Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Visually Sowmee is not a typical white tea, since it is sundried after special hand rolling. It’s pleasant toasty character is astringent and full flavored.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I tasted and reviewed this tea a couple of years ago. That was my first experience with Sowmee white teas, and since that time, I’ve tried a few others. I was very interested to revisit this tea and find out how I feel about that first Sowmee that opened my eyes to a different white tea.
My thoughts aren’t all that different now than they were back then – I still find this to be a much more robust white tea than other white teas with which I’m more familiar, like Silver Needle or Bai Mu Dan. It is sweet and toasty. In my first review of this tea, I thought it tasted a bit more like a Formosa Oolong, and I do still see those similarities, but today, I am finding this cup to taste a bit more like a Houjicha with its warm, toasty character.
Still a very enjoyable tea experience! If you typically shy away from white teas because they’re a little too delicate for your taste, I highly recommend trying this Sowmee White Tea from Culinary Teas – it has a stronger taste and fuller body, I think you’ll like it!
Sencha Kyoto Cherry Rose Festival Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Sencha Kyoto Cherry tea tends light liquoring, fresh and smooth with reasonable depth and body. The cherry flavoring and subtle rose hints give this green tea a wonderful exotic character.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Spring isn’t my favorite season. I have allergies, and while I have learned how to keep them under control for the rest of the year, at the start of the spring season, it would seem that some new strain of pollen has infiltrated my breathing space and for the first few weeks of spring, I’m sneezing, coughing and itchy. But that’s spring for you … or rather, for me.
But, there is one thing that brings a little sunshine into my springtime: cherry flavored Sencha teas. No other tea says “Spring” to me like a cherry Sencha, and this Sencha Kyoto Cherry Rose Festival Tea from Culinary Teas is quite nice, indeed.
The blend starts out as a feast for the eyes with its vivid green tea leaves and the contrasting rose petals. And fortunately, I’ve gotten past the new spring pollen initiation, so I can smell the lovely fragrance that this tea offers as well: sweet cherry and a whisper of rose.
The green tea tastes crisp and fresh, but it doesn’t taste real grassy. It has a light buttery taste and texture, not really creamy, but more of what I’d call “supple.” The rose is a bit of an accent flavor, offering just a hint of sharpness to offset some of the sweeter notes of the cherry. The cherry flavor is light and sweet and has a hint of tartness to it as well, and I like that this doesn’t taste like a cough drop. I’ve had enough of those this season already!
This is one of the best ways to celebrate spring – with a cup of Sencha Kyoto Cherry Rose Festival Tea!
Cold Brew Mango Green Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Mango is a flavorful tropical fruit. The only improvement we could think of is to combine it with our rich Sencha. Fresh Sencha flavor and sweet Mango will bring a tropical summer treat to your tea time!
These large 5 gram teabags contain specially steamed and fired Sencha leaves which have been blended with a hint of Matcha. Specially processed to brew in cold water, just add a bag to a 20 oz bottle of water shake and you’re ready to go! They also have enough flavor to be infused up to 5 times so just keep refilling your bottle and one teabag will last you all day!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I didn’t steep these according to the above suggested parameters – that is, I did not add a tea bag to a 20 oz. bottle of water and shake it to produce the tea. What I did instead was to drop five of the teabags into my half gallon tea pitcher, add cold, filtered water, and refrigerate overnight. Today, I am treated with a pitcher full of ice-cold, mango refreshment!
This tea is very flavorful! Sweet and lots of delicious fruit flavor, I like that the mango is strong and distinct – no second guessing what I’m tasting here! – the fresh, slightly vegetative flavor of the Sencha comes through.
But what I like even more than the delicious flavors of mango and Sencha … is the Matcha! It gives the tea a smooth creaminess, almost a buttery quality that marries with the mango flavor so well.
This is so refreshing and it has a restorative, energizing quality to it too, making it a perfect to-go beverage for to enjoy after a hike or run. Summer is coming, and this is a tea you’ll want to have on hand – it’s easy to brew and so tasty too!
Chocolate Rose Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
This house blend is a heavenly blend of our rich Chocolate Tea and our delicate Rose Tea. The combination is truly romantic. Last years blend received rave reviews but this year the blend is even better with the addition of roasted cocoa bean pieces.
This tea is only available for a limited time.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was especially interested in trying this limited edition blend from Culinary Teas. Chocolate – as many are probably aware – is one of my favorite flavors for tea, and I love the combination of chocolate and rose flavors.
And am I satisfied with this blend? Absolutely! I found this blend to be both surprising and very pleasing.
What surprised me is that the flavors of the chocolate and the rose are pretty equal. Neither ingredient overwhelms the other, both seem pretty happy to share the spotlight with one another. A beautiful marriage!
And what pleases me is that the chocolate is a plentiful flavor in this blend. Normally, when reviewing a chocolate tea, I am stating my wish for more chocolate in the blend, but I won’t be doing that today. This has a very rich, delicious level of chocolate flavor, enough to satisfy this chocoholic!
Which also means that the rose is also a strong flavor, but these two ingredients work so well together. The rose is sweet with a sharpness to it, which cuts through some of the rich, deep flavor of the chocolate without surpassing it. It is a lovely balance of flavors that really pleases the palate.
If you’ve a tea drinking Valentine, this would be a well-received gift. Or, why not give a gift to yourself, and indulge in some chocolate and roses? This tea is the current Featured Tea of the Week at Culinary Teas, and that means extra savings!
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
This house blend will have you chocolate covered strawberry lovers begging for more. A rich chocolate and a seductive strawberry tea blend. Last years blend received rave reviews but this year the blend is even better with the addition of roasted cocoa bean pieces.
This tea is only available for a limited time.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! This is sooooo good!
I’ve tried a few different chocolate covered strawberry type blends over the years, but I must say that this one is definitely one of the very best that I’ve tried. The flavor is alive with real strawberry flavor and delicious chocolate-y taste.
The aroma upon opening the package just blew me away. It smelled so rich with chocolate tones and a strong strawberry essence. It maintains that scent after brewing, allowing the nose to enjoy this tea as much as the palate!
The strawberry flavor comes in subtle and remains subtle through the sip. Where the flavor really pops is in the aftertaste, there is a sweet berry flavor and that tingly tart note that you get after eating a fresh strawberry.
With my first couple of sips, I found myself wishing there was more chocolate flavor, and what is really nice is that somehow the tea heard my silent wish and delivered! As the tea cools slightly, the chocolate intensifies. Sweet, creamy, luscious chocolate, with its classic bittersweet undertones.
This is such a deliciously romantic tea. It would make a perfect gift for your favorite tea lover this Valentine’s Day. The flavor is so luxurious and indulgent!
I love this tea!