Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Georgie Tea Company
Tea Description:
A delicious green tea with a smooth coconut flavor backed up by roasted almond undertones.
Ingredients: green tea China Sencha, coconut rasps, almond flakes, flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Holy Almond Cookie! Almond Cookies from Georgia Tea Company has really made me fall in love! Georgia Tea Company – be put on notice, I will be making an order with you again soon!
I have never ordered from Georgia Tea Company before but considering this tea, which is amazing, and their more than fair prices, I am holding myself back from ordering more now!
Now I do adore almond cookies, when I get one served to me at an Asian restaurant I squeal. I always seek out a better almond cookie in stores, and I am always looking for the perfect almond cookie tea. I have found mostly tisanes that make me happy when it comes to this flavor. Yet now, this beautiful green tea, with the sweet yummy goodness of almond! You know, as for the coconut, I don’t really get it as coconut like I do in other teas. However it must play some form of a good supporting role to the other elements in this tea because this is one of the best almond cookies I have ever had! Err, umm, I mean almond cookie teas!
I can taste the almond, obviously, the green tea gives a wonderful flavor and a healthy base, and yet I swear I can taste the crispy crumbly cookie in here too! You know how good almond cookies have that buttery, crispy, crumbly texture? That is this tea! And if I had to describe this tea any other way I would go with vanilla cake batter.
I think that the green base is affording the tea some of that buttery quality. You know quite honestly, I don’t want to explain this tea anymore. Call me selfish but I just want to sip on this all day, in bliss, and I think I am going to go order more, I mean its so inexpensive its crazy!
IN LOVE with this tea!
Organic Green Pomegranate Tea from Fashionista Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Fashionista Tea
Tea Description:
Organic green tea carefully blended with organic raspberries and essence of pomegranate. A tart and tangy taste to the palate. Very Good hot or iced.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve stated before, I absolutely love pomegranates, even though it’s a fruit I don’t eat very often, because they tend to be a bit on the pricey side, and since I’m usually the only person who eats them in my household, I think it’s a little selfish of me to choose such an expensive fruit just for me. So, when I find a pomegranate tea like this Organic Green Pomegranate Tea from Fashionista Tea, I am very eager to try it. It’s my way of indulging in one of my favorite fruits without feeling guilty about it!
And this is so good! This blend combines the flavor of pomegranate as well as raspberry … and I think it’s a very good combination indeed. The raspberry offers a hint of tartness that accents the natural tart note of the pomegranate, as well as a lovely depth of flavor. I taste both components, not just the pomegranate accentuated by the raspberry, but the raspberry as well, and I like the way these two fruits taste together. They taste smooth, sweet, and with just the right amount of tartness to come off as tangy without being puckery-sour.
The lush flavor of the organic Sencha also has something to do with the smooth, sweet flavor. It has a light, buttery taste, and just a hint of a vegetative note … nothing that interferes with the fruity character of this blend, just enough to remind you that it’s a green tea that you’re drinking. The best part of this tea, I think, is the buttery quality … its has a soft, silky texture and taste. It’s really pleasant!
This is a tea that tastes great served hot, but, the flavor remains as it cools, so it would be a perfect tea to serve iced as well. I like this one a whole lot!
Organic Sencha from Aiya
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Aiya
Tea Description:
Organic Sencha is one of the highest in quality in the Japanese internationally certfied organic Sencha category. This grade of Organic Sencha is rare even in the Japanese market. This tea is grown to meet strict organic regulations while maintaining a light refreshing flavor and aroma with a clear green appearance.
Preparation:
Bring the water to a boil and allow it to cool to 80°C/176°F. Steep 1 heaping teaspoon (3g) of Organic Sencha for 1.5 minutes in 1 cup (240 ml/8 oz) of hot water. With this tea, one can pour more hot water over the tea leaves and enjoy another cup.
Ingredients:
Organic Japanese Green Tea – Organic Sencha
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Organic Sencha from Aiya provides a clear, clean, flavorful cup. Aiya’s sencha is organic, which is always a plus in my book.
