only 3 minutes but found it on the bitter side. Not too bitter but still a little more bitter than I would prefer my Earl Grey. A shorter steep time might improve the bitterness. I added a little sugar and it was better, bitterness-wise. Also a little milk does not hurt it.

Overall it is a good bagged Earl Grey, a lot of bergamot flavor and a good hint of raspberry. Most flavored Earl Greys do not have enough bergamot to satisfy me but this tea does. I usually wind up not liking raspberry teas but am happy to report that this is one of the raspberry teas I like.

I think this tin was like two bucks, I will have to get back to Ocean State and get some more.

Zhena's Gypsy Tea Raspberry EG

I really liked the tea but I probably will not be buying more of it anytime soon, I have so much tea I have not even tried yet. I got in an order from NM Tea Company and Butiki Teas just today, and I am planning on putting in another small order with Upton Teas in the near future (I need small tins... and to try their chocolate Earl Grey) so getting more of a tea I already have is something I am going to avoid.

In other news I bought a glass mug because I thought it would look better on my blog. Unfortunately the mouth of this new mug has a 3.5" diameter and my widest tea strainer has a 3" diameter meaning the tea strainer will fall into the mug. So I am looking into other tea strainers or figuring out a way to hold up the strainer, besides standing there holding the handle.

Ah, it's after midnight so I am not getting this post published before midnight after all. But it's not my fault, I think my computer is updating and the photo uploader does not want to work. And the ^#*@ pictures do not want to go where I want them to and it is seriously ticking me off. Maybe I should just give up on photos and make everyone just read.

If I get the #^@&* uploader to work here's a hint at what brand of tea I plan on reviewing next week:

Going Grey

I have a couple Earl Grey variations to review this week.



I got some Harney & Sons Earl of Harlem tea in sachets. The sachets are meant for 16 ounces of water so I used the biggest mug I could find, literally a soup bowl with a handle. I steeped it for about 4 minutes in boiled water and added a little sugar.

My Steepster tasting notes:

Used one of the sachets with about 16 oz of water. The dry tea smelled like a strong Earl Grey. However after I steeped it the smokiness overpowered the bergamot. I added some sugar and as the tea cooled I could taste a hint of bergamot. Next time I might try this mixed with another Earl Grey to help fight the smoke.

Not a bad tea but not one I would buy. Glad I got to sample it. 

Baroness Grey by Culinary Teas is an Earl Grey with orange and lemon peel, rose and cornflower petals, cinnamon pieces. I steeped it for about 4 minutes in boiled water. My Steepster tasting notes:

At first sip maybe a little too strong, I will have to decrease the steep time next time, and maybe have the water be below boiling.

It's a pretty powerful Earl Grey, it reminds me of Russian Earl Grey, only more floral. Very citrus, I can still taste the bergamot but I can also taste lemon and I think orange rind. It is a good blend. 

I managed to get some of Ovation Tea's Blueberry Earl Grey. It is a very different Earl Grey, as I was looking at the leaves I realized that it actually has dried blueberries in it. Not those tiny wild blueberries that you sometimes get in cereals, but great big ones. It also has orange peel, marigold petals and cornflowers. My Steepster tasting notes:

The first time I tried making this tea I got distracted and oversteeped it by 7+ minutes. Needless to say it was bitter.

A while later I tried it again with fresh leaves for about 4 minutes. It was very blueberry-ish. It could use more bergamot but still a good Earl Grey. I am thinking of mixing with with some double bergamot for MORE bergamot, or some EG cream because a creamy blueberry EG has to be awesome.

It is good with milk and some sugar helps bring out the blueberry. I might try an even shorter steep time to see if that keeps the bergamot from being overwhelmed by the blueberry. 

Sadly if you want some of Ovation Tea's Blueberry Earl Grey it will be hard to find since they're out of business now. :-/ Ovation also has a raspberry Earl Grey I would like to try but it will not be easy to find.

52 Teas has been selling the Earl Black at half price so I gave into temptation and ordered an ounce. The Earl Black is actually a white tea flavored with bergamot and blackcurrant. My Steepster tasting notes:
It could use more bergamot, but I say that about almost every Earl Grey tea (the exception being ETS double bergamot, and maybe a few regular Earl Greys) I can't seem to get enough bergamot.

Very fruity, the blackcurrant comes through clear. Next time I think I will steep it longer because it seemed a little weak at 2 and a half minutes (Or it could be the white tea, I'm not used to white tea and am still developing a taste for it). And maybe add a little double bergamot.

Glad I got this tea. Working on tasting every Earl Grey there is and I think this is my first EG made with white tea. 

I did the unthinkable and steeped this white tea for over five minutes. It did not turn bitter at all, and I liked it a lot better 'oversteeped'. The bergamot was more noticeable. 

52 Teas has a few other Earl Greys (Earl Pink) that I'd like to try.

Adagio - Earl Grey - Bravo and Moonlight

So I set down to do a post about some more of the Adagio teas I have tried in the past week. I go to draw up the tasting notes on Steepster and realize I had been too busy to do a Steepster review. But I did make some short reviews on the adagio site.

