Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Tealee
Tisane Description:
There’s something magical about this aromatic combination of soothing ingredients. Perfect for the moments you find yourself day dreaming about Neverland.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf aroma is absolutely beautiful! I smell strong notes of lavender and I love the way they meld with the lime leaves. Lovely!
To brew this tea, I used my Breville One Touch – yeah, I don’t usually use my Breville to brew white teas, but because the leaf is a little smaller here, I felt comfortable using the Breville this time. I measured 2 heaping bamboo scoops into the basket of the tea maker and poured 500ml of water into the kettle. I set the timer for 3 1/2 minutes and the temperature for 165°F. Then I let the machine do it’s thing.
The brewed tea is almost as beautifully fragrant as the dry leaf. This is a tea that you want to inhale deeply when you lift the cup to your lips – smell it first! – and then take a sip. It will make the experience even more enjoyable!
Nice! I was a little worried when I smelled the strong lavender – I worried that maybe the lavender had been overdone. Too much lavender ends up tasting too perfume-ish or soapy and even though I love lavender, I don’t want to drink something that tastes like I should be bathing in it instead.
Fortunately, the lavender is just right! It is strong enough to offer a powerful aromatic experience but not so powerful that I am not able to enjoy the flavor as much as I enjoy the fragrance. This is really lovely!
The lavender is the strongest flavor of the cup, and it has a sweet flavor that is distinctly lavender. Sweet and floral, but not perfume-ish. When I drink teas with lavender, I feel an almost instant “calming” effect and I don’t know if that’s because my brain knows that it just drank lavender and lavender has that effect on me, but I’m starting to feel that – I feel relaxed and as I continue to sip, I feel myself becoming more and more calm.
The lime leaves taste light and citrus-y, and this citrus note is especially noticed in the aftertaste. I can feel a distinct “lime” note on my tongue – as if I just had tasted a tiny bit of lime. I like the way the lime notes play with the lavender – it’s an unexpected but delightful flavor combination.
The white tea is a delicate flavor. It’s soft and sweet. It’s a nice base for these flavors, because a more aggressive tea would be less “calming” and I like the way the lavender is soothing me.
A really pleasant blend! Tealee has some really enticing tea blends on their website. Lots of teas to explore!
On the Ninth Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas Sent to Me …
That big day is getting closer! Are you ready for it?
For the first time in quite a few years, I can say that I am ready for it. Usually, we are down to the wire and doing our shopping at the last minute. But this year, we managed to get some of the major shopping (ie: shopping for the kids!) done early, which has helped immensely! I don’t feel stressed or rushed like I usually do this time of year! Yay!
What a unique tea Della Terra Teas sent to me on this Ninth Day of Christmas!
Snow Fairy
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White & Green Teas
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
On your eighth day you may not have ladies dancing, but you do have a Snow Fairy prancing around your tastebuds.
This magical tea will brighten your day, any time of day with it’s fruity flavors of pineapple & apple with creamy vanilla and white tea. Oh, you are in for a treat today!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A quick glance at the ingredients of this tea, and I found myself wondering why Della Terra Teas chose this as a “holiday” tea … I don’t usually think of pineapple as a holiday flavor. But, the flavor of this tea is so nice, that I don’t really care if it’s especially holidays-y!
The base of this tea is a blend of fluffy Bai Mu Dan white tea leaves and Chinese green tea. By brewing this at a low temperature (170°F) for four minutes, I was able to get a nice balance of both the green and the white tea flavors. I like that I can taste both here, a slightly buttery, vegetative taste from the green tea, and a light, sweet taste from the white tea, and they don’t seem to be competing with one another for the spotlight. This two teas are working together very well in this blend.
The pineapple is sweet and soft … curbed slightly by the vanilla and the apple. I am not trying to say that the flavor of the pineapple is obscured, really, it is just not quite as clear a flavor as it might be without the vanilla and the apple. But I like how these two ingredients soften the flavor – it does give it a somewhat “snowy” kind of flavor … like pineapple ice cream. I also do taste a hint of spice here from the pink peppercorns. It isn’t a strong peppery note (pink peppercorns don’t deliver a strong peppery taste), but it is just enough contrast to the cup to keep the flavors from becoming dull.
Overall, the flavor is gentle and creamy … one of those types of teas you’d like to curl up to while reading a good book.
