Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea for All Reasons
Tea Description:
Legend has it that one Baroness Grey, who lived sometime in the 16th or 17th century, was married to a man who was a Ship’s Captain in the Royal Navy. As the story goes, his ship never returned from a trading voyage to China. Refusing to believe that her husband would never return, the Baroness would walk to the port lands every morning to greet each ship hoping for news of her husband. Sadly, she continued this practice until the day she died. In honor of this loyal Baroness Grey, our Earl Grey blend, with the traditional bergamot and the addition of lemon represent the bitter tears shed over her beloved.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I was excited to try this Baroness Grey Black Tea from Tea For All Reasons. I love me some bergamot! This blend combines the great taste of a traditional Earl Grey tea together with additional notes of lemon and hints of rose … and I’m loving every sip.
The bergamot is not quite as strong as you might experience in a straightforward Earl Grey. The additional lemon adds sweetness … believe it or not! It’s as if someone liquefied a dollop of sweet, creamy lemon curd and added to a cup of Earl Grey black tea.
I don’t get a lot of tart from the lemon notes, just a sweet, smooth flavor that rounds out the tangy bergamot notes. I was expecting more of a tart or even a bitter note from the lemon … but, I am not getting that as much as I expected. There is some tartness here, certainly, but, what I’m noticing is the sweeter side of lemon here, and I like it. The combination of bergamot and lemon is very nice … they go together very well.
At the finish and into the aftertaste is where I start to notice the lemon’s impact on the tea. The flavor becomes slightly more tarty, and those tart notes tickle the palate in the aftertaste.
The black tea base is a robust, well-rounded black tea. It’s not overly strong, but there is an invigorating astringency to this that leaves the palate feeling clean. The floral notes of rose is very soft and subtle and really, barely noticeable unless you slurp to aerate the sip.
Overall, this is a very pleasant take on the classic Earl Grey. I really enjoyed this cuppa, and I’d recommend this to those who enjoy a gentle bergamot flavor in their Earl Grey style teas.
Mamma Mia White Tea Blend from Shanti Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
The phrase ‘Mamma Mia’ has popped up quite a bit in popular culture: once as a 2008 American-British musical/romantic comedy film, again as a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, and also as a song from ABBA. But in Italian, Mamma mia literally means “my mother”, and is an exclamation used in situations of surprise or anguish. In our case, we’ve adopted this phrase to mean “Wow, what an awesome tea!”.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I brewed Mamma Mia from Shanti Tea, I expected it to be a very floral tea. The photo is very true to what I saw when I opened the package: white tea combined with lots of petals and lavender buds.
The dry leaf smells amazing … and the brewed tea is even more fragrant! Notes of sweet lavender and aromatic rose. It’s beautiful. And the taste … like the appearance and fragrance … is quite floral.
But there’s more to it too. There is a hint of a wine-like flavor to this tea, like a sweet white wine or perhaps one of those fruity pink wines, because this has a distinct fruity tone to it. I taste notes of currant and raspberry.
And the white tea is not overpowered by the flavors in this cup, either. There is a sweet, hay-like note to this … notes of vegetation … it’s a very fresh, crisp and clean taste. The finish is clean, and there is a faint aftertaste that is sweet and even a little tart. I like that even though this is a very floral tea, I’m not getting a heavy floral aftertaste. The flowery taste lasts during the sip, but, I don’t feel this perfume-y note on the tongue after the sip is gone.
I find myself in total agreement with their last sentence of the above description: “Wow, what an awesome tea!” Indeed! I seem to fall more in love with this company with every new tea I try from them!
Eight Treasures Yabao Tea from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh & Green Tea
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Yabao is an incredibly intriguing tea, evoking marshmallow sweetness, spice, and even cooling cedar notes. By combining it with a light sun dried green jasmine from Yunnan, and whole vanilla bean, this brew steeps up perfectly smooth, thick and velvety. The floral elements of the vanilla and honeysuckle are extended to the aftertaste with marigold and rose petals, and the spice of the yabao is sharpened with goji berry. This well-integrated take on the traditional “Eight Treasures” is sweet but nuanced, and great hot or iced.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
This Eight Treasures Yabao Tea from Verdant Tea is absolutely delightful! Then again, I was expecting nothing less from a company like Verdant Tea. I can’t recall ever being disappointed by a tea from them!
