A box of samples from the Sisters is a lot like Christmas! It is so exciting to paw through the teas and see new blends to try and companies you have never heard of. What a surprise to look up this company and find that they are fairly close to me, just a couple of hours away.
We are having a little cold spell so I tried this hot first while sitting by a warm fire. The sencha base is not too grassy, and while you definitely taste the green tea the overall impression from this tea is a light and lovely fruitiness. I don’t know that I have ever had gojiberry by itself, but what this reminds me most of are pomegranate blends I have tried. There ARE pomegranate seeds in this, so I may be tasting those plus some natural flavoring or it could be that gojiberry tastes a lot like pomegranate.
This is SO light and fruity that I could almost feel a spring breeze caressing my face and I knew I needed to make a pitcher of iced tea with it as well. Here in the South we drink iced sweet tea all year. The golden tea is so pretty as is, but in summer I would serve this with a few frozen berries swirling in each glass. This would be a wonderful picnic tea, or refreshment for an afternoon tea party!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea Barr Company
Description
This is a fine, pure combination of fresh Sencha tea, masterfully infused with juicy goji berries, and decorated with bright cornflowers. This tasty combination creates a unique and healthy treat.
Ingredients: green tea, goji berries, lemongrass, pomegranate seeds, cornflower blossoms, and natural flavoring.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Jasmine Pearls from My Tea Guy. . . .
Floral teas done just right can really deliver an experience like no other tea can. There is something so romantic, so alluring, so down right comforting about having a floral tea that delivers. And after the last few weeks of constant meetings and trainings, I needed some comforting.
So while I was organizing my stash I saw this delight that had gotten stuck behind a few other blends. Jasmine Pearls are typically a tea that I gobble up eagerly so to say the excitement was real would be an understatement.
Brewed with water prepped right around 175 and steeped for about well, the tea is still steeping because I’m using my Wall mug (from Boreal Wildcraft- do yourself a favor, check out this mug and get one. Game Changer!) Even with the tea constantly steeping, this tea is simply perfection. Soft subtle green tea notes mingle with stronger floral flavors to present this romantic combination that I have fallen in love with yet again.
What I adore most about this tea is that even with using this unique brewing vessel, the tea is not overwhelming or giving me that really overpowered floral note that makes the tea too harsh to enjoy. Each sip is just providing so much enjoyment and allowing me to really dive into the tea while enjoying watching the tea sit at the bottom of the mug. Simple, beautiful, and comforting. All the attributes you want to find in a good cuppa tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: My Tea Guy
Description
Jasmine Pearl tea is a fragrant, refreshing tea made by combining jasmine flower blooms with green tea leaves. The flowering jasmine plant originated in Persia and was brought to China around 300 A.D. Tea scented with jasmine became popular during the Song Dynasty between 960 and 1270 A.D.
Our Jasmine Pearls are hand-rolled under the supervision of tea master LIN ZHENG KAN (The fourth generation tea family descendant). The spring picked tea leaves are hand-rolled into pearls and then dried until summer when they are blended with unopened jasmine flowers which bloom overnight, releasing their aroma into the tea. The flowers are then removed and the process is repeated several times.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Paraiso from Dave and Solomon Teas
I have only had Yerba maté once, and it was plain and roasted. I didn’t care for it but felt it might appeal to a coffee drinker, which I am not.
I see there is Yerba mate in this but I don’t taste it, or at least it doesn’t taste like the roasted maté I had.
Which brings me to what it does taste like. Heaven. It smells and tastes like heaven. It smells so good that the rest of my tea was hijacked by my kid and she stuck a flag in the remaining leaves to claim it as her territory. My husband was passing as we were drinking it and smelled the tea and asked if he could have some, too. The aroma really is pretty irresistible.
There are large chunks of dried fruit in this and I really wish I had eaten them, but I kept them there to see if this wonderful angel would resteep, AND IT DID! Glory be, that’s like double the tea for my kid to take away from me!
