I love watermelon, especially watermelon slush and especially in the summertime! So, when I saw Watermelon Houjicha by 52 Teas in my sample box I was psyched. I have never had a watermelon flavored tea before. I have, however, had houjicha before and I love it. Houjicha generally has a very warm and toasty flavor to it. It is a very comforting green tea. I was curious to see how that would work with watermelon flavor.
I’m not sure if I would say that the smell of the dry leaf or steeped liquid was “watermelon”. I think that what I could smell most was the houjicha, that toasty and comforting scent. When it comes to taste, though, wow on watermelon! I was actually wondering how the watermelon flavor would translate and if it would taste similar to a jolly rancher or lollipop. Actually, it wasn’t tart like candy at all! In fact, I would say that it was pretty realistic! I swear it tastes like I just took a bite out of a watermelon slice, seeds and all!
As if someone squeeze a watermelon over my teacup. . . . . . .
While the flavor was spot on and completely realistic, I don’t know if I would say that houjicha was a good base. I think I would prefer this tea if it was a nice sencha green tea as the base instead of houjicha. Either way, I will finish my sample in hopeful wait of hot summer days when I can sit outside by the pool and eat some watermelon slush! Until then, watermelon houjicha from 52 teas will be in my cup!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
Tea Description: I’m not sure exactly what inspired me to combine the distinctive flavor of of Houjicha with the essence of watermelon except for, perhaps, hearing from customers that a) I don’t make enough flavored Houjichas and b) I don’t make enough watermelon flavored teas. So I guess I thought – why not combine them?
And really, why not? The warm, toasty flavor of the Houjicha may not seem like a natural pairing with the sweet, luscious notes of watermelon but I’m enjoying the flavor combination. It’s definitely toasty but the watermelon is there too and it has adds a light, refreshing sweet taste to the warmth of the Houjicha.
Definitely interesting and tasty!
organic ingredients: roasted green tea, amaranth petals and natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Skysamurai checks out Lu Shan Yun Wu from Teavivre. . . .
After reading my review go to the webpage listed before for this tea. It is packed full of great information regarding where the tea came from, how it was processed, and even how the climate affects the leaves. One who loves tea should also love to learn. . . . .
Let’s start off with the dry leaves. They have a truly unique aroma. Mainly chocolate and malt. If you were to pass this sample around I can guarantee you that only a few people would guess that it is not flavored.
Knowing that these tea leaves are hand rolled makes me want to be extra gentle with them. Xie Xie to whoever worked on this sample of tea.
The wet leaves have no chocolate to them. Which is good. That would freak me out. Only the essences of sweet grass and a somewhat nutty aroma reside now. The flavor is nice and crisp with a golden water color to match.
Overall the flavor is grassy. For those who enjoys grassy flavors this is a must try. It’s so refreshing.
Next time I would like to brew it Gongfu style to see if it opens any other tasting notes. Anyone who has been to China will automatically be pulled back into their memories while drinking this.
Personally, I’m thinking about the college trip I took there for my marketing major.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
- Grown in Lushan Mountain (庐山) in Jiangxi Province, China
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Harvest time: April 16, 2016.
- Lushan Mountain (庐山) in Jiangxi Province
- Tea Liquid: bight, clean in light green color
- Flavor: brisk and refreshing, heavy sweet flavor with light roasted chestnut fragrance. Has sweet aftertaste and long-lasting brisk fragrance in your mouth.
- Low caffeine (Less than 10%’s amount in a cup of coffee)
The fresh tea leaves of Lu Shan Yun Wu are picked under strict requirement of one bud with one leaf or one bud with two leaves. After processed, the leaves will shape into tight, curly and strong strips. The liquid presents bright and green color while showing brisk fragrance. The scent of roasted chestnut lasts long. This Lu Shan Yun Wu is better to be brewed with big glass. It will has brisk and refreshing flavor and sweet taste. After several steeps, you will see the tea leaves tenderly stretched and showing its soft and light yellow appearance.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Buttered Spiced Rum Green Tea from 52Teas
Gentle, warm, and soothing are 3 words I would use to describe Buttered Spiced Rum Green Tea from 52 Teas. Oddly…these are the same 3 words that 52 Teas used to describe this tea, too!
Organic ingredients include green tea, oranges, cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice, nutmeg and natural flavors. 52 Teas doesn’t mess around! At least they don’t mess around with top quality ingredients. They might just have a little TOO much fun when it comes to blending the flavors but there’s NOTHING wrong with that, is there? No. I didn’t think so.
As much as I hate the phrase ‘mouth feel’ I can’t think of another adjective at the moment to describe the way the buttery-goodness of the green tea base swirls around in my mouth. The spices aren’t overly loud but act more like a merry-go-round with the buttery green tea. The citrus notes juice it up nicely, too!
