Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Mellow Monk
Tea Description:
Crimson Grove™ is a special presence in the world of tea — a black tea made with leaves from the same green-tea cultivars used to make traditional sencha. The flavor is brisk and clean, with a green-tea-like sweetness and a smoky, nutty taste, finishing with overtones of nutmeg. If you like, say, English breakfast tea, you will be positively enchanted by this tea. So order up some scones and brew up a pot of Crimson Grove™.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Really NICE! Having tried less than a handful of Japanese black teas, I can tell you that this is a real treat for me to be able to enjoy this Crimson Grove™ from Mellow Monk. All of the teas that I’ve tried from Mellow Monk have been very enjoyable and they are the purveyor of one of my all-time favorite green teas. And this Crimson Grove™ is yet another memorable tea from them.
The flavor is sweet and warm. As the description above suggests, it has the smoky notes and the notes of nutmeg. Nutmeg is my favorite spice, so, I’m loving the nutmeg-like notes here. It tastes a bit like someone grated some fresh nutmeg over my cup of black tea!
It’s a very flavorful cup. It’s not an overly aggressive black tea, though, so I wouldn’t turn to this tea as my first cup of the day for that vigorous shake awake that I look for when I want that jump start at the beginning of the day. This is smooth and sweet, with a lighter body. This is something I’d want mid-day for that little pick-me-up to keep me going.
Another awesome offering from Mellow Monk. If you’re looking for exceptional Japanese teas, this is the place to shop for them!
First Date (Genmaicha Green Tea) from Tease
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tease
Tea Description:
Antioxidant rich green tea blended with roasted rice simulating the first date snack staple – popcorn on movie night!
Learn more about July’s Postal Teas shipment here.
Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
This “First Date” is the second tea that I’m trying from my July box from Postal Teas. It’s a genmaicha green tea – Japanese green tea blended with roasted rice. Not a tea that’s new to me, I’ve had a lot of genmaicha teas in my years as a tea reviewer.
It’s a sweet Japanese green tea blended with sweet, roasty-toasty rice. Pleasant. Agreeable. And I’m enjoying my pot of tea that was made possible by my new subscription to Postal Teas and by Tease.
It’s a nice tea to have after a meal, because I find it to be sweet and almost dessert-like without tasting over-indulgent. A good tea to choose to unwind with later in the afternoon, when you’re not quite ready to go “caffeine-free” but you don’t want something too stimulating.
It’s a good tea, but, as I’ve said, I’ve had a lot of genmaicha teas, and this isn’t anything out of the ordinary.
I guess I’m still feeling a little underwhelmed by the teas selected for the July Postal Teas box. After perusing the Tease website, I felt like there were several intriguing teas to choose from … this isn’t one I would have selected, so I’m hopeful that they’ll impress me with next month’s box.
I certainly enjoyed receiving the package with the notebook and the handwritten note (a really nice touch) … and I really like the size of the packages of tea from Postal Teas – it’s just the right amount for a pot of tea. However, I am hopeful that for August, the box from Postal Teas will prove to be more inspired.
Organic Sencha Green Tea from Shi Zen
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Shi Zen
Tea Description:
Our organic green tea are from the family farms of foothills of Mount Fuji. This organic green tea will be the teas that are harvested in summer, perfect for green tea to be used daily. We recommend this tea as an entry level that has a very well balanced taste of sweetness and bitter taste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After trying Shi Zen’s Organic Superior Sencha, I wondered how this tea experience would differ from my experience with the Organic Superior Sencha. And while they are definitely two different teas, I have to say that I’m finding both to be quite enjoyable. It would be difficult to choose which I prefer!
I like the balance of flavors in this cup. There are some soft bitter notes to this that balance the sweet flavors. This is a little lighter in texture than I remember the Superior Sencha being – it seemed much more “brothy” than this one, whereas I find the mouthfeel to be softer … not quite as thick. It’s still really pleasant though.
This tea is a little less sweet than the Superior Sencha. The vegetal note is reminiscent of a lightly buttered, steamed vegetable. Almost like very young and tender lima beans. The light bitter tone offers a slightly savory contrast to the sweeter notes that are introduced at the start of the sip.
