Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Jardin du Thé
Tea Description:
Mélange de thé vert sencha et de thé blanc White Monkey accompagné de framboises entières et de fleurs de violette, un mariage équilibré.
Blend of Sencha and White Monkey accompanied by whole raspberries and violet flowers, a balanced marriage.
Learn more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
I’m very fortunate to have a friend currently travelling abroad in Europe (shout out to MissB) who has been sending back teas to several tea-crazy Canadians, including myself and this is one of the teas she was kind enough to pass along my way. I’m not really a green tea person; but lately I’ve been opening up to the green stuff considerably and Spring time is probably when I receive it the best anyway, so I was pretty excited to get to try this one!
It’s perfect for spring; it’s light, fruity and floral which is all of the things that have been hitting the spot this last week with my daily cold brews. I’m sad to report that I made a bit of a mistake measuring it out though; by which I mean I sneezed as I was pouring, and half the sample fell on the floor. NOOO! So, my cold brew was very small compared to the typical 25 oz. I usually make at a time. This was probably a lot closer to 12 oz. if not 10.
Dry, this smells amazingly fresh with super intense and realistic raspberry notes; definitely reminded me of picking raspberries from my Grandma’s garden as a child. We’d get cut up by the thorns from the seemingly endless raspberry patch (which as an adult I now realize was probably only like five by five feet), but it was all worth it to lick that sweet, sticky red juice from our grubby fingertips after collecting an ice cream pail worth of berries for the night’s dessert. I don’t smell the violet in the blend; but this is already earning ‘nostalgia’ points. The liquor is a really pretty almost lime-y green, but with a bit more of a yellow tinge to it. It smells very fresh, and very fruity.
The taste is spot on; I taste the raspberry first and foremost and it’s everything I’m remembering from those vacations at Grandma’s. The green base cuts through it a little bit and it a touch grassy with a little bit of the chlorophyll/fresh cut lawn taste. Both flavours compliment one another quite well though; it makes the whole ‘garden’ imagery I’ve got going on significantly stronger. And at last the violet in the blend is making an impression! While it IS present throughout the entire sip way down underneath the raspberry and base, it comes through the strongest near the end of the sip after the initial sweetness of the raspberry has started to subside. I don’t think it’s necessarily distinctly violet; but it is nice and very natural. Floral things seem to get chemical tasting quickly, even when they aren’t artificial but this stays away from that. Finally, I think there are some extra notes in here that are a little softer and sweeter; my initial impression was something like sugar cane but by the end of the cup I was definitely leaning more towards honey.
So all in all, I was very impressed by this tea! I just wish that I’d been able to steep up more of it because it was fresh, and juicy with that sweet sensation of nostalgia and all the elements necessary to invoke the imagery of a Spring time garden! Unfortunately, I don’t see it listed on the JDT website, otherwise I’d seriously look in to picking up a little bit more for my personal stash – I’m wondering if it’s one of those blends you can only buy in store? The JDT website is pretty hard to navigate, and there seem to be quite a few blends missing from the samples that she’s sent my way.
And that’s truly such a huge shame.
Juicy Orange Pu’erh from DAVIDsTEA
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu’erh & Black Tea
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTEA
Tea Description:
Something magical happens when you combine rich, earthy pu’erh with sweet, juicy orange. Somehow the result is so much more than the sum of its parts – deliciously fresh and fruity, yet undeniably good for you. Whether you sip it hot or over ice, it’s super-soothing and addictively refreshing. With a tea this happy in your arsenal, who knows what else might go your way? Things are looking cup…
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a relatively new offering from DAVIDsTEA and it appears to be a part of their regular line up of teas, and not a limited edition seasonal blend or from one of their constant limited edition collections. It’s nice to see the company expanding their Pu’Erh offerings, though I was skeptical about this one even before seeing other people review it; it seems relatively similar to their Garcinia Goodness blend.
Reviews on this one seem to be fairly polar, and I was actually relatively sure I’d land on the side of people who dislike this blend. This smells very juicy, and tangerine-like dry though. Enough so that I didn’t let my prejudice get the better of me and I picked up a small sample in store to try.
Steeped up this actually isn’t anything like I thought it’d taste. Which I suppose is good because, like I’ve already expressed, I was doubtful this would be that good. There’s a sparkling effervescence to this blend. Right off the bat it comes through clear as crystal in the smell and is capture very well in the taste as well. I can see it making a phenomenal tea soda!
