It has been a while since I’ve been able to sit down and relax long enough to review some teas. I appreciate all types of tea but the tea that I’m having today is really special. It’s a Darjeeling and it is beautiful. It appears to be a second flush, dark brown, thin leaves with a sprinkling of tips. The dry leaves smell like typical black tea only a bit more musky, reminds me of my grandfather hmm. This is the first time I’ve had tea from the Maikaibari Estate (Kurseong, Darjeeling in West Bengal ,India) and I get the feeling I’m going to be impressed with it.

Steeping it in boiling water for three minutes. It has settled to a light orange color with a sweet and still musky scent to it. It does appear to be a Summer flush, possibly a late Summer though… The tea tastes rich and full, a bit sweet, with a perfect muscatel after taste. The color has lightened after a few steeps but the flavor is still strong. It is spicey and warming, perhaps more of a winter tea, but I am still going to cold steep some for later.

Love teas from India, also love that this one is organic and Fairtrade certified. Can’t wait to try more teas from Hampstead, the quality in this tea and its packaging is outstanding.

Namaste.

You can purchase the Organic Fairtrade Darjeeling directly from the Hampstead Tea website.

My old friend Zealong, I’ve missed you.  Thrilled to receive some Zealong Pure from Tula Teas, it is one of my all time favourites.  The dark, tightly curled leaves make my heart sing.  Wild thing (sorry, had to say it, apologizing in advance if that song gets stuck in your head).  I think I love you, but I wanna know for sure…

Ripping open the package, unbelievably quick rinse, then a fast 45 second steep.  Now I sit in awe waiting for it to cool enough to taste.  The dry leaves had hardly any scent to them and absolutely no dust.  They relax and start to unravel, floating at the top of the water for the first few seconds before they start to dance to the bottom, releasing tiny little air bubbles in their path. You have to try Zealong to fully appreciate the agony of the leaves, the clearness of the brew allows for a perfect show.  It has a really light taste, not even slightly bitter. Clean with a level of complexity that is hard to find in other teas.

I’m onto my fifth steep with this one and the leaves are completely open.  The taste changed with each steep, it didn’t fade away though.  Ranged from a bit flowery to a bit nutty to a beautiful note of purity.  This is a great tea for the summer because it is so light. Not sure that the flavour is full enough to be nice as an iced tea but I’m definitely going to try it…

You can purchase the Zealong Pure directly from the Tula Teas website.

So this is an interesting herbal tisane. Of course I’ve heard of a mulberry bush but I’ve never seen one and had no idea people used it for tea. A bit of research and I found that it has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Most notably, used in the treatment on Diabetes, sounds like it shares some of the same qualities as Stevia. This particular tisane is organically grown and processed by a small, woman-owned company in Northeastern Thailand.

The dry leaves are whole and very aromatic, they smell just like a roasted Chinese red tea. Prepared the tea using the recommendations on the Tula Teas site, rinsed leaves, “old man” boiling water, steeped for three minutes. It steeps to a nice, light green colour and the scent magically changes from that of a green to a fruity herbal. It tastes like blackberries mixed with salmon berries but with a slightly nutty after taste. Second steep brings out more of a raspberry flavour and it is sweet but not overly so (like Stevia).

Now, Tula Teas suggests icing this tisane with a bit of milk and sugar. I am interested enough to try that later, not sure about it though. I added some milk to the hot brew and it wasn’t for me. I think it is sweet enough without adding anything else.

You can purchase the Green Mulberry Leaf directly from the Tula Teas website.

Alright, so I spent some time in the hospital and, as a parting gift, I woke up this morning with a nasty (hopefully not the flu) infection. Thankfully, I have one more cup of GingerLove Tea left and there could not be a better time for it.

I received my surprise package from them (all the way from Belgium) some time ago and I am thrilled to be able to share my new taste adventure with you. They sent a gorgeously bright and cheery cup and saucer with the tea – love it, thanks – it’s all warmed up and ready to go.

