A few weeks ago, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts (The Sporkful, in case you’re wondering), and host Dan Pashman brought up a coconut milk eggnog drink called Coquito, popular in Puerto Rico.
The way he described this spicy, creamy, coconutty delight gave me insta-cravings, and I immediately started googling for coquito recipes to try on my own. The holiday hustle and bustle and some personal difficulties got in my way, of course, and I promptly forgot about my quest to try this delicious Puerto Rican treat.
So imagine my surprise when I opened my A Quarter to Tea subscription box for December and saw a coquito-inspired white tea sitting right on top! This tea is a delight to look at, with big chunks of dried coconut and heavenly-scented spices throughout the leaf.
Brewed, it’s a beautiful light golden liquor with strong flavors of spiced coconut with a little eggnog undertone. I loved it with a splash of milk to truly impact that creamy, eggnog-y note I was hoping for.
If this tea is anything like true coquito, I’m certain I’d be a fan! Now the real test: can I make this sample last until I finally get off my tush and try brewing up a batch for comparison?
Probably not– it’s that good.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White Tea
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Tea of the Month for December 2016
We’re taking December to dreams of warmer weather all the way to Puerto Rico with our Coquito tea!
Coquito is a spiced coconut drink, that could almost be called coconut eggnog!
Our tea version is sweet and coconut-y, with cinnamon, clove, a touch of ginger with just a hint of tropical fruit lingering in the background.
This tea is limited run, so once it is gone, it’s gone for the season. It is sold only in 0.5oz quantities.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cricket from Whispering Pines Tea Company. . . . .
Today I’m drinking tea to try to cut through the hazy, dizzy feeling from too many of my mother-in-law’s mimosas. My in-laws are a rowdy, touchy bunch that imbibes, as opposed to my silent, book-readng, tea-drinking clan. I’m not with my family today, so I have to channel them via tea.
This cup is a gentle white tea with flowery cinnamon notes. It’s like a summer morning in a flower-strewn prairie. The tea itself takes a backstage to the dainty main notes.
When I looked up this tea on the Whispering Pines site, the author talks about a cricket song dancing through a desert plain. I was super-hype that I’d come up with the “outside flowers-in-an-expanse” visual.
Were the Whispering Pines dude and I connected? Am I a psychic? Should I take up tarot reading or palmistry or numerology or astrology? Or maybe I could acquire a crystal ball? Where does one acquire a crystal ball? Ebay, as it turns out. It’s also possible to get pendulums, runes, and scrying stones.
I could become a full-fledged witch. I think both my families would be accepting. If they aren’t, they can throw back mimosas until they can handle it.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Whispering Pines Tea Company
Description
The summer air was dry and warm as I watched the sun set over the high deserts of Prescott, Arizona. I could see the monsoon rains forming in the distance and feel a chill in the air as the plants braced for what was to come. A soft breeze carried the aroma of desert sage, juniper, and mesquite across the open land. The manzanita painted crimson lines into the sandy ocean of a desert, perfectly matching the sunset. An owl flew across the darkening horizon and the lizards scurried into their places, decorated with wildflowers. The land was silent, for no creature was brave enough to stay out in this storm. As the storm rolled in and I turned to leave, I heard the soft chirp of a beautiful cricket. I smiled and wondered how such a seemingly small creature could fill the entire desert with just a simple song.
Cricket is a desert-inspired chai blend. The base is a sweet white tea with strong notes of sage, and it’s blended very delicately with safflower and elderberries. The final touch is adding our classic chai spice blend and to pull it all together, adding a small amount of rubbed sage. The finished blend is immensely sweet and delicate with smooth spice and warm sage notes. The aroma of desert berries and mesquite spice fill in the final pieces of the experience, creating a synthesis of flavors that can bring anyone to the high deserts.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
White Strawberry from CitizenTEA. . . Simply Strawberry!
I have had this tea a few times now and each time I readied myself to write a review. However, that never really panned out…until now. Unfortunately, seeing as I am on the last of the leaf, it seems there is not the usual balance of ingredients. This is actually most notable in the color of the tea which usually looks as if it has two layers: the more clear white tea on top with the purplish-pink liquid beneath. Today I am guessing my leaf lacked the hibiscus needed to give the purplish-pink hue and so it looks like mug of plain white tea.
Luckily, the flavor doesn’t seem too affected. There is a candied strawberry flavor faintly floating in the mug that I noticed first, probably because I worried it would not be there given the lack of color. However, more prominent is the buttery hay notes of the white tea base. The apple and melon play off the base tea and create a rounder mouthfeel and velvety fruit flavor that helps sell the concept of a strawberry tea. One thing I will say is the hibiscus usually helps to create a more natural strawberry taste by providing just a little bit of tart and without it, the strawberry is more muted and reminiscent of strawberry flavoring as opposed to the fruit itself.
Ultimately I think White Strawberry is a pretty accurate name. It’s white tea. It’s strawberry. Just a simple name for a simple, yet enjoyable tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored White Tea
Where to Buy: CitizenTEA
Description
Sweet and juicy. Antioxidant-rich and nutrient-packed. Burns fat and boosts short term memory. Say what? That’s right. Topping the charts as one of the tastiest superfoods around is strawberry. So the reasons why you can find strawberry paired with almost any food is obvious. And our favourite pair of all? Strawberries and tea. Crisp, light, and extraordinarily strawberry, our Strawberry White is blended with fresh apple, sweet currant and a bright white tea. The perfect combination for a fresh-from-the-garden taste.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Hindbaersnitter Shou Mei from 52Teas. . . . . .
Normally I am not a lover of Shou Mei blends. I find the base can get a little soapy at times. This tea definitely does not have that problem. Instead the base is buttery and maybe a touch floral, which in this case is working with the other flavors in the blend as opposed to working against them like so many other white teas/shou meis I have tried.
The buttery element of the base helps to sell the concept of the pastry notes while the floral notes contribute to the raspberry flavor that really shines. Jammy and bright. On top of all that, there is a sweetness to this tea that can only be reflective of a sugary glaze.
Now I personally have never had a hindbaersnitter, at least not that I can recall, but if this is truly representative of what they taste like, I am sure I would be a fan. Yum!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below to see what teas are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Silver Yeti from Nepal Tea LLC. . . . .
Every once in a while I crave that light floral subtle buttery flavor that only a good solid white tea can deliver. After drinking quite a few heavier teas today, a solid white tea was exactly what I was craving. Luckily, I had this tea waiting to check out.
Nepal Tea LLC will be launching a Kickstarter campaign in February of 2017 so I thought it would be a good idea to see what they offer to see if I wanted to back them. Here is a bit about them:
Nepal Tea was conceived in May 2016, when Nishchal came back to the US from his trip to his homeland, Nepal. He stayed on the tea farm, which his father started in 1984. After seeing the impact tea-farming had on the community – he wanted to expand on the idea and start a social venture that not only promotes organic teas from Nepal, but also enriches the lives of farmers and creates sustainable communities.
So far, I’m liking what I’m reading and learning about them. Plus Silver Yeti is exactly what my taste buds are craving.
Silver Yeti from the very first sip is smooth, rich, and full of flavor. Wonderfully buttery notes with a subtle hint of a vegetal twist at the end. This tea delivers a silky mouth feel that keeps you coming back for more.
Just fantastic and a perfect tea to enjoy as I’m winding down my day.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Nepal Tea LLC
Description
Silver Yeti is made only from the finest tea buds (no leaves). It is also one of the least processed teas and yet the most expensive one.
Also known as silver needles and silver tips.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
