Fun fact: I drink a lot of broth. (Not as much as tea, of course, but it’s up there.)
I find it helps ease the symptoms of some less-than-savory health stuff, but it also just makes me feel all good and nourished health-supported and… WELL. You know?
Which is one of the reasons I was so pumped to see this Thai Lemongrass sipping broth from Millie’s Savory Teas in my sample stash. I’ve been hearing about some of the other sisters sipping Millie’s for a while now, and I’ve been dying to give it a shot. This one was right up my alley!
Now, a quick note: I’m not saying that these are a replacement for my actual, made-from-bones broth. There’s no collagen or beneficial fats or any of the other things I get from actual broth, however– it tastes DELIGHTFUL, is a wonderful substitute for tea when I’m looking for something savory, and has been an awesome addition to my office snack-drawer. Mid-morning hungries usually get me real good, and I’ve been finding that a cup of this is the perfect replacement for my usual nuts or dried fruit, sans calories. Mmm.
As for taste? It tastes, well, like broth! Specifically, like the onion-y, celery-y chicken stock my mom used to simmer on the stove all day. I’m not necessarily getting Thai flavors from this one (the celery-saltiness is what’s most prominent for me), but I adore it nonetheless, and have been finding myself craving a cup of this unusual brew in the mornings. I’ll definitely be ordering a stock for myself to have on hand!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Millie’s Savory Teas
Description
This Thai Lemongrass Sipping Broth is a citrusy blend of lemongrass, spices & green tea.. This first-of-its-kind savory single serve hot beverage delivers an amazing taste using the highest quality vegan, natural, wild harvest, organic and gluten-free ingredients – No added MSG. It really is Comfort Food in a Broth™.
Comes in a air-tight flexible foil package. The packet is a great to keep in your drawer at the office. If you travel, then it is really easy to pack in your baggage, purse or backpack. Or, you can have the packet at home in your tea drawer, or next to your other hot drinks in the cupboard.
INGREDIENTS: ORGANIC VEGETABLE BLEND (CARROTS, CELERY, ONION), SEA SALT, YEAST EXTRACT, GARLIC, LEMONGRASS, LIME,GREEN TEA, HERBS & SPICES
Nutrition Facts Serv. Size: 1 packet Amount Per Serving: Calories 15, Fat Cal 0 Total Fat 0g (0% DV), Sat Fat .0g (0%DV), Trans Fat 0g ,Cholest. 0mg (0%DV), Sodium 260mg (11%DV)Total Carb. 0g (0%DV), Fiber 0g (0%DV), Sugars 0g (0%DV), Protein 0g (0%V), Vitamin A (0%DV), Vitamin C (0%DV) Calcium (0%DV), Iron (0%DV) Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Thai Iced Tea from Arbor Teas. . . .
Let me take you back, friends. To a tiny Thai restaurant around the corner from my single-girl apartment, in a bygone era. Picture this– five girlfriends smushed around a corner table, ordering the spiciest dishes off the menu (and dying equally over how good they all were, and also how our mouths and subsequently, entire bodies were aflame from the inside), our only respite coming from the sweet, creamy Thai iced teas peppered all across the table. I don’t even think we knew whose was whose anymore– we just kept ordering them, passing them around, trying to quell the spice-fire.
And that, my friends, is the LAST TIME I had a Thai iced tea. I KNOW! My life has changed a bit since then, in that I am both neither a single girl anymore, nor do I live in that apartment– but certainly not because I don’t *like* Thai iced teas anymore (even typing that seems like blasphemy). Rather, due to the revolt that dairy has since decided to wage on my body and thus, sweeping them off the table.
So while I was a little glum when I saw a few samples of Thai iced tea dry leaf blends in my review pile, I knew I wanted to give recreation a go. AND THEN: I found coconut milk condensed cream at the hippie grocery store on our block and all was right with the world. I brewed this one up cold, overnight in a mason jar (my favorite iced tea method), and when it was steeped and strained, stirred in some deliciously sweet & creamy condensed coconut milk, gave it a stir, and was immediately transported back to that corner booth, mouth on fire, seeking respite in the cold, spiced, creamy and sweet Thai iced teas of my relative youth. Well done, Arbor Teas! I’ll be recreating this one in my kitchen again for many a day to come.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Description
Finally, Thai Iced Tea with NO artificial flavors or colors!
