Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Green & White Teas
Where to Buy: Kaleisia Tea
Tea Description:
The most popular blend of all times. This blend consist of white peony white tea, sencha green tea, darjeeling black tea, gunpowder green tea, dragonwell green tea, jasmine pearl green tea, mango, pineaple, papaya, orange peels, strawberry, red currants, sour cherry bits, and apricot bits. A very well rounded fruity tea that is sure to please anyone.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Secret Garden Tea Blend from Kaleisia Tea has a little bit of EVERYTHING in it! White tea, green tea, black tea … fruit bits … and a whole lot of flavor!
Since this blend seems to be primarily green tea, I went with a lower brew temperature (185°F) and steeped the tea for 2 1/2 minutes in my Breville One- Touch. And the results are tasty!
Fruit flavor hits the palate first, although … it is more like a “medley” of fruit flavors rather than one specific fruit note. Kind of like a bite of ambrosia salad where you taste several fruit notes all at once and it’s difficult to pin-point exactly which fruit you’re tasting. It’s a very refreshing fruit taste though!
As far as tea flavor goes, green tea is what I taste most. That sweet, sort of leafy/grassy note that is very fresh and crisp. It’s a nice contrast with the sweet and sour fruit notes that tantalize the palate at the start of the sip. There is a sweet, creaminess to the tea notes as well, is that the white tea or the buttery notes from the Sencha? I can’t be sure, but, I like the way it comes together with the fruit notes. I don’t taste a whole lot of white tea here, nor do I notice much from the Darjeeling black tea, although I can’t say that this blend would taste the same without those tea leaves being a part of this blend.
As I continue to sip, I realize that I’m tasting mostly a “tropical” sort of taste: notes of pineapple, mango, and papaya, with a strawberry background note. I taste the sweetness of the apricot too. The sour tones of the currant and the cherry come through near the finish, but these are not very strong flavors. The fruit notes, overall, are more “melded” together as a unified flavor … like some kind of “ultra-fruit” but, if I aerate the sip by slurping, I can pick out individual fruit notes.
I like that this blend is more sweet than it is sour, because I’m not a huge fan of the sour taste as I’ve said many times. While this does seem to be a rather “busy” blend … I find it enjoyable. I like it better iced than hot, so, I’ll be brewing more of this later for my iced tea pitcher and enjoy it all day long tomorrow!
Sakura Komachi Green Tea from Shi Zen
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Shi Zen
Tea Description:
Ceremonial Grade “Matcha” Blended with Cherry Blossom Leaf
Our green tea is grown on family farms located in small villages in the foothills of Mount Fuji. This remote Okabe region of Shizuoka Prefecture enjoys the perfect combination of clean air, pure water, and fertile soil only found in this area of Japan. This premium Matcha is the 1st harvest Matcha, which is considered one of the finest grade Matcha in Japan.
These cherry trees grow on the Izu region of Shizuoka Prefecture, and their cherry blossoms leaves are hand-picked in the spring and ground with a traditional Japanese stone mill.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow … ok, so this Sakura Komachi Green Tea from Shi Zen is different! But, different is good!
The Matcha here is very beautifully, BRIGHT green – the way a high quality Ceremonial Grade Matcha should be. The Matcha been blended with stone ground cherry blossom leaves to impart a pleasant cherry blossom flavor.
The Matcha froths up really beautifully, and produces a liquid that resembles some of the finest Matcha teas that I’ve had the opportunity to taste. The color is bright jade green … and the powder remains incorporated as I drink … I didn’t experience the sediment at the bottom of my chawan!
Having never actually tasted the powder from a cherry blossom leaf before tasting this powdered green tea blend, I have no experience with which to compare what I’m tasting now. However, I have had quite a few experiences with very high quality Matcha – and so I’m going to pick out what I’m tasting now that is different from other Matcha I’ve tried and work under the presumption that these “new” tastes are from the cherry blossom leaf.
