Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Dry leaves are black, wiry, tightly rolled leaves
Smell is of cinnamon

Wet: the leaves completely unfurled revealing black and dark green torn leaves

Ingredient list:
Finest black and green tea, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and spice oil

I made this tea stovetop. Here is my recipe:
1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup 2% milk, entire sample packet
Simmer for 9 minutes, let stand 1 minute, strain and Enjoy.

As the tea simmered, I was reminded of the homemade cocoa my Mother used to make when I was little. The color was a milky, chocolaty inviting cocoish kind of color that invokes memories of gentler times.

Someone once said that this tea was a tea for all seasons. I agree with that statement, it is a gently spiced tea that is very satisfying. The absence of pepper + the presence of a green tea contribute to the overall mildness of this blend. I could see myself drinking this at night outside enjoying my fire pit.

I believe that you really need more leaf to make this tea really pop, leaving the question in my mind: how much to purchase a full tin or half a pound? It is really one of those teas that warrant a BIG bag purchase.

You can purchase the Kashmiri Chai directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

Written by Cynthia Its All About the Leaf Reviewer - Read more about this author on Cynthia's profile page - View recent posts by Cynthia

This marked the last Hawaiian-grown tea I had yet to try from K Teas. Grown at the Hilo Tea Garden estate residing near Mountain View, Tea Hawaii sourced this green tea with the gentle drinker in mind. K Teas describes it as a pan-fired green tea reminiscent of some Chinese varieties. I’d say that’s a very apt description.

The curly, long, yellow-to-green leaves looked exactly like Mao Feng green tea. The buttered vegetables aroma was even there. If I was looking at this blind, I would’ve passed it up as a Mao Feng. A grassy one at that.

Brewing instructions were peculiarly light. The sample bag recommended steeping 3g. (roughly 1 tsp.) of leaves in a cup of 140F water for two minutes. That sounded rather low, but – to be fair – some green teas required delicacy. Japanese varieties, for example. This green tea looked like it was prone to spinaching if not carefully observed. I obeyed their instructions almost to the letter, save for the amount. Since the sample was small-ish, I opted for “almost-a-teaspoon” in 5oz. of water – just in case I screwed up the first brew.

The liquor infused almost completely clear, even more transparent than white tea. Heck, I’ve seen water that brewed darker. (California, anyone?) I think there was an aroma of leaves and butter, but it was extremely understate. There was a Mao Feng-ish presence on taste with a creamy back, yet in all honesty…this was water. Warm water.

I tried a second steep with the same leaves at 160F and three minutes. Now it looked like a green tea – one with a nice grass-to-floral scent. On the tongue, it was even more pleasant with a nutty mouthfeel. I likened it to a Japanese aracha instead of a Mao Feng. This proved that the instructions were way too light. So, go with your gut on this one. Brew it light but not too light. A good green tea awaits you if you oblige it.

You can purchase the Olas Green Tea directly from the KTeas website.

Written by Geoff Its All About the Leaf Reviewer - Read more about this author on Geoff's profile page - View recent posts by Geoff

Preparing to try out this herbal blend, the first thing that I notice in the smell of the dry leaves is “Hmmm, hibiscus.” After boiling some water, I steep one pyramid infuser in a cup of water for five minutes to prepare to taste the “nectar”! The steeping brew still smells a lot like hibiscus, but the raspberry and orange peel smells are noticeable as well.

The first sip of this herbal tisane is a massively juicy explosion of flavor. Tea Forte’s website had listed the ingredients as “rosehip, hibiscus, apple pieces, blackberry leaves, raspberries, orange peels, flavoring” and there is so much going on in the taste that I believe it has all those things and more. Thankfully, since this blend is called “Raspberry Nectar,” raspberry is one of the dominant flavors. The sweetness of the apple does come out quite nicely, albeit subtly. This would be a decent desert drink, especially if one is looking for something low in caffeine. On my personal enjoyment scale, I rate it a 72/100.

You can purchase Tea Forte Raspberry Nectar directly from their website.

Written by Spencer E Its All About the Leaf Reviewer - Read more about this author on Spencer E's profile page - View recent posts by Spencer E

This tastes purple. Very, very purple. Crayola Purple.

Other than that, I’m at a bit of a loss to describe this one. British East India isn’t particularly forthcoming with their ingredient list, so the ability to match what I’m tasting with what the label says I’m supposed to be tasting is limited. The only other hint given on the packet is a strength of “4″ on a rating scale of Zed to … well, they don’t tell us that, either.

Dry, this blend has short, thick, dark leaves–a good black tea base. Those are accompanied by long, gold leafy bits that I can’t identify and bits and shards of the “tantalising spices.” Almost sandalwoody in character. (Which, in keeping with the Kama Sutra frame of reference, would be appropriate.)

After a four minute steep, we get a cup of deep, velvety red-brown liquid that is thick and hefty on the tongue. Flavor…well, we’re back to purple, even a little bitter. (Probably best to stay a little light on the leaf–I did a teaspoon to an 8 ounce cup.) The sensuous blossoms have a deep, dark personality–not tart and bright like hibiscus, more like violets or periwinkle or pansies. This is by no means grape flavored, but you do catch yourself holding your tongue the same way you do after a shot of Welch’s unsweetened juice.

Quailty tea veiled in a bit of mystery.

You can purchase the Kama Sutra Revitalising Tea directly from the The East India Company website.

Written by GG Its All About the Leaf Reviewer - Read more about this author on GG's profile page - View recent posts by GG

Bai Lin Gong Fu – other than sounding like the name of a cheesy 70s martial arts flick – is a black tea hailing from Fujian province, China. The territory is best known for producing Wuyi oolongs and the ever-famous Bai Hao Yinzhen (or Silver Needle white tea). The only other black tea I know of made their is Golden Monkey, which is just AWESOME! Anyway…

This was an impressive enough looking black tea with brown-to-black, curled leaves in full effect. Tippy pieces also dotted the canvas, giving a spritely touch to the earthy presentation. Smelling it was also an experience, for I found it hard to pinpoint what to call the scent; I settled on “caramel musk” – even though that sounds like a male aftershave.

Teavivre recommended 1-2 tsps. per 8oz. of 185F water steeped for two-to-three minutes. I braved a quickie brew-up at 199F water for two minutes – 1 tbsn. and a 12oz. cup. I was on the go.

The liquor brewed a deep red-brown with a smoky-sweet aroma that reminded me of a Keemun. Further whiffing turned up notes of wood, leather and chocolate. Y’know…manly things. There seemed to also be a dryness to the scent, which turned up on the flavorful forefront. However, that was thankfully minor, and it was followed up by a bold, malty middle with shades of honey. Some bitterness showed up on finish, but I owed that to my near-boil brew-up, not the leaves. This was different from the other two Bai Lins I’ve tried – which both exhibited more earthy, Yunnan-like tendencies – but I still favored its robust roundhouse kick of a taste. It’s a morning cup, that’s for certain.

You can purchase the Bailin Gongfu directly from the Teavivre website.

Written by Geoff Its All About the Leaf Reviewer - Read more about this author on Geoff's profile page - View recent posts by Geoff