I’ve never had a mojito. I didn’t even know what was IN a mojito. But when I opened the pouch, I could tell you right away that a mojito must have lime and mint. The base of this tea is Japanese sencha. I decided to try it hot sans additions, hot with sugar, and iced sweetened. Then…drum roll, please….I found a person who has had an ACTUAL mojito to give judgment on whether the taste is accurate.
I thought this tea might not be too great as a plain hot tea since it was designed to mimic a cocktail, and the powerful smell of limes made me close my eyes and brace myself when I took my first sip. To the contrary, it was quite good sans any additions at all! The lime is natural yet doesn’t pucker your lips and dry your mouth. The mint is refreshing. The sencha is smooth.
I added sugar and had another small cup and also passed some along to my daughter. It was good this way, too.
The hot, sweet tea was poured into a carafe and left to chill in the fridge and to await the verdict of a true mojito drinker. I enjoyed the sweet iced tea with my supper, and poured a small glass to be tested with a wee splash of rum. My test subject declared that, aside from the lack of bubbles from club soda, the taste was to a “T” in the mojito tea!
Check out The Love Tea Company and their mission of awareness and compassion for those struggling with mental illness. Check out their Tea It Forward tea gift – so bright, so special! It is a great way to cheer someone’s day with a colorful gift box of tea, filter bags, and tea measuring spoon. It is a great way to send a message of love or a “thinking of you” for someone who needs it. And did I mention that it is incredibly economical? I have both received and sent these, and they really bring a smile – just like tea should!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Love Tea Company
Description
This mojito concoction explodes with flavor. It starts with Japanese style Sencha, has lime and mint pieces, and all-natural mint flavoring. Enjoy it with a splash or milk and sugar, over ice, or blended as a mixer for rum and tequila. If you ask Uncle Google, he’ll give you the famous Hemingway recipe for a Mojito Martini. This tea will take you across the river and into the woods and down to the deep south where Hemingway certainly enjoyed a similar concoction one sunny sumer day in Key West.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Just A Little Tart from A Pin Tea Shop. . . .
This tisane came in a colorful, artsy package – a pin up style beauty lounging in a giant tea cup, in adorable strappy black pumps with a flower in her hair. The daring half blouse with the plunging neckline is fitting for the name of the tea…Just A Little Tart.
The blend contains apple, rosehips, hibiscus, citrus peel, flavors, and orange. Ingredient number three brought a shiver. Not the dreaded hibby! But honestly, I don’t hate it like some folks do, and while I am not a fan of strong hibby hot, I do enjoy it iced and sweetened.
Just to be thorough testing this tisane, I did taste it hot and unsweetened. It was, indeed, just a little tart but not terribly so. The apple really does stand out.
I poured the rest of that pot into a carafe with a little sugar and then resteeped. The second steep was quite pale in comparison to the first and the flavor was greatly subdued when I tasted it hot and sweetened, but it was really intended to flesh out the big iced and sweetened pitcher, which it did nicely. The edge is off of it and I wouldn’t mind drinking the resteep as it was.
Now that it has chilled thoroughly, I can honestly say that this is a very enjoyable iced drink and most welcome in the 90+ Fahrenheit weather we have been enduring. I really don’t taste JUST the hibiscus, and that’s a feat since hibiscus can be overpowering. It is a lovely, fruity summer tisane and very refreshing iced.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Pin Tea Shop
Description
This tea company may no longer be in business but can be reached below.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Heirloom Bartlett Pear from Harney and Sons. . .
I get really excited when Harney and Sons announces new teas. I got my introduction to whole leaf tea with their Royal English Breakfast, Paris, and Golden Monkey. I almost feel like they should let me know FIRST when they are adding something to their catalog. So I was super excited when I got an email a while back about four new flavored teas.
I love my single plantation pure teas, but I also love flavored teas and serve them to guests often. Of the four new teas, I was most captured by the description of this one – silvery Mutan leaves, pieces of pear, apple, and peach, plus nutmeg and two kinds of cinnamon.
