Tuesday 25 February 2014

Tea Tuesdays! (1): Today's Tea is...REDBERRY TONIC!

Since this is my very first post about tea on my blog, I wanted to show you a bit of the process! I've recently gotten obsessed with loose tea, and there are quite a few ways you can make it. You can get yourself a tea ball, a mug with an infuser inside, bags to put the tea in, a french press, a steeper, or even a tea pot with an infuser. :)

The first thing I bought to make myself loose tea with was a steeper, and the tea I'm sharing today is Redberry Tonic from DAVIDsTEA! I'm going to give you a bit of a step-by-step to let you see just how easy loose tea really is...I know I was personally SUPER overwhelmed with even the idea of loose tea before I started to drink it, but don't worry, it's really not hard at all!


Each tea is a little different. For each cup of tea you need a specific amount of loose tea, and each tea has a specific water temperature, and steeping time that you follow to get the best tea. And for DAVIDsTEA, all of that info is right on the little label on your bag or tin of tea.

For the one that I made, Redberry Tonic, you use 1.25 tsp of loose tea per cup. I was making two cups in my steeper, so I just doubled it. I put the tea on the small plate in the above photo to show you what this particular tea looks like. It's got rosehips and goji berries which add that lovely red colour...and they're super tasty, too! Anyway, that tea that I scooped out went into my steeper next. :)

Once your tea is added to your steeper, you pour your boiled water (preferably to the temp. that is listed for the tea you're brewing) right into the steeper, and onto the tea. You let it steep and once it has steeped long enough, you place your steeper onto the rim of your cup, and the tea will pour right in...but make sure if you're doing two cups, like I was, to watch how much is going into the first cup, or you'll have a bit of a mess on your hands. :P

Here's the finished product:

DAVIDsTEA Link: REDBERRY TONIC

Here's what DAVIDsTEA has to say about Redberry Tonic:
MAGIC ELIXIR
Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and get a taste of our revitalizing, tantalizing, exhilarating, invigorating tonic. Put some zip in your sip with tart and tangy hibiscus, rosehips, lemongrass and immortality-boosting goji berries. But that’s not all! We’ve harnessed the power of the legendary sea buckthorn wonder-berry, prized for centuries in Chinese, Indian and Tibetan medicine. You’ve got to see it to believe it folks, so get your hands on a cup today.

INGREDIENTS
Apple, rosehip, hibiscus, lemongrass, sea buckthorn, goji berries, natural sea buckthorn flavouring

I absolutely LOVE Redberry Tonic! It's kinda fruity, and is a bit sweet already on its own, but it's also a bit tart. It's caffeine free as well, so it won't keep you up, and it's REALLY REALLY good for you. ;P

As for the whole loose tea process, it that wasn't so hard, was it? :)

It's simple really:
  • 1. Pick a tea to drink!
  • 2. Measure out the right amount per cup. 
  • 3. Add to steeper/tea ball/tea bag/etc.
  • 4. Add boiled water.
  • 5. Steep!
  • 6. Pour (if in press/steeper/teapot) & Add sugar, milk, agave, etc.
  • 7. DRINK & ENJOY!
Honestly, steeped tea is pretty much exactly like tea that's already bagged for you! Hopefully, I've made it a little less daunting for you, and if you're already into loose tea, maybe I've just introduced you to a new awesome one to try! :D

Redberry Tonic is one of my favourite teas! 
I'm always up for tea recommendations though, do you have a favourite tea?

7 comments:

  1. Yum! I'm so new to David's Tea ... I really should try and get out there and buy some more! And I love their cups. :) I used to play a lot of gigs at Steeps in the city and they'd have LOADS of tea to smell and choose from. I think smelling each tea was my favourite part. I'd always come home from a gig with a new little tin of tea. I miss doing that!

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    1. You definitely should! You can even just get small bags if you have some you aren't sure of. :) I've gotten just 25g bags sometimes just because I'm not sure if I'll love it. :) Their cups are AMAZING! I really need one of my own. :P I have a steeper, a tea canteen, and one of their timolina travel mugs...but still no perfect tea mug. :P I love to smell the teas, too...it's so great. I finally went into Steeps for the first time a couple of weeks ago! It's such a cute place! :D You'll have to start going to check out tea every once in a while again. :) I really want to try out Teavana, too, since I really only go to David's Tea. :)

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    2. Kristilyn... imagine seeing you here! so funny! I found Ambur's blog and am catching up on her Tea Tuesdays posts... lol!

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  2. I love all the pictures you included in this post! I have to admit I usually just drink tea from a bag, as I drink a lot of tea and usually just go for easy. But indeed making loose tea isn't that hard either, I drank a few loose tea's in the past, they sell some great loose teas flavours that you can't buy in bags. This tea looks nice, I never heard of David's Tea before, it's probably not a brand they sell here in the netherlands. I usualy buy Pickwick, Lipton or a local supermarkt brand tea.

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    1. Thanks, Lola! Any kind of tea is good tea! :D It really isn't hard at all, and the different flavours is what I love the most! It's so great to have such variety! Ya, it's only in Canada and US right now, but maybe someday it'll be in the Netherlands, too! I've never had Pickwick, but I do like some Lipton's teas. :) I drink a lot of Tetley, too. The peppermint and chai are my favourites. :D

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  3. Wow, your steeper is very cool. I've never seen one like that. I used to use one of those tea balls, but had to throw it away because it's worn out and spills tea all inside the cup so what's the point. So now I only have cup with the insert thing so I have to wash it before I can have another cup. I got a couple new teas recently (regifted from my mom). I got White Chocolate Souggle Rooibos from Steeped (not the same as Steeps I guess) and Pumpkin Spice Brulee Oolong from Teavana. I guess they both had a dessert theme at Christmas!

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    1. It really is! It's pretty fun to watch it pour into the cup! :D I had someone show me one like it from Teavana on instagram, and it looked so awesome, so I just needed one for myself! Awe, that's too bad! Hmmm...I've never heard of Steeped! You're just teaching me tonnes of new tea brands! :D haha Christmas definitely has a dessert theme! :D

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