Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Shamrock = Peppermint, spearmint and a HINT of vanilla Premium Organic green tea with organic flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
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Taster’s Review:
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
I’ve had this Shamrock Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas for a little while now, but I held off trying it until it was closer to St. Patrick’s Day for a couple of reasons: 1) when I originally planned to write a review of it, I saw it was out of stock and I thought I’d wait to see if they restock it, which they did; and 2) I thought it would be cool to wait until St. Patrick’s Day.
This is a chilled glass of YUM. The green tea is light and buttery. The minty notes are crisp. The vanilla is smooth and creamy. Together, the three components create a tea that tastes fresh and sweet and delicious.
To brew this, I heated 1 quart of water to 170°F and steeped the tea bag for 1 1/2 minutes. Then I heat a second quart of water and resteeped the tea bag for 2 minutes. I combined both of these quarts into my favorite 1/2 gallon iced tea pitcher and then I put the tea bag into a airtight container and put both in the fridge. (I can resteep the bag for another 1/2 gallon of tea later!)
This is a really refreshing iced tea. I really love the green teas that Southern Boy Teas is coming out with – and I’m looking forward to the Banana Peach one … I hope that will come out soon!!!
Darjeeling Masala Chai from Teabox
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Teabox
Tea Description:
An exclusive in house creation by our master blenders. For this blend, lemon grass and fennel are mixed with aromatic Darjeeling black tea to create a medley of flavors.
The citrusy perfume emitted by the lemon grass is quite heady and gives a fresh twist to the chai. A must try for all chai lovers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Darjeeling Masala Chai from Teabox is another ‘questionable’ use of the word “chai” – yes, I know that chai means tea (and I know that I’ve said that on more than one occasion too!) but we’ve come to embrace the word “chai” as a spiced tea – and those spices are generally a combination of the usual spices: cinnamon, ginger, cloves and cardamom – sometimes one or more of these is omitted and other spices like pepper or nutmeg are added.
This “chai” has none of the usual spices and instead has fennel seed and lemon grass. But what really piqued my interest about this particular chai is not the substitution of spices but the fact that this is a Darjeeling base! I can’t recall having tried a chai with a Darjeeling base before. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t, just that I can’t recall.
So, I was certainly interested in trying this chai. And while it isn’t at all what most might think of when they think “chai” – this is really quite good. I may call into question the liberal use of the word chai by Teabox, but this is still a really tasty tea!
This isn’t really a ‘spicy’ tea, but it does have some warm notes from the fennel. The fennel is both sweet and gently ‘spiced’ with notes of licorice. It adds a certain comforting warmth to the cup. The lemon grass adds a hint of bright, citrus-y flavor to the cup and a light creaminess to the Darjeeling which has a crisp flavor.
It’s a lighter bodied tea, it would make a nice afternoon tea. I like the fennel and lemon grass with the Darjeeling, they certainly add some interest to the woodsy, floral tones of the Darjeeling base.
Overall, a very interesting tea. I don’t know that I’d call it a chai, but I suppose it’s alright if Teabox does. I enjoyed it, regardless!
Pure Peppermint Herbal Tisane from Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Description:
An exciting and invigorating herbal infusion of pure peppermint leaves to revitalize and refresh. Peppermint has been shown to aid digestion.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Pure Peppermint Herbal Tisane from Rington’s Premium English Teas is really bright and fresh tasting! I know that I’ve been down on bagged teas quite a bit lately but this particular bagged tea is quite enjoyable. The flavor is really strong and has the cool, crisp flavor that I expect from a good quality peppermint tisane.
Very minty – as you might expect it to be. It IS pure peppermint, after all! It has a zesty, slightly peppery bite to it and my mouth feels minty fresh after I drink it.
I like to keep peppermint on hand because I find it to be a soothing tea to drink after I’ve had something spicy. (I eat a lot of spicy stuff!) It helps to settle the tummy and it’s ideal when my daughter has a stomach ache.
A really nice pure peppermint.
