I travel a lot to Texas with my kiddo, so when I saw a Houston-based tea company, I knew I had to learn more. This Kickstarter-founded company, called Story of my Tea, recently offered two of their new Hello! pre-measured iced teas for free (just pay S&H) ….. an iced teaser, if you will 😉
I’m familiar with cold brewing tea bags, but what really got me about this company was the awesome variety of blends. I chose Rhubarb Oolong and Chocolate Earth (a puerh and white tea blend) as my free samples.
First off, their packaging is really clever. The back of the sealed foil packet has clear steeping instructions for both hot and cold steeping (has anyone noticed a taste difference between these styles?). Then there’s a QR code you can just scan which shows you much, much more about using each blend with food pairings.
Inside is an enormous 5×3(ish) inch unbleached bag of cocoa-scented leaves. I can’t see clearly the percentage mix of white and fermented tea (or other flavorings).
I noticed that the wet puerh leaves didn’t expand and fill the satchel the way the oolong bag did after brewing, but I was still grateful for that extra room because 1) I am relieved there’s enough room for the leaves to expand and release all their flavor and 2) this ENORMOUS bag means I can now brew four big cups at a time instead of just one!
My first infusion was copper and the second, longer steep became a mahogany color, exactly the same colors as an aging penny. The liquor smelled of a molassesy s’more.
Sipping it… well, you know how silk invites you to run your hand along the cool, soft fabric? Chocolate Earth feels exactly like that in your mouth. Buttery smooth, it excites first as cocoa and moves to all taste buds, then lingers sweetly for just a moment with a vanilla bourbon.
I have an affirmation board near my tea cupboard that literally reminds me “I HAVE ENOUGH TEA” , but somehow it did not deter me from this purchase Ha. It also has a list of what teas I want to buy when my cupboard stops overflowing. Anyhow, on the list was Numi’s chocolate Puerh, (which I discovered in my first Zen Tea Bar box and absolutely loved), But now that line has been replaced with Story of My tea’s Hello! Chocolate Earth – – it’s THAT awesome.
Here’s the scoop!
Tea Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Story of My Tea
Description:
This tea has the milky and caramel notes of the white tea, is extremely smooth and very aromatic. Is great iced as a dessert or after a summer BBQ.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
White Thunder from The Love Tea Company. . . .
White Thunder by The Love Tea Company, a mint white tea that also happens to be the last of the three teas sent to me by CuppaGeek as part of the Tea It Forward program. I have mentioned it before and will mention it again because Tea It Forward is a great program that allows you to let someone know they’re loved and in doing so, a $1 donation to The Flagg Foundation for Mental Wellness is made in your name.
The tea utilizes a Bai Mu Dan base with peppermint and spearmint on top. This makes for a more full and floral tea thanks to the base. It is sweet and mild and despite the strong mint ingredients, the flavoring remains gentle and smooth. Overall it is very fresh and clean while also being very natural tasting. The Love Tea Company says the White Thunder name is drawn from the Boom and Crack sounds of your taste buds loving this blend but to me the natural and fresh taste of the tea is more comforting and reminiscent of the feeling one might get while sipping on tea and listening to the cracks of thunder outside (as a storm lover, this is a very calming scenario for me).
Since The Love Tea Company was so generous with their samples, I was also able to try this iced and see how it compares to the hot cup. My first impression of the iced tea is that the bai mu dan is far more floral iced than hot. I think for me, it is too floral here as the mint is more of an after thought as opposed to a partner. It is not bad, but it is more like drinking just a plain bai mu dan than a flavored one and given white teas are not my favorite, I am finding that I prefer the hot cup of this more.
This tea definitely has some high quality ingredients and the flavors are nicely balanced in the hot cup. It is a delightful tea that is flavorful enough to be interesting while also remaining mild enough that it is easy to drink and drink and drink. As someone who doesn’t love white teas, especially bai mu dans, I was surprised I enjoyed this like I did. Thank you CuppaGeek for sending this one to me to try and even better, I am glad in doing so that you also helped a great cause!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: The Love Tea Company
Description
Bai Mudan, also known as White Peony is a type of white tea made from pluckings of one leaf shoot and two immediate young leaves. Bai Mudan is sometimes preferred by white tea drinkers for its fuller flavor and greater potency than other major types of white tea. For an extra kick, peppermint and spearmint are added to this blend. Boom, crack, that’s the sound of your taste buds loving this blend.
Caffeine: Medium
Steep 2 teaspoons @ 195° for 3 – 5 minutes
Ingredients: White tea, bai mu dan, peppermint, spearmint
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pomme Blossom White Tea from Plum Deluxe. . .
