Category Archives: Tea for Tuesday

August 25, 2015 · 7:00 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s 50 Shades of Earl Grey

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

50 Shades of Earl Grey

Tea(s) From: Sri Lanka
Region(s): Nuwara Eliya + Dimbula + Uva
Antioxidant Level: High
Caffeine Content: Medium

This is my last review in my Tea for Tuesday series. I hope you’ve enjoyed my reviews and that they are a help to everyone in selecting a tea that is right for you from Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic and Fair Trade Teas. If not, do what I did and order yourself the variety pack and sample them all for yourself! And while you’re on the site, be sure to order yourself a copy of Angie McCartney’s book, My Long and Winding Road. A used copy of her book sells for over $75 on Amazon, but you can get a brand new signed copy directly from Angie from her website. And in case you’re wondering, I get nothing from referrals to Angie’s site. I just think she’s swell, as well as her book and teas!

50 Shades of Earl Grey was a great way to end this series of reviews. This tea is grand! And even though I chose to pair it with a mixed fruit tart, you could enjoy this tea with just about anything. Morning, noon or night, this tea would be a delightful choice. Bold and floral, it’s the tea you dream of when you think of English tea.

Great job on this one, Angie…and we can’t help but love the name!

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August 18, 2015 · 7:00 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Penny Lane Peppermint

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Penny Lane Peppermint

Tea(s) From: Sri Lanka
Region(s): Nuwara Eliya + Dimbula + Uva
Antioxidant Level: High
Caffeine Content: Medium

What an incredible treat this tea was after last week’s disappointment. Penny Lane Peppermint isn’t just a mint tea…it’s a chocolate mint tea! Yes, chocolate lovers…this tea is for you. It’s a beautiful medium-dark tea with lots of flavor. And when I paired it with a creamy chocolate mousse, it was the perfect end to an otherwise stressful day. I will admit that I sweetened this one up just a bit more when I poured my second cup to get that creamy chocolate flavor to pop.

Love this tea, Angie! Good job…considering I’m usually not a fan of mint flavored teas, I’d buy this one in a heartbeat!

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August 11, 2015 · 7:00 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Golden Slumbers Herbal Green Tea

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Golden Slumbers Herbal Green Tea

Tea(s) From: China
Region(s): Zhejiang Province
Antioxidant Level: Medium
Caffeine Content: Low

There are days when I look forward to sitting down in the evening and relaxing with a cup of tea while sitting on my screened in back porch, so I was really looking forward to Golden Slumbers Herbal Green Tea long before I had to sit down and write this review. I chose to go the traditional American route and have this with a slice of apple pie.

As soon as I opened the bag to get out a tea bag, I was met with the sweet smell of oranges…my absolute favorite fruit! But it’s kinda interesting that the ingredients make no mention of orange being in this tea. Unfortunately, that’s going to be as good as this review gets. This is the first tea that I can say I was truly disappointed in. Despite my very best efforts to steep and stir the tea bag, this tea would just never get strong enough. I don’t believe it’s just my taste for strong tea that was the problem. There was barely a tint to the water after 7 minutes of steeping in the pot. I think if I didn’t add to lumps of sugar, I would have never finished it.

I’m afraid to say, but this one needs to be kicked up a notch, Angie. At least the pie was good….

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August 4, 2015 · 7:00 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Maharishi Peach

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Maharishi Peach

Tea(s) From: Sri Lanka
Region(s): Nuwara Eliya + Dimbula + Uva
Antioxidant Level: High
Caffeine Content: Medium

This review is coming to you from my four day silent retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, KY. Having been on this same retreat in 2012, I knew the monks were known for their fudge and fruitcake, so that’s what I chose to pair with my tea for this week’s review. And it only seemed obvious that Maharishi Peach should be the tea of choice for a stay at a monastery!

As I write this (by hand since electronic devices are not allowed here), it’s 10:30 on Saturday morning. I’ve attended 7:30 a.m. prayer, breakfast and the orientation/welcoming meeting. With a lull in the day’s schedule and seeing they had put out some fudge in the dining room, I took this opportunity to sit down to tea. I can report now that I made a wise choice in my tea selection!

The monk’s fruitcake is not like the brick of dried pastry you get during the holidays. Theirs is very moist and is more similar to a spice or carrot cake with dried currants. And now I know that it tastes great with Mrs. McCartney’s Maharishi Peach tea. The spice of the cake is a a great pairing with the peach and fruitiness of the tea.

As for the fudge, I let it melt on my tongue and then washed it down with the tea. What an amazing treat that was!

I love this blend, Angie!

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July 28, 2015 · 7:00 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Blueberry Meanie

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Blueberry Meanie

Tea(s) From: Sri Lanka
Region(s): Nuwara Eliya + Dimbula + Uva
Antioxidant Level: High
Caffeine Content: Medium

Since this week’s book review was for a book about Wings by John Taylor, who used to play in a Beatles tribute band called The Blue Meanies, it only seemed appropriate that this week’s tea review be for Blueberry Meanie tea! I paired this tea with Biscoff cookies.

According to the Mrs. McCartney’s Tea website, Blueberry Meanie is made from: Black tea, Elderberry + Raisin pieces, Hibiscus petals and Natural flavors. The black tea makes this a stronger tea like last week’s Good Morning! tea (just the way I like it), but it doesn’t have the berry flavor you would expect or find in the Liverpool Red tea. I caught a better taste (or should I say aroma) of the blueberries in the after taste and when I exhaled through my nose from the linger tea on my palate after taking a sip. And though this tea contains hibiscus petals, I didn’t get catch any floral flavors. But your mileage may vary.

