Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea People
Tea Description:
Ginger and lemon flavours are a match made in heaven. Add to that luxury Ceylon,which by the way, are considered an aphrodisiac. And you have your perfect honeymoon tea! Of course you don’t have to be on your honeymoon to have our Sunny Ceylon. With bits of pineapple,sunflower and calendula petals, it is guaranteed to bring you a taste of warm sunshine in the gloomiest of days.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m always excited to try teas from a new-to-me company, and this Sunny Ceylon Flavored Black Tea is the first that I’m tasting from Tea People! I chose this tea to try first because it’s been so cold and gray over the last week – not that I dislike this kind of weather, I actually prefer it to the sunshine – but, after a week of not seeing the sun, it’s kind of nice to have a bit of sunshine in my teacup.
When I opened the package and smelled the tea, it has a very sunshine-y kind of fragrance: bright and lemony! The brewed tea is not quite as citrus-y as the dry leaf, but I can smell the ginger and hints of lemon along with the distinct aroma of black Ceylon tea.
The flavor is nice! Even though the bouquet of the dry leaf suggested that this might taste very strongly of lemon, it’s not quite as powerful a flavor as I expected. Oh sure, I can taste the lemon in every sip, but, it doesn’t overpower the other flavors in my cup and that’s a really good thing. I can taste the ginger, I can taste the lemon … but mostly, I taste Ceylon tea!
It is a brisk tea with a medium body with an astringency that I’d categorize as fair to moderate. It is a cleansing astringency – after I’ve taken a sip, my mouth feels clean and dry, like it’s ready for another sip! But don’t mistake astringency for bitterness, because this isn’t bitter. (Although, as with any tea, I wouldn’t recommend oversteeping it because that could cause it to become bitter.)
The lemon adds a bright, sunny taste to the cup (hence the name!) The ginger is very mellow here, adding just a hint of warmth to the cup without tasting spicy. When I slurp the tea, I can taste very subtle whispers of pineapple which accentuate the lemon nicely. There isn’t enough pineapple here to offset the two primary flavors: lemon and ginger; there is just a hint of something a little extra that intrigues the palate to explore.
As the tea continues to cool (and I continue to sip) … the lemon becomes more apparent, and now that I’m about halfway through the cup, the lemon almost tastes as though I squeezed a thin slice of fresh lemon in my teacup. it’s very bright and juicy!
A really nice tea, and it turned out to be the perfect choice for this rather gray day! I can taste the sunshine in my teacup even if I can’t see it when I peek out my window! This joyous tea experience makes me look forward to trying some other teas from Tea People!
Sea Breeze Tisane from Eden Grove
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: Amazon Trading
Ingredients:
Hibiscus, Chai, Rose Hip, Calendula Flowers, Lemongrass, Mango, Pineapple, Papaya, Cinnamon Bark, Cardamom, Cloves, Orange & flavors of Mango & Pineapple.
Learn more about Amazon Trading here.
Taster’s Review:
I didn’t have high hopes for this Sea Breeze Tisane from Eden Grove. When a tisane sports hibiscus as its primary ingredient, that doesn’t sound promising to me.
But this isn’t too bad. I brewed it for just 5 minutes in 195°F water. Usually when I brew a tisane with hibiscus, I keep the steep time to 5 or 6 minutes to keep the hibiscus from overpowering the cup. When hibiscus steeps too long, I find the resulting liquid to be too tart and too thick and syrupy. Fortunately, at five minutes, this tea does not taste too tart, nor is it too thick or syrupy.
I do taste the hibiscus, but I can taste other flavors too! I taste the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. I like these spice notes. They offer a wonderful contrast to the sweet notes of the fruity notes. There are notes of mango, papaya, orange and pineapple! I taste notes of mango and pineapple mostly, but I can also taste hints of citrus as well as papaya.
I still find myself wishing the hibiscus wasn’t there, because the tartness of the hibiscus is still strong here, even with the short steep time. I like this alright, but, it hasn’t been my favorite tea that I’ve tasted thus far from Eden Grove.
Mamma Mia White Tea Blend from Shanti Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
The phrase ‘Mamma Mia’ has popped up quite a bit in popular culture: once as a 2008 American-British musical/romantic comedy film, again as a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, and also as a song from ABBA. But in Italian, Mamma mia literally means “my mother”, and is an exclamation used in situations of surprise or anguish. In our case, we’ve adopted this phrase to mean “Wow, what an awesome tea!”.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I brewed Mamma Mia from Shanti Tea, I expected it to be a very floral tea. The photo is very true to what I saw when I opened the package: white tea combined with lots of petals and lavender buds.
The dry leaf smells amazing … and the brewed tea is even more fragrant! Notes of sweet lavender and aromatic rose. It’s beautiful. And the taste … like the appearance and fragrance … is quite floral.
But there’s more to it too. There is a hint of a wine-like flavor to this tea, like a sweet white wine or perhaps one of those fruity pink wines, because this has a distinct fruity tone to it. I taste notes of currant and raspberry.
And the white tea is not overpowered by the flavors in this cup, either. There is a sweet, hay-like note to this … notes of vegetation … it’s a very fresh, crisp and clean taste. The finish is clean, and there is a faint aftertaste that is sweet and even a little tart. I like that even though this is a very floral tea, I’m not getting a heavy floral aftertaste. The flowery taste lasts during the sip, but, I don’t feel this perfume-y note on the tongue after the sip is gone.
I find myself in total agreement with their last sentence of the above description: “Wow, what an awesome tea!” Indeed! I seem to fall more in love with this company with every new tea I try from them!
