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Rarely do I write about any one specific tea here. My leafy ramblings tend to drift to tea at large and pointing people to the tea reviews section, which is closing in on 80 reviews at this point.       But, every so often some crazy tea comes along that I feel like writing about. I this case, it is the tea from Ineeka. They're one of these new tea blenders that's all about green this and free trade that and conservation here and organic there. These are all good things and I'll always support a product that purports to be made with these ideas in mind. It's just that it seems like everything and everyone has jumped on this bandwagon. For now, this is a good thing. I just hope that the fad won't inevitably fade and we'll go back to sludge and Twinkies.       Anyways, back to the tea at hand. Beyond all the catchphrases, this is very, very good tea. I tried the Himalayan Black as an introduction to their teas. It is simply one of the best black teas that I've ever had. The tastes qualities are wonderful and they damned well better be as it's one of the most expensive bagged teas on the market.       But these bags that they sell the tea in warrant some special attention. They're freakin' wild. Not content to just be a standard paper bag or even a fancy silken bag like Mighty Leaf uses, they made a teabag that has, yes, "wings". I know it sounds like a maxi pad slogan, but I don't know how else to describe it. The bag has these little wings that fold out to sit on the edge of the cup. Then you actually open up the bag to pour the water inside as opposed to just letting it soak in from the outside.       I have no idea if this actually brews a superior cup of tea or if it's just that the leaves they use are high grade and well-processed. Whatever the case, the end result it mighty tasty. I just need to move on and try some of their others now!

I think there are two reasons that I'm such a tea nut and love doing my Tea Reviews. The first reason was a trip to London in 2004 where I was exposed to good tea for the first time and got hooked. The second was due to this bit I saw on Good Eats where Alton Brown went in to the depths of food geekness in talking about tea. It was a good show, but it was his "recipe" for the perfect cup that really got me hooked on tea and as any reader of this site knows, it's a bit of a passion for me.       One thing that Alton went on and on about was the need for perfect water when making tea. I had been somewhat taking this for granted because I brew at home or get a cup where they boil the water properly. It wasn't until I tried using the hot water in the office water cooler that I realized how important it was to have good, properly boiled water. I would rather be tired and un-caffeinated than drink tea made that way because really, it sucks.       It wasn't until recently at one of my sometimes offices where I pointed out the fact that the coffee drinkers get all these fancy coffee pots, $500 espresso machines, and what not, while the tea drinkers are stuck with the crappy hot water thing on the water cooler that makes me prefer Starbucks. So, after much hassling, I managed to have them get an electric tea kettle. Specifically, this on from Sunbeam. The only catch (which I didn't think of as an issue at first) was that it's made of plastic. This probably isn't a big deal to most people seeing as how nearly every damned thing is made of plastic these days, but really it makes a difference. While this pot will actually get the water to a rolling boil, there is something never quite right with it. Tea doesn't steep as dark as it does at home and there is always this slight air of plasticness to it that I don't quite care for.       All things told though, I greatly prefer this over the water cooler and it is a lot better than spending $2 every time I want a cup of hot water and Indian leaves. Still, it's not great and short of having a gas burner with a proper Chantal kettle (god I love these) in the office, I believe this is the best I will get. Quite obviously, I need my own company and office...

