Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Puerh, Chai
Where to Buy: The Spice and Tea Exchange
Tea Description:
An organic pu-erh chai tea with creamy vanilla and bright peppermint. A rich, smooth tea that adds a refreshing twist to the traditional chai tea flavors. Moderate caffeine. Contains: green pu-erh tea, vanilla, peppermint, ginger, cinnamon, licorice root.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I received this from a fellow Steepster and I was totally not expecting to! When you wake up to a nice box of unexpected samples from a friend – that is the best day ever! This tea was included in that box. I have never sampled anything from The Spice and Tea Exchange before that I can recall so I grabbed this right away to try! The name of this tea also got me, with its quirkiness.
The puerh base here may not be the most complex out there by any means but it does provide a nice bold backdrop for the other flavors and is strong enough on its own not to let strong flavors like mint, for example, take over.
The puerh has a leather aspect to it, and a slight sandalwood note. A very nice puerh to use in a blend. I would not want to see a highly prized puerh used in a blend personally, yet I also want one with enough character to give the backdrop a good blend deserves and I feel that The Spice and Tea Exchanged selected a good base for this blend.
The vanilla is noticeable and the spices are quite lovely. Nothing tries to take over here. There is a wonderful mint lift which still allows the vanilla to have its time in the sun. Something of an after dinner mint flavor is what I am getting. You know those Chocolate Andes mints in the green wrapper? Yup that kind of mint flavor, so good! Now I am not saying that this tea tastes all that chocolaty but the spices and puerh tend to lead it in that direction just a little.
On the spices, they are lovely! I am not one for licorice or anise in any amount by nature although there are a few blends out there that have surprised me – this is one of those blends. I feel that The Spice and Tea Exchange has captured the best elements of a chai and added the fun vanilla and mint aspects very well all in a really solid puerh base.
I have had three very successful steeps from these leaves and am going on steep four.
This tea does make me want to check out The Spice and Tea Exchange website now and see what other teas they have to offer. I can also order my spices and herbs there as well. That is a bonus! It is always nice to try a new company and enjoy the cup, even more surprising when it is not a blend I would choose for myself yet I still enjoy it. That leaves a great first impression!
Acai Tangerine from The Whistling Kettle
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White & Pu-erh
Where to Buy: The Whistling Kettle
Tea Description:
Inspired by Dr. Oz and Canadian natural health guru Bryce Wylde, our pu-erh/white tea blend is designed to shrink fat, burn deposits, and prevent new fat from depositing. Tastes excellent hot or iced. The rich smoothness of pu-erh is contrasted with delicate notes of white tea, and accentuated with flavors of acai, tangerine, and chrysanthemum.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
According to the description on The Whistling Kettle’s website, this tea was inspired by Dr. Oz and health guru Bryce Wylde. To tell the truth, I don’t know who Bryce Wylde is, and I don’t really put a lot of stock in what Dr. Oz says. I don’t drink tea because it’s healthy or because it is supposed to enhance weight loss. I drink tea because I like the way it tastes. If it is also good for me, that’s a bonus, but not one I allow to influence me one way or the other.
And this tastes good! I’m not usually a big fan of the tart Acai berry, but, when combined with the sweetness of the tangerine, the tartness mellows somewhat, making this a very enjoyable drink, indeed.
There is so much flavor in this cup. From the deep, mellow, earthy tones of the Pu-erh, to the crisp sweetness of the white tea… combined with the sweet-tart notes of fruit and the hint of floral taste from the chrysanthemum, this cup has a taste that is very palate pleasing. These different flavors all come together in a way that is very well-balanced. Nothing competing with anything else, nothing overpowering the cup. Just smooth, mellow, delicious flavor.
The Pu-erh is what I notice first, but what stands out about this Pu-erh from some others that I’ve tried is that it doesn’t taste overwhelmingly earthy. It does have an earthiness to it, it is somewhat peaty with a woody note. It is very mellow, and the softness of the white tea curbs the flavor so that the earthy tones of the Pu-erh do not come across as too strong. The white tea is not as prominent a flavor, but then again, it shouldn’t be. White tea has a delicate taste. But I can taste it: light, fresh, almost hay-like. The flavor is slight but where the white tea is primarily noticeable is as a softening agent to the Pu-erh.
The tangerine and acai seem pretty evenly matched. In one sip, I seem to notice more tangerine, and in the next, I’ll taste a little more berry. It’s quite lovely the way these two flavors play with one another, very enjoyable, especially for this taster who often finds the tartness of acai to be a bit much. When paired with the sweet taste of tangerine, it becomes much more palatable.
I’ve tried a couple of blends from this company – The Whistling Kettle – and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve tried. And I’m liking this blend a lot! It’s also really good iced!
Climber’s High from The Tea Spot
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Roasted Yerba Mate, Black Tea, Green Tea, White Tea, Pu’erh,
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Tea Description:
A super-charged blend of teas, spices and herbs formulated to provide a refreshing daily lift for people with active, high-energy lifestyles. Climber’s High is a high-powered way to increase your intake of beneficial antioxidants such as flavonoids and catechins, as well as a host of healthy vitamins, trace minerals, beneficial phyto-constituents, and caffeine. It was originally conceived to assist people in adjusting to higher altitudes. This spiced yerba mate chai tea is both good for you and a pleasure to drink.
Ingredients: roasted yerba mate, black tea, green tea, white tea, pu’erh, ginger root, cinnamon, green cardamom, licorice root, ginseng root, saffron, black pepper, clove, fennel, safflowers, peppermint, tulsi, and cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla flavoring.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Chai is on my mind lately with the change in seasons where I live, yet honestly chai was not on my mind at all when I reached for this sample from one of my SororiTea Sisters! I simply wanted something that would set well with my upset tummy I have had for the last couple of days, also something minty as I have not been really able to taste much either. Last night I was drinking some vanilla mint tea after trying unsuccessfully to enjoy some other samples. Today I grabbed for this and even though I am still a little stuffy I could smell such yummy aromas and I knew in that moment I could stomach it! So it got steeped.