EG Bravo

First the Earl Grey Bravo. It's Adagio's version of Earl Grey, it's black tea with bergamot oil, but it also has orange rind and cornflowers. I steeped it for about 2 minutes with boiled water. My short Adagio review:

It tastes more of orange citrus than bergamot. A little harsh, very strong. I would not drink this without sugar. 

Earl Grey Bravo is not my favorite Earl Grey. It's cheap and will do if there's nothing else, but I do not plan on ordering more.

The Earl Grey Moonlight is supposed to be a creamy Earl Grey. Like the Bravo it's black tea, bergamot, orange rind and cornflowers but it also has vanilla and creme flavoring. I steeped it for about 3 minutes.

EG Moonlight, sans milk

Not as harsh as the Earl Grey Bravo but I still would not take this tea without a little sugar and some milk. 

If you want to try a creamy Earl Grey, Moonlight is not too bad. Not as good as NM Tea Company's Earl Grey Creme, but it's cheap and drinkable.

And while I am reviewing Adagio teas here's a $5 gift certificate at Adagios: 2680945299. The code is good for 24 hours for new Adagio customers.

Earl Grey Hot Chocolate

I like variety in my hot chocolate, and I love Earl Grey. So this week's hot chocolate is Earl Grey cocoa. 

So I made a cup of Earl Grey tea using English Tea Store's Earl Grey decaf. The ETS's Earl Grey tends to be more flowery than I like my Earl Grey. For cocoa mix I had Stop & Shop's brand hot chocolate in a canister. I was very generous with the cocoa and stirred in a bit of milk.

Earl Grey Hot Chocolate

It still made a decent cup of hot chocolate, though it too came out flowery. Very creamy, the bergamot flavor was still there while being chocolatey. Next time I might try making it with Bigelow's Earl Grey or a Cream Earl Grey.

Casablanca Tea

I like New Mexico Tea Company's Casablanca, as you can see in my post on Steepster:

I love my bergamot.
I got this as a free sample from the NM Tea Company and I wish I had a couple ounces of it, this is good stuff. I’m usually not too crazy about mint teas because the mint tends to get overpowering, but in this tea I can also taste the tea and more importantly the bergamot. The mint blends well with it.
I only meant to steep this tea for 2 minutes but got distracted, I think it would be better with a shorter steeping time but it was still good. Added just a little sugar and drink it like I drink my regular Earl Grey – enjoying and trying to make it last instead of gulping it down too fast.

NM Tea Co Casablanca

It is a very attractive tea, one of the best smelling I've ever sniffed. I'd like to get a shower gel that smells like this.

Like Dorian Grey there are several teas with this name but are different, a lot of them are actually tisanes. 

• Pekko Teas Casablanca is a fruity herbal; Luxury natural dried apple pieces, Hibiscus, Rosehip, Elderberries, Maracuja pieces, Sunflower petals, Passion flowers, Rose petals, Raspberry pieces, Strawberry pieces, Kiwi pieces, Cornflower petals, Natural flavors.
• Culinary Teas Casablanca is also herbal; Hibiscus petals, Rosehip chips, Dried apple pieces, Dried strawberries, Dried currants, Cornflower petals, Calendula petals, Natural Flavors 
• The Tea Table Casablanca herbal, dried apple pieces, hibiscus, rose hip peels, elderberries, raspberry, strawberry, kiwi, and passion fruit pieces, sunflower, cornflower, and rose petals, and natural flavors.
• Special Tea Casablanca Is a fruity black tea, ceylon black tea, safflower, rose petals, natural flavor. Special Tea also has roobios Casablanca.
• Mariage Freres Casablanca is similar to NM Tea Casablanca, green tea with Moroccan mint and bergamot-flavoured tea
•  Leland Tea Co Casablanca is a white tea with Mediterranean fig.

I plan on putting in another order with NM Tea Co in a couple weeks, it's a little more expensive per ounce than ETS but you have the option of buying as little as 1 oz at a time, free shipping on any order and free samples so it's still a good deal. NM Tea Co is also the cheapest I've seen this version of Casablanca tea.

Dorian Grey

One of the teas I'm really liking lately is Dorian Grey.

I had originally hoped to try it in the Earl Grey loose leaf sampler from The English Tea Store, but they must have run low on Dorian Grey sampler pouches and instead replaced it with a sampler of Scottish Breakfast (which is a far cry from Dorian Grey and not at all like Earl Grey). Similarly I ordered the chocolate lovers sampler and instead of Night of the Iguana I got an extra pouch of chocolate mint tea. Do not think I am judging ETS, the sampler had a disclaimer that if they are low on stock they will substitute it with something else so I knew there was a chance I would not get everything I was expecting. So far I have only ordered from ETS once but they have a good variety of teas and some of the lowest prices I have seen anywhere for loose leaf tea and other tea stuff. I highly recommend shopping from ETS, just keep in mind about the samplers being substituted.

