Monthly subscription boxes can be hit or miss. I have tried several along my tea journey including subscriptions by Amoda, A Quarter to Tea, Handmade Tea, myteabox.ca, Sips By, and Tea Sparrow. Some, such as the A Quarter to Tea box, offers selections from one company whereas others, such as the Sips By box, offer teas from a variety of different vendors in each box. The former is good if you know you like a certain company whereas the latter is fun for when you want to try and discover new things. Sometimes you discover gems, sometimes you discover disasters, and sometimes you find new things that are simply unremarkable.
I received the Tea Sparrow box as a gift. The teas are a variety of Tea Sparrow blends and blends from other vendors. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a tea that really stands out to me from this box which has so far put this subscription in the “unremarkable” category. With that said, one of teas in my Tea Sparrow subscription is this Walnut Green Tea by Aromatica Fine Teas. I have tried another Aromatica Fine Tea before, Ginger Cream, courtesy of my Amoda subscription. I really enjoyed that tea so my hope was I’d enjoy this as well. Moreover, this tea is also the first place winner of the 2011 North American Tea Championship so hopefully that means it’s a good one.
When I read the brewing instructions for this tea, it suggested steeping the leaf in “almost boiling” water for 2.5 minutes. Almost boiling is my least favorite temperature because it is so ambiguous. As a result, I decided to steep one cup for 2.5 minutes in 175F water (the “Green” setting on my kettle) and another cup in 200F water (what I would consider almost boiling to be) for 1.5 minutes. I figured I had the leaf so it could be interesting to experiment how different brewing parameters impact the tea flavor.
First cup I drank was the cooler cup, the one brewed at 175F. Lookswise, this cup was much lighter than the tea brewed at a higher temperature, a bright-ish yellow versus a deeper brown-gold. To me, this tasted like liquid brittle. Nutty and sweet with more walnut flavor than almond. No vegetal/grass flavors from the base tea and no pineapple or coconut in sight.
The second cup, brewed with a little more leaf and at 200F, is a lot more buttery though still tastes of brittle. I think more coconut comes through when brewed like this but less walnut which is really meant to be the focus in light of the tea’s name.
This tea is made of chinese green tea, sencha, brittle, coconut rasps, candied pineapple pieces, walnut pieces, flavor, and almond pieces. Given that list, I was surprised that not much of the base nor pineapple was part of the taste of either cup. Personally, I think I preferred the tea brewed at 175F just because it was more distinctly walnut and thus more true to its name though the two were fairly similar flavorwise. Overall I found the tea to be unique and good, definitely one of the better options provided in my Tea Sparrow subscription, but ultimately I just don’t reach for nutty blends or green teas all that quickly. As such, while I can appreciate this as a good tea, an award-winning tea even, I just don’t feel the need to keep it around all the time.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Aromatica Fine Teas
Description
Chinese green tea, sencha, brittle bits (sugar,hazlenuts), coconut rasps, candied pineapple bits, walnut pieces, flavour, almond pieces.
“What a fantastic and sophisticated profile for a blended green tea!”
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Earl Grey Manhattan from Aromatica Fine Teas. . . . . .
This morning’s pick, Earl Grey Manhattan, has won awards, guys. Awards. And not just “whoops!” awards where the award went to them accidentally. (Oscar joke! Timely!) A real “best earl grey” at the North American Tea Championship.
The competition looked like this
(Original Artwork by Super Starling!)
And I can see why it did such a great job. The tea is obviously really high quality — it has deep earth, flower, and chocolate/raisin notes, a complexity that you just can’t get from a cheap-o tea bag off the street. (Or, I guess, in a supermarket. There probably aren’t a lot of black market tea vendors.) The bergamot is more relaxed and less shrill than bergamot can be. The texture is really silky, with a light tongue coating.
Smooth.
If you have a friend or loved one who is a bit of an Earl Grey snob, I recommend sending them this to try. It’s… a winner.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Aromatica Fine Teas
Description
North American Tea Championship: 1st Place – Earl Greys category – 2013 Fall – Hot Teas Division
Also known as “Manhattan Earl Grey” yields a bright taste and extremely fragrant cup. Black tea, sunflower blossoms, flavour, mallow blossoms.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chai Sansibar Rooibos from Aromatica Fine Teas. . . . .
Chai Sansibar Rooibos sounds like it came from a far away land, doesn’t it? Chai Sansibar Rooibos from Aromatica Fine Teas is a chai flavored red rooibos tisane.
It’s described on the company’s website as a delightful vanilla rooibos chai. They also mention that its an outstanding alternative when brewed in apple juice or cranberry juice. Now THIS I might have to try in the near future! But first straight-up, stand-alone, as-is, by itself!
Less is more with the ingredients in this one as it only contains Rooibos, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, red pepper, bruised peppercorns, vanilla. As you can see many of your stereotypical chai spices but paired with a naturally caffeine-free red rooibos base making it ideal for evenings!
I would say that the red rooibos is the primary flavor in this one then you can taste the mishmash of spices followed by the sweet, smooth, and creamy vanilla. Overall I did like this chai alternative but it wouldn’t have been the same if it was missing the vanilla. It’s what seemed to make it all come full circle! YUM!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Aromatica Fine Teas
Description
A delightful vanilla rooibos chai. Outstanding alternative when brewed in apple juice or cranberry juice. Rooibos, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, red pepper, bruised peppercorns, vanilla.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Walnut Green Tea from Aromatica Fine Teas
This tea is like Winnie the Pooh — everything in it is alive, well-rounded, and sweet. The stately green tea (Wise Owl) is offset with the sweet sugar/hazelnut bits (Pooh), bright candied pineapple bits (Tigger!), coconut rasps (Kanga and Roo), and Walnut/Almond pieces (deep and calm like Eeyore).
You could see yourself packing this up in a travel mug, plunking it into a picnic basket, and going off into a field. It’d be just the right moment in spring. The ground would be a little damp, but you’d be okay with it. You’d sip this as you get whisked into cartoon animal adventures. The sun would be bright and you’d get your first tiny tinge of tan (or sunburn) of the season.
What a nice day.
I wish it were spring instead of winter. I used up this sample too soon!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Green Tea
Where to Buy: Aromatica Fine Teas
Description
Chinese green tea, sencha, brittle bits (sugar,hazlenuts), coconut rasps, candied pineapple bits, walnut pieces, flavour, almond pieces.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Snowflake from Aromatica Fine Teas
Snowflake from Aromatica Fine Teas is a 1st Place Winner of the North American Tea Championships 2011 and contains black tea, coconut flakes, and almond bits and smells delicious!
Snowflake from Aromatica Fine Teas is one of the companies best sellers and I can see why! The black tea base is a heftier strength and brews to a reddish brown color while the aroma is heavy on the coconut followed by a good deal of almond.
There are sweet, creamy, nutty, and dark cocoa-type black tea flavors that swirl around as you sip this Snowflake from Aromatica Fine Teas. If you like coconut you will most likely enjoy this flavored black tea. The slivers of coconut are really potent and tasty and so is this tea! Yum! Double Yum, even!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Aromatica Fine Teas
Description
North American Tea Championship: 1st place – Flavored Black Tea category – 2011 Fall – Hot Teas Division.
A fabulous almond coconut tea. Brew it in steamed milk for a Tropical Fog. Ceylon and China black tea, coconut rasps, flavour, almond flakes.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
