I was lucky to receive a Primula Layla Teapot and flowering tea set from a friend The Primula teapot features all-glass construction, even the brewing basket is clear. It has an impressive capacity, making it perfect for sharing a blooming tea session with a few friends.
The flowering tea set came with blooming tea balls, which make good use of the transparent, glass-bodied teapot. I’m not sure which flavor of blooming tea was included, as it lacked a label, but I suspect it is their house blend jasmine bloom.
This is the first blooming tea I’ve actually conducted myself. Previously I’ve always been viewing at someone else’s tea party. Now that I have a teapot so suited for blooming teas, I’ll have to try this type of tea more often.
On an afternoon where I needed some zen, I brewed up a pot of hot water and dropped in the tea ball. As the water soaked into the leaves, they slowly peeled back, like a hand opening its fingers. The process did take a few minutes and I found myself impatient at first. As I relaxed, I found I was surprised how much the bloom was changing in each moment, until we finally reached the unfurling of the pink, center blossoms.
I poured a small cup of the tea to sip on while the bloom continued to relax its leaves. The tea brewed up a golden color, clear and bright, making the blossom look sunlit from every angle. The tea tasted mainly of jasmine, but had a surprisingly earthy undertone almost like the sweet-floral notes of cacao or dark chocolate. I like jasmine pearls, but it was nice to have a deeper flavor balance to the light, flowery notes.
I sipped on the tea all afternoon and watched the leaves continue to soak until they were saturated with tea. It was a lovely experience and the Primula flowering tea set would make a great gift. I can’t wait to brew more tea in this lovely teapot!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green tea/TeaPot
Where to Buy: Primula
Description:
Create an unforgettable and extraordinary tea experience with this crystal clear glass teapot and accompanying flowering tea blossoms. The Layla glass teapot and tea set offers a generous 36 oz capacity. Serve up to 9 cups of tea in this stunning clear glass tea set, which offers the perfect window from which to watch the included tea flowers begin to bloom in colorful profusion as they steep. After tea, cleanup is easy because this BPA free borosilicate glass teapot is both microwave and dishwasher safe.
Each tea flower has been exceptionally crafted by artisans in China to create the hand-sewn green tea with all natural tea flowers. The green tea is blended five times with jasmine to emanate an ambrosial floral fragrance. Each package contains 12 different flowering teas along with an illustrated picture and health benefit guide. Choose a pot of Floral Passion, Noble Madam, Oriental Beauty or Camellia Joy. Or watch your cup erupt with Wild Flowers, Gilded Lotus, Lover’s Blossom or Juliet’s Kiss. Other popular flavors like London Fog, Butterfly Floret, Fairy Lily and Summer Bouquet complete your choices in the taste sensation. Try all twelve green tea blends and be amazed at how each bud delivers a delectable cup of tea and an optical sensation. Each tea blend is packed with healthy anti-oxidants and can be steeped three times giving you over 250 cups in each canister. These tea flowers make an excellent gift for special occasions and are something any tea lover would enjoy.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Mojito from The Love Tea Company. . . .
I’ve never had a mojito. I didn’t even know what was IN a mojito. But when I opened the pouch, I could tell you right away that a mojito must have lime and mint. The base of this tea is Japanese sencha. I decided to try it hot sans additions, hot with sugar, and iced sweetened. Then…drum roll, please….I found a person who has had an ACTUAL mojito to give judgment on whether the taste is accurate.
I thought this tea might not be too great as a plain hot tea since it was designed to mimic a cocktail, and the powerful smell of limes made me close my eyes and brace myself when I took my first sip. To the contrary, it was quite good sans any additions at all! The lime is natural yet doesn’t pucker your lips and dry your mouth. The mint is refreshing. The sencha is smooth.
I added sugar and had another small cup and also passed some along to my daughter. It was good this way, too.
The hot, sweet tea was poured into a carafe and left to chill in the fridge and to await the verdict of a true mojito drinker. I enjoyed the sweet iced tea with my supper, and poured a small glass to be tested with a wee splash of rum. My test subject declared that, aside from the lack of bubbles from club soda, the taste was to a “T” in the mojito tea!
