Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Tea Information:
Sweet spice and delightful seasonal aromas! Meet the perfect tea to get you through the cold months. Warm baking spices of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg blend seamlessly with citrus and the natural sweetness of apple and rose petals. This is a unique blend destined to become one of your favourites.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I loved how apple-y this smelled when I opened the pouch. And as it steeped, I was treated to more apple notes – it smelled a bit like apple cider! YUM!
The apple notes are well-defined as are the spices. The cinnamon and clove add warmth and I’m getting a hint of “spicy-hot” cinnamon, like someone added a red-hot candy or two to my cup and let it dissolve. It’s not overly ‘hot’ but there’s just a hint of that candy-like cinnamon-clove-y hot-sweet flavor.
The nutmeg adds earthy and nutty flavors that meld nicely with the rooibos. The orange is more of a background note, but it adds a tangy, bright taste that is rather pleasant. The orange note also plays with the red-hot flavor of the cinnamon and clove.
I don’t taste a strong rose note, but every once in a while I get this lovely floral note. It seems to weave its way in and out, not always making itself obvious or apparent, but this blend wouldn’t be the same without that gentle whisper of rose.
To steep, I used my Kati Tumbler and added 1 1/2 bamboo scoops of tisane to the basket and 12 ounces of water heated to 195°F. I steeped it for 10 minutes.
I enjoyed this and would be happy to drink it again! It’s a little spicy-hot, it’s sweet, it’s fruity, and it’s got enough going on with it to keep the palate interested. It’s a fun and tasty blend!
Annoucing Another Giveaway – It’s our Season of Giveaways!
This giveaway is now closed, and a winner has been selected. Please watch our blog, though, because another giveaway is on its way … SOON!
The response to our Season of Giveaways has been HUGE! So, let’s keep it going, what do you say?
This week, we’re giving away December’s Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Tea! (Value $15 plus shipping!) I heard about Amoda Tea on Steepster, they started out with tea tasting box that was exclusively for Canadian tea drinkers for their first month (October) and expanded to the US market in time for their November Box. I received their November box and I squealed with delight when it arrived. I love the the packaging and I love being able to try three brand new teas that I had not tried before.
These boxes are FUN, FUN, FUN – Of course, when is it NOT fun to receive tea in the mail? Second only to drinking the tea, it is the best part of my job as a tea reviewer! – and the boxes would also make a great gift or stocking stuffer for someone special (even if that someone is you!) It’s also a great opportunity for you to see what Amoda is all about. I love this company – and I think you’ll love them too!
Here are the teas that were in the box in November:
And you can bet there will be some fabulous teas for their December Box – the box you can win just by entering this giveaway! This contest allows you to get in on the fun for the month of December. The winner of this contest will receive the tea tasting box from Amoda Tea for the month of December!
To enter:
- Comment on this blog post. Sounds simple enough right? Well, it is! Be sure to include in your comment a way for us to get in touch with you should you be the lucky winner of this week’s contest.
To earn additional entries:
- Tweet this contest. Be sure to include a link to this blog post so that those that read your tweet can enter to win too. Also, be sure to add @SororiTeaSister on your tweet so that we can easily find it. This will help us verify the tweet, and plus we like to see our name on tweets. It makes us feel important and special.
- Follow Amoda Teas on Twitter. Really simple, and it earns you an entry into the contest. Be sure to come back here and let us know that you’ve done this.
- Add a link to your Facebook Page. Just mention this contest on your facebook page and include a link so that your Facebook friends can enter. Be sure to add a comment to this blog post with a link to your facebook page so that we can verify the Facebook entry.
- Like Amoda Teas on Facebook. Again, really simple, and it earns you an additional entry into the contest. Be sure to come back here to let us know you did this.
- Follow our Blog! This is really simple to do too. Just click on the button on the bottom right hand side of the screen, and enter your email address. Do that, and then let us know that you’re subscribed to our blog and you’ll earn yet another entry!
So you can earn an additional five entries in this contest, for a total of six entries to win! It’s really easy!
Now, for the fine print: This contest is open from today, December 11, through December 17. A winner will be drawn via Random.org on December 18 and will be contacted privately before the name of the winner is announced. If we are unable to reach the winner within three days, an alternate winner will be drawn until we can contact the winner to obtain their shipping information, which will then be forwarded to the staff at Amoda Tea.
This drawing is opened to US and Canadian residents only, because at the moment, that’s where Amoda Tea ships. If you are a SororiTea Sister, you’re not eligible to win – then again, there’s only three of us, so if your name is not Anne, Jennifer, or Joely, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re not a SororiTea Sister. The same goes for the staff at Amoda Tea. For the rest of you, please enter and join in on the fun!
This Giveaway is now closed, and a winner has been selected! Congratulations to eugaet … he is the winner of this week’s giveaway sponsored by Amoda Tea!
Watch our blog for another giveaway … coming soon!
ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club, December’s Shipment, Part 2: Green Tea
Leaf Type: Green
Produced By PT Harendong Green Farm
For More Information, visit the Tea Farms webpage
About ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club:
By subscribing to the Global Tea Tasters Club, you will receive tea from ITFA tea farms 6 times per year. Each time, we will select a different region to feature and as we grow in tea farm members, so will your tea experience.