I like this Sencha quite a bit. I find it to be an ideal beverage to serve with a meal because it has a pleasing flavor that doesn’t intrude upon the flavors of the food. It tastes great served hot and I also like this one served iced too. It’s really refreshing and it’s perfect for these hot summer days.
Organic Hojicha Roasted Green Tea from Shi Zen
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Shi Zen
Tea Description:
Houjicha is a roasted green tea that has a smooth and mellow roasted nut flavor. Our houjicha is grown on the family farms in the foothills of Mount Fuji and roasted by a tea artisan that has the top quality roasting technique in Japan. Houjicha’s refreshing taste will be suitable when served with a meal, and of course great for after meals and simply for tea time too.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Sweet! I just adore the sweet, roasty-toasty flavor of a Japanese Houjicha. And I love that this Houjicha from Shi Zen is organic! The flavor is sweet, nutty and smooth. It is a comforting flavor, evoking thoughts of a warm, fluffy blanket in wintertime … but in a teacup!
But of course, it’s summertime right now, and it would seem that we’re having an uncomfortably hot time of it at the moment. Not exactly the time that I want to be thinking of a warm, fluffy blanket. So instead, I brought this cup into my bedroom where the AC is on full-blast, and I sipped the wondrous liquid as the cool air enveloped me.
And even though it’s terribly hot, I’m finding that a warm cup of Organic Houjicha from Shi Zen is quite relaxing to sip. The sweet, toasted nut flavor is so tasty! Not grassy or vegetal – these leaves have been toasted and the flavors transformed from the usual vegetal tasting green to a sweeter, mellower, roasted flavor. The sweetness is like a warm caramel flavor. Mmm!
I enjoy a flavorful Houjicha any time of day, but I find it to be most satisfying after I’ve had a meal that I’d normally want to follow up with a sweet dessert-y treat. I find that the sweet, caramel notes of the tea satiate that craving while the tea soothes and relaxes me so I don’t need to indulge in something heavier.
A really lovely treat, this Organic Houjicha from Shi Zen!
Winter Forest Green Tea Blend from ArtfulTea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: ArtfulTea or ArtfulTea on Etsy
Tea Description:
A festive blend of almond and orange with a strong pine-like flavor. Chinese sencha and Japanese bancha combine beautifully with refreshing orange and nutty almonds for a lift in any season!
Ingredients: green tea, orange slices, almonds, pink peppercorns, safflower and natural flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yeah, I know that it’s the middle of summer right now and we shouldn’t be thinking about winter right now, but, when I read the description of this tea, I just couldn’t resist ordering it as part of my ArtfulTea Sampler. The idea of almond and orange in a green tea was definitely enough to spark my interest, but then when I read “pine” in the description, I was sold! I needed to try it!
And this is totally yum! I’m so glad I decided to give this one a try.
The green tea base is a combination of Japanese Bancha and Chinese Sencha, and these two teas impart a sweet, slightly grassy, slightly buttery taste to the cup. The mouthfeel is thick and soft, evoking thoughts of a rich broth, but it tastes more sweet than a savory broth would. There is no bitterness to the cup and very little astringency. The astringency is something that I pick up on when I focus on the sip. Just after the sip is finished, I start to notice a slight dryness. It’s very slight – so slight that those who are sensitive to astringency would most likely not even notice it unless they’re actually trying to find it.
The buttery notes of the tea seem to marry well with the almond notes. I suspect that the green tea has some nutty tones to it that accentuate the almond flavors, elevating them into a strong focal point of the sip.
The orange is a little less dominate than the almond. The orange is nice though, because it brightens the cup, adding just the right zesty flavor where it’s needed.
And I do taste a subtle pine note to this too. I’m not sure where it comes from, unless it’s part of the “natural flavors.” It’s not an overwhelming note, but it is there. I like it, it adds a certain crispness to the cup, like the sensation of the cool, invigorating air in winter just after the snow has fallen.
If I had to describe this in a couple of words, I would say that this tastes like a winter dessert. Like an almond cake or pastry with a drizzle of orange icing, eaten on a winter evening just after the holiday tree (a fresh, real tree!) has been decorated. It’s quite nice!