Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tealyra
Tea Description:
Well rounded, sweet, mellow and flavorsome, our Lychee tea is an exotic and enticing taste sensation! Ripe, fruity and aromatic, Lychee is delicious either served hot, or chilled and served over ice with a sprig of mint or a slice of lemon.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have some fond memories of lychee throughout my childhood, and these Dragon Lychee Pearls from Tealyra (known to my Canadian friends as Tealux) intrigued me, and for the price, I figured it couldn’t hurt.
I decided to take this to work with me, but conveniently forgot to bring any type of brewing vessel along with it. No problem! This type of tea is perfect for Grandpa Style brewing. Any kind of tea rolled into balls, cones or compressed into coins, bird nests, or squares make excellent lazy brew teas. It’s these types of visually entertaining teas that I like to show off to my coworkers. sure most of them think that there is some kind of sea urchin living at the bottom of my cup, but hey, it gets them talking about tea! I threw in 6 little pellets of deliciously scented black tea into a pint glass and poured hot water over it. It didn’t look like that much tea in the glass, but the flavor was not lacking in that department.
The fruit flavoring is pretty true to a fresh, juicy lychee. It’s exactly like any lychee jelly candy you can pick up at your local Asian market. The black tea base is lighter than I was expecting, but I still get that nice, fresh baked bread and cocoa powder notes I was hoping for. The leaves popped open almost immediately after I doused them in water, revealing long and sturdy brown leaves. I was able to refill my glass three times before the leaves gave up the ghost.
This was a great tea that takes to any method of preparation really well. I liked how the tart perfume of the lychee notes persist through many steepings, and the base black tea is mellow but defined. I’m hard pressed to find a better lychee tea, and this is the most unique one yet. This tea is like entertainment for your mouth!
Dowager Countess Grey Special Black from Tea For All Reasons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: BlackTea
Where to Buy: Tea For All Reasons
Tea Description:
For all of you Downton Abbey and Earl Grey fans, this is a must! I’ve created this new blend in honor of the irrepressible Dowager Countess. You are aware of a strong presence whenever she enters a room, impeccably dressed, with rows and rows of creamy white pearls. She makes no apologies for her strong sense of tradition, and underneath her sharp, dry wit, there is a sweetness that she tries to keep well hidden. Much like the Dowager, our new Earl Grey blend is “steeped” in tradition, has a strong, tart Pomegranate presence, with an underlying sweetness, and is dressed up with creamy white pearl dragees. Enjoy!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve reviewed teas from Tea For All Reasons in the past and you may already know that I love their thoughts behind their blends. I love their names. And they are pleasing to the nose, eye, and tongue. This time around I am tasting the Dowager Countess Grey – a specialty black tea – from their Downton Abby Series Collection – which makes a cross over to their Earl Grey Collection, too!
What isn’t overly present is the stereotypical bergamot you would find in an Earl Grey. Instead – Tea For All Reasons has ‘thought outside the box’ (or the tea bag rather) and decided to pair this blend with pomegranate. I really enjoy the Pom-Flavor in this loose leaf black tea based blend of flavors. It provides a subtle tartness without it going to wild. There are hints of cream towards the end sip that are quite intriguing as well.
I infused for about 3 to 4 minutes and eventho this is a black tea base the post-infused liquid color isn’t all that dark in the cup. But that’s ok…what it lacks in color/tone – it makes up for in aroma and taste! This is a nice sipping tea when hot and a jolly-good gulping tea when cold.
If you are looking for a creative blend with a little bit of tarty-fruit notes – try this one, if you are a Downton Abby fan – put this one on your list – or if you are into flavored Earl Grey’s – give this one a whirl!
Hawaiian Ginger Jasmine from Swan Sisters
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Tea Information:
The word exotic comes to mind when we sip this tea. Naturally sweet, exquisite and mellow Jasmine pearls livened up with spicy ginger and zesty citrus. The ginger is grown on an organic farm in Maui. The Dragon Pearls are infused with jasmine flowers six times when the jasmine pearls are made. This tea is a permanent favourite.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh wow! This is really nice!
The ginger hits the palate first. The first few sips are really all about ginger with a light note of green tea in the background. But it isn’t an overly spicy or zesty ginger flavor. It doesn’t bite you, it’s a gentle, peppery warmth from the ginger.
After the first couple of sips, I pick up on the jasmine. Sweet and soft jasmine notes that offer a really lovely contrast to the heat of the ginger.
The green tea is a soft background note. It’s light and sweet with hints of creaminess. Not exactly ‘buttery’ but more of a soft, creamy texture that also translates to a slightly creamy taste. It’s not an overly grassy or herbaceous green tea flavor. It’s delicate and light, the same type of green tea taste you’d experience from a top quality jasmine pearl tea.
