Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White Tea
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Description:
This is our own holiday creation; green and white tea combined with the flavors of eggnog. The combination of China Green and white tea brews up to a light and sweet liquid that combines perfectly with the flavor of eggnog. Real pieces of vanilla beans and nutmeg turns it into a truly guilt free decadent treat. Be sure to get some for gifts and to sip while you decorate the tree and listen to holiday music. Ingredients: Fair Trade Certified TM Organic China Green Tea, Fair Trade CertifiedTM Organic Pai Mu Tan, and Organic Vanilla, Organic Nutmeg, and Organic Natural Flavoring
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! This tea is quite fragrant! As it was brewing in my Breville One-Touch tea maker in the kitchen, I could smell the distinct aroma of eggnog while watching television in the living room! It smells deliciously creamy and custard-like, and the scent of nutmeg filled the house … yum!
Admittedly, I don’t drink a lot of eggnog, as I find it to be a bit much. I like it, yes, but, after a few sips, I find myself wishing I hadn’t poured myself a whole glass, do you know what I mean? It gets so cloyingly sweet and overwhelmingly creamy way too fast for me.
But, I don’t have that problem with this cup of tea. Sure, it tastes rich and creamy and very eggnog-like, but, what I’m not experiencing with this cup of Eggnog Tea from Trail Lodge Tea that I usually experience with real eggnog is that palate-crushing, smothering sensation of creamy overload.
To cut through that creaminess, many eggnog drinkers add a shot of rum or other liquor to the custard-like beverage, but as I’ve mentioned several times on this blog, I’m not much of a drinker, so I don’t think that kind of addition would serve me well.
Instead, I’m finding the way to cut through the sweet, creamy decadence of eggnog is with a combination of white and green teas! They give this cup a lightness and a fresh taste that I don’t find in a glass of real Eggnog, and I like that difference very much. I like that I can enjoy a sweet, creamy eggnog-like treat, but without feeling weighed down or on the sugar high that real eggnog can take you.
THIS is my kind of eggnog!
Warm Apple Pie from sTEAp Shoppe
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black and White Blend
Where to Buy: sTEAp Shoppe
Tea Description:
Warm Apple Pie is the experience of biting into that wonderful pie with the cinnamon and apples baked together wrapped in a flaky crust, without the guilt. Loose leaf Bai Mudan white tea & Assam flowery Orange Pekoe Black tea combined with Naturally Dried Apples and Organic Maple syrup crystals giving that rich apple pie taste. Local fresh pressed apple cider is infused in the dried apples to enhance the apple experience in this tea.
Bai Mudan White Tea, Assam Flowery Black Tea, Naturally Dried Apple, Fresh pressed Apple Cider, Organic Maple Syrup Crystals, Cinnamon, Allspice
Naturally Caffeinated
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I opened the package my eyes rolled back in my head and I emoted some primal “yummmmmm” sound. My mother made the most delicious apple crumble for Thanksgiving and this tea was spot on for that amazing aroma!
From the scent alone, my mouth was watering at the ripe juicy smell of apple! Now you may or may not know but sTEAp Shoppe uses all natural flavoring in their teas and Janet of sTEAp Shoppe works painstakingly to perfect her blends without going the easy route of artificial flavors! Her dedication to using natural ingredients is something I applaud.
First sip … Lord have mercy! This is so very very good. To me, its more of a tisane than a tea because it is something I would reach for in the evening when I need my sweet tooth appeased. The tea bases themselves are not what is front and center here but sometimes I just don’t care if I can taste the tea in a blend. I can’t say I am shocked by this either because in dry form the tea is not what is front and center either. More so oodles and oodles of apple pieces. Now of course there is tea present both in dry form and in the flavor of the tea itself but truly what stands out here is an all natural very fresh decedent flavor of apple cider, warm pie, maple, and a very delicious cobbler like flavor. Pie, cobbler, tort, whatever … its soooo good!
We have many apple orchards near my residence, luckily I have been exposed to many wonderful apples in my days, and I have to say that this tea brings back memories of growing up by an apple orchard, or the Apple Festival we have every year, or the historic park not too far from me where this dear old man runs a cider mill on weekends. Not to mention memories of that amazing apple pie my mother made for Thanksgiving recently.
This tea is on the sweeter side, the longer it sits and cools the sweeter it becomes. Yet with the all natural ingredients it offers so many health benefits it takes away the guilt of enjoying such a delicious decedent dessert, or um, I mean tea.
Elderberry White Tea from Whispering Pines Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Whispering Pines Tea
Tea Description:
Purely delicious, this exciting berry-white blend will have you hooked! One of the best iced teas at Whispering Pines.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have not had a lot of experience with elderberries, in fact, I think I’ve only had them as a component in tea blends!
This is really tasty. The delicately sweet taste of the white tea is showcased nicely with the tart taste of the elderberry and rosehips. It doesn’t taste too sweet, nor does it taste overly – or artificially – flavored. It has a pleasant berry background note with hints of green grass and hay in the foreground. I taste a hint of flower to the cup, and a slight honey-esque tone as well, which was kind of surprising to me, because I don’t usually taste a honey note with white tea … but there it is!
