Roses are red, berries are blue, this tea from Kipers Lil Tea Shop is delicious, and good for you too!
Not too long ago, I discovered Kipers Lil Tea Shop on Etsy and I have just been enamored with these hand blended beauties. This go around, I devoured their Roses are Red and Berries are Blue blend.
This particular hand blended treat is a blend of Dao Ren Green Tea, rosehips, hibiscus, elderberry, and bilberries. To start off with, this tea is just stunning with rich tones of pinks, purples, and greens.
Brewed up with water prepped right under boiling and allowed to steep for 4 minutes and cooled for three, this tea provides a sweet yet vegetal note in each sip. The beginning of the sip you are greeted with the familiar green tea tones from the Dao Ren Green Tea. Towards the middle, you start to get the tart hibiscus, while the end note is a different kind of tartness- almost a sweet tart tone.
What I loved most was how each flavor could be identified and each ingredient had their own moment in the spotlight. No one flavor overwhelmed the other and each sip and this awesome transition from vegetal to tart to tart with a sweet finish.
An incredibly well balanced berry tea that gives you the best of both worlds. . .all the green tea loving you can take garnished with the tart hibiscus and tart yet sweet berries. Oh I’m in love!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Kippers Lil Tea Shop
Description
This tea blend is as beautiful to look at as it is to drink. I combined Rosehips, Hibiscus, Bilberry, Elderberry in a sea of Dao Ren Green Tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chocolate Cherry Latte Oolong by A Quarter to Tea
The high-quality oolong leaves swell and uncurl while steeping–something I always find fascinating (in addition to comforting because I know it means I’m about to drink some excellent tea!)
Once the steeping gets going it smells strongly of chocolate and cherry, which I take as a good sign! Actually it smells almost overwhelmingly of cherry while steeping, but after steeping that abates somewhat. The cherry flavor still hits your nose first but as you keep inhaling you can dig down and find the grounding, comforting chocolate smell too. It’s rounder and creamier. and the oolong lends butteriness and a floral note to the scent.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Roasty enough to appease the coffee lover in you! The blend of hojicha and oolong makes a robust, coffee like base without the jitters. Mellowed out with chicory, chocolate, and cherries.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cinderella from Kipers Lil Tea Shop. . .
I love the wonderful world of Etsy. You just never know what you will find wandering through the shops. I always like to see what possible gem of a tea shop I might stumble upon. You really just never know what you might find and I think I have found quite a gem the other day.
Kipers Lil Tea Shop offers quite a variety of hand blended teas, anything from herbal teas to flavored puerh blends. When I saw the picture of Cinderlla, I knew I had to try it.
Cinderella is a blend of puerh, calendula, hibiscus, red clover, jasmine, and a few other inclusions. The combination of puerh and jasmine instantly grabbed a hold of me and screamed-“You MUST try me NOW”. So I threw a few other teas into my cart and anxiously awaited by the mailbox for my beauties to arrive.
Finally the day came when this adorably packaged treat arrived. Inside were my tea samples telling me to prep my tea pot asap. Since this is a puerh, I prepped my water to 212F and allowed this tea to steep for 4 minutes, then cooled for an additional 3 minutes.
With being a blend of puerh and jasmine, I wasn’t sure what to think. Floral and dark teas don’t exactly sound like they belong, but I have to say, they really do. This tea blend is absolutely gorgeous! The dark tea tones provide such a dark and alluring flavor that is earthy, robust, and rich. Hibiscus tart notes yield a wonderful contrast to the puerh while the jasmine provides this slight floral hint. The rest of the inclusions give off this lovely herbal feel to finish the sip off. Such a unique pairing of flavors.
I couldn’t get enough of this cuppa and quickly prepped for a second infusion. I have to say, this tea didn’t steep up for a second cuppa like I thought the blend would. The flavors definitely did not come across as strong but I was still happy to get another cuppa of this wonderful tea.