Check out The Love Tea Company and their mission of awareness and compassion for those struggling with mental illness. Check out their Tea It Forward tea gift – so bright, so special! It is a great way to cheer someone’s day with a colorful gift box of tea, filter bags, and tea measuring spoon. It is a great way to send a message of love or a “thinking of you” for someone who needs it. And did I mention that it is incredibly economical? I have both received and sent these, and they really bring a smile – just like tea should!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Love Tea Company
Description
This mojito concoction explodes with flavor. It starts with Japanese style Sencha, has lime and mint pieces, and all-natural mint flavoring. Enjoy it with a splash or milk and sugar, over ice, or blended as a mixer for rum and tequila. If you ask Uncle Google, he’ll give you the famous Hemingway recipe for a Mojito Martini. This tea will take you across the river and into the woods and down to the deep south where Hemingway certainly enjoyed a similar concoction one sunny sumer day in Key West.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cranberry Mango from Socra Tea
I just realized that “Socra Tea” sounds like “Socrates”, which is why an old Greek statue is this company’s logo. I’ve had SEVERAL cups of tea from them, and THIS NEVER OCCURRED TO ME UNTIL JUST NOW. Clever. Perhaps a little TOO clever.
Anyway, this morning I hit the gym hard, and needed something refreshing afterward, so I decided to hit up Cranberry Mango green, iced.
And oh yum. The sweetness of the mango is balanced out by the tartness of the cranberry. The green base is perky, a teensy bit vegetal but mostly just spring-y.
This would be the perfect thing if you were babysitting some kids at a park on a summer morning. You’d be like, “Ahhhhhh… Easy on the slide, kids… Yum… Guys, stop hitting each other… Tasty… STOP STANDING ON THE SWINGS. SIT. BUNS ON THE SEAT.”
As you can see, I am a tea connoisseur as well as an A+ babysitter. I can do it all. And so can you, with this delicious treat.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Socra Tea
Description
Tart and tangy cranberries meet the rich sweetness of ripe mangos. Sweet, invigorating and exceptional! Green teas from China and Ceylon, mango and cranberry pieces, and natural flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Let’s Go Bananas Again! Recent Tastings of Banana Teas
Check out my first Let’s Go Bananas tea posting.
It’s no secret I love the flavor of bananas. I like the taste in pastries, candy, breakfast, the fruit itself, and of course, the taste of bananas in tea! Here is another round of tasty banana inspired teas I’ve tried lately
Banana Split from The Necessiteas
Leaf type: red rooibos
This red rooibos blend has all three essential components of a banana split, with pieces of strawberries, bananas, and carob bean (“chocolate”). The strong red rooibos compliments the sweet and tart fruit pieces in the blend. The chocolate is an undertone, taking a backseat to the driving banana and strawberry flavor combination. The blend benefits from sweetener and milk to make it feel more like a dessert and bring out more of the bananas.
Perles de Antilles Rooibos Blend from Camellia Sinensis distributed by Amoda Tea
Leaf type: green rooibos
This tropical green rooibos blend has pieces of dried banana, pineapple, and coconut. All three fruits are prominent, and no one ingredient takes the lead. Banana and coconut are the sweet components, bringing creaminess and body to the blend. The pineapple adds a much-needed pop of tartness to balance the blend. This tea is the most refreshing as an iced tea, and drinking it iced helps support its summertime tropical vibe.
Banana Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha from 52Teas
Leaf type: green
52Teas has a whole host of delicious flavored genmaicha teas. Being the sucker for banana that I am, this was one of my favorites. The sweet cream of the marshmallow pairs well with the banana, almost like a banana cream pie. The toasty flavors of the puffed rice help this blend from being too sweet, and if keeping with the pie analogy, the rice makes up the crust-like component of the blend. All the warm, roasted flavors of puffed rice and gentle green taste of genmaicha with creamy marshmallow fluff and banana.
I know there are still banana teas out there that I haven’t tried, so I’ll need to fill up my mug and go bananas for banana tea all over again!
Matcha Black Soybean Rice Tea / Lupicia. . . . . .
Well this is unique.
Genmaicha with black beans.
I’ve seen some interesting versions of genmaicha but this is the first I really want to cook with. Too bad it’s only a tea bag.
The aroma as you open the bag is both ‘ricey’ and nutty. Be careful of the steeping times with this one. The suggested high-end is 1 minute.
Luckily if you do go over a minute, as I did, it won’t be ruined with bitterness and astringent absurdness. The liquid color is a cloudy yellowish-green and has a very mellow flavor.
The soybeans/ black beans help the tea develop some unique, almost nutty characteristics. The grassy flavors are mostly undertones but they work so well with the rice.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description:
MATCHA BLACK SOYBEAN RICE TEAis a blend of genmaicha (rice tea) with Matcha and high-quality black beans. Enjoy the harmony of sweet roasted black beans and mellow matcha. “Mame” is Japanese for “beans” but it also means “healthy.” This tea was created with a wish for everyone’s health.