Steeped correctly, (175 degrees, or 80c, for 1.5 minutes), you will find no astringency or bitterness in Aiya’s Sencha.
I found this cup to have a nutty appeal, grassy of course, and just a slight seaweed flavor. While also vegetal, I find the vegetal notes to be somewhat tame.
Sencha is the most popular tea in Japan from what I have learned, and I can see why. It is light, clear, refreshing, flavorful, and thirst quenching.
Sencha can be enjoyed both hot and cold.
This sencha also leaves a lovely floral essence on the palate. It is a surprising and delicious experience.
Aiya’s website is truly a sight to behold. The flash site has a cool viewing and user experience, although it takes a little time to learn proper navigation, I did enjoy it and I am not one who is usually partial to flash sites.
Aiya sells their Organic Sencha for 25.80 USD excluding any applicable taxes in an 80 gram size and I do believe that it comes in its own tin, which is always a plus.
I have also found some useful and fun information on their blog, which is mostly dedicated to matcha. You can find Aiya’s blog here.
Chiran Sencha from O5 Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tea Description:
Sweet, thick and full-bodied. A grassy and vegetal green tea with refreshing astringency and light cream aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Chiran Sencha from O5 Tea is the second tea from my January Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Tea. I won’t be reviewing the third tea from this box, because I’ve already reviewed it here. However, I certainly didn’t mind receiving more of that tea in this month’s box, because it is a tea that totally rocks my socks!
And … this Chiran Sencha is rockin’ my socks too! It has a surprisingly thick, full body for a Sencha, which are usually a little lighter than this. This has a very smooth, rich mouthfeel, and a lovely grassy note that tastes very refreshing. It isn’t a bitter grassy note, instead, it is pleasantly sweet. The thick mouthfeel adds a sense of creaminess to the cup without tasting “buttery.” And while I do like those buttery notes … sometimes, it’s nice to have something that is different!
And this is a different Sencha than what I usually drink. And I am really enjoying it. My first cup, I brewed at 160°F for just 1 minute, and I’m getting so much flavor! With the second infusion, I added 15 seconds to the brew time, and find that no flavor has been lost, in fact, I think the second cup was my favorite. It was a little lighter, but still very smooth and lightly vegetative. It had a very refreshing and invigorating quality to it. It seemed to renew me from the inside out.
A very lovely Sencha, I am happy this was in my Tasting Box this month. (And … a note to Amoda, I love that all three selections were TEAS this month. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the tisanes, but when two out of the three selections are tisanes, it’s a little disappointing. No disappointment this month, though!)
Ginger Sencha from Shanti Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
Ginger Sencha is a warming blend of organic ginger root and organic Japanese sencha. A great green tea for the cold winter months and to help settle an upset stomach.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I first started scooping this Ginger Sencha from Shanti Tea out into my teapot, I was a little worried. There appears to be a whole lot of ginger in this! I mean, I like ginger, sure, but, with this much ginger, was I going to taste the Japanese Sencha?
Fortunately, Shanti blended this one just right. Yes, the ginger is strong – and it is warm and soothing … which is especially welcome on this cold, wet winter day. But it – surprisingly! – does not overwhelm the green tea. On the contrary, I find there to be a really delightful balance between the tea and ginger here.
The Japanese Sencha tastes sweet and slightly grassy without tasting bitter. I don’t notice much astringency to this cup, and I suspect this is because the ginger is strong enough to mellow out any astringent overtures.
The ginger is strong, as I’ve already mentioned, and it has a nice, peppery bite, but the soft, buttery taste of the Sencha seems to soften some of the zestier notes that I might otherwise notice with the ginger.
While it may seem a little bit “simple” to combine two ingredients, in this case, Sencha green tea and ginger root, but, even the simpliest blends require the right touch, and this blend from Shanti tea is masterfully combined. It provides a strong, warm bite from the ginger while still being able to allow the drinker to enjoy the soft, supple taste of the Japanese Sencha. Well done, Shanti Tea!