The NecessiTeas’ selection of rooibos teas reads like a decadent bakery menu. Chiffons and cocoas and various sweet temptations are elements of every item. My first sniff of the Orange Marzipan dry mix sent my taste buds crazy, craving sugar cookies with almond flavoring–because the almond is what hits you first, strong and sweet.

The heavy almond scent dissipates a little once you steep the tea. But rooibos is complemented well by sweetish flavors and the blend is still cookie-pleasant. Orange flavor is present, but stays modestly in the background.

As tea ingredients, oranges and almonds have the potential to turn on you if you don’t steep carefully–oranges go sour, almonds go bitter. But in the case of this culinary concoction, it’s all good; well balanced.

You can purchase the Orange Marzipan directly from the The Necessiteas website.

Another day, another interesting oolong to try. This Taiwanese oolong is purported to be incredibly flavoured, with evolutions of flavour at every steeping. I start off by rinsing, then steeping this tea first for two minutes in boiled, but not boiling water. This first infusion smells sweet, slightly tart, and, in general, fruity. I often find that the leaves, after steeping, have a different aroma than the liquor itself. In this case, the smell of the leaves is far more buttery and creamy, in contrast to the liquor’s fruity notes. This infusion is super smooth, tastes very clean and fresh, and is reminiscent of apples.

Infusion number two, steeped for another two minutes, leaves the leaves smelling more vegetal than before. The flavour of the tea has evolved. Still fruity, there are now spicier notes of cinnamon, as well as floral tones that I had not noticed before.

Steeping this tea for a third time, letting it infuse for two and a half minutes. Still containing notes of cinnamon, the mild fruitiness is quite delectable. Four Seasons is a great name for this tea, as it evolves and changes like the seasons of the year, with every infusion. I highly recommend this tea for lovers of oolong, and I would give it a 91/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase the Four Seasons directly from the Tula Teas website.

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.

One of the things I’ve been noticing over the years, as I’ve ordered tea from various merchants, is that common parameters aren’t always common.

Almost every tea will have directions on the back of the packet, telling you how to brew a cup of tea. Too bad they can’t agree on the definition of the word ‘cup’. A standard English definition of the word cup could lead you to believe that it would be a measurement somewhere around 8 oz. But apparently this doesn’t count in the tea world. The general rule of thumb is 2-3 grams of tea per cup. But if you don’t have the same definition of cup, that could result in some very strange brewing parameters.

Lupicia has one of the smallest definitions of a cup I’ve ever seen. They define a cup as 5 oz., and still call for 3 grams of tea per these 5 oz. I’d be afraid of oversteeping with something like this but this cup? This was an amazing cup of tea.

The product description says “Sweet nostalgic aroma of caramel and almonds. Delicious straight or with milk.” This tea leaf smells sweet. And brewed up, it’s a beautiful medium brown and smells lovely, although much less sweet. Drinking the tea straight up, it has hints of caramel and almond flavors; a nice light cup. However, I like to add splenda or honey to my black teas. And if you sweeten this? Wow, it’s amazing. Mellow, smooth caramel flavors. Rich, creamy, and sweet with an almond finish. I also tried this tea with milk, and while nice, I didn’t find that it added as much as the sweetener did.

I strongly recommend that those who like a little sweetness with their tea give this a try. It’s a lovely yummy cup of goodness.

You can purchase the Caramele directly from the Lupicia Tea website.

Teekanne is an outfit out of Dusseldorf (a name that always makes me laugh), Germany. The company has been involved in the tea trade – in one fashion or another – since 1882. One of their biggest claims to fame is the fact that most of the teabags sold commercially in the U.S. are made using Teekanne industrial equipment. Their stateside subsidiary is Redco Foods, Inc., which also has several other brands under its umbrella. One of them, I was already familiar with – Salada, producers of a decaf green tea I drank early on in my tea exploration.

The Teekanne Herbal Wellness line went public in 2008 and was endorsed by Stefi Graf (the “Fräulein Forehand” of the tennis world). Blends they marketed fell into three categories: Soothing, Relaxing, and Energizing. Being the neurotic that I am, I decided to go for something I aspired to – relaxing. Calming Chamomile, it was.

There wasn’t much to say about the tea. It was in a teabag. It smelled like chamomile. Both pluses for an end-of-day drink. Brewing instructions weren’t necessary either. Herbals could be steeped in boiling water for up to eight minutes, if one chose to. I went with a five-minute infusion in an ordinary mug.

