Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Decaffeinated)
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
New formulation for our Jasmine Decaf Green Tea! The jasmine notes are perfumy and full floral. You cannot believe you are drinking decaf!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I constantly find myself surprised when I taste a decaffeinated tea and really enjoy it the way I am with this Jasmine Green Decaf Tea. You see, I had way too many decaffeinated teas (years ago!) that ended up tasting icky and chemical-ish which were not only unpleasant to drink but would also impart a rather disagreeable aftertaste that seemed to linger way too long.
But, I’m not experiencing those unwelcome flavors with this tea! This tastes sweet, luscious, and quite lovely! I do adore jasmine tea, and this tea offers me a fantastic way to enjoy it later in the evening when I’d rather not have so much caffeine in my system.
The green tea tastes delicious, slightly creamy and very smooth. It is difficult to discern that this is actually a decaffeinated tea, and had I not made the pot of tea myself, I wouldn’t have guessed it. It does taste only slightly “thinner” than a caffeinated Sencha would taste … but the differences between this and a caffeinated green tea are so minute that I really have to focus to notice them.
And the jasmine tastes very nice. It is not overdone so there’s none of that soapy taste to this. Just gently sweet, beautiful jasmine.
A really brilliant decaffeinated green tea, this Jasmine Green Decaf.
Blue Mango Green Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Like being carried on trade winds, notes of mango create an exotic fruit pungency. Pineapple cubes added highlight to the mango character and mallow petals accent a clean finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Looking for a great tea to serve iced for these long, hot, summer days ahead? Look no further – Culinary Teas has got just what you’re looking for!
This Blue Mango Green Tea, while quite tasty served hot, is spectacular when served chilled. The light, crisp flavor of the Sencha green tea paired with the sweet, juicy mango flavor and hint of pineapple essence is so refreshing!
The green tea is sweet and offers but a whisper of grassy taste to the cup, a grassy tone that nearly disappears when the tea is cooled, leaving a taste that is fresh and somewhat creamy. The mango doesn’t overwhelm here, while it is the strongest flavor of the cup, I am able to easily find the flavor of the green tea and even the barely-there hint of pineapple that accents the mango notes so deliciously.
The tea finishes with a tangy astringency – not strong, but it’s there – and the aftertaste is distinctly mango, although I don’t find it to be a heavy mango, nectar-like note. More like a hint of mango, just to remind your taste buds of the goodness in your teacup.
This tea requires no sweetening when it’s hot, but I do think that the iced version really benefits from a bit of sweetener. I chose to sweeten my 8-ounce glass of tea with a little less than half a teaspoon of coconut sugar, which is made from the sap of the coconut flower bud. When tasted straight out of the package, I can taste hints of coconut to the coconut sugar, but, when I add it to a tea like this, the coconut is not noticeable at all, but the sugar does really enhance the flavor of the tea very nicely.
A really delicious tropical tea for summertime.
Strawberry Shortcake Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Imagine 18% cream cascading over fresh strawberries that is our Strawberry Shortcake Tea!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Is there any dessert that says “summertime” quite like Strawberry Shortcake? When we’d visit gramma’s house in the summer, she’d usually serve strawberry shortcake for dessert. She’d buy fresh-from-the-vine strawberries from the strawberry field a couple of blocks away from her house, and she’d slice them, sprinkle them with a little bit of sugar to encourage the juices to emerge and then bake up shortcake biscuits (or my favorite: bits of cinnamon & sugar encrusted pie crust! Nobody made pie crust like my gramma!) and spoon strawberries over the shortcake, and top them with fresh whipped cream. It was so incredibly delicious.
So, I had high expectations when I brewed this tea. With a name like “Strawberry Shortcake Tea” it better do the dessert justice! And this one does! The strawberry flavor is bright and sweet, just like the luscious berry. The aftertaste has that hint of tartness similar to what you might experience after eating a fresh strawberry – it tingles!
There are also decadent notes of cream and as the tea cools, I notice a touch of pastry-like flavor to it too. This tea definitely gets better as it cools. When it is served hot, the flavors are not quite as distinguishable, but, as the tea cools, the strawberry flavors come alive, with notes of creamy vanilla in the background and a sweet biscuit-y taste.
Needless to say, this tea makes an amazing iced tea – perfect for this time of year! And while I’d rather eat the dessert (who wouldn’t?), this makes a nice alternative when you want to enjoy the flavors of strawberry shortcake but don’t want all the calories. This is one you’ll want to stock up on for the summer!
Genmaicha Chai from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Genmaicha Chai has delicious toasty rice notes dappled with green tea and a lively spice finish. It is a ceremonial tea union of Japan and India.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love spiced chai, and I adore Genmaicha … so it doesn’t surprise me at all that I am loving this tea.
The Genmaicha is sweet and toasty, and the roasty-toasty taste of the genmaicha works so deliciously well with the warm chai spices. The spices are not overpowering or even what I’d call spicy, at least not spicy-hot. They are warm and comforting and well-balanced. I taste notes of ginger and pepper – I find that these two spices in particular work in unison, providing a gentle, peppery heat. I also taste the warm, sassy notes of cinnamon as well as the cloves and cardamom. A hint of coriander ties all the flavors together in a very pleasing way.
And even though the spices are strong, they do not overwhelm the soft sweetness of the Genmaicha. The roasted rice adds a satisfying level of sweetness to the cup so if you like a semi-sweet cup of chai but don’t like to add sugar to your tea, this chai may be just the ticket for you. The buttery tones of the green tea add a hint of creaminess to this as well, providing a smooth quality without adding milk – which I typically do not add to green teas. I suppose this blend would be quite good with milk, although I’d recommend steeping it at double or even triple strength before adding the milk to avoid overthrowing the delicious flavors of this cup.
Culinary Teas never ceases to impress me with their high quality teas, not to mention their reasonable prices. Their products are fresh and delicious, and they are a really nice company too – I like that they have an online presence.
When I drink tea from Culinary Teas, it’s is like enjoying tea with dear friends!
Rainbow Rooibos from Culinary Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tisane Description:
Rooibos is also known as Red Bush or Red Tea. Sean O’Malley! I know you only drink black tea with shamrock cookies – but this herbal tea is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! Fruity with sweet notes, a secret flavoring gives this Rooibos a sweet amaretto like taste.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I brewed this tisane knowing only that it was called “Rainbow Rooibos” so I brewed it the way I would normally brew rooibos – with boiling water for 10 minutes. I didn’t know what the flavor had in store for me.
With my first sip, I could taste a almond-y kind of flavor, with a hint of fruit in the background. Then when I read the description and saw that it had a “sweet amaretto” taste … I like it when my taste buds are on target like that!
The almond notes mingle with the natural nutty tones of the rooibos quite well, and the two flavors together offer a very rich – almost creamy! – taste. My palate discerned the nut flavors first, and then discovered the fruit tones.
The fruit notes are slightly more delicate, but they linger through to the aftertaste, and even become a little more distinct in the aftertaste. Through the sip, it tastes more like a “neutral” fruit, but, in the aftertaste, there is a luscious apricot note. Delicious!
This is really good served either hot or cold, but with the warm months ahead I think right now is the time to be brewing up a big batch of this and putting it on ice! It’s very refreshing and deliciously sweet; something that I think the kids as well as adults would enjoy.