The brewing suggestions for this tea (on the Whispering Pines website) suggest a steep time of three minutes, using 160°F water. While I got the temperature right, I didn’t steep this for just three minutes, I chose to double it and steep it for six, which is my normal “go to” time for most white teas.
And I’ve got to say, I really enjoy it using these brewing parameters, it is tangy from the berries and rosehips, but a nice sweetness from the white tea comes through too. I didn’t find it to be too tart for my liking, but, it does have a strong tart flavor, so if you are one who tends to be sensitive to tartness, you might want to add a little sweetener to this, a little coconut sugar will help to tame the sour pucker from this tea.
I think that a lower brew time would help reduce the dry astringency that I experience with this tea, but I don’t find the astringency to be unpleasant. Instead, I find that it adds a certain crispness to the cup. Overall, this is a very refreshing tea, one that I think would make a stunning iced tea (although, it’s much too cold for iced tea right now!)
I found this to be a very agreeable first experience with a tea from Whispering Pines Tea!
Spiced Brandy Shou Mei from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This week’s tea is a spiced brandy flavored shou mei with cinnamon, cardamom, clove, black peppercorns and a little anise seed. It’s like a hard apple cider without the apple, or maybe you’d rather think of it as a brandy flavored white chai. However you think of it, it’s a spicy cup of warming goodness, guaranteed to take the chill out of your bones on a crisp autumn day.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I categorized this as a Chai because it is indeed very chai-like.
The aroma of the dry leaf isn’t as chai-like as I expected it to be, though. (And by “chai-like,” I mean the spiced tea that we’ve come to recognize as “chai” here in the U.S.) Instead, it’s very brandy-ish. It almost smells like bubble gum … fruity and sweet, but there is a distinct fermentation to the aroma as well, the way that I’d imagine brandy to smell. Since I’m not big on alcohol or how it smells, I can only imagine that this is what brandy would smell like … but it does smell very appealing!
Brewed, this takes on a more chai-spice fragrance, with the aroma of cardamom, cinnamon and anise being the strongest scents I detect. I also smell the brandy, and the bouquet of the brandy combined with the aromatic spices is really very intoxicating! It’s soothing and relaxing … like something I’d want in a candle or air freshener! I wonder how well a Spiced Brandy air freshener would go over?
The flavor … well, imagine Shou Mei, flavored with brandy and masala spices. Yeah, that’s what it tastes like. The Shou Mei offers a little more body and flavor than a Bai Mu Dan would, and I think with the stronger flavors of spice and brandy that is just what was needed. It is a crisp, slightly vegetative (think freshly cut hay rather than grass here), and light, with a fair amount of astringency which I think is highlighted due to the presence of the brandy flavor. It gives this an almost “warm, mulled brandy” kind of finish.
The spices are delightful here, and I realize that the reason I’m so over the moon for this is the anise. It is in there! Not a hint of it either. It is a prominent spice, but at the same time, I find a nice balance. This isn’t overly cinnamon-y or clove-y. The pepper is a bit of a background note. The cardamom and cinnamon and clove are on equal footing with the anise shining through a little stronger than the others. And that’s just the way I like it. I love anise, and while it can be a polarizing spice, I am glad that 52Teas had the guts to include it in this blend. It really accents the brandy in a very flavorful way.
I’m really enjoying this, and it does, indeed, take the chill off a cold, autumn-y day like today!
Darjeeling 2nd Flush Castleton Moonlight from The Tea Smith
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: The Tea Smith
Tea Description:
Darjeeling had improved weather conditions this year, and the 2nd flush is a real treat this year. Fresh from the fields, Castleton again has produced a fine sweet tea. The care taken to produce this tea is evident in the beautiful leaves and complete budsets throughout.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is such a surprising tea! An excellent white leaf that really has stunning taste!
Notes of peach, grape, honey explode with a lovely lingering flavor.
The white tea is interesting – much more robust than your average white tea.
It does have a very nice darjeeling flavor yet a bit more buttery and vegetal than a black darjeeling. What a combination! I did not even know such things existed haha. I am glad I do now and I am glad I got a full 2 ounces of this or I would be ordering more right away!
Now this is one of The Tea Smith’s more “pricy” teas but I tell you what its still a fair price compared to other tea vendors. At a little under 7.00 per ounce, for such a high quality tea, you can’t beat it!
This is most definitely one of those teas you sit with, using your gaiwan or gong fu set up, or cherished china. It is deserving of the best you can brew it with, giving it the attention it deserves. Truly a refined tea. However I feel I could absolutely serve this up to my black tea only – bought in the grocery store – in a bottle friends and they too would love it. Perhaps they would not appreciate it for all of its elements, notes, and flavor profile, but they surely would enjoy every sip, or guzzle as they probably would prefer it iced, which would also be lovely.
Each steep, as with any high quality tea, provides new discoveries and layers of notes, some being of melon, some of berries, some more grassy, or savory, yet with each steep, now up to 4, I am getting more and more that I love about this tea. At one point it was giving over a wonderful honeysuckle note.
The leaf itself both in dry and moist form is gorgeous. Curly leaves of green with some white throughout with hints of almost lime green. I personally do not feel the photo does it justice. This is one I feel I will have to keep sampling to fully discover but it is one that is worthy of reviewing here for you and I highly recommend this tea for you to try.
