Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Jardin du Thé
Tea Description:
Mélange de thé vert sencha et de thé blanc White Monkey accompagné de framboises entières et de fleurs de violette, un mariage équilibré.
Blend of Sencha and White Monkey accompanied by whole raspberries and violet flowers, a balanced marriage.
Learn more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
I’m very fortunate to have a friend currently travelling abroad in Europe (shout out to MissB) who has been sending back teas to several tea-crazy Canadians, including myself and this is one of the teas she was kind enough to pass along my way. I’m not really a green tea person; but lately I’ve been opening up to the green stuff considerably and Spring time is probably when I receive it the best anyway, so I was pretty excited to get to try this one!
It’s perfect for spring; it’s light, fruity and floral which is all of the things that have been hitting the spot this last week with my daily cold brews. I’m sad to report that I made a bit of a mistake measuring it out though; by which I mean I sneezed as I was pouring, and half the sample fell on the floor. NOOO! So, my cold brew was very small compared to the typical 25 oz. I usually make at a time. This was probably a lot closer to 12 oz. if not 10.
Dry, this smells amazingly fresh with super intense and realistic raspberry notes; definitely reminded me of picking raspberries from my Grandma’s garden as a child. We’d get cut up by the thorns from the seemingly endless raspberry patch (which as an adult I now realize was probably only like five by five feet), but it was all worth it to lick that sweet, sticky red juice from our grubby fingertips after collecting an ice cream pail worth of berries for the night’s dessert. I don’t smell the violet in the blend; but this is already earning ‘nostalgia’ points. The liquor is a really pretty almost lime-y green, but with a bit more of a yellow tinge to it. It smells very fresh, and very fruity.
The taste is spot on; I taste the raspberry first and foremost and it’s everything I’m remembering from those vacations at Grandma’s. The green base cuts through it a little bit and it a touch grassy with a little bit of the chlorophyll/fresh cut lawn taste. Both flavours compliment one another quite well though; it makes the whole ‘garden’ imagery I’ve got going on significantly stronger. And at last the violet in the blend is making an impression! While it IS present throughout the entire sip way down underneath the raspberry and base, it comes through the strongest near the end of the sip after the initial sweetness of the raspberry has started to subside. I don’t think it’s necessarily distinctly violet; but it is nice and very natural. Floral things seem to get chemical tasting quickly, even when they aren’t artificial but this stays away from that. Finally, I think there are some extra notes in here that are a little softer and sweeter; my initial impression was something like sugar cane but by the end of the cup I was definitely leaning more towards honey.
So all in all, I was very impressed by this tea! I just wish that I’d been able to steep up more of it because it was fresh, and juicy with that sweet sensation of nostalgia and all the elements necessary to invoke the imagery of a Spring time garden! Unfortunately, I don’t see it listed on the JDT website, otherwise I’d seriously look in to picking up a little bit more for my personal stash – I’m wondering if it’s one of those blends you can only buy in store? The JDT website is pretty hard to navigate, and there seem to be quite a few blends missing from the samples that she’s sent my way.
And that’s truly such a huge shame.
Groovy Guava from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
A wonderful afternoon tea! This fabulous blend of delicious fruits is melded with colorful herbs and our delicate White Monkey tea. The pale ecru cup emits a scrumptious fruity taste that is certain to please.
Contains: Green tea, Orange Blossoms, Raspberry pieces, Cornflower petals and flavorings.
Taster’s Review:
Delicious!
This tea really is fabulous! From the very first moment when I opened the package I fell in love with this tea. Well, actually, I think I fell in love with it before that – because I love the name too. The fragrance of the tea is exotic and captivating, smelling a bit like a tropical paradise … or at least, what I would imagine a tropical paradise to smell like!
This luscious aroma translates to the flavor to a T (tea?) It is nectar-like and sweet, like a tropical smoothie, only thinner. There are hints of tartness throughout the sip, but they really reveal themselves in the finish. The aftertaste is sweet yet tart, complete with that tart-y tingle on the tongue.
The flavor of the green tea almost gets lost in this blend. Almost, but not quite. I can taste the light, crisp flavor of the green tea. One thing this mild green tea lacks, though, is the grassy/vegetative taste that so often accompanies a green tea … making this tea a perfect choice for those who generally find that grassy taste off-putting. The flavor is very smooth, mellow and fruity … but it doesn’t taste like a tropical fruit punch. It has that sweet, fresh flavor of green tea but without the grassy tones.
This tea wins big points with me. It’s awesome iced, but also very good served hot too … and with winter around the corner, it would be nice to keep this tea on hand for those times when you’d like to take a little tropical getaway, even if it is just in your head … and teacup!
White Monkey Green Tea from thepuriTea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: thepuriTea
Product Description:
Don’t be fooled by the name – White Monkey is actually a green tea. Its flavorful young buds are hand-plucked and processed on the famous Taimu Mountains of Fujian, China. The abundance of white “buds” (very young, tender leaves) gives it its unusual name. Although White Monkey is a rare and nuanced tea that’s sure to appeal to serious green tea drinkers, it has a clean, sweet taste that makes it a fantastic introduction to premium green tea for newer tea drinkers. Notes of fresh fruit, sweet spices and cocoa are balanced with a classic green tea astringency and grassiness. A complex, lingering and remarkably refreshing aftertaste makes this tea incredibly easy to drink while providing the layers and depth that tea connoisseurs demand in a great green tea.
Taster’s Review:
This is an extraordinary green tea. The leaves are very small and light green in color. I can even see the tiny buds!
The flavor is very light, crisp and clean. Very sweet, but not in a cloying way. The above description suggests “notes of fresh fruit, sweet spices and cocoa” – and that is pretty much right on the money. I can taste the fruity notes, the hint of spice and even the cocoa notes. The cocoa was especially surprising for me, because they are pretty unusual for a green tea.
There are also hints of a nutty flavor in this cup … or is that nutmeg? I don’t get a lot of grassy flavor from this, but there are whispers of it in the background. I love sipping this tea, it is full of intrigue and complexity.
A truly beautiful tea experience awaits those who drink this tea. It is definitely one of the best green teas I’ve ever had the opportunity to try. I can’t sing it’s praises enough – it is such a treasure! I recommend it to all tea lovers out there. I also recommend steeping this one in a gaiwan for the best flavor – but strain very carefully as the leaves are tiny, even when they unfurl.