Fu Man Chu Tea Blend from SerendipiTea

by liberteas

Fu-Man-ChuTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Pouchong & Pu-erh

Where to Buy:  Amoda Tea

Tea Description:

Here is a contradictory and complex tea to expand your horizons. Jasmine scented pouchong gives us a beautiful sweet, fresh and floral flavour and pu-erh offers up its earthiness. Pouchong and pu-erh are such opposites, but somehow blend so nicely together in this cup.

This is our Father’s Day Tea. One of the Amoda dads texted that he wanted something “not too fancy, just some jazzman tea”. So, we set out on a jasmine journey and kept coming back to this tea that was so unique, but not too “fancy” for dad.

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn how to subscribe to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.

Taster’s Review:

Before brewing it, I had my doubts about this Fu Man Chu tea blend from SerendipiTea.  I wasn’t sure how I would like it – I mean, I love jasmine so I had every confidence that I’d enjoy a Jasmine Pouchong … but – I thought to myself – why did they have to add Pu-erh to it?  I’m not always a fan of Pu-erh, and I worried that by adding the Pu-erh to this blend, SerendipiTea may have very well ruined a perfectly good Jasmine Pouchong.

I’m happy to say that I was wrong!  This is really quite good.

The aroma of the dry leaf is more jasmine and Pouchong than it is Pu-erh.  I can  detect only faint earthy notes in the fragrance of the dry leaf, but the lovely notes of jasmine are abundant and absolutely delightful to the nose.

And the flavor … is very much the way the scent suggests!  The Jasmine Pouchong notes are the strongest flavors, with mere hints of of the earthy flavor of Pu-erh.  As I continue to sip, the notes of Pu-erh develop somewhat, but they are always more to the background, allowing the sultry beauty of the Jasmine to shine through along with the soft, silky taste of the Pouchong.

This is an extremely well-crafted blend by SerendipiTea.  I’m very impressed, and very glad I got to try it.  I love it when I get a tea like this from Amoda Tea – something that I probably would not have purchased on my own because I honestly would not have found myself interested or curious about a blend of Jasmine Pouchong and Pu-erh … but now that I have tried it … I’m really happy with the cup I have before me!  This is great!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Jasmine Tea, Pouchong, Pu-erh

Secret Garden from SerendipiTea

by liberteas

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Rooibos & Herbal Tisane

Where to Buy:  SerendipiTea

Tisane Description:

Escape for a short while to a secret place for which you only hold the key.

Ingredients: Chamomile (Organic), Lavender (Organic), Peppermint (Organic), Rooibos (Organic), Rose Petals (Organic)

Learn more about this tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

This is the third tea/tisane from my June Steepster Select Box, themed “Around the Clock.” Of the three teas in this month’s box, this was the one I was least excited about, but as it turns out, I really am enjoying this … so much so that this one could easily become a permanent fixture in my cupboard.  Yes, I like it that much!

One glance at the ingredients suggest that this is the evening tea of the Steepster Select Box:  soothing, naturally caffeine-free chamomile and lavender, cool peppermint, and sweet rooibos and rose petals.  This is definitely a tea made for bedtime.

I really like the way the ingredients work together in this blend.  The rose and peppermint offer the strongest flavor, but, they also balance each other out so that it is neither too rosy nor too minty.  The chamomile is subtle, but offers a sweet, apple-like flavor in the background.  And thankfully, the lavender is not overdone here.  I love lavender, but when lavender is too strong it imparts a very perfume-y taste, and while this is strongly floral, it doesn’t taste of perfume.

The rooibos is not a strong flavor here, and I’m okay with that too.  It does offer a slight earthiness to the overall flavor, somewhat nutty and woody, but, these flavors manage to meld together with the stronger floral essences and create a very pleasing taste.  The overall cup is definitely on the feminine side – sweet with exotic floral tones – and I find that helps to give the cup an almost nurturing effect.

I feel very calm and relaxed after sipping on this tea, and I find this enjoyable enough that I could easily enjoy this on a nightly basis.  It’s really quite nice!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Fruit/Herbal Tisane, Rooibos

White Lavender from SerendipiTea

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  White

Where to Buy:  SerendipiTea

Tea Description:

White Tea gently blended with French lavender. Soft, light, romantic.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I am usually fond of lavender blends, so I was pretty sure I’d enjoy this White Lavender from SerendipiTea.  I have had some lavender blends where the lavender was way too much, though, and the cup ended up tasting more like the air in the soap shop in the mall than tea.

However, I think SerendipiTea approached this combination very well.  White tea is usually quite subtle, so they used a light hand when adding the lavender so that these two flavors can meet somewhere in the middle.  The cup has a nice balance of fresh, soft white tea flavor and soothing lavender.

A sense of calm envelops me as I sip this.  The white tea is so light and almost creamy, which adds such a pleasing element to the overall cup.  It is mild … gentle … mellow.  It soothes and relaxes me, a perfect cup to enjoy later in the evening when you’re starting to wind down.

Very nice.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in White Tea