Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: ArtfulTea or ArtfulTea on Etsy
Tea Description:
Organic apricot pieces and natural brandy flavor give this black tea blend a delicious full flavor and luscious sweetness. An aromatic and visually appealing tea.
Ingredients: organic black tea, organic apricot pieces, organic calendula and osmanthus petals, natural apricot brandy flavor. Produced in accordance with the Ethical Tea Partnership.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I placed my samples order with ArtfulTea, this was the first sample that I selected. I’m not sure what it was about this tea that allured me, but at the moment when I was shopping something in my head thought: “Oh, that sounds good!” when I read the words Apricot Brandy.
The aroma is a perfect representation of Apricot Brandy! The dry leaf smells of apricots, brandy and black tea. (No big surprises!) Once brewed, the tea smells similar, but I think I smell more black tea now. It’s a wonderful fragrance – the kind of scent that gets the taste buds excited and the mouth watering!
And it tastes as good as it smells! Mmm!
I can taste notes of apricot: sweet, juicy and reminiscent of the flavor of a tree-ripened apricot. When served hot, this is especially true (I guess because tree-ripened fruit is always a wee bit warm, you know?)
I taste the black tea next and it has a pleasant flavor. It’s a smooth, mild-tasting black tea. The website doesn’t indicate what type of black tea is used in this blend, but if I were to wager a guess I’d say it’s a Ceylon, because it has that moderate, even-tempered sort of flavor that is typical of a Ceylon. It’s an enjoyable black tea base, not bitter and not overly astringent. There is some astringency, slightly dry toward the finish, but it’s not a strong astringency. I’d categorize it as a light astringency.
As I sip this, I can’t help but wonder how apricot flavors would fair with Assam tea. I think those caramel-y, malty notes of an Assam would taste delightful with apricot!
The brandy flavor is – happily – not an overpowering flavor. I like the way it balances with the other tastes in this cup. Sometimes with alcohol-inspired teas like this one, I find myself concerned that the alcohol notes will be overwhelming, and because I’m not much of a drinker of brandy or any other alcoholic beverage (I’m a tea-totaler!) I generally am not all that excited about teas that taste strongly of an alcoholic drink.
This has more of the sweet, delicious apricot than it does brandy, and the two meld together in a very delightful way. The flower/petal additions don’t add a strong floral note to the cup, but, the osmanthus does enhance the apricot nicely.
Overall, a really enjoyable cup of tea! I’m very happy with this cup. It tastes good hot, and it’s also nice as the cup begins to cool, suggesting to me that this would make a tasty glass of iced tea as well.
Baroness Grey Black Tea from Tea For All Reasons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea for All Reasons
Tea Description:
Legend has it that one Baroness Grey, who lived sometime in the 16th or 17th century, was married to a man who was a Ship’s Captain in the Royal Navy. As the story goes, his ship never returned from a trading voyage to China. Refusing to believe that her husband would never return, the Baroness would walk to the port lands every morning to greet each ship hoping for news of her husband. Sadly, she continued this practice until the day she died. In honor of this loyal Baroness Grey, our Earl Grey blend, with the traditional bergamot and the addition of lemon represent the bitter tears shed over her beloved.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I was excited to try this Baroness Grey Black Tea from Tea For All Reasons. I love me some bergamot! This blend combines the great taste of a traditional Earl Grey tea together with additional notes of lemon and hints of rose … and I’m loving every sip.
The bergamot is not quite as strong as you might experience in a straightforward Earl Grey. The additional lemon adds sweetness … believe it or not! It’s as if someone liquefied a dollop of sweet, creamy lemon curd and added to a cup of Earl Grey black tea.
I don’t get a lot of tart from the lemon notes, just a sweet, smooth flavor that rounds out the tangy bergamot notes. I was expecting more of a tart or even a bitter note from the lemon … but, I am not getting that as much as I expected. There is some tartness here, certainly, but, what I’m noticing is the sweeter side of lemon here, and I like it. The combination of bergamot and lemon is very nice … they go together very well.
