Today I’m reviewing to herbal teas from Mighty Leaf and I’m excited because they are one of the few companies I know of who offer high quality in sachets.  Perfect to have in a pinch if I’ve forgotten my finum because they tea pouches are large enough to let the tea infuse properly.

Opening the package and I can immediately tell that I’m going to love this tea.  The citrus smell is intoxicating.  It has Egyptian chamomile in it and the flowers are whole and appear to be really fresh.  There’s no dust in the pouch at all, just pretty bits of herbs and fruit.

Steeping it at 205 F for the full five minutes because I want to get every golden bit of the tisane infused.  The color was immediately a light yellow then finally went to a nice golden orange.  Love the way rosehip warms up the color of a brew.  Can smell all of the other herbs now and they are balancing out the citrus perfectly.

Yeah! It tastes as good as it looks and smells, I was right, this is a great blend.  I can feel my heart rate slowing, the days stress leaving me…  Would it be insane for me to let this tea pouch dry out and use it as a sachet in my lingerie drawer?  hmmm… yes, it smells that good.

Now on to the African Nectar.  Rooibos is a friend of mine, we go back a long way and she’s never let me down.  This tea pouch fine enough to contain the rooibos, helps that it’s a higher grade so the needles are longer.  Blends looks like it’s mostly rooibos, with bits of the other ingredients.  Can see the marigold in it, which is good (I have a ton of marigold at home and add it to most of my teas, just to up the health benefits of my teas).

This blend has so much of a citrus scent that I can barely smell the rooibos, expecting that will change when I stop analyzing the pouch and add water to it…

Steeping this one the same as I did the Chamomile Citrus, boiling water for five minutes.  The rooibos is darker wet so now I can see the other herbs as well as the stems.  Excellent leaf to stem ratio though, Mighty Leaf did not disappoint.  It’s infused to a nice dark, reddish brown and it smells divine.  The rose and hibiscus are now dominating the scent and the citrus smell is completely gone.

It tastes like rooibos but I think the rose is killing it, bit too flowery, almost perfumey.  Letting it cool.  The pouches are completely biodegradible and they literally look like the sachets that girls use to scent lingerie (do guys do that too?).  Tea has cooled now and it still has that rose taste, fantastic if you like flowers in your tea, not working for me though.  Still a really good quality tea though, impressive.

You can purchase the Chamomile Citrus and African Nectar directly from the Mighty Leaf Tea website.

Teafrog has brought a lot of really unique blends to the table so I shouldn’t be surprised by this one. But still, Mango and yogurt? Hmm…

It’s a curious mix, can definitely smell the yogurt – reminds me of the yogurt covered raisins that always leave me with a twinge of ‘guilty pleasure’ after I eat them. Can smell all of the different fruits in this blend but the mango is definitely the most bold. Curious too is the fact that I have all the ingredients in my cupboard (except the yogurt) and it never occurred to me to blend them. Thinking this would make a fantastic snack, straight out of the bag.

Steeped it for five minutes and it’s a beautiful shade of mango (is mango a color, can someone check their Crayolas?). It’s an orangey peach color, if that helps. Oh, and it’s delicious, really tangy and tart at the same time. Must be the yogurt giving me the tart side of it, apple in the blend is helping it too. This is really good and I will need to order some more. It’s a fun tisane that holds it’s own but I’d imagine it would also be fantastic to add to other teas as well. I’ve got some Silver Needle that could use a little zest….

Oh and just so you know, it does make for a satisfying nibble, straight out of the bag.

You can purchase the Mango And Yogurt directly from the TeaFrog website.

It’s rare for me to have bagged teas but this is Celestial Seasonings so I’m open to it. When I was small, this is the only tea that we had in the house so it makes me feel a bit nostalgic. It says it’s a blend of green tea, Bai Mu Dan and ginseng root, with honey and lemon. It smells like a Chinese green tea, can’t smell anything else. Opened a bag and I can see small white bits that I’m guessing are ginseng, the rest just looks like green tea but I trust that there must be white tea in there as well. The ingredients list says it also contains licorice, chicory, ginger and orange blossoms, but I seriously can only smell the green tea.

Steeped for two minutes in hot (not boiling) water and now I can smell the lemon verbana and the spices. Brews up a light green with a hint of orange, not a clean brew but it’s not bad. It’s actually quite tasty, though slightly bitter, need to reduce the water temperature I think. Next time I’m going to try the cooler water and see if it steeps up better. Then I’m going to chill it and see if that will pull the flavors out better.

It’s okay, I mean it is what it is and it’s not terrible for what it is.

You can purchase the Honey Lemon Ginseng Green Tea directly from the Celestial Seasonings website.

