ASPARAGUS!
It smells like it was grown with asparagus! Never have a smelled a tea that so strongly resembles this vegetable. I like asparagus if it’s done right but drinking it? I don’t know…
The wet smell is glorious. Simply heavenly. Would buy this tea just so I could smell this all day. Slightly roasted scent with hints of asparagus still lingering. Fresh like the day it was picked. In fact, if you close your eyes you can probably imagine the walking in the thick of the tea trees on the Shi Feng mountainside.
Once you pull yourself back into reality you awake with very vegetal flavors. This is presumably the most vegetal green or tea in general that I have ever had. Let me be real honest though, it’s like drinking asparagus juice.
Not quite as strong though as there are also slight mineral characteristics to mellow it out. Which I’m assuming come from the unique earth in the Shi Feng area.
It is a crisp sip with a bit of astringency. I know I probably don’t make it sound very appealing but it really is unique and should be tried!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Description:
The new 2019 Pre-Qingming Dragonwell is now available! This early spring tea is all about a fine and subtle sweetness, and a long, drawn out aftertaste and crisp texture. Cool spring weather produces a small harvest of truly sweet tea. This is Mrs. Li’s first picking of the season, carefully hand-finished by her husband, Shui Huamin. Her true original cultivar Dragonwell (Longjing Qunti) grows on the mountain slopes of Shi Feng and draws in sweet mountain spring water.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Matcha Honey & Lemon/Tipson
Recently, the SororiTea Sisters received an incredibly generous box with quite a variety of different Tipson teas. Tipson is not a tea brand I’m familiar with but was intrigued by the different varieties they offered- all in tea bag form.
The first one that caught my eye was their Matcha Honey & Lemon variety. I’ve had matcha before in a tea bag form and was not crazy about how the flavors came around so I was intrigued if this take on a bagged matcha would be different. This particular variety not only had organic matcha, but also had organic green tea and lemongrass with natural lemon and honey flavors listed. Again, interesting combo but wasn’t 100% sure those flavors would mingle well.
So this morning I prepped my tea up with freshly boiled water and allowed the tea to steep for the recommended 3 minutes. First sip in- I was surprised. The flavors weren’t what I was expecting. The first flavor that comes across is the green tea and lemon notes and I have to say, the flavor was pleasant. The honey flavor comes in towards the middle of the sip and it isn’t my favorite take on honey. The flavor reminded me more of a cough drop than actual honey flavors but I know that honey flavors are sometimes hard to pin point. At the end of the sip you get the slightest hint of matcha.
To try to pull out the matcha flavors, I tried making this tea as a cold brew tea and the flavors were about the same as hot brewing. Overall, this tea exceeded my previous experiences with bagged matcha and I can see having this tea on hand for those days where brewing loose leaf may just not be in the cards. Not an everyday drinker but one that I could easily sip on during the day and for sure has me intrigued to check out other teas from Tipson.
And a special for our readers- Use 20OFFBOXES to get a great discount at checkout!
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Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tipson Tea
Description
ORGANIC MATCHA WITH HONEY & LEMON – Organic Matcha, Organic Green tea, Organic Lemongrass and natural lemon and honey are complimenting ingredients, which will add long term benefits to your overall wellbeing. This sought-after Organic Matcha tea has been joyfully combined with the other ingredients to elevate its quality and nutrients. Brimming with anti-oxidants, minerals, EGCG and vitamins, this Organic Matcha tea is a perfectly healthy start to your day.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Thorns and Roses/Grimoire Tea
When you purchase tea from Grimoire Tea, they arrive in the cutest little bottles with the most unique labels giving the name and description of the tea purchased. You can tell that she takes the time to really think about what she is representing when coming up with her labels. The top is reinforced by a solid layer of colored wax. This company could not have been more unique with their packaging! I just love her presentation!
I was immediately able to smell the green tea but it was also incredibly floral due to the jasmine and rose petals. There was also a mild fruity sweetness that I attributed to the elderberry. It was a very pretty tea to look at.
Thorns and Roses steeped to a pretty rose gold color. I really enjoyed the steeping process of this tea. In the beginning, it was a pale yellow, as most green teas are when they steep. As the tea continued to steep, it slowly began to change color as the elderberry warmed up.
