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return of the gigis, pt. 1: tea gigi

tea gigi

days are warmer and as humid as ever, so i've been having lighter meals, and lots of liquid refreshments. the gigis from imbb 15 have made several appearances, and are sure to make a few more. one of my absolute favourites is tea granita with fruit gelatin, and this one is made with pineapple vanilla black tea granita, pineapple juice gelatin, and fresh pineapple soaked in vanilla syrup.

lanikai tea canister

the tea is one of my all-time faves, from l'epicier, a japanese-based tea shop with branches worldwide. this particular tea, lanikai, is one of three exclusive hawaiian blends at their honolulu shop.

l'epicier lanikai tea

the tea is so beautiful to look at, with black tea leaves infused with bergamot, cornflowers, blue vanilla rock and dried pineapple chunks; you can only imagine how nice it tastes. a babelfish translation from the website only lends itself to its ephemeral air:

The seabed which was made with the lava. The various tropical fish which changes direction simultaneously and swims.
Fresh of the bergamot the fragrance heals the fatigue, leads to the seabed of the marine blue.

6 comments:

This I have to try, I have been making traditional granitas but since I'm Chinese, the tea granitas sould heavenly.

I wish that tea was available here in Manila!

Hi Santos,

WOW! I didn't know you liked that tea. It's really good isn't it? I also like the lychee flavored one as well.

I haven't been there to buy tea in a couple of months now. I think it's time to return.

hi gia-gina--i take leftover brewed tea and freeze them in small plastic bags for impromptu granita bashing :) green tea with passionfruit juice is a favourite at the moment.

hi toni! try making your own blends with a nice black tea (jasmine maybe), some dried fruit chopped up (mango, pineapple), and a few drops of extract (almond/vanilla). mix together well, store in an airtight container for a little while, then see what happens!

hi reid! i haven't tried the lychee one yet--something to look forward to the next time i get to ala moana!

one can safely say that the best way to describe tsogb is SEDUCTIVE.

This teas looks exquisite and although I have more than enough tea from Mariages Freres I will soon be on this website, maybe late at night...

I'm drinking the Lanikai tea now and it's WONDERFUL! So fragrant and light, but lots of island flavor! Great hot and cold I think. :) thanks for sharing this post!