Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
Before steeping this tea, I tried to smell something “lemony” in the tea. I couldn’t smell anything at all. No green tea, no lemon notes … nothing. I was a little worried that I’d have a flavorless tea here.
But, after steeping (175°F water for 2 minutes), the lemon emerges! Now, I’m smelling … well, what I’m smelling is reminiscent of lemon Pledge. Not something that I really want to drink, but, fortunately, I don’t think this tastes like lemon Pledge. At least, this isn’t what I’d imagine lemon Pledge to taste like. I’ve only used lemon Pledge to dust and polish my furniture, I haven’t consumed it internally.
It’s actually quite a pleasant aroma.
And the flavor is quite pleasant as well. The lemon notes are strong but do not overpower the sweet, lightly grassy green tea notes. The lemon is tart and tastes like lemon. It doesn’t taste like an artificial lemon flavor. It doesn’t taste like an overly sweetened version of lemon. It tastes like I squeezed a slice of lemon over my teacup. It’s a bright and energetic lemon note.
I preferred this particular tea hot. As it cools, some of the flavors wane a bit too much to my liking, I like that sunny, uplifting lemon note that I experience when this tea is hot.
Tawantin Black Tea from Inca Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Inca Tea
Tea Description:
We thought long and hard about how to make a black tea as unique yet as strong as the Incan Empire and what we came up with was Tawantin Black Tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Tawantin Black Tea marks the last of the four teas from Inca Tea that are currently available. I’m so happy that I had the opportunity to try all four teas.
Dry, the aroma is very subtle, I can smell notes of “black tea” and also hints of corn. The brewed tea has a similarly soft fragrance, it smells very much the same as the dry leaf, although I think I smell less corn and more black tea now, but it’s still a rather subtle scent.
But there’s nothing subtle about the flavor! This is a robust black tea with plenty of GUSTO. This would make a great tea to reach for first thing in the morning because it’s got a real strong, energizing flavor to it.
The description on the Inca Tea website lists the ingredients as
INGREDIENTS: Finest 3 black tea leaves (2 or which are organic) and purple corn. The Inca referred to their empire as Tawantinsuyu, “four parts together.” In Quechua, the term Tawantin is a group of four things (tawa, meaning “four”, with the suffix -ntin which names a group) This blend is a robust combination of 3 quality black tea leaves and purple corn.
An interesting bit of information about the name “Tawantin.” Inca tea does not state what types of black tea is used here, but based on what I’m tasting, I would venture a guess that there is either Assam or Nilgiri (or possibly both?) in this blend because it has a rich, malty note to it. Based on the slight bitter note that I taste toward mid-sip, I would guess that it’s an Assam. The nice round character and slight wine-like notes suggest to me that there is either a Keemun or a Yunnan in the blend (or possibly both), or if not one of these two (or both), perhaps a Kenyan?
Again, that’s all guesses on my part. I’m not sure of the teas used. But it is a full-flavored, rich tasting blend of teas. There is a slight astringency toward the tail and I find that this astringency starts out light and develops to more of a “medium” astringency as I make my way to mid-cup.
The thing that makes this tea different from the rest of the black tea blends that I’ve tried, though, is not the blend of black teas but the addition of purple corn. The purple corn does not present a strong, obtrusive flavor to the cup, but I can taste hints of a grainy flavor to the cup. With the casual sip, my palate has a hard time picking up the notes, so this is a tea you want to slurp a little bit so that you’re aerating the liquid onto the palate. When I do this, I can pick up on those grain flavors and it’s a very satisfying flavor as it melds with the malty notes of the black tea. It becomes almost bread-like … like a hearty loaf of freshly baked bread. Nice!
Since I was unsure of the teas used in this blend, I brewed one pyramid sachet of tea in 8 ounces of 205°F (rather than going for the full boil) and steeped it for 3 minutes. I think next time, I’ll steep it for just 2 1/2 minutes at the same temperature and see if this minimizes the slight bitter note. The bitterness isn’t bad nor is it putting me off on the cup, but, I would rather it wasn’t there so next time I’ll tweak how I brewed it just a little to see if the results are better.
But as it is, I find this to be pleasant cup of tea. I like the richness of the black tea and I like the subtle flavor that the corn brings to the cup. This is unique enough to be fun and interesting to drink but not so unique that it becomes unfamiliar.
