Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black/Flowering
Where to Buy: McQuarrie’s Tea & Coffee Merchants
Tea Description:
An exquisite medium body taste profile. A smooth cup with hints of fruit and soft rose notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Picked up a single bloom of this one at McQuarrie’s (my local, privately owned loose leaf store) when I was there earlier in the month. It cost about $1.50 if I remember correctly – $2 tops. It’s been a little while since I had a bloom tea, and when I was skimming the selection they offers this was the only one I noticed with a black base, so I figured I’d give it a shot since blooms with black bases don’t seem to be a super common thing. Like I usually do with bloom/flowering teas, I made it in my 25 oz. mason jar from DT so I could see it clearly. I apologize that the pictures I took are pretty crude; my options were webcam or cell phone, and neither are the highest quality…
Aesthetically speaking this was pretty; the black tea when fully spread out did look a little frayed and tattered, but the flower in the center was really pretty. It’s hard to see in the pictures, but it was a little pinker than they’d lead you to believe. A lot of the lavender ‘woven’ in place also got loose as well and ended up as floaty bits at the top of the mason jar.
This was actually pretty decent as far as bloom teas go though; since a lot of the lavendar broke off and was drank by me early on it didn’t get a chance to get super strong/perfumey and instead just imparted a nice light, but still present flavour. Other strong flavours were malt, stewed fruit and raisin from the black base and then quite a bit of rose from the actual rose in the blend. It tied in together pretty well. If I was a fan of raisins I think I’d have personally liked it a little bit better. There was a nice mix between flavours contributed by the tea itself and the additional floral ingredients. Given most bloom teas are just a pretty aesthetic this had some solid flavour to match.
It was a bit bitter by the end; but given that I drank it during an hour and a half movie and it was essentially steeping the entire duration of the movie I think it held up incredibly well. I know McQuarrie’s sources almost all of their teas from different companies, but this one isn’t listed like they usually do – so maybe it is one of the few teas they carry that are actually their own blends.
If that’s true, than it’d definitely be harder for most people to get a hold of since it’s a local store (with pretty steep shipping prices for delivery outside of Saskatoon) – but I do think it’s worth a try! However, if I had to guess where they probably sourced it from I’d wager Metropolitan Tea Company, since that’s where most of the flowering blends they carry seem to be from.
Amba Tea Flower Tea by Single Origin Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Ceylon
Where to Buy: Single Origin Teas
Tea Description:
Amba Tea Flower Tea comes from one of two artisanal tea producers in Sri Lanka. Along with representing the Uva climate in this diverse country, Beverly the tea manager, has added camellia blossoms; giving a honey like sweetness to the wintergreen and maraschino cherry black tea that the Uva region is famous for. This innovative blend is one of the first of its kind. (We drink a lot of tea…and had never even thought of this!). The Amba tea estate has high altitude and harsh drought conditions that create a unique and unrivaled quality in their tea. These stressful growing conditions are then complimented with a fine level of plucking: one leaf and one bud. Hand rolled, fermented and dried, this tea receives a level of care that is close to devotion.
Amba is prized because of the unique, menthol almost eucalyptus aroma from the leaves. Add a maraschino cherry sweetness with the classic citrus undertones of Sri lanka and you experience a very complex cup of tea! Not your standard flavored tea, this tea has been carefully blended to ensure the taste is not over-powered but yet distinct. Beverly carefully blends and tastes each hand-rolled batch guaranteeing a high level of quality.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been craving spring, and while the weather has teased the East Coast with a few warm days and some sunshine the temperature here has still been relatively cool. This is keeping me in long sleeves and (mostly) away from my garden, but it’s not keeping springtime out of my tea cup. I find myself reaching for fresh, fruity teas, and the Amba Flower Tea from Single Origin Teas has been a recent delight.
This tea made me stop, sip, and just enjoy all of the flavors it has to offer. There is a fruity – almost candy like – cherry note as well as a bright, clean eucalyptus flavor. It might seem like these two flavors shouldn’t work together, but trust me, they do. The eucalyptus note is light enough that it doesn’t overpower the tea. Instead, it heightens the tea’s fruity cherry note and natural sweetness, and it leaves a clean feeling on the tongue. There is also an orange note that is most apparent at the end of the sip and as the tea cools. I find the citrus note both surprising and pleasant, and I think it brings a fullness and bit of sparkle to the cup. I thoroughly enjoy the mix of flavors and am so impressed by this truly lovely Ceylon.