At the finish and into the aftertaste is where I start to notice the lemon’s impact on the tea. The flavor becomes slightly more tarty, and those tart notes tickle the palate in the aftertaste.
The black tea base is a robust, well-rounded black tea. It’s not overly strong, but there is an invigorating astringency to this that leaves the palate feeling clean. The floral notes of rose is very soft and subtle and really, barely noticeable unless you slurp to aerate the sip.
Overall, this is a very pleasant take on the classic Earl Grey. I really enjoyed this cuppa, and I’d recommend this to those who enjoy a gentle bergamot flavor in their Earl Grey style teas.
PRODUCT REVIEW: Oribe-Style Chawan from Guerrero Ceramics
Product Information:
Product: Oribe-Style Stoneware Chawan (Tea Bowl)
Product Description:
This handmade, wheel-thrown stoneware “chawan” or “tea bowl” was fired in an electric kiln to 2350°F. It features a clear and green glaze combination with iron oxide underpainting. This is known as Oribe-style. The decoration goes all the way around the bowl.
This style of tea bowl is “closed” with straight up and down walls, as opposed to the “open” style with outwardly sloping walls.
Please note: This bowl is one of my more “sturdy” tea bowls. In other words, it’s a bit heavy.
Click Here to Visit: Guerrero Ceramics Shop on Etsy
Product Review:
You may have noticed that I’ve been reviewing a lot of Matcha lately. Well, that’s because Red Leaf Tea has this amazing offer. Free Matcha? For doing what I do anyway? OK… you’ve got me!
Also, I have noticed that after a few weeks of drinking Matcha on a daily basis, I FEEL better. I have more energy, I feel less sluggish. So, I’m going to try to incorporate Matcha into my daily tea routine, having some every day, rather than once or twice a week like I used to.
A couple of weeks ago, while cleaning my favorite (and only usable) chawan, I accidentally dropped it in the sink and it cracked. (My other chawan was raku fired, and so I wasn’t entirely sure that it was safe to use. It’s gorgeous, but, I was no longer comfortable using it as I feared it might be unsafe)
I was so sad. I loved that chawan. I started using porcelain cereal bowls until I could find a satisfactory replacement. The bowls worked just fine, but they were thinner and lighter in weight than my chawan and I really like the heavier feel of a chawan that was crafted on a pottery wheel.
The temporary bowls just weren’t the same, and it affected my tea experience. Whether I was ready to admit it or not, the simple fact is that the vessel has a little something to do with the enjoyment of the product. That is to say, it matters. The bowl (or cup, when drinking other teas) makes a difference to me, at least mentally. The vessel that I drink from affects the overall experience.
So finally, I decided I HAD to get myself a chawan. I knew that I wanted to purchase the chawan direct from an artisan, because as an artist myself, I like to support other artists with my shopping. I try to avoid purchasing from the big corporations whenever I can, preferring smaller shops and when it comes to products like chawans, I want something handmade and direct from the artist.
After a bit of shopping around, I finally settled on this beautiful chawan from Guerrero Ceramics on Etsy. There are a lot of really gorgeous chawans on Etsy… but the reason I finally chose this one is simply: the seller was nice. I had written to him – admittedly about another bowl which was smaller and was intended to serve as more of a tea cup rather than a Matcha bowl – and he responded promptly and was very nice. He provided me a direct link to his Matcha bowls and while I didn’t see anything that piqued my interest right away, about a week later, I revisited his site and found this beautiful Oribe-Style Chawan.
The Chawan arrived very quickly, and was packaged wonderfully! I’m a sucker for packaging, and I think that when a seller takes the time to put some thought into the way they package your purchase for shipment says a lot about the seller. The chawan came in a postal box, and tucked inside the box, wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap, was a gift box that bore the Guerrero Ceramics stamp, and inside the box, layered with more bubble wrap, was my wrapped chawan. Now, when I say “wrapped” I don’t just mean bubble wrap. Mr. Guerrero took the time to wrap the chawan in a bright yellow fabric – Japanese furoshiki style!
