If you’d like a mild midafternoon pick-me-up, I have a delicate refresher for you!
White Vanilla Grapefruit by Harney & Sons is a pastel-flavored creamy vanilla with very faint fruit notes. It manages to be mellow, but not boring. It’s not a showy tea. It understands that it has something very important and comforting to impart. There are times when one wants something that is simply NICE.
It’s the flavor equivalent of a Mary Cassatt piece. It’s a homey domestic scene that reminds one of a vase of tulips and the feeling of warm laundry right out of the dryer. It’s reading a fresh magazine on a sunny couch. It’s the first time out in a new pair of socks. It’s a half-day at work. It’s the joyous announcement of a pregnancy.
Other people LOVE this tea. When I went onto the Harney site to grab the link for this tea, there are twelve — TWELVE — pages of reviews on this. People talk about enjoying it with their roommates, going on quests to find it, where they first tried it. This seems to have an almost cult following.
Will you become a raving fan, too? You’ll have to try it to find out.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Harney and Sons
Description
Our cleansing white tea blend of White Vanilla Grapefruit is enriched by vanilla, and brightened by the clear citrus notes of grapefruit. Its vanilla aroma adds a pleasantly indulgent touch.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Anhui Maojian from Tea Runners. . . . .
This is a green with a bite. It has a pleasant, slightly sweet vegetal tartness that’s surprising and unexpected. The description on the tea’s site describes this exciting sensation as “a lively and vibrant piquancy,” a phrase that I am bitter about not having created myself. The person who wrote it is a scholar.
This isn’t a neutral, pleasant green that fades into the background. It has a distinct personality. It won’t take no for an answer. It’s in charge of your attention. Every time I sip it here at my desk, I glance over at my mug in surprise. Aha! Yes! THIS GUY! STILL DELIGHTING THE SENSES.
When Jewel Staite (Space Cases/Firefly actress) started up Tea Runners, I wanted to be hype about it. I loved this actress — but did I love her taste in tea? Obviously, she probably has advisors and experts that help her with the company. But still. I wasn’t sure. My brother got me a month to be nice (his personality is a good one), and I’ve loved both of the teas I’ve tried so far. (There are 4 in each subscription). GOOD ON HER. So I’m happy to endorse what I’ve tried of Tea Runners.
I’m ALSO happy to endorse Space Cases and Firefly. They are late 90s/early 2000s science fiction. If you get nothing else from this post, just know: television in the pre-HBO era was a SIMPLER TIME. A delightful, innocent time. Pure, like this tea. Get on board.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea Runners
Description
This lovely green tea from the Anhui province in China is not only pleasant to look at– its young leaves are touched with mao jian or “downy tips”– but it also brews to a lively and vibrant piquancy. We love the fresh green grass scent and the slightly sweet umami finish in its taste, a welcome combination that makes this green one to savour.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Emperor’s Bride from Savanna Tea Room. . . . .
I bought this tea while my husband wasn’t looking. The Savannah Tea Room adjoins an independent bookstore; and to this day, we don’t talk about the financial carnage that combination brought.
I imagine that most of our paired-off Sisters and readers know what I’m talking about here. Every partnership has a few Off-Topic Subjects, usually involving exes, but other times involving How Much Tea Is In The House. (To quote the Natalie Portman rap: “I never said I was a role model.”)
This blend was a great buy, and I refuse to regret it. Its primary flavors are pineapple and quince (a sort of plum/pear flavor). It rounds out with orange and thistle (which I’m not sure I detect). The flavor’s a little bit sweet, a little bit sour, mostly tropical.
If you’re ever in Savannah, Georgia, I recommend checking out the Savannah Tea Room . You can buy books there, too! As an added bonus: you remember the experience very clearly later when you get your credit card bill.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Savannah Tea Room
Description
Also called Keisarin Morsian this Finnish tea has a base of Assam and Ceylon teas. Pineapple chunks and dried orange peel are added and it is enhanced with thistle petals and essence of quince and elder. The most popular tea we stock!j
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Watermelon Oolong from Fraser Tea. . .
Imagine, if you will, a watermelon Jolly Rancher, then mellow it out by melting it into a nice cup of jasmine oolong. Boom. Watermelon Oolong by Frasier Tea. I really don’t have to go on, honestly, because I nailed the description in the first sentence. I could walk out of this post. I COULD LEAVE RIGHT NOW.
But I won’t, because, you know, I have an obligation to you guys to entertain you and bring you joy.
So let’s talk about summer and how it is JUST around the corner. This tea is going to be your summer buddy. It is basically the Fourth of July watermelon platter in a liquid. You can feel the rumbling booms of fireworks echoing off nearby mountains. You can hear children shrieking as they chase each other. Everyone’s hair is frizzy and no one cares because they’re drunk on sunshine and casual long weekend companionship.
THAT’s how this tea feels. This tea feels like the promise of good weather with your friends.
Summer is just around the corner. Ready yourself.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Fraser Tea
Description
A virtual summer picnic in your glass, Watermelon Oolong Organic Oolong Tea combines fresh berries and tropical fruit flavors together with lemongrass for a crisp and refreshing taste. This superior grade organic oolong tea offers numerous nutritional benefits including weight management, diabetes management, and mental health. Think wellness; embrace flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tea of Inquiry from Allegheny Coffee & Tea Exchange. . . .
Fun facts about genmaicha tea:
– It’s tea cut with rice, including popped rice (“popcorn tea”).
– It’s consumed all over the world.
– It used to be associated with the lower class, because they couldn’t afford straight tea.
– It might be an appetite suppressant. People with less money would drink it when they couldn’t afford food.
– It’s DELICIOUS.
If you’re like “I want to get on board with green tea, but I can’t even begin to deal with all that GREEN flavor,” give this a try. It’s a workaround. It tastes like toast/popcorn/rice. It has a robust, grainy/nutty kind of flavor. The “green”ness is cut down significantly.
Plus, I mean, you’re getting down with the proletariat. You’re supporting the REGULAR FOLK on PRINCIPLE.
I don’t have a lot of experience drinking this new favorite type of tea. If you’re a connoisseur, I can’t tell you whether Allegheny Coffee & Tea Exchange’s “Tea of Inquiry” is a stellar example of the genre. But I think it’s delicious. I recommend trying it or another gemaicha today! It might be for you.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Allegheny Coffee & Tea Exchange
Description
A special Japanese blend of fine green tea and toasted rice.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!