Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Amazon Trading
Ingredients:
Green tea with natural citrus & pomegranate flavors.
Learn more about Amazon Trading here.
Taster’s Review:
When I read the name of this tea, I was pretty sure I’d enjoy it – I like citrus flavors in tea and I like pomegranate teas, so I felt pretty confident that this tea would be one I liked.
And it’s alright. I’m getting a fair amount of both flavor profiles, I can taste the bright and tangy notes of citrus fruit and I can taste the sweet-tart notes of pomegranate.
The green tea is a smooth, buttery green tea. The citrus notes are present throughout the sip, and I find that the citrus flavors are especially nice in this cup. It’s a very lilting sort of taste that lingers into the aftertaste. The pomegranate is a little softer in taste and seems strongest right toward the tail of the sip. I like that little burst of flavor that I get from the pomegranate.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable cup.
Inverness Estate Black Tea with Essence of Bergamot from Eden Grove
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Amazon Trading
Ingredients:
Black Tea with natural bergamot flavor.
Learn more about Amazon Trading here.
Taster’s Review:
I saved my review of this tea for a while since TeaEqualsBliss had also reviewed it, and I figured I had a lot of other teas from Eden Grove to sample, so I’d save this bergamot for one of the last ones I’d try from this company. Well, that and … it IS bergamot. I saved what I thought I’d like best for one of the last teas I’d try from them.
Now that I taste it, I can’t say that I do actually like it best. I think there were some other teas from Eden Grove that I preferred over this Inverness Estate Black Tea with Essence of Bergamot. That’s not to say that I dislike this one, because it’s actually quite nice.
That said, when it comes to bergamot, I prefer it strongly flavored and this is a little on the subtle side. The Iverness single estate black tea is brisk, however, I think I’d like the bergamot to be on even footing with the robust flavor of the black tea and it isn’t.
There is a nice, bright, citrus-y note to this, but it tastes more like lemon than it does bergamot to me. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but, for an Earl Grey fan like me … I’m all about the Italian orange! I want bergamot!
Overall, this is a tasty cuppa, and I was happy with it. I just could have been even happier if the bergamot were stronger.
Grey Black Tea from Labrang Tea Traders
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Labrang Tea Traders (Although I bought my tin at Chuck’s Produce!)
Tea Description:
Our version of an old classic. Premium leaves infused with Bergamot essence to produce a dark brewing citrusy tea. Fair Trade and Organic.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I discovered this Grey Black Tea from Labrang Tea Traders the other day while shopping at my favorite produce store: Chuck’s Produce. I do not usually trust a grocery store when it comes to tea, but there are a couple of exceptions to that rule of mine, and one of them is Chuck’s. This is a store that prides itself on having only the best and freshest foods and it’s a pride that shows itself every time I shop there.
But you didn’t tune in to our blog today to read about my love of Chuck’s Produce, did you? You wanted to learn more about tea!
When I saw this tea on the shelves at Chucks, I recognized it as a brand of tea that I’ve not yet tried, and I’m always eager to try a tea that’s new to me. And it’s an Earl Grey, so, you know I’m happy about that. The tins are eye-catching, thin and cylindrical. There is the familiar markings of a certified organic and fair trade product. It’s a local company, and I like that. So far, this tea is looking good. I’m hopeful that it tastes as good as it looks.
The aroma is strong, just like I expect from an Earl Grey. A robust bergamot fragrance – citrus and that familiar floral note of bergamot – together with notes of earthiness from the black tea.
The tea brews up fragrant with notes of bergamot goodness and the liquid is a dark coppery color. Nice! The flavor is bright and acidic with notes of tangy bergamot orange, but the flavor of the tea smooths out the more acidic notes. The result is a tea that is rich, smooth, and flavorful. This is more tart than it is sweet, but, even though my palate tends to be very sensitive to tart flavors, somehow, the tart and tangy flavor of bergamot never seems to disturb my palate – just the opposite. I LOVE bergamot!
