Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Strand Tea
Tea Description:
Premium Black Teas from highland China blended with lilac flowers. This tea looks, smells, and tastes great.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I must agree with that last line in the description above: this Lilac Blend Black Tea from Strand Tea DOES look, smell, and taste great! I love the beautiful purple blossoms, the tea is lightly fragrant with the flower, and the flavor is a rich, full-flavored black tea with a delicate floral tone.
I really like the texture of this tea. It has a delightfully round taste, and the texture is almost creamy when it glides over the palate. The flavor is lightly floral and sweet with notes of caramel and honey.
I can’t say that the flower that I taste is distinctly “lilac” because I can’t say for certain that I’ve actually tried a tea with lilac flower in it before. But I will say that the delicate flower notes are very pleasant. The flowery notes don’t taste sharp, they are soft and sweet tasting. It doesn’t taste off-putting or perfume-ish. It’s just really … nice!
I have been a fan of Strand Tea for a while. I love that they’re a local company, and I love that they embrace that with their Portland Blend. I also like that they include cookies with every order. I love it when a company adds special little touches like that … it makes me feel special as a customer, and it makes me want to order from that company again, and the next time I order from them, I’m going to be getting more of this Lilac Blend because it’s really good!
Whisper of the Woods Green Tea Blend from Whispering Pines Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Whispering Pines Tea Company
Tea Description:
The most beautifully soothing mint green tea. Imagine a crisp beautiful sunrise in a densely wooded pine-oak forest with sheets of trilliums and wild currant berries. You wake up, step out of your tent and breathe the last sliver of fog before the shattered sunlight wisps it away. Whisper of the Woods is an ideal green tea reminiscent of that crisp and floral serenity with just the perfect amount of heart-warming energy to induce prana and exploration. Enjoy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! I don’t know why, but something about this Whisper of the Woods Green Tea Blend from Whispering Pines Tea Company made me think that there’d be smoke notes to it.
I don’t know if it’s just the name of it: Whisper of the Woods. It makes me think of a walk through the woods and the smell of the air that would surround me as I’m walking, and in that image that is playing in my head, the smell of the air would include a touch of smoke from a far off log cabin with a fire blazing in the fireplace. Or perhaps it’s just the name of the company: Whispering Pines Tea Company. Something about this company makes me think of that aforementioned blazing, crackling fire in the fireplace.
But this isn’t a smoky tea. And I don’t know that I’d want it to be smoky. I like the notes of mint – a combination of peppermint and spearmint – and I like the hint of jasmine. I like the way these flavors play together with the sweet, lightly grassy notes of the green tea.
And what I like best is that this isn’t overwhelmingly minty. Sure, the mint flavor is there and it’s strong and there’s no mistaking it. But, it isn’t a “toothpaste-y” mint. I don’t feel like I just took a sip of mouthwash. This was masterfully blended, and the result is a mint tea that isn’t too minty.
The jasmine essence builds as I sip. I barely noticed it in the first couple of sips, but, now that I’m nearly finished with the cup, the jasmine comes through really well. It’s not perfume-y, but it brings a beautiful floral note to the cup. I like the way the jasmine and mint notes come together.
It really is a bit like a whisper in the woods. Imagine a gentle breeze filtering through the woods, picking up notes of wildflowers and mint growing in the wild along with hints of grass. A beautiful scent. A delicious flavor. That’s what this tea delivers.
Honey Scented Black Tea from Oollo Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Oollo Tea
Tea Description:
This is a luxurious black tea! Dark leaves and an amazing honey aroma. The body of this tea is round and feels smooth on the tongue. It has a very pure flavour profile. Delicious honey and natural caramel notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
This Honey Scented Black Tea from Oollo Tea is a very interesting tea. Here’s something that Amoda Tea has to say about it:
To keep with the oolong education. This is a curious black tea made from an oolong tea plant varietal that grows in Taiwan.
And when I opened the pouch and examined the leaves, I have to say that they have the big “bulky” look of a dark Oolong.
The flavor is much more like an Oolong tea than a black tea as well. This reminds me of a Honey Oriental Beauty type of Oolong. It doesn’t have that deep, “dark” flavor of a black tea, it has a the lighter, silkier flavor of an Oolong.
