Sampling teas from Korea

Recently my friend Ginger in North Carolina e-mailed with an intriguing offer. The mother of a son's classmate gave her some Korean tea to try, and she was willing to share with me if I was interested. Naturally, I was happy to accept her kind offer. Clockwise from left are a packet of Matcha Ginger Latte, some roses and what I think may be chamomile flowers, pumpkin and yam tea sticks, and green tea.

I must say that "Pumpkin and Yam" is a new flavor to me, so I went for this one first. I opened it, poured the powder into a clear glass mug and thought, "Hmm." It smelled a little funky.

I added the amount of boiling water as Ginger had advised, and the result was a thick, creamy looking concoction. I looked. I sniffed. Again I thought, "Hmm." But then, what the heck, I took a sip. Interesting! This really tasted like a pumpkin bisque or broth, and I found myself looking for some saltines to go with it. So though I wouldn't necessarily scarf down this tea as I might a cup of Earl Grey, I did enjoy it in a "soup" kind of way.

The Matcha Ginger Latte was also a nice surprise. I can take matcha only in small doses, but I do like ginger (the tea as well as the tea friend, ha!). Here's what the powdered mix looked like in the glass tea mug.

I added hot water—you could also make it with cold water, the directions said—and whipped it up nice and frothy with a whisk. It didn't have that vegetal taste I associate with matcha, and it had heaps of ginger (you can't over-ginger anything for me), so this was a real hit! The plain green tea was good as well, though not nearly as exotic as these other new treats. Thanks, Ginger, for the new tea tasting experiences!