The resulting liquor was clear-to-off-orange – a medicinal-looking palette that chamomile always yielded. The aroma was floral, faintly citrus and soothing. To the taste, it was what one expects from chamomile – like drinking a pillow that weighs heavy on the eyelids. It certainly accomplished what it set out to do; it made me ease back in my chair and sigh comfortably. Beyond that, I don’t have much to add. It is what it is.

You can purchase the Calming Chamomile directly from the Tea and All Its Splendour website.

7 minute brew time with boiling water

Very pretty blend. Green and yellow “grass” like cuttings are sprinkled throughout this lemony blend.

Champagne colored brew.

Lemon grass is the dominant flavor. This blend would be great added to another tea for that just right lemon addition.

As I neared the end of my cup, I noticed the astringency of this herbal blend, which makes me really think that using this as a mix in with another tea would really be the best use for this one.

Overall, a good lemony cup of herbal tea.

You can purchase the Lemonade directly from the Shanti Tea 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.

As I peered into the sample bag, I was struck at the beauty of this blend. It needs to be stored in a glass container just to admire the tapestry of colors. Think miniature potpourri.

The smell of the dry leaves reminds me of spearmint gum.

7 minute brew with boiling water

Burgundy colored brew

The first sip is sweet and minty. I really enjoyed this cup of tea. Sweet, but not too sweet. The mint is nicely balanced with the other flavors.

You can purchase the PITTA BALANCE directly from the Shanti Tea website.

Well, the notes on the website state that this tea will hit maturity in 2010 and peak in 2015. I have enough to try it now, and then hopefully remember to try this four years from now. The dry leaves smell creamy and smooth (I love the smell of cooked Pu’erh), and they have a bit of spice in the aroma. I notice a few stems in amongst the leaves, but the leaves are quite prettily twisted and twirled.

Rinsed, then steeped in a gaiwan for 30 seconds, the wet leaves smell even more creamy, still with a bit of spice, a bit like a nice brandy in a way. The liquor is a very bright and clear amber colour. For what it is worth, this tea looks great. I pour the first cup and sip…and sip…and sip. This tea is great. The flavour profile is not very bold, but it is delicious in its own simple way. There is even a strange hint of sweetness in the background.

The second and third infusions go by quickly as I thoroughly enjoy the simplistic wonder of this tea. I highly recommend it and give it an 87/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase the 2005 Xing Hai Cooked Loose Puerh directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

Hamstead Teas mentions that saffron was revered in ancient India as medicine sent from the gods. Other sources claim that saffron use actually dates back a staggering 50,000 years. Ancient Persians, Sumerians, and Assyrians cultivated it for pigments and for its apparent medicinal properties. The first documented botanical reference was made by the Assyrians in the 7th century B.C.E.

To this day, I don’t know what actual saffron tastes like, but I’ve had five teas with saffron scenting or strands in them. From what little I could tell – by palately separating the taster notes for the tea base – saffron has a sweet-’n-spicy taste with a floral dryness to it. I could be completely wrong in this assessment, since it is – after all – only based on flavor comparisons between blended teas.

This Saffron Black marked the sixth tea I was trying blended with the over-expensive flower. There was very little information on the package or the Hamstead site as to whether or not actual strands were used. If I had to guess, I would’ve said it was scented with saffron, much like how jasmine green teas are prepared. On dry presention, there wasn’t much I could discern. It was a teabag, so I couldn’t really judge the contents. Nor was I sure how many saffron strands there were per black tea fanning. I can say that it had a really sweet smell to it.

Brewing instructions on the Hamstead site called for boiling water and a three-minute steep. At times, I’m relieved when a review sample is a teabag. I was at work when I tried it. All I had to do was dunk the bag in a 12oz. coffee cup filled with 200F water, then let it steep for three minutes.

The liquor brewed crimson-to-medium-brown with a very dry and floral scent. That was either from the saffron strands/scenting or (more likely) a high-altitude black tea base. Taste-wise, it opened up with a sweet forefront that segued (again rather dryly) to a middle with some medium malt to it. The finish was actually rather pleasantly understated for a bagged black. Whatever the floral contribution was, it helped cut back on any tannic quality this would’ve initially had on its own.

I’m still of the opinion that saffron needs to be treated with the utmost respect, and – as such – be paired with a high-quality tea base. I wasn’t quite sure that was the case here. Hamstead does say that it was blended with Fair Trade black tea, but no details were given as to what kind. I’ve often wondered if saffron might pair well with a first flush Darjeeling or a Nuwara Eliya Ceylon – given those regions’ tendency toward floral-seeming teas. As it stands, though, it’s a decent enough blend.

You can purchase the BLACK SAFFRON directly from the Hampstead Tea website.