Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea & Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: ESP Emporium
Tea Description:
This blend of mellow Sencha and spicy, green mate is a real surprise. Richly decorated, it captivates not only with its striking look, but also develops a completely new and aromatic taste. The tempting aroma of Black Forest Cherry cakes, refined with a little sweetness and attractively decorated, make this blend a much sought-after specialty. An exceptional creation which proves that tea always has something new to offer.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
This Enchanted Forest Blend from ESP Emporium is a tasty blend, but, even though I’m not hating what I’m tasting … I’m a little disappointed. The description suggests “Black Forest Cherry Cake” and I’m not getting that from the aroma or the taste.
What I do taste is a sweet, vegetative green tea, and the earthy notes of yerba mate. It has a refreshing taste to it and I can definitely feel the invigorating effects of the yerba mate. It has a fresh, crisp flavor, and I taste very subtle hints of floral tones. It is a pleasantly sweet, vegetative cup with a light brothy texture.
But, if I’m supposed to be tasting cake-y flavors, well, I’m not. No black forest, no cherry, no chocolate, no cake. And there’s nothing in this blend that even suggests at these flavors except for a vague, indistinct tart note that could be very faint insinuation of sour cherry flavor. But even that note is something that is so barely there that doesn’t even seem worth mentioning.
So, I was hoping for a chocolate-y, cherry Black Forest cake dessert-y type tea blend … but what I got was a blend of earthy yerba mate and refreshing Sencha. Tasty, yes … but not something I’d recommend to others.
Persistence of Memory Green Tea Blend from Hari Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Hari Tea
Tisane Description:
Sometimes it feels like the drawer is open and the file is right there, but the printing is in some other language. It is the persistence of memory that we count on.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yeah, I held off trying this one for a little while. I’m not a big fan of ginkgo, and since it’s one of the main ingredients in this Persistence of Memory Green Tea Blend from Hari Tea, I was hesitant to try it. But, this is alright! I like it.
Perhaps it’s the other ingredients in this tea – lemon grass, pepper and basil – together with the Sencha green tea that elevates this tea for me. I taste subtle notes of pepper and hints of citrus. I also taste the rose. The herbs together with the floral tones really turn this tea into something tasty.
The aroma of the dry leaf is herbaceous and sweet with floral tones. The brewed tea doesn’t have a strong aroma … it smells like Sencha green tea … but it’s a soft scent. There are whispers of herbal tones along with the green tea fragrance.
An enjoyable and soothing drink. A really good way to add ginkgo to your diet if you’re like me and don’t find it to be particularly enjoyable … this is a good way to get your ginkgo and enjoy it too!
Bengal Peach Tea Blend from Tea Xotics
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green Teas
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tea Description:
The peachy aroma of this tea will make our mouthes water. Orchard fruit meets the Hawaiian tropics. There’s a subtle ginger spice that works really well with the succulent fruits and the unique tea base – Assam and sencha!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
I love the dry leaf of this Bengal Peach Tea Blend from Tea Xotics. Big slivers of dried fruit, pieces of ginger, black and green tea leaves, petals and blossoms all tossed together in a deliciously fragrant blend.
The brewed tea smells of warm peaches with hints of ginger, evoking thoughts of a warm, gently spiced peach dessert. Mmm! The flavor tastes of peach and mango. The ginger flavor is delicate, adding just a touch of warmth rather than a heavy amount of spice. This doesn’t taste overly peppered with ginger … there’s just enough ginger to keep the flavors interesting so that it doesn’t taste too fruity.
The combination of black and green teas adds an appealing background of flavor as well. When brewed at a lower temperature, I find that I can taste both the black and green teas. I brewed this tea at 180°F in my Breville One-Touch – the package parameters suggest a temperature of 185°F but whenever I brew a blend like this in my Breville, I make it a practice to lower the suggested temperature by 5 degrees since the tea maker keeps the water warmer than a teapot would. I steeped the tea for 3 minutes, and I’m very happy with the results.
The black tea tastes lighter than a typical cup of Assam would. I taste a wine-like quality to the tea, and this complements the fruit notes quite nicely. As the tea cools slightly (hot, but not piping hot), I notice some of the malty tones of the black tea emerge. The green tea doesn’t add a lot of notable flavor to the cup, but it lightens the overall flavor and texture. I notice hints of vegetation in the distance, as well as a slight buttery note that works well with the sweet, caramel-y malt notes.
