Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Our delicate Shou Mei White Tea is infused with a playful explosion of blueberries, cornflowers and blueberry flavor. The naturally floral white tea leaves fuse harmoniously with their fruity additions. Enjoy this tea any time you feel like a treat, hot or iced.
Shou Mei White Tea, Blueberries, Cornflowers, Blueberry Flavor
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tried quite a few blueberry flavored teas during my time as a tea reviewer, and just like any other flavor, some blueberry teas are better than others. This one is definitely one of the better ones that I’ve tried. The blueberry is strong and exceptionally well-defined. Put simply, it tastes like BLUEBERRY!
The dry leaf is deliciously fragrant, smelling of sweet berries. The leaves are dark and brown and they look like most of the Shou Mei teas that I’ve seen. There are flecks of blue among the leaves: cornflowers. I see some blueberries, but there are not a lot of blueberries in this, but that’s OK.
When it comes to flavored teas, its not the fruit additions that make the tea taste like the fruit flavor, it’s the flavoring oil. So it’s important that when selecting the flavoring oil that a very high quality flavoring oil is chosen. A low quality oil can result in a flavor that tastes fake, chemical-y, or have very little taste that resembles the desired flavor.
Fortunately, this Blueberry White Tea from Simple Loose Leaf has been crafted using a high quality oil – as evidenced in the flavor that I’m tasting. I taste blueberry. I don’t taste chemicals. I don’t taste a fake blueberry or even an overly-candied blueberry taste. I taste an authentic, true-to-the-fruit, abundantly fruity blueberry flavor!
The flavor is sweet with that familiar tingly berry tart note toward the finish. Yum! As I said, this is one of the better blueberry flavored teas I’ve come across in some time. I love that the blueberry flavor is unmistakable … I like that I can easily identify that this tastes like blueberry. I like that it’s sweet and juicy and refreshing. It’s very summertime!
Incidentally, this makes a stunning iced tea!
The Shou Mei base needs to be credited for the flavor as much as the blueberry flavoring, because the crisp flavor of the Shou Mei doesn’t attempt to impede the delivery of bright blueberry flavor to the palate. It is content to let the blueberry do its thing, but at the same time, it doesn’t allow itself to be overpowered by the flavoring. There is a good balance here of earthy, sweet notes of Chinese white tea and juicy blueberry flavor.
A VERY good tea. This is the first that I’ve tried from the August Selection Club box, and we’re off to a really great start! I’m looking forward to the next one!
I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I want to let you know that you can save 25% off when you sign up for the Selection Club from Simple Loose Leaf. Just use the coupon code SISTERSELECTION25 for that savings when you subscribe. This discount is applicable only to the monthly Selection Club subscription and not the retail selection of teas.
Earl of Anxi Blend from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Traditional Earl Grey is a classic, great for every season. With the Earl of Anxi, we start not with a black tea, but with our Master Zhang’s Hand-Picked Tieguanyin to give the bergamot a sweet, bright base and reinforce the floral citrus notes. We draw out the citrus sweetness with a uniquely creamy and rich orange peel, and crystallize the florals into a prominent position with jasmine blossoms.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is really a unique take on Earl Grey – unique but very enjoyable!
What is so remarkable about this blend is how incredibly balanced it is. This Earl of Anxi has a very balanced fragrance as well as flavor and the result is a very smooth tea. Unbelievably smooth!
Verdant Tea has found a way to balance all that is unique about Earl Grey to create an uncommonly smooth version of the classic tea. First, let’s think about the aroma of an Earl Grey tea, because let’s face it, that’s usually the first thing you notice about Earl Grey … that beautiful scent of bergamot! But the fragrant note of the bergamot is something that is noticeable not just by scent but also distinguishable by taste. That’s why sometimes bergamot in an Earl Grey can come off as “perfume-y” because one not only smells the heady aroma of the bergamot orange but also tastes it. Don’t believe me? Try plugging your nose when you drink Earl Grey and you’ll notice that it tastes different.
The way that the Oolong tea melds with the floral notes of the jasmine and the fruit tones of the orange and goji berry is really remarkable. It is so creamy and fluid. Smooth like silk.
To my recollection, I’ve only tried Frankincense in one or two other teas, but based upon my memory of those experiences, I can taste the Frankincense now. It has a somewhat perfume-ish quality to it, very aromatic and exotic to the nose and to the palate.
The frankincense and saffron offer contrast and balance to the fragrant flavor of the bergamot, as does the jasmine, while the goji berry accentuates the citrus tones. The oolong offers a creamy taste that is the basis for the smooth flavor and texture of the tea. It is the conduit for the incredible smoothness of this tea.
A sweet, beautifully balanced, delicately spiced, exotic cup of tea that is so delightful that it is almost impossible to describe. It is one of those teas that you MUST try to believe. It’s an amazing tea.
