Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Description:
A green tea enlivened by flower petals and delicately scented with pieces of white peach, kiwi and watermelon. The green tea and the juicy freshness of the fruit are wonderfully balanced. Can be drunk hot or iced.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Hello tea lovers!
During the UK’s persistent heatwave the craving for fruit tea has gotten the better of me. That’s when I pulled this one from my shelf to try. I adore watermelon and peach in a tea and considering this has both it made for an easy purchase. Plus with this being described as good for ‘hot’ or ‘iced’ tea it makes it all the better. This will be a ‘hot’ review but I plan on steeping it in my iced tea bottle later today to see the outcome. My curiosity is totally piqued!
The raw tea blend has large green tea leaves with yellow flower petals mixed in, if you look close enough you will find small cubes of fruit among the blend.
As I open the packet I am met with a peach scent which is sweet and very natural smelling. Among that is the slight perfume of grass and flowers. Beautiful in every way.
Steeping parameters – 1 tsp of leaf in my ceramic mug with removable filter and lid. (Around 250ml/9oz of water). Temp: 80C for 3 minutes.
Once steeped the tea is fairly dark yellow/green and bares the same beautiful peach scent as it’s raw form.
In flavour this is soft and sweet with buttery, toasted grass notes followed by smooth but sweet peach that feels like it melts in my mouth. Behind that there is another level of fruit and perfume, a little dry but ideally so, blended so well that I cannot distinctly taste the watermelon or kiwi. Not that the peach overpowers per say, it is soft but distinct, more that they are blended so well ie they work well together, that it combines as one.
As it cools the green tea thickens but remains grassy and pleasant, while the flowers also thicken to combine with them.
‘Yet still the peach sings her perfect sweet song on my tongue,
and my taste buds wiggle and dance.
For this blend does each and together belong,
forever to be sipped and enjoyed by chance.’
I’m glad that I pulled this out of my stash this morning. It’s been the perfect start to my day, and I can see myself sipping on this tea a lot in the near future. It tasted better than I expected as I do not usually favour flavoured tea, but the chance was well worth it with this one. The balance was perfect, the strength was refreshing and right, the flavours to me were divine and when I drink fruit tea this had everything I am looking for.
Happy Steeping Everyone!
Earl’s Paradise Black Tea by Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Earl Grey loose leaf tea blend with a papaya + strawberry twist. No one at The Nest (Bluebird HQ!) can start the day without a cup of this fruity, refreshing tea. Didn’t think you could improve the classic? We will happily prove you wrong! No words are gong to do it justice, it simply is paradise! Insiders tip: try it without milk for perfection.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Bluebird Tea Co. kindly provided a 2-cup sachet of this tea as a sample with my last order. Naturally, I was instantly curious! It’s a fruity Earl Grey with Ceylon as the base tea, and I can imagine the citrus notes Ceylon can possess working well here. The dry leaf is in reasonably small pieces, and mostly a fairly uniform black although there are a few lighter, reddish-brown, leaves scattered throughout. The fruit here is papaya and strawberry, and I can see tiny freeze-dried pieces of both in the dry mix, although not in quantity. It’s literally just a piece here and there. There are also a few lime leaf pieces, which add an extra hint of colour. Dry, the scent is typical Earl Grey, with sharp notes of bergamot. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in boiling water. The resulting liquor is a medium red-brown. I made no additions, although judging from the colour of the brew, I can imagine this one standing up well to milk after perhaps a 3 or 4 minute steep.
To taste, this one is deceptively fruity! It’s hard to imagine, from the scent and appearance of the dry leaf, but it is the case! The initial flavour is all strawberry, and it’s deliciously creamy. It almost reminds me of strawberry milkshake! It’s a fairly candy-like strawberry, and not as natural tasting as some, but it steers well clear of artificial. There’s a hint of jasmine in the mid-sip which adds a heady richness, although fortunately it remains on the right side of floral for my tastes. The bergamot emerges mostly towards the end of the sip, and it is quite sharp. This is not a tea for bergamot haters, by any means! There’s also a bite of astringency from the Ceylon base, and together the combination is rather jarring, especially when contrasted with the sweet, creamy, fruitiness of the initial sip. That’s a slight disappointment to me, because I rarely have trouble with astringency when drinking Ceylon – it’s one of my favourite black tea varieties for that reason. As the tea cools, however, some of the astringency wears away and it becomes more palatable. This being the case, I’m starting to think that Earl’s Paradise might work better as a cold brew. At the very least, it needs to cool a little before drinking for the best experience. Possibly milk would help to smooth the edges on this one, although some Earl Grey purists might disagree. The other disappointment with this one is the lack of papaya – I just can’t taste it at all. The strawberry is so nice that it’s not a huge problem, but it is a little one-note. More so than perhaps it was intended to be.
