Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Tea Ingredients:
Organic White Tea and Organic Blackberry Pieces with Blackberry Flavor.
Taster’s Review:
I am usually someone who turns my nose up at bagged tea. That’s because I find that the bagged tea is usually inferior to loose leaf. However, I must say that the teas that I’ve been tasting from Tea of Life have been really impressive. And these are sacheted teas!
And the latest tea that I’ve tasted from Tea of Life is this Organic White Tea Blackberry. This is really, REALLY good. The blackberry flavor is really well defined and doesn’t taste artificial. It tastes like I ate a fresh blackberry – bursting with juicy flavor! – every time I take a sip. Sweet, true to the fruit flavor. Delicious!
And the sweet, delicate, somewhat earthy quality of the white tea marries nicely with the abundant blackberry flavor. They are balanced well – with enough blackberry flavor so that there’s no doubt what I’m tasting, but, not so much that it tastes like blackberry punch and not tea. I can taste the white tea here.
I received this tea sachet as part of the Organic Teas Natural Tea Pyramids gift package. The description of this tea gift package in the Tea of Life brochure says this:
A beautifully packed gift of tea. Contains 4 different Organic teas in biodegradable pyramid tea bags which are individually packed in pyramid shape boxes.
This is a really fun tea gift! The tea sachets are packaged very elegantly in slender pyramids, and there are four different teas (a black tea, a green tea, this white tea, and a rooibos blend) – something like this would be ideal for someone who is new to exploring tea, or would also be great for travel.
A really yummy tea!
La Isla Bonita Custom Tea Blend from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
Tropical the island breeze All of nature wild and free This is where I long to be La Isla Bonita And when the samba played The sun would set so high Ring through my ears and sting my eyes Your Spanish lullaby
A Jennifer Bliss Custom Blend.
Learn more about this custom blend here.
Find more Jennifer Bliss blends here.
Taster’s Review:
Tasty! I must say that when it comes to Adagio Teas, I definitely have better luck with the white teas versus the black teas. This La Isla Bonita Custom Tea Blend (created by very own Jennifer Bliss aka TeaEqualsBliss!) from Adagio Teas – a white tea blend – is very nice, indeed.
The tropical notes are the strongest flavors in this cup. I taste the coconut and pineapple out in front, and then just beneath those tropical fruits, I taste notes of orange and tangerine. The coconut tastes smooth and creamy, the pineapple is sweet with just a hint of tart, and the orange and tangerine add a pop of bright flavor to the cup.
The white tea tastes soft and delicate and slightly earthy. It is the right base for this tea. Everything is “delicate” but together becomes a powerful flavor without becoming overwhelming.
And then there is the spearmint! I like that there isn’t too much spearmint in this blend. There is just the right touch of mint to give it that cool taste of mint without throwing off the sweet tropical and citrus-y notes.
What I’m enjoying most here is how the airy quality of the white tea comes together with the spearmint and together, the two become a very “breezy” sort of sensation, which is in keeping with the “La Isla Bonita” inspiration behind the blend. I love that I can taste the inspiration!
This is tasty served hot, but it really shines when it’s iced. So deliciously fruity with just a touch of mint: refreshing!
White Guava Tea from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
White Guava tea brews a light infusion with a beautiful, rich scent and a delicate tropical flavor. It comprises an exotic blend of white peony loose-leaf tea leaves, strawberries, ginger, and natural flavors, and as with all of our white teas, White Guava tea prepares nicely both hot and iced.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
As I sip this White Guava Tea from The Persimmon Tree, I can’t help but think of summertime! Specifically, I’m thinking of summertime in Southern California, when the strawberries are in season and you can buy fresh, ripe strawberries right from the field from which they were grown.
Well, it’s been well over 10 years since I’ve been in Southern California, and for all I know, all the strawberry fields are gone now in favor of “city improvement,” which means more buildings and less strawberry fields. That doesn’t sound like improvement to me. But I didn’t come here to get all political on you, so I’ll stick to the tea.
This tea is bursting with guava and strawberry flavor and I love that the flavors taste true to the fruit. This doesn’t taste artificial. There is a hint of ginger to this, just enough to provide a little interest without it becoming too intrusive of a flavor. It is sweet, fruity and delicious.
And then I taste the White Peony tea flavor, which is sweet and delicate with subtle earth notes. Everything in this cup is really well-balanced: it’s not too fruity, it’s not too spicy. It has just the right amount of flavor to complement the tea without overpowering it. It isn’t bitter. There is a faint astringency to the cup but I only started noticing it when I started focusing to find it. The aftertaste is lightly sweet with just a barely-there hint of berry tartness to it.
This is wonderful served hot on a chilly winter’s evening, but, it’s even better served iced. Cool and refreshing!
