If you’d like a mild midafternoon pick-me-up, I have a delicate refresher for you!
White Vanilla Grapefruit by Harney & Sons is a pastel-flavored creamy vanilla with very faint fruit notes. It manages to be mellow, but not boring. It’s not a showy tea. It understands that it has something very important and comforting to impart. There are times when one wants something that is simply NICE.
It’s the flavor equivalent of a Mary Cassatt piece. It’s a homey domestic scene that reminds one of a vase of tulips and the feeling of warm laundry right out of the dryer. It’s reading a fresh magazine on a sunny couch. It’s the first time out in a new pair of socks. It’s a half-day at work. It’s the joyous announcement of a pregnancy.
Other people LOVE this tea. When I went onto the Harney site to grab the link for this tea, there are twelve — TWELVE — pages of reviews on this. People talk about enjoying it with their roommates, going on quests to find it, where they first tried it. This seems to have an almost cult following.
Will you become a raving fan, too? You’ll have to try it to find out.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Harney and Sons
Description
Our cleansing white tea blend of White Vanilla Grapefruit is enriched by vanilla, and brightened by the clear citrus notes of grapefruit. Its vanilla aroma adds a pleasantly indulgent touch.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Churros with Dulce le Leche from A Quarter to Tea. . . . . .
Working downtown Toronto is amazing for the foodie in me. Not so amazing for my wallet. However, it is a cornucopia of good eats with new restaurants opening all the time. Most recently, a vegan Mexican restaurant opened around the corner from my office. Like literally around the corner. So when lunching with my vegetarian friend, I figured why not check it out…
Lunch consisted of vegan tacos and flautas and fritters but what really stood out were the churros. Warm and crispy on the outside with the right amount of doughiness on the inside. Plus a chocolate banana dip that complimented the cinnamon flavor perfectly.
With those tasty treats in mind, this Churros with Dulce le Leche tea by A Quarter to Tea got my mouth watering, especially when I cracked open the bag and got a big whiff of caramel icing deliciousness. I brewed this for three minutes in 180F water and left it to cool for a little while.
Drinking the tea, it is certainly an A Quarter to Tea blend. Some companies have distinct flavors and A Quarter to Tea is no exception. Something in the teas has a tendency to lean towards a honey flavor. Though not entirely out of place in a churro tea, it does overshadow some other flavors that should be present instead. For instance, there really isn’t much cinnamon and the touch of cocoa suggested in the description is completely MIA. There is a pastry quality, though not distinctly fried dough. As a whole this is sweet and could be construed as churros but it could also be perceived as other baked goods.
All in all, the tea is nice enough but not exactly what I expected or hoped for. It is sure to satisfy a sweet tooth but that could be said of many other teas and this doesn’t really stand out from that bunch in my opinion. Perhaps my point of comparison is too fresh or too different in my mind but this just didn’t measure up to the real deal.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Sweet fried dough dusted with cinnamon, paired with caramel and a touch of cocoa.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tea Break White Tea from Plum Deluxe. . .
Everything about Tea Break blend from Plum Deluxe feels like a spring or summertime brew. The white tea base has a gentle caffeine level and flavor strength, well-suited for a for a light afternoon break, and holds up when brewed both hot or cold. I always associate white teas with classy tea cups or brightly colored iced tea travel mugs. There is just something both classical and whimsical about white tea blends.
This Tea Break blend is very fragrant in the dry leaf, with lush tangerine and sweet melon in equal parts. The leaves smell like a fresh bowl of fruit salad, or a fruity sorbet. Brewed, the tea carries much of the same flavors. There are notes of bright citrus, but the predominant flavor is honeydew melon. The buttery, earthy white tea matches well with the creamy and juicy melon. The melon provides a smooth mouthfeel, and keeps the tangerine from being too sour or biting. The tangerine adds some much-needed liveliness to the laid-back melon, the two flavors working in harmony.
If brewing hot, keep your water temperatures a little lower to be gentle on the white tea leaves. Also try this as a cold brew, where the melon flavors make the blend extra refreshing on a warm day. Versatile and naturally sweet, Tea Break blend makes it easy to take a moment to yourself and relax with a cup of tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description:
Sometimes you just need a break. And whether it’s 5 minutes or 5 hours, our Tea Break white tea is the perfect companion. A fresh, flavorful Fujian white tea base is paired with tangerine and honeydew melon flavors that create not just a heavenly aroma, but a truly relaxing, calming, nourishing, thoughtful cup of tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cranberry Betty from A Quarter To Tea. . . .
I’m not exactly sure who Cranberry Betty is, you guys. But here’s how I imagine her: wild, curly white hair. A very sensible cardigan. Fan-TASTIC red shoes. Spitfire wit. A big old mug of this tea, named after her, of course– piping hot in her hand.
(Okay, fine, Google tells me it’s some sort of baked good. My fictitious Betty is a pretty great baker too, Google.)
This white tea from A Quarter to Tea is pretty much everything I imagine my Betty to be– bold, flavorful, sweet (that brown sugar note, though) and just a touch sour (hello, cranberry and tiny twist of lemon!). I have vehemently proclaimed myself a white tea hater in the past (or at least, white tea apathetic), but I think AQTT is turning that boat around. Every single white tea blend I’ve had from our friends at AQTT has been knocking it out of the park lately, and I’ve been demolishing every single sample bag I’ve got.
This is another one that won’t sit languishing in my tea cabinet for very long– Betty’s got places to be, friends. (My teacup, for example.)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for white teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Walnut Orange Scone from DAVIDs Tea. . .
Something’s happening to me, you guys. I think I’m becoming a white tea convert. *INSERT GASP HERE*
Now, for the white tea purists among us… maybe skip the rest of this review. I’m certainly not sipping them plain, austere and floral, out of my finest china with my pinky up. But whereas I always though white teas just weren’t for me, I’ve been especially enjoying a few fun blends from my favorite tea purveyors lately, particularly when they’ve got some fun fruity notes blended in the mix.
This walnut orange scone white from David’s Tea is totally hitting all of those marks. It’s nutty, it’s bright and fresh and floral and citrusy and fruity– it maybe doesn’t taste too much like pastry to me, but I’m willing to forgive the slightly misleading name because this one is just so dang delicious.
I also have a fondness for teas that don’t require any sweetener to accentuate their flavors, and this one is simply perfect as it. Big, bold, bright, a little sweet from the fruit– like biting into the perfect wintry treat right out of the oven on a Sunday morning.
Maybe someday, I’ll graduate to finally become a fancypants white tea drinker. In the meantime, though, I’m going to thoroughly enjoy exploring these new doors opened to my tea-lovers’-palate (though my burgenoning tea cabinet may be slightly less thrilled).
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.