A very tasty blend. It’s delicious hot and also quite nice iced!
Yunomi Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club: NaturaliTea #01 – Organic Handpicked Midori First Flush
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Yunomi
Tea Description:
2013 harvest from Naturalitea. Handpicked from a select number of the Kinezuka family and partners’ best fields at the very beginning of the shincha season this is the youngest tea leaf you can find.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Yunomi’s Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club here.
Taster’s Review:
I know that I’ve mentioned before just how much I love receiving a monthly mystery tea sampler’s club package from Yunomi every month. And this Organic Midori First Flush tea from NaturaliTea (if you’re looking on the website, this is the #01 tea from NaturaliTea) is an example of why I love receiving these teas. This is SO fresh. I absolutely love it when I can see and taste the freshness in a tea.
The color of the dry leaf is so vibrant and they are a dark, forest-y green. I can smell the vegetal quality of these leaves, it smells like something in between just-cut spring grass, freshly steamed vegetables and kelp. It has that aroma that is just ALIVE with vegetation.
And the flavor is equally as fresh tasting. It has a sweetness to it and a sharp bitter taste of a good quality Japanese green tea. The bitterness offers a really lovely, savory contrast to the sweetness of the young leafy taste. I like the balance of savory to sweet here … it is neither too sweet nor too bitter … it is just a pleasure to sip!
It has a light, brothy character to it … it just FEELS good when I drink it … I can feel it rejuvenate me as I sip. It tastes fresh and it refreshes the palate as it washes over the tongue. This tea … just speaks to me of springtime: from the taste of the young leaves of the spring harvest to the fresh fragrance and flavor. It is a very refreshing beverage!
Secret Garden Tea Blend from Kaleisia Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Green & White Teas
Where to Buy: Kaleisia Tea
Tea Description:
The most popular blend of all times. This blend consist of white peony white tea, sencha green tea, darjeeling black tea, gunpowder green tea, dragonwell green tea, jasmine pearl green tea, mango, pineaple, papaya, orange peels, strawberry, red currants, sour cherry bits, and apricot bits. A very well rounded fruity tea that is sure to please anyone.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Secret Garden Tea Blend from Kaleisia Tea has a little bit of EVERYTHING in it! White tea, green tea, black tea … fruit bits … and a whole lot of flavor!
Since this blend seems to be primarily green tea, I went with a lower brew temperature (185°F) and steeped the tea for 2 1/2 minutes in my Breville One- Touch. And the results are tasty!
Fruit flavor hits the palate first, although … it is more like a “medley” of fruit flavors rather than one specific fruit note. Kind of like a bite of ambrosia salad where you taste several fruit notes all at once and it’s difficult to pin-point exactly which fruit you’re tasting. It’s a very refreshing fruit taste though!
As far as tea flavor goes, green tea is what I taste most. That sweet, sort of leafy/grassy note that is very fresh and crisp. It’s a nice contrast with the sweet and sour fruit notes that tantalize the palate at the start of the sip. There is a sweet, creaminess to the tea notes as well, is that the white tea or the buttery notes from the Sencha? I can’t be sure, but, I like the way it comes together with the fruit notes. I don’t taste a whole lot of white tea here, nor do I notice much from the Darjeeling black tea, although I can’t say that this blend would taste the same without those tea leaves being a part of this blend.
As I continue to sip, I realize that I’m tasting mostly a “tropical” sort of taste: notes of pineapple, mango, and papaya, with a strawberry background note. I taste the sweetness of the apricot too. The sour tones of the currant and the cherry come through near the finish, but these are not very strong flavors. The fruit notes, overall, are more “melded” together as a unified flavor … like some kind of “ultra-fruit” but, if I aerate the sip by slurping, I can pick out individual fruit notes.
I like that this blend is more sweet than it is sour, because I’m not a huge fan of the sour taste as I’ve said many times. While this does seem to be a rather “busy” blend … I find it enjoyable. I like it better iced than hot, so, I’ll be brewing more of this later for my iced tea pitcher and enjoy it all day long tomorrow!