This is my first tea from this company! Looking at their website, I see the reason for their name. Many of their teas are available with different labeling, and there are some really lovely options here. In addition, you can choose a tea and request custom labeling for an event or for a company – such possibilities!
This tea promises to be a smooth, Japanese pan-fired Sencha tea. Mine is in a sachet and I see some flat leaves about two centimeters long as well as a bit of crumble and dust, probably from its rough transit to my house while out of its tin. I feel sure the leaves in the tin were quite whole when the tea was received by the person who ordered it!
There were no instructions on the website as to steeping parameters so I used my usual green tea process – 175F for three minutes.
The resulting liquor is quite pale but fragrant. My first impression is of roasted chestnuts, the classic pan-fired green taste to me. It is lively and brisk without astringency. The flavor lingers well after the sip. The briskness dries the tongue and makes you reach for more, and I notice the initial roasted nut flavor shifted to a quick tingle and then a sweetness rising up into the whole mouth. This lingers for quite a while.
Eager for more, I resteeped my sachet. The liquor is about the same color. The flavor is nearly identical with perhaps a lighter roasted nut taste up front and even a little more sweetness, but that could be simply building the longer I drink this.
If you are a fan of pan-fired Japanese tea, you may want to give this one a try!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Tea Can Company
Description
Refreshing, smooth and high in antioxidants. Classically Japanese, sencha green tea is pan-fired for a taste that is smooth, refined and easy on the palette. With a refreshing aroma and lovely true green color, this tea is rich in antioxidants that promote well being.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sunny Orange Ginger from Stash Tea . . . .
Cold and flu season has been upon us and I was hit not once, not twice, but thrice with a cold! I love citrus teas to open my eyes and make me feel better when I am flagging. I don’t have a cold right now, but I am looking for a new tea to keep on hand for sore throats and stuffy noses and grumpy eyes that are too tired to open.
Ginger and I have an uneasy relationship. In small amounts, it can add sparkle to other flavors. In large amounts, it is so hot I could cry! When I first steeped this, I thought I would be crying. And when I saw hibiscus in the ingredients (Now where did that come from? This was supposed to orange and ginger!) I was especially distressed.
Pleasantly surprised, I am! Ginger is the dominant flavor here, and it is hot enough to warm my throat up very nicely without burning. The orange is more laid back and stays in the background, just present. I wish it were a little stronger, but maybe I could add a little fresh squeezed juice to this. The hibiscus…well… I am happy to say that I wouldn’t even know it was there!
I think this is a good candidate for my feel better tea, but perhaps more so for tummy trouble than colds. I bet it would be good iced and sweetened, as well.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Stash Tea
Description
Each sip of this tangy, aromatic herbal tea is a delight for the senses. Zesty orange combines with fruity hibiscus and the sharp, lively flavor of ginger, creating a tea that is perfect for all-day sipping. Delicious with a touch of sugar and refreshing iced.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dark Obsession Chocolate Rose from MarieBelle. . . .
When I was younger, I preferred milk chocolate and found dark chocolate too bitter. The older I get, the more I love dark chocolate.
This tea was a gift from a family member, and it was so good that I put it on my wish list for the following year. Opening the tin and inhaling deeply, I could have sworn I was sniffing a box of rich, fine chocolates.
This brews up to a very adult cup of dark chocolate tea. I have had a few chocolate teas that (sadly) smell like mildew instead of chocolate, although they tasted all right. My husband hates the smell of those! But this one is pure dark chocolate aroma. I am reminded of a tisane I drank years ago that was made of pure cacao nibs and nothing else. The rose petals are more for eye appeal but there is a hint of rose flavor.
The website says that their two ounce tin makes about ten cups of tea. I always get more than that, and I find that most good quality teas can be steeped again. I usually make a steep and immediately resteep, combining the two together instead of drinking a weaker second steep by itself. This one does well for me and makes a very drinkable resteep.
I think this would be a great Valentine’s tea. Chocolate and roses – what could be more romantic?
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: MarieBelle
Description
Our Dark Obsession tea is a blend of loose leaf black ceylon tea exquisitely scented with chocolate extract and embellished with pink roses. A perfect pick me up to satisfy a sweet tooth!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Anji Bai from Teasenz. . . .
Another rainy night with the feeling of winter in the air. I want tea, a tea that makes me go “mmmmmm” and cuddle the cup.
Enter Anji Bai. Flat leaves of brilliant green that steep a golden cup of tea. The dry leaves smell like milk chocolate to me for some reason, which is also true of some Da Hong Pao. But the steeped tea does not.
The steeped tea smells like oh so fresh lightly buttered vegetables with a hint of asparagus and a hint of peas, but also freshly shelled walnuts with the little papery membrane still on. It reminds me somewhat of a Huang Shan Mao Feng.
At first I think the flavor is very light and mild, and I really concentrate on my cup. The creamy texture of the tea coats your mouth and makes you want more. I could really chug this tea but it is so delicious that I try to slow down and enjoy it. Now the green veggie notes are lingering along with the creaminess. Each exhale causes a little rush of flavor.
Note to self – drink this tea during quiet time and meditation. Exquisite.
(Package said steep for four minutes, website said three so I went for three since it is a green.)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Description
Fresh and creamy soft with notes of citrus and nuts. From Anji, the town of dense bamboo forests and tea cultivation, comes this Anji Bai Cha, one of the rarest of all Chinese teas. With long, delicate, vivid green leaves, Anji white tea is beautiful in every sense of the word. A green tea connoisseur’s dream.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Apple Delicious from Love Some Tea. . . . . .
Well, this isn’t what I expected, and am I ever glad!
When I saw the name “Apple Delicious”, I assumed this was a fruit tisane. I expected to open the pouch and find big chunks of dried apple and other fruits. Instead, the most gloriously dark green, thick, twisted leaves spilled out. The aroma was not the fake apple and berry flavoring I had expected, but instead – a lovely and light apple – REAL apple – scent wafted gently up.
I looked up the company as I prepared to steep the tea and saw that this is hand harvested in northern Thailand with an eye to being ecologically friendly, and that the company gives back to local communities as well. It is well worth the read so head on over to their website and check them out, because you are probably going to want to order some tea after you read this.
So the tea is made, and we sip. At first I think the green tea base is very light and the apple is a sweet and light addition. But with each sip the flavor builds and builds and now the green tea is the star of the show and there is a lovely briskness making it sparkle. The fruit flavors – it isn’t just apple – complement this tea so beautifully. I am really impressed. In addition to the briskness of the tea, there is a rich-bodied follow up with the ginger and fruit tastes. Again, the green tea is the star here, and the fruit is a fantastic supporting cast. Hold a sip in your mouth for a moment and you will taste the whole blend with the fruit and ginger building and swirling. The ginger is mild and is definitely not the hot, spicy ginger you find sometimes.
I am really glad I tried this, and I can’t wait to taste more blends from this company!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: Love Some Tea
Description
Green Tea Flavored with deep notes Ginger and Fruits including: strawberry, cherries, cranberry, and apple.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!