Forest Friend blend by Leslie Kiesler on Adagio Teas

by MrsPremise

Adagio Teas is where I credit my loose leaf tea beginnings. They have a variety of teas for both beginners and experts, but their success comes from their lively fandom blend community.  There’s a themed-blend for every movie, book, and video game out there.  I know I’ve had a great time designing my own flavors, and I’m always interested in trying new blends from other tea lovers.

My favorite summer blend of late has been Forest Friend by Leslie Kiesler.  This blend is a homage to the main creature in the film, My Neighbor Totoro, of Studio Ghibli fame.  To me, Forest Friend is tea-blending at its best.  It is mixed from Adagio’s white strawberry, white pear, and rooibos jasmine flavors.  On their own, none of these teas are really my favorite: I found the strawberry to be a bit too sweet, the pear to be a bit too earthy, and the rooibos jasmine to be overwhelming floral.  But when mixed together in these proportions, I can’t seem to get enough of this tea.  It’s magical, like finding out you have a big fuzzy, forest friend as your neighbor.

I prefer this blend iced, with our without sugar depending on my mood.  This is a blend mainly made up of white tea leaves, so keep your water temperatures a little cooler than usual to avoid any harsh notes.  The strawberry makes this a delectable summer blend, almost like sugary kool-aid, but the pear and white tea gives the sweetness just enough grounding that it doesn’t become too much like candy.  The rooibos jasmine is amazing when added to a blend in smaller quantities.  It adds some tart, herbal rooibos flavors, and relaxing floral overtones.  There are even blue cornflowers and golden marigold flowers in the dry leaf to make the blend look vibrant in my pitcher as it brews.

Top off the great taste with Leslie’s cute label on the tin and you’ll realize why it is so hard to resist this blend.  Forest Friend is always in my wish list for when summertime comes around and I need a sweet, magical way to cool down and brighten my day.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: White/Rooibos
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description: There’s a friend waiting for you in the forest, but he’s snoring the day away. Wake him up with a cup of tea so you can begin a magical adventure!

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

MrsPremise

Growing up, I drank herbal teas like fresh ginger tea during New England's harsh winters and iced blueberry tea during its humid summers. Over time, I was tempted into trying a wider variety of loose leaf teas by the fandom-themed blends available online. I have since gone on to design my own blends, and I greatly enjoy drafting up flavor ideas and drawing tea labels. When I'm not thinking about tea I can be found reading novels and comic books, playing video games, or watching movies; my favorite genres being history, humor, sci-fi, and fantasy. Generally, I prefer bold teas: spicy chais, rich black teas, even smoky lapsang souchong on occasion. But I have also dabbled in herbal rooibos, flavored oolongs, and traditional matcha. I'm glad to be expanding my palette by tasting and reviewing new teas and blends. Find me on Steepster: http://steepster.com/A2shedsjackson Fandom blends: http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/list.html?userId=292149

This post was posted in Adagio Teas, Rooibos, White Tea

Raspberry Champagne from The Love Tea Company. . . . .

by SuperStarling

Love Tea Company purchases have been making the rounds of me and my friends lately. It all started when Nichole (Cuppageek here on the site) sent me a Tea It Forward care package.  So I sent a few to my friends. And then bought samples. 25% of net profits go to the Flagg Foundation for Mental Wellness.  

So I’m of course already in a good mood just looking at the packaging and getting a cup going. Plus, the idea of Raspberry Champagne is very appealing to someone who’s on a diet. Helping people! Drinking but not really! FIVE STARS.

I made this one iced as a dinner accompaniment. I’ve cut soda (for real this time!) (I think!). So I’m learning a little more on iced tea to fill in when I need caffeine.

I’ve made this one before hot, and thought it was pretty good, but ICED, my friends, is where it’s at.

The flavor is a mix of sweet and tart. It has the sass of the raspberry with the gentle playfulness of a white. There’s a bite that I guess I could associate with champagne, but also has a bit of a green apple vibe to it. The white tea has JUST enough caffeine to keep you coasting, but not enough to keep you up at night.

All in all, a lovely blend for a sparkly afternoon.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  White
Where to Buy:  The Love Tea Company
Description

Our White Raspberry Champagne is a great alternative to the real thing!  Our wine inspired blends create a character so versatile you’ll get all of the fun of a “fancy drink” without the boozy qualities.   The pairing of champagne and raspberry flavors dates back centuries and we’ve mastered it here in this wine evoking tisane. You won’t be disappointed this is a luxurious treat any day of the week.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

SuperStarling

"Hey, everybody! I'm Leah, a graphic designer from Pennsylvania, United States. I live with my husband and rescue mutt in a house with colorful walls. I love fonts, colors, animals, flowers, novels, illustration, geeking out, and -- obviously! -- tea. I've only been heavily into tea for about a year, but I've found I tend to prefer loose blended black dessert teas. I normally drink them hot western style without anything added; if I add in some vanilla almond milk or honey, I promise I'll mention it! When I'm not blogging here, I'm blogging at leahlucci.com/starling or posting to Instagram (super_starling), so come say hi!"

