Next for my Birthday-Review-A-Thon, I’d thought I would check out Sweet Magnolia Green, a tea sent to me when I was subscribing to The Tea Spot’s Monthly Subscription Plan. I can’t recommend a better subscription plan to be honest. The only reason I had to stop was because I just found myself with way too many teas that needed my attention. So when my debit card needed to be updated, I just realized I needed to pause the plan for a bit and get back to it in a few months once my tea stash has gone down a bit.
Each month, The Tea Spot would curate a package of teas for you to try- all different varieties for all different occasions. I loved the fact that I wasn’t the one making the choice of what I was going to receive, getting me out of my comfort zone a bit. I’m more of a green and white tea drinking gal, but every once in a while, I need to remember all the love black and herbal teas can give.
This particular tea that I received in one of my tea subscriptions- Sweet Magnolia Green is a tea that I’ve been wanting to try for some tea. Green tea with jasmine flowers and throw in the magnolia scented piece . .be still my beating heart! I’ve been waiting for the right time to check this tea out and I feel like today is the day.
As soon as I open the package, I know I’m in for a treat. This tea has all the floral love and then some. The magnolia scent is for sure noticeable along with the familiar jasmine notes that I have grown to adore. The green tea base is there with a subtle vegetal scent.
Brewed up with water prepped at 175F and allowed to steep for 3 minutes, this hot cuppa floral tea keeps giving and giving in its own beautiful way. The first flavor that comes across is a strong jasmine note and I mean strong. I love my jasmine teas so this didn’t turn me off but I could see this not being a tea for those who aren’t into floral teas.
Towards the end of the sip, you are greeted with this wonderfully silky green tea base that had me coming back for more. Really lovely and one that I can’t get enough of. Highly recommend this one for all my green tea fans as well as anyone that enjoys a floral tea.
This tea is soft and bold with an alluring feel that makes you want to gulp and I mean gulp the tea down. I don’t think I’ll be sharing this tea with my hubby today. I think this gorgeous blend is all mine.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Description
Our award-winning magnolia green tea won the Gold Medal at the 2017 World Tea Championship. Your senses will be exhilarated and your spirits uplifted when you breathe in the sweet, fragrant aroma of our Sweet Magnolia Green. This delicate tea is naturally scented with beautiful white magnolia flowers, giving it a diverse array of aromas that range from deep plum fruit to light citrus. The magnolia scent is in perfect harmony with the buttery green tea, making an unforgettable cup of tea that will infuse peace into any occasion.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Toasty and Floral: Keemun Black Tea from The Tea Spot. . . .
Fine quality, unflavored black tea always makes me feel like a serious tea aficionado. So I brewed up a cup of Keemun black tea from the Tea Spot and put my semi-professional tea-hat on. Keemun tea is a well-known black tea from China. The leaves are dark, with medium length and medium twists in shape. No extra blossoms or fuzzy buds, just deep, rich tea leaves. Dry, in the bag, the tea smells earthy and musky, very complex.
The Tea Spot describes this tea as having notes of “smoky pine, orchid, crushed apple.” I was very intrigued. Brewed, the keemun has a much sweeter taste alongside the damp earth tones, which must be the “crushed apple” flavors coming through. The earthiness is not as strong or overwhelming as sour pu erh tea, but more lush, like wet leaves or freshly-turned soil. There is a touch of the “orchid” floral notes in the scent of the tea, but I don’t notice it as much in the taste.
The more I drink the tea, the more a toasty, almost-caramel aftertaste starts to appear. And despite all my talk of savory, masculine flavors, there is a hint of a brighter note, more reminiscent of breakfast teas, with a lighter, almost lemony tone.
There is a lot going on in this tea, and lots of details to savor and enjoy. For mornings when you want to feel sophisticated and expand your tea palette, you can’t go wrong with Keemun from the Tea Spot.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Description: A splendor of toasty flavor and aroma! The most refined and perhaps the most well-known of Chinese black teas, this Keemun is handpicked in Anhui Province. This tea has an indescribable flavor, with the most delicate hints of smoky pine, orchid, crushed apple and a rich, sweet body.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Meditative Mind from The Tea Spot. . . . .
With the new semester starting and my mind trying to keep up with all the things around it, I was more than down for a nice cup of soothing tea. I was glad to find just want I was searching for with this relaxing blend.
Meditative Mind is a very soft tea where your taste buds will be lightly touched by the flavors of the jasmine flower and the rose petals. And as I said before in my previous reviews, this power couple of these two flowers always is a good base for any tea in my book. Not to mention the white tea does a fabulous job of joining these two together.
Additionally, I am glad that the flavors of this tea are very subdued for that is the point of this tea. In my opinion, this should be a tea that you drink when you are trying to wind down either by listening to the rain or some light music. Giving you a chance to really experience each flavor without distraction.
Also, a great thing about this tea is that is moderately inexpensive. For a 1.5-ounce tin is $12.95 but if you buy a 2-ounce tin you save some change by paying only $12.25. But if you are still unsure The Tea Spot also offers $3 samples which according to their site is good for five 8 ounce cups, which I think is a perfect trial for any tea. Another thing to feel good about if you do purchase this tea is that 10% of all The Tea Spots’ sales go to cancer and community wellness programs. So, while you enjoy the warmth of one of their numerous teas you can be confident that your purchase is helping those who are less fortunate.