Which is what this appears to be – it’s a jasmine pearl tea that’s been blended with some of the most beautiful pieces of dried ginger I’ve seen. A lot of times, ginger looks sort of ragged and root-y (especially that which you’d find in a typical chai or other tea blend) but this ginger looks like it was prepared with care and love.
To brew this, I suppose I could have used my gaiwan with great results, but I decided to try brewing it in my Kati Tumbler and this worked just as well too. I measured out a little less than a bamboo scoop of tea and put that in the basket of the Kati. I heated the water to 180°F, poured the water over the leaves and let it steep for 2 minutes.
Overall, I’m thrilled with this tea. I usually associate a jasmine tea with ‘springtime’ but the addition of the ginger make this a really nice cooler weather drink. This would also be really good iced, I think!
Jasmine Phoenix Pearls from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Product Description:
Jasmine Phoenix Pearls are perfumy, hand-rolled jewels of tea from Fuding, in Fujian province, China. Any fan of jasmine tea should try this specially crafted wonder. When added to hot water, Jasmine Phoenix Pearls majestically unfurl, releasing their delicate scent and flavor. Also known as ‘Jasmine Dragon Pearls’, their liquor is sweet and almost sugary. Very soft, airy mouthfeel. The delicate quality of the flavor is due in part to the leaves used to produce this tea: two tender, tiny new leaves and one plump unopened leaf bud. Younger leaves will yield softer flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a little bit like my revisiting a tea, because I did previously review Jasmine Pearls from Adagio. However, since these are loose pearls, and my review was of Adagio’s sacheted Jasmine Pearls – which were part of Adagio Teas’ lovely Artisan Comfort gift box – I feel like I can get away with revisiting this one.
And as you are probably aware by now (assuming that you’ve been reading my blog regularly!), I adore Jasmine Pearls!
I brewed these pearls in my gaiwan and I combined the first five infusions in my designated especially for Jasmine Tea Yixing Mug. And what a lovely experience these Jasmine Phoenix Pearls from Adagio offer! The jasmine notes are soft and sweet and exotic. The green tea has a fresh, subtle vegetal tone that marries beautifully with the flowery essence that has been imparted onto the tender tea leaves by the jasmine flower.
And the fragrance is heavenly! Every time I lift the lid of my Yixing mug and raise it to my lips, my nose is enchanted by the aroma of jasmine and green tea. It’s so wonderfully perfumed without coming across as something you’d find in a bottle of perfume. It doesn’t come across as something that belongs at a department store cologne counter. It is light, airy … almost like a sweet breeze that has been delicately scented with the flower as it passed through the vines of a jasmine plant. So beautiful!
The sip begins with the sweet notes of jasmine that wash over the palate, and as my taste buds experience the soft floral notes, they start to also pick up on the notes of lush green tea. Not really grassy, and there isn’t a heavy vegetative flavor. Instead it just has a soft “green” sort of flavor. It has a soft, silky texture and there’s a hint of buttery flavor to it. The flavor remains smooth through to the finish, and there’s very little notable astringency. The aftertaste is sweet with floral tones.
A really good Jasmine!
Zhejiang White Pearls from Steepster
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Steepster Select
Tea Description:
Hand rolled from the earliest picked buds, this spring harvest tea is light, refreshing, and incredibly floral. A beautifully soft and golden liquor that will focus your senses and revitalize your spirits. A wonderful example of quality white tea.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve had white tea pearls a couple of times in the past, but it’s been a while, so I was excited to see these Zhejiang White Pearls featured in this month’s Steepster Select Box! And these pearls are amazing!
The size of these pearls are smaller than I remember the white tea pearls that I’ve had in the past being. Size wise, these are similar to jasmine pearls – but they don’t smell like jasmine pearls! They have more of a vegetal aroma.
And they certainly don’t taste like jasmine pearls, either!
The flavor is sweet and like honey! Imagine a very thin honey! That’s what I’m drinking right now! It is very light and crisp. There are very subtle notes of melon, air, earth and a light floral tone in the background. For those of you who consider a white tea to be too delicate – you should try this one, because the flavors stand out!
Later infusions were a little earthier than the earlier infusions and a little less like thinned honey. Still sweet and the floral notes begin to emerge. Still a delightful tea, I think I preferred the first two infusions to the last two. (It’s still well worth the effort to keep on infusing!)
I am thrilled with this month’s Steepster Select box! And I want to take a moment to express how happy I am with the customer service from Steepster. I encountered some issues with my account, and they worked very hard to get these issues resolved, and when the resolution took more time and effort than expected, they sent me this month’s box free of charge to make up for my troubles. Thank you, Steepster! If you’re on the fence about trying this amazing monthly subscription, rest assured knowing that you’re in good hands with Steepster! They’ll take good care of you!