I look forward to seeing what else this new company – Inca Tea – will offer in the future. These four teas that I’ve tried thus far have been quite nice!
Product Review: Tea Box Express Monthly Subscription, Part 2!
Product Information:
Where to Subscribe: Tea Box Express
About Tea Box Express:
Tea Box Express is more than a box of tea. It’s an experience. Each month brings a new box brimming with surprises that always include quality brand-name tea and three or four fun tea-things. We are dedicated to bringing you the best teas and the niftiest tea goodies. Our mission is to bring a tea party to your door every month.
Save 20% off your first month’s subscription! Just use the code SORORITEA20 in the coupon field at check-out to save!
Review:
So the last time that I wrote about this box, I shared with you a little bit about the experience of receiving this really awesome box but I didn’t actually review any of the products inside. Now, with this part 2 of the Product Review, I am going to do exactly that. I’m going to offer up my thoughts on the tea, the honey and the cookie, as well as the accessories!
So, let’s start with the tea. The tea in Tea Box Express’s flagship box – October’s Bee Happy box – is the signature black tea from Teatulia. I have previously reviewed this tea, but I’ve revisited teas in the past and I don’t have a problem revisiting this tea as it is one that I enjoyed before and I know I’ll enjoy it now.
It’s a pleasant, full-bodied black tea. It’s rich with malty notes and a pleasant sweetness. I find that this sweetness is more pronounced with the second steeping, so even if you’re one who doesn’t typically resteep black teas, this is one that is definitely worth your while to infuse again!
Which leads me to talk about one of the gadgets that was in this box: the teabag caddy. It’s shaped like a little teapot and it’s bright yellow. I like the cheerful color and it fits the Bee Happy theme appropriately. I have used teabag caddies like this one in the past but the ones that I’ve used have been metal and after a while, well, I live in the Pacific Northwest and if something is metal here, eventually it becomes rust. And that’s what happened to the other teabag caddies that I’ve used. I like that this is ceramic. It holds the teabag in between infusions. Yeah, it’s a simple job, but something has to do it, and this is cute and it’s bright, cheery yellow. So why not this?
To steep: I steeped one sachet in eight ounces of boiling water for 2 1/2 minutes. For the second infusion, I used another eight ounces of boiling water, but this time, I steeped the sachet for 3 minutes.
It’s a robust black tea that would serve you well as a breakfast tea, as it takes the additions of honey and milk nicely. And that’s just what I’m about to talk about now! Honey!
Bee-cause in this month’s Tea Box Express, I also received a 3 ounce jar of Tea Honey from Savannah Bee Co. Before drizzling the honey in my tea, I took a sip of the tea to see how it tastes, and it tastes quite fine without the addition, but I find that the honey does soften the astringency of the tea a little bit.
Having never used one of these fancy honey dipper/drizzler/server thingamajigs, I wasn’t quite sure how to use it so I just … rolled with my inexperience and used it the way I thought it should be used. I dipped the swirly end of the dipper into the jar of honey and let some of the honey drip off of the dipper back into the jar, and then I was satisfied with the amount of honey that was on the dipper, I put it right into my teacup and used it to stir the honey into the tea. Since I was the only person using the honey dipper, I felt like this was a perfectly acceptable way to use the tool.
And it is handy. The wire spiral holds the honey and it’s not as messy a task to take honey from jar and add it to teacup using this device. It’s not a necessary tool when it comes to tea time (especially since I rarely use honey in my tea), but it is kind of cool, even though I’m not a big tea tool kind of girl. I am all about less is more when it comes to gadgets and tools. Tea should be simple. But, I have to admit that this fancy thingamajig is nifty.
I tasted a little drop of the honey before I added it to the cup, and it’s a delicate tasting honey. It tastes sweet but it doesn’t have a strong honey-esque flavor to it. That is to say that I’m finding that it’s adding a light sweetness to my cup of tea without it tasting overly honeyed. And as I said before, it did help to curb the astringent bite to this tea just a little. It’s not an overly astringent tea, but what little I detected with my pre-honey sip was diminished significantly after the honey was added. I like that my cup is now not only less astringent and lightly sweet, but even better is that it’s not overly sweet nor does it taste too much like honey.