I’m insanely gaga over this tea and over Kipers Lil Tea Shop. Currently there are around 60ish teas available to check out from this lovely gem of a tea shop and quite a few of them are now calling to me. . . .
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Kipers Lil Tea Shop
Description
Cinderella – A delightfully original blend of black tea, herbs and flowers create this one-of-a-kind herbal tea that will have you wanting more. Starting on a bed of Pu’erh black tea, I add in some Red Clover Herb & Blossoms, Catauba Bark (a known aphrodisiac), Calendula petals, Jasmine buds, and Hibiscus, and then for added “oomph” I sprinkled in some Vitex Chaste Berry (the “female-friendly” fruit).
The result is a taste unlike anything you have ever had, and you definitely won’t find this pre-bagged on a store shelf.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Earl Grey Le Creme from The NecessiTeas. . . . .
I’m not normally a bergamot fan, but my high school partner-in-crime, code-named Tiny Salutations is, so welcome her along on today’s adventure!
This is a delightful blend that ignites the romance at first sight, and pictures don’t do it justice. Beautiful blue corn flowers are sprinkled throughout, which is a special flower that she would grow and send to husband back when they first dated. She says she’s kind of in love with this tea before even drinking it. The dry leaves need to be cross-marketed as an air freshener!
The corn flowers float to the top as it brews and lose their color becoming translucent and elegant like dragonfly wings. That initial carmel smell mellows out as well, and the brew just smells like standard Earl Grey. The combination of small tea leaves and delicate flowers mean the brew time is quick and more caffeine is released into the light amber infusion.
There is not as much flavor as color implies, so it’s great way to get caffeine if you don’t like the bitterness of the tannins. There’s a slight milky aftertaste. It tastes like a Standard cuppa black tea, but you don’t need to add any cream or sugar! (Unless you’re an absolute sugar fiend)
Upon resteeping, the tea still has some oils to give off and it has a good earthy taste but not as much caramel flavor.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Black Tea
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Our Earl Grey Le Creme is a forgiving indulgence essenced with bergamot, vanilla and cream. Go ahead, treat yourself!
Your tea is hand packaged in an airtight tin at no additional charge.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pick Me Up Oolong from Plum Deluxe. . .
A delicious blend of oolong tea with Vermont maple syrup, orange peel, and almond essence. I was immediately excited to try this! It sounds more like a fall blend because of the maple, but that’s okay. It’s funny because my favorite season are fall and winter and that rings true in the flavors I prefer.
I like pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple, almond flavors and those tend to come out more in the fall and winter. But because I love them so much, i’ll drink them anytime if they’re available!
I’ve really been happy with all my tea blends that I received in my Plum Deluxe order and I am going to be ordering again. This blend, in particular, exceeded my expectations. My first sip was unsweetened, but I decided to add some agave for effect and it definitely brought out all the flavors more. The oolong base here is very smooth and subtle and is the perfect stage for this myriad of comfort-flavors.
The first flavor I could taste was the maple, which was almost creamy. The nutty and sweet almond came out towards the end of the sip and left a nutty almond taste in my mouth. The orange was undetected by me, but I did not have a problem with that as I am not always fond of citrus. This blend both smelled and tasted like pancakes drizzled with maple syrup and sprinkled with almond slices. I definitely recommend it, anytime of the year!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
Sometimes, we just need a pick-me-up — the kind of tea that gives us a gentle hug, a firm pat on the back and says, keep going. That’s what inspired us to create our Pick Me Up blend tea — it’ll put a spring in your step and give your creative spirit a boost.
We start with an earthy Formosa Oolong tea from Taiwan. We add a pinch of orange peel and rooibos tea as well as natural almond extract and real Vermont maple syrup (yes, really!). The result is a smooth, balanced tea that is both rich and sweet while at the same time being crisp and earthy. With the lower caffeine levels, it is wonderful any time of day you need a pick-me-up — from getting out of bed on the right foot to an afternoon emotional reset.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