I’m really, really tasting the tangerine in the blend which is so lovely and different from a lot of citrus heavy blends. The regular orange flavour is quite strong too and has a wonderful, fresh taste but it’s not nearly as interesting as the tangerine. Overall the flavour reminds me loosely of orange tic tacs? Sweet, candy orange with a little bit of tang to it. Surprisingly I don’t really taste anything that particularly reminds me of hibiscus? That’s certainly a relief. Maybe there’s not a lot of it in the blend, or it just blends into the tangerine really well.
As for the base; it’s hard for me to believe this is pu’erh or black tea (the blend uses both). It’s just really light overall and the flavourings are really the focus here. I suppose I do taste the pu’erh just a little though; there’s a rawness to the fruit that tastes a little earthy in the finish. The mouthfeel of this one is nice too; kind of thick with that sparkling quality.
I’m pleasantly surprised by the blend. I didn’t buy a lot but I’ll be able to have a few more cups and if they’re like this one at all I could, in fact, see this as a blend I’d buy more of! It seems like it’d work as an iced tea as well, so it could be a wonderful spring or summer companion.
Black Opera Black Tea from Mariage Freres
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Mariage Freres
Tea Description:
Our heart has long beaten for this lyrical elixir. Its enchanting beauty now glides across the stage as a round black tea in high spirits, harmonising with the aromas of red fruit and noble spices crowned by a dash of vanilla. In this magnificent polyphony, the register that rises above is that of sensuality and, of course, the pleasure of taste. Bravo Maestro !
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I tried this one blindly, by which I mean I didn’t look up any of the ingredients or the tea description prior to trying it. For me, doing this is like a challenge to see how on point my palate is – I like to compile my thoughts and then go back and see how many of the nuances I picked up, and how accurately I was able to identify the ingredients/flavourings in the blend. It’s also a way to taste a tea without letting the description influence how I perceive it.
Dry; I can tell this is a fruit blend of some sort – but based on dry smell alone I can’t really narrow down what ‘type’ of fruit; berry, tropical, stonefruit, etc. I am pretty confidant it’s not going to be a citrus blend, though. I didn’t get any of the usual citrus tip offs like sourness, pith or tart tones.
Taste wise, this was more flavourful than I was anticipating. All my other Mariage Freres experiences have been mildly disappointing because the flavours have been duller than what I enjoy or too subtly flavoured. As such, I expected this to have the same really subtle flavour. It was distinct though, and relatively robust. There was a really sweet jammy quality, but not something simple like strawberry or raspberry. This reminded me strongly of grenadine which to me has a distinctly rich pomegranate or cranberry like quality; but sugary sweet. This strong jammy/grenadine cross reminds me of a fancy Monk’s blend. For those who don’t know, I love Monk’s Blend a lot.
Yeah, there’s not really much about this blend that’s really complicated or fancy, but it’s really enjoyable and smooth with such a great, sweet flavour! And it’s so smooth; no astringency or bitterness at all! I’m impressed by this one more than probably any other Mariage Freres tea I’ve had and I greatly enjoyed my cup. Gonna go back now and see how accurate my interpretation was…
…Red Fruit. Spices. Vanilla.
Well, I can see how the combination of red fruit and vanilla definitely read as similar to Monk’s blend to me given a traditional Monk’s blend is grenadine and vanilla. I really didn’t taste any indication of spice though; whatever they’re adding into the blend must be very subtle. So for those who, like me, aren’t big into spices this is very likely a safe blend for you to try.
Well done Mariage Freres!
Blackberry Sangria Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our amazing organic Iyerpadi iced tea base blended with the organic flavors of blackberry, red wine, and citrus fruits. This will delight your palate and the palates of your guests. A great iced tea to share with your holiday guests.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s a tasty iced tea, but as someone who typically doesn’t get all that into alcoholic beverages, I’m not finding the flavor combination of fruit and red wine all that alluring. It’s just not my ideal flavor combination.
But it is tasty. The blackberry notes are very forward which I am enjoying, and I taste notes of red wine. I like that the red wine isn’t a particularly strong flavor, it reminds me a bit of the wine flavor you’d taste if you were drinking a wine cooler. Yeah, I used to drink those. They were pretty popular when I was younger. Boy, I just aged myself, didn’t I?
