Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
I assure you, I am not dead.
I’ve been down with the flu early this week and then I got so busy with our Kickstarter rewards that I nearly forgot to post the tea of the week! Shame on me. And it’s a yummy one too. Soft, sweet shou mei blended with cranberries and grapes. Yummmmm.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
As soon as I opened the pouch of this Cran-Grape Shou Mei from 52Teas, I could smell the grape. Or perhaps, I should say, I could smell grape candy, because that’s what it smells like. It smells like the grape <insert favorite grape flavored candy here>. Yeah, that’s what this smells like. The grape scent was so strong that I couldn’t really detect any cranberry notes, or any white tea notes for that matter.
Once brewed, the fragrance mellows out a little bit. Now, I still smell grape, but it actually smells like grape … and not so much like grape candy. There are still hints of candy-like sweetness, but, the aroma becomes a little more complex after the tea is brewed. I even smell a wine-like note in there. And I can smell hints of white tea too. Much more promising than the dry leaf scent.
The grape flavor is the strongest note that I taste, and the sweetness of the candy-like grape taste is curbed with the tartness of the cranberry. This combination keeps the grape from tasting too cloying. But, I have to say that this isn’t my favorite fruit combination. I’ve never made any big secret of my dislike for grape flavored things. But the cranberry does improve the flavor considerably.
The white tea is a little obscured by the strength of the fruit flavors. I notice the white tea notes a little more when I slurp the sip, and then I taste the earthy qualities of the Shou Mei, and a slight “hay-ish” taste that offers a palate-pleasing contrast to the fruit notes.
This tastes alright. It’s not my favorite 52Teas blend. (I have much higher hopes for the next blend that I’ll be tasting: Rum Raisin! YUM!) I like this much better as an iced tea than when it’s served hot.
On the Tenth Day of Christmas, Southern Boy Teas Edition!
Wow … it’s day 10. This countdown is rapidly winding down! Getting close to the 12th day of Christmas!
Grape Iced Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
Of the different teas that Southern Boy Teas recently introduced, I think that this was the one I was least excited to try. I’m not real crazy about grape flavored things – I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that at least once on this blog! I love grapes, especially the seedless “holiday grapes” that are available this time of year in Whole Foods. But, I don’t really care for grape flavored things. I really dislike grape soda, I’m not crazy about grape flavored candies or grape ice pops. I don’t even really care for grape juice.
So, I guess it goes without saying that the idea of a grape flavored tea isn’t all that exciting to me. But I have tried a few grape flavored teas in the past few years and I’ve enjoyed those that I’ve tried. So … there is a glimmer of hope for this tea!
The aroma of the dry leaf is that of grape flavored candies, reminiscent of the grape flavored sugar powder that you might find in the pixie sticks. Or perhaps grape flavored jolly ranchers. Neither of which are very appealing to me.
But this tea doesn’t taste as bad as I thought it would, or as bad as I worked myself up to think it would be. It’s sweet, and it tastes like sweet grape. But, I think that the addition of the black tea helps even out the flavor so that I don’t just taste grape candy. I think that this tastes a bit like what a black iced tea might taste like if it were sweetened with the aforementioned grape flavored pixie stick powdered candy.
Not bad … certainly something I’ll enjoy drinking. But, I don’t think it would be something that I’d add to my must order again list, you know? I like it, but I don’t love it.
Banana Grape Flavored Shou Mei White Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
What’s the matter? You never heard of Granana?
Well, okay, me either. But it sounded like fun and so here it is. Premium shou mei white tea blended with freeze-dried grapes and bananas, and organic flavors. A little sweet, a little tart; a little smooth, a little piquant… One thing I can almost guarantee is that you won’t find this blend any where else. It’s up for you to tell me whether that’s a good thing or not. =)
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
When I first opened the package of this Banana Grape Flavored Shou Mei White Tea from 52Teas, my first thought was this smells like candy. It was the scent I might experience if I were to open a package of chewy Runts or a package of Nerds. It smells sweet – sugary sweet – and fruity.
And my first thought after my first sip was very much the same experience. It tastes a lot like fruit flavored candy. Unfortunately, we’re dealing with my two least favorite candy flavors. Sure … I like bananas and some of the banana flavored teas that I’ve tasted are some of my favorite teas of all time! I even like grape, although here I’m a lot more particular. I like grapes – as in the fruit. I’m not always so wild over grape flavored beverages, although I have tried a few grape flavored teas and really enjoyed them. But … I don’t like banana or grape flavored candies. Especially grape flavored candies. They taste too much like sweet candy and not enough like the fruit.