This blend takes the natural creamy sweetness of a Yabao tea and combines it with vanilla bean to enhance the rich, creamy notes and the decadent sweetness. These two components together would be enough to send this tea drinker into a blissful tea experience, but, this is EIGHT Treasures … so Verdant Tea didn’t stop there.
The jasmine green tea adds a little bit of a vegetative taste and a distinct jasmine note. The floral tones are further accentuated with the addition of marigold and rose. I don’t notice the marigold a lot, but, the rose has a distinguished flavor. The tasting note from Verdant Tea suggests an “orchid” note and I am getting that here, although I find that I taste more jasmine and rose than orchid.
I taste the goji berry and the berry adds a tart, tingly sensation toward the finish that offers a nice contrast to the smooth, creaminess of the vanilla and marshmallow notes of the Yabao, and the sweet flowery tones. My first few sips I noticed a slight “resinous” taste … and as I continued to sip, and after reading the tasting notes from Verdant that suggest a Cedar note, I realize that this is the resinous note I was noticing at the start. Slightly woody, slightly earthy … with an invigorating crisp, cool sensation.
The most surprising thing about this tea is just how good it is iced! I was astonished by it’s iced flavor. It is sweet and fruity and very refreshing! The next time you place your order with Verdant … add this tea to your shopping cart – you won’t be disappointed!
Slumbering Slope Tisane from Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Description:
Ingredients: Chamomile, Skullcap, Catnip, Spearmint, Rose, licorice
This is a simple blend to help calm the body at the end of the day. My sister grew the catnip for this blend. The skullcap and chamomile come from farms in Oregon. I like to use a variety of mild relaxants when I make any evening teas because everyone has a really specific combination of tensions in their body. Some folks hold tension in thoughts, others in their muscles.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about subscribing to Bird’s Eye Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I put off trying this Slumbering Slope Tisane from Bird’s Eye Tea for a while … and the reason is chamomile. I don’t dislike chamomile (although at one time I did dislike it) but, it’s also not my favorite herb. And … I usually only prepare a chamomile tisane later in the evening, when I want to start getting ready for rest because chamomile does have that relaxing effect. Actually, it makes me sleepy. But, usually, when I’m getting ready for bed, I’m not really thinking about preparing a tisane … although I think I should get myself into that habit.
And this would be a great tisane with which to get into that kind of habit! This is a tasty tisane. The chamomile is the strongest flavor, followed by the spearmint. I like that the spearmint is there to add a nice minty tone to the taste, but, it isn’t an overpowering taste, as I think a stronger minty flavor would be a bit more invigorating than it should be for a blend like this.
I can taste the rose, and again, I like that this is a soft, sweet rose note. The licorice is faint, but, it adds a hint of sweetness and an interesting contrast without coming off too zesty.
Everything about this blend is calm and soothing. It is a very relaxing blend that is not too medicinal or herbaceous tasting, and not overly sweet. It has a pleasant, easy to drink flavor. I like it.
Rose Congou Emperor Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Congou is a general name for non-broken Chinese black teas. Rose Congou is layered 5 times with rose petals, which give the tea a delicate ethereal rose character.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Until today, I had never tried a Rose Congou tea iced. I had heard so much about how good Rose Congou tea is iced, but, I had not tried it. So when it came time to try this Rose Congou Emperor Tea from Culinary Teas, I figured it was high time that I try it iced!
And WOW! All that I’ve heard – all the hype and praise of Rose Congou as an iced tea – it’s all true! This tea is absolutely DELIGHTFUL iced! It’s a little sweeter, and there’s a tangy quality to it that is … it’s not quite what I’d call “tart” exactly, but, it offers a really pleasing contrast to the aforementioned sweetness. It is actually a little reminiscent of a Baklava that’s been flavored with rose water … at least, that’s what memories it evokes for me.
I really like this Rose Congou … having tried it first hot before allowing the remainder of the pot to cool enough to chill in the refrigerator, I found that this particular rose tea was very pleasant. The rose is soft and delicate and doesn’t taste perfume-y or overly floral.
The rose is nicely balanced with the Chinese Congou black tea, which provides a smooth, rich backdrop of flavor for the rose notes that play on the foreground. It tastes sweet and exotic. A very enjoyable cup hot … made even more enjoyable when served iced!
So, if you’re like me, and haven’t taken the time to stash a pitcher full of Rose Congou Tea in the icebox, do that now! You won’t be sorry. This makes an incredibly refreshing, unique and surprisingly delicious cold drink.