There’s also a background note of citrus. These flavors add more ‘tang’ than a real focused citrus-y flavor. A little bit of contrast to the sweet notes of blackberry.
The black tea is tasted among these other flavors, and I appreciate that as well. I can’t say that this is my favorite iced tea flavor, but I’m enjoying it. It’s refreshing and fruity and my palate finds it pleasing. But if I were to sit down and place another order, I don’t think that this would be one that I’d put into my shopping cart.
But Southern Boy Teas does have a lot of other teas that I’d put into my shopping cart (more than I’ll allow myself to buy! ha!) Have you checked out their Indiegogo campaign yet? They’re looking to take their brand to new heights with this campaign, so please consider contributing and helping them reach their goal!
Ball & Chain Oolong Tea from Indie Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Tea Information:
This is a fantastic flavoured oolong. A rare find. There’s a natural sweetness from the Se Chung oolong that is enhanced by the infusion of the sweet medjool dates. There’s a cool roasted, nutty flavour present in the oolong and a faint stone fruit nuance. Love it.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Amoda Tea is back, baby!
Amoda Tea disappeared for a while to revamp their business. Last month, they announced that they’d be back with subscriptions again, and I was overjoyed! I loved receiving their box every month!
Their new (and improved) monthly subscription includes:
- small (3 cup) size samples of 4 different teas
- DIY loose leaf tea bags
- “tasting notes” of the teas included in the box
- A “visual Stellar” story link that allows you to listen while you sip
- A treat from Sweet Petite Confectioner: a chai infused marshmallow!
I love the 3 cups of 4 teas format. I like the idea of the stellar story, but I took a few minutes to listen to some of the tracks and not my thing. I’m more of a Guns N’ Roses tea sipper and I’m not so much into the indie stuff. But hey, different strokes, right?
Last but certainly not least: I love that I have a chai infused marshmallow sitting in front of me, taunting me to eat it. Should I eat it now? Should I wait until my sweet tooth is beckoning? (Right now my sweet tooth has been satiated as I already had a chocolate-y dessert treat a little while ago.)
Since I think I’ll wait until the sweet tooth demands me to eat it, I’ll move on to the review…
I have already sampled and reviewed this tea, but it was a while ago (a year and a half ago!) since I tried it and since it’s part of this month’s Amoda Tea box, I thought it’d be fun to revisit it.
This is still as tasty as I remember it being. I like the way the dates are represented here: I get a good, solid date flavor. Sweet, almost caramel-like in flavor. I get that sugar-y sweetness of the date.
If you’re one who generally sweetens your tea before you taste it, I’d recommend not doing that with this tea. Taste it first. The sweetness from the dates is really a strong sweetness and you might find that this is just right, the way that it is.
The Se Chung Oolong is an ideal choice for the base of this tea because it’s roasty-toasty, slightly smoky character melds very nicely with that sweet, caramel-y date flavor.
I enjoyed this both hot and cold. After I brewed it and drank about half the cup, I was side-tracked and got busy doing something else and when I returned to my cup of tea, it was cold. But this is delightful served either hot or cold – and I’d have a hard time saying which I prefer! That’s kind of a rare thing for me when it comes to Oolong teas, because usually, I want my Oolong tea hot! But, this is delicious either way.
I’m really glad that this tea was in this month’s box because it’s been a while since I’ve had this one and it’s really tasty. I’m happy I got to revisit it!
I have to be honest here and say that when I subscribed to this box, I was hoping that maybe this month’s box would be this Holiday Tasting Box, but I guess you have to order that separately. Oh, well. I’m still really happy with this box and I’m thrilled that Amoda Tea is back with subscription boxes.
What I’ve always loved about the subscription box from Amoda Tea is that it’s like getting a gift every month. The mailbox is always jammed full of stuff we don’t want: junk mail, bills, etc. It’s nice to get something fun every month and really, what’s more fun than tea?
And I feel like the box is even more fun now than it once was with the addition of the thoughtful inclusions. Even though the visual/musical story at Stellar wasn’t exactly my thing, I appreciate that they put something together to make this an all encompassing experience. I also LOVE that there’s a sweet treat in this box! I don’t know that there will be in every box, but I like that I got something a little special. It’s stuff like this that make these monthly boxes so much fun.