Green teas are some of my favorite warm-weather teas. Here in Texas, we’re sort of bouncing between 20°F and 80°F and the weather can’t make up its mind. (We actually hit low 90s in late February, followed by a week of rainy 40s, then freezing weather.) Despite the fact that it’s already starting to feel like summer on some days, I still like my tea scorching hot. (But I’ve included a recipe for those that enjoy sitting out on the porch with a refreshing glass of iced tea!)
Lavender Sunrise is a nice break from your typical green tea. It’s still vegetal, a little grassy, but the hint of floral lavender and strong lemony flavor brighten it up. (I’m not usually a huge lemon-and-lavender fan, but this one’s a hit!) I think the lemongrass really does it for me—I love a lightly grassy green.
The leaves in this one are on the small side, even after they’ve had a chance to unfurl and expand, making it great for brewing in tea bags and smaller infusers. The flavor is also strong enough that it’s good for a couple of brews.
I had to let this sit in the pot for quite a while to get it as strong as I like (about 6 minutes). It lacks the astringency typical of darker teas and really brings out the lemon when you steep it longer. (Steep too long and the lemon covers up the lavender, though.) It doesn’t need much in the way of sugar—I like this one unsweet—but Fava also has a strawberry rock sugar that goes well with it .
I also tried this one iced and it does not disappoint. Brew at 180°F for about 5-6 minutes (7-8 minutes if you like your tea pretty strong). Mix in a tablespoon of honey while it’s still hot. Grab a shaker and pour over ice with a splash of lemon juice. Add some strawberry slices at the end. Great for the approaching warm-weather days!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Fava Tea Company
Description
This green tea is relaxing without putting you to sleep! It’s a smooth green tea blended with lavender blossoms and lemon.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Lemonade from Love Tea Co. . . .
I pulled out this sample in optimistic anticipation of warmer weather.
Steeped up hot, it tastes like green tea with lemon, but not lemonade. It’s lacking the sweetness of lemonade; the mild smokiness of the gunpowder green further undermines the promise of the name. But it is delicious! This blend is equal parts juicy lemon and gently smoky green tea. As it cools, the lemon flavor becomes more dominant and some sweetness does come out, which made me want to try a cold brew.
On the second steep, the lemon flavor takes on more of a candy note. That doesn’t necessarily sound like it would work but it does.
I also tried this as a cold brew. My first impression is that this turned out tart! Lemon juice tart! I can’t make out much sweetness except for a smidgen that lingers on the tongue. The lemon flavor overwhelms the tea but that’s ok. This tastes like lemon water. I’m actually fine with that. There is a place in my tea heart for refreshing caffeinated lemon water. I can see this being a great cold steep for summer. If I had more, I would experiment with doing a half-and-half cold steep of these leaves with some moderately roasted oolong. Basically a loose-leaf cold-steeped unsweetened Arnold Palmer.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Love Tea Co.
Description
This Brilliant Blend is a fan favorite. It combines the best of green tea with the best of a lemon, with lemon bits and wedges you’ll get the full “lemon-y” affect. Low in caffeine and easy on the pallet, it goes down like a smooth summer day (without the humidity). Brew a pot of this fine blend and serve hot or cold year ’round. It never hurts to add a fresh lemon slice to anything! Be sure to #sharethelove on this one.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Lemon-Lime Meringue Kukicha Green Tea from 52Teas. . .
I was having a pleasant morning, sipping on this Lemon-Lime Meringue Kukicha Green Tea and eating my breakfast. Things were going well until my two dogs decided to fight over a cookie under my chair. When we pulled them apart, one had a bloody nose and we didn’t realize right away so blood got everywhere, especially when she started sneezing causing splatters on the walls, floor, and even my sister and her husband. She was totally fine but it looked like a tiny murder happened in our house so this tea got put aside for a bit while we attended to the literal dog fight and cleaning up the aftermath.
Getting back to the tea it was still a touch warm and luckily the flavors didn’t seem to change that much from the hotter cup I was drinking prior to the chaos, as some teas tend to do when they cool. I think this is my first Kukicha green tea and it looked like it may have been particularly herbal tasting (between the kukicha and lemongrass) but that wasn’t the case thankfully. This has a real sweet and fluffy quality to it that when combined with the vanilla bean definitely helps sell the meringue. Complimentary to that is the creamy citrus notes of the lemon-lime which makes for a nice dessert tea.
This is a great little bright tea. The flavors are sweet and yet bright and refreshing. It could be a good afternoon treat or like I said before, a nice choice for dessert after dinner. Another hit for 52 Teas!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is not available right now but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Zen from Tazo. . .
I grabbed Tazo’s Zen™ at the dentist’s office without realizing the dreaded mint* was inside it. However, I’m pleased to announce that the mint isn’t the primary characteristic of this tea!
* A note about mint: WHY IS IT EVERYWHERE? Mint is for toothpaste only.
Anyway, this lemon-mint green tea is mostly lemon with a toasty green flavor. It’s like a roasty, nutty kind of green, which is interesting against the citrus-y (and, okay, a LITTLE minty) high notes.
I think this is a nice choice for recovering from the harsh blows of a dentist visit. (I need $4k of Invisalign! And a filling! And part of the underside of my tongue cut! Almost $5k altogether!) It’s very… Zen™. *
* A note about the ™: How on earth can the word “Zen” be trademarked? I imagine it’s just in the context of tea products? No one else can name their tea “Zen,” maybe? Does this strike anyone else as weird?
Anyway, this tea comes in boxes at your grocery store, if you want to give it a whirl! You can enjoy it in your less-messed-up-than-mine mouth!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tazo
Description
A harmonious blend of green tea with lemongrass & spearmint.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Casey’s .45 Gunpowder Blast from 52Teas. . .
We review a lot of 52Teas here on The SororiTea Sisters but there is a good reason for that. A good chunk of us are big fans of the blends that Anne and company creates and we just can’t get enough. I personally have over 50 different blends from 52Teas in my own tea stash.
There is just something so incredibly intimate with each of the blends that 52Teas creates. Since each blend is hand blended with love and passion, you know you are in for a treat when you take your first sip of any 52Teas blends.
This particular blend is a combination of gunpowder green tea, lemons, and raspberries-basically a play on a raspberry lemonade with a slight smoky taste. Steeped up per the parameters on the pkg- water prepped at 170F and allowed to steep for 2 1/2 minutes and cooled for 5, this tea was an incredible treat.
First you are greeted with this amazing green tea background that has a slight smoky finish. The lemon notes come next and lay the ground work for the raspberries to come into play to create this wonderful lemon berry twist of a finish. With the gunpowder tea that was used as the base, that lemon berry twist was the perfect way to finish each sip. Fresh crisp and on point with each sip as satisfying as the last.
Unfortunately for me, I only picked up a taster of this tea so when I was out of this tea, that was a sad sip down for sure. I didn’t get a chance to check this tea out cold brewed because I just loved the flavors so much brewed hot. I can only imagine how fabulous this tea would be iced with a lemon wedge and possibly even a sprig or two of fresh mint. Fortunately for me, this blend is still available. Looks like I need to make another 52Teas order soon!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea was crafted for one of our VIPs who requested a VIT for a friend’s birthday. She wanted to start with a base of organic gunpowder green tea – check! Then she wanted to add the flavors of raspberry and lemon – check and check!
A fairly straightforward recipe with delightful results! The flavor is a fruity: tart, a little sweet and very bright and refreshing – perfect for summer!
A very limited edition!
taster size is approximately 15g
organic ingredients: green tea, raspberries, lemons and natural flavors
