Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Blackbird Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Unstoppably smooth, much more so than his cousin, that stuffy 19th century aristocrat. Our organic black tea is infused with Italian bergamot oil and a little bit of swagger. Drink up for inspiration.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Blackbird Tea Co makes some tasty teas and this one is no exception to that rule.
I brewed this tea up to treat myself to a hot beverage to warm me up from the cold office. I swear our office is an ice box!
But this, that, and the other got in the way of my tea drinking experience so by the time I got around to this tea, it was cold. I went ahead and took a sip and this tea is such a forgiving loving tea!
As an iced tea, this tea was perfect for the fans that like a light earl grey touch to their teas. This wasn’t an overwhelming earl grey/bergamot oil flavor, but more of a kiss. The black tea was subtle and didn’t become astringent. Such a smooth iced earl tea to keep me going thru the day.
When I first started steeping this, the tea had a pretty strong earl grey flavor. I’m curious now if this has a really strong earl grey flavor when hot but cooled the flavors are muted. So nice to end my day with at the office.
And if you are keeping up with my sipdown adventures this is #15. Woohoo!
Organic Assam Breakfast from The Republic of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Republic of Tea
Tea Description:
Back In The Body Tea – The robust, malty character of this tea comes from pure, unblended Assam leaves grown in Northern India. Plentiful golden tips on leaves & hearty body qualify this tea at the top of its class.
Winner in the North American Tea Championship Assam Tea category.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tried several RoT blends before, but I can’t say that I’ve ever had them in loose leaf form. I just always seem to associate RoT with tea bags, something that I shouldn’t do now that I’ve tried this blend.
After having a few herbals and green teas today, I thought I would pull out this one to try it. I needed a good pick me up after my lunch. Around 2pm seems to be when my body says “Hey, silly head. It is nap time”. Unfortunately my office would frown upon me pulling out a nap mat and taking a snooze so I have to find something to perk me up.
I brewed this up with boiling water and let it steep for about 3 minutes. Took a sip and I’m sad. This didn’t have a nice black tea flavor to it. More of a muted flavor, so I put the tea back in my cup to steep just a bit longer. Unfortunately I think I oversteeped trying to bring out the flavor. Now I have a tea cup filled with an astringent bitter brew. Sad. I probably left it in just a bit too long. This is not a forgiving tea.
This tea really didn’t have anything that made me go WOW I’m loving this. More or less, this tea had me wishing for something else. Something with that “Wow” factor. I’m glad I was able to try it, but I don’t think this will be a re-order.
Easy Bein’ Green from Paper Box Goodies
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Paper Box Goodies
Tea Description:
This Sencha blend is nice and mild, with that vegetal taste green teas are known for. Lemon balm, lemon peel, and orange peel jazz this green tea up into a great iced or hot tea. Seep for 2 minutes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I really like the Paper Box Goodies tea. They are no fuss no nonsense sort of teas. They are all bagged teas but they are done very well.
This particular blend is a green tea. A crisp fresh green tea with a honey and slight citrus twist. I steeped this up like I would any traditional green tea with the help of my Breville One Touch. I love using my Breville to prep the water. that way there is no guessing on the correct temperature.
So with a name like Easy Bein’ Green, I instantly think Kermit. Such fond memories of watching The Muppet’s when I was a kid and still to this day I enjoy them. I’m so excited for the new Muppet’s series to come out. Gonzo and the Swedish Chef were my favorites. I loved how the Swedish Chef mumbled everything and threw everything around. Such great memories. And all from a name of a tea.
Like I noted before, this green tea was fantastic. I drank this iced and hot and I actually think I prefer this hot. The green buttery richness was on target with want I wanted and there was such a nice honey background. The citrus twist would come and go but brought a bit of a different feel to the tea, giving a uniqueness to it. I’m not sure I got orange from the tea like the description would suggest but just an overall citrus note.
I honestly can say that after the cuppa was empty, I promptly refilled with more water and had myself another cuppa. This tea was good. Spot on. And just all around perfect for what I was wanting. Paper Box Goodies excels at providing their customers with no mess teas, something I’m in need of right now.
Cinnamon Isle from Paper Box Goodies
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Paper Box Goodies
Tea Description:
This Oolong is a spicy trip to the tropics, with hibiscus, passionflower, and cinnamon (duh) all coming together to whisk you away. Oolong tea steeps for 3 minutes, and is known to boost your metabolism.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am such a fan of Paper Box Goodies. Leslie@Paper Box Goodies creates such a fantastic no fuss kind of tea. Her attention to detail isn’t lost on the no fuss packaging she offers either. Each tag on the tea bag is beautifully done and she even includes a gorgeous shrinky dink tag with each one that I have been saving to make earrings out of one day./
This particular tea is an oolong, a cinnamon oolong, a different take on oolongs that I’ve had in the past. I prepped this up in my One Touch Breville and let it steep 3 minutes like the tag says.
I let this cool for a few minutes and took a drink. Sweet roasted oolong goodness with a spicy cinnamon lingering taste. Like I said, Paper Box Goodies packs a fantastic flavor for having such a no fuss tea appearance. I really enjoyed this tea. Each sip I was giving the same fantastic flavor. Sweet and spicy with an oolong twist.
I’ve come to love the teas Paper Box Goodies has to offer and have come to learn that the teas they offer will always be delicious. These teas are perfect for work. I swear if I hadn’t known better I would have thought these were loose leaf teas. I’m just not used to tea bags having this much flavor. There have been a few here and there, but Paper Box Goodies has some of the best bagged tea out there.
This may not be my favorite of their offerings but I am still really enjoying it.