CSN Stores & BourgeaTEA Review

Back in January I hosted a giveaway for CSN Stores, and I’m sure you’ve seen a million other CSN giveaways in your Google Reader since then!  (I actually won two of them this month!) It was a great company to work with and so I was really excited when they contacted me again to either do a giveaway or review!  This time I switched it up and chose a review because I knew exactly what I wanted– a French press!  I had been borrowing Ryan’s to make tea and needed one of my own.  Even though I am not giving anything anyway, I hope you enjoy this post!  (Go enter my Origins giveaway if you want to win something.)

I chose the Bodum Chambord 12 Cup French Press, which is exactly like Ryan’s except his is 8 cups.  Per his recommendation, I did not look at any other brands!  Bodum does offer quite a different types and after researching them, I still stuck with the Chambord collection.

If you click over, it says that they are “coffeemakers,” but they are also for loose leaf tea!  I use them for the latter, but they are useful to make good coffee or tea!  Have you ever used a French press? I hadn’t until Ryan got one!

My transaction with CSN stores was very smooth with no problems!  (I had to pay a little extra because my $50 credit didn’t cover shipping.)  I quickly received the French press safe and sound and was excited to use it!  Of course, I needed some yummy tea to make and it turns out, I was in luck.

One of Ryan’s (many) jobs is working for BourgeaTEA as the “web master and media director.”  He just recently finished up the new website, where you can buy tea, read the blog, watch videos, etc.  Chris Bourgea, the guy behind the company, also goes to Anderson University and started this successful tea business a few years ago.  You have to read his awesome vision for BourgeaTEA….

“The vision of the company is to change the persona of tea from its stigma as a drink for older ladies in fluffy hats and young girls at tea parties to its splendor as an amazing, flavorful resource for all those who need something spectaculicious to drink. Throw yo’ pinkie up and let the TEA revolution begin!”

Anyway, Ryan was the first customer to order something off the new site, and Ryan let me use it first since he’s out of town.  :)  He ordered some Decaf Raspberry and mmmm, it smelled so good when I opened it!  I wish you could scratch and sniff the screen, but I don’t think it would work!

I don’t know if you can tell, but Chris puts a Bible verse in the tea leaf on the labels!  How neat!

If you’ve never used anything besides bagged tea, I would give the high quality, loose leaf tea a try!  Especially if you are a huge fan of tea like me… it is a little more work, but well worth it!

You just need a French press (apparently nothing other than the brand Bodum, I trust Ryan’s word) to make it and it’s really simple…

First, get some water boiling!  (With one of my CSN store gift certificates that I won, I am going to get an electric kettle to make this step even easier.)

Next, scoop some tea into your press. Honestly, I don’t know the exact measurement of tea to the amount of water, as I’ve just learned from watching Ryan.

See? It’s about that much.  Haha.  It covers the bottom of the container.  I never claimed to be a tea expert!

Then… once your water is ready, carefully pour it into your French press!  (I read a lot of reviews about their glass breaking, but Ryan and Chris have never had a problem with this.)  Also, depending on the type of tea (white, black, green), your water is supposed to be at different temperatures for perfection.

You can fill it almost to the top, but I didn’t need to make that much tea.

After you pour in the water, stir it so the leaves can expand in the container and steep at their full potential!  Don’t press it yet!

Make sure you set your timer for four minutes (for black tea) when you pour in your water.  Otherwise you may leave the room, forget about it, and realize what you did 45 minutes later.  Yes, I’ve done that before.  So absentminded of me!

When the timer goes off, you’re ready to press your tea leaves!  Slowly and gently push down the plunger until you reach the bottom.

Now all the leaves are separated from your tea and it’s ready!  The filter works really great and leaves no leaves behind.

You could pour it straight into a coffee mug if you like it hot… but when I want it iced, I pour it back into the pan I used for water and let it cool.  It’s just my method of doing things!

However, this time I did drink a cup of it hot and then later had some iced.  Either way, it was GOOD!  It was very fruity and sweet, and tasted just as yummy as it smelled.

A million thanks to CSN Stores for providing me with the French Press so I can enjoy bottomless glasses of tea!

Moral of the story: I would seriously recommend getting one for yourself and trying out some BourgeaTEA.