Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Capital Tea Limited
Tea Description:
Quality Ceylon black tea infused with a natural fruit and caramel flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! It’s pretty much a given that a tea will have me at the word “caramel” and this Marco Polo Blend from Capital Teas Limited did. This is rich and sweet and delicious.
The black tea base is a Ceylon. Most Ceylon teas are medium bodied, and I’d probably categorize this as a medium-to-full bodied tea too. It’s not quite as hefty or thick as an Assam would be, but it’s not what I’d call a thin textured tea either. It’s pleasantly flavored, nicely round and it’s got some gusto. It’s smooth until the finish where I notice a slight dryness of astringency. It’s not a harsh astringency and the tea itself is not bitter.
It’s not an aggressive tea and for the subtly of the flavoring, an aggressive tea is not needed here. The fruit and caramel flavor is more of what I’d call a ‘delicate’ level of flavoring. It’s not in your face. There’s a gentle note of caramel and an even gentler note of fruit.
It’s gentle, but it’s effective! I like the subtle approach here. It’s a soft, creamy note of caramel that seems to glide over the palate. The fruit notes add just a whisper of sweetness and a little dimension to the cup without offering a distinct fruit flavor. I can’t tell you exactly what fruit I’m tasting. It’s just a hint of fruitiness.
A very enjoyable cuppa! I’m glad I had the opportunity to try it.
Pomteani from Lemon Lily
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lemon Lily
Tea Description:
Organic Ingredients: Black Tea, Pomegranate, Safflower, Orange Peel, Lemon Peel.
Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
For this review, I felt a little bit at a disadvantage. This Pomteani from Lemon Lily was another of the three teas that I received in the most recent edition from Postal Teas’ subscription service, but because Postal Teas hasn’t updated their blog in a long while and because I was unable to find this tea anywhere on the Lemon Lily website, I couldn’t find any information about the tea – not even a photo of the loose leaf tea. (And my camera battery, of course, needs to be recharged.)
So, I’ll just wing this review without a description from either company and without photos. Hey, I can do this, I’m a professional. (No wisecracks!) Well, maybe I’m not a professional reviewer – but I pretend to be one on the internet.
First of all, I need to say that I don’t know how accurate the ingredient list is. I see the bits of lemon and orange peel, I see the bits of safflower petal and the black tea leaves. I don’t see any pomegranate arils, but what I do see is a powdery substance that reminds me a bit of the beet powder that I found in the Beauty & The Beet blend only this powdery substance wasn’t hot pink. It’s more like a pale blonde color. Is this the pomegranate the ingredient list speaks of? I’ve never seen pomegranate look like that before. But either this is, in fact, the pomegranate, or there’s another ingredient that the list above doesn’t include.
To brew this, I used my Breville One Touch. I added 500ml of freshly filtered water into the jug and 2 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket of the tea maker and set the parameters for 2 1/2 minutes at 212°F.
And I definitely taste the pomegranate. I also taste notes of citrus. The black tea is medium bodied tea with an even tone and texture, I suspect it’s a Ceylon. It has some astringency to it and it’s an astringency that seems to build, as I found the second half of my cup to be more astringent than the first half.
It’s a flavorful cuppa, and would make a nice afternoon tea. I guess it would also make a nice cocktail – or at least a very attractive one to serve for today: Valentine’s Day.
Overall, this tea is just alright. I didn’t enjoy this as much as I’ve enjoyed the other offerings that I’ve tried from Lemon Lily.
Georgia Peach Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our premium organic Iyerpadi black tea blended with sweet organic peach flavors. This may not be as crazy as Garlic Toast or Maple Bacon, but this will make you happy inside.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
When I first saw that Southern Boy Teas created this Georgia Peach Iced Black tea as their tea of the week for the first week of January, I thought, Oh! That sounds good! Then I thought, kind of boring though, isn’t it? Then my mind wandered to the ready-to-drink peach flavored iced teas that are mostly sugar and flavoring and very little tea. Bleh!
So, as I was brewing this, I was hoping that it wasn’t going to taste like the stuff you can find on the supermarket shelves. I was hoping that I’d taste tea that’s been flavored with just enough peach flavor that I could taste the peach and still enjoy the flavor of the black tea.
And that’s exactly what is in my glass right now. Well, actually, I should say that’s exactly what WAS in my glass, because I’ve finished my third glass of this iced tea in a matter of a half an hour. This stuff is good. I know that Southern Boy Teas is embracing the slogan “tea that’s meant to be shared,” but my mind is embracing the notion that I need to drink this before anyone else realizes how good it is. All for me, none for you! Share? Ha!
The black tea that Southern Boy Teas has been using for their black tea blends is an Iyerpadi estate black tea that’s brisk and has a solid black tea flavor. It’s not an aggressive tea, but it isn’t too shy either. It doesn’t hide behind the flavors. It’s a tea that’s rich, smooth, not astringent or bitter, and just … really good.
The peach flavoring starts out subtle. My first few sips, the peach flavor wasn’t strongly apparent, but there was something luscious there that kept me sipping. About midway through that glass, I realized – LOVELY peach! Yum! The peach is a sweet flavor but not candy sweet, it’s more like a true to the fruit sweetness.
Really nice!