This is not your typical chai yet it has many chai elements. One may think that they threw everything in here but the kitchen sink and thus may not really end up tasting like anything favorable but surprisingly it is wonderful. You don’t need to be sick, or needing to adjust to altitude sickness to enjoy this savory cup! They even put a little chocolate in there for the sweet tooth and the chocolate does come through nicely but is not over done. This is not a “chocolate tea” it is savory yet every now and then I get a little bit of sweet on the lips and a subtle chocolate taste on the palate.
The yerba mate gives you a nice kick start to your day without leaving you jittery or nervous, while the pu-erh is grounding and centering. I tasted the black pepper notes, which I always enjoy in a tea, the cinnamon, clove, ginger and other savory elements are all quite present but the mint is what seems to linger the longest in a minty sweet manner, as if I had just had a light candy mint. I also do pick up the vanilla as well. Truly this tea has it all and then some and yes at times the flavors get muddled a little as a true blend should but it is quite easy to pick out singular flavor elements as well.
If I was not aware that there were so many types of tea in this blend and I had to tell someone from taste alone what the base tea was I would admittedly be confused, but if pressed I would say mate, pu-erh, then black in that order.
For me, the best part of this discovery is that I have a new favorite chai. I have about three chai now that I absolutely love and will rotate in my stash all winter long.
2002 Raw Pu-erh Tea Brick (Ke Yi Xing) from ES Green
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: ES Green
Tea Description:
The Region of Harvest: Yunnan Province, China
Plant Type: Yunnan Big Leaf Bush
Tea Factory: Xi Shuang Ban Na-Yiwu-Key Yi Xing Tea Factory
Brand: Ke Yi XingAbout the brand “Ke Yi Xing” . It is one of the time-honored brands in Yun Nan. It is built in 1925.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The picture appears so much greener than the leaves look to me, I had to double check to make sure that this is indeed the tea I’m tasting.
But, the flavors match the way ES Green describes the tea:
It tastes earthy, old, strong. But it is living, vivid, fresh. You will find it smooth and mellow on the first sip.
This is what I taste from this tea. I taste the earthiness (I did do two pre-rinses though, to ensure that it would not be too earthy), and I even taste the strength and the age. I also taste a wild note to this … like a vibrant, green tea that is hiding in the distance. It hides behind the earthy overtures and the caramel-y undertones, but every once in a while, the vibrant, green … almost lushly fresh tasting green tones emerge just to remind me that they’re there.
A remarkably smooth and mellow tea, and very deep in flavor. With each subsequent infusion, the flavor became deeper and sweeter! Much of the earthiness softened by the fourth infusion. It was still somewhat earthy, but not as earthy as the first few cups. I found that the tea started to taste lighter and more vibrant and fresh with each subsequent infusion, which seemed to give me a gentle nudge to steep it yet again to see how the flavors would be with the next cup.
This is not one of those teas that you want to rush … you want to sit back, and spend an hour or two just exploring the many layers of flavor that it holds in store.
Wild Raspberry Puerh from The Whistling Kettle
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh & White Tea Blend
Where to Buy: The Whistling Kettle
Tea Description:
This Pu-Erh is flavorful, mild and with an addition of silver needles, makes a great iced tea. Dr. Oz has recommended this tea as a way to help lose weight. Pu-Erh also help reduce cholesterol and great after a meal to help “cut the grease”. Pu-Erh has probiotic properties no other type of tea has.
Ingredients: Puerh, Silver Needle White Tea, Orange blossoms, cornflowers, raspberry bits and flavoring.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love pu-erh, puerh, pu’er, however you want to spell it. Adore it. This has to be one of the deepest, darkest, richest looking brews I have ever seen in a puerh!
The aroma of this steeped tea is lovely, earthy, but more so fruity. It smells like a beginners puerh. Sweet, tart, tangy, yet with the undertones of a puerh’s earthiness just to ease a new puerh drinker into that world. I absolutely pick up the citrus in the aroma.
The sip is surprisingly creamy! I like this! The raspberry is present but not too tart which is nice. Its sweet but not cloying whatsoever. There is almost a vanilla flavor peeking through which must be more due to the puerh used rather than flavors or ingredients added as I see nothing to indicate vanilla in the description.
The only downside of purchasing puerh tea in this form is not really knowing what type of puerh base is being used but that is okay because I don’t see this as a puerh meant for puerh connoisseurs although certainly good enough to be enjoyed by one! Granted it is not a straight tea, so some may snub the idea of drinking a puerh blend but I tend to enjoy the best of both worlds as long as a tea is good it need not be unadulterated!
I am truly enjoying this tea and it is distinctively puerh yet lends a lovely fruity and creamy note that those who would normally not learn toward a puerh would enjoy. Again an excellent beginners puerh yet good enough for puerh enthusiasts to love as well.
As the tea cools more of the raspberry notes pop out, the citrus takes the background and the puerh gives a slight drying effect in the throat. There are woodsy notes, oak moss, peat, and a slight note of mushroom. The nice thing about this blend is that it allows the notes of the puerh to come through, is not muted by the other ingredients.
I am not sure how the silver needle white tea lends a hand in here unless it is added for health benefits or a boost to the creamy texture in some way but one would have no idea it was present in the flavor.
I give two thumbs up to The Whistling Kettle for this wonderful blend! It has indeed been done well!