Thai Tea (also known as Thai Iced Tea) is a popular iced drink hailing from Thailand, commonly found in Thai restaurants across the US. Our Organic and Fair Trade Certified Thai Iced Tea is a traditional blend of strong black tea, vanilla bean, cardamom and anise. It can be enjoyed hot or cold with a twist of lime as a self drinker (without milk). Or it can be brewed to create a traditional, restaurant-style Thai Iced Tea when combined with ice, milk and sugar!
To recreate a restaurant-style Thai Iced Tea, we recommend steeping a double strength cup of tea. Then sweeten the hot brew with sugar, and serve over ice. Glasses of Thai Iced Tea are usually topped with dairy, such as sweetened condensed milk, whole milk, half and half, or coconut milk (this last one, of course, is not actually dairy). The final addition of dairy usually rests on top of the ice cubes creating a beautiful layered effect in the glass! For illustrated step-by-step instructions, check out our guide How to Make Thai Iced Tea and/or see our how to video.
NO artificial colors or flavors! Did you know that the deep orange color of Thai Iced Tea served in restaurants is usually attributed to artificial coloring? Well, no longer! We’ve developed an organic teablend that includes no artificial colors or flavors. As a result, when dairy is added to this iced tea it will not turn orange, but a beautiful, natural light brown!
Ingredients: organic black tea, organic cardamom, organic anise seeds, organic vanilla extract, and natural vanilla flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Premium Cha Khao Hom – Thai Rice Tea – From Siam Tee
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong, Jin Xuan with natural flavouring.
Where to Buy: Siam Tee
Tea Description:
Cha Khao Hom Thai Rice Tea Premium – 100% natural scented Jin Xuan oolong tea;Exclusive Thai tea specialty from Doi Mae Salong, North Thailand; harmonious combination of high-quality Thai Jin Xuan oolong tea and natural flavor dispensers “Nuo Mi Xiang Nen Ye” (= “sweet fragrance rice tender leaves”).
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Firstly; I need everyone to bare with me while I do this review. Truth be told I’m out of my comfort zone with this tea but it sounds so wonderfully unique that I have to try it. That means I need to learn as I go, which will hopefully be passed onto you wonderful people.
When it comes to Thai tea I think about Oolong and fruity tasting black/red tea. Well this is an Oolong, Jin Xuan as it states on the description but it’s flavoured with a herb to give it a rice flavour. This herb is fairly common throughout Asia and it is noted to being translated from Chinese to English as “sticky rice” herb. A quick search has shown me that the Chinese name for this herb is Nuo Dao Gen. As well as “sticky rice” it is also commonly translated as “Glutinous Rice”. The part of the plant that is most commonly used is the root and it is said to be very helpful with night sweats and hormonal issues. Another few searches later and I find that this root is very commonly used in Asian food and it is not known to have any side effects, so fear not if you are disliking the idea of taking a random herb.
Some of this information became familiar, I have tried a Pu Erh before which claimed to be ‘glutinous rice’ flavour. It was a while ago and I remember the rice being lost against the strong Sheng. But alas, this version is an Oolong base which frankly I find super exciting!
It’s time to open the packet and reveal this mysterious wonder. As soon as the bag is open enough for me to stick in my nose I inhale deeply. First thoughts? “Woah that is ricey”. It’s sweet and toasted but the rice scent is remarkable. A part of me wants to eat it….
In appearance it looks like some normal Jin Xuan Oolong. The pieces are an assortment of small, medium and large sizes with shiny green and dark brown colours on the leaves.
This tea comes in two different grades: Classic and Premium. I dove straight into the premium end and honestly, so far I am happy with the scent and appearance enough to agree the leaves are indeed Premium. If you want more information on this tea including a comparison on the two grades then Siam Tee has a great article on their blog here.
This is the steeping instructions as taken from the sales page:
For the preparation we recommend pouring from 3.5 to 5 grams of tea- “pearl” with 85 ° C – 90 ° C hot water and a steeping time of 2-3 minutes in a first Infusion.
That sounds good to me, I’m actually thankful this was helpful enough to guide me with steeping information.
Just pouring in the water created a beautiful rice aroma that was strong enough to fill my kitchen and living room. Wow, it’s making me salivate!
