The tea of the moment at Sororitea Sisters is Whisky Barrel Wood Smoked Black Tea from Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden – available from Yunomi! I know the wordage seems like a mouth-full but wait until you EXPERIENCE this tea!
A little background on this unique Whisky Barrel Wood Smoked Black Tea from Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden…it’s a loose leaf black tea from the Shimada, Shizuoka, Japan region. The black leaves are smoked using wood from Japanese Whisky Barrels.
This tea is a Silver Medal Winner of the 2014 International Tea Tasting Competition. I can totally see and TASTE why this was a winner! This tea fascinates me! A lot of effort and hard work went into this one! Special nod to Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden as it is a family business, farm, and tea factory!
This is highly scented because of the whisky barrels used. It’s reminiscent of a Lapsang Souchong but it doesn’t leave the same aftertaste as many (or most) LS’s do! It leaves a sweeter, more pleasant lingering flavor and subtle hints of citrus, even!
I don’t know if it’s because I have been binge watching American Pickers or because I live in an area that has a sizable Amish population but I can’t help but think of a wooden barn on a damp, wet, rainy day. Regardless this tea awakens ALL of the senses! It forces you to pause and think. It’s a great way to take a short break from your busy day! This is a VERY MEMORABLE tea!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Yunomi
Description
Silver Medal Winner of the 2014 International Tea Tasting Competition, Matsumoto-san smokes his black tea using the wood from Japanese whisky barrels. No flavorings or additives used.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Carve off a Slice of Frosted Carrot Cake from A Quarter to Tea. . . . . .
In my experience I’ve found that people either love or hate carrot cake. As for me, with my enormous sweet tooth, I’ll enjoy a slice of carrot cake any day, but that’s not always the case for others. What? Carrots? Cake? Who’s sneaking vegetables into my dessert? I can understand the dichotomy.
Whether you love carrot cake or not, it’s hard to resist trying a tea flavor as bold and unusual as Frosted Carrot Cake from A Quarter to Tea. From the beginning, these tea leaves have a lot going on. This is a genmai cha-based blend, so sencha green tea and gold puffs of toasted rice are available in abundance. Beside the rice there are actual carrot pieces in the blend, as well as raisins, and dried pineapple. Ginger and cinnamon balance out this ingredients list and bring their usual baked-good-charms to the flavor palette.
The most impressive part of this blend is the vanilla frosting element, which actually tastes a bit tart and tangy like real cream cheese. This isn’t just plain-old vanilla flavoring, the specific carrot-cake cream cheese frosting is alive and well in this cup of tea.
This is a green tea, so mind your temperatures and steeps times, no matter how delicious the cake aspects smell, take out the teabag after a few minutes to avoid any bitter undertones. The frosting notes get more prominent as the tea cools.
Believe it or not, this tea does taste like carrot cake, even without sugar or milk, the fruits and veggies in the tea leaves bring enough natural starchiness and sweetness to make this blend feel full and decadent.
If you love carrot cake, you’ll love this tea. If carrot cake isn’t your style, give this brew a chance in the name of good fun, you might be surprised by how tasty carrot cake and tea can be.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: A Quarter to Tea
Description:
A cup of well-spiced carrot cake accented with raisins and pineapple for sweetness and a sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
In Love With The Coco from Pacific Tea. . .
The name of this tea refers to a rap song. The coco in its lyrics is not cocoa; nor is it coconut — it is a more forbidden, snowlike substance.
(My young coworkers explained this to me months ago… with the weariness one typically reserves for one’s grandparents.)
The “coco” in this blend refers to the innocuous coconut.
It’s a wholesome blend altogether (ironically). It has a sweet coconut-pineapple-banana flavor with a splash of berries and petals to round it out. The brew blends up clear, but don’t let that fool you; it cooks up very flavorfully. It tastes like if Lilo and Stitch were a tea.
Normally I’m not into bananas as anything other than bananas. No banana-flavored things. No semi-dried bananas in bags (feel free to look this up). No bananas in smoothies. No banana bread.
But here it works pretty well. I think I only allowed it past The Gates* because I didn’t realize it was there until I was actively drinking it.
* Note: (“The Gates” are what I am now calling my mouth. Like, literally, just now. I will forget it by the end of the day unless you, dear reader, make it catch on.)
The banana flavor does stick around after I’ve swallowed, which is why I probably wouldn’t buy this for myself, but if you like sweet things and banana herbal teas, you should give this a whirl. I drank it hot, but I think that it would also be pretty good iced.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Pacific Tea
Description
The essence of the islands. A smooth, warming harmony of coconut, pineapple and banana to whisk even the most discerning wanderlust traveller away …
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sun Moon Lake Black Tea RUBY Competition Grade from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf Teas
I know I shouldn’t judge a tea by its name but I couldn’t help it with this one – I mean look at this – Sun Moon Lake Black Tea RUBY Competition Grade from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf Teas.
A couple of years ago LiberTeas reviewed several teas from Cameron and I was a bit envious of her tea experiences but recently I started by day with Sun Moon Lake Black Tea RUBY Competition Grade from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf Teas and let me tell you it was a GOOD start to the day!
After infusing these large and winding leaves the tea liquor leftover in the cup was a darker medium brown. The aroma was a combination of a sweeter cinnamon and cacao. Fascinating! The aroma wasn’t overly strong so when I took my first sip I was blown away at just how flavorful the taste was!
Sun Moon Lake Black Tea RUBY Competition Grade from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf Teas tasted naturally cinnamon-y with natural notes of cacao. There were also woodsy flavors that popped thru, too! On the end sip there was a cigar-like flavor to it almost. There were so many layers to this tea. So many flavor-morphs to this tea. Sun Moon Lake Black Tea RUBY Competition Grade from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf Teas is one of those teas to take your time with and to ponder and appreciate.
I have to say this was unlike any tea that I have ever tasted and that is a GOOD THING. I absolutely LOVE teas that stand out and that are memorable. With all the tea we drink here at SororiTEA Sisters it’s WONDERFUL to find one that stands out and shows their individualism from the others! WOW!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf Teas
Description
Type: Black Tea
Cultivar: Ruby (TTES No. 18), cross between Taiwanese wild grown tea tree and Burmese assamica
Also known as: Red Jade / Hong Yu / Ruby 18
Fermentation level: Fully oxidised
Taste: Natural flavour of cinnamon with a slight hint of mint.
When to drink: Throughout the day
Terroir: Sun Moon Lake is located at altitude of 700m, surrounded with mountains and lakes with remarkable environment and typical climate for growing black teas. Heavy moist and stable yearly average temperature make the tea trees grow thick and rich tea leaves which produce carmine and perfectly clear liquor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