The tea comes pre measured in single serving packages and I’m honestly not sure what the ingredients are… thinking secret mystery ingredients because that just makes it all the more fun for me. The powder looks and smells a lot like Tang – it’s admittedly been years since I’ve had Tang but that scent/flavor kind of seems to have stayed with me.  Poured the powder into my lovingly warmed teacup then filled it with boiling water. It foams up instantly, perfectly, and the smell of ginger fills the air above it.  Stirred twice (per instructions), then sipped.

The foam is a light orange color and it tastes like a Creamsicle to me (yes, another childhood reference, I get those a lot when I’m feeling meh sick).  Taking a bigger sip and the ginger hits me, soothing and warming on the back of my irritated throat.  Have to admit that it’s way better than the ginger tea I’ve made for myself in the past.  The ginger taste is balanced nicely with a smooth taste of orange that seems to be a combination of Mandarin and Sanguine.  This tea is a difficult one to explain because I don’t remember ever tasting anything quite like it. Definitely a burn of ginger, definitely an orange taste, but there’s something else in the flavor that I can’t make out.  The only logical conclusion that I can come to is to say that, with 100% scientific deduction, the mystery ingredient has to be magic.  Seriously though, Sting drinks this and he’s magic…

I sat down to have this tea this morning with my throat on fire and my stomach dancing some sort of hybrid Polka.  Now the fire has been doused and my stomach has settled, feeling better save the fact that I am now officially out of GingerLove… Calling Belgium….

You can purchase the Ginger Love directly from the Ginger Love website.

I love the way that Tea Forte does herbal blends and this one is looking like it’s not going to be an exception.  It smells beautifully tart and minty, perfect for a chilly bedtime brew.  The tea bag is looks to be filled mostly with peppermint leaves but I can definitely see lemon peel mixed in with it.

Steeped it in boiling water for 7 minutes (I like my herbals stronger) and it infused the water to a nice light color of mint tea.  The scent is now more tangy than tart and the smell of mint is invigorating.  It’s tastes clean and fresh with no trace of the artificial aftertaste that I sometimes get with mint teas. Yes, Tea Forte did it again, I really like this blend.  It’s perfect if you need to feel warm and refreshed at the same time and the full flavor lasted through three steeps.

You can purchase the Citrus Mint directly from the Tea Forte website.

Canton Tea offered up this opportunity for me to try their Superior Long Jing and I jumped at because I’ve never tried this quality of Dragon Well before.  I really appreciate and enjoy the experience that comes with every Long Jing, regardless of it’s grading, it’s always good.   This particular Long Jing is from a aged tree high up in the Weng Jia Shan Village of the Zhejiang Province. It’s a ‘Superior’ grade meaning
that it was picked in early spring (first flush).  The dry leaves are long and flat and have a strong vegetal scent to them and they are full leaves, clearly they had to have been hand-picked.  There is absolutely no dust in this tea which doesn’t surprise me, I’ve never had a tea from Canton that was dusty.

I’ve pre-warmed my teapot and boiled water to 208 degF.  Pouring the water over the leaves and the first scent I’m getting is one that is slightly sweet with a touch of grassiness.  I let the leafs steep for 5 minutes and the color went to a crystal clear, light green hue.  The taste is clean and slightly nutty.  I have resteeped this tea five times and, only now, the flavor is fading.  It really is a pleasure to be able to enjoy this quality of tea and I hope to have the opportunity to try new teas from Canton Tea.

You can purchase the Superior Dragon Well Green Tea | Traditional Long Jing directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

Morroccan Mint tea seems to be a staple for most tea drinkers that I know. A very traditional tea that is easy to find and is enjoyable steeped in the traditional way or iced. Today I’m reviewing one from Golden Moon Tea and it’s unique in that it has mint oil added to it, I’ve never seen that as an ingredient before.

