In Texas, and the south in general, you can never count on one weather season staying around for too long. One day we’ll have highs in the 80s then we’ll be back to the 40s and 50s.
When I tried the Anji Bai blend, it was one of those weeks where the area couldn’t decide what season it wanted to be in. I was ready for warmth, but at 2:00pm I wanted something a bit lighter than my standard black tea. This brew created a mild color, closer to a true green when compared with the tan that many green teas create in your cup. There was a mild fresh aroma and it was reminiscent of a floral arrangement in the spring.
I’m very glad I selected this particular cuppa because it will be a great tea for when it is hot outside, but you still want a hot cup of tea.
The mild flavor works in this blend’s favor nicely. I was able to enjoy this both with and without a sweetener and I believe you could leave it to your personal preference on how you’d prefer to prepare your cuppa.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Description
Fresh and creamy soft with notes of citrus and nuts. From Anji, the town of dense bamboo forests and tea cultivation, comes this Anji Bai Cha, one of the rarest of all Chinese teas. With long, delicate, vivid green leaves, Anji white tea is beautiful in every sense of the word. A green tea connoisseur’s dream.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Emily Dickinson’s Jasmine Tea Blend from Simpson and Vail. . .
I think it must be very rare to meet a tea lover who is not also a book lover. The Simpson and Vail Literary Blends are an incredible way to celebrate both of our passions – drinking tea and reading. Good books are always better with tea!
This blend is inspired by the flowers Emily loved to grow. The base is listed as jasmine tea, and my best guess is that this is a pouchong. There are jasmine flowers, rose petals, marigold petals, and blue cornflowers as well, making an absolutely stunning presentation. This is a tea that needs to be displayed on the table in a tea scoop or in a little glass before steeping, because it makes a beautiful display to begin your tea time, and shouldn’t tea time engage all of your senses? Your eyes will feast on this one!
The steeped tea is a medium gold color. It is a smooth and lightly brisk tea, which is very fitting for Miss Dickinson. The floral taste is surprisingly light. This isn’t a heavy jasmine and rose blend, but rather a confident green base with light floral notes sweetening it.
“Bring me the sunset in a cup.” Yes, thank you. This is lovely and comfortable with hubby and daughters sipping away and draining the pot as we wind down for the night.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10th, 1830 and lived in a home that was central to Amherst political society thanks to her father and brothers. Growing up around powerful men prepared Dickinson for a life of the same, but society dictated that, as a woman, she was relegated to seemingly less meaningful ventures. Her anger at this slight comes across in her poetry and letters where she explored complex ideas of meaning and self while examining the smallest details of the world around her. She withdrew herself from society and lived in relative solitude until her death. Only a few of her poems were made public during her lifetime, but four years after her demise, a collection of poems was published and met with popular and critical acclaim. Her poems reveal a complicated mind that examined itself with as much attention to detail as it examined the world. Dickinson’s defiance of categorization and simplification make her a popular poet to study even today.
In the years she spent away from society, Emily Dickinson cultivated an extensive garden. In it, she grew jasmine flowers, cornflowers, roses, and many other flowers, plants and herbs. These flowers appear repeatedly in her poetry so our blend had to be floral. We created a delightful combination of jasmine tea and rose petals that brews to a light ecru cup with long green leaves and rose petal accents. This delicate tea hits you with a strong jasmine taste that’s sweetened and mellowed with the subtle flavors of the rose petals.
Ingredients: Jasmine tea, rose petals, jasmine blossoms, marigold petals and blue cornflower petals.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sweet Magnolia Green from The Tea Spot. . . .
Next for my Birthday-Review-A-Thon, I’d thought I would check out Sweet Magnolia Green, a tea sent to me when I was subscribing to The Tea Spot’s Monthly Subscription Plan. I can’t recommend a better subscription plan to be honest. The only reason I had to stop was because I just found myself with way too many teas that needed my attention. So when my debit card needed to be updated, I just realized I needed to pause the plan for a bit and get back to it in a few months once my tea stash has gone down a bit.
Each month, The Tea Spot would curate a package of teas for you to try- all different varieties for all different occasions. I loved the fact that I wasn’t the one making the choice of what I was going to receive, getting me out of my comfort zone a bit. I’m more of a green and white tea drinking gal, but every once in a while, I need to remember all the love black and herbal teas can give.
This particular tea that I received in one of my tea subscriptions- Sweet Magnolia Green is a tea that I’ve been wanting to try for some tea. Green tea with jasmine flowers and throw in the magnolia scented piece . .be still my beating heart! I’ve been waiting for the right time to check this tea out and I feel like today is the day.
As soon as I open the package, I know I’m in for a treat. This tea has all the floral love and then some. The magnolia scent is for sure noticeable along with the familiar jasmine notes that I have grown to adore. The green tea base is there with a subtle vegetal scent.