If you follow along in the Tea Reviews section, then you're very aware of how much I like tea. One unfortunate personal downfall is that despite my love of the leaf, the ability to make the perfect loose leaf cup seems be an elusive goal for me. This tends to result in the cop out of using bags and while they're good, they're not really ever as perfect as loose leaf can be, when made right of course. They also happen to be considerably more expensive and less environmentally friendly, since pure tea leaves are so easy to compost and recycle.       But, it seems that with hundreds of attempts under my belt, I'm starting to get closer to figuring out proper loose leaf methods. My problems all seemed to revolve around the amount (I put in too much) and the steep time (I let it sit too long). About a pinch and a half from my big monkey fingers seems to be the right amount for a single cup that is laced with a lot of flavor, but not too much flavor to the point of being overwhelming. As for the time I've been letting it steep, this is still something of a work in progress. At times, I get it just right by leaving it shorter than what seems should be enough time to me. But still, I'm over steeping just a little much. If I pay attention to the color that seems to help.       I'm sure I'll get it right someday and while this is a silly pursuit, at least it's not a costly one since the only things I need are tea leaves and boiling water. There is no $400 machine that I need like in coffee and the fact you have to "meditate" a bit to get the cup right is something that I like. Anyways, I've got a large lot of loose leaf samples coming from a tea blender for me to review, so I'll get more practice and more reviews up in due course.

I've been lucky to get samples from various tea blenders (no, not makers, blenders) lately and have imparted my experiences in my ever-growing Tea Reviews section. Yes, it's an odd blend for a web developer to be a tea and not a coffee drinker, but such is the case when around Russians for a good long time. And there's something to be said about the slowness you drink a cup of tea as opposed to the typical downing of coffee. I equate it to the difference between drinking wine and drinking beer. Naturally, I happen to be a wine drinker as well.       Anyways, I've been reviewing my ass off and just wanted to point out my most "edgy" tea review to date, here. I know that it really pushes the boundaries of what a tea review should be, but hey, this is the way I roll and if you don't like it, get off the Hudin Express right now.       I'll hopefully get a few more samples in the next few days of tasty things to try. Off to some Chamomile Citrus to knock me out tonight though, since I feel kinda craptastic.

So, fresh on the heels of my pleasureable tea experience in Ljubljana, comes the confrontation of Franck again. Oh Franck, how I hate you so much.       But, as I was looking at my cup I was having in Maksimir Park over the weekend (beautiful place by the way), I realized that it was not the fault of this poor unsuspecting bag. It started life on a bush, growing and happy. It was plucked, shipped and then ended up in a bag in Zagreb. It is innocent, just the victim of circumstances.       I realize now that it must be the near-total mob control of tea distribution in Croatia that has led to this disaster. Franck is like the Starbucks of this land. They sniff out any who deviate from the norm and muscle them in being part of the "Franck Family". I see no other way for this to make sense. You see Franck signs everywhere.       Maybe someday this will change and better tea will be brought forth to the country, especially if they join the EU. Until then, Franck will continue its stranglehold on this poor, unsuspecting country.       You know, to be honest, it is not as bad as I remember. It is still crap, just not as bad a crap. I guess I will go and raise its rating in the tea area.

Having never really spent much time in Slovenia and having spent a good deal of time in Croatia, I assumed that the tea situation here was much the same as across the border; basically, that it sucked. I have been pleasantly and happily surprised to find that this is not the case. They understand tea and make it very, very well. They do loose leave and they do bags and they like it.       Croatia has a national brand called Franck and it is pretty horrible. Slovenia also has a national brand that you seem to get anywhere which is called 1001 Cvet. I believe that this translates in to 1001 Flowers, but I am not sure since my Slovene is rather lacking. It is not a bad tea at all. In fact, I quite like it. Of course, it does not compare to the two tea shops I have spent much of my time at on Stari Trg (Old Square) in the old town. One is at the end at Stari Trg 30 and the other is more towards the center, but I do not know the address. I also can not remember the names, so I am being a complete ass in writing this.       The one shop more towards the center (cross the main bridge, hang a right and walk about 200 meters or so, it is on your left) does all loose leave brews in traditional ways and has a really wide selection. It is such a nice place that I would love to see something like it in San Francisco. Maybe this already exists and I have yet to discover it.       Naturally both of these places serve coffee (kava) as well and for those who like coffee, they say it is damn good. The one advantage of the one at the end of Stari Trg is the fact they have a good assortment of ice cream and you can never go wrong with ice cream. All that may be lacking or off-putting with the tea in Croatia is more than made up for with the ice cream. Damn it is good. So good. So damn dig didley good.