As for the chawan: I just love it! It is a bit larger than my previous chawans, almost the size of a typical cereal bowl. But I actually prefer this size to my smaller chawans because it allows me ample room to whisk without sloshing any of the Matcha out of the bowl in the process. It also allows me to double up on the amount of Matcha I prepare … because, I’ve found that with my smaller bowls, the Matcha just disappears way too quickly! To put it simply, bigger bowl = MORE MATCHA!
If you find yourself in need of a new chawan, please, consider shopping handmade! We artists need and cherish the support, and you won’t find a nicer artist than Jeff Guerrero from Guerrero Ceramics!
Earl Grey Lollipop from The Groovy Baker
Where to Buy: The Groovy Baker on Etsy
Product Description:
The candy base on this one is a nice vanilla cream, sweetened with just a touch of honey
~ flecks of high quality Earl Grey make it awesome.
Added bonus? They look all spooky and cool. =)
Taster’s Review:
Of the six different lollipops that I’ve tasted from the Groovy Baker thus far, this one was perhaps the most confusing. I think I was hoping for a little more Earl Grey flavor.
Don’t get me wrong, these are still really tasty. And I love the vanilla/honey flavor of the candy. But I think that I was expecting it to have a little more tangy bergamot citrus tones, a little more brisk black tea flavor. Those notes don’t come until you’ve licked on the lollipop for a while and some of the tea leaves that have been embedded in the candy have “steeped” some of their flavor onto the palate.
And when those Earl Grey flavors do finally arrive – YUM! This becomes a real tea lovers treat. The vanilla is creamy and smooth. The honey notes are a delicious addition to this confection, reminding me of my earlier experiences with tea when I still added quite a bit of honey to each cup. Now that my palate has matured a little, I am adding less of the sweet stuff (and sometimes no sweet stuff!) but my sweet tooth sometimes still wants it! This lollipop satisfies those sweet tooth cravings while still appealing to the tea lover in me.
On the down side, the larger tea leaves can be a bit rough on the tongue. I would suggest that the tea leaves be finely ground before sprinkling them onto the lollipops – I think it would also help to distribute the Earl Grey flavoring a little better. But even with the larger pieces of leaves, these are still really delicious.
Here’s an idea: use this lollipop as a tea stirrer – letting the lollipop dissolve in the tea. YUM YUM YUM!
PRODUCT REVIEW: Matcha Green Tea Lollipop from The Groovy Baker
Where to Buy: The Groovy Baker on Etsy
Product Description:
*Real* Matcha Green Tea imported from Japan ~
With just a touch of lemon and creamy vanilla ~ a bit of pear adds depth and the toasted almonds some crunch and complexity.
Pretty clear green ~ just really nice.
Made with pure cane sugar, never any corn syrup.
Taster’s Review:
I found these beauties on Etsy one evening while I was browsing on the site, looking for new tea products. And, yes, they really are as beautiful as they look!
The first thing I taste with these is the pear. It doesn’t dominate the confection but it does come on strong at the start. The Matcha flavor starts off much softer – the flavor is there from the start it is just rather delicate in the beginning. After several licks I noticed that the green tea flavor started to really come through nicely, and by the time I was about halfway through the lollipop, the Matcha was prominent.
One thing that this lollipop does lack verses a bowl of Matcha tea is the bittersweet characteristic of Matcha due to the sugar in the candy. I think that this is where the almonds really play their part well. The almond slivers are embedded into the candy, and I found myself nibbling at them. It offered a tasty nutty flavor as well as an interesting feel and look to the lollipop. Moreover, the almonds helped bring out some of the less distinctive notes of the Matcha.
I just loved these lollipops. Sweet (I guess that is a bit obvious, since it’s candy!) but with a delicious complexity that I wouldn’t get from an ordinary confection. The perfect candy for someone who’s “nuts” about tea!
PS: You can read more of my reviews of other flavors of lollipops from The Groovy Baker here.