Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Piper’s Loose Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
A delicate tea, our unique JASMINE blend is made with the finest Japanese Sencha (pan fired green tea), whole jasmine flower blossoms and enhanced with pure jasmine oil. Take a moment out of your day to savor its sweet aroma and classical floral tastes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I just received the most lovely package from Piper’s Loose Leaf Tea. When I contacted them, they asked me which teas I’d be most interested in and I noticed they had a jasmine green so I told them that I usually enjoy jasmine.
So I want to start by telling you about the packaging of Piper’s Loose Leaf Tea, because I’m a sucker for awesome packaging. The teas arrive in a large muslin pouch like the one on the right. They even took the time to write a note card to me. I appreciate little gestures like that. It means a lot when a tea company takes the time to do something as simple as writing a few words onto a thank you card. It’s a simple thing to do but it means a lot and it’s something that a lot of tea companies overlook.
Note: the muslin pouch can be reused as pu-erh storage.
Inside the pouch is a bag of tea, in this case, Jasmine tea. There’s also a business-card sized card that tells you which tea it is, the description of the tea and suggested brewing parameters.
Then I read the card.
I wish I would have read the description of the tea before I told them that I like jasmine tea because this description is scaring me just a little bit. First of all, Japanese Sencha? Traditionally, a jasmine tea is made with Chinese green tea. So, I find myself puzzled by this choice. But, hey, it could still work.
But then I read this:
enhanced with pure jasmine oil
Here’s the thing. I have said (often) that the best jasmine teas are the ones that have been layered with the jasmine blossoms while they’re in the freshly harvested stage. Before they’re shipped out to us here in the states. While they’re still there in China, those tender leaves are processed with jasmine blossoms. They are scented with the essence of jasmine. They aren’t flavored with jasmine oil.
I love flavored tea. I’ve enjoyed many a flavored tea and I’m working to take over a tea company that specializes in making a brand new flavored tea every week, so you know I’m not one to turn my nose up on a flavored tea.
But there are some oils that should never be used on teas. One of them is jasmine oil. This is an essential oil that is used for perfumes and similar uses. Not for tea. Never for tea. Using jasmine oil on a tea turns a perfectly good tea into something that tastes of perfume.
On the other hand, a scented jasmine tea (that is, the tea that’s been layered with the jasmine blossoms) doesn’t taste of perfume. It tastes lightly, delicately, beautifully of jasmine. It’s a sweet and exotic taste but not soapy or perfume-ish.
So I sit here, before I’ve even brewed the tea, in turmoil and worry. Fearful that I’m about to brew a cup of perfume. But it’s not like it’s going to kill me. I might as well give it a try.
To brew this tea, I used my Breville One-Touch. I added 2 bamboo scoops of tea to the basket and 500ml of water to the jug. Then I set the parameters: since I could see that this was indeed a Japanese Sencha, I set the temperature to 170°F and the timer for 1 minute.
I also thought that by setting the timer for just 1 minute, that maybe I wouldn’t get too much of the jasmine ‘oil’ (aka perfume) taste and maybe just get some of the jasmine essence that I want from a Jasmine tea.
And I was right. I got just enough of the Sencha flavor from the 1 minute steep and not too much of the jasmine oil. I get a light, jasmine-y flavor without a perfume-y taste.
The Sencha is light and buttery. Smooth and not overly astringent. It isn’t bitter or too grassy.
Given all my misgivings and uncertainty about this blend, this is actually pretty good when prepared according to the above parameters. It made me a little curious about if I had steeped it for the suggested 2 minutes.
In the meantime, I’m happy enough with this cup of tea that I thought I’d try a second infusion of the leaves, adding 30 seconds onto the steep time. With the second infusion, I started to pick up on more jasmine oil. It didn’t taste perfume-y, exactly, but it tasted like maybe someone put a drop of jasmine oil in my Japanese Sencha and I didn’t really enjoy it. I much prefer a scented jasmine.