The dry leaves are clean with shiney and tightly rolled Gunpowder pellets and a generous amount of mint. Steeped it according to the instructions on the packaging, watching the Gunpowder pellets unfurl after a few minutes. It brews up to a nice dark color, with the scents balancing out after a few minutes making the smell of mint less over-powering. The taste is smooth and rich, with a nice minty lingering aftertaste. The second steep brought out more of the gunpowder flavor and was a bit drier than the first steep but still really enjoyable. From the taste, I think that the mint oil made the mint leaves taste a lot fresher than blends I’ve had without the oil. This is one of the better Moroccan Mints that I’ve had, can’t wait to try it iced.

You can purchase the Moroccan Mint directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

I love chocolate and I (clearly) love tea so there was no way I could refuse when I was offered some tea infused chocolate. I’ve had tea with chocolate before but never chocolate with tea, I mean I’ve had chocolate with tea before but it was in a yunomi (the tea, that is) and the chocolate was in hand. Yes, I’ve already gotten in to the chocolate…. Both of the bars that I received are tea infused dark chocolate. The ‘guilt’ in the guilty pleasure (of sweets) is lower for me if I can convince myself that the treat is somehow healthy. I’ve heard that dark chocolate is better for you than milk chocolate – trying to justify my indulgence…

First up is the dark Belgium chocolate with organic raspberry black tea, and it is beautiful. Smells bittersweet with just a hint of raspberry in the blend. The texture is smooth and dark, can’t actually see any tea in it. The tea comes out when you bite into the bar, has an unusual texture to it… Smooth but with a crunch, kind of hard to explain but there is definitely tea in it. The bitterness of the chocolate overpowers the raspberry flavor a little bit but that’s okay. This is really, really good sweetness.

Now on to the Australian ginger black tea chocolate. Really dark, smooth texture, smells fantastic (as all chocolate should) with a hint of a ginger scent. Biting into it and it tastes rich and sharp but the wonderful ginger flavor gets stronger with every mouth-watering, melting second. Strong, lingering ginger aftertaste (I LOVE GINGER)! This is absolutely my new all-time favorite chocolate. You wouldn’t think that ginger and dark chocolate would be such a fantastic combination but they are. It’s now a proven fact.

You can purchase the Dark Belgian Chocolate with Organic Raspberry Tea and Dark Belgian Chocolate with Ginger Black Tea directly from the Tea and All Its Splendour website.

As much as I love discovering new teas from lesser known companies, it’s nice to have a company that I’m know will not disappoint. This blend however, isn’t one that I would think of when I thought of Rishi. Just when I thought I knew the company they surprise me with this one! It look and smells delicious and the list of ingredients is certainly enticing. The strongest scent I’m getting is that of orange and cinnamon, also smells like berries to me though there aren’t any listed in the blend.

Steeped it per the website recommendations and waited a couple of minutes to let it cool. The tea has turned a light red color and the and the scent of apple has become more pronounced. The taste is sweet and tangy and a lot heavier than I expected, it’s really satisfying and the scent alone has given me a boost. Have to say that I do feel ‘recharged’ even with just one cup in my system. Thinking this would be better suited as an afternoon pick-me-up rather than a bedtime herbal.

You can purchase the Red Ginseng Recharge directly from the Rishi Tea website.

Moroccan Mint is one of my all time favorites – first discovered it by accidently making some. Had bought some gunpowder when I was in Chinatown, got home and brewed some up but found it boring. Added some Adagio Mintastic, perfection. It was my morning drink for years and now I have been reintroduced to it and I’m thrilled to try it.

The dry tea smells and looks fresh, with a generous amount of spearmint mixed in with small and shiny pellets of Gunpowder. Looks perfect and today is the perfect day for some Moroccan Mint – definite winter chill in the air. Steeped the leaves in boiling water for three minutes, the pellets exploded and unrolled and the water turned a nice, light orange yellow color. The taste is slightly peppery with a bit of a grassy flavor.

This is definitely one of the better Moroccan Mints that I’ve had and I’ll be recommending it to people when they’re struggling to find a source of warmth this winter.

You can purchase the Moroccan Mint directly from the Boston Tea Company website.