Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: ESP Emporium
Tea Description:
The natural friendship of “East meets West” is portrayed when we look at the flavor composition mango and pear in this organic blend. Any possible early shyness as to whether this is really the perfect match was gone the minute these two fruits met on the delicate white peony tea. A must have organic creation!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mango isn’t always a flavour that appeals to me, but I’ve tried a few paired with a white base and they’ve all been pretty enjoyable. On top of that, I really like pear though honestly I’m unsure how the pairing will do. It’s not one I’ve seen done often, and I’m worried that the mango may mask the pear if it’s not over the top.
I made this one as a cold brew, and honestly I’m not loving it though I don’t hate it either. The white base is acting as a very good blank canvas for the flavour; you can hardly taste any contributions from it except for maybe some lighter honeysuckle notes. Whether that’s good or bad would I guess depend on your personal tastes. The main reason I’m not all over this is that it might as well just be a mango tea; I can’t taste the pear at all. The mango is nice though; it’s got a light ‘spritzer’ kind of vibe to it, and is tropical but almost in a citrusy tangerine sort of way. I’m enjoying what I’m tasting, it’s just totally not what I was hoping for.
That’s alright though; you can’t love every tea and somewhere out there someone’s looking for an organic mango tea on a white base and this is probably perfect for them.
Tink’s Fairy Dust White Tea Blend from Tealee
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Tealee
Tisane Description:
There’s something magical about this aromatic combination of soothing ingredients. Perfect for the moments you find yourself day dreaming about Neverland.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf aroma is absolutely beautiful! I smell strong notes of lavender and I love the way they meld with the lime leaves. Lovely!
To brew this tea, I used my Breville One Touch – yeah, I don’t usually use my Breville to brew white teas, but because the leaf is a little smaller here, I felt comfortable using the Breville this time. I measured 2 heaping bamboo scoops into the basket of the tea maker and poured 500ml of water into the kettle. I set the timer for 3 1/2 minutes and the temperature for 165°F. Then I let the machine do it’s thing.
The brewed tea is almost as beautifully fragrant as the dry leaf. This is a tea that you want to inhale deeply when you lift the cup to your lips – smell it first! – and then take a sip. It will make the experience even more enjoyable!
Nice! I was a little worried when I smelled the strong lavender – I worried that maybe the lavender had been overdone. Too much lavender ends up tasting too perfume-ish or soapy and even though I love lavender, I don’t want to drink something that tastes like I should be bathing in it instead.
Fortunately, the lavender is just right! It is strong enough to offer a powerful aromatic experience but not so powerful that I am not able to enjoy the flavor as much as I enjoy the fragrance. This is really lovely!
The lavender is the strongest flavor of the cup, and it has a sweet flavor that is distinctly lavender. Sweet and floral, but not perfume-ish. When I drink teas with lavender, I feel an almost instant “calming” effect and I don’t know if that’s because my brain knows that it just drank lavender and lavender has that effect on me, but I’m starting to feel that – I feel relaxed and as I continue to sip, I feel myself becoming more and more calm.
The lime leaves taste light and citrus-y, and this citrus note is especially noticed in the aftertaste. I can feel a distinct “lime” note on my tongue – as if I just had tasted a tiny bit of lime. I like the way the lime notes play with the lavender – it’s an unexpected but delightful flavor combination.
The white tea is a delicate flavor. It’s soft and sweet. It’s a nice base for these flavors, because a more aggressive tea would be less “calming” and I like the way the lavender is soothing me.
A really pleasant blend! Tealee has some really enticing tea blends on their website. Lots of teas to explore!
White Currant Tea from Caraway Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Caraway Tea Company
Product Description:
Juicy aromatic currants paired with the delicacy of white tea leaves delivers a smooth flavor profile with a deeply fruity finish. There’s a lot of flavor is this healthy white tea.
Ingredients
China Pai Mu Tan, China Cui Min, rose hip peel, freeze-dried blackcurrants, flavoring, mallow blossoms, cornflower blossoms.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about UniqTeas here – UniqTeas is the “sister site” of Caraway Tea where you can create your own unique tea blend!
Taster’s Review:
Oh yum!
As I was preparing this review, I had the teacup sitting just under my nose (well, about a foot from my nose) and I enjoyed the fragrance of the tea. It smells really yummy. And as I was enjoying the aroma, I started thinking: there really aren’t a lot of currant flavored white teas. I’ve encountered quite a few currant flavored black teas and maybe a couple of currant flavored green teas, but I think I’ve only tried a couple of currant flavored white teas.
And that’s a shame, because I think that the tart with a touch of sweet flavor of currants seems really well paired with the crisp sweetness of white tea.
What I’m drinking now – this White Currant Tea from Caraway Tea – tastes a lot like a sweet wine, only without the tannic quality of a wine. Sure, tea has tannins too, but I find white teas to be less tannic than black teas. Perhaps this is because I brew my white teas at a lower temperature. Or perhaps it’s because they’re just less tannic. I don’t know.