I just realized that despite my large fascination with tea, I haven't really written about it in awhile. My tea reviews section is a little out of date with what I've been tasting lately, so I suppose I'll have to go in there some day and update things. Until then, I guess I should mention a new one I've tried - Harney Tea.       These are a tea blender that is in New England and seem to have been plying their craft for awhile. Lately, I've tried their Irish Breakfast, English Breakfast, and Paris blends. Both of the breakfast teas were good. They didn't come close to blowing my number one (Breakfast Americana) away, but they're good and I would drink them regularly if need be. I think I prefer the Irish a bit more than the English as it seems to have more body. The English Breakfast is a bit weak for my taste, but I like pretty serious black teas, so if you're in to the lighter kind, this may be for you.       As for the Paris blend, I have to hand it to Harney on presentation. The tin you get with the sachet bags looks great. It's a perfect gift to give to someone you want to impress but not spend too much money on. As for the taste, it's not quite my thing. It's a tad floral and what not. If you like a somewhat flowery tea, this could work. If you like a more straight-flavored black or green tea, I think it could be too much.       These are the only ones I've tried of their's, so I have a few more to get in to, but so far so good. I'd definitely recommend them as a good tea blender.

When I was in Croatia in 2004, I had this tea that I found to be their version of Lipton, called Franck. It was terrible and I've ranted about it before. I didn't really think it could get any worse, but as of my last trip, I've discovered Cedevita, which seems to be a company that got encouraged by the fact Franck could sell such a horrible product and thusly looked to out do them.       Bad is pretty much a compliment with this stuff. It's something akin to drinking slightly flavored sawdust in a bag. Naturally it doesn't help that the Croatians are more in to coffee and you usually don't get hot enough water to brew with, but even when properly prepared, this stuff is foul.       I found it funny that I ran in to it for the first time up in Zagreb. It's probably because they have what appears to be a manufacturer plant on the outskirts of town (you can see it on the train from Zagreb to Ljubljana.) But it may also be just because it's cheap. Whatever the case, it should not exist and honestly it's surprising that it does as I've had tea that, while I don't recognize the brand, is good tea in Zagreb. It seems that they've been catering to the more western palates there for awhile and where this bastard tea came from remains a mystery.

In one word, it is called "Franck" and quite franckly, it's pretty damned awful. My heart goes out to the poor people who have to work in the factory where its produced, since they're making a really lousy product. Of course, tea consumption in this former Socialist country is not what it is in places like Russia or England, so its understandable that it may fall behind the curve a little bit. Even with taking that into account though, I think this stuff is in a class lower than Lipton.       Being a tea snob is of course a hard thing, since you expect the stuff to taste good and you get spoiled being in the US where we import every kind of tea leaf that's good. For instance Mighty Leaf www.mightyleaf.com is some great stuff, albeit for people who really want the stuff. You just can't get anything like that in Croatia, except for Zagreb where they have a better selection of teas. Along the coast its either Franck or some kind of fruit tea that's actually worse than Franck because it's inordinately sweet and has no blessed caffeine in it. On the other hand though, I hear their coffee is superb, so if that's your thing, you're in luck.       So, just keep in mind. If you're a tea drinker going to Croatia, bring your own supply and get ready to ask for hot water, because Franck will make your mind go crazy.

Tea is good and nice. I've grown quite fond of it since I started drinking it two years ago. I started on on some of the basic mixes and what have you, but since then, I've moved on to fancier and naturally, more expensive teas.       Here are some of the ones I've grown fond of:       Mighty Leaf - www.mightyleaf.com       Peet's - www.peets.com/shop/tea.asp       Equator - www.equatorcoffees.com/pages/tea.html       Twinnigs - www.twiningsteashopusa.com       Happy browsing and good health to ya!