Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Solstice Brews
Tea Description:
Celebrate the harvest with this pineapple coconut green tea!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Shame on me! I found this poor neglected tea in one of my tea storage bins over the weekend. I should know better. I was so excited when I first received this tea but alas, it was pushed to the back of the bin. Well I have rectified this problem but drinking about 3 cups of this brew this morning!
This tea is no longer available on the Solstice Brews Etsy site but there are so many other amazingly awesome teas available. Like Tardis Tea. That one has my name written all over it!
This tea is a gorgeous blend of green tea, with huge and I mean huge bits of pineapple and coconut in it. I couldn’t believe how lovely the inclusions were for this tea. Normally you just get little pieces, but not with this tea. You could smell the tropical feel in the aroma coming off of the dry leaves.
I prepped water at 190F and scooped a few spoon fulls of tea into my infuser. Poured the water in and allowed the tea to brew for about 3 minutes. I was greeted and rewarded with a lovely light and refreshing cuppa that just shined. All flavors were present and accounted for.
The green tea was a lovely buttery goodness that laid the foundation for the other flavors to play off of. The coconut was sweet and gave that familiar flavor to the blend and the pineapple tasted like fresh pineapples! What I loved the most about this tea was that it didn’t taste like a pina colada but all those flavors were noted. I am not a big pina colada fan so that just made me happy. I loved how all of the flavors created a happy feeling tea that was so light but with rich flavors. Very refreshing and this would make an absolutely smashing ice tea with a pineapple wedge for a garnish!
Another reason why I love Solstice Brews so much. Her teas are solid and you can count on them being marvelous!
Nepal – Aarubotay Plum Tree Gardens White Tea Organic from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea Description:
Located 6000 feet above sea level, in the misty hills of Pashupatinagar, Ilam, is this family owned Organic (EU) and ISO certified garden. The teas grown here are some of the most interesting and spectacular teas that will tempt your taste buds into new levels of enjoyment. This garden is the first one in Nepal to use the technology, machinery and expertise available from Japan. The Aarubotay tea bushes are a combination of Japanese, Chinese and clonal varieties that produce the best of Nepalese teas. Try some today and, from the first smell of the dry leaf to the taste of the brewed tea, you will be convinced that this family has achieved success!
These over 1 inch long, pale white, downy tipped gray-green leaves brew to a pure white liquor and a sweet, delicate apricot cup. It truly is unlike any other white tea that we’ve tasted!
Brew: 2- 4 minutes @ 158-167ºF. Multiple infusions are possible.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have always been a fan of Simpson & Vail. Their customer service is top notch and their teas are fresh and delicious. A great company to pick up a few blends from for sure!
This particular tea sounded amazing from the description and I couldn’t wait to try it. I brewed it up per the instructions above and couldn’t wait to try this tea.
I will admit, I had to allow this tea to cool but I think that just deepened the flavors. I will admit the flavors of this tea remind me of a black tea. There are definite similar notes with a slight maltiness but in that maltiness is a sweet yet floral flavor that sings. A crisp white flavor that really hits that note that gives you that warming feeling inside. Really lovely and one that you could sip on each and every day and not get tired of it.
This tea gives you the best of all worlds. The richness notes that give black tea that umph with a delicate side as well. This may be my new to go tea in the morning! I could see this being pretty fabulous for my commute into the office.
Snow Crysanthemum from Teasenz
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Tea Description:
A ‘heavenly’ rare flower tea that is grown only in the Kunlun mountains, where slow flower growth results in a delicious flower taste with notes of caramel and dark red tea liquor. Snow Chrysanthemum flower tea contains high amounts of amino acids and proteins, which are beneficial to your health by lowering blood sugar, reducing high cholesterol, and preventing heart diseases. A Teasenz favorite.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea is a perfect example of why I love being a SororiTea Sister! All the fun and unique teas you get to experience that you might now have tried on your own. I love my floral and flowering teas so this one I thought would be right up my alley.
When I first looked in the pouch, I was very surprised with what I found. Being relatively new to Snow Chrysanthemum teas, I didn’t expect such a unique looking flower. I was thinking more like a fluffy Chrysanthemum like I’ve had in the past and this was more of a berry flower bud. I gladly poured a few heaping scoops into my tea pot and allowed this tea to brew to its gorgeous purplish amber brew for me to try.
