Product Description:
Ready to Drink Tisane from Argo Tea.
Argo Tea’s White Tea Açai Squeeze® is youthful white tea from the Fujian province of China, vitamin-rich açai from Amazon rainforests of Brazil and fresh-squeezed lemonade.
Learn more about this product here.
Taster’s Review:
This White Tea Acai Squeeze from Argo Tea is actually pretty tasty. As some of you might be aware, I’m not always crazy about ready-to-drink teas because they usually taste more like sugar/sweetener than they do tea. But, I can taste tea here.
Yeah, it’s still sweet, but this is actually more tart than it is sweet! The lemonade notes are especially profound in this tea. The white tea adds a crisp, airy sort of background note with a hint of vegetative flavor. The acai berry is also a strong flavor, but it unites with the lemon-y notes quite nicely.
I guess if I were to offer any complaint about this, it would be that I wished there was a little less lemonade and acai berry and a little more tea, but I still found this beverage refreshing and not too sweet and it didn’t leave behind that syrupy feel on my tongue after I finished drinking it – you know, that sort of cloying, sickeningly sweet sensation that seems to coat the palate when one drinks those overly sweetened RTD beverages that they call tea? I didn’t get that with this, and I’m glad. This is not too sweet and I can taste the tea – these get big PLUS points from me when it comes to RTD teas.
Argo is currently promoting their Scratch and Win promotion on Facebook – you can win a free bottle of their tea from their website! Good luck!
Pineapple Angel Food Cake Shou Mei White Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
I blended our premium shou mei white tea with freeze-dried pineapple and organic flavors to create a soothing cuppa yummy. The pineapple is a very strong scent when you smell the dry tea, but tasting it, you definitely get the flavor of soft, vanilla, spongy angel food cake underlying the sweet pineapple. All it’s missing is the ability to chew it, and for me, the flavor is so spot on, it makes me want to start chewing to feel that soft, chewy, spongy cake. I have a feeling this one is going to be very popular.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about 52Teas Kickstarter Initiative for new equipment to enhance his business (specifically, his iced tea business: Southern Boy Teas) here.
Taster’s Review:
There was a time when you would ask me what my favorite kind of cake was, and my answer would be angel food cake. In fact, every year as a youngster, my gramma would make me an angel food cake as my birthday cake. But not just any angel food cake … she made this incredible chocolate frosting … it was so perfectly, deliciously chocolate-y that there were even chunks of milk chocolate bar in the frosting. My mouth is watering right now, thinking about that cake. It was so good.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had that cake … or any angel food cake for that matter. I’m not big on baking. So, when 52Teas announced this Pineapple Angel Food Cake Shou Mei White Tea as their tea of the week for the week of October 7th, I was excited! I could not wait to try it!
The dry leaf smells delicious! The aroma of the brewed tea is not nearly as strong as the dry leaf, but it still smells yummy. I smell the pineapple, and the crisp, vegetal scent of the white tea. I don’t smell a strong baked cake sort of smell here … I’m hoping that I’ll taste it though.
When right-from-the-teapot hot, the flavors are a little bit muddled. I taste the pineapple, and I taste a sweet creaminess. I taste the white tea notes. But, allow the tea to cool a few minutes and the flavors begin to emerge!
Now, I taste the delicate vanilla notes that reflect a sort of “angel food cake” sort of taste. These meld very nicely with the softness of the white tea, which is airy and slightly earthy. In keeping with the overall “delicateness” of this tea, the pineapple is not an aggressive, in your face flavor. It’s all a very soft, sweet experience – sort of like what you’d get if you were to be eating a slice of angel food cake topped with a pineapple sauce. The flavors continue to improve as the tea cools, telling me that this would be excellent as an iced tea.
And speaking of iced tea … the newest fundraising initiative that 52Teas has “kickstarted” is for equipment for their iced tea brand: Southern Boy Teas. I’ve reviewed quite a few of these teas, and there have been a few new ones recently announced. (I am eagerly awaiting my delivery of these teas, which I will receive as a gift for supporting the kickstarter fundraising campaign. When I get them … I’ll review them!) Please consider contributing to this fundraiser, because I really want to see Frank dance the jig!