Berry Patch Black Tea Blend from Tea of Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of the dry leaf of this Berry Patch Black Tea Blend from Tea of Life smells quite yummy with its notes of strawberry and cherry. It’s a fruity scent, obviously, but, it isn’t an overpowering fragrance. It doesn’t smell artificial or candy-like. It smells lightly of fruit, reminiscent of a farmer’s produce market in the summertime when the strawberries are fresh and ripe and perfuming the air with their delicious goodness.
I’m happy to report that what I smell translates to the flavor. The fruit notes are delicate and do not overwhelm the black tea notes. The black tea is a mellower tasting black tea, and I’d categorize it as a medium-bodied black tea base. Smooth and nicely round, this is probably a Ceylon, although Tea of Life does not clarify that on the packaging. It just says “Black Tea.” I like that it’s a flavorful tea, but not too aggressive, especially when considering the delicate fruit notes of this tea. A stronger tea base would mean that I would miss out on the lovely strawberry and cherry flavors.
The cherry is less potent than the strawberry. The strawberry starts out rather subtle but as I continue to sip, the flavor of sweet-tart berries builds on my palate. The cherry is a soft flavor and it’s quite pleasant. It isn’t too sweet nor does it taste medicinal.
Overall, a nice cuppa from Tea of Life.
A Day in Provence Rooibos Blend from Tay Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tay Tea
Tisane Description:
Soothing and relaxing with a tangy kick that screams at you to make iced tea. As a hot tea, this is still a delight. Layers of red berries, tart currants, lavender and rooibos with subtle hints of rose. The texture of this tea is amazingly soft on the tongue and the lavender persists all the way through each sip.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
This is really lovely! Despite the suggestion above to make this into iced tea, I opted for a hot tea – there’s just something about lavender that tells me to make hot tea and since it would seem that A Day in Provence Rooibos Blend from Tay Tea has a strong lavender presence I figured hot tea was the way to go this evening. And as I said … it’s really very lovely!
The lavender is a strong, well-defined essence but it never tastes too floral, perfume-ish or soapy. The lavender (and the rose) have been added at just the right amounts so that the flavors are present in every sip without tasting of Aunt Mildred’s favorite perfume.
And as much as I enjoy lavender, what I’m enjoying most about this particular cuppa is that I’m not tasting a strong rooibos flavor. I taste subtle notes of a woody flavor and hints of nutty tones and that familiar honeyed note, but it isn’t a really powerful presence.
Instead, I taste notes of currant and this gives the cup an almost wine-like taste, and the rose and lavender are very complementary to the wine-ish flavors. I taste a sweet-tart berry note. Overall this has a very indulgent, beautiful flavor that I am finding very nice.
I’m really happy that this tea was part of this month’s Amoda Tea Box! Usually, I approach the rooibos/herbal blends with a certain amount of skepticism, but, this is one with which I’m quite pleased.
Acai Green Tea from Sarabeth’s
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Sarabeth’s
Tea Description:
Green Tea is one of the most natural of all teas and contains many of the natural compounds which make teas a healthy drink. The preference to green teas lies in their light, delicate and refreshing taste. It is meant to be consumed without milk or sugar and is a pleasant accompaniment to a meal thanks to its digestive properties.
Learn more about Sarabeth’s teas here.
Taster’s Review:
My youngest daughter has become more health conscious, and one of the things that she’s wanting to incorporate in her diet is more green tea. OK, I’ve got no problem with that! So, now, every time I’m preparing green tea, she asks me to make a cup for her. (Unless it’s too late in the day for her to consume caffeine.)
So, when I was making myself a cup of this Acai Green Tea from Sarabeth’s to review, I made her a cup of it too. Her thoughts: It’s good!
Unfortunately, “It’s good!” all by itself doesn’t make for a very good review, does it? I mean, it tells you what you might want to know: it tells you that the tea tastes good. But, you might want a few more specific details so let’s see if I can provide some of those . . .
The aroma of the dry leaf is very berry. I’ve only tasted acai berries as a dried/dehydrated fruit, so, I only have that to compare it to, but, the smell of the dry tea reminds me of the smell that I experienced when I opened a package of dehydrated acai berries. The brewed tea has very little fragrance: mere hints of the berry notes I could smell with this tea in dry form.
The flavor is indeed “good” as my daughter said. It is quite tart (not surprising as that tends to be my overall experience with acai berries), but, there is a hint of sweetness in there too, and I find that the soft, buttery taste of the green tea curbs some of those tarty notes a little bit, making it more palatable for me. (I’m not big on really tart flavors.)
It’s an easy to drink tea. It tastes refreshing. The tart notes seem to have an awakening effect on the palate – this is the cup of tea to drink if you need to enliven the taste buds! But even though it’s invigorating like that, it tastes really smooth, sweet and buttery so it seems to glide over the palate.
A pleasant cup of tea to share with my sweet daughter.