The overall flavor is vegetative. It has a very “spring-time” like flavor to it – evoking thoughts of trees covered in pretty pink blossoms and the air filled with their scent. It has a creamy texture and taste, slightly buttery and very smooth on the palate. The Matcha flavor stands out over the flavor of the cherry blossom leaf, which is not what I’d call “delicate” but, it is softer than the flavor of the Matcha. There is a slight sharpness from the cherry blossom leaf – it’s slightly “floral” tasting, and I find that this floral note rests upon the palate in the aftertaste.
It’s quite an enjoyable experience, this Sakura Komachi, and I’m really glad I had this opportunity to try it. It’s a bit like drinking the splendor of spring-time!
Stone Fruit White Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Stone fruits are so named because they have a large pit in their centers. They include peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines and cherries–in other words, a cornucopia of yumminess, all of which is represented in this blend.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
When it came time for me to try this Stone Fruit White Tea from 52Teas, I knew I had to try it iced. It just seemed to me to be the perfect kind of tea for iced tea. So, I brewed an extra large pot of this tea, and after straining a small cup of tea for me to try as a hot tea and with which to start this review, I strained the rest of the pot into my iced tea pitcher, and then re-infused the leaves to top off the iced tea pitcher. Yumminess in the fridge for tomorrow!
Served still-piping-hot-from-the-teapot hot, I found the flavor was not quite everything I wanted it to be. I took a sip or two, and then I decided to wait a few minutes for my next sip … which was considerably better. Give this tea a few moments to cool – it doesn’t need a long time, but just a few minutes will give the flavors a chance to really pop.
This tea blend is beautifully flavored. The white tea base is soft, sweet and earthy. Notes of hay, and of fresh air, it tastes clean and fresh. These flavors seemed to meld well with the sweet, lush notes of peach, nectarine, plum, apricot and cherry.
And I like that I can taste each of those flavors in the cup in front of me. It tastes a bit more like a medley of fruit flavors rather than distinctive, individual notes … but I can taste each of them. The peach and nectarine are the most prominent – and it really is difficult for me to tell the difference between one and the other when it comes to these two fruits, when I was young, we had a peach tree and a nectarine tree, and when it came time for “peach” cobbler, my step-mother would combine the two fruits in the cobbler, and really, it just tasted like peach cobbler. They’re both so similar.
Even though the peach and nectarine are the strongest notes, I also taste the plum, which adds a nice, tangy note to the cup. And the cherry adds a hint of tart. The apricot adds a smooth, sweet undertone. It is – as I said – much more like a stone fruit medley than the individual flavors of five stone fruits.
This white tea blend from 52Teas is a stone groove (sorry, I don’t know why I felt the need to say that, I just did.) And it’s even better iced than it is hot! The flavors REALLY POP once it’s chilled and become more distinguished. I taste more natural, juicy sweetness from the peach, nectarine and apricot … and more sharp tartness from the cherry and I like this contrast. The plum flavor really shines through as well.
So delicious, naturally cooling and just … pure refreshment from start to finish! YUM!
Sinharaja from Golden Moon Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Golden Moon Tea
Tea Description:
For Sinharaja we use rich, dark loose leaf tea leaves that are nourished by fertile rain forest streams in the hills of Ceylon. It has a toasty, molasses-like character with ripe berry notes and a caramelized finish. Serve with a touch of raw sugar and cream for a taste that is smooth, full-bodied and warming.
WHY IT’S SPECIAL:
A sweet, full bodied Ceylon Tea
Natural notes of cocoa and honey with a finish of molasses
A personal favorite of our Owner, Marcus Stout
Pairs excellently with milk and honey
Grown at the basin of a rainforest giving it a wonderfully rich flavor
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL OF:
Sinharaja has a touch of astringency, which is great for first thing in the morning
A bold flavor that is heavier than most Ceylon Teas
While good as an iced tea, it actually tastes better hot
Not as malty as other Black Teas (like Assam)
If you drink the tea without milk and sugar/honey, then the second infusion is better than the first
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of Sinharaja from Golden Moon Tea is delightful. It smells rich, robust, sweet, and full of molasses. Yet to balance out this sweet tea we have an almost spicy, woodsy flavor. It is quite delicious. Now I can’t say it is the most robust black tea, nor the heaviest in the mouthfeel. Actually I have had teas with far more depth of flavor than Sinharaja, however I do love this tea. I like the subtle astringency indicative of a breakfast tea, without the ability for it to easily become bitter when oversteeped. Let’s face it, if I am going to over steep a tea it is going to be when I am barely awake, in the mornings. Well in honesty my mornings are more early afternoon, but you get the idea.
