Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White Blend
Where to Buy: Praise Tea
Product Description:
Our special blend of white and green teas are fused together to make the delicate flavor the perfect summer drink. This amazing blend of summer fruits of mango, pineapple, papaya, strawberry, sour cherry, and apricot bits produces a refreshing, naturally sweet tea.
Tea Information:
Summer is over, but this tea offers the very best of summer in one teacup. (And truth be told, we are still experiencing some very summer-like weather lately!)
There are a lot of different fruit flavors in this tea, but I like that even though the fruit flavors are strong, they do not completely overwhelm the delicate base of green and white teas. The tea base tastes lightly grassy, sweet, and fresh. It is a very smooth tasting tea.
The fruit flavors are sweet, but they don’t taste cloying or sugary-sweet. There are notes from each of the fruits present: I can taste the tropical notes of the mango, pineapple and papaya, I can taste an almost nectar-like note that is very apricot-ish, and the aftertaste has a berry taste that is very strawberry. There is an ever so slight tart note, which I attribute to the sour cherry. This tart note is not present in the first couple of sips, but as I continue to sip, I notice it hit just before the tail.
The finish is sweet and there is next to no astringency to this blend. The aftertaste is sweet with a berry tingle that lingers a while. This is a really delicious fruit flavored tea. Enjoyable hot or iced, but I think I find it most refreshing as an iced tea.
While browsing through Praise Tea’s incredible selection of teas, I had some trouble finding this particular tea on the website. I contacted the sales department of Praise Tea and learned that this tea is a seasonal blend that is currently sold out. (Their sales staff is very courteous!) Watch for this tea to return when the weather turns warm – you’ll want to keep it on hand for an iced tea that your whole family will LOVE!
Ceylon Symphony from Boston Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Boston Tea Company
Company Description:
Calmly sit and be cradled by the sound of stringed instruments gently being played while you sip this delicately flavored black tea. There’s a soothing symphony in every elegant cup! Boston Tea’s loose leaf tea reflects the passion projected in our company’s motto: “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Tea.” Our full leaf tea embodies natural beauty, rich aromas, and the finest quality that our worldly master tea blenders ardently seek. Found in the lush plantations of Sri Lanka and mountainous regions of India and China, Boston Tea blends its teas to create the heartiest, strongest and most flavorful cup. Enjoy!
Taster’s Review:
This is an extraordinarily smooth, mellow cup of Ceylon tea. Of course, most Ceylon teas that I encounter are mellow and smooth; it is in the nature of the Ceylon tea to BE smooth and mellow.
But there is something a little more about this tea… a little extraordinary.
First of all, it has a richness to it that I wouldn’t normally associate with a Ceylon. It has interesting, complex layers of flavor – a deep fruity note, delicate hints of flower, a honey-like flavor and even a somewhat woodsy tone and an earthy characteristic.
This is a tea that is hearty enough to enjoy as a breakfast tea and yet special and flavorful enough to sip in the company of close friends and family. It would make a spectacular iced tea (I’m imagining a pitcher of this with thin slices of lemon generously added to the pitcher – what a refreshing image!) and is very good served hot too, perhaps with a dollop of honey and a splash of milk.
One thing I like about this tea is that the smooth, mild flavor of it allows the drinker to become a little adventurous. By being a little adventuresome with your additions, you can really bring out some surprising qualities in this tea. Try dropping a few chunks of crystallized ginger to it and enjoy the spicy and sweet notes. It is equally as good with all kinds of fruit – not just citrus! – and there are many different flavored syrups out there that you can try. This tea offers you that kind of freedom to experiment!
Despite its yielding nature to these types of additions, this tea is also very pleasant to sip all on its own: rich and robust, yet sweet and smooth. This is a delightful cuppa!