Once steeped a yellow tea liquid is produced with the aforementioned rice aroma. If someone were to blindfold me and ask me to guess what it was by scent I would say it was a bowl of rice. There is also the same sweetness and toasted notes from it’s raw form.
The first few sips are interesting…I can detect a toasted grass, milky, floral Oolong but by it’s side is a sweet yet thickly moreish rice flavour. The after taste is a lingering thick (almost stodgy) rice note that has coated the whole of my tongue. A few more sips and it has an added sour note though honestly it’s not for long. I have noticed a slight dryness however which becomes noticeable in the after taste which frankly feels even more like I’m eating rice.
Ok so as rice heavy as this tastes it still does not take much away from the Jin Xuan base which manages to hold it’s own. This I am pleased with, if you’re going to drink Jin Xuan then you should really be tasting it.
Half a cup in and the dryness has increased again to a point that I have a cotton dry tongue. Not pleasant but the lingering after taste is making up for it. It’s still consistent though in strength and flavour from those first few sips.
Coming into this tea I had little understanding of what to expect, the nearest I could imagine was something similar to Japanese GenMaicha which has toasted rice pieces in. Now post drink I can say it’s very different. GenMaicha is more toasted and bitty where as this is fresh and definitely glutinous. It was strange (to say the least) but still pleasant and even the drying quality didn’t put me off. I can honestly say that I can see myself drinking a lot of this tea in the near future. Worth a try if you are after something new, or an authentic taste of Thailand.
Happy Steeping!
Hillside Black Tea Blend By Siam Tee
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Leaf Blend
Where to Buy: Siam Tee
Tea Description:
An aromatic Thai tea blend based on a black tea, collected by members of the resident mountain tribe of Lahu semi wild ancient tea trees in the province of fishing which, by means of subtle and skillful addition of a selected blend of fruit and spices such as cranberry, ginger apple, strawberry and cherry in a unique way the atmosphere of the area covered by forest and agricultural land mountains of northern Thailand captures.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Siam Tee is growing to be one of my favourite EU companies, particularly when it comes to blends. This Hillside blend is also available with a green tea base but I chose a black base to try. One of my reasons for adoring their blends is because they use natural flavours from either fruit or essential oil and I take comfort in knowing I’m not drinking chemicals. Far too many times have I experienced a chemical, super sugary fruit tea that claims to be one of the best but really it tastes cheap and tacky, well I have yet to experience anything of the sort from Siam Tee.
Hillside Black says that it contains: cranberry, apple, ginger, strawberry and cherry but does not disclose full information, if you have any allergy then please be aware. The owner of the company Thomas is a very nice man and I’m sure he would address any concerns that you may have in an e-mail.
Opening the packet and taking a quick sniff reveals a mild mixed fruit scent. Further inspection shows very large leaves that are: black, curly, long, thinly rolled and are dark black with some golden tips present. Spreading the mixture out also exposes a couple of large fruit pieces. A closer sniff-spection adds sweet wood to the mild fruit tone.
Steeping Parameters: 5g of blend. Boiling water. 320ml vessel. 3-4 Minute Steep.
Once steeped the tea liquid is amber with a red hue and bares a sweet, strawberry fruit scent with undertones of wood and sour malt.
The first few sips reveal delicate yet sweet fruit notes with some astringency and a sour malt background. The after taste is sweet and fruity whilst not being too overpowering. The fruit is coming through as strawberry sweet but cranberry sour/tart.
As it cools the sour malt comes through a little more but the after taste is fruity and it lingers with the malt, adding some dryness to it all. Perhaps slightly perfumed over all but in a nice contrast to the malt.
The rest of the cup remained rather consistent in terms of strength and flavour. I know I bigged up Siam Tee at the start of my review and while this is not my favourite blend it is still a good job. In terms of quality they are one of the best available. No broken or finely chopped leaves here! The black base is stronger than the fruit but that is to my preference, with such a good quality black tea I want to be able to taste it. So think of this as a black tea with added fruit flavours rather than a fruit tea that happens to contain black leaves.
Overall I like it, a lot actually. Ok so I don’t love it like some of their other blends (Monsoon Oolong is to die for) but this certainly bridges the gap on this rainy afternoon.
Happy Steeping Everyone!