The flavor was very floral with a soft, sweet aftertaste. The elderberry was able to soften the rose and jasmine which, for me, made it even more enjoyable. I did not add any sweetener to this tea but you absolutely could, if you wanted to bring out a little more of the elderberry sweetness.
This would make a really nice evening tea to help you relax at the end of the day. Jasmine is known to help relax the senses. While this may not be a tea I would keep on hand, I did enjoy the sample. If you enjoy floral green teas you will love Thorns and Roses by Grimoire Tea.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Grimoire Tea
Description
This tea does not appear to currently be available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Minty Fennec/Totem Tea. . .
Howdy!
Today I will be drinking the wonderfully named Minty Fennec, a Moroccan mint and green tea blend.
Mint is a wonderful herb and it happens to be one of my favourites. I guarantee if I have a stomach ache or feel generally run down a mint tea is what I run to first. My second preference would be a green tea as it can help with energy levels. A combination of the two sounds right up my street!
Opening the pouch with a fennec cute face on the front I am met with a fresh, strong and absolutely beautiful spearmint scent. It was so defined I could easily pick the type of mint, and as luck would have it spearmint is my favourite. It’s very sweet and fresh, it’s so refreshing. Even my nose tingles to the minty power of this blend.
In appearance the leaves are rolled up in traditional gunpowder green style and they form a good sized ball. It looks good, size and colour is pleasing to show a decent quality. Low quality tends to be tiny pieces ie broken leaf and the colour is very dark green. These however are a medium/large size and contain a dark green and a lighter grassy green which contrasts and bares a shine.
Steeping parameters: 1 tsp. 75c water. 3 minutes.
Once steeped the resulting tea is yellow and bares a sweet and very refreshing, pure spearmint scent. I use tons of spearmint essential oil and it reminds me exactly of that in terms of strength and purity. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that’s how the tea is scented for this blend.
The first few sips revealed a sweet and mildly refreshing spearmint flavour that coats my mouth and lightens into a dry, grassy but creamy after taste. The spearmint is not as strong as the scent but you can taste it easily, a nice balance actually as too much spearmint can be bitter.
My only complaint is that after I gulped the rest of my tea (it was gone before you could blink as I couldn’t stop myself) it did leave a dryness in my mouth. Not powdery but still rather dominant, probably from the tea. And that’s a personal issue, dryness doesn’t bother some people. Either way of the three Totem Tea blends I have tried (Very Berry Bear and Cinnamon Squirrel) the Minty Fennec is by far my favourite.
In terms of a mint tea it’s delightful. Minty flavour and creamy/buttery tones with little astringency or bitterness. It actually does appear to be the best of both worlds in the balance of green tea and mint.
I’ve dithered on enough, needless to say it’s definitely worth a try if your a fellow mint tea lover.
Thank you very much Totem Tea. It was an absolute pleasure reviewing your teas.
Happy steeping friends!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Totem Tea
Description
Start your own Morrocan ritual with this refreshing organic green tea. Savour the moment when water meets the fragant spearmint and releases the magic into the air. This is your special time in the shade of the palm tree; don’t rush it.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Blackberry Custard Tart Green Tea/52Teas. . . . .
I have seen a lot of praise for 52 Teas banana flavoring. There is also a lot of amazement over the 52 Teas coconut, which never seems to go bad no matter how old it gets. What you don’t hear a lot about is the 52 Teas blackberry flavor, which is a shame because it is awesome!
I had a cup of 52 Teas’ Blackberry Dumpling tea not too long ago and it was delicious. However, I had only a one-serving sample so after finishing that mug I was left with a blackberry tea void…until I remembered that this tea, Blackberry Custard Tart Green Tea, was part of the most recent 12 Teas of Christmas box.
While green tea is not typically my favorite, I am still smiling as I sip this because, like Blackberry Dumpling, the blackberry flavor is once again the super delicious star of the mug. There is the faintest vegetal note from the base but mostly it highlights the fresh and juicy flavors of the blackberry. I am not getting too much custard or tart but it is there, light and subtle and adding just a twinge of creaminess. Probably also keeping things on the sweeter side.
52 Teas just nails some flavors and blackberry is one of their more underrated skills. This is yet another delicious blackberry beverage, even if it doesn’t quite capture its namesake.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for blends that are.