Now, will I purchase this tea in the future? Most definitely! Because not only is it a good blend for stress relief and relaxation but my money is also helping to maintain “the on–going wellness of cancer survivors and facilitating healthy habits to decrease cancer risks”.
See you for the next cuppa! Kara
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White Tea
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Description
Our beloved blend of pure Chinese white tea, rosebuds and jasmine pearls creates an experience of aromatherapy that sharpens the mind and arouses the senses. The exotic floral scent of night–blooming Jasmine is uplifting and soothing, and is used as an anti-depressant in herbal medicine. Rosebuds are used to ease nervous tension and stress, and have a calming effect on the mind. This combination works together to enhance the light, subtle flavor of the white tea leaves. This tea brews into a golden liquor with a very soothing fragrance, and is perfect before, during, or after a stressful day.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Candied Chestnut from The Tea Spot. . . .
This tea tastes like a baby shower for a child of unknown gender. Try to imagine the scene: comfortable, lighthearted, full of pastel yellows, whites, and light green gifts. Everyone’s in a good mood. It’s sweet and exciting and soft.
Boom. That’s this tea. It’s a smooth, buttery light flavor that is sweet. It tastes like nuts. It tastes like sugar. It tastes like calories.
The Tea Spot likens this tea’s flavor to a wedding cake, which I hadn’t realized until after I started this review’s “baby shower motif.” But you can see that I was spot on with their intentions!
This synchronicity is because I’m very, very tapped into the collective unconscious, you guys. Basically at one with the Universe.
I say that sarcastically, but when I was a kid, my grandmother totally had me believing I was psychic. She thought SHE was, and it had “skipped a generation” down to me. AS THOSE SORTS OF THINGS DO. She told me it was possible to hug trees and pick up their vibes. I always sensed that the trees were calm. (In retrospect: what would a rage-tree FEEL like?)
If only she knew about this “I can tell the intent of the flavor-maker” thing.
She’d be like “you can feel the intent of the tea-makers THROUGH THE TEA. My god, you are SO GIFTED. You are a CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK.”
I wish you could all meet this woman. You guys would love her. She is very gauche about her tea, but oh god she’s a character. (She buys the cheapest grocery store bags and uses them over and over again. It makes me want to cry when she does it. My mother has to shake her head at me so I don’t say anything.) She’d probably tell you all about your inner workings.
And tell you to have children. She would nag you to give her a great-grandchild.
If you succeed, I promise to serve this at your baby shower.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Description
This full leaf white tea will indulge your senses and make you dream of sweet sugarplums. Adorned with beautiful white flowers, this tea has sweet, light chestnut notes and a smooth buttery finish that lasts through multiple infusions. The Bai Yun tea leaves impart a great body & flavor which lasts over multiple infusions. Sipping this dessert tea is like indulging in a slice of decadent wedding cake… without the calories!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Get that Wild West feel with Wild Chicory Joe from The Tea Spot
When I think of chicory, I think of my favorite western TV shows and movies. Why? Well there wasn’t always a good supply of coffee out on the dusty trail, so chicory would be brewed as a substitute. Chicory and coffee have a long history together, with chicory stretching or replacing coffee when the latter is hard to come by, from Napoleonic France to the American Civil War. After these coffee-sparse times, some cultures developed a taste for chicory and still brew it alongside or with their coffee today.
I got a chance to try a cup of Wild Chicory Joe from the Tea Spot. I’m both a coffee fan and a tea lover, so I can appreciate both sides of this story.
Wild Chicory Joe brewed up super fast, as quick and dark as coffee. The brew was immediately full and fragrant, smelling like savory toasted grains or roasted nuts, over an undertone of more bitter, dirt-road earthiness. The first sip was a bit daunting: it’s not coffee, it’s not tea, and my taste buds were not sure what to expect. As I moved onto a second and third and fourth sip, the flavor grew on me. Beyond the roasted notes, there were flavors like caramel and malt, and a touch of true coffee on the aftertaste.
I could understand how chicory got its start as a coffee replacement. This brew is dark and bitter, but with a touch of the bright, citrus notes you find in a blond coffee roast. Unlike coffee, the chicory isn’t oily, instead it brews up with a smooth mouthfeel and a more herbal flavor.
Maybe I’m channeling my favorite westerns, but this cup is distinctly masculine, with nothing floral or astringent, just deep, bold, bitter – pow! All that said, the chicory does mellow out with some milk and sweetener so you can mix it like your favorite coffee or tea. And since the chicory is decaf, you can make a latte at any time of day or night.
If you’re looking to switch from coffee to chicory, this won’t be an easy transition, the chicory isn’t a perfect coffee replacement (not to mention, you’ll be craving the caffeine). But if you’re bored with your tea or need a break from your coffee, Wild Chicory Joe will be a fascinating cup to try. A cup of chicory might just be the perfect accessory to have on hand when watching your favorite western or reading your favorite wild west novel. Happy trails!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Description:
Hold onto your hats, coffee lovers! This natural coffee replacement is so darn delicious, you won’t believe your taste buds. Our Wild Chicory Joe brews into a boldly deep herbal tea that masquerades as a strong-brewed cowboy coffee, without any acidity. The roasted chicory root creates a dark espresso base while the chocolate barley malt adds cocoa notes and the fennel adds a little sweetness. Drink it straight or as the bold caffeine-free base for a latte. You might even trick some coffee fanatics into enjoying this cup of herbal tea. Giddy-up and grab some Joe!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!