Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Driftwood Tea
Tea Description:
This second flush Doke Organic Silver Needle White Tea shows how this family run garden is constantly innovating (Chinese Silver Needles are only harvested once per year). Like most second flush pickings these loose leaves are slightly darker yet, here this simply concentrates the delicious white tea flavours – a truly extraordinary Silver Needle tea.
Key Flavours: Soft dried fruits – apricots and peaches – hints of straw and a delicate sweet long lasting aftertaste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Doke Organic Silver Needle Second Flush from Driftwood Tea offers a crisp, clean, and juicy sweet cup.
It seems that it has been a long time since I reviewed a white tea, or at least a straight white tea. This tea from Driftwood is a nice reintroduction to a quality white tea.
The mouthfeel is what I can only describe as medium, not light yet not heavy, it is somewhat brothy but it has a very nice cleansing effect on the palate.
There is a slight drying sensation in the after effect of the sip.
The natural sweetness is delicious but I find the fruity notes very light, more apricot than peach on my palate.
The straw note is stronger than the fruit note but it is a sweet straw which makes for a contemplative cup.
This tea is quite grounding and I find it would be good for meditation relaxation.
I must admit this is not my all time favorite tea from Driftwood tea, but then again they have so many teas I have throughly loved, and obviously white tea is not something I drink a lot of. I enjoy it, but have to be in the mood for a straight white tea.
With that said, this is a very unique white and I respect that Driftwood Tea takes such great care in selecting cherished teas for us to purchase.
You can read more about Driftwood Tea and its founder, James Henderson Robe, here.
Sacher Blend from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
Inspired by the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, this is a traditional blend of Darjeeling with a hint of Ceylon. The blend is then lightly scented with oil of Bergamot and a hint of genuine Bourbon vanilla. The result is a floral Darjeeling surrounded by soft, fruity, citrus notes. A new formula which we find especially pleasing.
Ingredients: black tea, natural & artificial flavor
Origin: USA
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Sacher Blend from Upton Tea Imports, which can also be found on their website by item number TE22S, has a surprisingly mild flavor considering all the flavoring components listed in the description.
The bergamot is extremely light, barely noticeable, but the vanilla is what shines in this cup.
This is a black tea with a very smooth heavy mouthfeel, rich and robust, and I could see where a coffee drinker would very much enjoy this tea.
I tasted absolutely no bitterness nor astringency even after a rather long steep.
This is a remarkably smooth tea.
It may lack some of the promise the description eludes to especially if you are expecting much from the Bergamot notes, but if you have a sensitive palate you will taste it.
I think it is rather nice, and I personally love it because I prefer my Earl Grey to be light on the bergamot. I like bergamot but I too often find that bergamot is all I can taste in most Earl Grey. I think this blend is unique for those of us who only want a light EG flavor, and let us remember, this is not being sold as an EG.
I do wish that it did not contain artificial flavors, as I see no need for them. I would think that bourbon vanilla and bergamot should easily be able to obtain without artificial flavoring, I know it can be, so this is my only complaint about this blend.
Outside of that, unless you are expecting an EG flavor from this tea with a splash of vanilla, you should like it, just keep in mind this is far more a bourbon vanilla flavored tea with a splash of bergamot!
The flavors pop more as the tea cools. Would be excellent iced.
Samovar Op-A Blend from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
We created this selection specifically for use in samovars but it also works exceptionally well in traditional teapots. The tea has a dark cup, well-balanced character, and can be infused for a long period without becoming bitter. The flavor is of a classic medium-grown Ceylon with a smooth profile and hints of ripe apple.
Origin:
Sri Lanka
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Samovar Op-A Blend from Upton Tea Imports has a nicely sweet yet malty flavor that rests gently on the palate.
My immediate reaction is that the aroma was far more inciting them the flavor, at first I thought it rather bland, but as soon as that thought had left my mind I got those intensely sweet honeyed notes and a lovely blanket of malty goodness on my tongue!
As I spent more time with the tea shaking away that first impression I realized that the apple notes begin to sparkle and there is something of a sparkly sensation on the tongue.
I am not normally a big fan of Ceylon teas but this one has some elements that remind me of Darjeeling, and I like that a lot!
There is a very slight chocolate note to the tea, but very slight, it just has this backdrop which makes the taste more robust, thick even, and quite rich.
Then a raisin flavor comes forward as well.
I am glad I did not listen to that knee jerk reaction, as I would have been a jerk indeed had I dumped this cup!
This is one of the smoothes teas with absolutely not one bit of astringency or bitterness I have ever had!
I am glad now that I have enough for another steeping session for a later time, I expect to get many more steeps out of this leaf!
Turkish Green Apple from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
This Turkish version of green tea, though delicate, features cured apple pieces and safflowers into a delicious tea blend. Our growers are able to customize the curing of their harvests and add a wide variety of flavors to their stronger blends. For tea lovers, blends such as Turkish Green Apple Tea is full of great tea taste from the first sip to the very last.
Green tea, apple pieces, and safflowers with apple flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Turkish Green Apple from Red Leaf Tea is a very light flavored tea with apples being only a slight flavor in the overall profile. It tastes more of buttered spinach and has a slight salty taste as well. The apples taste to be semi fermented in a sense, as they taste in a hard apple cider yet in this blend very delicate and only a slight bit tart.
This is a soothing tea that is very delicate in its nature, calming and relaxing. I would not want this in the morning but is a wonderful tea to sip while laying in bed decompressing and reading a favorite novel.
If you want that more robust flavor be sure to wait and allow the tea to cool more before sipping as this tea tends to take on its stronger characteristics as it becomes more room temperature, even the mouthfeel becomes heavier as it cools a bit.
There is a creaminess to the mouthfeel, and even a slight cream flavor. Buttery, creamed, spinach with an apple appeal. Haha, get it?
Jalapeno Tea from Man Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: Man Teas
Tea Description:
Here’s our premium Indian black teas blended with real freeze-dried jalapenos and natural jalapeno flavor! Man up and get some while you can. This is a limited edition blend!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Jalapeno tea from Man Teas really is a tea I could drink all the time. Unfortunately this was a limited edition tea and is no longer available. Man Teas, which is a subdivision of 52 Teas also known as Zoomdweebies, releases some of the yummiest and most creative teas out there but the downside is someitmes you find a tea you absolutely love but before you know it they are out of stock and it is “no more”. The reason for this is because the man behind the mask, Frank, is a one man operation, accountant by day, tea master at night. The fact is he does come up with some really amazing teas! So if you find one you love, be warned, get as much of it as you can before it goes POOF!
Now this tea, Jalapeno, is not as scary as you may fear! It is not going to burn your tongue or the roof of your mouth off. It has a really nice crisp like bite to it. I actually get more of a green pepper and black pepper blend from the flavor notes. The smell has more of a bite to it than the flavor.
I love a great savory tea, and in my opinion there are far too few of them. Man Teas comes through, with this blend. If you are looking for some wacky out of the park creations check out their sister company 52 teas here and see what they have in stock. Right now they have a really different blend called Pineapple Bacon Rooibos.
I wish that everyone had a chance to try this Jalapeno blend but one cool feature of Frank’s site is that if you really love a tea and want to see a re-blend you can request a notification to be sent to you if he does ever decide to re-blend it! From this Frank can keep track of notification requests and can tell just how in demand a blend is! This could prompt him to do that re-blend!