Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This week’s tea of the week tastes like rich pumpkin pie with a crust made entirely of sweet, delicious toffee. I don’t know if anyone could really make a pie like that, but I would love to try one. In the meantime, I’m going to continue enjoying rich sips of this yummy tea. The Dragonwell green tea adds just the right notes of sweet nuttiness to compliment the toffee and contrast with the pumpkin. All in all, this is a really special treat you’ll love serving to your guests, if you’re generous enough to share.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
YUM! A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed 52Teas Ginger Pumpkin Cheesecake Honeybush, and I really enjoyed that. So I was a little surprised when 52Teas announced another pumpkin tea so soon after the honeybush tisane, but, I’m certainly glad that Frank (the chief Zoomdweebie at 52Teas) decided to blend this Pumpkin Toffee Dragonwell Green Tea Blend. It’s so yummy!
With this blend, I can taste more of the pumpkin-y flavors than I remember tasting with the aforementioned honeybush blend. Perhaps it’s because there’s not so much emphasis on the spices in this blend, that it allows more of the squash flavor to come forth. Or perhaps it’s the Dragonwell green tea base that melds in a very beautiful way with the pumpkin notes. Then again, it could be a combination of these two things.
All I know is that with the very first sip of this tea, the pumpkin was a strong flavor. I taste notes of spice as well, a softer cinnamon note and perhaps a hint of ginger too. The spices here are gentle, just enough to accentuate the pumpkin without the tea becoming all about the spice.
And then there is the toffee. Let me say that again, because I didn’t emphasize: And then there is the TOFFEE. I’ve got to tell you, that as soon as I read the name of this blend … my mouth began to water and my taste buds began to dance the happy dance. I love toffee, and the idea of a toffee pumpkin pie makes me want to go out and FIND THAT PIE. I mean, seriously? How much yummier can you get than a toffee pumpkin pie?
And the toffee notes are nicely portrayed in this blend. It offers a sweet, buttery, caramel-y sort of flavor to the pumpkin without overwhelming the other flavors here. This cup offers just the right balance of pumpkin, spice, toffee AND green tea notes to satisfy the green tea lover’s sweet tooth.
I like this served hot, but, it is also quite good as it cools. After I finished my first cup, I went to my teapot which had about a half a cup of tea left in it, so I poured that (because I didn’t want to waste a drop of this yummy stuff!) and it was cold. Maybe not ice cold, but, it certainly was not hot or even warm. And all the flavors were still present and accounted for. So this one can be served hot or iced and still be tasty!
With Open Eyes Green Tea Blend from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
With Open Eyes pairs our premium Hangzhou Dragon Well with the flavor of fresh picked strawberries, soothing ginger, and subtle buttery toffee. The chestnut, damp moss, and marine notes of the Hangzhou Dragon Well mingle with and compliment the strawberry, ginger, and toffee notes. Adding a little bit of brown crystal sugar will enhance the strawberry and toffee notes while subduing the ginger notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yummy! This tea is really awesome! With Open Eyes Green Tea Blend from Butiki Teas is a sweet, nutty Dragon Well tea combined with the flavor of strawberry, ginger, and toffee to create a really unique and deliciously flavored blend!
What I’m noticing immediately with this blend is that the ginger is not overpowering. It is a very subtle warmth that I’m getting from the ginger here, just enough spice to keep things interesting but not enough for it to come off as fiery or spicy.
The Dragon Well is sweet and nutty with notes of vegetation. The strawberry notes are really delightful Sweet with just a hint of berry tart. The strawberry in this cup reminds me a lot of the strawberries you’ll experience “mid-season” … when they’re at their sweetest peak.
And then there is the buttery toffee! Oh my goodness! I would not have thought of combining ginger and strawberry with the flavor of toffee – but it works so well together. The toffee adds a little bit of sweetness and buttery creaminess to the cup and these notes marry so well with the natural nutty tones of the Dragon Well.
The flavors all meld so beautifully together, creating a very unified taste that it almost tastes as though they are one flavor rather than several individual notes. Everything is subtly flavored and well balanced to create a very seamless tasting experience. Another awesome tea from Butiki Teas!
Dragon Well High Grade Long Jing Green Tea from Yezi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Yezi Tea
Tea Description:
A reason to fall in love with green tea all over again.
At Yezi, we are proud to bring to you the finest grade of Longjing loose leaf green tea. Long Jing translated from Chinese means “Dragon Well”. Yezi’s Longjing consists entirely of unopened leaf buds called dragon sprouts or water lily hearts. These fine tea leaves are harvested in the first few weeks of spring by tea farmers who have maintained a fierce pride in growing the finest Long Jing for generations upon generations.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a very fine tasting Dragon Well from Yezi Tea! I can taste why it’s considered a High Grade Long Jing Green Tea! The tea sprouts are beautiful and green, and smell fresh and “leafy.”
The flavor is sweet and lightly grassy. I taste a savory note about mid-sip that provides a nice contrast to the sweetness. The vegetative taste here reminds me of springtime with its fresh, clean and pure taste … it is reminiscent of the new leaf and grass buds start to emerge from the earth after a cold winter.
