Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Teajo Teas
Tea Description:
Our most delicate and subtle tea contains very little caffeine and delivers a light, smooth and nutty flavor. Harvested before the leaves fully open, this tea is one of the rarest in the world.
Taster’s Review:
I couldn’t find this White Leaf and Bud Single Estate White Tea on Teajo Teas’ website, so I don’t know if it’s still available (or perhaps, it’s just temporarily sold out) but I did want to review it because this is the first tea that I’ve tried from this company and I’m absolutely in love with the quality and flavor of this tea!
The leaves are soft and tender and whole. Lots of tea buds in this too. And each leaf and bud is covered with fuzzy, fluffy down. The color of each leaf variegates from a silvery white color to a pale green, to twinges of tan. The leaves infuse a pale golden hued liquid.
The flavor stunning! It is sweet and gentle and yet amazingly full-flavored with notes of hay and a sweet nutty flavor. It’s a slightly toasted nut flavor … as though perhaps someone had slivered some raw almonds and then put them in a warm pan to toast for a minute. Not a strong roasty flavor, but just a hint of sweet, toasty flavor. There is a freshness to this … not really “vegetative” exactly … but more like the taste of the fresh air in spring.
I’m really liking this white tea a great deal … I think what I am liking so much about it is that it is SO different from the typical Bai Mu Dan or Silver Needle. Not that I dislike those – you know I love ’em! But, sometimes, it’s nice to taste something that’s just a little different.
And what makes this tea different is that these leaves aren’t Chinese tea leaves, but Indian (from Assam!) This is a difference that is immediately noticeable in the taste from the very first sip. This has a fuller flavor than a typical Silver Needle, and even a Bai Mu Dan. The flavor is less delicate than those teas, but it still has a certain lovely delicateness to it.
A really delightful white tea … I hope that Teajo will be restocking this one!
Chaz’ Chai Organic Black Tea Blend from Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants
Tea Description:
This flavorful and zesty blend is our own recipe – Assam black tea is mixed with carefully hand-roasted spices to provide a delightful twist on an Indian tradition. Try simmering in milk with a touch of honey.
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I’m having a chai latte!
This Organic Chaz’ Chai Black Tea from Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants makes a seriously good latte! It is good and spicy, and it is still spicy after I added the milk … I love that the milk didn’t dilute the spices to the point of tasting lackluster. This is still very flavorful. YUM!
The black tea is an organically grown black tea from India. The label on the canister doesn’t elaborate about which type of Indian tea is used here, but if I had to guess, I’d say that it’s either an Assam or a blend composed of Assam. After visiting the Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants website, I see that my guess is accurate, it is indeed Assam. It is rich and malty, and something that took me by surprise is that it was not as bitter as Assam tends to get after a four minute steep. There were some bitter tones to the cup in my first couple of sips – sips that I took before adding the milk just to gauge whether or not I should make a latte. The milk eliminates the bitterness … a definite plus! It is a solid tasting black tea, full-flavored and robust and it doesn’t lose that impact even after milk is added to the cup.
The spices are strong! It surprised me at how spicy this tea actually is, especially after reviewing the ingredient list and noticing that there is NO ginger in this blend? What? It’s so peppery! The peppercorns are doing a good job at providing a very savory kick to this cup. And I love the anise! Just a hint of licorice-y flavor, and I find the combination of the licorice taste and the pepper to be really delightful. The cinnamon is warm and zesty, and the cardamom and cloves add a nice background of spice. Also worth noting is the nutmeg, not just because it adds a delicious, warm nutty flavor to the cup, but, also because it is often an overlooked spice when it comes to chai blends and I love that it was utilized here. The taste is understated but it is a really lovely addition of flavor.
To make my latte, I brewed this tea slightly stronger (by adding a little extra leaf) and then I steeped it in water. Then I added a splash of milk to the brewed tea and frothed the cup a little bit with my hand-held frother. The frothing wasn’t necessary, but I like to make it a little foamy (for more foam, I recommend heating the milk first, and then frothing before adding the milk to the tea). You could also make a chai latte the “messy way” – aka the stove top method – which entails simmering milk in a pan on the stove top and adding the loose tea and simmering for a few minutes. I don’t like this because it is messy (as I’ve so aptly coined it). And when I make a mess in the kitchen, guess who has to clean it up? Me. I prefer to make my tea brewing as mess-free as I possibly can while still experiencing the true joy of tea – in other words: loose leaf! I think that by brewing this chai double strength (or even triple strength if you like a very strong chai) in water and then adding the milk to the brewed tea still yields a very flavorful chai without the mess of the stove top method.
But, hey, feel free to brew your chai any way you want! If you do decide to go non-latte, I recommend a slightly shorter steep time to ensure that your cup of chai is not bitter. This is a really flavorful chai blend – I highly recommend it to all chai lovers out there!
Tulsi India Chai from Shanti Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi & Rooibos
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
Ingredients… Tulsi, Cinnamon, Rooibos, Ginger Root, Cardamom, Fennel, Pink Peppercorn
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Tulsi India Chai from Shanti Tea is a really tasty twist on what I’ve come to expect from something labeled “chai.” Usually, when I think “chai” … I think of a black tea base with the usual spices: ginger, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. And while this blend does have three of the four usual spices … instead of black tea, it offers up a blend of rooibos and tulsi as the base for this chai.
