Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Herbal Alchemy Teahouse
Tea Description:
This black tea has everything in which to woo an unsuspecting pallet – roses, chocolate, damiana and rich spices, but like every vampire’s kiss this tea is blood red and has a tiny bite…of cayenne red pepper.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about the MidWest Tea Fest here.
Taster’s Review:
This Vampire’s Kiss Tea from Herbal Alchemy Teahouse is the third of the teas that were sent to me by the organizers of the MidWest Tea Fest: Herbal Alchemy Teahouse is one of the featured vendors at the festival! After a quick glance at the list of scheduled vendors at the festival, it makes me wish that I was able to attend! It looks like it’s going to be an awesome tea fest!!!
This blend is a combination of black tea, rose, chocolate and spices. The tea brews up to be a dark, burgundy red – like a blood red color which makes me wonder if there’s hibiscus in this? I didn’t see a full ingredient list, so I’m not sure, but if I were to wager a guess, I’d say that there’s either hibiscus or something ‘beet’ in this blend because of the color.
It doesn’t taste strongly of hibiscus, but I do get a slightly thick texture that I would normally experience from hibiscus. That could also be from beet. And because of the spicy notes, I’m not detecting anything that’s obviously tart from hibiscus or obviously sweet from the beet, so I’m not really sure what’s supplying the strong color, but I’m suspecting hibiscus because the flavor tastes more like hibiscus to me than it does beet.
So what do I taste? I taste chocolate. But it doesn’t taste like a creamy, rich kind of chocolate flavor, it tastes more like cocoa powder that’s been added to a spiced herbal tisane. Or like cacao nibs/shells that have been added to a spiced herbal tisane.
I taste the spice! The spices build gradually, staring out rather delicate, but after a few sips, I’m getting a warm burning sensation toward the back of my palate.
I also taste an odd, herb-y sort of flavor that I can’t really describe except to say it tastes sort of medicinal, but not in an unpleasant way. It tastes like an herbal tea and as I continue to sip, I’m tasting more hibiscus-like flavors too.
But, I’m not complaining because the cocoa and the spice play with these hibiscus-like notes in such a way that it tastes more ‘berry like’ than it does the tart, syrupy flavor that I usually dislike from hibiscus. It’s odd, it’s different, but somehow, it works!
My biggest complaint about this tea? I don’t taste much black tea flavor. I’m getting a strong presence of the other flavors here, but the black tea seems almost non-existent. I like that the chocolate is strong, I like that I taste notes of rose and even that hint of spicy cayenne pepper that builds on the palate. I like that warmth from the spices. I’m just wishing I had more black tea flavor here.
This seems a lot more like an herbal tisane to me than a black tea. It’s good, though. If you’re one who enjoys spicy drinks, this is something worth exploring!
And don’t forget about the Midwest Tea Fest! If you’re going to be in the Kansas City, Missouri area on June 6th – you should definitely visit! And if you can make the trip, GO! It’s a great opportunity for tea lovers to get more information about the beverage they adore and an excellent way for those who are new to tea to learn more!
Ceremonial Gold Class Organic Matcha from Midori Spring
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Midori Spring on Amazon.com
Tea Description:
Midori Spring’s Ceremonial Gold Matcha is rich, smooth and creamy with a hint of sweetness when brewed traditionally. Only the best and darkest tencha are used for Gold Class. Gold Class has a fresh, sweet, green-vegetable-like aroma and the colour is a vibrant emerald green – a trait only high quality Ceremonial Grade Matcha encompass.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
From the moment that I opened the canister of this Ceremonial Gold Class Organic Matcha from Midori Spring – I was excited! I was anxious to try this beautiful powdered tea!
The dry powder is a bright, vivid green color – the color green that Matcha enthusiasts would immediately recognize as top-notch Matcha! This is the color Matcha should be!
I got out my chasen and chawan and scooped out a couple of scoops of Matcha with my chashaku – one scoop using this bamboo scoop is just enough for one serving of Matcha, but I wanted two! Then I placed the Matcha into my sifter (I just use an inexpensive wire mesh strainer for this) and sifted the Matcha into my chawan. I added hot water (160°F) and began whisking. I don’t have a precise measurement for the water – I use the eyeball method and then I taste it after I’ve whisked it. If I need more water, I add some.
This Matcha whisks up BEAUTIFULLY. The color of the tea in the photo above is quite accurate – that is the same color of the liquid that’s in my chawan right now, although it’s difficult to see it since it’s beneath a thick cap of foamy froth. This tea froths up so well and it maintains the froth for a long time after you’ve finished whisking.
The flavor is outstanding. This is a really top-notch, high quality Matcha. This is the kind of Matcha that is used in Japanese tea ceremony because it’s of the best quality. Sweet! Not a hint of bitterness. Smooth and buttery. No chalkiness or gritty texture. The flavor has hints of berry and cacao in it’s complex layers. It’s vegetal. It’s a bowl of Matcha perfection.