DoMatcha Organic Matcha:
DoMatcha Organic Matcha

Bamboo Whisk:
DoMatcha Bamboo Whisk

Whisk Stand:
DoMatcha Whisk Stand

Suggested Preparation: ~1 teaspoon of Do-Matcha in a large cup or tea
bowl, hot water between 65 and 85 degrees Celsius.

Received a tin of Ceremonial Matcha from DoMatcha, along with a new whisk and a holder for it (nothing better than a new whisk and I really needed a holder).

The tea came in a small tin canister, really cool but it was a bit of a puzzle to get opened. The matcha inside the tin is inside of more packaging – at least I know it’s been sealed up so it must be fresh. The pouch that the tea was sealed in was impossible to open without getting matcha all over my hands. Killing me on the packaging. I get why it’s sealed up but I’m wondering if there might be a better way to keep it fresh, maybe sealing it right in the tea eliminating the foil pack. Anyway, got to the matcha – almost felt like the quest to get to the tea made me more appreciative of it when I finally got there.

The matcha is clearly fresh, smells amazing and it’s a really beautiful, bright green color. Can tell without even tasting it that it’s going to be good -it has the same appearance as when I grind my own tencha, super fresh. Grabbed my favorite chawan and sifted a teaspoon of the matcha into it (I prefer my matcha on the thicker side), then poured the water into the bowl. It started foaming just from the swirl of the water before I even had a chance to start whisking it. Beautiful. Whisked it slowly for a few minutes, enjoying the scent and the ceremony of it all. It foamed up to a light, green, crisp smelling chawan of goodness. Tastes as crisp as it smells with a bit of a bite on the finish. The after-taste is pleasantly minty and it lingers for a bit – makes me feel like kissing someone. Love matcha – matcha promotes love (well, this one does anyway).

All in all, this is a really high quality, organic matcha. Superior in freshness than others I’ve tried and absolutely worthy of a recommendation. It’s probably better than the matcha that I make from working up a sweat grinding tencha leaves but I refuse to admit that (makes me feel bad that I work so hard grinding when DoMatcha is as good without the effort). It’s become my new favorite on-the-go tea – I chill it and put it in my water bottle, gives me a huge boost during the day. So whether you’re looking to indulge yourself in a calm, soothing, always perfect matcha ceremony with your favorite chawan or if you like it iced and on the run, DoMatcha will not disappoint.

You can purchase the DoMatcha Organic Matcha directly from the DoMatcha website.

Sweet treat time!  Opening a Coco Truffle pyramid, can tell why it was recommended to me just by the smell.  Yum in a bag! Almost smells like a chai. It is a pure herbal blend, naturally caffeine-free, beautiful as a dessert tea.

Steeped it in boiling water for five minutes and the smell of all the spices are coming through, the cardamom scent is a bit strong though.  Tastes good but a bit weak.  Steeped it for three more minutes and the blend has balanced out.  It’s brewed a beautiful dark steep.  Truffle magic, here I come. Can taste and smell the cacao goodness now, like an exotic candy bar in a cup, this is really delicious.  This is the very best, zero calorie indulgence I’ve had in awhile.  I don’t crave sweets very often but I will be reaching for this one the next time I have a chocolate crisis!

You can purchase Tea Forte Coco Truffle Tea directly from their website, and in various high-end establishments around the world.

Tonight, I need to relax so I’ve chosen two decaf teas from Tea Forte. 

Pulling out my specially made Tea Forte cup with it’s perfect little hole in the lid, getting set to try their African Solstice.  Love rooibos in the evening and this blend smells delicious.  I’ve failed with some other Tea Forte pyramid teas in the past because it just never seemed that there was enough room for the leaves to steep properly, this one I hope is going to be different.  I can’t see the rooibos clearing enough (through the pyramid) to tell what grade it is but I’m hoping the needles are long enough to not sneak through the mesh.  The dry tea smells only of rooibos, can’t smell any of the other ingredients.

Steeped it per their instructions, and now I am starting to smell the berries and the flowers in the pyramid sneaking through the hole in the teacup lid.  Taking the lid off and now I’m getting hit with a smell of vanilla and berries.  Brews up a nice dark red with a negligible amount of dust.  Tastes good but the flowers are a bit overpowering, still a soothing rooibos with a berry twist.  Well suited to the shape of the pyramid, dancing rooibos is such a sight.

You can purchase the African Solstice directly from the Tea Forte website.

Okay, clean slate, trying the second of my Kalahari teas, Cherry Vanilla. As soon as I opened the package, the scent wafted out. The dry leaves smell almost like of those chocolate covered maraschino cherry candy bars that I can never remember the name of. Wanted to open the bag but, again, it was too dusty looking so I just dropped it into my teacup and steeped it.