This is delicious hot or cold! A flavored green I would drink time and time again.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
Hot Buttered Rum is a traditional winter drink – something that will help warm you up when it’s cold outside. As I’ve often mentioned, I’m not much of a drinker of alcohol – tea is my drink of choice – but I still enjoy the idea of a warm, soothing cup of hot buttered rum – so I decided to create a tea that brought those flavors to life while still enjoying my favorite drink.
I chose a buttery Chinese Sencha as my base because I felt that the natural buttery tones of the tea would highlight the ‘buttered’ part of the buttered rum. Then I added a few spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. The spices aren’t overwhelming because I wanted a gentle, warm spice flavor but not something that would overpower the flavors of creamy butter and rum. A couple of the recipes that I found online for Hot Buttered Spiced Rum called for orange zest – instead, I added some dried orange segments. The orange flavor is delicate here, just a touch of orange to brighten the cup. As I already mentioned, my goal was to highlight the buttered rum flavor so I didn’t want those flavors overwhelmed by other profiles in this blend.
The result is a gentle, warm, soothing beverage. Something that makes me want to curl up next to a crackling fire and read a good book. This one’s really nice!
Taster size is approximately 15g
organic ingredients: green tea, oranges, cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice, nutmeg and natural flavors
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Gunpowder Green from The Tea Spot. . . . .
I found out today that gunpowder green teas are called “gunpowder” because they’re a little smoky — not because they’re going to violently pop open when they unfurl. Which is sort of disappointing, because I wanted to watch some sort of mayhem in my steeper this morning.
I also found out, while locating this tea on the Tea Spot’s site, that gunpowder tea is “commonly used by athletes to improve endurance over periods of 3-6 hours.”
Well, then, this tea has found its audience, because I am a HUGE ATHLETE. Like, super-beefy. I spend upwards of 8 hours a day hitting “file, print” on my computer. Gotta keep my PRINT ARM strong. Then, at the end of ALL THAT, I go to my local Planet Fitness and halfheartedly put forth about 20-30 minutes on the elliptical. Sometimes. About twice a week.
But there I go, talking about being SUCH A JOCK ALL THE TIME. This is about the tea.
Visuals: This tea comes in cute little pellets. I pity the person that has to sit there and twist them, but the effect is awesome. This tea is a wonderful unfurler. It bounces open in a really satisfying way.
Flavor: This taste profile is just like the movie Fern Gully: the Last Rainforest. It tastes like rich chlorophyll, like sun distilled across leaves, thriving, growing.
I used to think that “vegetal” was a bad word. Veggies are the thing you have to be FORCED to eat, right? What person innately comes out of the womb wanting greens?
But I’ve come around. I like brussels sprouts and broccoli. I’ll throw greenery on my plate on purpose. It’s not sweet, but it’s healthy, and it’s RIGHT, somehow.
This tea is totally right like veggies belong on the plate now for me. It’s the balance of the feminine green-ness with the faint masculine smokiness. It is yin, it is yang.
I feel like I’d be drinking this in a zen garden in the middle of a forest before teaching my Young Grasshopper calligraphy and battle skills. I have no battle skills in real life, but this tea makes me think that maybe I could develop them.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Description
The leaves of this green tea are rolled into the shape of little pinhead pellets resembling gunpowder, hence its name. Gunpowder green tea tastes bold & lightly smoky, also lending to its name. Gunpowder tea leaves stay fresh longer than any other green tea leaves due to its compressed form. Gunpowder green is higher in caffeine than most other green teas (35-40 mg/8 oz serving) and is commonly used by athletes to improve endurance over periods of 3-6 hours.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bali from Dammann Frères. . . . . .
I had this yesterday hot, but got sucked into the vortex of Various Appointments and came back to it cold. And it was… much more awesome cold.
And I thought: “is it gauche to drink it cold? Where are the green tea rules?”
So today, I decided to risk being Terminally Uncouth and iced this as my Midday Ice With Lunch Soda Replacement. (Trying to quit soda is… going… okay. I’m a Trash Monster that loves stomach dissolving beverages. I’m trying to improve.)
And yum, guys. This tea is a springy garden blast. It’s got rich green notes, sparkly flower notes, and floral notes. Usually, I think that flowers taste like soap when they’re iced, but the Frères picked some that survived the process. Or they found other components around it that formed a moat around the Soap Effect.
The ingredients for this that make it click are jasmine green tea, aromas of lychee, grapefruit, blood peach and rose.
If the phrase “blood peach” stood out to you as particularly horrific/weird, that’s because you haven’t encountered one in a grocery store. (They’re ugly as sin.) They are grown in the United States, and can be found in specialty stores and at farmer’s markets. They can grow up to 12 inches. Thomas Jefferson grew them.
When I went to review this, I went to the Frères’ site and found that yes, this can be iced. It is not gauche. You can do it, too. That’s my suggestion for how to best enjoy this one.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Dammann Frères
Description
A subtle balance of fresh, fruity and floral notes is found in this delicately scented green tea which is just as delicious whether you enjoy it cold or hot. (jasmine green tea, aromas of lychee, grapefruit, blood peach and rose).
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!