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:

Nina's Tea - Jamais Vu, Grand Amour and Scorpio

Nina's Tea has just been launched in the US and Canada. Nina's Tea is pretty popular in France so it's exciting to get a chance to try their tea. I contacted them through the Facebook page, was sent a catalog and got to pick out three teas for free samples, Jamais Vu, Grand Amour and Scorpio. They shipped fast, even with the bad snowstorm we had I got the teas within only a few days.

Nice big piece of orange peel

I tried the Jamais Vu first. In French jamais vu means "Never seen", but it is also a psychology term when someone experiences something they recognize but it seems unfamiliar, like the opposite of deja vu. Hmm. Anyways Jamais Vu is a black tea that has pineapple, orange, mandarin and safflower. I made a short tasting note on Steepster:

Very citrus, fruity, and slightly floral. I could not taste the pineapple but I could taste the orange and mandarin well enough. Tart but not too tart. I like it with a little sugar.
On the second steeping the orange taste is even stronger.

 It is a very strong tea but not bitter, I steeped the same leaves four times (3 minutes for the first steeping, slightly longer for later steepings) before it started to weaken.

I tried the Grand Amour next, but I did not like it as much. It's also a black tea, flavored raspberry, redcurrant,caramel and vanilla. My Steepster review:

Fruity, incredibly fruity. Maybe too fruity if that is possible. Since I opened the sample all I can smell or taste is raspberry and red currant. I am starting to panic for fear I will never taste anything else ever again.
I let the tea cool to room temperature while I ran some errands. The fruityness is not so overwhelming now. I think this might make a good iced tea. I do not taste any caramel or vanilla though.

 I tried steeping the leaves, it was a little better but I still did not like it and all I could taste was berries. Someone who loved this tea suggested that I try a shorter steeping time ( steeped for about 3 and a half minutes) and slightly lower temperature and she might be right, but I think I just do not like this tea. I think there are two kinds of raspberry teas, the kind I like and the kind I just don't like.

Nina's Tea has a collection of Zodiac themed rooibos teas. I was choosing teas based on their descriptions rather than names, and the Scorpio's peach, apricot and cream attracted me more than my sign. This tea has a pleasant peachy smell. My Steepster review:

This is my favorite sample from Nina’s. I can taste the rooibos, slightly woody. The apricot flavor comes through strong but not too strong, hints of peach and it is very creamy. The tea is fine on its own but I added just a few drops of cream, no sugar needed. This is a good dessert tea for the evening, and because there is no caffeine I do not have to worry about it keeping me up all night.

My first steeping was for about 3 minutes, sadly the second steeping was a little weak even though I steeped it for at least 5 minutes. I have about half a teaspoon left and think I'll add it to my used leaves for a third steeping.

Nina's Tea USA website is still under construction but some Nina's Teas are available on Amazon.