And please don’t forget about Frank’s Indiegogo campaign that’s going on right now! He’s looking to enhance his iced tea business so that he can take it to the next level! Please help this small business achieve its goal!
Tangerine Dream Oolong Tea from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Chinese tangerine peel and California orange peel surround Phoenix Dan Cong (Mi Lan Xiang & Yu Lan Xiang) loose leaf oolong teas lightly coated with orange blossom flower extract and tangerine oil. This tea is part of M&K’s Original 20 Blends.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! This Tangerine Dream Oolong Tea from M&K’s Tea Company has a really lovely tangerine flavor to it. I like how the tangerine complements the Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong tea.
To brew this, I decided to go ahead and use my Kati Tumbler instead of my gaiwan, mostly because after examining the sampler package, it appeared to be just the right amount of leaf for my tumbler. So I poured the sampler pouch into the basket of my Kati and added 12 ounces of 180°F water. I let it steep for 3 minutes (following a 15 second rinse).
I really like this. The tangerine flavor is not overwhelming. I like that I taste the lovely Oolong tea above the tangerine, but the tangerine is an obvious flavor. It definitely tastes like tangerine. The background suggests flavors of sweet potato and honey. The texture is silky.
And of course, it IS an Oolong so you know I’ve got to resteep it, right? When I resteeped the leaves, I added 30 seconds brew time to it.
The second cup is flavorful, although some of the tangerine notes have waned. I’m still picking up on faint tangerine flavors but this cup is much more about the Oolong than the tangerine. Which is alright because this is a mighty fine Oolong tea!
The tangerine notes are most noticeable in the aftertaste now, where I’m picking up on a lightly sweet, citrus note. This cup is offering a stronger honey taste, although it’s a little less ‘silky’ in texture. The first cup was definitely smoother as I detected no astringency with the first cup, and now I’m getting just a wee bit. Still not a lot of astringency, but I’m noticing a little bit of dryness to this cup.
The flavors are a lot more mellow with this infusion. The sweet potato notes are not as apparent as they were in the previous cup. I’m tasting distant woodsy notes now. This is a different tea than the first cup, but it’s still really enjoyable and definitely worth the effort of the resteep.
Mint Chamomile Rooibus Blend from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Our Mint Chamomile tea will put a smile on your face regardless of the day you are having. Brew a cup of this floral, sweet and soothing tea and enjoy a wonderfully fresh finish of this beautiful cup of tea.
Chamomile Flowers, Roobius Tea, Peppermint Leaves, Natural Vanilla Flavor
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Co-Op Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
What a happy day! I was so thrilled to find a box from Simple Loose Leaf in my mailbox today! So happy, in fact, that I decided to go against my “usual” approach when it comes to teas and I grabbed the tea I would normally ‘put off’ trying: this Mint Chamomile Rooibus Blend!
Tonight seems the perfect night for such a blend too. I’m up a little later than usual and I’m not really feeling all that sleepy yet. I’m hopeful that the chamomile in this tisane will help inspire a sense of calm and relaxation so that I can start thinking about catching some Zzz’s.
To brew this tisane, I grabbed my Kati tumbler and measured a heaping bamboo scoop into the basket. Then I poured 12 ounces of 195°F water into the tumbler and let it steep for 8 minutes.
I’ve come to realize that I’d really rather not steep chamomile blends in my Breville One Touch. The chamomile is a bit more ‘resistant’ to being removed from any infuser basket, and while I do scrub out my infuser basket in between every tea that I brew in my Breville One Touch, chamomile proves to be rather challenging to scrub out of the basket. I find it easier to clean the Kati Tumbler infuser basket than it is to clean the basket of the tea maker!
Even though I am often quick to say that I’m not crazy about chamomile or rooibos, I’m really enjoying this! I think it’s the combination of the peppermint and the vanilla flavor that I’m liking. The soft, creamy notes of the vanilla soften the crisper edges of the peppermint just enough so that the herb isn’t as invigorating as it often is. I’m not getting that exhilarating feeling after sipping this. The mint is cool and sweet and the vanilla adds a softness to it that is quite nice.
The rooibos adds a little bit of nutty flavor and a touch of honey-like (that honeyed flavor coming not just from the rooibos but also the chamomile) sweetness to the cup. I like that while the rooibos doesn’t present a strong flavor to this tea, what I can taste of the rooibos is a pleasant contribution to the overall cup. That is to say that it plays well with the other flavors!
Of the four ingredients of this tea, the chamomile is the one that I taste least. As I already mentioned, I do taste a light ‘honey-like’ flavor from it, but I’m not tasting much else from it. Maybe a hint of ‘chamomile apple taste’ every now and then, but it’s very obscure.
But I don’t mind that at all. I’m not big on chamomile, as I said, but I do like the flavors of mint and vanilla and since those are the two strongest flavors of this cup, I’m quite happy with what I’m tasting.
This is a soothing, comforting cuppa – relaxing? Yes. A really nice bedtime drink.
This tea came in this month’s Simple Loose Leaf’s Co-Op Membership box, along with four other teas. This program is great for someone who likes to taste before they commit to a large quantity of tea – the five tea packages were sample sized, just enough to have several cups of tea to decide if you like it enough to buy more and when you do buy more, you get a discount on full-sized purchases! This Co-Op program is a win-win!