The result is a naturally caffeine free blend that is spicy and sweet and really very delightful. The tulsi gives it an herbaceous taste without pushing that herbaceousness into the “medicinal” zone, it tastes light and fresh and crisp … exhilarating! There is a refreshing minty taste, notes of savory/sweet basil and this melds so beautifully with the spices.
As for the rooibos – well, I don’t really taste them here, and that’s just fine with me. Rooibos isn’t my favorite taste anyway … and I like this blend just the way it is.
My favorite thing about this blend is the fennel … it gives this cup a snappy-sweet licorice-y taste that I’m really liking. The cinnamon, cardamom, pepper and ginger work very harmoniously to provide a warm, comforting taste without tasting over-the-top spicy. Instead, I’d call this well spiced … certainly warm and zesty without leaving my palate feeling overwhelmed by spice.
A very pleasant way to enjoy chai later in the day when you don’t want to load up on the caffeine … but still want that great taste of chai spice!
French Blend from New Mexico Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green Tea Blend
Where to Buy: New Mexico Tea Company
Tea Description:
This French blend has a bright coppery colour, and Ooh-la-la floral notes from ‘crème de la vanille’, Jasmine and Lavender deliciously blended with flavorful Ceylons, pungent Assams and malty Kenyas. Truly a unique and wonderful tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I mentioned in one of my reviews for the 12 Days of Christmas countdown with Della Terra Teas, I also hosted a swap on Steepster using the 12 Days of Christmas theme. Basically, participants were to select a tea that would seem inspired by the lyrics of the song, The 12 Days of Christmas. I got Day 3: Three French Hens, and this is one of three teas that I selected to send out to the participants of this swap. (The participants didn’t have to send more than one tea, I chose three teas for a couple of reasons, 1) I couldn’t narrow down my choices to just one, and 2) since I had day three, I thought three teas just seemed to work within that theme … I sent them three “French” teas.)
And as I mentioned above, this is one of the three teas I selected. I chose this tea for a couple of reasons, first, the tea had a blended base of green and black teas, and since the other two teas I was selecting both had black tea bases, I thought the green tea would offer a bit of variation from the others. Second, I wanted a blend with lavender in it, and this tea has it. Third, I like the fact that there are other floral notes to this tea – specifically, jasmine and rose.
I am really happy with this choice. Since it was both a black and a green tea, I chose a lower water temperature (180°F) and steeped it for three minutes. The first couple of sips were rather astringent, but after allowing the cup to cool a couple of minutes, I found that the astringency waned. There is still some dry astringency to this, but it is actually quite nice, as it seems to cleanse the palate a bit.
This is a beautifully floral tea. It is exotically sweet with the notes of jasmine, rose and lavender, and there is a underlying creaminess to it too thanks to the vanilla tones. The base of black and green teas seems to be a goo choice for this blend, the black tea offers a bit of earthiness and a pleasantly rich flavor with hints of malt and even the faintest wine-like quality, while the green tea lightens the cup a bit so that the black tea doesn’t taste too heavy nor does it overwhelm the flavors of the flowers … or the vanilla for that matter.
A very enjoyable cup. I like the way everything is balanced. I can taste each element of this tea: I taste the black and the green tea, and that doesn’t always happen with blended teas such as this; I taste the vanilla, the jasmine, the rose, and of course, the lavender. These floral elements meld together so nicely, they don’t seem to compete with one another, instead, they work together to create a very luxurious tasting cup … like something you might sip at a French cafe while taking in the scenery.
Tiger Assam from Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Damn Fine Tea
Tea Description:
We are delighted to offer you this Tiger, our latest Assam tea. It’s resilient yet refined, gentle yet ass-kicking, crouching yet leaping. Prepare it any way you like and it’ll taste great. Forget it on the counter? Brew it a little hastily in a travel mug? It’ll still taste great. Tigers are like that. They don’t get discouraged. They don’t have off days. They deliver 100% tiger, at all times.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am in love with this tea! Seriously, I’ve only consumed about 1/4 of my mugful of this tea, and I’m already head over heels in love with it.
I’ve consumed a lot of Assam tea over the years, and I’ve liked some better than others. But this … this is one of the very best I’ve tried. In fact, as I sit here, contemplating this tea and trying to think of other Assam teas that I might enjoy just as much as I’m enjoying this, there is only one that comes to mind. That’s pretty impressive, given the sheer number of Assam teas that I’ve sampled over the past ten years or so.
It is strong and rich … and just like a tiger, it will most assuredly kick your butt. If you are still half asleep when you reach for a cup of this tea, you won’t be after you’re half way through the cup. This tea has that GUSTO that you want from an Assam, it is robust and malty and delicious. It starts out with a smooth, caramel-y taste, slightly earthy, and as it transitions to the finish, there is just a hint of bitterness to the taste. Just a slight intonation… enough to let you know that you’re dealing with a TIGER! The finish is astringent, and this astringency slowly begins to dry your palate … a drying sensation that lasts into the aftertaste.
If ever there was a perfect Assam, I would say that this would be it. It is as close to perfect as it can get! And I love it.