Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Tea Description:
A robust and full flavored black tea accented with exotic imperial spices. The bold concentrated character of this lush black tea lends itself well to the full notes of cardamom, ginger and clove. The sweet hint of tropical coconut fragrantly fills the cup, offering an inviting taste of paradise to savor from any spot on the map. Delicious with a splash of milk. A bright and flavorful steep. Sunglasses not included.
Fair Trade Certified Indian Black Tea*, Cinnamon*, Ginger*, Cardamom Pods*, Whole Cloves*, Orange Peels*, Nutmeg*, Black Pepper*, Natural Coconut Flavor, Natural Cinnamon Flavor.
* Certified Organic
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I really have to be in the mood for a chai. Coconut Chai Tea from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea was really calling to me today. Sent to me from a Steepster.com friend, and I am happy for it, I am sipping a yummy chai with a nice hint at coconut, and a slight taste of vanilla. No vanilla is listed in the ingredients but I taste it nonetheless. Must be how the coconut gives the tea a light milky and nutty flavor combined with the typical spices in chai. Regardless, I am really enjoying this chai from Zhena’s.
Somehow I have managed to drink loose leaf for over a year now and had yet to have tried Zhena’s Teas. This is an excellent first introduction to this company.
I will say if you are expecting a really coconutty tea, this isn’t it. Honestly I would not mind a bit more coconut flavor myself, but I am satisfied with it being lightly flavored.
I had the first half of my cup straight, then added a little vanilla almond milk to the rest. It was excellent both ways but I think I prefer it straight which is interesting because most of my experience with chai has always been the tea mixed with milk of some kind.
I look forward to trying more of the teas offered by Zhena’s Gypsy Tea.
Jasmine Dragon from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Product Description:
WELCOME TO THE FRAGRANT AND DELICIOUS REALM OF AROMATHERAPY. This tea is the result of carefully crafted blending, to ensure that the essential harmony of the botanicals healthful properties yield a superb tea experience.
Full bodied green tea, scented many times with fresh jasmine. As the jasmine flowers blossom at night the tea is laid under a bed of petals, gently and naturally marrying the fresh aroma with the leaves.
Ingredients: Organic, High Grade Yunnan Green tea emboldened with the scent of jasmine.
Taster’s Review:
Alright, I admit it, I held off on trying this jasmine tea for a while. Not because I dislike jasmine teas, I love them. I held on to it because I wasn’t really expecting it to be much different from other jasmine teas that I’ve tried.
But it is. The green tea base used here is a Yunnan green, which lends a slightly spicier note to the cup. It’s a little less fruity, a little less sweet and buttery, and a little more peppery. It’s a little less vegetative as well.
What does all this mean to the jasmine? It means that this tea base allows different aspects of the jasmine flavors to come through. This jasmine tastes a little sharper, a little bolder, and a little less wispy soft. It has a much more solid taste with a sharp floral note. It might even be classified as a perfumed kind of taste, but not in an icky Aunt-Martha’s-cheap-perfume-in-my-teacup kind of way. It has a pungent, luxurious taste.
This is exquisite!
Coconut Chai from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Product Description:
A robust and full flavored black tea accented with exotic imperial spices. The bold concentrated character of this lush black tea lends itself well to the full notes of cardamom, ginger and clove. The sweet hint of tropical coconut fragrantly fills the cup, offering an inviting taste of paradise to savor from any spot on the map. Delicious with a splash of milk. A bright and flavorful steep. Sunglasses not included.
Ingredients: Indian black tea, organic cinnamon, ginger, cardamom pods, whole cloves, orange peels, nutmeg, org. black pepper, organic cinnamon essential oil, organic coconut flavor.
Taster’s Review:
I guess it’s no big secret – I love chai blends! Now, when I say “chai” – I am using the word to describe what those of us in the United States have come to know as “chai” – that is, a tea or tisane that is comprised of a combination of warming spices such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger and/or cardamom … just to name a few. Some chai blends have fewer spices than those I just listed, some have many more.
I think that’s one of the things that I find so intriguing about chai blends. I like the warm spiciness of it, and I like how the different variations of spices can lead to totally different tastes… some being more bold, some being lighter; some being more focused on one or two spice ingredients, and some being very even toned – so much so that it’s hard to tell where one spice ends and another begins.
This is an incredibly delicious chai blend from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea. The coconut lends a sweet, creamy flavor to the chai blend, making it unnecessary to add milk or cream to make this a latte. No, I’m not saying this is already a latte, but it does already possess some of that creamy, sweet factor that is very much like a latte. Of course, if you wish to add it, it is perfectly delicious with this addition (and for an unbelievably delicious and decadent chocolate coconut chai latte, try adding some dark chocolate breve crème!)
I have previously reviewed this chai blend, and I enjoy it now just as much as I enjoyed it then. It has a very pleasing spice level that is not too spicy and not too tame. The nutmeg is a nice addition and is a spice that I do not see very often in chai blends, but one that I think adds a nice dimension of flavor, especially to this blend, as it enhances the coconut flavor nicely. The orange is also a nice addition, and rounds out the tropical taste of this chai.
A very nice, comforting chai and one of my favorite teas from Zhena’s!
Egyptian Mint from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Company Description:
One of our tastiest and most popular infusions blends the ancient principles of Ayurveda and Aromatherapy to promote relaxation, focus and smooth digestive energy. With its heady aroma, this soft steep is flavorful, distinctive and calming. Peppermint is soothing to the digestive system and promotes focus and clear thinking. Stevia leaves from Paraguay, awaken the senses and please the palate.
Ingredients: Organicly grown Ceylon Green tea, organic Egyptian peppermint & organic South American Stevia leaf create a slightly sweet cup with just the right balance of tannin and mint. Traditionally drunk with sugar on the hottest days of the year in Morocco in gold lined glass tea cups.
Taster’s Review:
Tonight, I am revisiting an old friend! I have enjoyed this tea previously, and have even written a review about it previously.
This tea tastes very fresh and clean without being too overwhelmingly minty. That is to say, that I enjoy mint, but sometimes too much mint in the teacup can be a bit… well, too much for me. Fortunately, this cup has a nice balance of flavor: mint with a pleasantly sweet green tea flavor.
Because of its somewhat mellow character, this makes a very refreshingly crisp iced tea as well as a restorative hot tea. It has a slightly sweet flavor to it already, so you needn’t add any sweetener. However, I do recommend trying a thin slice of lemon with this tea. Yum!
Raspberry Earl Grey from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Product Description:
The floral aroma of juicy raspberries is perhaps the perfect complement to the sweet citrus and full-bodied flavor of Earl Grey. This more exceptional version of this classic tea is artisan hand-crafted in small batches and infused with only top-grade essential oils of real fruit to brew a sweet, succulent cup.
Ingredients: Ceylon & Indian Black tea, with Italian Bergamot, Freeze-Dried Raspberries & organic Raspberry flavor.
Tasters Review:
I like Earl Grey’s that think outside the box and this one certainly does!
Raspberry Earl Grey from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea is a medium-dark brown/Black Colored Tea. It has next to no scent once steeped. Prior to the steep it’s very pleasant…both raspberry and Earl Grey aroma circle the cup – waiting to be steeped. I used the bagged version of this tea. It’s an average Black Tea taste with nifty raspberry and orange undertones. I have enjoyed it in the past and still enjoy and like this tea for what it is…pleasant and not pushy.