It brewed up a nice, dark red color, very nice amber like you’d expect with a Rooibos. The scent is really spicy, completely overrides the initial cherry scent that I got from it. It actually smells delicious, like a caffeine free chai. I love spicy teas and am actually happy to have lost the cherry scent. First sip gave me a burst of cinnamon at the back of my tongue, a little bit powerful but that’s okay, it’s really good (did I mention that I like spiced teas?). I let it cool just slightly and the flavors from all the other spices came out almost one at a time. It’s a really good balance of spices, none are really overpowering the others now. Except for the auspicious licorice trying to sneak to the front.

I really like this blend and I tried to steep it again but it failed. Thinking the recommended steeping time for this one should be longer, closer to seven minutes.

There are ten different ingredients listed on the package. Nine great ones and one that I would love to see dropped – I don’t ‘get’ the cherry part of the blend, seems unnecessary and it’s listed as a ‘flavor’. The issue I have with unknown ingredients may seem petty but I really need to know what I’m consuming to be able to feel confident with the product. Nice blend but not good enough for a place on my shelf.

You can purchase the Cherry Vanilla directly from the Kalahari Tea website.

When this tea arrived, I didn’t recognize the name and the only red tea that I’d tried was rooibos (I love rooibos). Seemed a curious name for an African ‘tea’ though hmm. Yes, this grasshopper has a lot to learn.

So I grabbed my brand new tea bowl and my Finum basket and opened the tea. I still had an image of rooibos in my mind so I was surprised to see the tightly curled, golden brown leaves. Steeped it for a few minutes and watch the water go from clear to a soft reddish color. The scent was familiar but I couldn’t place it, really sweet and malty, I was still thinking it must be a tisane.

Then I tasted it and the first sip was tangy, almost fruity, but smooth and malty. Got to the second steep right away and the taste seemed to have changed. It became even more complex with different tones, it was like drinking candied fruit. I still couldn’t place the tea and was stunned to find out that this is a black tea. So now I have no idea where the fruity taste came from because it’s a pure tea, not a blend nor a tisane. I want to say that it tasted like candy apples but it wasn’t a crisp apple tone, more of a soft plum taste.

This is a fabulous tea and I will need to stock up on it. And I’m really pleased to know that I still have a long learning adventure with teas. It’s always nice to be surprised – now I’m off to learn the Gong Fu process of tea preparation.

You can purchase the Bai Lin Gong Fu directly from the Canton Tea Co. website. Save 15% right now when you use the code LEAF at checkout! Save 15% right now when you use the code LEAF at checkout!

I like green tea but it’s never the first tea I reach for. I generally oversteep it and then fight to get past the bitter taste of my own forgetfulness. A friend of mine swears by the bitterness of green, says that you don’t get the full benefit without oversteeping it…. erm I don’t know. He’s cool but always leaves me shaking my head, so misguided. So green tea is just okay for me unless it’s Pouchong.

Pouchong green from Canton is among the best Pouchongs I’ve had. It’s a triple threat when it comes to tea. It’s an antioxidant and an antimutagenic and it’s tasty all in one. The leaves are big, dark, and twisted just right (reminds me of another one of my friends hmm). The tea brews to a light golden yellow, almost clear, like liquid sunshine. I put stevia in the first brew (out of habit with greens) but found it was a bit much and it took away from the clean taste of the tea. Second steep, without stevia, brewed up just as clean and with a slight melon scent. Third steep was a bit longer (on purpose) and it still was smooth and almost clear.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Pouchong or who shy away from greens the way I do, this is one tea you must try. This is a high quality tea that will not disappoint.

You can purchase the Pouchong directly from the Canton Tea Co. website. Save 15% right now when you use the code LEAF at checkout!

My favorite type of tea (thus far) is white tea, more specifically, silver needle, so I was crazy excited to try this one. The only thing that made me hesitate was the fact that it was jasmine flavored. I like the smell of Jasmine but I don’t like teas that taste like perfume. other Jasmine teas made me feel like I was back in the elevator with that lady who was wearing cheap jasmine perfume (ended up having the taste from it in my mouth all day).

So I sat down and brewed this tea, anticipating that funky taste. As soon as I opened the package, I could tell that this Jasmine was different. The pearls are really pretty and the tea smells like a dream. Steeped it for five minutes, though they recommend only a few, watched the pearls come to life and unravel in my cup. The color was really light as you’d expect from a silver needle. The smell was very calming, soothing and not even slightly artificial. Yes, I was pleasantly surprised – made me feel like I was in a spa. The silver needle is high grade and you can tell that it was harvested at just the right time. The Jasmine scent was infused naturally which explains why I was spared the aftertaste. Steeped it three times and it did really well. The scent was milder by the third brew but the silver needle carried it through perfectly.

You can purchase the Jasmine Pearls directly from the Canton Tea Co. website. Save 15% right now when you use the code LEAF at checkout!