Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea Leaf Co.
Tea Description:
An eye-catching green tea blend with a sweet rose fragrance and light citrus notes. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this blend while the world’s magical nature reveals itself to you.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
My first couple of sips of this tea – Wish Upon A Star Green Tea from Tea Leaf Co. – were a little less than memorable, to be honest. I tasted green tea and little else. I found myself wondering where is the rose and citrus?
Then I sat the cup aside and let it cool a few minutes. Now as I sip it, I can taste those lovely notes of rose and orange – and they’re really quite lovely indeed!
The orange and rose are still quite delicate, but they’re discernible now and I like the way the flavors are arranged here. The green tea is the strongest flavor: it’s fresh and lightly vegetal with a pleasantly creamy texture. It’s very smooth! I’m not getting any astringency from this at all. The vegetal tones are somewhere between sweet grass and mild steamed veggies.
The rose is the next flavor I pick up on – it’s a subtle rose flavor. Not sharp nor does it lend a strong perfume-y flavor to the cup. It’s softly sweet and pleasantly floral. It’s a nice contrast to the hint of juicy flavor that I pick up on from the orange. Another subtle flavor, the orange adds just a touch of brightness to the cup. It’s a very uplifting note.
Overall, a very pleasant cup of tea. I recommend letting it cool slightly so that the flavors have time to develop – about five minutes – just the right amount of time to let the tea come to a drinkable temperature while the flavors come forward.
Everest Earl Grey from Nepali Tea Traders
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Tea Description:
This is perfect Spring afternoon Earl Grey. The black tea is light and works to create an elegant blend. With the added sweet orange peel, fragrant bergamot and a touch of Bourbon vanilla bean from Madagascar, this is delicious with or without milk or sugar.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
25% of profits from our Nepal teas will be donated to the ‘Nepali Tea’ Restoration Fund for earthquake relief. Learn more here.
Taster’s Review:
Yay! Earl Grey! I was so happy to find this Everest Earl Grey from Nepali Tea Traders in this month’s box from Amoda Tea because it’s a tea that I’ve wanted to try for a while now. I mean, hey, if it’s Earl Grey – you know I want to try it!
To steep this tea, I used my Kati Tumbler. At first, I was going to use my Breville One-Touch and use the entire contents of the sampler package that Amoda Tea sends in their monthly box, but, I decided that I wanted to have two separate occasions where I could enjoy this tea so I used my Kati Tumbler, measured a bamboo scoop of tea into the basket and poured 12 ounces of boiling water into the tumbler. Then I let it steep for 3 minutes.
One tip about this tea: let it cool a bit. I find that the flavors emerge when the tea has cooled a little – the tea isn’t cold, not even what I’d call lukewarm, but it’s not piping hot. It’s somewhere between the lukewarm and piping hot. Not quite “hot” … it’s a pleasantly drinkable temperature.
The first sip or two was a little less than what I wanted in terms of flavor, to be honest. Then I let it cool a bit. (Check out the previous paragraph!) Once the temperature dropped to the “pleasantly drinkable temperature” the flavors came forward.
The black tea is the strongest flavor I taste here – but it’s not a really powerful or aggressive tasting black tea. It’s on the mellow side. Smooth, rich but not overly robust. As the description above suggests, it makes a nice afternoon cuppa.
Then I taste orange and vanilla notes. Not bergamot orange, but orange. It’s bright and a really refreshing orange taste. The vanilla is soft and not quite as creamy as I expected it to be. It’s more like a sweet accent rather than the creamy accent that I usually experience from an “Earl Grey Creme” type of tea.
I pick up on the bergamot by mid-sip. It’s not quite as tangy as I normally experience from a bergamot flavored tea. At least, not until the aftertaste. In the aftertaste, I get that bergamot tangy note. During the sip, I notice a sweet, flavorful citrus-y note with a distinct “bergamot-y” type of flavor.
While the bergamot is ‘distinct’ – it’s not as profound a bergamot flavor as I have experienced with other Earl Grey teas. This is the Earl Grey tea for someone who typically finds a strong bergamot presence to be a bit too much for them, because this bergamot is rather subdued. Distinct but subtle in it’s approach.
Overall, this is a really tasty tea. Is it my favorite Earl Grey tea? No, not by a long shot and if I were rating it according to my Earl Grey standards, it would probably end up with one or two stars on a five star rating scale. But, I think that the tea itself is worthy of at least a couple stars on it’s own. This isn’t a tea that would be part of my Earl Grey collection – but I would definitely enjoy having it as part of my overall tea collection.
Tequila Sunrise Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Tequila-, orange- and cherry organic flavors blended with our awesome organic Chinese sencha fannings make this iced tea bliss. Blow your guests away with this awesome iced tea!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
As I mentioned in my review of 52Teas Tequila Sunrise Black Tea – it’s been quite a while since I’ve had the cocktail. To be honest, tequila isn’t my favorite alcoholic beverage – but as far as cocktail inspired iced teas go, this Tequila Sunrise Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas is a refreshing drink.
