These are incredibly busy days for me and my family. Besides a family situations we have going on, my 9-5 job is in the political arena so I’m pretty much working from the minute I wake up until the minute I’m heading to bed with emails still coming in. I do very much love my job but because of the craziness. . . .my tea drinking has fallen to the way side a bit and I’m missing my tea time so very much.
So after lunch the other day, I made it a priority to enjoy tea time (with snacks even) and grabbed a tea we recently relieved from Joseph’s Tea- Peach & Apricot Green Tea. This particular tea was in a tea bag so I knew that even if I had to quickly start working again, I would be able to easily keep drinking this delight.
Brewed with water at 170F and allowed to steep right around 3 minutes, this tea was a delightful surprise. Really sweet peachy notes with a subtle smoky flavor. I don’t get the apricot notes as much as I get the peachy notes, but I’ll be honest, I’m ok with that because of how lovely the peach flavor was.
This tea was really simple yet really lovely tea to enjoy and enjoy I did. This tea was my companion all afternoon. I found myself really digging the contrast of the sweet peach notes with the gunpowder green tea.
I did try for a few more resteeps and I was again pleasantly surprised. I can see this tea being a dynamite iced tea and something I will be trying in the future.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Joseph’s Tea
Description
Temple of heaven Gunpowder green tea with peach and Apricot flavoring. One of our best sellers!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
**gifted for review**
Gokuzyo – First Crop Japanese Green Tea – Limited/Japanese Green Tea Company
After losing track of this tea in my stash for a while I finally found a bit of it again and it was due to an honest mistake on my part! I mislabeled it! Shame on me! I forgot to write down the full name of this tea company! I had it as “Tea In” but in fact that is only part of the website URL. This tea, Gokuzyo – First Crop Japanese Green Tea – Limited is from Japanese Green Tea Company, LLC!
This exact tea is no longer listed on their website but they do currently have a High Grade Crude Japanese Green – Gokuzyo Aracha.
As for this specific – Gokuzyo – First Crop Japanese Green Tea – here were my thoughts, feelings, and findings…
This loose leaf is very coarse, broken tea leaves with very fine powder. So fine, that I didn’t even know it was there until I infused it. The tea water infused to a grey-green liquor and offered a semi-mild aroma and flavor. The flavor was a tad grassy and I was careful to not over infuse because once I saw the color I knew it had the potential to turn a bit bitter if I wasn’t careful.
I have to admit that Gokuzyo is not one one the green teas I have had LOTS of.
Gokyuzyo translates literally to “The Highest Grade” in Japanese. Among all the green tea harvested, Gokuzyo is the section of the best tea leaves based on taste, water level, aroma and the quality of the leaf itself. Trained masters (called chya-shi in Japanese) pick the best tea leaves by hand, one leaf at a time.
As I sip, I give thanks and positive vibes to all of the tea masters who made this lovely cuppa possible!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Japanese Green Tea Company
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Yame Ceremonial Blend Matcha/Naoki Matcha -CuppaGeek-
Matcha, oh I love thee but how I have been disappointed in thee. Matcha is one of those teas that you really get what you pay for. If you pick up a cheaper priced matcha on say Amazon or in the grocery store, chances are you are going to get a matcha that you are not going to enjoy. I know. because I’ve done it. Those matchas aren’t bad in a pinch but once you’ve had the good stuff, you really crave that matcha from that moment on.
That is exactly what happened when I first enjoyed Yame Ceremonial Matcha from Naoki Matcha. I knew that I would only have the matcha for a short amount of time since I was sending the delight off to another one of the SororiTea Sisters to check out. So I took out my lovely whisk, my favorite bowl to whisk up some matcha in and went to work whisking and frothing up almond milk to add in at a later time.
I was in for a treat! This matcha is delicious and on point. Lovely notes of sweetness mingle beautifully with a hint of floral here or there along with a richness that I devoured. I really can’t say that I’ve ever picked up on floral notes in matchas I’ve enjoyed in the past so that was a unique experience. Beyond the floral notes, the smoothness that this matcha offers is just so alluring along with a touch of a buttery finish.
All in all, just lovely. Once I added in a dollop of frothed almond milk, I had myself a treat that almost seemed to good to be true for a matcha I whipped up at home that was unflavored without any additions beyond the dab of milk. Spot on, one of my favorite matchas that I’ve had in some time and I plan on picking up more once my current matcha supply runs low.
What is even better is that the matcha seemed to be a finer powder than I usually use and whisking up the matcha took no time. Highly recommend this one and a great matcha that is worth the price.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Matcha
Where to Buy: Naoki Matcha
Description
his blend won a Silver Award in a National Tea Competition. It has a naturally sweet taste with floral notes.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bubblegum/The NecessiTeas – Ashmanra-
It is hot and humid and hasn’t been a very fun day. Harrumph. I looked to my samples stash to find something light to cheer me up. Bubblegum sounded perfect!
This is a green tea with long, lightweight leaves and my second teaspoonful had a REAL GUMBALL in it! Be sure you scoop enough leaf for this one or go by weight instead of spoonfuls, leaving the gumball off the scale!
The instructions says to use water “just under boiling” but I went with my usual green tea temp and used 175F water for three minutes. Of course when I retrieved the infuser basket from the pot, I had to check to see what happened to the gumball! The color and hard coating were gone and a smaller sticky globe was there. Perhaps hotter water would have melted it entirely.
I drank a cup of this hot, and it was good, fruity, but not really screaming GUMBALL at me. It was just a pleasantly fruity green tea with a very light sour or brisk edge barely there. I didn’t add anything to it.
I put the rest of the tea in the fridge to chill for supper. I think I like it even better this way. The edge I tasted when it was hot is gone, and I am left with a light, refreshing, fruity green tea. I have enough leaf left for one more pot, and I will go unsweetened iced tea all the way with the balance of it.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
We all remember that sweet pink bubblegum flavor as a kid. Contests with your best friend to see who could blow the biggest bubble and then having it pop and stick to your entire face. Chewing it for hours until our jaws ached or falling asleep with it in our mouth which meant waking up with a big sticky mess in our hair! This blend takes me back to all those childhood memories and will be loved by adults and children of all ages. Feel free to steep the actual gum balls or pop one in your mouth and work on your bubble blowing skills while your tea is steeping!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
*gifted in exchange for review*
Pre-Ming Dragonwell /Mei Mei Tea
A few years ago had you had asked me if the time of year matters for when you plucked a leaf I would have shrugged my shoulders. But once you really delve into the world of tea it’s amazing what you will learn.
Pre-Ming for example is any tea harvested before a specific date, this being the Qing Ming festival. In this year of the Dragon 2020, the festival falls on April 4th.
These teas are usually considered higher quality. I could go on forever about this but go look it up and you’ll see what I mean. Once you do you’ll understand a bit more about why I am excited to drink this tea.
Without further ado and because I can’t stand sitting here any longer staring at this package, let’s steep!
The dry aroma is very slight. Maybe because this is only a small sample. But have no fear the wet aroma is fantastic.
Sweet, grassy, with some hints of indistinct florals. The liquid is silky on the tongue. Oh heavens that is nice. Slight astringency with overwhelming (in a good way) grass and hay notes.
This is the first time I’ve done a dragonwell Gong fu style and I must admit it is tough. But so worth it. Oh unique! With the second steeping, I am getting an aroma of asparagus. The flavor remains the same. Maybe a bit more grassy then before.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Mei Mei Tea
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
photo/logo credit: Mei Mei Tea