While this tea was brewing, I was getting a very strong tangy berry aroma. I was hoping that the aroma would translate into a very tangy flavor. And it did! This tea created such a lovely tangy herbal like tea that soothed this tired soul after a really long day at the office. I just loved it.
There wasn’t a floral taste that I could really pick up but there was a familiar tangy herbal flavor that almost had a sour like resemblance. I brewed up another infusion and I was greeted with the same flavor profile. I can see how this would be a favorite amongst Teasenz customers. This tea is gorgeous hot. But I knew and had a feeling this would make an incredibly iced tea.
So I grabbed a few ice cubes from our break room and threw them in my cup and poured the tea in. Wow! This tea was just as good iced as it was hot. I’m getting the same flavor profile but just in a different temperature. Regardless of how you brew this tea, I think it is a winner!
Boomstick Tea from Geeky Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Geeky Teas
Tea Description:
Sometimes you want to sip tea and contemplate. Sometimes you want tea to kick your backside and get you going. For those times, this is your tea. It’s got muscles.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh Geeky Teas! How I love and adore you!
Geeky Teas is the perfect amount of fandom sprinkled into your tea. I have always said this but there is something so very satisfying about drinking a tea dedicated to your fandom. Just makes you love the tea even more!
This particular tea is based off of Ash, my first love when it comes to my love for horror movies. Bruce Campbell is my favorite actor and the Evil Dead series are among my favorite movies, so of course a tea dedicated to these loves, I would be all over.
This tea is a lovely tightly rolled gunpowder that once you add your water and allow the tea to brew, the teas uncurl and dance in the water providing you with an amazing brew. Brewed up with water at 180F and allowed to steep for about 2 minutes, this tea was just fun to sit and watch.
Finally it was time to try the tea and oh, yes. This tea is exactly how it showed me. Strong, to the point, with that whole mouth feel. This tea really delivers a gorgeous flavor that has a slightly nutty yet slightly smoked flavor that is so satisfying with a touch of astringency coming about. So smooth and well balanced! One of those teas that make you sit back and really indulge yourself in the tea. Or a tea that will get you prepped and ready to take on the day.
I am just loving it and can’t wait to try this tea as a cold brew or an iced tea mixed with some fruit. I bet the flavor combinations will be amazing!
If there was ever a tea to represent my beloved Ash, this would be it!
Chocolate Buddha from Red Clover Tea and Herbs
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Red Clover Tea and Herbs
Tea Description:
Drinking this tea always makes me think of the Happy Buddha. It brings me such joy. The combination of the peppermint, chocolate and Yerba Mate create such a delicious sweet chocolate mint tea that leaves you feeling recharged, nourished and happy! It’s a sweet minty tea with a chocolate finish.
INGREDIENTS
Fair Trade Yerba Mate tea, Peppermint, roasted Cacao Nibs, Dark Chocolate pieces, Red Ginseng root & Stevia leaf. All organic
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Red Clover Tea and Herbs is one of those tea companies that I think sometimes goes unnoticed. It really is one of those hidden gems. I know even when you Google it, you have to dig a bit. But what a find! The teas are hand blended delights that you keep you coming back for more.
This blend is a yerba mate blend which I love. Yerba Mate is one of those unique teas that I keep on hand when I want something a little different from the same old same old and it always is satisfying. Take Yerba Mate, peppermint, roasted cacao nibs, dark chocolate, red ginseng root & stevia leaf. Such a unique combo that I can’t say I’ve seen anywhere else.
Brewed this up per the sample pkg’s instructions and had a gorgeous cuppa awaiting me in about 7 minutes. I can’t say I really got much of anything else than a chocolate note from the dry leaves. I was hoping that the chocolate wouldn’t dominate the tea and I was in luck it didn’t.
Unfortunately, the stevia leaf did. The tea itself is really fabulous and fantastic. A lush and silky like blend that reminds me of a candy bar but there is an off taste through each sip that is the stevia leaf. Sometimes I can’t pick the stevia leaf up in blends and others it is overwhelming. This blend doesn’t have an overwhelming blend but it is definitely there.
If this tea didn’t have the stevia leaf in it, I would be sold and this WOULD become a daily tea. Who wouldn’t want to drink a liquid candy bar each and every day to stomp on that sweet tooth that plagues so many of us. Still overall, I was able to finish my cuppa without much of a fuss. Just wish the stevia leaf was either eliminated or just toned down.