While checking over my email, I noticed an email about brain boosting tea and I was intrigued. More or less, because I’ve seen brain boosting teas more and more on Amazon and the like. One of the companies listed as having a brain boosting tea was Thesaurus Tea. Since I hadn’t ever heard of this particular company before and there was a picture of T-Rex drinking tea as their logo. . . I had to learn more. So a few minutes on the site and I had already set myself up with a tea of the month club and an order.
This particular tea blend caught my eye right away. I’ve been finding myself diving deeper into white teas lately and with this blend pairing the white tea with green tea, jasmine petals and bamboo leave- I was super intrigued.
Using the brewing parameters on the back of the sample package- this tea hit the spot on soooo many levels. I loved how the white and green mingled so beautifully. Typically with tea blends that use a white tea and a green tea, you can easily identify each of the teas while you enjoy the tea. But not so much with this blend. All of the flavors combine to give you a buttery rich floral slightly vegetal with a hint of honey cookie. Yes. Cookie. I’m getting cookie/dessert vibes from this tea blend and I’m 100% loving it. Each steep is just as good as the last and I’m just so in love with the vibes this blend is giving me.
Sadly, I used all of the tea I had for this first brew and I’m wishing I would have had a bit more to cold brew properly. But on the other hand, I couldn’t be happier with the results. I can imagine this tea would give off lovely light spring/summer notes as a cold brew. This wold be a lovely blend to share with others at a tea party.
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Leaf Type: White/Green
Where to Buy: Thesaurus Tea
Description
White tea, green tea, jasmine petals, bamboo leaves.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Golden Osmanthus/Perkse Coffee & Tea
Confession…Golden Osmanthus Oolong is the first tea I have tried from Perkse Coffee and Tea…and if this tea is any indication what their other products are like…I will be looking into a purchase soon! This tea was delightful!
Golden Osmanthus (also known as Huang Jin Gui) is an Anxi oolong whose name means “Golden Flower.” A lightly roasted oolong our “Bolero” reveals an intensity with hints of honey and flowers you will find enticing and seductive.
That is straight from their website and I have to say that I agree! This tea was flowery-sweet with a gentle roast oolong flavor. The first infusion was out of this world and follow up infusions were out of this galaxy! Full of flavor, naturally!
It’s refreshingly-sweet like honey or agave, even. The leaves are vibrantly green and aromatic from start to finish! A real treat!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Perkse Tea
Description
Golden Osmanthus (also known as Huang Jin Gui) is an Anxi oolong whose name means “Golden Flower.” A lightly roasted oolong our “Bolero” reveals an intensity with hints of honey and flowers you will find enticing and seductive.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Osmanthus Ceylon/Zesta Tea
Osmanthus is one of my favorite florals and makes an excellent spring tea. If you’re not expecting it and are accustomed to mild florals, it’s little overwhelming. Osmanthus is really sweet and usually doesn’t need any kind of sweetener! (Some milder variants go well with honey but this one, in particular, is on the sweeter side.) Stick to the 3-minute steep time—it doesn’t need anymore. If it’s too sweet, you might enjoy a second steep.
The first steep is very sweet, fruity, and almost overpoweringly floral. It’s not as tangy as Ceylon normally is, so you’re left with this smooth, mild sweetness reminiscent of apricots. It also kind of reminds me of honeysuckle, but slightly less of a woody flavor.
The second steep is a little better and has a more rounded flavor. You get a bit more of the tangy flavor typical of Ceylon, slightly bitter, with hints of apricot and a light floral taste. It’s definitely one of those teas I would share with a friend who has a sweet tooth. Pour the first cup for them and hold the second for yourself!
I like this one in moderation. It was a bit too sweet for me to enjoy in any frequency, but the second steep definitely won me over. I’d recommend this to anyone who is a fan of sweet and floral teas.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zesta Tea
Description
Native to Asia, Osmanthus flowers are famous in China for their flavour and scent. This tea combines handpicked flowers with fine Chinese black tea to brew a cup which is fragrant yet pleasantly light with a slightly fruity taste.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dragon’s Tooth/Swallowtail Tea
First off, I have to say that this tea is nothing short of amazing—it ties in everything I love about greens and oolongs in a perfectly smooth, sweet cup of tea. I expected something a little more vegetal/grassy with how green the leaves were but I was pleasantly surprised with a nice floral taste.
While this might go good with honey, I wound up not adding anything to it. Any sweetener would cover up something that tastes perfect on its own, detracting from sweeter floral notes.
Part of the sweetness of this tea reminds me of fresh spring water. There’s a hint of minerality, but it doesn’t leave an aftertaste. I got two steepings out of this one and may even try a third, as the flavor didn’t change much aside from losing a little of its floral flavor. It was still about as bold as the first brew.
This one’s a keeper! I’ll definitely be adding this to my “must have” list.
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Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Swallowtail Tea
Description
This wonderful Mao Xie oolong has dramatic floral notes of lilac and jasmine, with the complexity of butter, stone, and steamed greens.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Jasmine Rose/Calabash Tea & Tonic. . . .
We’re in that seasonal stage now where it’s technically spring and everyone wants to act like it’s already warm outside, but it just isn’t yet. I am not immune from that urge. The long slog of winter has made me dream of sunshine and singing birds. I’m still waiting for springtime to hit the air, but in the meantime I can brew it up in my mug.
This blend is perfectly spring in a cup. Calabash lists the ingredients as jasmine flowers, Turkish roses, and first-pluck sencha green tea. First-pluck sencha usually comes out in April or May, so this is literally a spring tea. Plus I always think of flowers as a sign of spring (although I looked it up and it seems jasmine primarily blooms in summer and most but not all types of roses bloom in spring).
I like the choice of sencha as a base tea here. Its lightness allows the florals to shine. Rose is definitely the prominent flavor here, with jasmine playing a supporting role. It doesn’t have that chemically, artificial taste that some floral teas do and it’s not over-the-top. I also like that it’s only two flowers, so it’s not too busy. I get two solid steeps out of the leaf before it loses flavor.
This tea is the perfect way to tide me over until springtime arrives for real.
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Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Calabash Tea & Tonic
Description
Hand-plucked jasmine flowers and Turkish roses compliment our exclusive first pluck sencha green tea & Love
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