White Tea Rose Melange from The London Tea Room
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White Teas
Where to Buy: The London Tea Room
Tea Description:
Organic; a blend of dreamy jasmine and wild roses, with green and white Chinese teas, rejuvenating peppermint and calm-as-hell lavender.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This White Tea Rose Melange from the London Tea Room is really quite lovely! I love that I can taste each of the components of this tea. Each is well represented, but, none is too overpowering.
The first flavor I notice is that of the rose. It is sweet and very distinctly rose, but as I said, it doesn’t overwhelm. It’s quite smooth and pleasant, and I love the way it melds with the jasmine and the lavender to create a medley of floral tastes. These three flowers accentuate each other beautifully to create a soft, luxurious flowery note without tasting soapy. It’s just really smooth.
In keeping with the softness of the floral tones, the green and white teas are also on the delicate side, offering lush fresh tones with hints of vegetation and a sort of “airy” quality that evokes thoughts of flowers floating in the breeze.
The one component that worried me when I read the list of ingredients was the peppermint, because peppermint can sometimes throw off the balance of a tea like this, especially when the other components are so delicate in taste. But, whomever blended this seemed to take this into consideration (a skillful blender, indeed!) and added the peppermint with care. There are mere whispers of a minty crispness to the background notes of this tea. Just a hint of something to add some dimension. I love that!
This is a truly delightful tea!
Smooth Orange White Tea from Steep This!
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Steep This!
Tea Description:
We love orange and our line-up seemed amiss without an orange offering of some kind. So we got straight to work on duplicating everyone’s favorite orange/ice-cream treat on a stick (the name is trademarked so bare with the generic description, people) and boy did we nail it. Seriously, you could sell this stuff from an ice cream truck. Same great taste, less running, begging for change and crying. Try it, it’s smooth!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh, this is really good. I almost didn’t order this Smooth Orange White Tea when I placed my order with Steep This! because I thought … oh, wow an orange flavored tea … how boring. But, I’m glad that I ignored my inner voice this time and went ahead and added this tea to my cart. This is really tasty!
The earthy, crisp flavor of the white tea is a really delightful base for the bright, juicy flavor of orange. And the vanilla offers just the right amount of creaminess to the cup, accentuating the natural creamy notes of the white tea, to create a flavor that is very creamsicle-ish. Yes, this tastes like someone melted a creamsicle and poured it into my cup of tea, mixing it with a sweet and refreshing white tea.
The result is a flavor that is a little bit tea and a little bit sweet treat and a whole lot of yummy. It tastes great hot or cold … but I prefer it hot. I find that the orange and vanilla flavors are more distinguished when the tea is hot. As it cools, it becomes more “melded” … with less distinctness in the individual notes.
This tea is good for several infusions too! I found that the second infusion was even tastier than the first, and the third was a little softer tasting, but still very flavorful … and I expect I could have gotten even more infusions out of the leaves!
So far, I’ve tasted two teas from this new company … and I’ve liked both of them … I might just have to call upon them again soon to try more!
Shou Mei Classic White Tea from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
This fine selection from Fujian province boasts a delicate herbaceous aroma, full flavor, and clean finish. The well-balanced cup has a subtle sweetness with delicate walnut flavor nuances.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I don’t drink as many white teas as I do other tea types, and I’m not sure if that’s because I don’t find as many “unique” white teas out there, or if it’s just because I prefer other tea types over white tea. But I do certainly enjoy white teas … especially later in the afternoon and early evening … when I’m starting to wind down. I find the flavor of a white tea to be calming. The gentle, delicate notes relax me.
And this Shou Mei Classic White Tea from Upton Tea Imports produces a perfect calming, relaxing cuppa.
The flavor is soft and sweet, with vegetative notes. I usually call white tea’s vegetative qualities “hay-like” and that description suits this tea well too. There is a warm, nutty quality to this cup, as the above notes from Upton suggest … it is almost like a walnut-type note. I don’t know that what I’m tasting here is walnut … but it is nutty and pleasant.
The finish is subtle and there is very little noticeable astringency to this cup. The aftertaste is a barely-there whisper of sweetness that lingers on the palate.
Overall, a really pleasing Shou Mei.