Vanilla Sky from Steep City Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Steep City Teas
Tea Description:
“Just remember, the sweet is never as sweet without the sour, and I know the sour ”-Vanilla Sky.
Well, we know the sour, so we only bring you the sweets. Inspired by the movie’s frozen picturesque sky, this blend will leave a smooth, soft, velvety vanilla note wrapped with a slight grenadine touch. It really is a beautiful vanilla sky for your taste buds to behold.
Ingredients: Black tea, calendula, sunflower petals, and natural flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Vanilla Sky from Steep City Teas is their version of what many of you may know as Monk’s Blend.
There is a trick to this tea however, and it fairs far better when iced. I do not find this to be as true with Monk’s blend from a couple other companies I have tried, but with Steep City’s Vanilla Sky it is so much better when you let it cool to a room temp or even slightly cool. The vanilla flavor comes out so much stronger, and the grenadine is more present as well.
This is not a tea for everyone, I have seen many reviews for other companies Monk’s Blend get varied reviews – more of a love it or hate it, to middle of the road, meh type of tea. What I have found however may change some people’s opinions of this blend. Also I have seen that many people just don’t care for grenadine. Regardless if you have this tea, from Steep City or another vendor in your stash, give it a try cooled, or even iced or cold brewed in your fridge.
For me, Monk’s Blend was one of the first teas that I was introduced to loose leaf with so it holds a special place in my heart, I also do like grenadine. Vanilla Sky from Steep City Teas is a nice cup, with plenty to offer in the vanilla aspect with just a hint at grenadine, so for those of you who do not know if you care for the grenadine or not, this is a good one to try.
I will say, this is by far, not my favorite tea from Steep City Teas, they have some blends that are out of this world, but I can see why they would want this in their offerings, because it is a rather well known blend.
If you really want to indulge in some of Steep City’s amazing teas I suggest:
and
Just to name a few.
You can also check out all the Steepster reviews on their teas here.
Green Tea Sauvignon from Vintage Tea Works
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Vintage Tea Works
Tea Description:
Inspired by Sauvignon Blanc, we blended natural
ingredients to create a green tea blend that is medium bodied, with a
burst of fresh grapefruit offering a racy hit of crisp acidity. (2.0oz. / 56.7g – about 20 cups)About Sauvignon Blanc – Sauvignon Blanc is high acid, medium bodied, white wine that makes a wonderful food pairing wine. Sauvignon Blanc’s aromas and flavors are often compared to fruits like grapefruit, gooseberries and green apples combined with an undertone of a grassy, vegetal nature.
Tea and Food Pairings – Pair our Green Tea Sauvignon with Asian inspired cuisine, cheeses or salads. Try it on ice for refreshment anytime.
Ingredients – Green tea, organic grapefruit peel, calendula marigold flower petals, natural flavorings..
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have recently ordered three teas from Vintage Tea Works, but this was not one of them. I was drawn to three of their other teas but this will go on my list for future orders! I am lucky to be able to sample this selection due to the generosity of my SororiTea Sister Anne.
I used to be quite the wine drinker before health concerns capped off my more indulgent days. I suppose some would have considered me a wine snob. Yet this, this is a tea, and a very fine tea at that!
Vintage Tea Works has found the perfect unison of wine and tea in this blend. They have made it noticeable that this is not a wine yet wine like enough that those who appreciate a good wine will be able to pick up the notes, the flavors, the balance, and nuances of what a fine wine would offer. What I am trying to say is that you do not have to be wine lover to love this tea, yet if you are, you will love it all the more!
The first thing I notice upon sipping is that there is a marked floral and fruity flavor which is well balanced and well blended. The sweetness of the tea is noticeable as well yet becomes more pronounced as the tea cools slightly. So if comparing to a wine this would be on the side of the more tropical Sauvignon types. Comparing to a tea it is also quite tropical in its flavor with notes of grassy flavors in the aftertaste followed by a slight buttery note but that note is very subtle. Granted there is not much, if any difference between wine tasting and tea tasting.
When I was selecting the three teas from Vintage Tea Works that I wanted to try I of course went with my favorite wine types and I grabbed the pu-erh because I love pu-erh and really wanted to see what they did with that blend. The main reason, however, that I did not select this particular tea was due to the grapefruit element. At the time that I placed my order I was not feeling that I wanted a grapefruit flavor. Now that I am drinking this tea though I have to say I am not picking up much if any of an actual grapefruit flavor. I feel that the grapefruit in this blend adds more to the palate cleansing effect more than the flavor itself. Like a wine however, or a masterfully blended tea, you really can’t judge the final outcome by the ingredients as stand alone elements. I guess I just needed Vintage Tea Works to come around to remind me of that.
I love the use of Calendula in this tea. Calendula is one of my favorite herbs. Granted it is also a flower but it is technically an herbaceous plant. I have used this herb in my home remedy blends for decades. Calendula lends an interesting floral yet savory note to the tea.
This tea also is quite excellent chilled which makes it versatile for summer or winter enjoyment.
When you swish the tea around in your mouth you pick up the fruit notes, then the sweetness, but as you swallow you get this green clean taste that is reminiscent of summer fields and marigolds which the Calendula plant is in the family of. The grapefruit notes as I said are barely noticeable but I get those mostly long after the swallow, about 30 seconds to 1 minute later, which serves almost as a drying effect and reminder to take another sip.
I do wish I had grabbed this tea as well in my order but now I have something to save up for and look forward to.