Madagascar Coconut White Tea Blend from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Our Madagascar Coconut white tea is like a coconut cream pie in a cup! A vibrant combination of Madagascar vanilla and coconut enrich a toasty white tea for a fruity, buttery and sweet finish. Enjoy either hot or iced for a light, sweet delight.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s customized subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
My subscription package from Simple Loose Leaf arrived the other day and I’m LOVING this Madagascar Coconut White Tea Blend that I received! What a deliciously creamy tea! It tastes decadent, but it feels light and refreshing.
The white tea base is a Shou Mei white tea. I like this choice, because it isn’t as delicate as a Bai Mu Dan. The Shou Mei is a stronger tasting tea and this allows for a more flavorful experience. I can taste the earthy, hay-like notes of the white tea, along with a light, buttery sort of taste. It is crisp and exhilarating to sip.
The vanilla cream notes are smooth and rich and taste very dreamy! Like a dessert but without being a overly sweet treat. The coconut and vanilla are nicely balanced with the vanilla notes maybe just barely edging out over the coconut, but not by much. I taste just a tad more vanilla than coconut. But the two together are quite wonderful, like a sweet coconut custard.
You might remember my blog post about last month’s tea from Simple Loose Leaf. Well, they got in touch with me not long after the post published, and they wanted to make my dissatisfaction with that tea right! I was very impressed with not just their willingness to work with me to make things right, but their wanting to go above and beyond what they needed to do to fix things.
I love it when I find a company that is dedicated to excellent customer service – even when I will be the first to admit that the fault was not really with Simple Loose Leaf … it was my fault for not having read the description before I placed the order! I saw Cocoa Cream and thought CHOCOLATE without reading the “coffee” in the description. That’s my fault, not theirs. But they still wanted to make things right, and I love that.
They wrote me a nice email, and in it, they offered to replace the tea that I didn’t care for with a tea of similar price and weight ~or~ a handful of free samples. I, of course, opted for the samples since I’m a taster. This month, along with this month’s selection, I also received three free samples. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on those teas with you when I try them! Until then, I’m so happy that I included this Madagascar Coconut White in my subscription order, because it’s fantastic!
On the Ninth Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas Sent Me This Tea …
Wow … day nine. The big day is nearly here. A scary thought if you haven’t finished your holiday shopping (or if you’re like me, you haven’t really begun.) Yikes!
This tea is very relaxing though, helping me to soothe those ’bouts with holiday anxiety.
White Winter
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
You’ll be dancing like the ladies on this 9th day of Christmas after one sip of this amazing white tea!
Filled with coconut, cream and white chocolate, this amazing white tea is pure perfection in a cup. So, don’t mind those flurries outside, you’re inside with this cuppa!
Taster’s Review:
The photo above is for Della Terra Teas’ White Chocolate Coconut Creme tea which looks a lot like and from the description seems to be a lot like this White Winter tea. I did contact Della Terra Teas to find out if the teas were the same, however, they haven’t been able to get back in touch with me. Understandable, since it’s just days before the holiday … everyone’s out there scurrying around, finishing up the last minute details for their celebrations.
So as I’m writing this, I’m not sure if Della Terra Teas played around with the recipe of their White Chocolate Coconut Creme tea to make this White Winter blend a little different, and since I haven’t yet tried the White Chocolate Coconut Creme tea, I can’t tell you from my own experience if they taste the same.
So, instead, I’ll simply focus on the tea that sits before me.
The white tea base is light and crisp but it isn’t so delicate that it becomes indistinguishable in the blend. I can taste the “hay-like” vegetal notes of the white tea. It feels very clean and refreshing on the palate, which is in contrast to the creamy notes that want to coat the palate in decadence. I like the way the two diverse elements play with one another in this teacup.
And there’s a lot of creaminess to this cup: the white chocolate, the cream and the coconut! I can taste each profile in this tea, and it’s really sweet. One of the sweeter teas that I’ve tasted in quite some time. It’s almost on the verge of excessively sweet.
As I am sure some of you are aware, I do have a sweet tooth and an obsession when it comes to chocolate, but, I think that this one might be almost too much. Mind you, I did say “almost,” as I haven’t yet pushed the cup aside, and I’m still enjoying what I’m drinking.
That said, I think that this is a tea that I’d reserve for those occasions when I am wanting a sweet, dessert-y tea. One of those times when my sweet tooth is crying out for attention. Something that will satiate my sweet tooth and my desire for rich chocolate flavor in one cuppa. I’d also recommend not adding any sugar to this cup – trust me when I say it doesn’t need it!
Tasty, but I think I’d like it better if there was a little bit of something to cut through the sweetness here. As it is, it’s almost too cloying.
Note: I did hear back from Della Terra Teas and they said:
the White Winter is similar to the White Chocolate Coconut Creme, HOWEVER, there are more parts vanilla and less white chocolate in the White Winter.
Perhaps the White Chocolate Coconut Cream is not quite as sweet then as this White Winter? Let us hope so!