The black tea has a bold flavor with notes of malt. I love the richness of this tea, it has a full-flavored, well-rounded taste, and it isn’t overly astringent. The tea would stand up well to the additions of milk and honey, if you like to add those to your Earl Grey tea. As for me, I like my bergamot served neat and clean with no additions.
I’m very happy with this Grey Black Tea from Labrang Tea Traders. I might have to look into the other teas offered by this company! This one is a winner.
Lovers Leap Estate Indigo Black Tea with Essence of Peony from Eden Grove
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Amazon Trading
Ingredients:
Camellia Sinensis with Red Pigments (Red Tea) with natural Peony Flavor.
Learn more about Amazon Trading here.
Taster’s Review:
I am usually a little put off by the prospect of trying a bagged and/or sacheted tea, because let’s face it, loose leaf is better. It just is. However, I do try to go into the experience of trying a new to me sacheted tea with an open mind. And so far, the teas that I’ve tried from Eden Grove have been impressive – and all have been sacheted teas! Eden Grove is definitely making a believer out of me.
This Lovers Leap Estate Indigo Black Tea with Essence of Peony from Eden Grove is quite nice. The Ceylon is flavorful and smooth. It has a very pleasing, even taste to it. It’s sweet and has some malty tones to it, and I taste no bitterness whatsoever. It’s good.
I taste hints of flower to this as well, and I presume that it is the peony essence that I’m tasting. I can’t recall ever tasting peony in the past, so I don’t have a memory of what peony tastes like to be able to compare what I’m tasting now. It is a sweet, gently floral taste. It isn’t sharp, and it doesn’t have a perfume-y taste to it. It’s an enjoyable flower essence.
Overall, a really nice cup of tea. It’s a mellow tasting black tea, not one I’d want to start the day off with, but, one that I’d love to drink in the afternoon when I want a little bit of a pick-me-up to keep me going. It’s good.
Whisper of the Woods Green Tea Blend from Whispering Pines Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Whispering Pines Tea Company
Tea Description:
The most beautifully soothing mint green tea. Imagine a crisp beautiful sunrise in a densely wooded pine-oak forest with sheets of trilliums and wild currant berries. You wake up, step out of your tent and breathe the last sliver of fog before the shattered sunlight wisps it away. Whisper of the Woods is an ideal green tea reminiscent of that crisp and floral serenity with just the perfect amount of heart-warming energy to induce prana and exploration. Enjoy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! I don’t know why, but something about this Whisper of the Woods Green Tea Blend from Whispering Pines Tea Company made me think that there’d be smoke notes to it.
I don’t know if it’s just the name of it: Whisper of the Woods. It makes me think of a walk through the woods and the smell of the air that would surround me as I’m walking, and in that image that is playing in my head, the smell of the air would include a touch of smoke from a far off log cabin with a fire blazing in the fireplace. Or perhaps it’s just the name of the company: Whispering Pines Tea Company. Something about this company makes me think of that aforementioned blazing, crackling fire in the fireplace.
But this isn’t a smoky tea. And I don’t know that I’d want it to be smoky. I like the notes of mint – a combination of peppermint and spearmint – and I like the hint of jasmine. I like the way these flavors play together with the sweet, lightly grassy notes of the green tea.
And what I like best is that this isn’t overwhelmingly minty. Sure, the mint flavor is there and it’s strong and there’s no mistaking it. But, it isn’t a “toothpaste-y” mint. I don’t feel like I just took a sip of mouthwash. This was masterfully blended, and the result is a mint tea that isn’t too minty.
The jasmine essence builds as I sip. I barely noticed it in the first couple of sips, but, now that I’m nearly finished with the cup, the jasmine comes through really well. It’s not perfume-y, but it brings a beautiful floral note to the cup. I like the way the jasmine and mint notes come together.
It really is a bit like a whisper in the woods. Imagine a gentle breeze filtering through the woods, picking up notes of wildflowers and mint growing in the wild along with hints of grass. A beautiful scent. A delicious flavor. That’s what this tea delivers.