Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Tea Description:
Reserved for the imperial families since the Song Dynasty in 960 AD. All the appeal and flavor of green tea and enhanced by the aroma of jasmine flowers, Emporial Jasmine Green Tea has a subtly sweet taste and blooming fragrance. Light, soft, and perfumy with a delicate mouthfeel.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been craving a green jasmine tea for a bit now. I haven’t had any jasmine pearls in a bit so I thought this might be a great tea to try and calm my cravings.
Let’s start with how gorgeous this tea looks. Just simply gorgeous. One of those teas that makes you sit back and really take it all in. Twisty green and white like tea leaves. I can’t get over how much I love the look of this tea.
Now the aroma of this dry leaf is simply outstanding. You get everything. The sweet grassy like aromas of the green tea mingled in brilliantly with the floral aspects. This is one of those teas that once you smell it, your mouth starts to water.
I prepped my water and brewed the tea for a few minutes. I couldn’t wait to get the gorgeous fragrant brew into my mug. Took my first sip, and sadly, I honestly didn’t care for the flavor. For me, the floral aspects overtake everything else. Now this could absolutely be an error on my part and probably is. I may not have shaken the pouch up enough to distribute the flavors appropriately.
The only flavor I get is an overwhelming floral taste is even too much for this floral loving gal. Typically the more floral flavor there is the more I like it but this one isn’t that way.
For how gorgeous this tea is and how beautifully the cuppa smells, I think I need to take another swing at this tea. It has all the characteristics of being an amazing cuppa so I’m thinking I either oversteeped or overleafed.
I have adored all the other teas from this company, this is an ooops on me!
Equestea from Geeky Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Geeky Teas
Tea Description:
Black tea, apple pieces, natural caramel apple flavor and cinnamon bark.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Who doesn’t love My Little Pony. I mean c’mon! They even have bronies! I have loved My Little Pony forever. I remember playing with my ponies and doing their hair for hours straight as a kiddo. So when I saw that Geeky Teas had a fandom tea based off of My Little Pony- I said yes please!
This particular tea is a take on a caramel apple tea with cinnamon and a black tea base. Geeky Teas black tea base is very hit or miss with me and seems to be a bit more on the finicky side sometimes. But when it is good, it is good!
Brewed this up like a black tea with water prepped at 212F, allowed it to steep for about 3 minutes. The whole time the tea was steeping you could smell this wonderful aroma. Reminded me of a bakery. Sweet and almost nutty.
The waiting time was finally over and I took my first sip. Oh my goodness! This may be the best tea I’ve tried from Geeky Teas yet! This tea is amazing. I really wasn’t in the mood for a black tea but oh my goodness!! This tea really does taste like a caramel apple. The black tea provides a lush smooth silky like background while the apple brings a tartness, the cinnamon gives the tea a bit of a spiced feel, while the caramel apple flavoring gives you that sweet nutty flavor. Seriously good tea here! I’m in love!
I’ve said it before but if you haven’t checked out Geeky Teas, you need to!
Black Tea and Lemongrass from Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Description:
The relaxing aroma and health benefits of lemongrass, combined with our also organic black tea, makes this blend a mellow drink to be enjoyed any time of the day.
Ingredients: Organic Black Tea 60%
Organic Lemongrass 40%
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
There are times when the name of a tea perfectly describes the flavors inside. Black Tea and Lemongrass is one of those teas. Chiang Rai Tea House did a nice job balancing the two since lemongrass can be such an over powering flavor causing notes from the tea itself to get lost. While the lemon flavor of this tea is strong the slight briskness of the base tea can still be tasted. There’s also a clean finish that compliments the lemongrass flavor very well. The whole tea comes off as bright, even cheerful. And honestly, who can’t use that during the duller days of winter?
I only drank this tea hot, but I can see it being an excellent served iced or as a cold brew. In fact, I think this tea served cold during the summer months would be incredibly refreshing. I’ve even made a note in my phone to pick up more of this tea while the idea of summer picnics and long days in my garden danced in my head. The fact that the tea is organic is a bonus point in my book because my family drinks lots of iced tea and I’m more comfortable giving organic teas to my kids.
