Sometimes when you receive tea mail, a tea instantly catches your eye. That is exactly what happened when we recently received a lovely box of tea to review from Tielka Tea, an Australian tea company with one of the prettiest websites I’ve seen in a while. Their tea blends are gorgeous and I couldn’t wait to steep this delight up.
First off, this tea is a green tea and with a name like Rose Moscato, I knew I was in for a treat!
Brewed up with water at 190F and allowed to steep for right around 3 minutes, this tea delivered on aroma and taste. Beautiful rose notes fill the air long with that floral sweetness I’ve grown to really love and enjoy. After having a long day, this blend exactly what I need to unwind and start to decompress.
First sip in, I have to say this tea is very simple but all of the flavors work- and work lovely. The green tea that is used in this blend is heavenly and I am a sucker for all things rose. The tea itself has this romantic air about it and I’m thoroughly feeling indulged. I do have to note that there is a touch of tartness in the blend from the hibiscus and schisandra berries that adds this pop of tartness to counter act the sweetness from the rose petals and buttery richness of the green tea.
All in all, this tea captured this green tea lovin’ gal’s heart and I’m excited to dive into other teas from Tielka Tea and hope to make a purchase with them soon.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tielka Tea
Description
Wulu green tea, schisandra berries, hibiscus, and rose petals.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tasting Notes on Shirakawa Gokou/kettl -Skysamurai-
Never again will I be able to even look at a ‘premium’ or ‘culinary’ grade without a bit of disdain. Without even tasting it I get a perfect sense of how amazing this experience will be simply from the color. Then we bring in the aroma and suddenly I have been transported away. An ethereal encounter. It’s sweet. The sweetest vegetation possible, mixed with soft vegetal notes. Even the sensation of touch is exquisite. Unequivocally soft. The dry matcha flavor is mind-blowing. I honestly thought I had tried good matcha before. And I haven’t even begun to make it. The liquid froths up nicely. Though I admit my frothing skills are less than stellar. A gorgeous emerald color. There is a very interesting yin-yang situation going on in my mouth every time I sip. Calming yet activating. Smooth yet moderately bitter but not in a bad way. Grassy and vegetal. I might just have to lick the bowl when I’m through. . . .
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: kettl
Description: A single cultivar 100% Gokou matcha from Shirakawa, Uji. This is a wonderful chance to try unblended Gokou Matcha – made from one of Uji’s most celebrated local culitvars. Gokou has an intoxicating aroma with a balanced, full bodied finish. Made by a true living legend.
What is so special about this tea? This matcha hails from unarguably the most revered tencha garden in all of Uji – The gardens of Mr. Kiyoharu Tsuji. Gokou is one of the more uniquely fragranced Matcha from Tsuji san with a notable Gyokuro like “shaded aroma” quality. Tsuji san has mastered the production of a handful of cultivars – Gokou among them. With more #1 showings at Japan’s all national tea fair, it is safe to say his name is etched in the history of Uji tea production. His teas exude a notable power from intensive garden management and fertilization as well as the deep red clay soil of Shirakawa. The L-Theanine and amino acid levels of his teas are some of the highest recorded – and this comes through on the palate. We recommend using slightly cooler water to bring out that umami.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Strawberry Vanilla No. 961/Tin Roof Teas -Ashmanra-
I first tried this tea about seven years ago and I continue to pick it up now and then because it is really good to have on shelf. It is so easy to like and appeals to people who already love tea as well as people who are just starting on their tea journey. It pairs well with desserts and is lovely as a stand alone cup.
Although this came from Tin Roof Teas, I am 99.9% sure that it is sourced from Teageschwendner.
My excuse for buying this when I already have tons of tea is that my husband loves strawberry flavored teas, and he doesn’t like as many teas as I do, so I keep this on hand FOR HIM. That’s my story and I am sticking to it.
The green base is a blend from three countries – India, Japan, and China. I think Indian green must be excellent for aroma teas because I am pretty sure Harney and Sons uses a lot of it in their flavored greens. It is pretty mild and very smooth, and has just enough briskness to make this go really well with food. If tea is too mild, food flavors can overwhelm it so you taste pretty much nothing, like drinking a cup of hot water.
The strawberry flavor is fresh and the tiniest bit tart like a real strawberry. This is all smoothed over by the lovely hint of warm vanilla.
I like to steep this at 175F for three minutes and resteep right away, combining the two for an economical pot. It works really well.
Tin Roof Teas is in Raleigh, NC. They do ship and some of their teas are available on Amazon.
Their Moroccan Mint is blended in house and is my hands down favorite of the type. And their Tung Ting is mouthwateringly good. There is a 15% discount for your first order after signing up for their newsletter, so go wild!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tin Roof Teas
Description
Our Strawberry Vanilla is a captivating composition of sweet, succulent strawberries and creamy vanilla that is sure to bring your taste buds to life.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Blueberry Time Machine/ Wise Ape Tea Co. -Skysamurai-
Darjeeling is a black tea, not a green tea. Sorry as a tea nerd I had to put that out there first or I couldn’t continue with the review. Though personally I think Darjeeling is unique enough that it should get it’s own tea type or be placed with oolong.
But that’s for another day, let’s discuss this tea.
It’s full on blueberry in your face paroxysm. Which is quickly tempered down with the muscatel Darjeeling. All of the other flavors blend very nicely. Nothing tries to overwhelm and upset the balance.
The aroma is dominated by blueberry but it’s delightful. This is great warm but also good cold.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black/Green Tea
Where to Buy: Wise Ape Tea Co.
Description
A refreshing blend of pure darjeeling green tea, moringa leaf, and two-parts bilberry traverse the time-space continuum, delivering an antioxidant infusion to your cellular defenses. Delicate notes of high-altitude green tea merge with brilliant blueberry to teleport your taste buds into another dimension. Designed to defend, refresh, and renew.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Gojiberry Infusion/Tea Barr Company -Ashmanra-
A box of samples from the Sisters is a lot like Christmas! It is so exciting to paw through the teas and see new blends to try and companies you have never heard of. What a surprise to look up this company and find that they are fairly close to me, just a couple of hours away.
We are having a little cold spell so I tried this hot first while sitting by a warm fire. The sencha base is not too grassy, and while you definitely taste the green tea the overall impression from this tea is a light and lovely fruitiness. I don’t know that I have ever had gojiberry by itself, but what this reminds me most of are pomegranate blends I have tried. There ARE pomegranate seeds in this, so I may be tasting those plus some natural flavoring or it could be that gojiberry tastes a lot like pomegranate.
This is SO light and fruity that I could almost feel a spring breeze caressing my face and I knew I needed to make a pitcher of iced tea with it as well. Here in the South we drink iced sweet tea all year. The golden tea is so pretty as is, but in summer I would serve this with a few frozen berries swirling in each glass. This would be a wonderful picnic tea, or refreshment for an afternoon tea party!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea Barr Company
Description
This is a fine, pure combination of fresh Sencha tea, masterfully infused with juicy goji berries, and decorated with bright cornflowers. This tasty combination creates a unique and healthy treat.
Ingredients: green tea, goji berries, lemongrass, pomegranate seeds, cornflower blossoms, and natural flavoring.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!