If you’re a fan of Matcha – I highly recommend trying this one the next time you need to stock your cupboard. You’ll be happy you did!
Black Tea & Lemongrass from Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Description:
Enjoy your black tea with lemongrass, another great ally of your body with a lemony flavor that soothes and tastes delicious! Sip it hot after a meal for an easy digestion, or pour it over ice cubes for a refreshing summer treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Another interesting tea from Chiang Rai Tea House! This time, it’s a combination of black tea leaves from Thailand and the curly pieces of Lemongrass that I enjoyed so much in their Lemongrass & Ginger blend. I don’t know if the cutting process that produces the curls in the lemongrass makes a difference in the flavor or if it’s because this is lemongrass from Thailand – but the lemongrass that I’ve tasted in both these blends has been a substantial lemon-y flavor – much more so than I’ve experienced from the typical chopped pieces of lemongrass.
The lemon-y notes are sweet and tart, but not pucker-y tart. Just tart enough to make this taste like lemon has been added to the tea rather than a sweeter lemon curd type flavor. Just tart enough to perk up the taste buds and really brighten the cup!
The black tea base is a very mellow tasting black tea. It’s not particularly robust, so I’m happy to have the sunny flavor of lemon in this tea. It’s invigorating from the refreshing lemon notes with a background of smooth, sweet black tea.
A really nice blend – not quite as strong as I’d want from a breakfast tea, but this would make a wonderfully refreshing iced tea or a great afternoon tea.
Tequila Sunrise Black Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
A double dose of Tequila Sunrise this week. I couldn’t decide whether I liked it best as a black tea or a green tea, so I did both! Here’s our premium Pettaiagala Extra Long Leaf OP from Sri Lanka blended with freeze-dried oranges and cherries; and organic tequila-, orange- and cherry flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s been a mighty long time since I’ve had a Tequila Sunrise (longer than I care to admit to!) so I don’t have any recent memories to compare the flavoring of this black tea blend from 52Teas to.
And I have to say that this tastes a lot better than I remember a Tequila Sunrise tasting. Hey, I liked them alright. They just weren’t my favorite cocktail. I preferred rum-based cocktails over tequila-based cocktails.
But this is really tasty!
I taste all the elements here: I taste the orange, I taste the cherry and I even taste notes of tequila. And, most importantly, I taste the black tea. I really like the way the Pettaiagala tea goes with these flavors – it’s very smooth! No bitterness and no astringency.
I’m not always really crazy about the cocktail inspired tea blends, but this one is really nice. And the best part? I can drink a couple cups of this without feeling hung over tomorrow.
Sugarcane Black Tea from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Tea Description:
This black tea is wilted and then fired briefly in Yunnan red cane sugar (an unprocessed sugar similar to muscavado). The tea maker learned the sugar technique from a Fujian tea master in Wuyi, and brought it back to Yunnan to make it his own. Just a small amount of sugar is used in the firing process, it is mixed with water and added to the wilted tea leaves during the frying stage of the processing, giving the brewed tea a pleasingly balanced sweetness. Having proved popular with both Tea Club customers and Canton staff, we had to bring this tea into our collection.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The name of this tea attracted me to it right away – Sugarcane Black Tea. Just the sound of it sounds like it’s going to make my sweet tooth very happy. So, when Canton Tea Co. sent me a sampling of it, I was very excited to try it!
I read a little bit about the process this tea undergoes to earn the name “Sugarcane Black” – apparently, the tea varietal used here is Zheng shan xiao zhong which is the same tea that is smoked to become Lapsang Souchong. But instead of smoking this tea…
… freshly picked tea is wilted and then briefly fried in tropical Yunnan muscovado style (un-processed) red sugar. The sugar is mixed with water, and used sparingly in the frying process of the leaves …
To brew this tea, I used my Kati Tumbler. I measured a bamboo scoop of the curly leaves into the basket of my Kati and added 12 ounces of boiling water to the tumbler. Then I let it steep for 3 minutes. The tea brews up lighter in color than I expected. Lapsang Souchong tea tends to be very dark, but this is a color that is somewhere between amber and light copper.
The flavor is delightful! The sweetness imparted onto this tea from the processing described above is delicate – this isn’t too sweet. There’s a nice balance between sweet, sugary notes and the natural fruit and floral notes from the tea. It’s very mellow and pleasant.
There is an overall lightness to this cup – it’s not a hefty or robust type of tea. This isn’t the tea you’d want to grab for that first cup of the day. Instead, this is the kind of tea that you’d want to share with guests or enjoy on a quiet afternoon when you can curl up and simply relax and take in the joy of this tea!
Really nice. A rather unique tea – certainly something that I’d recommend to all those who enjoy something a little different.