I brewed it in freshly boiled water (~8-10 oz) for 3 minutes as suggested. I love loose leaf tea, but the pyramid sachets this tea comes in are super cute and convenient. It’s just one less step (putting the tea into the brew basket) but can make a big difference, especially if you’re in a hurry.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a Thyme tea before, so this was new and exciting to me. This tea doesn’t seem to have any other herbs/spices besides thyme (the ingredients are black tea, thyme, and vanilla) but the flavor is pretty strong and the vanilla gives it more depth and richness. It’s a nice medium-dark, transparent honey-brown when steeped and smells both Thymey and sweet.
First sip: There’s a bit of cognitive dissonance here because I’ve only ever had Thyme in savory dishes so my brain is expecting this tea to be savory rather than sweet. It is sweet, though. I can identify the tannic astringency of the tea base, along the sides of my tongue, while the Thymey bouquet invades my nose. The astringency transitions into a sweetness on the top and back of the tongue that somehow connects it to the flowery herbal fragrance, keeping the whole thing somewhat coherent. So although the black tea flavor is mostly subsumed and the astringent component is the only part of it that really sticks out to me, it still contributes to the overall taste profile.
I next added a bit of sugar (only a little, since it’s so sweet already), which helped the various flavors flow together even better. I then added milk, which worked out great. It made the tea taste warm and strengthening (I mean, it technically already tasted warm, but still) and helped my taste buds get over the funky “no really, this should be savory because it has thyme in it” idea. I think I like it best with milk, but then I usually do with chais and other strong black teas.
This is a very different sort of chai, with a Mediterranean rather than a South Asian inspiration, but I really enjoyed it and I think I could add it to my rotation with great success.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Balcony Teas
Description
This is what my papa called “a signature tea”: refreshing in summer and protective in winter. We love the distinctly herbaceous, yet sweet and comforting taste of this black tea.
Ingredients:
Black Tea – The finest Ceylon tea. Fortifying, yet refreshing.Wild Thyme – Our thyme is wild-harvested in the Mediterranean to ensure its intense aroma and taste. The Romans believed Thyme to be a mood enhancer. My family used to drink it whenever we were feeling under the weather.Vanilla Pieces & Flavour – Smooth, sweet and luxurious.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Charles Dickens’ Black Tea Blend by Simpson & Vail
Steeping specs: I steeped a heaping teaspoon of this tea in about 10 oz. of boiling water for three minutes.
I tried some of this tea before looking it up, so I didn’t know what to expect but then realized it was rather unusual so I checked out the background and steeping recommendations so I could give it a more “proper” review. Apparently it’s a combination of black tea, oolong tea, and natural flavoring (plus cornflower petals, which add visual interest). I found it to be quite a memorable blend.
(Combinations of black tea and oolong intrigue me . . . I mean, for one thing, they’re really hard to classify. For another, I’m never sure what combining them is supposed to accomplish. Is it supposed to be like black tea but with more floral notes, maybe? I wonder what black tea would taste like if combined with a smoky roasted oolong? Hmm, maybe it’s time for an experiment . . .)
After steeping, it’s a sort of cedar-mahogany color, quite clear, and not very viscous. The scent is a bit tart and so is the first sip. It’s rather more acidic and astringent than your typical black tea, but in a good way. It seems quite well-blended; I think the flavors balance well (they bring out the strong, tannic, earthy properties of the black tea). It’s nice and strong, which I like. It would make a great breakfast or afternoon tea, I think. The S&V website doesn’t say exactly what flavoring is in the tea, just that it has a currant aftertaste, but I found it to be quite hearty in a satisfying, filling sort of way.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black/Oolong Blend
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
Unlike many of his characters, Charles Dickens was born to loving parents in February of 1812. However, when he was only 12, his father was imprisoned for debt and Charles was sent to work in a blacking factory where he labeled endless bottles of shoeshine. He would leave the factory four years later to finish his education, but those formative years deeply affected him and inspired many of the boyhood horrors he would later write about. He wrote many of his most famous novels like Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby episodically, with a new chapter appearing in a magazine each month. These works examined the lives of the less fortunate and found humanity amid the most inhuman conditions.