If you like to add creamer, milk, sugar, etc to your tea this is an excellent one to do it with. Although I find this tea to have plenty of flavor on its own and does not need additives, I have to admit that the milk and sugar do bring out new and exciting qualities in this tea. It enhances the richness and makes the tea a bit more robust, rather than drowning out the flavors. I also only added a slight hint of milk, and sugar.
There is a earthy yet sweet balance in this tea that keeps drawing me back. Chocolate notes that seem almost creamy as the cup cools some present. Bright berry notes do liven up the cup giving an almost sparkly like sensation to the palate. The berries taste more red berry, perhaps even a slight cherry or perhaps raspberry note to the cup. Based on the sparkly sensation I am going to have to go with very sweet raspberry.
I particularly love the after taste and while I know that Golden Moon says this is better hot I can’t wait to try it iced. I feel like this is one of those teas that can really match any weather. I can see this being so comforting on a dreary day, or really refreshing on a hot day. I need to get my hands on some more of this.
Kiwi Cherry Bonanza Fruit Tisane from Tiesta Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
Kiwi lovers rejoice, your tea is here. Non-kiwi lovers rejoice, you’ll love it too. This tea smells sweet and tastes sweet (not a huge surprise since it’s a blend of different fruits).
There’s a hint of spice courtesy of the ginger bits that gets ya mostly in the delightful cherry ginger finish.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn how to subscribe to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
OK, I didn’t have my hopes too high for this Kiwi Cherry Bonanza from Tiesta Tea – the third of the three teas in this month’s Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Tea. I enjoy fruit tisanes on occasion, but generally, I find them to be pretty weakly flavored infusions, and kind of boring, really.
Not so with this tisane! This tisane has a lot of flavor to it! It is definitely one of the better FRUIT tisanes I’ve had (that is, a tisane that is primarily fruit and not so much herbs, hibiscus and other stuff). The only non-fruit ingredients this tisane has is carrot, which is my favorite vegetable so I’m all for the carrot being in there; and ginger, which adds a pleasant hint of spice to the cup … a really nice contrast to the sweet and tangy flavors of kiwi and cherry.
The apple plays a big role in this cup, which is often true of fruit tisanes like this … and that’s one of the reasons that I typically am not a big fan of fruit tisanes. The apple is often all that I can taste in fruit tisanes, and it ends up tasting not like apple juice or apple cider, but a washed out, weak apple water. But, again, this tisane is NOT like fruit tisanes I’ve tasted in the past. The apple here is strong, but, it doesn’t leave the cup tasting like a weak apple water. It enhances the overall cup, adding a little bit of body to the cup as well as sweetness to amplify the flavor of the cherry and especially the kiwi.
I love the cherry here. It is a little bit tart and a little bit sweet, and it is the star of this cup. I like the role that it plays. The cherry steals the show with it’s flavor, brightening the cup with tangy notes and a sweet, juicy cherry taste that is not at all medicinal the way many cherry flavors can taste in teas and tisanes.
The kiwi flavor is what I was most excited to experience though, because there really are very few kiwi teas and tisanes out there. And I love the kiwi! Here, the kiwi flavor is sweet and tastes a little subdued in the midst of the stronger cherry and apple notes, but I find that the kiwi comes through especially well toward mid-to-end of sip, I notice that sweet, distinct kiwi note. YUM!
This is really much, much better than I anticipated it to be, and I’m really glad I got to try it. Despite my woes with having too many tisanes in these tea tasting boxes from Amoda Tea that I mentioned in my Amoda Tea Box post, I really quite enjoyed both tisanes that were included in this month’s box. Sure, I would like very much to have more teas than tisanes in these boxes, BUT if Amoda keeps picking winners like they did this month with tisanes, I would still say that I’m a very satisfied Amoda Tea subscriber.