Disclaimer: I’m not a tannin expert.
So, imagine if you would, a sweet red wine without the tannins. Now, imagine it … served hot. That’s what I’m tasting now. Since I don’t usually drink wine hot, I’m thinking that this tea is a stunner served iced. (Then again, I don’t drink wine much at all. Hot or otherwise.)
The currant flavor is lightly tart – not puckery – and there is a pleasant sweetness to it too. The white tea is not overpowered by the flavors of this tea. It is light and refreshing with delicate vegetal notes and a sweet, airy quality. I also notice a hint – just a hint! – of a warm, gentle spice to this too. Like a slight peppery kick. It’s a nice contrast to the tart and sweet fruit notes and the light sweetness from the white tea.
A really good tea. This is one that I’d happily drink again!
Organic Love White Tea from Spicely Organics
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Spicely Organics
Tea Description:
This delightful blend, with its light floral essence and smooth minty finish, is perfect as an after meal pick-me-up or as a late night elixir to refresh the mind and enhance the mood. One pot can make the night sweet and reminiscent. Share it with someone you love. INGREDIENTS: Organic White Peony, Organic Rose Petals, Organic Lavender, Organic Peppermint
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about the Spicely Organics Monthly Tea Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
This Organic Love White Tea from Spicely Organics smells so amazing! I wouldn’t have thought that mint, rose, lavender and white tea would have made such an appealing aroma, but, it’s really quite lovely. White tea and mint … perhaps. Definitely rose, lavender and white tea. But, all four together? I wouldn’t have imagined it smelling so beautiful.
And it tastes quite beautiful too!
The peppermint is the strongest flavor of the four ingredients in this tea, but I’m happy to report that it isn’t an overpowering flavor. This doesn’t taste like mouthwash or even like a piece of peppermint chewing gum. It has a light, sweet peppermint-y note that mingles in a very pleasing way with the flavors of lavender and rose and white tea.
The lavender is especially subtle here, offering just a hint of it’s calming presence. Just enough to let you know it’s there, lulling you into a relaxing state. The rose is a gentle flavor too, and it isn’t a sharp rose flavor. It’s lightly sweet and floral. The two flowers seem to mingle in such a way that it offers more of a “floral essence” than a distinct, powerful flowery taste.
And that’s good, because this IS a white tea, after all. And White Peony tea tends to be a somewhat delicate tasting tea, and if the other components to this blend were too strong, they would create a taste that was all mint and flower. I like that I can taste the white tea, it tastes fresh, light and crisp. It is a perfect base for these other three flavors.
This is a really beautiful tea that seems to instill a sense of calm. And definitely a tea with which I could easily fall in love!
The Road To Hana White Tea Blend from Indie Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
TeaDescription:
The subtlety of the added flavours is what we love about this tea! The white peony is the star with its delicate hay, fruit and floral aromas. You have the leaf’s natural round mouthfeel coupled with the coconut flakes that makes for a creamy cup of tea. Hints of the dried mango and tart hibiscus = a seriously delicious tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
I was very happy when I received this month’s Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Tea and discovered that Indie Tea was the featured tea purveyor for July. Indie Tea is one of my favorite tea purveyors because I love their fun, fresh and funky attitude toward tea! Their packaging is fun and their blends are deliciously different – with cool names to match their unique flavors.
One of the teas that was included in this month’s box – Lover’s Lane – is one that I’ve previously tried and reviewed. So, I won’t be writing another review for that tea, but, I am certainly happy to be tasting it again! In the meantime, I am going to tell you a little bit about this blend that I’m sipping right now – The Road to Hana White Tea Blend from Indie Tea.
And it is YUM! It’s got a great tropical flavor to it with the coconut and the mango notes, as well as the hibiscus. (Which is also quite tropical!) The hibiscus, gratefully, is not overdone here. It didn’t even really color the brewed tea very much … there was a slight pinkish hue but really, this looked more like a white tea than a hibiscus-y tea.
And it TASTES more like a white tea than a hibiscus-y tea too. And I’m very happy about that.
The white tea has a soft, delicate flavor (no surprise there, right?) and lends an earthy, sweet base for the additional sweetness of the fruity mango and creamy coconut notes. The hibiscus adds just a hint of tartness and it’s just enough of a contrasting note to offset the sweeter tropical fruits. Indie Tea has managed to achieve a nice balance of tart and sweet that leans more toward the sweet than the tart.
This has a nice mango flavor. The coconut is more “creamy” than coconut-y tasting … and I like the creaminess as it complements the white tea nicely. The result is a sweet and creamy cup of tropical lusciousness that has just a subtle tart note. Tasty!
A really nice choice by Amoda Tea. I like this one, and I’m glad I got to try it.