Mauna Kea Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Green

Tea Description:

Selectively harvested for naturally low caffeine contents.

Organically grown at our farm in Hawaii

Taster’s Review:

Of the three teas/tisanes that I received in this month’s Steepster Select box, this was the tea I was most excited about, because it was the one of the three that I had not yet tried. (OK, technically, I had not tried the Honey Bush from The Tea Smith, but I have tried honeybush on many occasions, just not from that particular vendor)

When I opened the pouch, I was surprised to find smaller leaf pieces that have been cut and torn. It actually looks a bit more like a green Yerba Matéthan a green tea, the leaves even had a lighter feel to them than what I’m typically used to with Camellia Sinensis; the leaves have a lightness to them, almost wispy, much like what I’d expect from Yerba Maté or Guayusa.

But, even though this looks a bit like green Yerba Maté, it doesn’t taste like it. Then again, it doesn’t really taste like a typical green tea either. It is very light-bodied with a nice roasty-toasty taste. When I think of a roasted green tea, immediately I think of Houjicha, but this doesn’t quite taste like Houjicha either. With the first couple of sips, it almost tasted like a thin, toasty Matcha, which I thought was a little weird until I did a little bit of snooping around on the Mauna Kea website and found this:

The tea leaves used here are for our “Sweet Roast Green Tea”. Our sweet roast process is a hybrid process between matcha, or powdered tea used for Japanese tea ceremony, and orthodox style leaf tea. Because of type of leaf used in sweet roast process, roasting becomes critical part of sweet roast flavor.

It’s a very unique flavor – quite unexpected! – and I really like it. I recommend this to those who are looking for something a little different! It would also be an excellent choice for those who find the roasted quality of Houjicha to be somewhat heavy for their palate, I think that this is lighter than Houjicha while maintaining that sweet, toasty flavor.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Green Tea