So, from winter to summer I think Black Tea and Lemongrass from Chiang Rai Tea House can find a place in my cupboard and my cup. If you’re looking for a nice organic tea with a lemony citrus kick this is one worth checking out.
Cranberry Creme Black from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
I wanted to create a cranberry flavored black tea – but I didn’t want to go for a straightforward cranberry black tea because that’s been done. At first, I was going to go with a cranberry custard pie flavor but my initial taste tests of that blend proved to be underwhelming. So instead, I went with a cranberry tea with a creamy custard-y flavor. It has a tangy cranberry note but the edgier, tartier flavors of the cranberry are softened by the sweet, vanilla creme notes. It’s tasty!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about subscribing to 52Teas’ Tea of the Week program here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of Anne’s 52Teas creations, and one I was really excited about when I saw it because I absolutely ADORE cranberry tea! This is a pretty good, simpler cranberry black tea. I really, really get a good amount of natural semi-sweet cranberry notes and that flavour gets a bit more depth from the flavour of warming cinnamon and the brisk black base, which is also just slightly malty. It’s a good, medium body and well rounded flavour. However, I when I drank this I definitely did feel like the “creme” aspect of the tea was lacking. Sure, this was SUPER tasty as a simple cranberry black tea but nothing about it was necessarily soft or silky in the way that you’d expect cream/custard/vanilla to be – and that’s definitely what Anne seems to have been trying to achieve here.
To be perfectly honest though, as someone who really likes cranberry teas I’ve tried a lot of them so the range of blends I can compare this one too is pretty large. My personal favourite is Harney & Son’s Boston Blend which _really_ nails the creamy cranberry component. However, this one does a much better job conveying the natural, realistic flavour of cranberry.
Totally worth tasting, but for the cranberry notes over the ‘creme’.
Milk Oolong from Mandala Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Mandala Tea
Tea Description:
We are so excited about this tea and judging by the repeat buys, our customers are too! It possesses a creamy aroma with hints of coconut, hard toffee candy along with the classic floral undertone present in so many high-end Taiwanese oolongs. The producers aromatize high quality leaves from plants that grow in altitudes between 1,600 and 3,200 feet above sea level.
The Fall 2014 crop delivers the dessert-like notes in early infusions and a beautiful, balanced cup. In later steepings aromas of lilac and gardenia begin to move more forward. Production is an artform and those who create it are quite guarded about proprietary steps in processing. Through many tastings, our appreciation for their craft only increases. No “off” aromas and not a trace of artificial or chemical flavor. It is a wonderfully complex tea, sure to please most any tea drinker. And if they weren’t a tea drinker to begin with, they will be after trying this!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Never having Mandala Tea before, I was quite excited when I saw a package of Milk Oolong appear in a goodie box I recently received. Mandala Tea has always been a company I’ve wanted to try but when you have a tea stash that is over 800 teas, its hard to justify one more order.
I open the package and take a deep breath and inhale the amazing aromas coming from this dry leaf tea. Sweet and very dessert like, exactly what the description of the tea indicates. I prepped my water and sat and watched the tea leaves uncurl and dance around in my tea pot.
I pour myself a rather large mug of this gorgeous pale yellow brew and proceed to take my first sip. The first notes that hit you are a rich buttery one. It seriously envelops your entire mouth. All the while notes of an almost vegetal feel and coconut flavor swirl around, making a really nice creamy touch. I can pick up an additional sweetness but I’m not sure if its more sugary or toffee-like the description depicts. There are other flavors that peek out here and there but I can’t really define them. Such a wonderful tea. Complex yet simple all in the same if that makes sense.
All I know is this is one great tea that is perfect for any time of the day! Sweet, rich, buttery, with a slight vegetal touch. . .really good. I plan on spending the rest of the day with this tea and I can’t wait to see what the second infusion brings.
For my first experience with Mandala Tea. I think I have a winner on my hands!