I prepared this tea using one teaspoon of tea per eight ounces of water, 200°F water, and steeped the leaves for three minutes and thirty seconds. This is a tea that can be steeped multiple times. I did not add sugar or cream to my cup. I found the natural sweetness of the tea to be enough for me. I do think this tea can handle some sugar, but cream might mute the flavors.
Amba Flower Tea is unique enough to make life long tea drinkers do a double take at their tea cups, but it is also something I can see first time tea drinkers enjoying. It was certainly what I needed to remind me that a cup of tea can be just the thing to brighten my day while I wait for the warmer days of spring to finally arrive.
Sweet Violet Tea from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Flower
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Sweet Chinese violets, creamy and sweet with just a hint of floral flavor! If you enjoy the lighter side of life (chamomile, rose buds, green tea) you will love this tea. Just throw a couple of flowers in some boiling water, and–viola! You have some sweet violet tea. Although this isn’t a rare flower, it is a difficult tea to locate, which makes us extra happy to offer it to our customers.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Every once in a while, I’ll shop around on Etsy. As an artist myself, I like supporting other artists. And also, every once in a while, I’ll come across a new-to-me tea company whose offerings are too enticing to pass up. Such is the case last week when I was looking around on Etsy and I found M&K’s Tea Company.
I was thrilled with the prices of their samplers. The one I ultimately decided upon was just $4.99 for a custom five tea sampler, but there are several other samplers to choose from as well. The order turnaround time is speedy: I placed the order and the next business day, my order was already in transit!
I really like the packaging of the samples from M&K’s Tea Company. The outer “sleeve” is a small Kraft envelope that is about the size of a coin envelope. it has a “window” cut out of it to offer a visual of the tea which has been sealed in a small zipper pouch that’s been sealed inside the Kraft envelope. The front outer label has the M&K’s logo and the name of the tea. The back outer label offers brewing parameters, ingredients and harvest information.
Under the sealed flap of the Kraft envelope is “Your Lucky Tea Symbol.” For this particular tea, my symbol is The Fox. I’m not sure exactly what that means. But it adds a little whimsy to the whole thing.
A lot of thought has gone into packaging and I like that. I like that it has a certain “small company” type feel to it but some time and effort was invested in it to give it a quality appearance while also providing the customer with the information needed to properly brew a cup of tea!
So, this Sweet Violet Tea is the first of the teas that I’ll be trying from this new to me company! Not actually a “tea” because it contains no camellia sinensis, this flower tisane is crafted from Sweet Violets. The flowers are gorgeous, colorful, whole and beautifully fragrant.
To brew this, I emptied the sample into the basket of my Kati Tumbler. The other samples from M&K’s hold enough for 500ml in my Breville One-Touch, but because these flowers are so large and bulky, the sample envelope looks like it’s just the right size for my tumbler. There are four whole flowers in the sample package, which seems about right for the size of the tumbler. Maybe one flower too many, but I’d rather go a little more on the leaf than a little less.
I filled the tumbler with water heated to 195°F and steeped the flowers for 8 minutes. (Incidentally, I didn’t follow the parameters as suggested on the packet, which called for 2 whole flowers per cup of boiling water, steeped for 2 – 5 minutes.)
Wow! I like this! I can’t think of another time that I’ve consumed a “pure Sweet Violet” tea/tisane such as this. I’ve had other flower teas, of course, but no Sweet Violets. I like this a lot.
The above description compares it to “the lighter side” and uses Chamomile, Rose Buds and Green Tea as examples. I think I like this better than chamomile. I like green tea better, but I think this would make a really good blend with green tea, I think. Perhaps a Dragon Well. As for rosebuds, this reminds me a bit of a rosebud tisane. The floral notes of a rosebud tea are maybe a little sharper – here, they’re soft and … well, the word I want to use is “fluffy.” There is a creaminess to this that I don’t experience with a rosebud tisane and that’s what’s giving it the fluffy taste.