So I was still wanting to try Dorian Grey tea. for $5 I could order 4 oz of Dorian Grey from the ETS, probably the best deal for Dorian Grey but I did not want to have 4 oz of the stuff in case I did not like it. For those unfamiliar with loose leaf tea 4 oz equals about 50 cups of tea. That's a lot of tea if I don't like it. So I searched for a smaller size and cheaper price. My search was further complicated by the fact that there is more than one type of Dorian Grey tea out there.

• The ETS Dorian Grey has black tea base, dried apple pieces, cornflower petals, linden flowers, and mallow flowers. 
• Herbal Infusions Dorian Grey was more Earl Grey-like. Premium black tea, apple pieces, cornflower petals, daisy white, elder blossoms, linden flowers, mallow flowers, bergamot, caramel. It has ingredients similar to the ETS blend but has bergamot which to me is essential for Earl Grey tea.
• Luhse Tea Dorian Grey is Earl Grey with vanilla, described as "Earl Grey's flamboyant brother". The Luhse Tea website lists black tea, cornflowers, bergamot oil and natural flavors as the ingredients.
• Sympathy for the Kettle's Dorian Grey was even more different. No mallow flowers in this blend. The ingredients are Earl Grey, rose hips, rose petals and a touch of vanilla. Sympathy for the Kettle claims to have the original Dorian Grey which they first blended in 2003. I do not know when the other companies began blending what they call Dorian Grey, but it's likely Sympathy for the Kettle was first and that's why the other Dorian Greys are different from theirs. 

I would like to try Sympathy for the Kettle's original Dorian Grey but $7 for 2 oz of tea is more than I can afford at the moment. So I shopped around until I found the cheapest Dorian Grey out there. Bonjour Gourmet has Metropolitan Tea Company Dorian Grey, $3.39 for 2 oz. ETS would be the best deal, but as I said I did not want 4 oz of tea in case I did not like it. I also ordered Russian Earl Grey, Night of the Iguana Chocolate Chai, and because it was close to Christmas I ordered two 3" tea strainers for my sisters.

Bonjour Gourmet shipped my stuff right away and only a few days later I was opening my package, sniffing my new teas, but there was only one tea strainer. I checked the packaging and the packing slip, it listed two tea strainers but there was only the one. This sort of thing happens, especially around the holidays. Frenzied packer trying to get everything in the box properly wrapped up and misses something, drops something, has a pile of orders to fill. They're human. Just a few weeks before I was missing a pouch of black forest tea from ETS, I called the English Tea Store and they took care of it, sent me a pouch of the missing tea right away.

Not worth getting upset about

I knew it was not worth getting upset about, that it could easily be taken care of, and the sooner I gave them a call the sooner they can ship out the missing strainer so I could get it in time for Christmas. Having worked in customer service (which is hell) I've vowed to always be polite to those in customer service, rude customers can really ruin an already not-so-good day. I went to my room, got my cell and started to punch in the number when I heard a noise from across the hall. It was my brother playing and failing at some video game. I don't know what kids are playing these days but it did not sound like he was having a very fun time, he was very frustrated and swearing loudly. I waited but my brother was not cooling off and only seemed to be getting louder. As polite as I am whoever on the other end hears someone screaming "Load already! EFF you!" might think it's me yelling at them over a missing tea strainer. That's not what I want to do, spreading bad feelings does no one any good.

I know from experience that telling some irate yelling person to shut up never works (It only makes them more irate and they will swear and yell more and at you), but I had to go Christmas shopping so I could not wait much longer. So I took my cell to a nice quiet part of the house (the bathroom) and placed my call. The guy on the other end was also polite and said they would get it to me right away. This was the Thursday before Christmas, I did not think it would get to me on time but they must have overnighted it because Saturday morning there was a small box containing the missing tea strainer. I was impressed.

So back to the Dorian Grey. Here is my tasting note on Steepster:

Dorian Grey and Russian Earl Grey

I've been drinking this tea almost every day since I got it and am finally getting around to making a tasting note.

I thought in order for a tea to be an Earl Grey it needed to be infused with bergamot. However I do not taste any bergamot and do not see it listed in the ingredients.

Dorian Grey and Russian Earl Grey leaves in one strainer.

Besides the lack of bergamot this is a good tea. It's very creamy, I do not taste caramel but other creamyish flavors like vanilla. It's a mild tea. Usually I brew it for 5 minutes but got impatient, next time I'll be more patient, this cup is weak compared to the 5+ minute cups I've had before. I take it with milk and sugar.

To make up for the lack of bergamot I've tried brewing the leaves with other EG teas, like ETS double bergamot. The best combo I've found is half Dorian Grey and half Russian Earl Grey- Russian Earl Grey is on the other side of the Earl Grey spectrum.

Leaves expanding

Metropolitan Tea Company's Dorian Grey is pretty good but lacks the bergamot. When I run out of this tea and have money to buy more I think I'll try a Dorian Grey with more bergamot in it.

Tea brewed for five minutes

Tea with milk and sugar