There are sweet, nutty tones that compliment the vegetative sweetness and the slight grassy bitterness. The grassy tones accentuate a floral tone that emerges toward mid-cup. The floral tone adds dimension to the sweetness and distinctness to the savory elements of the flavor. All of these characteristics play very well together on the palate.
The overall taste is light, but even though it is what I’d call “light” there is so much flavor to it … so much complexity. The texture is like a delicate broth. It is a joy to sip this soothing tea.
There is a hint of fruit to this tea also … almost like the faintest note of lemon. The first time I noticed it … I thought maybe my taste buds were playing tricks on me, but after a second and even a third sip … yes, I notice this citrus-y taste. It’s very faint … but it’s there.
I really enjoyed this Dragon Well from Yezi Tea. The more I become familiar with this company’s teas … the more I like this company!
Secret Garden Tea Blend from Kaleisia Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Green & White Teas
Where to Buy: Kaleisia Tea
Tea Description:
The most popular blend of all times. This blend consist of white peony white tea, sencha green tea, darjeeling black tea, gunpowder green tea, dragonwell green tea, jasmine pearl green tea, mango, pineaple, papaya, orange peels, strawberry, red currants, sour cherry bits, and apricot bits. A very well rounded fruity tea that is sure to please anyone.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Secret Garden Tea Blend from Kaleisia Tea has a little bit of EVERYTHING in it! White tea, green tea, black tea … fruit bits … and a whole lot of flavor!
Since this blend seems to be primarily green tea, I went with a lower brew temperature (185°F) and steeped the tea for 2 1/2 minutes in my Breville One- Touch. And the results are tasty!
Fruit flavor hits the palate first, although … it is more like a “medley” of fruit flavors rather than one specific fruit note. Kind of like a bite of ambrosia salad where you taste several fruit notes all at once and it’s difficult to pin-point exactly which fruit you’re tasting. It’s a very refreshing fruit taste though!
As far as tea flavor goes, green tea is what I taste most. That sweet, sort of leafy/grassy note that is very fresh and crisp. It’s a nice contrast with the sweet and sour fruit notes that tantalize the palate at the start of the sip. There is a sweet, creaminess to the tea notes as well, is that the white tea or the buttery notes from the Sencha? I can’t be sure, but, I like the way it comes together with the fruit notes. I don’t taste a whole lot of white tea here, nor do I notice much from the Darjeeling black tea, although I can’t say that this blend would taste the same without those tea leaves being a part of this blend.
As I continue to sip, I realize that I’m tasting mostly a “tropical” sort of taste: notes of pineapple, mango, and papaya, with a strawberry background note. I taste the sweetness of the apricot too. The sour tones of the currant and the cherry come through near the finish, but these are not very strong flavors. The fruit notes, overall, are more “melded” together as a unified flavor … like some kind of “ultra-fruit” but, if I aerate the sip by slurping, I can pick out individual fruit notes.
I like that this blend is more sweet than it is sour, because I’m not a huge fan of the sour taste as I’ve said many times. While this does seem to be a rather “busy” blend … I find it enjoyable. I like it better iced than hot, so, I’ll be brewing more of this later for my iced tea pitcher and enjoy it all day long tomorrow!
Organic Nonpareil Ming Qian Dragon Well Long Jing Green from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Produced in Tianmu Mountain(天目山), Lin’an County, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang, China
Harvest time: March 8 – March 10, 2013
One bud with one or two leaves
Dry tea is shaped straight and pretty
Soup presents tender a yellowish green color, tastes sweet and brisk; aroma lasts long in the middle and back part of the tongue.
Fresh aroma with chestnut flavor
Low caffeine (less than 10% of a cup of coffee)
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I received my samples of the new spring teas my first tasting selection to sample was Organic Nonpareil Ming Qian Dragon Well Long Jing Green from Teavivre. The aroma is strong, awakening, and as fresh as a tea can smell. The dry leaf is so pretty and bright green. The flavors range through various steepings from nutty, buttery, vegetal, and salty, but every single steep brings forth the freshest flavors you could imagine.
When steeped properly there is absolutely no astringency and of course no bitterness. There is also a lovely light sweetness to the flavor that can be detected at different levels through the various steeps. The color is very light so do not be tempted to over steep this lovely tea. Take your time with it and let the flavors be gently caressed out of the leaf with shorter steep times which will provide you a longer and more relaxing brewing session. Green teas like this one from Teavivre are deserving of your time and focus. I do not recommend a tea like this for an out the door on the go tea. You can do that if you wish, but I feel it is cheating the tea from providing all that it has to offer and really just cheating yourself.
Some teas are great for an on the go pick me up and get me going for my day ahead tea. This Long Jing however is a relaxing, meditative, sip and consider type of tea that will rock your world in a totally different way if you give it time and allow it to. I find that while this tea is refreshing, and so lightly fresh, it has a brothy mouthfeel, verging on creamy in some steeps. I love it when a tea can bring out both feelings, light and fresh, yet thicker in the mouthfeel, as it is an unusual combination.
Teavivre brings us so excellent offerings in their new spring line, and I am really amped up to try them all but today I shall sit with this tea, looking forward to many steeps to come. It is absolutely lovely. See all of Teavivre’s Spring Teas here and learn how you can get samples of all of them for free!
