I impulse-bought this tasting set online and then forgot I’d done so. This sounds normal until you realize I have Amazon Prime, so it arrived in two days. My husband said “you have packages!” and I was like “I can’t remember for the life of me what I’ve done!”
It sounds like the next thing I should say here is “and that’s how I realized I was an alcoholic.”
I’m not. I’m something for which there is no meetings: a tea addict.
And I regret nothing!
This unexpected tea is delicious!
This tea combines “green date, luscious berries and the smooth, mellow flavor of Rooibos.”
I don’t know what green dates taste like, so I can’t speak to that, but this mostly tastes like the best rooibos I’ve ever tasted. No exaggeration. It’s velvety, sweet, and vanilla-ish. The cup I had didn’t have much berry flavor in it, but maybe it’s coming later. Or maybe it never will. Either way, I think I might buy more of this and turn it into a nightly ritual.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Variety Set
Where to Buy: Palais des Thés
Description
FRUITY TEAS is a new tea set with delicate illustrations that features 5 fruit-flavored teas created by Palais des Thés.
This tea set contains 5 tubes (of 12 g / 0.4 OZ) of the following teas:
Blue of London, Yunnan tea with a fresh and delicate bergamot : exceptional!
Russian Blend with 7 citrus fruit, an outstanding blend of black teas, and our cocktail of 7 citrus fruits.
Thé des Alizés, the fresh blend of green tea, flower petals, white peach, kiwi and watermelon.
Théophile, green tea with fruity accents of lychee and mango. Floral note of lotus.
Rooibos du Hammam, the original combination of green date pulp, rich red fruits and Rooibos!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Coquito from A Quarter To Tea. . . . . .
A few weeks ago, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts (The Sporkful, in case you’re wondering), and host Dan Pashman brought up a coconut milk eggnog drink called Coquito, popular in Puerto Rico.
The way he described this spicy, creamy, coconutty delight gave me insta-cravings, and I immediately started googling for coquito recipes to try on my own. The holiday hustle and bustle and some personal difficulties got in my way, of course, and I promptly forgot about my quest to try this delicious Puerto Rican treat.
So imagine my surprise when I opened my A Quarter to Tea subscription box for December and saw a coquito-inspired white tea sitting right on top! This tea is a delight to look at, with big chunks of dried coconut and heavenly-scented spices throughout the leaf.
Brewed, it’s a beautiful light golden liquor with strong flavors of spiced coconut with a little eggnog undertone. I loved it with a splash of milk to truly impact that creamy, eggnog-y note I was hoping for.
If this tea is anything like true coquito, I’m certain I’d be a fan! Now the real test: can I make this sample last until I finally get off my tush and try brewing up a batch for comparison?
Probably not– it’s that good.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White Tea
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Tea of the Month for December 2016
We’re taking December to dreams of warmer weather all the way to Puerto Rico with our Coquito tea!
Coquito is a spiced coconut drink, that could almost be called coconut eggnog!
Our tea version is sweet and coconut-y, with cinnamon, clove, a touch of ginger with just a hint of tropical fruit lingering in the background.
This tea is limited run, so once it is gone, it’s gone for the season. It is sold only in 0.5oz quantities.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Miss Figgy from Tea and Tins
So, I have to say this first: the piggy sprinkles are DEATH-DEFYINGLY cute! (I think that’s a thing?) Also, I appreciate the fact that this is an extra-punny tea: not only is the name a pun, but the tea itself is both figgy AND filled with sugar-based figgy piglets. (Yes, the sprinkles do absorb fig flavor over time. I checked.)
Although you can smell the sweet flavor of figs through the packet, it gets even better while steeping. After steeping, the tea is a nice hazy cedarish amber color. The overall taste is a bit less figgy than I expected from the smell, though the flavor does build up towards the end of each sip. This tea is sweet enough to not need sugar, although it’s good with sugar too! And it’s quite smooth, with no more than a teeny hint of astringency.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: Teas and Tins
Description
Loose leaf black tea, nicknamed Miss figgy!
Ingredients: black tea, fig taste with dried figs and pink pig sprinkles.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Spritz of Glitz from Tea & Tins
Whenever I’m looking around for a new tea to add to my collection, if I see sprinkles-its like I can’t click fast enough to get that tea blend into my cart!
This is exactly what happened when I came across Spritz of Glitz, a tea from a company that I’m really starting to enjoy. This tea is chalk full of pear and peach pieces and silver and gold balls all on a bed of green tea. I’m also noticing a few rose petals here and there. Quite a striking dry leaf mix for sure.
First whiff of the dry leaves from Spritz of Glitz and there is for sure a stone fruit vibrant note. There is also an almost candy fragrance as well. I wasn’t so sure about the candy notes but I really wanted those stone fruits to come across after steeping.
Brewed up by the recommended parameters on the pkg-176F and allowed to steep for about 3 minutes, a gorgeous golden liquor awaited me to try. Took my first sip and was completely taken over by those ripe stone fruit notes I was really yearning for along with a buttery richness and slight vegetal note. This tea really works well and doesn’t come across as candy while enjoying. Which I was afraid of. Just the right amount of fruitiness paired with a rich green base. I could almost compare this tea to having an almost wine like feel with the peach and pear notes.
If you enjoy flavored green teas, this one may be right up your alley!
I came across Tea and Tins while perusing the web for a new flavored tea company to try. Tea and Tins was created by Lise because she was frustrated with the lack of original tea tins in America. They offer quite an array of unique tins, which I am now a proud owner of, and teas that appear to be fresh and unique. With flavored tea offerings like PB & J, Hot Mama, and Thunderstorm-this company has my interests peaked. I instantly put together an order.
A really lovely solid green flavored tea that is perfect for anytime. I would love to try this tea as a cold brew and plan on doing just that. This may be a tea I ask Santa for more of this upcoming Christmas!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea and Tins
Description
Loose leaf green tea, nicknamed Spritz of Glitz!
Ingredients: green tea, succulent peach and fresh pear with a glitzy spritz of sparkling sugars!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Arya Diamond Second Flush Darjeeling from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co
Tea Description:
One of the Arya Estate’s acclaimed ‘Jewel’ teas. The Diamond delivers the bright, beautifully balanced muscatel flavours of one of the most sought after teas in the world. The dark, twisted tea leaves have streaks of gold and fuzzy silver tips. When infused, the tea is smooth and rounded with a long, sweet aftertaste that evokes dried fruits and nuts.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Today is one of those rainy days where you just want to lock yourself up in your house, curl up with a blanket, brew up some favorite tea and binge watch your favorite show. Just a day where you really just want to relax. I didn’t exactly do that but at least I was able to brew up some tea that I hadn’t experienced yet.
This particular tea is from Canton Tea Co., a tea company that always delivers wonderful flavors. I can’t remember having a negative experience with their teas yet. And I have to say, this tea delivered every note it promised in the description.
Brewed up by the package instructions, I allowed this tea to steep about 2 minutes before taking my first sip. When I did I was greeted with this gorgeous full bodied beauty with hints of fruity sweetness and an almost nutty goodness. The sweetness is hard to really identify or compare it to. It is an overall sweetness that I am getting and I could say the same for the nuttiness. So well balanced and the flavors mingled so well together that it was hard sometimes to pick them out because of how smooth the tea was. That is definitely one word to describe this tea-smooth. Smooth and well balanced. This is one of those teas you keep around the house to drink whenever you need a tea that won’t let you down. This tea delivers a gorgeous flavor. That is for sure!