So, I think I might actually like this better than a rosebud tisane. Or at least just as much.
The flowery notes are not sharp, they’re soft and sweet. And like the description above suggests, the floral notes are delicate. They don’t taste perfume-y or soapy at all. And the cup has a barely there floral aroma which kind of surprised me (I did, after all, steep flowers!) There really isn’t much aroma to the liquid at all. But the flavor is really enjoyable. I don’t generally get all excited over tisanes – I prefer my camellia sinensis – but this is actually one that I could see myself wanting to keep in my pantry. It’s really quite lovely!
And as it represent my first tea experience with M&K’s Tea Company, I’d say that we’re off to a really good start!
Forever Young Rose Flower Tea from Teasenz
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Flower
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Tea Description:
A flowery tea that tastes clean and perfumy with a natural rosy aroma: Made from 100 percent genuine organic rosebuds and naturally dried to retain all the health benefits. A delicious and soothing cup to enjoy on a quiet afternoon or after a yoga session.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s been a LONG while since I’ve had a pure rose tea like this one … so long that I can’t even remember when the last time was!
And I love the flavor of steeped rosebuds!
What makes this particular Rose Flower Tea from Teasenz so special is that it’s organic. The rosebuds are whole, gorgeous rosebuds. They aren’t crushed nor are they just petals. These are the whole, young rosebuds, clipped before they’ve had a chance to open up and bloom.
I steeped these beautiful, fragrant rosebuds in 190°F for six minutes. And the result is a golden amber cup of sweet, floral deliciousness that smells as wonderful as it tastes.
The flavor is sweet and floral. It tastes distinctly of rose without tasting like a cup of perfume. It’s light and refreshing and aromatic, and there’s something so soothing and relaxing when I sip it. And I like it hot or chilled – the flavor is superb!
Snow Chrysanthemum Flower Tea (Xue Ju Hua Cha) from Teasenz
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Flower
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Tea Description:
A ‘heavenly’ rare flower tea that is grown only in the Kunlun mountains, where slow flower growth results in a delicious flower taste with notes of caramel and dark red tea liquor. Snow Chrysanthemum flower tea contains high amounts of amino acids and proteins, which are beneficial to your health by lowering blood sugar, reducing high cholesterol, and preventing heart diseases. A Teasenz favorite.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have tried a few chrysanthemum teas in the past, but I have never tried a chrysanthemum tea like this Snow Chrysanthemum tea from Teasenz. The flowers are dark red – burgundy! – the chrysanthemum teas I’ve had in the past have been white, and the petals are yellow. The aroma of the dry flowers is (not surprisingly!) floral and sweet.
The tea brews up dark. After reading more of the information provided about this tea on the website, I may have oversteeped these flowers, since it says that you should stop steeping when the liquid turns slightly red. This liquid has a deep burgundy hue similar to the color of the centers of the flowers. (For point of reference, I steeped these for five minutes.)
But the flavor is delightful, so I’m not complaining! I’m not upset … this doesn’t taste like over-steeped tea to me!
It has a wonderful, honey-caramel flavor. And even though the color would indicate that it’s “over-steeped” as I said, the flavor offers no such indication. It’s not bitter, and the flavor is remarkably mild and beautifully sweet with pleasing notes of flower. It’s very smooth from start to finish. The aftertaste is lightly sweet, reminiscent of the aftertaste I might experience if I were to have eaten some wildflower honey.
According to the Teasenz website, this is not only a tasty beverage, but a healthy one too:
Due to 18 kinds amino acids, researchers claim that it can prevent high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, coronary heart diseases, inflammation, colds, and insomnia when consumed in form of tea. Wild Kunlun snow daisy has been passed down from generation to generation as a Uighur medicinal herbal flower tea.
Now, I don’t usually drink something just because it’s healthy. There has to be a flavor payoff for me too. I have to like the way it tastes. What can I say? Life’s too short to drink something that tastes bad. But this doesn’t taste bad! It’s actually quite a tasty tisane!
It’s a very relaxing, soothing drink. I found it most enjoyable while the tea was hot. As it cooled, the flavors diminished somewhat, but it was still quite tasty. That is to say, it’s better when it’s hot, but it’s still good when it’s cold.