Tea appeared in Dickens’ work as a calming force like in David Copperfield, when the main character recounts how he “sat swilling tea until [his] whole nervous system, if [he] had had any in those days, must have gone by the board.” Or it could surface as a commonality between classes that allowed Dickens to emphasize the stark differences between lifestyles. While a “real solid silver teapot” and “real silver spoons to stir the tea with” are listed among the treasures of Old Lobbs in The Pickwick Papers, “a regular place of public entertainment for the poorer classes” described in Oliver Twist would provide “a public breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper all the year round.” Our Charles Dickens blend adds a flash of color to a traditional british tea. The blend is a hearty, well-rounded blend of China and Indian teas that has an amber cup with a light currant after-taste.
Ingredients: Black teas, oolong tea, flavoring, cornflower petals.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Handcrafted Organic Green Tea Blended For Sweet Tea from Sweet Tea Junkie
Okay…full disclosure here…I’m far from being a Sweet Tea Guru so when I receive Handcrafted Organic Green Tea Blended For Sweet Tea from Sweet Tea Junkie I’ve been carefully planning on how to tackle this review.
I would like to explain that a bit more. I grew up on PLAIN tea. No matter what kind of tea it is I drink it PLAIN. Even Chai. I’m sure it’s because I was raised about as much of a Yankee as one could grow up! My husband – on the other hand – LOVES Sweet Tea and grew up on that as a child.
Having said that I thought I would share with you my experiences with Handcrafted Organic Green Tea Blended For Sweet Tea from Sweet Tea Junkie. First I would like to come clean and tell you that I sampled this tea straight-up, as-is, and with nothing added – because that is how I roll.
Plain and with NOTHING added this was a solid Gunpowder Green Tea. I’m careful NOT to over infuse green teas – especially Gunpowders because they tend to get bitter. This one worked out nicely and didn’t have the stale bitterness that others tend to have. My plain taste test with Handcrafted Organic Green Tea Blended For Sweet Tea from Sweet Tea Junkie was a success!
I then broke out of my comfort zone and tried Handcrafted Organic Green Tea Blended For Sweet Tea from Sweet Tea Junkie ICED the way the company intended it! I followed the instructions and decided to use NATURAL Sugar Crystals. I first tried it with about 5 of them and it was gently sweetened. I then added about 7 more and it really kicked it up a notch. According to these Sugar Crystals they are in its purest form and will not take away from the flavor of the tea. I found that to be true.
I decided to try a second infusion of this Handcrafted Organic Green Tea Blended For Sweet Tea from Sweet Tea Junkie and added just a few more crystals and I think I enjoyed the second infusion even better than the first.
When it comes to hot brewed – iced sweet tea – from loose leaf…Handcrafted Organic Green Tea Blended For Sweet Tea from Sweet Tea Junkie is a game changer! I was blown away at how much I enjoyed this cuppa – especially for NOT being into Sweet Tea to begin with! Excellent product!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Sweet Tea Junkie
Description:
Introducing the first Organic Tea from your friends at Sweet Tea Junkie. This Handcrafted Organic Green Tea is known as a Gunpowder Green, and was named such by British Soldiers hundreds of years ago due to the way that the leaves are “rolled” into balls that resembled the small pouches they would grind into gunpowder.
Hey, we know that looks and a good story are great but we’re tea drinkers here at Sweet Tea Junkie and can say with certainty that whether you want to stay traditional and drink this tea hot with no sugar, or go all southern on it and brew a gallon of Sweet Green Tea this will be the best tasting organic green tea you’ll find!
