The Tea Blog

Special Announcement

theteablog — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 01:49:45 +0000

Hey Guys,
Ben here. I know I haven’t blogged in some time on here, but I’d like to let you know that I’ll be continuing on a brand new site, The Gourmet Blog. At that site, I will be putting up tea-related content, as well as other food-related things, so keep a lookout.

Madura Tea Estate English Breakfast

theteablog — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:13:10 +0000

The folks over at Madura Tea were kind enough to send me some of their English Breakfast tea. Though a simple type of tea, I really enjoyed the flavor of it. After it had been brewed, it reminded me of most of the other English Breakfast teas that I had had in the past, in that it possessed a very aromatic scent to it, and that it also had a rather good taste. The taste was a little bit bitter at some points of it, but overall it was a great black tea that works wonderfully as a complement to a hot breakfast. Overall, I will give the tea a 9/10 due to price to taste values, and I encourage you to check it out at their website.

Summary:
Cost: AU$4.89/200 grams
10/10
Taste: 7/10
Brew Time: 2-4 minutes
Brew Temperature: 212˚ Fahrenheit
Overall Rating: 9/10

Ten Tea Jasmine White

theteablog — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:31 +0000

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

Simpson & Vail Sweet Sizzling Cinnamon Black Tea

theteablog — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:56 +0000

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. The tea was a beautiful dark amber color, and the aroma smelled strongly of cinnamon. However, the taste was a little bit different. Instead of other cinnamon teas that I have tasted, this particular one also allowed for the flavor of its black tea base to seep through into the taste, and the tea blenders at the company did an excellent job in making this tea a perfect blend, with no overpowering on the cinnamon’s part. I really enjoy this tea, and I would recommend it to any tea drinker, either just starting out or a connoisseur, for their tasting.

Summary:
Cost: $1.24/oz
9/10
Taste: 9/10
Brew Time: 3 minutes
Brew Temperature: 212˚ Fahrenheit
Overall Rating: 9/10

Naivetea Mint Oolong

theteablog — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:22 +0000

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. Again, the mint flavor was a very soothing mint flavor, but I think that, if they plan to market it as an oolong tea, there really ought to be a little less of the mint overpowering the tea. I will also acknowledge that the oolong still has its health benefits intact, but when I choose to drink oolong, I expect the actual taste of the tea itself to be there.

Summary:
Cost: $10/oz
5/10
Taste: 6/10
Brew Time: 2-3 minutes
Brew Temperature: 195˚ Fahrenheit
Overall Rating: 6/10

Republic Of Tea Ginger Lemongrass

theteablog — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:46 +0000

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. The aroma was very nice, with a strong lemon odor to it. I tasted it, and definitely tasted the lemon, and a little bit of the sencha, but I couldn’t taste the ginger too well. The lemon taste was quite nice though, so it made up for it. A little more ginger bits would be nice, but overall it’s pretty nice.

Summary:
Cost: $2.63/oz
9/10
Taste: 7/10
Brew Time: 2-3 minutes
Brew Temperature: 185º Fahrenheit

Cup Of Tea Silver Yunnan

theteablog — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:25 +0000

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. There’s not too much else to say, because the tea was pretty plain, but I did really enjoy it. I recommend you pick yourself up some as well, if you live in England or would like to have it shipped to you.

Summary:
Cost: £2.81/oz
9/10
Taste: 9/10
Brew Time: 2-3 minutes
Brew Temperature: 195˚ Fahrenheit
Overall Rating: 9/10

Boston Tea Blueberry Kiwi White Tea

theteablog — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:03 +0000

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. Upon pouring it into a glass mug, I noticed that it made a beautiful yellow infusion with an interesting taste. The taste was great as well, because, as any good cup of white tea should, the taste was crisp, fresh, and refreshing. It also had a fabulous aftertaste, with a little bit of kiwi lingering in the throat. I was pretty impressed with the taste of this, and would recommend it to anybody else looking for a good after-dinner tea.

Summary:
Cost: $6.25/oz
7/10
Taste: 7/10
Brew Time: 1 minutes
Brew Temperature: 175˚ Fahrenheit
Overall Rating: 7/10

Drink The Leaf White Peony

theteablog — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:51 +0000

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. The leaves produced a very light golden infusion, and it tasted fabulous. The tea was crisp and refreshing, like many other white teas that I’ve tasted, and, due to its lack of caffeine, it makes an excellent after-dinner tea. I would highly recommend this tea, and it comes at not a bad price. Enjoy!

Summary:
Cost: $3/oz
9/10
Taste: 9/10
Brew Time: 2-3 minutes
Brew Temperature: 195˚ Fahrenheit
Overall Rating: 9/10

Mariage Frères French Summer Tea

theteablog — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:33 +0000

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. It was a bit bitter, yet weak, and tasted much like it smelled, like bubble bath or soap of the like. I was not particularly impressed with this tea as an iced tea, as the floral additions really overpowered the natural green tea taste, and their addition of menthol to the blend didn’t help at all. I wouldn’t particularly recommend this tea, and perhaps sometime in the future, I will try one of their others.

Summary:
Cost: $6.21/oz
3/10
Taste: 2/10
Brew Time: 60 minutes
Brew Temperature: Cold Water
Overall Rating: 3/10