Ever once in a while, I will come across a tea that will awaken my test buds and remind me of exactly why I love tea so very much. This blend will wrap me in a warm cozy hug and delight my tastebuds all while soothing my ever stressed out soul.
Today, this particular green tea did just that.
Brewed up with a tea spoon of leaves, 6 oz of water prepped at 170F and allowed to brew for 3 minutes, this tea gives you such a simple yet complex variety of flavors in each and every sip. Each and every sip you are greeted with a lovely sweet note that doesn’t overpower but brings a smile to your face with a subtle melon/floral note coming not far behind. Then the sip takes you on a different direction with a more vegetal feel. Every once in a while, I do pick up this adorable nutty flavor that I really adore. With this tea you are greeted with both the sweetness and vegetal feel that only a green tea can provide.
I have brewed up the sames leaves three times and still am greeted with this gorgeous sweet yet vetegal melon floral beautiful brew that is making my heart sing. Exactly what I needed to start my day off right. This tea is for sure is a recommended delight. I don’t believe I have ever had an Upton Tea Import tea before but I am so happy to finally have enjoyed their offerings. I have already placed an order and am looking forward to placing several more. I may actually need to pick up another oz or so of this tea since I don’t know if I’ll be able to share this particular delight with the rest of the Sisters. I may be a little stingy with this one!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Description
This selection has an interesting pedigree, being a mix of two special varietals. The result is a cup somewhat akin to a Kenyan purple tea, with its lavender-brown colored liquor. The aroma has a toasty/nutty sweetness. The cup is delicate and smooth with sweet herbaceous notes and hints of flowers and melon.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Moroccan Mint Teabags from Simpson and Vail. . .
Simpson and Vail is one of those hidden gems on the internet when it comes to tea. One of my favorite tea companies online, Simpson and Vail offer amazing customer service, a fabulous line of teas, and the satisfying thought that you are supporting a mom and pop family tea shop.
What Simpson and Vail do best is offer their customers a vast array of teas and their new line of iced tea bags is no exception. Being a huge fan of mint teas, their new Moroccan Mint Iced Tea bag had my name written all over it.
Cold brewed over night, this iced tea was absolute perfection. Fresh minty goodness combined with that familiar crisp green tea flavor greeted my taste buds. And not just any mint, but spearmint. I eagerly gulped this iced tea down today.
You really can’t go wrong with a mint green tea, at least for this green tea loving gal you can’t. And add in the added convenience factor of this tea being ready to go in a convenient iced tea bag that I can add into my pitcher at night, fill with water, and in the morning I am greeted with this amazing iced green tea to keep me going through out my day. . . I am just sold and in love!
Moroccan Mint Iced Tea is just one of the new flavors Simpson and Vail has added to their awesome lineup. I’m excited to check out more of these great iced teas flavors. I wish there was a variety pack of all the different iced tea flavors but I’ll just have to try them one at a time. . .
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Transport yourself to a land of desert sands, caravans and palm tree filled oasis, with this delicious blend of organic spearmint and organic green tea. Traditionally, Moroccan Mint tea is served sweetened with sugar, although you can always substitute honey, agave, syrup or whatever sweetener you prefer. This tea brews to a golden cup with a smooth mint flavor.
Ingredients: Organic green tea and organic spearmint.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
China Bancha Organic from Herbie Organic
Today was a day that just called and yearned for a solid green tea. My stress levels seem to increasingly get higher and higher each day with the new added responsbilities of my new position. Only a brilliant green tea could calm this ragged soul.
So I grabbed the China Banch Organic sample that Herbie Organic graciously sent and I am so glad I did. This tea calmed the waters this afternoon for sure.
Sourced from China, this green tea is described as having a light and gentle flavor with a mild character. I would absolutely agree on the light and gentle but the mild character maybe not so much.
Brewed to the parameters found on the package (80C and allowed to steep for 2 min), this tea had a very gentle aroma right off the bat. My first sip in and I just sighed.
Towards the beginning of the sip, you are greeted with these tame vegetal notes that quickly turn into a much sweeter finish that again turn towards a vegetal finish. The subtle combination of the vegetal and sweet tones really captured my heart. Not to sweet but also not to veggie like. The perfect in between profile for sure, giving you the best of both worlds.
Each sip is crisp and refreshing. I couldn’t get enough and found myself going back for cup after cup. As calm as the flavor was, they were just incredibly on point that I have to say the mild character description just doesn’t fit this tea. Yes the flavor is calm, but there is such a brilliance to this tea that really commands attention. I personally couldn’t get enough.
Highly recommend this as a smooth sipping green tea for any green tea lovers out there.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Herbie Organic
Description
Green tea produced by combining the best Chinese and Japanese tea making traditions. Pressed and long leaves give this green tea light and gentle taste and a mild character.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pomegranate Mojito Green from Zest Tea. . . .
Zest Tea, a new company to me and one that is apparently focused on getting the caffeine levels of coffee into a cup of tea. As a non-coffee drinker myself, I can get behind that since it would be nice to have a pick-me-up that I would enjoy for those days I am feeling extra sluggish.
I brewed this hot first for 2 minutes at 175 degrees. The flavor is mild but distinctly pomegranate and mint with one following after another as opposed to blending together to create the mojito. The base is hidden beneath the flavors which is my personal preference but may be a downfall for some. Lime is also fleeting, which I am more sad about because I think it would have been a nice component to round out the flavors and bring them together.
Given this is a mojito tea, I figured I should try it iced. Since the flavor of the hot tea was so mild, I decided to brew this cup just a bit longer, 2.5 minutes at 175 degrees. Though that might have added more pomegranate sweetness, it did not add more flavor. Instead, the base came out a bit more making for a sweet grass iced tea with a more generic fruit note. A touch bitter too, though that didn’t show up in the hot cup so my guess was the increased timing threw this off. Mint is more harmoniously blended with the other ingredients here but somehow that adds an earthiness to make this more grassy/medicinal.
I was surprised that this was better hot than iced since the flavors are inspired by a beverage best served over ice. It has a nice enough flavor but I don’t think I will personally be seeking this tea out again. It was fun to try though and I certainly am intrigued to investigate Zest Tea a bit more.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zest Tea
Description
At Zest, we start every morning with a Mojito. This aromatic blend of young hyson green tea, peppermint, lime, and pomegranate will bring back memories of lounging on a beach, or maybe whatever memories you have left of college. Either way, our Pomegranate Mojito Green Tea is an amazingly refreshing blend, great for any time of day.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Grapefruit Granita from DAVIDs Tea. . .
Grapefruit Granita, a 2017 Summer Collection Green Tea made with ginger, sweet blackberry leaves, apple, apple pomace, beetroot, grapefruit peel, marigold flowers, artificial grapefruit and cream flavouring.
Since this is a Granita tea, I figured at the very least I should try it iced.
First thing I noticed was ginger. Lots of ginger flavor stands as a wall at the front of the sip. And when you get over the wall, you find a flood of sweet apple. Very sweet apple thanks to the blackberry leaves. It is a weird dichotomy of flavors.
The clash of flavors does channel grapefruit, though one that is artificial and a touch bitter (which grapefruits are bitter so I don’t find that as offensive here as I would in other blends). I am blaming the cream flavoring for the artificial quality. It seems out of place here, in my opinion.
It is not my favorite but this received a lot of VERY negative reviews that I don’t think was that warranted, at least based on this cup. Will I be buying this again? No, but I also am not dumping the mug down the sink like so many others seemed to have done. I will probably finish my sample and move on.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
With hibiscus, rosehips and juicy grapefruit, this fruity tea is as fresh as it gets.