But here we are, dealing with one of my least anticipated tea flavors that 52Teas has ever produced. (Sorry, Frank!)
All that said … this isn’t too bad. It certainly isn’t my favorite tea that 52Teas has ever created, so I’m not about to tell you that it is. However, I don’t hate it either. The Shou Mei lends a certain earthy quality to the cup that helps “ground” the sweet, fruity flavor of the banana and grape. As I continue to sip, I start to notice the sweeter tones begin to subside and I notice more of the true fruit notes. Surprisingly, what I’m liking best about this is the way the grape notes and the natural flavors of the Shou Mei meld together.
Overall, this is a fair representation of both banana and grape flavors, and the white tea is not overpowered by the sweetness of the fruit notes. It’s a decent tasting tea that is better served iced than hot. Not bad, but not great either. It’s alright, but I don’t think I’ll be chomping at the bit to order more.
Master Han’s Wild Picked Yunnan Black from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Master Han is a remarkably talented crafter of wild picked pu’ers and black teas whose workshop and ancient plot of tea forest is an hour’s walk to the nearest gravel road in a national forest preserve. We were lucky enough to meet him at his first tea conference. Tucked away in a hidden corner behind slick modern displays with uniformed reps from Xiaguan and Menghai, Master Han and his young apprentice seemed apprehensive about the operation. We were on our way to a panel on gongfu brewing when the sheer beauty of a bag of his wild-picked black tea caught us in our tracks.
NOTES: grape, olive oil, linen, scotch, honeycrisp, coconut
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Master Han’s Wild Picked Yunnan Black from Verdant Tea is a rather light cup, not that it lacks any flavor whatsoever, its just not as in your face with robustness as some teas. Robustness? Well spell check passed it so it must be a word. Regardless, this cup is lightly sweet with a sourgum like flavor, there is also a wild grape flavor coming to the top of the notes. The tea is clear to the bottom of the cup. The color is dark, like black tea should be but it is transparent. There is a slight drying sensation on the tongue while sipping, perhaps this is the linen note mentioned?
The flavor of black olive comes out as the tea cools just slightly and that is the note that lingers most on my palate. It is a lovely savory note to mingle with the sweetness of the tea, balancing it nicely. A lovely yam flavor develops more so as the tea becomes a bit cooler, and I am sure that further steepings will bring about that scotch, and coconut flavor I am looking for. Also I notice as the tea cools more the black olive note becomes more of an olive oil flavor which is interesting.
Verdant once again delivers one of the most unique tea offerings and I am so happy to have sampled some! Learn more about Master Han here.
Darjeeling Second Flush Rohini Black from sTEAp Shoppe
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Darjeeling. Black
Where to Buy: sTEAp Shoppe
Tea Description:
Rohini Second Flush Black Tea delightfully smooth full bodied mouth feel. Cocoa notes with highlights of almond and spice delivered in a baked bread. Warm and inviting gliding over the palate pleasing your every whim. As with all of the high quality Darjeeling teas this tea remain inviting for several steeps.
Rohini is a well established Tea estate, though the estate did remain closed for a period of 30 years the Saria family revived it in 1994. The garden is divided into four; the lower Jaberhat, mid elevation of Kotidhara and Pailodhora, and Tukuriya which is the highest in elevation. Tukuriya division which is located at an average elevation of 4400 FT and stretches right up to Kurseong town. The teas from Tukuriya are made from tea bushes that have remained there for more than 100 years.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Darjeeling Second Flush Rohini Black from sTEAp Shoppe offers a lighter darjeeling with a deep lurking presence.
Upon first sip you will get a sweet raisin note, a light grape essence, not nearly as muscatel as some Darjeeling, and you may even think that it is a rather light, bright, tea with a clean finish. But wait… sneaking upon your unsuspecting taste buds is a rich, full mouthfeel, almost creamy, velvety, with a nutty, woodsy, backdrop of flavor.
There is a honeyed sweetness to this Darjeeling, and while my palate does not detect cocoa notes as in the description it does offer a wonderful hint at almond, and fig.
The more the tea cools the fuller and more robust it becomes, almost as if it thickens.
I could see this tea being quite excellent iced, but it requires no additives and I feel adding any thing, even sweetener, would ruin this perfect cup.
Janet at sTEAp Shoppe offers up another winner in this Darjeeling Second Flush Rohini Black.