Azalina's Tea
Recent Tasting Notes
Chilling at home with the dog keeping an eye on all the tornado warnings. So far, none for my county but quite a few around us and several where my kids are. Hubby has to work through the storm, possibly all night if trees come down or we have more flooding, so here I am drinking tea, lighting candles and picking a good book to download.
Tea of the moment is Azalina’s Malaysian Black, paired with Peanut M&M’s cuz I am a grown woman and I can eat what I want. They are the pastel Easter ines which makes them even more delicious because they are cute.
First thought when steeping was, “Whoa! Pumpkin spice!” Then I decided it was much more of a Christmas blend aroma. I really assocaite clove and orange with Christmas. But the hint of lavender is really nice. It is just the barest hint and I could easily mistake it for rosemary.
I steeped it for just three and a half minutes because the leaves are so broken, and I am happy with the strength. It is not bitter or astringent, at least not with food, it might be a different story if I put the candy away.
No milk no sugar, as usual, and I find it very enjoyable. Thank you, derk, for the generous sample!
ETA: well, now WE have a warning! Currently in hall bathroom with dog.
ETA again! All is well!
Thank you for your well wishes! All is well and there was little damage – a few roofs blew off an hour or two away, some trees fell but really nothing major and I am grateful.
Roswell – I wish I could go back in time and give you a big hug and tell you not to be afraid! I went through a stage of being terrified in every thunder storm, watching the skies for a funnel cloud through the window constantly. I had nightmares about tornadoes. But one day I said to myself that I would pray about it and then what happens, happens. Somehow it made me not obsess about tornadoes appearing any more, although I still respect the warnings and take them seriously. But oh, poor child, being afraid like that! I am sorry you went through that.
Kittenna – I think it must have been mostly based on rotation. There were warnings all over the state, power went out here and there, but overall it was not nearly as bad as we were concerned it might be.
Glad you all are safe. Scary stuff.
This is a tea I picked up from the co-op in San Francisco. It’s blended by a restaurant called Azalina’s at the edge of both of my old neighborhoods. I had never heard of Azalina’s probably because it’s located in the Twitter headquarters.
Really, this is an incredible blend if you like strong flavors. Crushed/chopped black tea leaf, tons of lavender, huge chunks of orange peel, clove, star anise and vanilla beans. They all meld together seamlessly, creating a smooth, vanilla sweet yet spicy and lavender-cooling bold black tea. The orange peel is sweet and floral compared to a more pungent tangerine peel. A little mineral and oily, doesn’t get bitter or astringent. Leaves a slight tingly spice in the mouth.
I imagine the flavors are strong enough to create a killer latte or milk tea. In my usual fashion, I drank it straight. 2tsp, 8oz, boiling, 2 steeps at 2-3 and 5 minutes. With the second steep, the black tea is pretty much depleted but the other ingredients still make a tasty brew. Very much recommended if you ever come across it!
Preparation
That does sound like a winning flavor combo. But I’ve always been biased towards teas with lavender.
Evol Ving Ness, I’d be happy to send you a modest sample free of charge and nothing in return since I have a huge swap from Togo to work through. Since the tea is mostly crushed would you be ok with a letter-sized envelope so that postage is cheaper to Canada? I will also pm you first week of May.
