Review: Chocolate Chipotle - Tea Chai Te

Type: Flavored Black (Chai)
Producer: Tea Chai Te
Origin: Assam
Brewing Parameters: 2 tsp, 1 part boiling water, 2 parts heated milk, 6 min. for 8 oz. (recommended)
Appearance: A dark orange powder (chipotle, chocolate, cardamon, cinnamon, and more) with small CTC leaves and anise
Rating: A- | 91/100
# of Brews: 1

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
First off, this tea has a ridiculous amount of powder; it seems like there's more spice than there is actual tea. It smells great, but the ratio of flavoring to leaf is something I haven't seen before. Brewing it like the caramel creme brulee chai, it came off a bit darker and a light tan/brown color. The smell is very chocolatey, with the spicy chipotle coming in second.

Reading some reviews for this tea, people say that it's very spicy. I didn't get that; while it is somewhat spicy, the milk does a good job of masking it. The main flavor is a creamy chocolate with cinnamon. Like most other chais, the spice stays in your throat after drinking and comes out when you breathe. Overall, surprisingly good considering that I don't like spicy food that much.

Other Notes

Today's album is the unreleased Black Cab EP by Higher Brothers. I haven't listened to the entire thing (obviously because it's not out yet), but I found them through 88rising/Yaeji. Although I can't speak/understand Chinese, all of the songs currently out are actually pretty good. Beats are nice, they can rap really well, and some of them are pretty damn funny. My favorite song is 7-11.

I also got back from the UCLA weekend. I came in there with the idea that the chances of me going to Cal over UCLA is 90-10, but coming back, it's now 50-50. I have an amazing squad from there and we all text each other and have a ton of pictures. I love the campus/location, food, and people there, but the issues are that: 1. I don't have Regents, 2. it's pretty far from home (and my parents would have to drive 6-8 hours to get there), and 3. I'm unsure about the academics. I love Cal because I've been to it so often and know it so well, but my main issue is the people and competition; everyone at LA seems so happy and friendly, which is a vibe I don't get at Cal. I'm personally leading towards LA because I feel like undergrad should be about the experience and not the academics, but my parents are pissed about it. I have a week to decide, so we'll see, probably when I get back from DC.

Review: Caramel Creme Brulee - Tea Chai Te

Type: Flavored Black (Chai)
Producer: Tea Chai Te
Origin: Ceylon
Brewing Parameters: 2 tsp, 1 part boiling water, 2 parts heated milk, 6 min. for 8 oz. (recommended)
Appearance: Small, broken up black leaves with a few twigs
Rating: A- | 90/100
# of Brews: 1

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Quick review today because I have a ton of work to do. This tea smells amazing– very aromatic, but not too artificial– but for some reason, it's marketed as a chai. I see it more as a flavored black tea, because from looking at the tea, it's just leaves; I'm pretty sure chai usually has spices mixed in.

Anyway, although it's a flavored black in my opinion, I brewed it like a chai according to their instructions (3-4g instead of 2 heaping teaspoons, 4 oz water with 8 oz milk and temperatures aren't exact). After brewing, the liquid was a sort of gray-light brown with a strong caramel-vanilla scent. I didn't add any sweetener, but the milk and the flavoring of the tea is already pretty sweet on its own. There is a light cinnamon/spice taste, but it tastes mostly how it smells– like caramel and vanilla. It's very smooth, and with the milk, it's not bitter at all. Overall, if you like flavored teas, go for this; I like it. I can see it used as a cooking ingredient, and since it's pretty sweet on its own, you can make this in bulk and serve it pretty easily without having to figure out sugar/sweetener ratios.

Other Notes

Today's album is the Sophtware Slump by Grandaddy. I've heard Grandaddy before (AM 180 is my jam), but lately I've been on a binge of their albums after hearing a few songs from this album. Their style changes a lot, but this is a good concept album.

As I said above, a lot of work to do today. I've been pretty lazy over break, but now with the UCLA trip this week, finals starting next week, and comp civics national finals next week too, I need to get my act together. I'll try to do another review of the last Portland tea (Chocolate Chipotle chai) when I get the time to, but don't expect any more posts until the end of the month. See you all later! 

Review: Hazelnut Cookie - Spice and Tea Exchange

Type: Flavored Black
Producer: Spice and Tea Exchange
Origin: Ceylon
Brewing Parameters: 1 tsp, 8 oz. water,  212°F, 3 min. (recommended)
Appearance: Small, broken up and curled dark brown/black leaves
Rating: B+ | 89/100
# of Brews: 1

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Since this is a black tea with small leaves, and since it's flavored, I'm going to be brewing this Western style today as per the recommended instructions (4g instead of a teaspoon, and a bit more than 8 oz of water though). No milk or sweetener added, but I'll probably be adding those on my own time.

