Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Peter Asher Coffee & Tea
Tea Description:
The pomegranates magenta color certainly makes them pop and one look at their vibrant skin probably has you expecting a provocative punch of flavor. Well, you won’t be disappointed here. This cup of tea is the perfect package for drinkers who want a pleasing potion in a small package. One cup is enough to win over the pickiest of the picky and keep the coming back for more. So if you’re looking for a palatable pekoe chock-full of natural goodness look no further.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I really love the fragrance of the dry leaf. The combination of the rose petal, Japanese Sencha and pomegranate flavor create a very delicious scent that is fruity and sweet, with lovely floral tones in the background.
The brewed tea takes on a stronger “green tea” aroma, smelling a bit like freshly steamed vegetables. There are still hints of pomegranate in there too, as well as a whisper of rose.
As for the taste: it is wonderful! The green tea is the most prominent flavor, and that’s a good thing. It tastes light, sweet, and slightly creamy with hints of buttery notes. There is a vegetative tone to the overall cup, but I like that it does not overwhelm it.
The pomegranate is tart and sweet. It tastes true to the fruit, although it is a little different because of the strong green tea notes. But, I like this, because pomegranate flavoring in tea can sometimes be too tart, but, because of the sweetness from the green tea, I find that the tartness is softened. It is still a little bit tart, but it isn’t too tart. The rose is not a strong flavor, but hints of the rose can be detected.
A really wonderful pomegranate tea, and it’s delicious hot or iced.
Cherry Rose from Peter Asher Coffee & Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Peter Asher Coffee & Tea
Tea Description:
The name alone probably has you picturing teacups shaped like flowers or a Daughters’ of the American Revolution meeting about rare manuscript preservation. While it may sound a little haughty this cup of tea is actually very approachable. The cherries provide a little sugar to the earthy complexity of the roses and the end result is a perfectly rounded flavor that is vibrant and refreshing. The moral of the story is don’t judge a tea by its name because even the very proper sounding Cherry Rose has sweet and sultry sides just waiting to surprise you.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is very pleasant cherry flavored green tea. The cherry flavor (and aroma!) is strong. The aroma almost smells a bit like a cough drop, but it doesn’t taste like it! The fragrance also has a very lovely rose tone to it. The rose essence is stronger in the bouquet than in the flavor.
The green tea base looks like a Sencha, with its forest-y green, spear-shaped leaves. It is sweet and smooth. There is a buttery note to the tea, and a slight vegetative tone.
The cherry is sweet, but there is also a hint of tartness to the cherry. It reminds me a bit of a Rainier cherry, it has that sweet, juicy kind of flavor of the Rainier cherry, along with just a whisper of tartness … just enough to keep it interesting.
The rose is subtle here. The floral notes are slightly sharp but mostly sweet, and linger in the background … offering just enough flavor to be noticed without interfering with the flavor of cherry and green tea.
This is my first tasting of a Peter Asher tea – and it’s quite an enjoyable experience. I look forward to trying some others!
Toasted Nut Cafe Black Tea from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea Description:
For some people, desserts can only be served with coffee. For others, desserts and tea are perfectly complementary. With our Toasted Nut Café you don’t have to be one or the other! This blend combines black tea, almonds, coffee beans and flavors to produce a hearty cup that has a toasty coffee flavor. The black tea flavor comes through with the coffee and toasted nut flavors as an aftertaste. A perfect beverage to accompany a wide range of sweets: truffles, tortes, pies, cakes and more. Or enjoy as is or with a little sweetener and a dollop of cream.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little nervous as well as excited to try this new tea. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had quite a tumultuous history with the coffee bean. There was a time when I really enjoyed coffee and drank it every morning, but, by about eleven in the morning I would start to feel sick to my stomach. It didn’t take too long for me to realize that it was my morning coffee habit that was causing the nausea, so, it was at that point that I switched to drinking tea. I don’t regret that switch, of course, because I have fallen deeper in love with tea than I ever felt for coffee.
But that being said, there are still times when I miss coffee. Specifically, I miss that bold, rich fragrance of coffee, and I do also miss the robust flavor – but not so much as I miss the aroma. Tea aroma is – of course – amazing, however, there is something that is very eye-opening about the smell of coffee. I miss that sometimes. But I certainly didn’t miss it this morning when I deeply inhaled the bouquet of this tea! It smells rich and delicious with notes of coffee and almond. The faintest smell of black tea is there too, but the coffee notes do overwhelm it just a bit.
My first thought when I smelled it was YUM! Then, thoughts of dismay came to me … what if this makes me sick just like coffee did. I know I’ve had this thought before with other coffee flavored teas, and I think that this will always be a worry whenever I encounter a coffee flavored tea. I guess, when a person goes through that … that always stays with them, right?