This post was posted in The Love Tea Company, White Tea

Summertime White from 52Teas. . . .

by Mary

90% of the time, I’m not really a white tea fan. It’s kinda floral, it’s a little too light for me, I’m not entirely sure I’m fancy enough to be able to claim it as my own– etc., etc. But the other 10%? Meaning, the few months out of the year that I bust out my white tea sample backlog and put it on ice? White tea and I are bffs, you guys.

This particular blend from 52 Teas claims to be orange-cream-y, a bit fruity, perfect summertime sipping (as the name would suggest). It may have just been my sample, but I’m not positive that I picked up on the orange/cream, but there were delightful, fresh and summery hints of citrus undertones, a slightly vegetal-honeyed note that was at once light and reminiscent of syrup-y gold. I paired this iced cup with a splash of lemonade, which only enhanced those notes, and friends– it was to die for.

Leave it to 52 Teas to make a white tea believer out of me yet!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  White
Where to Buy:  52Teas
Description

This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Mary

Hi there! I'm Mary, a 27-year-old mental health professional living with my fiancé and our quirky kitten in the Midwest! I've loved tea for as long as I can remember-- in fact, I have vivid memory of being four or five in a tea shop and being mesmerized by all the tea flavors and proclaiming that I "was going to be kind of adult who drank tea, not coffee." A stint living (and tea-drinking my way through) London and twenty-some years later, I'm still channeling that sassy four-year-old and loving my tea habit. When I'm not sipping a cuppa, you'll find me reading, doing yoga, traveling, exploring my own city, planning our wedding and experimenting with different healthful and healing foods in my kitchen.

This post was posted in 52Teas, White Tea

Strawberry Shortcake from The NecessiTeas. . . .

by Zephyr

I have had my eye on trying teas from this company for a while.

I am a fanatic when it comes to dessert teas and The NecessiTeas have tons of options on that front so I am all in. CuppaGeek was kind enough to send me Strawberry Shortcake to try and I am so happy that she did since it is amazing!

I knew it would be good as soon as I opened the package. The creamy strawberry smell that came out of the bag was mouthwatering. I loved the nice big pieces of strawberry I could see in the blend. After I brewed it the strawberry smell was much lighter but definitely still there.

First taste oh man, so delicious. It was so creamy and strawberry. It tasted like a latte without milk. Side note-Must turn this into a latte later.

The only thing I wasn’t really getting was the cake part of it. I wanted it to be a little bit more cakey. It was faintly there but it was more strawberry cream than strawberry shortcake to me. But either way it is now on the top of my list of strawberry teas.

I also put some in to cold brew for the afternoon and let me tell you it is just as good iced. I really want this as a staple in my stash in the future and I will definitely be looking to try more of their blends.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  White
Where to Buy:  The NecessiTeas
Description

Angel food cake perfectly combines with a light layer of sweet cream and juicy strawberries to create this guilt-free dessert. Enjoy hot or poured over ice.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Zephyr

This post was posted in The NecessiTeas, White Tea

White Champagne Raspberry from Tea and Tins. . .

by Sophia

Alcohol isn’t really in my life. I don’t mind having a drink once in a while, but it mostly upsets my stomach and gives me a headache. Tea is my drink of choice. However, I don’t mind teas that are made after alcoholic beverages….things like hot buttered rum, pina coladas, or in this case, champagne!

Upon opening my little sample bag, the first thing that came to mind was raspberry tootsie pops. It actually smells JUST LIKE a tootsie pop. Its making my mouth water! Once steeped I gave it a sip and think it needed a little sweetening, so I added just a pinch of agave. It tastes like a tootsie pop. Honestly, I just cant get past that reference! I’m tasting hard candy here. However I will say, that after swallowing I do get a hint of tingly champagne. But all in all, this is totally a raspberry tootsie pop through and through. Sweet and tangy with a hint of cocoa from the tootsie roll sitting in its center, but not too much that you’ve reached the chewiness just yet. I cant really speak of whether you will get a full on champagne experience when you drink this being as all I can taste and visualize in a tootsie pop, but I will say that your taste buds will tingle with bubbly happiness because this is tangy and tasty and leaves you wanting more!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  White
Where to Buy:  Tea and Tins
Description

White tea, safflowers with champagne flavor and red raspberry flavor.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sophia

Hi, my name is Sophia. I am a first time mother to a beautiful little girl who will be 1 in July 2017. I spend my days at home with her and when I get a minute to myself, I usually spend that time making, drinking, or researching tea! My love for loose leaf tea is relatively new. When I was pregnant with my daughter, my mother (a tea addict herself) brought me to DAVIDsTEA. I enjoyed a cup of their Coconut Cream Pie Oolong and was instantly hooked! Since then, my addiction has grown to fill entire cabinets, and shows no sign of stopping. I am the creator of the Facebook group CommuniTEA where we have one big tea discussion. It is a great group for those new to the tea-world. I feel strongly about spreading the joy of loose leaf tea. I like making instructional videos and helping those that are new to the art of tea-making so that they, too, can share in the happiness that tea brings. I am excited to see where this hobby takes me and I will continue to spread the joy!

This post was posted in Tea and Tins, White Tea