2012 Wild Tea Orchid Fairy Twig from Life In Teacup
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Life in Teacup
Tea Description:
Production Year – 2012
Production Season – Spring
Production Region: Jiangxi Province, Wuyuan
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tastes so crisp and light! It’s such a refreshing tea.
It’s very reminiscent of spring, the season in which it’s produced. It has that light, fresh taste that reminds me of new plant growth in the spring, the tiny leaf buds as they begin to open and turn everything green again after the cold of winter. So sweet and pure.
The vegetative notes fall somewhere between grassy and steamed baby spinach. The grassy tones are very mellow and slight, not quite tasting as grassy as some other green teas that I’ve tasted but, it’s something a bit more than just your average, everyday steamed spinach too. It is mild and smooth, with a moderate astringency toward the tail. It has a creamy delivery – smooth from the start and then toward the end the astringency leaves the palate feeling clean and refreshed.
Quite a lovely tea! I was sad to see that all that remains of this year’s harvest of this tea are a few samples … it’s a delicious tea, one that is definitely worth trying. Keep an eye out and watch Life in Teacup’s website for an announcement, as they are planning on taking pre-orders for this tea just before next year’s harvest! This tea is definitely worth the effort.
Fairy Dust Rooibos from Tealish
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tealish
Tisane Description:
Drink this tea and you’ll feel like you’ve just been sprinkled with fairy dust, it’s so good. With notes of strawberry and kiwi, this blend of green rooibos, apple, strawberry, kiwi, orange blossoms, elderflower, and mistletoe, is our favourite way to escape to never never land once (or twice) a day.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This is really REALLY tasty!
As I’ve said once or twice (or perhaps thrice!) before, I prefer green rooibos over the oxidized red version. The green rooibos is slightly fruity in flavor (as opposed to the woody notes of the red rooibos), and it has a light, almost sparkling kind of taste to it. I think given the name of this tea (Fairy Dust) I think that green rooibos was the perfect choice as a base for this blend.
The strawberry and kiwi are the two strongest flavors, with floral notes filling out the background. The rooibos doesn’t offer a strong flavor, but, I do taste it, and it marries with the fruit tones in this blend very nicely.
The strawberry tastes fresh and authentic, tasting like I just bit into a bright red, ripe, juicy berry. YUM! The kiwi is a nice flavor to accompany the strawberry as I’ve often thought the kiwi tastes a bit like a cross between a strawberry and a melon. It enhances the delicious strawberry taste, and adds a pleasing dimension to the cup.
I sipped my sampling of this tea (sent to me by a friend) hot, but as it cooled, I noticed the fruit flavors emerged even more, so I suspect this would be an absolutely AMAZING iced tea. One that you can serve to kids as well as adults without worry that you’ll be overstimulating anyone with caffeine (as it’s naturally caffeine free). A great summertime tea!
Jasmine Fairy Blooming Tea from Alice’s Fine Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White (Blooming Tea)
Where to Buy: Alice’s Fine Teas
Tea Description:
Our Jasmine Fairy starts out as a ‘mushroom’ shape ball. White jasmine and beautiful lily hide inside the silver needle tea. Pouring boiled water causes the red lily petals to rise up trying to follow the white jasmine dancing light-footed like a fairy flying in the sky. This fragrant tea tastes smooth and sweet. Ingredients: Jasmine (sweet fragrance, said to moisten the skin, ease anxiety and anti-inflammatory), Lily (said to enhance energy and to have a cooling effect), Silver Needle Tea
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s been a while since I’ve had a blooming tea, so I decided that now was the time. I have really enjoyed the blooming teas that Alice’s Fine Teas offers, so I was pretty confident I’d enjoy this one too.
After steeping for six minutes in 175°F water, the bloom was open, but, I fear that my glass cup was not quite tall enough to see the full effect of the white floral extension (as shown in the photo above). To the right, you’ll see what the bloom appeared like with a slightly shorter glass. Still beautiful, even though the extension was not fully visible.
But even more important (at least to me) is the flavor of the tea, and I am not at all disappointed with the flavor of this blooming tea. It is light, sweet, and even a little creamy! The floral notes are present but in keeping with the overall lightness of the tea, and they do not overwhelm the flavor of the silver needle tea.
The floral is not entirely jasmine here, as I can taste the lily flavor too. I like that even though it is a combination of flowery flavors, it doesn’t taste like perfume or soap. It tastes more like … spring. Like the freshness of spring: crisp air, full of life as the flowers begin to bloom after winter’s frosty chill.
A very fun and delicious tea!