Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Brew Mama Herbalism
Tea Description:
Sun Tea is blended with herbs packed full of antioxidants, and vitamins A, B, C and D . This blend makes a great cold and flu prevention. It is a delicious tea the entire family will enjoy. Kids love this tea, and if you don’t tell them it’s really good for them, they will never know 😉
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is just about the perfect herbal tea for me. Sweet and tart with hints of a grassy touch.
Brewed up hot (212F-1c water-5 min steeping) I really didn’t care for this one. The hibiscus was incredibly strong and the taste reminded me of unsweetened kool-aid. Where my heart lays with this tea is when this tea is on ice.
When iced, this tea takes on a completely different taste. The hibiscus is still there but there is now a sweetness that is combating the tart, making the tea just delicious. Refreshing is the word that comes to mind.
I love teas like this. The flavors are bright, crisp, and they make you think of summer. This tea is even a bit better than your normal herbal because there is this amazing grassy flavor coming in. Yum!
I love Brew Mama Herbalism’s Teas. Angie does such a great job. Not one herbal note takes over the other. Just the right touch. Kudos Angie!
Pomegranate Dragon Fruit Green/White Tea from ESP Emporium
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green/White
Where to Buy: ESP Emporium
Tea Description:
Was the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden a pomegranate tree? Until this day, the pomegranate is considered a symbol of immortality and sensibility. Combined with the exotic dragonfruit and a touch of vanilla a paradisaical taste experience is formed. The unique blend of strong Sencha, select Kukicha and finest Pai Mu Tan ensures that this truly is a premium quality. Let yourself be seduced.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Pomegranate and green tea seem to be a fairly common pairing, and I have to admit it’s not one I’ve explored often enough given how much I actually like pomegranate – but the dragonfruit in this blend? That was the nail in the coffin, and the aspect that got me really truly excited for this blend. I absolutely adore the subtle pear/kiwi like flavour of dragonfruit and I used to buy quite a lot of it, but it’s really expensive ($3 a fruit) so I had to cut down.
This cold brew definitely puts more emphasis on the pomegranate though; it’s very sweet and juicy, with a really round and robust fruity flavour that just dominates over the entire drink. There is a little ‘extra’ fruit flavour that creeps into the end of the sip and aftertaste though. It reminds me quite a bit of a mild or more tame kiwi flavour which is definitely the dragonfruit. I didn’t really taste the vanilla for most of the drink. It wasn’t until the last few swigs that I thought it stood out as more than just additional sweetness.
As for the base, I struggled to taste the white tea, but the green was slightly present as a crisp, clear vegetal background note. It did a good job of being subtly present without cutting into the flavourings, which are definitely meant to be the focus of the blend.
This is definitely an enjoyable blend, well suited for summer.
Da Hong Pao from Cha Ceremony
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Cha Ceremony
Tea Description:
This tea is medium roasted with a subtle earthy, mineral taste, it possesses fruity notes along with a distinct crispness that is unique to rock grown tea such as this offering.
Depending on how you prepare it the tea will take on different notes, we urge you to experiment and take your time enjoying each infusion.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Cha Ceremony is a new company founded by one of our Steepster friends, Marcus Reed. Cha Ceremony specializes in rock grown oolong, also known as yancha. Marcus’s vision for Cha Ceremony is full what he calls a niche market by providing quality tea with great customer service. I think he is on the right track. .
My first tea I am trying from Cha Ceremony is a Da Hong Pao. This tea is beautiful to look at. The long leaves really give this tea a gorgeous presentation. I steeped this up in my teapot and sat down at the table to get to “business”.
This tea was fabulous and so giving. My first infusion was sweet with a mineral like finish. Very smooth and slightly roasted. Very rich and full bodied. I could have drank this tea all night if the flavors would have stayed in this vein. I really really liked it. The different flavor profiles contrasted with each other providing this gorgeous balanced flavor that I just can’t get over. I haven’t had a tea like this in a long time.
My second infusion so still just as gorgeous but there was more of an earthly flavor and -the roasted flavor a bit less. The contrasting flavors still there, all just a bit more subtle.
Third infusion, so fantastic. Earthly roasted goodness. Just heaven. Hints of sweetness creeping back in and this time there are more fruity notes instead of just being sweet.
After the third infusion, I decided to try this as a cold brew so we will see what I am greeted with in the morning. I’m sure this tea would have given more, but it was bedtime and I had my herbal tea still to drink for the night to help relax me.
For my first foray into the world of Cha Ceremony, I’m a happy camper. I want to dive more into what Marcus has to offer and really spend time with his teas.
Yunnan Dragon Pearl from What-cha
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: What-Cha
Tea Description:
A unique black tea rolled into huge marble sized balls. With a sweet aroma and taste, and an incredibly thick texture.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I saw this tea was in my last package I squealed. What-Cha teas are all the rage on Steepster. I have been wanting to try their teas for a while because of how people ooohh and awe over them. And now it is my turn.
While I was formatting this review, I was sad to find out this tea is no longer available from What-Cha. It seems I am late to this party. But alas, I was able in the end to try this phenomenal tea.
This tea gave me everything I was looking for in a black tea. Ease of preparation. Versatility. Sweet Flavor. Caramel notes. Touches of honey. Slight roasted tone. Everything.
The first sip you are greeted with a nice malty like hint. Then you get that luscious caramel and honey sweetness finished with a hint of a lovely roasted profile. Each sip I find myself closing my eyes and heaving a sigh afterwards, indulging fully in the flavor. This tea is impressive. Really really impressive. I don’t think I can use enough adjectives to really describe this tea and the marvelous flavors it delivers. It makes me sad that the little pearls I have left, which I think are about 3 at this point, is it for this beauty. I wonder if there is any company that sells a comparable tea?
There will be tears when this tea is gone. Big ol alligator tears and lots and lots of wailing.
Rose de Mai Oolong from Dammann Freres
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Dammann Freres (However it’s not currently listed)
Tea Description:
“Rose de Mai” is a subtle blend of the vegetal notes of a spring oolong tea, to those fresh, bright and dazzling of a 1st press rose essential oil extracted from a rose of exception. A well-balanced tea for lovers of resolutely flowery notes.
Learn more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
Since I haven’t done one in a while, I decided that I’d do a blind tasting with this blend! Obviously it’s got rose in it, but I wanted to see what I noticed by drinking my cold brew prior to do any reading on it. I actually had some interesting results this time around:
My immediate observation was that this was a highly floral from the rose but also from the natural floral notes of the greener oolong base; specifically I thought I picked up notes of both orchid and sweet jasmine. There were a few sips where the intensity of all the floral elements felt a little overwhelming and I definitely think those wary of floral teas in general will find this too much, but overall I think they were all pretty well balanced/in check.
The big surprised was that throughout the entire cold brew I kept tasting the same juicy fruit note that I thought tasted pretty obviously of lychee. I was quite surprised when I finally did look up the tea ingredients only to see that there’s no added lychee flavouring. For me, that flavour was unmistakably present. I suppose, since lychee is quite a floral fruit, all of the other floral components of this tea could have contributed to the flavour, though.
Regardless, I thought this was a really pleasant cold brew; quite refreshing and thankfully with flavours other than a flat, monotone rose note. I’d definitely revisit this one, perhaps trying it hot instead of cold brewed.
