Tea Review: De Pelikaan Geurthee no 5

De Pelikaan, a Dutch tea company, made its debut in the US on May 7th at the Kikkerland Shop on Sixth Ave. Sara of Tea Happiness was the tea host! Read her write up of the launch event. Five teas were served at the launch event: an iced 'Mona Lisa Smile' (sencha, rose, strawberry blend), Geurthee no 5, Wijnhuis Melange, Gyokuro, and Rooibos.

I went home with 100g of Geurthee no 5 which is infused with bergamot. I enjoyed every cup of it. This surprised me. Why did I like this Earl Grey? Although the tea smells of bergamot oil, its flavors are smoky and earthy, like a subtle version of a Lapsang Souchong.

You can drink it with or without milk. I prepared it using 1 tablespoon per cup with an average steep time of 4 minutes.

Tea (a windup toy and tea filter, too) courtesy of Kikkerland. Special thanks to Sara for inviting me to the press event.

P.S. See the press gift bag reveal: 1, 2, and 3.

Afternoon Tea at Two E Bar, The Pierre

Social media has made it possible to make virtual friends and I've been lucky that it's even better to meet them in person. This was definitely the case when I met Lisa Kunizaki of Chambre de Sucre last fall at an afternoon tea at The Pierre's Two E Bar and Lounge. Alexis arranged the tea and Jee was a guest too. The Pierre gave each of us a lovely notebook. It makes a great prop! I am looking forward to using mine when one of my current notebooks is completed.  Now, on to the tea service.

I enjoyed most of the sandwiches -- I can't speak to the meat ones. The scones were good too and served with cream, lemon curd, jam. Butter cookies were served alongside the scones. The pastries were very good -- financiers, tartlets, meringues, madeleines, macarons. Thankfully each item was a small portion so one could eat one of everything.

This is my favorite photograph from the afternoon tea. If memory serves correct, it was the Assam.

Afternoon Tea at The Peacock

When I'm not writing about tea, I am reading and writing about animals and plants, though mostly the ones that inhabit cities. I am a nature lover. Because of the name, I was extra curious about afternoon tea at The Peacock in the William Hotel. I've seen live peacocks; they are stunning creatures. The taxidermied, I assume, peacock in the tea room was impressive.

Jee kindly made reservations for three (the two of us and Sara). Read Jee's review in which she writes about the reservation process. During that process we had to submit our selections for every aspect of the service. I missed perusing the menu on site! When we arrived, one other table was occupied, but we were the only ones in the room by the end of our tea service.

Coincidentally each of us selected the English Breakfast from Bellocq aka No. 01, Bellocq Breakfast, a blend of Indian, Chinese, and Ceylon black teas. What a great tea! Although I added milk to mine, it was equally perfect without. If I recall correctly, we ordered three pots. Each pot held exactly three cups of tea. The teaware was pretty; designed by Wedgwood.

Our sandwiches included cucumber, egg salad, roast beef, and salmon. The egg salad was fantastic. I would love the recipe (hint, hint, Chef Hicks). I can't speak about the roast beef but I liked the cucumber and salmon sandwiches too. Everything tasted freshly made.

The scones were also quite good. They were served with lemon curd and jam. We requested clotted cream.

I must admit I was excited to eat the desserts. I had never heard of the two we decided upon -- the Banoffee Pie and Bakewell Tart. The Banoffee is made of bananas and cream and toffee/dulce de leech, according to Wikipedia. I really like banana-based foods! The Bakewell tart was very sweet. Its main ingredients are jam and an almond sponge, also according to Wikipedia.

I didn't think the room was particularly dark but upon reviewing my photographs, it appears quite moody. I'd like to come back for the egg salad sandwiches, the scones, the Banoffee pie, and the Bellocq Breakfast tea. By the way, tea for two at The Peacock is $50.

Tea Review: TÊTÊ Himalayan Full Leaf White Tea

At TÊTÊ, we have just three varieties of tea - green, white, and black - all sourced from more than 5,000 feet from the Himalayas in Nepal. The teas are organic, but because they are grown by small farmers, they are not certified organic. -- Raunak Agarwal, TÊTÊ founder

Tea varietal information is not listed on TÊTÊ tea packets. When I received teas from the company, I followed up with Raunak for this information. The white tea is Bai Mu Dan (aka Bai Mudan or White Peony). The green tea is a pan roasted Darjeeling clonal and the black tea is a "highly oxidized oolong" also using a Darjeeling clonal.

I've been drinking the Bai Mu Dan and here's my review.

I allowed my water to cool below the recommended 200F. I used a tasting cup set as well as a teapot. With the tasting cup, I steeped about 1 tablespoon of leaves four times (1 thirty-second and three 1-minute infusions). I also prepared the tea using a short, wide teapot steeping the tea leaves for approximately 5 minutes.  My notes below are based on the tasting cup preparation.

The nose of the tea at the 30-second infusion was of hay and cream. The liquor tasted of stone fruit (apricot, peach) and smelled of spring flowers. Also, the tea had a thick mouthfeel. With the first two 1-minute infusions, the stone fruit flavor remained with the addition of a marzipan (almond) flavor. Chestnut is often the nutty flavor associated with Bai Mu Dan. By the third 1-minute infusion, most of the flavors had dissipated. (When I prepared this tea in a pot, it was drier in the mouth than when prepared with the tasting cup.)

Learn more about the TÊTÊ story here. Thank you Raunak for answering all my questions.