Brewed up with water prepped at 175F and allowed to steep for 3 minutes, this hot cuppa floral tea keeps giving and giving in its own beautiful way. The first flavor that comes across is a strong jasmine note and I mean strong. I love my jasmine teas so this didn’t turn me off but I could see this not being a tea for those who aren’t into floral teas.
Towards the end of the sip, you are greeted with this wonderfully silky green tea base that had me coming back for more. Really lovely and one that I can’t get enough of. Highly recommend this one for all my green tea fans as well as anyone that enjoys a floral tea.
This tea is soft and bold with an alluring feel that makes you want to gulp and I mean gulp the tea down. I don’t think I’ll be sharing this tea with my hubby today. I think this gorgeous blend is all mine.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Description
Our award-winning magnolia green tea won the Gold Medal at the 2017 World Tea Championship. Your senses will be exhilarated and your spirits uplifted when you breathe in the sweet, fragrant aroma of our Sweet Magnolia Green. This delicate tea is naturally scented with beautiful white magnolia flowers, giving it a diverse array of aromas that range from deep plum fruit to light citrus. The magnolia scent is in perfect harmony with the buttery green tea, making an unforgettable cup of tea that will infuse peace into any occasion.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Jasmine Green Tea from Zesta Tea. . . . .
With how my life is structure, having a tea that I can pop in a bottle of iced water or freshly prepped water is key. I sometimes need a quicker route to tea than the traditional loose leaf variety. It sounds silly, but being a mom of 4 with all of the other work and home tasks that need to get done on a daily basis, I find that sometimes time just doesn’t always allow for the prep needed for my beloved loose leaf. Yes, I know. Prepping loose leaf tea takes a mere minutes, but sometimes I really do find myself up against the clock to grab shoes and get out the door with kids in two. This is where Jasmine Green Tea from Zesta Tea has been my hero.
Jasmine Green Tea is a bagged tea variety of one of my beloved teas. With a gorgeous elephant as their logo, Zesta Tea knows how to do give you a lot of flavor in a tea bag. Freshly prepped with hot water, this tea gives that familiar and soul loving floral flavor mixed with that brilliant green tea base. The jasmine flavor really is the star here and the green tea is a bit more gentle. . . quite a romantic combination in my opinion. The tea is smooth and really hits the spot when you need something quick. I do still enjoy my loose leaf version of jasmine green tea better, but this tea is perfect for those instances where I need to really get a moving.
What I found that I really adore about this tea is how marvelous you can brew up an iced tea. I fill my water bottle up with ice, water, and a few of Zesta’s Jasmine Green Tea bags. Stick it in the fridge and in an hour or so, I have wonderful iced tea. Perfect for those on the go moments that fill up my day everyday. And this iced tea always compliments whatever lunch I’ve scrounged up for myself.
For a bagged tea, this Jasmine Green Tea has really caught my attention. I’m excited now to jump into the loose leaf teas that Zesta Tea sent us to review along with the other bagged tea varieties. I see lots of tea tasting sessions in my future this weekend!
I’ve had other bagged tea varieties of this tea blend before and for the most part, have walked away disappointed. Not the case here. This may be a tea I need to pick up more of for those busy summer days that are quickly approaching.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zesta Tea
Description
Chinese green tea delicately flavoured by imprinting the leaves with natural Jasmine flowers and allowing the tea to absorb its fragrance. The flowers are then carefully removed by hand leaving behind this exotic tea that can be drunk any time of the day and particularly makes a great accompaniment to food.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Don’t judge a tea by it’s company name! Jasmine Green from Chai Kai . . . .
Honestly I was feeling a little unsure about Jasmine flavored tea from a company named CHAI Kai, but this departure from their standard has good company with a group of other tempting flavors in their shop, so I’m putting my trepidation and bias aside… for now.
Looking at the loose leaf here the green tea leaves are finely rolled and I see small delicate Jasmine blossoms but there is a definite, not overpowering, floral scent to the blend. These little buds really pull their weight!
The leaves expanded a great deal after being brewed for three minutes at just under 160F and have a slight nutty scent to them. Will all the flavors remain after a resteep?
The liquor is a caramel color and is less fragrant than the dry leaves, hopefully the infusion trapped the flavor in the water! Without sweetener it has a gentle earthy green tea flavor with a short floral aftertaste. The jasmine impressively survives resteeping, FLOWER POWER!
Despite my misgivings from it’s name, this blend really does the Jasmine/Green tea genre justice. I guess that’s why they say “don’t judge a tea blend by it’s company’s name”…
If you’re enticed by British teas like this that defy preconceived biases, they’re offering 20% off EVERYTHING in their store with the coupon code: WINTER20!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chai Kai
Freshly picked Jasmine Blossoms are placed in layers amidst the leaves of this beautifully made Chinese Green Tea, imparting their sweet, perfumed aroma as they dry. Also available in Teabags.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