Overall, this is alright. It’s drinkable, but it’s not something I’d recommend.
Avonlea Honeybush Tisane from Lemon Lily
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Lemon Lily
Tea Description:
Organic ingredients: Honeybush, cinnamon, ginger, hibiscus, Canadian Maple Flakes.
Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I had high hopes for this Avonlea Honeybush Tisane from Lemon Lily. I mean, cinnamon, ginger and maple together with the honeyed, nutty flavor of honeybush actually sounds pretty tasty. Even with hibiscus in there. But as I taste it, I’m finding myself disappointed by this.
I don’t like the combination of honeybush and hibiscus. This just isn’t working for me. You might think that the sweetness of the honeybush would help even out the tartness of the hibiscus, but the honeybush sweetness isn’t enough to soften the tartness of the hibiscus and the result is just a weird, funky taste.
And it’s a weird taste that even the warm spice of the cinnamon and ginger can’t offset. Even the maple – which is a favorite flavor of mine – even the maple does very little to improve the flavor here. In fact, I’m tasting relatively little maple flavor here. Very disappointing.
As it cools, this does taste better. The honeybush and hibiscus don’t seem to be battling it out to create that weird taste anymore, but the hibiscus is still too tart for my liking. It’s drinkable now and I don’t think I would have described it as such while it was hot.
Served hot, it’s a very weird cup of tea. As it cools, it becomes drinkable but it’s still quite tart and I find myself wishing the hibiscus wasn’t there.
I have enjoyed many of the teas that I’ve tried from Lemon Lily (thanks to not just one but two boxes from Postal Teas that has featured them), but this one just isn’t bringing a smile to my face.
Red Hot Cinnamon Spice Black Tea from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
A sweet cinnamon confection with just enough spice to pack a punch, but not enough to send you to the emergency room. We threw four different types of cinnamon bark into this thing, just so you know we mean business. Assam black tea for a a little maltiness coupled with Keemun black tea for a little smokiness, and, well, you have yourself some Red Hot Cinnamon Spice!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After reading the ingredient list of this Red Hot Cinnamon Spice Black Tea from M&K’s Tea Company, I was excited to try it. Yeah, it has hibiscus in it and as you know, I’m not a fan of hibiscus, but what impressed me is that the base of this black tea is a blend of Assam and Keemun! With most of the Red Hot type of black teas that I’ve tried in the past, the tea company uses Ceylon. I like that M&K’s is adventurous enough to try something different!
I brewed this in my Kati Tumbler. I put a heaping scoop of the loose leaf tea in the basket of the tumbler and poured in 12 ounces of boiling water. I let it steep for 3 minutes.
I’m enjoying this. This isn’t exactly what I think of when I think “Red Hot Cinnamon” – there are quite a few teas out there that taste like liquefied red hot cinnamon candies. This isn’t like that.
Oh, sure, it’s got a strong, spicy, cinnamon-y kick to it. But it tastes like pure, real cinnamon, not like the candy. And I like that. Sure, I enjoy those spicy-sweet confectionery-type teas too, but it goes back to what I said in the first paragraph, I like that M&K’s is adventurous to try something different. They’re celebrating the true, spicy flavor of cinnamon here rather than going the candy-like route.
The black tea is strong! The Assam adds a bold, malty flavor and the Keemun adds just a hint of smoke to the cup that accentuates the cinnamon in a pleasing way. The black tea is robust, earthy and has a moderate astringency.
The hibiscus actually works quite well in this blend, I think that the tartness of the herb helps to offer contrast to the spicy cinnamon. It isn’t a heavy hibiscus flavor, in fact, I really have to focus to actually taste the hibiscus. There’s just enough in there to offset some of the spice but not so much that I taste an obvious hibiscus note.