This is a love/hate cup for me. There are things I adore about it (creamy strawberry, yes please!), and things I could really do without (astringency, intense sharpness of the bergamot). For this reason, I’m not wholeheartedly behind it. I think the idea of a fruity Earl Grey is a really nice one – it’s different, for sure. I’m just not sure that Bluebird have quite managed to pull it off. It’s close, but it’s not perfection. One tea can’t please everyone, though, and this blend does have a lot to recommend it. It’s definitely one for Earl Grey (and strawberry!) lovers to try.
Green Chai Tea Passion Fruit and Guava With Real Pomegranate Juice from Tea of Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I was excited to try this offering from Tea of Life. So many things about the name intrigued me: chai, green tea, passion fruit, guava, pomegranate juice… oh my! I was hoping that the contents of the tea bag could live up to the words on the package. Only one way to find out, so out of the wrapper and into the water it went.
The tea bag was steeped in 195 degree water for two minutes. The resulting liquid was a pale greenish gold color with a nice passion fruit aroma. The taste was a pleasant mix of passion fruit and guava. The guava flavor was stronger than I anticipated given that all I could smell was passion fruit, but the two flavors blended together very well to create a fruity tropical treat. I added sugar to bring out the fruit flavors even more. There was nothing that reminded me of pomegranate or chai, both of which are listed in the tea’s name, but the flavors that were present were good. Unfortunately, I was only slightly able to taste the base tea which has a hint of grassiness. Having a base tea that made a stronger statement would have been welcome, and I think it would make for an even tastier tea. Given the flavors I do think this would make an excellent iced or cold brewed tea, but I didn’t have the opportunity to try it as such.
A quick side note: I love the art work on the paper wrapper for the tea bag! The elephant looks so regal, and I thought the drawing was very well done. What can I say? I’m a sucker for cute packaging every time.
Summer is right around the corner, and this tea is an easy way to add a touch of summery tropical fun to your tea time. I’d be more than happy to sip this one again.
Watermelon Lime Green Tea from The Tea Guys
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: The Tea Guys
Tea Description:
Sweet-as-candy watermelon is paired with the subtle peppery-sweet flavor of basil, and the spice of cracked pink peppercorns, all folded into a base of smoky green tea. The result is a sophisticated and refreshing cup that will surprise and delight you.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I really thought that Watermelon Lime and Basil Green Tea was an herbal that I was shocked when I looked up the product page for this tea that it is actually a green. I saw nary a leaf in my sample package when brewing up this tea iced. I would feel bad that I used boiling water for my brews, but all I could see was chunks of dried fruit.
The chunks of fruit smelled absolutely yummy, though. It was like a lime popsicle married a fresh watermelon. It’s been getting hotter and hotter as summer begins to actually set in the rocky mountains. This tea is perfect for the oncoming heat wave. Tossing the big ‘ole chunks into my infuser, I came across something I have yet to encounter in any tea, seeds! Like, legit dried watermelon or pumpkin seeds. I have yet to see the merit of these seeds in the taste of the infusion, but I may be missing something subtle that my tastes buds just cannot catch.
When the tea cools, I taste a pool party in my mouth. The lime popsicle is joined by a watermelon Jolly Rancher that takes me back to the playground. Some people may be put off by the candy like flavor that dominates this tea, but I am all for it. I love iced teas that taste like candy. It’s pretty much Kool-aid without the calories. Sometimes a person just needs juice tea!
Despite being mislabeled as a true tea and not delivering, I enjoyed this icy cold brew a lot more than I thought I would. The seeds did not deter me from relishing in the watermelon-y goodness.
Rainbow Sherbet Iced Tea by Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Creamy raspberry, orange and lime sherbet in an iced tea, from our Southern Boy Teas collection. This is a great blend of finely processed (CTC) Indian black tea blended with organic flavors and sealed in an oversized teabag. Each individually packaged teabag will yield 2-quarts (a full gallon if you re-steep) of the best iced tea you’ve ever had.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is my first iced tea of 2015! I tried this one for the first time last summer, and it was so good I went back straightaway for another pouch. I was a bit of a Southern Boy Teas doubter at first, because I didn’t see how tea could taste of ice cream or sherbet, jello or bubblegum. Somehow, though, they do, and this one is no exception.
I brewed this one up the way I usually do – the bag gets 2 minutes in 1/4 litre of boiling water, which is then topped up to 1.8 litres with cold water and put in the fridge overnight. I usually drink half a jug a day (so just under a litre), and as the tea bag is good for a second brewing, these teas represent great value for money. More important than that, though, is the flavour! This one is out of this world! The sherbet is creamy, fruity, and even a little effervescent tasting. I can detect flavours of raspberry, orange, lemon and lime by turns, although they’re not particularly distinct. Just tiny flashes that skip across my taste buds and are gone. Ultimately, the individual fruit flavours merge together into a generically sherbet-y taste. However it’s done, it’s truly amazing.
It’s also worth mentioning that the black base here, although remaining firmly in the background, is beautifully smooth, and neither too heavy or too light for the flavourings. It gives the tea a decent amount of body, so you know that’s what you’re drinking, but it’s never overpowering, and it’s not at all bitter of astringent.
To sum up my thoughts, then: this tea is magic. You need to try some.
