A Quarter To Tea. . . a tea company we feature quite often on The SororiTea Sisters. This tea company proves time and time again that they have some of the best flavored teas . . .bar none. Each tea is lovingly crafted and created with high quality ingredients that always leave you wanting more. And this tea is no exception.
Picture this, a bowl full of blueberries and peaches with this heavenly cream that has been mixed with touch of bourbon. That is exactly what this tea tastes like. This gorgeous flavored green tea has such a lovely fruity flavor with those warm rich vanilla tones and just a hint of a bourbon flavor through out each sip.
What is quite lovely about this tea is how the green tea base does come through in just about the middle of the sip and you get this brilliant contrasting tone that gives the sweet fruit and vanilla flavors the perfect contrast.
As far as dessert teas go, this may just be one of the best I’ve ever had from A Quarter To Tea. Smooth, well balanced, and on point. My husband and I shared several tea pots of this tea and I don’t know who drank more of this tea. We almost create a little mini competition of who would get that last cuppa out of each session with this tea.
If you are in the market for some amazingly hand blended dessert teas, look no further. I am hoping that we will see some amazing fall teas come out of A Quarter To Tea soon. I’m so looking forward to what pumpkin creations they come up with this year!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Kukicha green tea from Japan with fruity blueberry and peach, with a touch of bourbon vanilla.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Kukicha Green Tea by Aiya America
Steeping specs: 3 g 1 cup 175° 1.5 minutes
This one was a tea that I could not find on the company’s website, so please forgive me if I don’t steep it according to the ideal specifications. I kind of guessed a bit and I hope I didn’t steep it too hot. It turned out pretty well with the steeping specs I tried, but who knows what would happen with different steeping specs? (I didn’t have a large enough sample to really experiment.)
As it steeps I’m catching buttery, seaweedy fragrances. After steeping, the liquid isn’t nearly as clear as I would’ve expected. It’s cloudy and has what look like tiny T specks throughout the liquid, similar to matcha specks (?) and much smaller than the type of tea specks that normally escape from my tea strainer. So I’m thinking maybe this is an intentional feature of this tea and not a bug. It doesn’t seem to detract from the drinking experience at all and does enhance the tea’s strength.
The flavor is rich and full, with vegetal savory notes, not bitter, and only a little astringent. And it’s very fragrant, but not really floral– it’s more on the grassy side. Its flavor is not just vegetal, but savory in a smooth and buttery kind of way which creates a cohesive flavor profile.
This seems to be quite a strong green tea with plenty of flavor, yet without any unpleasant bitterness. It goes well with sugar too, but seems to be a somewhat less immersive experience somehow once the sugar has been added. Also, I notice the seaweedy notes more once sugar has been added.
This tea is great for when you want a strong, unflavored and non-floral green tea that’s more on the savory side and yet has a very strong presence of its own without any bitterness. (If you don’t like the tiny specks floating around your tea, I would recommend using a very fine steeping mesh or strainer.)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Aiya
Description
Kukicha literally means “stem tea” and is made from different varieties of tea stems. Aiya’s Kukicha is a blend of stems from Gyokuro and Sencha. Most of Kukicha available in the market is made by stems from 100% Sencha, however, Aiya’s Kukicha is adding more than 50% of Gyokuro stems for more natural sweetness and rich aroma