While black tea is the most popular type of tea in the United States, worldwide Green tea takes the crown due largely in part to it’s widely known health benefits and it’s popularity in Asian Countries.
The amazing thing about a loose leaf tea is that you can actually watch the leaves as they unfurl (open) during the steeping process. Our Handcrafted Organic Green Tea is no different, the fact that the leaves are tightly rolled makes for an interesting experience that you just won’t get from the big National tea brands who largely use teas that have been ground into a dust like form (ie. tea dust).
Learn even more about this tea here.
Cinnamon Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong from Stylin’ Tea Blends
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Stylin’ Tea Blends
Tea Description:
Phoenix Dan Cong is a premium variety of china oolong teas, grown and processed in Mountain Phoenix, Chao Zhou, Guangdong. Dan Dong Teas are noted for their ability to naturally imitate the flavors and fragrances of various fruits and flowers, such as honey orchid, cinnamon, sweet-potato. According to history record, Dan Cong was served as an imperial tribute tea in Song Dynasty. This Tea is very popular in China, Japan and Southeast Asia.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was in a mood today for oolong. Been drinking it all day actually. Today was just one of those days were you wanted something rich, comforting, and a bit more complex.
Digging thru my tea stash I stumbled upon this beauty. The leaves were gorgeous- dark and slightly twisted. They yearned to be brewed up!
Brewed these up with water prepped at 195 per the steeping parameters and I allowed them to steep for about 3 minutes. I was greeted with the most marvelous flavor! Rich, deep, well balanced, slightly vegetal, but so incredibly smooth. This is was of those lush silky teas that give you that whole mouth feel and leave you craving more as soon as you finish your first sip. A gorgeous blend for sure and one that I’ve now brewed up a few times-enjoying each cup.
I can’t say that I picked up any cinnamon like flavors but I did pick up the sweet potato like resemblance and oddly enough the honey orchid profile. Those two flavors mingled together so nicely. Sounds odd to say that they did but I finished off this tea in no time. A really fabulous tea for those days when you need a tea to comfort you all along your way!
Tropical Sunshine Green from A Quarter to Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: A Quarter to Tea
Tea Description:
Summer winding to a close, getting you down? Don’t fret — just let yourself get whisked off to the beach. Tangerine, mango, raspberry and coconut make a fruity tropical cocktail that will have you hearing waves and feeling the sand underfoot.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
We’re a long way from summer now, so a tropical themed tea feels a little out of place but just because this might not be the ideal season to drink it doesn’t mean it’s not going to be super tasty! So, when I cold brewed this tea I did my absolute best to be open minded about it. And honestly, it wasn’t hard: the coconut in the blend smells super fresh and yummy and I could see lots of goji berries which are a fruit I’ve really tried to learn more about this year. Both are things for me to get excited about.
Like I said, this was cold brewed because Lauren from A Quarter to Tea specifically said on the tea’s page that it’s great iced. I don’t normally ice teas, but I do cold brew them! I find, if a company is going to specifically point out a way to try their tea I want to take that into consideration.
Mostly; I thought this was just a really nice smooth, vegetal and grassy cold brewed green tea that demonstrated characteristics of both the Chinese and Japanese style greens in the blend. On top of the really enjoyable base, the coconut was quite a dominant flavour. It tastes insanely fresh! It’s a nice balance between tropical “Pina Colada” type coconut and a more confectionery type coconut. It reminds me of DT’s Coconut Grove which is something I haven’t gotten to say in a LONG time since that delightful blend has been discontinued for a while now.
Sadly, none of the fruit really seems to contribute much flavour. I certainly don’t taste the goji and I just barely taste the faintest citrus flavour on the finish of the cup. I’d never be able to identify it as tangerine is I wasn’t reading an ingredients list. I don’t mind the absence of fruit because I get to enjoy the coconut, but I doubt that’s entirely what was intended and if you’re looking for fruit flavour you may be disappointed with this blend.
Regardless, it was a good experience for me.