Anyway… after brewing, I took a tentative sip, but, was very pleased by the flavor. Yes, it tastes of coffee! Rich, bold coffee notes are the strongest that I taste, followed by a hint of toasted almond that sort of weaves its way through the sip, but is most noticeable toward the finish and in the aftertaste. The tea flavor is there too, and it adds a nice complexity to the cup. I find that this coffee-ish tea is much more flavorful than I remember my morning cup of coffee ever being – even when I’d splurge and indulge in a mocha! The tea really seems to bring out more of the complex notes with hints of dark cocoa, and a smooth earthiness.
Overall, the cup is rich, smooth, and delicious. There are hints of a savory bitterness from the coffee, a sweet undertone from the tea as well as the almond flavors, and a very roasty, toasty sort of feel that is invigorating. It’s really very good.
The word is still out on whether or not this will leave me feeling sick in an hour or two… but, after that time has lapsed I’ll come back and edit this post to add the update!
UPDATE: Well, it’s about four hours after finishing a cup of this tea, and I’ve experienced no nausea. Yay! A great alternative to those who need to steer away from coffee, but still want to experience that flavor every once in a while. This tea gets two enthusiastic thumbs up!
Green Mashdana FOP from Deckan Tea (aka Deckan Coffee Co.)
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Deckan Tea
Tea Description:
Green tea from the Nilgiri’s of Southern India. Very rich in anti-oxidants with a smooth, subtle smoky aroma. Only use half a teaspoon per 8 oz cup of water and steep for one minute. Enjoy it plain with a squeeze of lemon drops, hot.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I opened this package and peeked inside, the tea leaves looked a little bit like a Chun Mee tea as well as a bit of a Gunpowder Green tea. If you were to somehow marry the two tea types, this tea would look like the offspring of the two.
It possesses a smoky aroma, a bit smokier than some Gunpowder green teas I’ve encountered, but it isn’t as smoky as say, a Lapsang Souchong or even a Caravan blend. The smokiness melds with the essence of the green tea leaves in such a way that it comes off as a savory smoke that is really quite enticing. The fragrance of the brewed tea is quite similar, but, it might even be a tad smokier than the dry leaf.
The flavor is incredible. It is smooth and sweet, but also quite savory. In fact, I’d say that the savoriness of this tea outweighs the sweetness, but, the way the two flavor elements meld together is really quite delightful. It tastes like a mild green vegetable that has been smoke-roasted, which brings out the sweetness of the vegetable but at the same time imparts a savory quality that tantalizes the taste buds.
It isn’t what I’d call grassy, though there is some characteristics of this tea that can be considered “grassy.” So to explain my position on it, I’d say that it is more savory than a sweet grass taste, and not at all that bitter green grassy kind of taste. It is an interesting savory grassy taste that is quite unlike anything I’ve tasted before. And I am really liking it.
This is a very different approach to green tea, quite unlike a Chinese green or a Japanese green, and definitely one that I’d recommend to those who like green teas and are looking to expand their horizons a bit.
Pineapple Papaya Green Tea from Cameron’s
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Cameron’s Coffee
Tea Description:
japanese sencha garnished with pinapple bits, blue malva flowers and natural flavoring is wonderful hot or as an iced tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
In general, I tend to be somewhat skeptical of teas from a coffee purveyor. Although they are both beverages and there are some similarities between them, I still consider them to be worlds apart. And to be honest, I like to get my tea from someone who knows their tea, and I just don’t feel like a coffee purveyor puts tea first. Maybe it’s my own narrow-mindedness speaking, but, that’s how I feel.
So, when approaching this tea, I tried my best to be as open-minded as possible. And while this isn’t the best flavored green tea I’ve ever encountered, it is still quite good.
The green tea is the strongest note here, and that is a big plus in my book. Yes, I enjoy the flavors and I like it when the flavors are strong … but I still think that the tea should play a key role in the flavor and here, it does. The green tea is a Japanese Sencha, and it is vegetal with a light creaminess to it – not an overly buttery feel and taste but it’s there. It is a smooth, deliciously medium-bodied Sencha, and it melds beautifully with these tropical flavors.
So often in tropical fruit flavored teas such as this, the tropical flavors are overwhelming and even a little cloying, but, I don’t find that to be true with this cup. The green tea prevails, as I mentioned, and the pineapple and papaya play background notes, offering a sweet, fruity note without overpowering the cup. There is just enough of a tangy note at the tail to keep things interesting, and the aftertaste tastes very pineapple-y.
I found this to be good served hot, but even better iced. As I said, this isn’t the very best flavored green tea I’ve tasted but it is good enough for me to not only finish the cup, but also be eager to try more of Cameron’s tea offerings. Not bad for a coffee shop!