This is super sweet and smooth, and although their description says it makes great iced tea, I haven’t tried it that way yet.
I am happy to have something I can buy on the sly for a certain young lady as a stocking surprise for Christmas. And I may have to hijack a few leaves, myself.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Dave and Solomons Tea
Description
Yerba Mate, Green Tea, Rooibos, Papaya, Apples, Oranges, Lemongrass, Marigolds, Malva Blossoms, Cornflower & Safflower Petals, Pineapple & Natural Flavors
Steep 1 tsp. per 8 oz. of boiling Water 3- 5 min. Sweeten & Enjoy! Hot 0r Iced!
The combination of these ingredients creates a somewhat tart & grassy earthy foundation
with an almost mango/peachy vibe to it, especially at the back of each sip.
This is another tea that makes a very impressive Iced Tea!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Morning Pick Me Up From Tocha Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tocha Tea
Tea Description:
The fragrance of purifying Osmanthus flowers is the perfect complement to the subtle sweetness of whole leaf black tea. Quench your thirst and revitalize your spirit with this smooth, full-bodied blend; ideal for kick-starting your morning or uplifting your afternoon.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A few months back, I won a contest that Tocha Teas was having on their Instagram page. I was ecstatic! I didn’t know a whole lot about their teas, but just by the name alone, I couldn’t wait to try them. Morning Pick Me Up was one of the blends I was sent.
First lets start this off by saying Tocha offers their line up in tea sachets, not as a loose leaf tea. I rarely drink anything but loose leaf. There are times-I will admit-that a tea bag or sachet is just easier to steep than loose leaf. But these sachets are full of gorgeous looking tea blends. Especially this one!
Morning Pick Me Up is a blend of black tea and osmanthus flowers. Almost a floral black tea if you will. But this tea isn’t a dainty floral tea by any means. My container of this tea is just about empty and I can feel myself wanting to buy more!
Steeped like a black tea with the recommended parameters offered on the package, this tea yields a gorgeous dark liquor full of malty notes mingled with a sultry subtle sweetness that yields almost a floral hint now and again. Really well done and one that gives you that full-bodied experience you look for in a brilliant black tea blend. I’m quite surprised by the fact this tea is a tea sachet and not a flavor I’m getting from a loose leaf. These pyramid sachets are packed full of robust marvelous black tea flavor that sticks with you.
So what I’m trying to say is what a gorgeous way to start your morning or afternoon off right- I need to steep up another cuppa to finish off my day for sure!
Spiced Coffee From Handmade Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Start A New Subscription: Handmade Tea
Tea Description:
Spiced Coffee from Handmade Tea begins with a smooth and silky Chinese black tea as the base. The base tea has sweet vanilla-like notes. Costa Rican coffee beans are blended into the base adding rich coffee flavor without being overwhelming. Lastly, cinnamon chips are blended in for a warm and spicy flavor. Together these flavors work quite well together. The vanilla notes from the base tea plays nicely with the cinnamon and the bold coffee notes balance things out a bit.
Taster’s Review:
Spiced Coffee from Handmade Tea has been sitting in my stash for sometime. I know shame on me but coffee flavored teas are not my cuppa. I’ve tried several in the past and most of them are just meh.
Now let’s put some perspective on this tea. I’m a coffee drinker in the mornings. I start every morning off with 2 cups of coffee then I switch to tea for the rest of the day. So I like the taste of coffee, but I don’t exactly like the idea of mixing coffee and tea together. Those profiles to me really don’t match.
Which is why the fact that I loved this tea so much completely surprised me. This tea is the perfect combination of rich coffee notes followed by a brisk tea malty flavor sweetened by subtle vanilla cinnamon notes. A treat to say the least. The flavors are gentle and bold but on point each sip.
I don’t always like the flavors that I receive from my monthly subscription from Handmade Tea. To be honest, I’ve cancelled my subscription once, but I found that I really missed receiving a uniquely different tea each month. This is just one of the wonderful examples you can expect when you subscribe!