Ti Kuan Yin Oolong Tea from Fong Mong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Fong Mong Tea
Tea Description:
Adopting pure An-Xi Ti Kuan Yin tea seeds, and producing under Taiwan traditional technique standards, medium fermented also heavy baked, traditional Ti Kuan Yin Oolong tea is leading out a unique Kuan Yin aroma differing greatly from Chinese one, deeply presenting authentic Taiwanese flavor of Ti Kuan Yin.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I took my first sip of this tea, I found myself thinking: “This is really different. Isn’t this a Ti Kuan Yin?” I’m used to Ti Kuan Yin tasting more vegetal and floral, but this Ti Kuan Yin Oolong Tea from Fong Mong Tea tastes roasted and nutty.
Then I read the description above. This is a Taiwanese Ti Kuan Yin and instead of the greener type Oolong, this one has been baked which gives it that roasty-toasty flavor. Where I’m usually tasting floral notes, I’m experiencing more of a sweet, nutty flavor.
To brew this tea, I grabbed my gaiwan. I started with a quick 15 second rinse in hot water. Then I steeped the first infusion for 45 seconds (the water was heated to 180°F) and strained the tea into my cup. I added 15 seconds onto each subsequent infusion. The first cup was made up of the first two infusions; my second cup was infusions 3 and 4 … and so on.
My first cup is very much what I experienced above: sweet, roasted and nutty. I taste light honey-like notes. It has a very smooth and silky mouthfeel. This cup isn’t as creamy as other Ti Kuan Yin teas I’ve tasted, this is more mineral-y. Different, but I am enjoying what makes it different.
My second cup has stronger roasted notes with more pronounced notes of mineral. The roasted flavor is so strong that it almost has a coffee-like flavor, only this is smoother than a typical cup of coffee and lacks the bitterness. This is really smooth and has very little astringency. This second cup of coffee truly evokes thoughts of a really good cup of coffee, only better – because it’s tea.
My third and final cup was very similar to the first two – the roasted notes were very well-defined and again – a lot like a cup of coffee only better. This time, I do pick up on more astringency – I experience a light dryness toward the tail. It’s still not very pronounced, though, so those who tend to shy away at the word “astringency” shouldn’t shy away from this tea because the astringency is barely noticeable.
A very lovely – and different! – Ti Kuan Yin!
Mangnuo Cane Tea Raw Pu-erh (Ancient Tree Early Spring 2014) from Wymm Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Wymm Tea
Tea Description:
This is Wymm’s signature tea. It is a sheng pu-erh that brews bright golden with a rich and sweet flavour, and with the aroma of fresh-cut grass in the morning. For the initial 6 steeps, there is a pronounce bitter taste that lingers in back of the tongue with hints of astringency, which are slowly replaced with a bold honey aftertaste. The liquor is heady because of the ultra concentrated nutrients in this tea. Each serving of this tea can be steeped up to 20 times.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Good stuff! This Mangnuo Cane Tea Raw Pu-erh (Ancient Tree Early Spring 2014) from Wymm Tea is really nice.
I’m only on my first cup at the moment, but I’m really enjoying the strong sugary notes to this cup. I taste subtle notes of grass and a light astringency. It has a pleasant, light flavor overall, with the most forward notes tasting sweet – like something in between a sugary molasses and honey.
My second infusion was even nicer than the first. The sweet notes seem to be even stronger. I’m picking up on some delicate floral notes. The astringency is still there and it seems to be developing. There is a distinct dry note toward the finish. Vegetal notes are more defined now too, with a slight bitterness toward the finish. Not an off-putting bitterness, but more of a savory bitterness to contrast with the sugary sweet notes.
My third infusion was very much like the second. The fourth infusion was my favorite – the flavors became smoother and I found the astringency starting to wane. It wasn’t quite as sweet, but there was a nice balance between sweet, hints of bitter and light grassy tones. It was really quite pleasant.
The fifth infusion was pleasantly mellow. Sweet and refreshing taste. Hints of grass but very little bitterness. Just smooth, mellow sweetness. Later infusions began to pick up on the astringency again and since I’m not a big fan of the astringency, especially with such a mellow tea, I decided to stop with seven infusions.
Overall, a very pleasant pu-erh. I liked that it didn’t have a strong, earthy character nor was I experiencing a briny or fishy sort of flavor. Just a really pleasant vegetal note and some really remarkable sweet tones. It’s quite nice.