Your tea will also be accompanied by info about the tea and the tea farms themselves.
To know where your tea is coming from, who has grown and produced it, to taste the difference in teas from around the world…what could be better?
Taster’s Review:
At first glance, I wouldn’t guess that this tea was a green tea. The dry leaves look very much like a green Oolong, possibly a Tie Guan Yin. The leaves are rolled into tight pellets, just like a green Oolong would be.
However, upon closer examination, I began to recognize significant differences between this and an Oolong. The aroma is more like a green tea, with a fresh, distinctive grassy tone.
The tea infuses to a lovely pale green color, and the flavor is rich and the texture is broth-like. I wouldn’t call the flavor “grassy” exactly, at least, not in a bitter/grassy context. Instead, this has a sweet flavor with a savory vegetative note, like the flavor of a mild steamed vegetable. There are delicious nutty notes in the background.
This is very smooth and a pleasure to sip. As I continue to sip, I notice that the savory tones of this tea develop, enhancing the vegetative notes but not overwhelming the sweet flavors. A remarkable green tea from Indonesia, I am so glad I had this opportunity to taste it.
Organic Genmaicha from Den’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Den’s Tea
Product Description:
Our Organic Genmaicha is a made from organic Bancha and organic roasted rice. It is body-friendly and an ideal beverage for a Macrobiotic diet.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
For the most part, I find green tea to be light and refreshing teas … sort of what I would refer to as “cool” kind of teas, not so much as a warm or warming tea. Of course, there are some exceptions to that, and Genmaicha is definitely one of the exceptions. The warm, toasty flavor of the roasted rice in the foreground gives it a very warming taste and a comforting feel.
This Organic Genmaicha is a lovely Genmaicha. Even though it does have that warm flavor to it, it also has a very fresh and lively flavor in the background from the green tea and I like that the sweet rice flavor does not overpower the light, vibrant taste of the green tea. It is not a grassy green tea, with very slight vegetative tones but mostly what I taste is just an overall freshness. Not particularly “green” or “grassy” or even “vegetable” … but more of a fresh taste that speaks of these things without being a strong, obvious presence.
This tea represents the second of the three teas that I received in my Steepster Select December box: Steep for Japan. And I think that this tea is an excellent choice to represent one of the best teas that Japan has to offer. Sweet, warm yet light and crisp. Delicious!
Sen Cha Fukamushi from Sugimoto America
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where To Buy: Sugimoto America
Product Description:
This is our signature Sen Cha. Our Sen Cha is “Fukamushi.” refers to the deeper (longer) steaming process after the harvest. This extra steaming time results in fine leaves, and the taste is richer and more full-bodied than regular Sen Cha. Depending on steeping conditions, it has a bit of sweetness and outstanding fragrance.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am finding myself just as excited to learn about the theme that Steepster has selected for the latest Steepster Select box as I am to receive the tea itself! This month, Steepster chose “Steep for Japan” as their theme.
Here’s some more information on this theme:
To say Japan has had a difficult year would be an understatement. This past March, the island nation experienced one of the most powerful earthquakes since the beginning of modern record-keeping. The quake and resulting tsunami have devastated the country, and while tea production was largely unaffected, the damage to Japan’s infrastructure has severely impacted thousands of Japanese people and businesses.
As rebuilding continues, we’d like to introduce you to a few classics from a country synonymous with green tea, as our own small way of supporting the cause.
All proceeds for this box will be donated to the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund, which assists organizations providing aid and emergency services to the victims. For more info visit bit.ly/steep-for-japan.
This Sen Cha Fukamushi is the first of the three teas that I’m tasting from December’s box, and I’m loving it!
The aroma of the dry leaf is incredible… very fragrant. Sweet and floral. I don’t get much of a grassy smell from the dry leaf at all, which is really unusual for a Sen Cha. At least, in my experience, it is. Normally, I can smell a strong vegetative sort of quality, but, not here. Interesting.
The brewed tea does have a vegetative aroma, smelling faintly of steamed vegetables – something mild like spinach, perhaps? I still detect notes of flower and that sweetness that I noted in the dry leaf, but, with the brewed tea it has become more of a unified fragrance that is a little sweet, a little savory and a little flowery.
The flavor is quite unlike any Sen Cha that I can recall tasting. It is remarkably light in color, but the flavor and texture is quite another story. The texture reminds me a bit of a light broth. The flavor is full and sweet, with a savory tone that hits the palate by about mid-sip. This savoriness is difficult to describe, because it’s not quite bitter, it is not quite briny and it is not quite sour … but it is a little of all three, and it arrives just in time to rescue the palate from what might otherwise be a sip too sweet – delivering a sense of balance. Very nice!
I’m finding this Sen Cha very enjoyable – a rich, smooth, satisfying green tea with very little astringency. Take the leaves for a second infusion – it’s just as lovely as the first! Another excellent choice from Steepster Select!