First things first– this tea smells amazing dry. The hazelnut smell really comes through, with very sweet and slightly caramel undertones. Brewing it, the tea came out an opaque, dark brown color still with the sweet hazelnut smell, but also a bit of earthiness characteristic of English Breakfast tea. The flavor itself is a bit bitter (may be because of the amount of leaf), with a bit of citrus sourness and earthiness. The hazelnut cookie flavor comes after, and its sweetness helps balance the coffee-like flavor of the base. The tea does go down pretty smoothly, but it does dry the throat slightly and leaves the sour taste on your tongue.

Overall, it's less sweet than Lupicia's cookie tea, but that doesn't mean its bad. Personally, I like it; I think it'd go well with milk and honey, and it'd be good for those who enjoy coffee.

Other Notes

Today's album is Art Angels by Grimes. Not sure how I found her, but lately, this album has been my jam. I like most of the songs on this album; my favorites are Kill v. Maim, Butterfly, and Realiti (demo version). All of the music videos for this album are trippy as hell, too, which is great.

So, last night I got off of work at around 11:30 PM. It was pouring; I gave my umbrella to my grandparents, so guess who had to run through the rain home. I didn't mind, though, because I felt really good by the end. I sprinted about half of the way, and then I realized, soaking head to toe, that there's no reason for me to rush home. There's something about spring rain that doesn't make you feel cold– you're soaking, but you're still strangely warm. Since I work at an ice cream shop, I brought some that I made and I ended up just sitting on the street sidewalk and eating, listening to the rain and continuing to get soaked. It was a great experience; afterwards, it felt like everything's going to be okay for the rest of this year, college, and later. Now, let's just hope I don't get sick again after that.

Review: Bao Zhong - Tea Chai Te

Type: Oolong
Producer: Tea Chai Te
Origin: Taiwan
Brewing Parameters: 1 tsp, 8 oz.  185°F water, 3-4 min. (recommended)
Appearance: Small-medium sized, loosely rolled dark green leaves
Rating: B- | 82/100
# of Brews: 6

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
I mentioned this in a previous post, but I'm not the biggest fan of Tea Chai Te. They have a great selection of teas and the store is a nice place, but the service there wasn't the best (compared to other, similar tea stores I've been to). Also, I'm not sure if this is just the teas I've gotten or if I'm brewing wrong, but they all seem to be very weak in flavor– today's tea is no exception.

If I had to describe this tea in three words, I'd call it a buttery milk oolong. After washing the tea, it smelled exactly like milk oolong– mainly grassy, and a bit creamy. The color of the brew was always light yellow. For the first set of brews, the flavor was savory and earthy, with butter and nuts as the main taste. There was also a light cinnamon aftertaste. As time went on, it became more fruity and floral, but as I mentioned before, it was a bit weak in taste (despite using 5g of leaf). It's a decent tea; however, I think I'll need to try experimenting with water temperatures, leaf, brew times, etc. to try and get a better flavor. It has the potential, but it's not there yet.

Other Notes

Today's album is the Animal LP by Big Scary. Now that it's the weekend, I need to start getting my act together and catching up on all the work I have– just one project for AP Gov and studying for all of my other classes. I've spent this entire break mostly relaxing, but these next two weeks are going to be busy as hell, so it looks like I got some work to do! 

What's Going On? (Life Update) 4/6/17

So, looking at the drafts, I actually planned to write one of these reviews in February right before the We the People State finals. I guess I got sidetracked, but all in all, everything's worked out in the end for me.

Let's split this up by topic. I'm just going to keep writing whatever comes to mind; I'm bound to miss a few, but I can always make up for it by putting whatever I miss in a later review.

Anyway! First: college applications. It finally ended on March 30, when I heard back from the Ivies (Brown and Cornell). Let's go chronologically. My first response was from Cal (UC Berkeley) on February 10; I was accepted early to the College of Letters and Sciences as an Interdisciplinary American Studies major and a potential Regents scholar. As a Regents candidate, I got to interview with a Jewish studies professor (who suggested I go into law) and do an overnight program in the dorms with the other candidates (one of the most fun times I've had, everyone I met was chill and I love the community of Berkeley). Then, I was accepted to UC Santa Barbara (environmental sciences) and Davis (biotechnology) as a Regents scholar. I was later rejected from Swarthmore and waitlisted at Amherst and Haverford, but accepted at UCLA (environmental sciences). Finally, on March 30, I was rejected at both Cornell and Brown, but I was awarded the Regents scholarship to UC Berkeley.

Now that I have my list of schools, I have to decide by the end of the month. Last weekend, I had my interview for the UCLA Alumni Scholarship (haven't heard back if I was accepted yet, so I'm not sure about that). UCLA's Pilipino Recruitment and Enrollment Program is also flying me in for Bruin Life Weekend, which, coincidentally, is on my birthday and I think will be interesting. I'm using it to see how the community is at UCLA, but I think I'm set on being a Cal Golden Bear– the benefits from the Regents program are amazing, mainly priority registration.

