Ten Tea Jasmine White

08Dec09

Recently, I’ve really gotten into jasmine teas, and, while most jasmine teas are either herbal or black teas, the new one that I got from Ten Tea is their Jasmine White blend. The tea is, as they describe it, very floral, and I would agree wholeheartedly on that fact. Though it had a nice aroma, it wasn’t one that I found overbearing. I used about 1 teaspoon of tea for 6 ounces of water just under boiling, and I steeped it for around two minutes, which is a safe bet for a white tea of this type. The tea was a very high quality, and I could tell that from the first sip, as the taste was extremely mild yet uplifting like any good silver needle tea. Also, as opposed to overpowering the taste of the fabulous quality silver needle, the tea instead was complemented well by it, and there was still a tea-like flavor alongside the jasmine. I highly recommend this to anybody looking for a high-quality jasmine tea, and, since it’s not too expensive, it will appeal to all palettes.

Summary:
Cost: $4.25/oz
8/10
Taste: 9/10
Brew Time: 1-3 minutes
Brew Temperature: 195˚ Fahrenheit
Overall Rating: 9/10

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Simpson & Vail Sweet Sizzling Cinnamon Black Tea

07Dec09

I unexpectedly received an 8-ounce bag of Simpson & Vail Tea’s new Sweet Sizzlin’ Cinnamon blend. This is a black tea with cinnamon pieces and what looks to be little bits of chocolate scattered throughout the loose leaves (don’t quote me on that, I’m not positive that it’s chocolate). Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with this tea, as it is both economical and of excellent quality. I infused a heaping teaspoon with around 8 ounces of water at a rolling boil, and I steeped the tea for a little under 3 minutes. Anyway, I really liked what I saw.

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Naivetea Mint Oolong

06Dec09

I got one of the coolest-looking tins of tea a couple of weeks ago from the folks at Naivetea, which seems to be a very fancy online tea shop. Their products are a little expensive, but neatly packaged in cute little tins. The tea that they sent me was a mint oolong, which is a blend I’ve never seen before. I infused 6 ounces of water with around 1 teaspoon of tea, which is how I usually take my oolong. I took a sip, and, while the mint flavor was definitely there, I tasted virtually none of the oolong tea itself, a feature of the tea with which I was rather disappointed.

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Republic Of Tea Ginger Lemongrass

05Dec09

Today, I have the pleasure of reviewing a new favorite tea of mine, called Ginger Lemongrass, which is a green tea from the Republic of Tea. The tea is mainly what looks to be sencha green tea, with little bits of ginger and lemongrass within. I brewed a cup using 1 teaspoon of the tea for 8 ounces of water, and using water just under boiling. Then, I allowed it to steep for just under 3 minutes, and poured it into a cup.

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Cup Of Tea Silver Yunnan

04Dec09

I’ve really been reviewing a lot of white teas recently, and I’ve really been loving them. The newest one is called silver Yunnan white tea, from Cup Of Tea. It is pretty plain, and includes more parts of the plant than silver needle, and completes the taste a bit more. It came neatly packaged from their English store via Royal Mail last week, and I have been enjoying it ever since. After brewing it for 2 minutes with water just under boiling, I was given a crisp cup of almost crystal-clear white tea, with nearly the quality of silver needle.

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Boston Tea Blueberry Kiwi White Tea

03Dec09

I received an interesting blend a couple weeks ago from the Boston Tea Company called Boston’s Blueberry Kiwi, which is a white tea with kiwi flavoring, blueberry flavoring, dried blueberry pieces, and malva flowers. The leaves themselves, along with everything with which they are blended, have a fabulous aroma, and they do with water added, but the blueberries smelled a bit stale. Otherwise, the infusing tea had a fabulous aroma.

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Drink The Leaf White Peony

02Dec09

A couple weeks ago, I received a couple of ounces of white peony bud tea from Drink The Leaf, a California-based tea company. White peony is similar to silver needle tea, but it contains other parts of the plant besides the bud, making it a full-bodied infusion. I was impressed after steeping it with water just under the boiling temperature, and I steeped it for around 2 minutes.

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Mariage Frères French Summer Tea

01Dec09

Recently, I have been trying out an extremely interesting blend of green tea and flowery elements that is meant to be iced. The tea, called Iskandar French Summer Tea (named after the Malaysian city of Iskandar), is from the folks of the French company of Mariage Frères. They purvey gourmet and artisan teas, and a wide array of iced teas, like the one I plan to review for you now. Like I said, this has a green tea base, and is complemented by flowers and other things. The leaves themselves smell like soap, and, after brewing with cold, filtered water, and infusing for an hour, like suggested, I was very disappointed with the result.

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SerendipiTea Charlie Chan Cha

30Nov09

The folks over at SerendipiTea sent me one of the most unique tea blends that I’ve ever tasted, called Charlie Chan Cha. The tea is a blend of green tea, mint, ginger, pepper, and various other spices such as cardamom. It’s almost like a minty chai with a green tea base, with the exception of its lack of garam masala. It comes in interesting packaging, with a small bag in a little cardboard box. They suggest using 1 teaspoon for 8 ounces of below-boiling water. I brewed it as suggested, and was presented with an interesting, spicy cup of tea.

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Mighty Leaf Green Tea Tropical

29Nov09

Last week, I was sent some of Mighty Leaf Tea’s tropical green tea. As soon as I received it, I opened up the box and saw first its beautiful packaging, and inside the bag, there was a special measuring spoon that is supposed to make a perfect 12-ounce cup. Also, the aroma of the leaves was heavenly. There was no place I would have rather been than smelling those leaves (everybody else agreed that it was a fabulously aromatic blend). Then, I brewed some, and found the tea a little bit weak, but I remedied that by using 1.5x as much tea for each cup. I was having trouble with figuring out what the tropical flavor was, and I later found out that the flavor was predominantly that of pineapple bits. Upon brewing it a bit stronger, I was presented with a wonderful infusion that had absolutely no need to be sweetened, because of its pineapple content.

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