This was a very enjoyable tea and I look forward to having another cup in the future.

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July 21, 2015 · 6:20 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Good Morning! British Breakfast Tea

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Good Morning! British Breakfast Tea

Tea(s) From: Kenya / India
Region(s): Nandi Highlands / Assam
Antioxidant Level: High
Caffeine Content: Medium

Good morning from steamy and hot New Orleans! My original plan was to enjoy this tea with a couple of warm beignets at the famous Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter. Unfortunately, it was much too hot outside to sit at their outdoor cafe with anything hot. Instead, I enjoyed this tea with a simple,yet healthy, granola and yogurt parfait at the lovely restaurant at our hotel.

Good Morning! British Breakfast Tea is a beautiful and fuller tea than all the previous ones I’ve reviewed so far. Since I didn’t have my own tea pot, I was forced to make individual cups from the carafe of hot water I was brought, but I was able to enjoy two full cups from one tea bag. My first impression was that this was a very floral blend, but when I offered a taste to my husband, his first impression was the taste of lemon. This tea is named very appropriately as a breakfast tea. It’s a beautiful way to give you just the right kind of pick-me-up to start any day.

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July 14, 2015 · 6:30 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Rockstar Rescue

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Rockstar Rescue

Tea(s) From: Egypt / South Africa / Bulgaria / Germany / Vietnam
Region(s): Nile River Delta / Cederberg / Ludogorie / Black Forest / Mekong Delta
Antioxidant Level: Low
Caffeine Content: None – Caffeine Free Herb

It’s been a tough week in the Beatles Freak Review office and on the home front. I’ve been busy cleaning out my late parent’s home to get it ready for settlement next week. It’s been emotional and tiring. I’ve also been trying to get ready to take Beatles Freak Reviews to New Orleans this coming weekend. Fear not, my loyal readers, I will be posting from the Big Easy!

With everything going on, today was a great time for a cuppa Rockstar Rescue from Mrs. McCartney’s Tea selection. Here’s my review:

This having been a hard week, I truly looked forward to the decaffeinated tea for one of my afternoon breaks. This tea is made from rooibos, chamomile, linden + passion flower petals, lemon balm + lemon verbena leaves, anise, cinnamon, orange pieces and oat. I really thought it would be the cinnamon and anise that would stand out flavor wise, but it was the citrus-y lemon and orange that came through. It went very well with the pear tart with almonds, but didn’t mesh well with the chocolate. Definitely a tea to enjoy with any type of fruity tart or possibly apple pie.

This is definitely a tea that I will be enjoying in the evenings when the colder months move in here.

This week’s tea was paired with a pear tart, dark chocolate ganache and Meringue from the Strawberry Bakery in Malvern, PA.

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July 7, 2015 · 6:15 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Strawberry Green Fields

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Strawberry Green Fields

Tea(s) From: China

Region(s): Hunan Province

Antioxidant Level: High

Caffeine Content: Low

Once again, I made this tea in a small pot with 2 cups of water for one tea bag. I let it steep for 7 minutes and paired it with a slice of triple chocolate mouse cake from my local Wegman’s market.

Strawberry Green Fields is made from Green tea, Papaya and Strawberry pieces. Like the Liverpool Red tea, it’s the fruity aroma that will be the first thing to hit your senses as you raise the cup for a sip. Despite it’s name and aroma, it’s the green tea flavor that stood out more than anything for me. The fruit taste is there, but I honestly couldn’t have told you that it was made from papaya and strawberry had I not been told.

Strawberry Green Fields is an enjoyable light tea and I don’t believe the extra 2 minutes steeping time in the pot strengthened it any. At first, I thought it was the way I was making the tea, but after having afternoon tea in Philadelphia over the weekend, I realized that liking stronger tea is just my personal taste. When I get the time to enjoy the second teabag of Strawberry Green Tea that came in the variety pack, I will most likely use it in a large cup and forgo the teapot as I tend to like my tea a little stronger.

For more information, go to: Strawberry Green Fields

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June 30, 2015 · 7:30 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Liverpool Red Tea

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Liverpool Red Tea

Tea(s) From: South Africa

Region(s): Cederberg

Antioxidant Level: Medium

Caffeine Content: None – Caffeine Free Herb

My method for making tea: Pour .5 litre bottle of spring water into kettle and bring to boil. Pour water into teapot over teabag. Steep 5 minutes. Pour into cup over 2 sugar cubes. Makes 2 servings.

I chose the teas to review in random order, but I gotta say I’m happy with my first choice: Liverpool Red Tea. This is a rooibos based tea and is caffeine free (something us caffeine sensitive people appreciate). The aroma from this tea is amazing and the elderberry and blueberry really standout as it’s steeping in the pot. Incredible fruity taste, but probably could have steeped a minute or two longer…something I’ll try to remember when I make this again after a hard day’s night.

I did encounter one small issue, though, but I’m happy to report that it was easily rectified once I figured out what it was. I had selected Burton’s Rich Tea biscuits to pair with this particular tea and that turned out to be a huge no-no. The flavors just didn’t blend well at all. For the Americans, Rich Tea Biscuits are very similar in taste to Nabisco Animal Crackers. Once I put the cookies aside, the tea was wonderful. I tried to think of what I would pair this tea with, but I came up blank. I was honestly too busy closing my eyes and relaxing to think about it.

This tea can definitely stand on it’s own as a nice relaxing tea in the afternoon or evening without any cakes or cookies. Enjoy!

For more information, go to Mrs. McCartney’s Teas: Liverpool Red Tea

Helpful link about afternoon tea: Afternoon Tea Etiquette – Top 10 Dos & Don’ts