Next: We the People! I'm proud to say that my unit is the best unit 5 in all of California. Our team, too, is the best team in California; we beat our rival school from our town pretty handily, but it was a toss up between the team from Southern California and us. To be honest, the only reason why we won was because the team from Southern California had one unit screw up pretty badly, which gave us the small point difference. Now, for the past few weeks, we've been prepping for nationals in DC in two weeks. We're the team representing California, but that team from SoCal is coming in as the wildcard. Once again, I'm not sure how it's going to go. Our goal is top 10 in the nation, but there was been some drama with the team that looks like its worked out. In short, I was pissed at the team wasting an entire week when our coach was sick, wrote an angry letter, got people pissed at me, had some discussions, and now it looks like we're good. For nationals, I feel like I should be studying more, but at the same time, I trust myself and my unit enough to know that whatever happens, we tried our best.

And that brings me into my next point. Remember that girl I went on a date with during winter break? I don't know if I mentioned it before, but she's on the rival school's We the People team. We went on a couple more dates after the state competition; one time, we went to a book store and an arcade, and another time, I cooked dinner for her and we watched a movie. After we saw the movie, we talked, and she told me that she doesn't want to date because we're both heading to college soon. I agreed, so we're just friends now. I still can never tell what she's thinking though; she's hard to read and isn't that big on conversations through text. We're going to keep hanging out, and I think we're going paintballing sometime soon. I might ask her to ball, too, who knows? Also, I've started hanging out with her comp civics unit; they know a hell of a lot of philosophy, and we need their help for stuff like free expression and equality and all that. Also there's the fact that they're all just very cool people in general. They came to our team fundraiser, my unit's hung out with them a few times to discuss stuff, and yesterday, one of them came to my house to watch movies with us.

Lastly, just some interesting stuff that's happened lately. I wasn't expecting it, but I'm the best mock trial journalist in California! It was a pretty interesting state competition (first time the team's gone together in the last 5 years), with a bit of drama which is going on now, but a good way to end the season. We're the 6th best team, which is amazing considering that we haven't been to state in such a long time. I've also gotten a job at a local ice cream shop, where we make rolled ice cream. It sucks sometimes because it gets ridiculously busy, some of the managers can be dicks, and scheduling isn't always that great, but it's pretty fun other times. We get free ice cream, the owner is a chill guy, and it's relatively decent pay ($11) compared to most other places which pay part time workers less.

I'm gonna keep writing reviews until school or summer ends, I haven't decided yet. This is going to be a record of my high school experience, so I don't want it to bleed into my college life; I'd probably make a new blog for that. But, until graduation or move-in day, I'll try to keep giving updates about what's happening and writing about tea. After all, there's still a ton of teas I need to review.

Review: Ruby Oolong - Spice and Tea Exchange

Type: Oolong
Producer: Spice and Tea Exchange
Origin: Thailand
Brewing Parameters: 1 tbsp, 8 oz water, 195°F for 3-4 min. (recommended)
Appearance: Medium-sized ruby/dark amber colored balled oolong
Rating: B | 86/100
# of Brews: 7

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
It's been a long time since my last review, mostly because it's been a very busy past two months. I plan to catch all of you up on what's happened recently in a life update post (there's been a ton and I can't do it all in the Other Notes section). Anyway, I went to Portland for the first half of spring break and I got a couple of teas from Spice and Tea Exchange and Tea Chai Te that I plan to review.

So, the first tea I'm reviewing is ruby oolong, a "dark fermented oolong tea from Thailand known for its luminous infusion and rich, complex flavor." The price seems relatively normal for most loose leaf of his quality– $5.95 for 1 oz, or 28g. When I first brewed this tea, the leaves had a very strong roasted and smoky smell. The color of the brew was a light, yellow amber color which stayed relatively constant throughout the drinking session.

If I had to describe this tea, I'd say it's very similar to a Tie Guan Yin. The first few brews had a very strong roasted taste, with some nutty chocolate notes. It's smooth with a light cinnamon aftertaste. Interestingly, the flavor picked up more of a fruity taste as time went on, with a citrusy-raisin flavor (maybe like wine). Overall, it's a good tea, but again, I think I prefer fresh/greener oolongs. If you're into roasted oolongs, this might be for you.  

Other Notes

Today's album is Yaeji EP by Yaeji. Found them from Likido (the music group in NY with Mark Redito) and there are some pretty good ambient songs in here. My favorite is Feel it Out; the music video for this song came out recently, so if you google it you should be able to watch it. 

It's spring break right now, so I'll try to get a few reviews done before school starts up again on Monday. Here's what's planned for the other Portland teas:
Hazelnut Cookie black from Spice and Tea Exchange
Chocolate Chipotle Chai from Tea Chai Te
Caramel Creme Brulee from Tea Chai Te

Portland's a nice place, but personally I prefer San Francisco. It seems like a very white-washed SF– which isn't bad necessarily (love the food trucks there!), but I don't prefer it. I might need to spend more time there before I make a final decision, but the one day I spent there was just okay. We went to Powell's Books and Voodoo Donuts which was fun, and we also stopped at Tea Chai Te. Great selection of tea there, but I didn't think service was that great. The guy selling me the tea didn't seem like he knew a lot about it and was kind of a dick; he also overbrewed some velvet/milk oolong (which was deathly bitter and a bit hard to do).