The cookie! The cookie! OK, first of all, it’s adorable. It’s a large cookie (I’d estimate it to be something between 3 and 4 inches, which is large for a cookie). The cookie is a blonde colored shortbread cookie. I had mentioned earlier that it’s a sugar cookie, but the cookie part is not quite as sweet as a sugar cookie, it’s got more of a shortbread taste and texture. And the cookie is decorated with a bright yellow icing that has been “drawn” with a bee design in black icing and white wings. The bee has a happy face. Bee Happy.
I like that this is more like a shortbread cookie than a sweet sugar cookie because the icing is quite sweet and if the cookie part were sweeter, this would become very cloying very fast. They are still quite sweet.
The cookie part has a nice shortbread type texture: it’s got that delicious buttery texture that melts in your mouth. It’s not a crunchy cookie. It’s dense like shortbread. One cookie makes for a very nice tea time treat.
I’m sure I probably said this in part 1 of this review, but this box is really awesome. It would make a great gift for the tea lover on your gift giving list. (Oh, please put me on your gift giving list!) I enjoyed everything in this box from the tea to the honey to the cookie … and even the neat little tools.
This is fun mail: it’s a tea party in a box!
Infusion des Marmottes Tisane from Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Description:
Created in 1976, this is the first composition of two marmots. This herbal tea to ruby and tangy taste is the sweetest and most mysterious of all. Seven plants were found, but the dosage is one that will remain well buried in a hidden family secret terrier gallery . . .
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I think that this is the blend that started the company (or so I’ve been led to believe by the above description). It is a combination of linden, verbena, peppermint, hibiscus, chamomile, rosehip and orange blossoms.
To steep this blend, I heated the kettle to 195°F and used about 6 ounces of water to 1 teabag and left it to steep for 8 minutes. It’s a little longer than I typically steep a blend with hibiscus in it (usually I steep it for 6 minutes, tops!) but because I didn’t see a lot of ruby colored leaves through the teabag, I hoped that I wouldn’t be left with a cup of tisane where the hibiscus completely took over.
Fortunately for me, there doesn’t seem to be a heavy amount of hibiscus to this blend. The color of the brewed liquid is lightly “rosy” but not ruby red the way that heavily hibiscus-ed blends often are. It also doesn’t have the thick texture (or pucker-y tartness) of a heavily hibiscus-ed blend.
This is a surprisingly balanced combination of the eight ingredients. The two ingredients that I expected to overpower the others – the aforementioned hibiscus and the peppermint – do not knock out the other components of this blend. Peppermint can often be a rather strong presence in a blend when added with too heavy a hand. Here, the peppermint tastes light. It is crisp and adds a cool flavor to the cup without overwhelming the other flavors of the cup.
The linden, chamomile and orange blossom add just a whisper of floral essence to the cup while the verbena adds a hint of citrus.
The overall flavor of the cup is subtle and herbaceous. Do I like it? It’s alright. Not the best tisane I’ve ever tasted but certainly not the worst either. I think I rather prefer some of the other tisanes that I’ve tried from Les 2 Marmottes, but this isn’t terrible. It’s a gentle cuppa, nice for later in the evening when you’re wanting to wind down and relax. I think it’s best served with a little drizzle of honey to the cup – it makes this a very soothing and calming drink.
Guava Flavored Green Tea from Tea of Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I have tried quite a few Tea of Life teas at this point and I’ve enjoyed some better than others. All of the teas that I’ve tried have been either bagged teas or teas in sachets, and I’ve made mention of my dislike of tea bags/tea sachets. However, even though these teas have been bagged or in sachets, there have been several teas that have impressed me.
I don’t know if I’d call this Guava flavored Green Tea “impressive” but I like that the guava flavoring is strong and focused. It tastes like guava: sweet and juicy. And I like that I can also taste the green tea in this tea. It has a lightly grassy, slightly buttery taste that marries well with the guava notes.
The reason why I said I was unsure if I’d say that this was impressive is that I find that the guava flavoring might be a tad TOO strong. While I can taste the green tea notes (and the green tea flavors do develop as I continue to sip), I think that the guava obscures some of the green tea flavors. Not so much that I simply can’t taste the green tea, but I think I’d like the green tea notes to be a bit more prominent than they are.
Other than that, I find this tea to be enjoyable. It is sweet and fruity and it makes a fantastic iced tea.