The golden tea smells warm and rich. Even though it is desperately hot outside right now, the nutmeg aroma puts me in a holiday mood and makes me dream of serving this in fall and winter this year. As I drink it, I hear the wind blow in a cold front, and leaves crunching underfoot, then I see the table set for Thanksgiving, and hear the chatter of people gathered for Christmas. Bliss.
They say this tastes of crisp Bartlett pear, and I supposed it does, but even on a good day pear is a very, very mild flavor to me. The apple serves to enhance the pear flavor but I simply can not discern the peach, which is good because I would rather pear tea taste like pear tea. The nutmeg is fabulous, just right, and perfectly balanced. The cinnamons are not overpowering but give the impression of a perfectly spiced warm cobbler. And yet the white tea flavor doesn’t get buried in all this!
If you have tried white tea and thought it just tasted like a cup of hay water (which I happen to like), I would encourage you to try this tea and change your mind. There are wonderful layers of flavor here, and this is a definite re-purchase for me.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Harney and Sons
Description
Heirloom Bartlett Pear tea is a fruit-filled lovesong to the light, sweet leaves of Mutan white tea and crisp flavors of Bartlett pears. The silvery white and green Mutan leaves mingle with delicately succulent pieces of pear, apple, and peach. Spice notes of nutmeg and two kinds of cinnamon add a touch of zing. The result is a multifaceted, beautifully layered infusion that’s light and warming in every cup.
Ingredients:
White tea, pear pieces, apple pieces, peach pieces, pear flavor, nutmeg, cinnamon, white cornflowers, peach flavor. Contains natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Connoisseur Jasmine Green Tea from Zesta Ceylon Tea. . . . .
I LOVE jasmine green teas when they are done well. Some are not. A lot of jasmine tea is actually pouchong and can have a bit more bite than I care for. Lots of people like those teas, especially with food. But since jasmine tea is my special “take me away” tea, it has to be just so.
The instructions on this one scared me. Boiling water? For green tea? In a teabag? Are you kidding me? I know a few types of green tea thrive on it, but I was afraid this was going to be the train to heartburn city.
I dialed it back to 200F and let it steep right in the middle of the recommended one to two minutes.
Wow. I expected a harsh green base, lots of astringency, and artificial jasmine flavor, but this is infused with real jasmine flowers and it is GOOD. As in, actual tasty jasmine tea with all its calming capabilities in a teabag!
The jasmine is natural and sweet tasting, the tea has minimal briskness that does build a little now that I am on my second cup, and there is a creamy texture to the liquor. The Chinese green base starts to come through more on the aftertaste.
I think this would be a great, affordable tea to serve with food, and now I want spring rolls. Really, really badly. I guess I know what I am having for supper tomorrow night.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zesta Tea
Description
This delicately fragrant green tea adds a touch of beauty to your day with its imprint of natural Jasmine petals. Zesta’s Jasmine green tea is an exotic tea that can be enjoyed any time of day and is great as an accompaniment to food.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
My Peeps from The NecessiTeas. . . . . .
What do you do when you have a box of forty teas to taste and review? You hope and pray that there are some caffeine free blends so you can do some of your tasting at night! And if you don’t like rooibos, you pray that there will be some HONEYBUSH BABY!
And hallelujah, my prayers were answered! I don’t think I have had a honeybush tea I didn’t like and this one looks absolutely adorable! Tiny freeze dried marshmallows, pink sugar crystals dotted here and there like sparkling gems, plus brown sugar sweeten this blend, but the main flavor shining through for me is the honeybush base.
Adorable doesn’t cut it by itself. The tea has to taste good, too, and this one tastes like a holiday with a touch of vanilla. We don’t usually add sugar to tea in this house so there was a moment of hesitation as we tried it. But even with three sources of sugar in the blend, the tea is not too sweet. There really isn’t enough of it to turn me off. We made a whole pot, we are drinking a whole pot, and I don’t have to worry about lying awake all night.
Three cheers for My Peeps! Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!