I don’t really taste ‘Tequila Sunrise’ here. Then again – it HAS been a long time since I’ve had one, so don’t rely upon my memory of what a tequila sunrise should taste like.
During the sip, I taste green tea with hints of citrus. In the aftertaste, I taste cherry and orange more distinctly and occasionally, a flavor crosses my palate that reminds me of tequila. But that doesn’t arrive until the aftertaste. During the sip, I taste green tea and notes of bright, sunny citrus flavors.
What I do like about this particular iced tea is that it’s refreshing and it’s quenching my thirst without tasting overly sweet. I’m enjoying that I taste more green tea than flavor.
It’s a pleasant iced tea. Not my favorite from SBT, but they can’t all be my favorite. Even so, I like it enough to say that I might buy it again.
Jestha Jasmine Green Tea from Nepali Tea Traders
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Tea Description:
Jestha Jasmine begins with Nepal’s premium Pokhara green, a light, clean and crisp tea with beautiful full leaves. To this is added fragrant jasmine blossoms and orange peel to create a very serene cup of tea. Jestha Jasmine tea is perfect for warm weather and makes a really nice iced tea!
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
25% of profits from our Nepal teas will be donated to the ‘Nepali Tea’ Restoration Fund for earthquake relief. Learn more here.
Taster’s Review:
I was intrigued by this Jestha Jasmine Green Tea from Nepali Tea Traders. I’m usually not all that excited to try a non-Chinese jasmine tea because I’m usually disappointed by them, but, I can’t recall having been disappointed by any teas from Nepali Tea Traders so I decided to go into this experience with an open mind and who knows? I might actually find a jasmine tea not from China that I like!
I brewed this in my Breville One-Touch. I usually steep jasmine teas in my gaiwan and then strain the tea into my Yi Xing mug that is designated for jasmine teas, but because this also has orange in it AND because I wasn’t so sure if I’d actually enjoy it and want the flavor to taint my jasmine mug, I decided to just use a ceramic mug and brew this tea in my Breville. I poured the entire contents of the sampler from Amoda Tea into the basket of the Breville and then added 500ml of water to the jug. Then I set the temperature to 175°F and the timer for 2 minutes.
Joy! This is the way that a jasmine tea that hasn’t been processed in China SHOULD taste. It doesn’t have that artificial jasmine flavor to it. I suspect this has a lot to do with the fact that the jasmine notes come from the addition of the jasmine blossoms rather than the use of jasmine oil. The jasmine tastes delicate and natural – not perfume-ish! It has a lovely floral essence without tasting like soap.
And I really like the touch of orange in this blend. It adds a pleasant juicy, citrus note that isn’t overwhelming and the orange and the jasmine complement each other very well.
The green tea base is quite enjoyable as well. It’s soft and has a hint of creaminess to it. I like the way the creaminess of the green tea plays to the other flavors in this tea. It softens the floral notes so they aren’t too sharp and adds a lovely sweetness to the tangy citrus flavor.
A really surprising Jasmine tea! I’m very picky about my jasmine – and I’m enjoying this. I’d recommend this to other jasmine tea drinkers too!
Mimosa Black Tea from Lupicia
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia USA
Tea Description:
A black tea is scented and inspired by mimosa flowers that denote the arrival of spring. Floral and refreshing citrus aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
They say that America runs on Dunkin’, but I think that old saying needs to be updated. I manage a small breakfast-oriented restaurant and if I am not mistaken, the humble mimosa reigns supreme. Nothing like a slab of bacon, a couple waffles and a mimosa to cure a hangover. We oftentimes sell more mimosas on the weekend than coffee.
Even though, I still love the smell of orange juice and cheap champagne. It smells like breakfast to me. I don’t care for alcoholic beverages in any way, but I like the flavor profiles. The idea is much more romantic than actual execution and resulting effects it may have. When I stumbled upon the funky gold tin on Lupicia’s website, I was completely sold. tea. Now if only I could get it in bulk to sell it in my restaurant… the possibilities!
The tea leaves give off an aroma that is so eerily exact to the combination of fresh squeezed orange juice and champagne that it’s a bit confusing at first. I wouldn’t have thought that a black tea would have been the best choice for a such light and effervescent drink. But when I steeped this tea in a small teapot, it turned into a surprisingly delightful drink. Comforting, bright, it’s got that great orange zest flavor and a slightly boozy tang of the champagne. I have tried this tea both hot and cold, and while the hot version is quite nice, i like my citrus-flavored black teas iced much better.
Sometimes certain special and limited edition teas on the Lupicia website are rather hard to find. You really have to dig if you want to find any interesting or different blends than what you’d see at first glance. There is a treasure trove of cool teas and beautiful tins just waiting to be taken home and loved forever. This is a great find, and I can soundly recommend it for those of you who enjoy a great citrus flavored black tea.