Mostly, what I taste here is cinnamon. Not surprising, right? I like that I am tasting true cinnamon flavor. This doesn’t have an artificial or candy flavor. It tastes like the kind of cinnamon I might grab off my pantry shelf and sprinkle in my oatmeal. (I do combine two different time of cassia for my cinnamon blend … this tea blend uses four types of cinnamon, they got me beat!) The clove gives a background warmth to the cup and complements the cinnamon, and I like that the clove isn’t too aggressive here. I like that this tea is a celebration of cinnamon!
A really tasty blend, I’m glad I had this opportunity to try it!
Sarsaparilla Float Honeybush Blend from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This here is some stunningly good stuff! We’ve blended organic honeybush with sarsaparilla root (who knew it was spelled that way? I mean, really, how do we get the common pronunciation from THAT spelling?), marshmallow root and organic flavors. This is delicious and refreshing. I dare you to get some and tell me I’m wrong.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After I brewed this Sarsaparilla Float Honeybush Blend from 52Teas and started sipping, I tried to figure out what I thought about it. Did I like it? I didn’t really have an immediate answer for that. But now, the cup is nearly finished and I’ve not even written a whole paragraph. So, I’m guessing that yeah … I do like it.
I’ve had the root beer blends that 52Teas has created in the past and quite enjoyed them. And when I think “sarsaparilla” – I think “root beer.” But this tastes different than the root beer blends I’ve had. It certainly has some similarities to the root beer teas of the past but this tastes somewhat earthier than the 52Teas I’ve had before. This almost tastes like something I might buy off one of those old-time medicine wagons or perhaps something I ordered at an old tavern filled with cowboys.
Not that I’ve ever bought anything off of one of those old-time medicine wagons or had anything to drink at an old tavern. I’ve never even seen an old-time medicine wagon except for on television and the only thing that would resemble an old tavern is the Western bar photography props at Knott’s Berry Farm. I spent a lot of time there as a kid growing up in California.
But let’s get back to this tisane. I’m definitely tasting a root beer like flavor here, although it is more earthy, as I said. I taste a woodsy note and a hint of the nutty, honey-esque notes from the honeybush. At first, I wasn’t sure if I liked the way the root beer-y, sarsaparilla notes played with the honeybush, but now, I think I do.
As the tea cools somewhat, the float-ish type flavors start to emerge more, I can taste the fluffy, creamy vanilla notes and it’s quite yummy.
So getting back to my original question. Yeah. Yeah I like this. It’s different than I was expecting, but I like it … and as I sip it, I kind of feel like I should be wearing a cowboy hat and boots with spurs on ’em. And knowing me, I’d trip over the spurs and hurt myself. So maybe I should just stick to my Vans. What can I say? I’ll always be a California girl at heart. And by feet, too, I guess.
Be sure to stay tuned for an announcement concerning 52Teas. My previous Kickstarter didn’t get fully funded, so I’ll be launching another Kickstarter soon! I hope you’ll help me take over 52Teas!
Check out This Kickstarter Campaign!
As some of my regular readers are aware, I have been promoting my own Kickstarter campaign over the last few weeks before time ran out. I didn’t reach my goal, but I haven’t given up. I’ll be back within a couple of weeks with a new Kickstarter campaign.
In the meantime, please check out this campaign by the Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company! I have reviewed several of this company’s teas, and I know them to offer superior quality Oolong, Black and Green teas. Here are links to some of their teas that I’ve reviewed in the past:
- ShanLinXi Highest Mountain Oolong Tea
- Asian Beauty Oolong Tea
- Formosa Assam Black Tea
- Twisted Green Tea
These teas were amazing, and I have no doubt that the tea that I receive as an incentive for my pledge for their campaign will be equally as wonderful if not more so.
I’m really hoping that they’ll succeed with their goal because: a) I’ll get some great tea; and b) I really like this company. I like that they’re dedicated to sourcing amazing teas and what has also impressed me about this company is that they’re really great people. They are dedicated not only to great tea but also to providing excellent customer service. They’re a win-win company!
Please consider pledging to Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company! They only have nine days left to go on their campaign and they still need about $2500 to reach their goal!