But that’s not a bad thing. I love Honey Oolongs, and this tea tastes mighty fine! It’s remarkably smooth with a light astringency. I’m loving the honey notes. The profile of this tea on Amoda’s website focuses on the “clean” and “pure” taste of this tea, and I find myself in agreement with the assessment. Even though it has a beautifully sweet flavor, it’s a very crisp and clean sweetness, and the finish is very lightly sweet.
And one of the best things about this tea is that because it’s so “Oolong-esque” … it’s good for several infusions. I highly recommend taking this tea through it’s paces – it’s definitely worth the effort. An excellent tea from Oollo tea – via Amoda Tea – I’m glad this one was part of the tea tasting box this month.
Jasmine Pearl Select 2013 Green Tea from Steepster
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Steepster Select
Tea Description:
Picked from the Da Bai Hao cultivar, this high grade green tea is gently picked and hand rolled. The tea is then meticulously dried with fresh jasmine to impart its distinct floral aroma and flavor.
Taster’s Review:
This Jasmine Pearl Select 2013 Green Tea from Steepster is the fifth tea from my February Steepster Select box – and I figured I better get busy and review it because my March box arrived yesterday.
I love Jasmine Pearls, so I was very happy to receive these as part of February’s box. Over on Steepster, most of the tasting notes about this jasmine tea are positive, but I did read one tasting note that suggest that the jasmine notes are too strong, I would disagree with that, because I think that the jasmine here is just right. Then again, I believe that the flavor is very reliant upon how it’s steeped.
I steeped this in my gaiwan, using short steeps (a 15 second rinse, followed by a 45 second infusion, and adding 15 seconds onto each subsequent infusion). I kept infusing until my yixing mug was full – it usually takes five infusions.
The result is a cup of jasmine paradise! The jasmine tastes soft, sweet and exotic, and melds beautifully with the sweet notes of green tea. The green tea is very light and has a subtle grassy taste. It is a delightfully floral cup.
A really wonderful Jasmine.
Jasmine Bloom Flowering Tea from Nuovo Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Nuovo Tea
Tea Description:
Meant to delight your eyes as well as taste buds, these awe-inspiring ‘display teas’ unfurl when added to water, revealing delicate flowers hidden within. The practice of hand-sewing leaves into ‘blooming teas’ is an age-old Chinese art form that dates back centuries. Adagio has infused state-of-the-art packaging into this ancient delight, ensuring maximum freshness and superior flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I really enjoy brewing “art teas” like this Jasmine Bloom Flowering Tea from Nuovo Tea. It’s fun to watch the art reveal itself. It starts out as a hand-sewn bulb of tea leaves, and as it brews, the leaves begin to unfurl, revealing a beautiful “blossom” tucked inside the tea leaves.
This particular art tea unfurls pretty quickly in comparison to some that I’ve encountered. After my first infusion of 3 1/2 minutes, it was still a bulb, but I could see that quite a few of the leaves had begun to open up and away from the bulb to form the blossom. I’m sure that with another minute, this art tea would have been unfurled and revealed to me the beauty inside.
But I didn’t want to oversteep the tea. I don’t brew these art teas just for the art, after all … to me the true art is the beauty of the flavorful liquid so I’m always mindful of this and take care to brew each cup carefully – whether it’s an art tea like this, or a loose leaf tea or even a bagged tea. I want the best flavor I can extract from any tea.
The first cup is delicate and sweet, with notes of jasmine and hints of buttery vegetables. There is also a pleasing fruit note that is reminiscent of a sweet melon.
For the second cup, I infused the partially open bulb for 4 minutes, and within a minute, the bulb had opened and I could see the pretty white flower peeking from inside the tea leaf “blossom” that enveloped it only minutes ago. Beautiful!
This cup had a stronger flavor than the first cup, but, I think I prefer the delicate quality of that first cup more than this stronger tasting cup. Oh, it’s still tasty, don’t get me wrong! But, I really liked the soft, buttery notes that I experienced in that first cup, and now, this is more like a grassy green tea with notes of jasmine. I appreciate that the jasmine is soft and not tasting like soap. It’s not a bitter tea, it’s a pleasing jasmine green.
A beautiful tea experience – these “art teas” make a great tea to serve when you have guests! Be sure to brew them in glass teacups (I don’t think that these little bulbs are quite large enough for a large teapot) so that everyone can watch the splendor as it unfolds! They make a great conversation starter … not to mention produce a really tasty cup of tea.