Do yourself a favor and visit the website for this company. I betcha you’ll be drooling before you read half of the descriptions. Have someone hide your credit card first and change your Paypal account password if you are weak or you’ll be broke tomorrow.
Plum Deluxe has a monthly tea subscription available, a blender’s choice special so you can try a surprise tea at a special price, and of course, teas to order as you wish.
Today I tried their Pomme Blossom White Tea, a delightful and flavorful blend featuring white tea, rose hips, jasmine, apple pieces, hibiscus, safflower, ginger, cinnamon, orange peel, rose petals, and pomegranate essence. CALM DOWN HIBISCUS HATERS. There isn’t enough hibiscus to change the color of this tea to pink, so you know there is hardly any here. I could smell the rose hips and hibiscus but the tea was not tart. It WAS full of delicious, fresh flavor and was fantastic both hot and iced. Even the cinnamon is quite muted, just adding a sparkle to the cup.
What impressed me about this tea blend is that there is SO MUCH in it, but it is very well balanced and the end result is a really refreshing tea.
Sadly, this blend is not available at present, but no matter. Looking at their site, I’d say there a number of teas to fall in love with here.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Aphrodite from Fox Tea Club. . .
I am a green tea kinda gal. Green teas just give me all the feels. So when Fox Tea Club’s samples arrived and I saw Aphrodite-a green and white tea blend- in this adorable and let me repeat ADORABLE canister with a wax seal- I immediately prepped up my tea pot. (Sorry for the dull picture. It was a cloudy day.)
First whiff of the tea yielded a fresh floral sweet aroma. My husband said the tea smelled like purple.
Brewed with water prepped at 190F and allowed to steep for three minutes and cooled for an additional three minutes, this tea just had such an alluring and inviting call to me.
Aphrodite is a mix of green tea, white tea, jasmine flowers, and lemon zest with a few other ingredients. And those flavors work so brilliantly together. First sip in and you are greeted with this sweet lemon tone with a gorgeous contrasting vegetal feel. With this being a white and green tea blend, the green tea notes could have really overpowered the delicate white touches, but that isn’t the case at all. Each sip of this tea blend was just as satisfying as the last and I found myself prepping pot after pot of this tea. Each infusion was enjoyed as much as the last.
So very well balanced and well done and a tea that I am going to have to get more of.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green/White Tea
Where to Buy: Fox Tea Club
Description
This green tea scented with exotic jasmine aroma invites a warm romantic embrace. The smooth herbal green tea and white tea blend that includes calendula petals, safflower and lemon zest, is the silky base for this floral delight that conjures the spirit of the goddess. Definitely a tea to share when you are in the mood for love!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Forest Friend blend by Leslie Kiesler on Adagio Teas
Adagio Teas is where I credit my loose leaf tea beginnings. They have a variety of teas for both beginners and experts, but their success comes from their lively fandom blend community. There’s a themed-blend for every movie, book, and video game out there. I know I’ve had a great time designing my own flavors, and I’m always interested in trying new blends from other tea lovers.
My favorite summer blend of late has been Forest Friend by Leslie Kiesler. This blend is a homage to the main creature in the film, My Neighbor Totoro, of Studio Ghibli fame. To me, Forest Friend is tea-blending at its best. It is mixed from Adagio’s white strawberry, white pear, and rooibos jasmine flavors. On their own, none of these teas are really my favorite: I found the strawberry to be a bit too sweet, the pear to be a bit too earthy, and the rooibos jasmine to be overwhelming floral. But when mixed together in these proportions, I can’t seem to get enough of this tea. It’s magical, like finding out you have a big fuzzy, forest friend as your neighbor.
I prefer this blend iced, with our without sugar depending on my mood. This is a blend mainly made up of white tea leaves, so keep your water temperatures a little cooler than usual to avoid any harsh notes. The strawberry makes this a delectable summer blend, almost like sugary kool-aid, but the pear and white tea gives the sweetness just enough grounding that it doesn’t become too much like candy. The rooibos jasmine is amazing when added to a blend in smaller quantities. It adds some tart, herbal rooibos flavors, and relaxing floral overtones. There are even blue cornflowers and golden marigold flowers in the dry leaf to make the blend look vibrant in my pitcher as it brews.
Top off the great taste with Leslie’s cute label on the tin and you’ll realize why it is so hard to resist this blend. Forest Friend is always in my wish list for when summertime comes around and I need a sweet, magical way to cool down and brighten my day.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White/Rooibos
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description: There’s a friend waiting for you in the forest, but he’s snoring the day away. Wake him up with a cup of tea so you can begin a magical adventure!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
