Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Goodness’

So, as I child, I used to eat grass.  Not a lot, and not actual grazing, but every so often when outside, I’d pick a blade and nibble.  Thank goodness my parently didn’t use chemical fertilizer, and that we didn’t have any dogs!  I favored wild grass, because you can get the milder white hearts of grass from the inner stem in larger portions than from regular lawn grass.

That is what this tea reminds me of – those mild grass hearts.  It’s a lovely mellow, smooth and grassy tea.   And grass really is a motif throughout the tea. The dry leaf looks like dried grass slippings, while having cocoa and nutty aroma notes.  The brewed leaf looks even more like grass clippings and smells like a typical green tea.

But the brew – oh!  the brew.  It’s lovely.  Others have called it sweet.  I don’t get sweet.  I get grassy, lightly nutty, and very mellow.  Mild.  Very lightly colored.  This is a tea I could sip all day.  Lovely, lovely tea.

You can purchase the Anji Bai Cha directly from the Canton Tea Co. website – Save 10% right now when you use the code IIATL at checkout!.

This is probably the creamiest Tiramisu tea/tisane I have ever tried which is somewhat refreshing…since the others have been so coffee-like and almost bitter. I can taste the chocolate-goodness and that is the part I like most.  Some additional notes about this TeaFrog offering… this IS a highly flavored Rooibos so if you are a Rooibos fan the stereotypical Rooibos taste may be lost or ‘put in a corner’.  It just might have you saying “Nobody puts my Rooibos in a corner” but seriously you will have to try this one – just to see what I am talking about!  For those of you who aren’t sure about Rooibos – give this one a whirl…it may change your opinion about flavored Rooibos!  Sure you can taste the Chocolate and coffee or mocha type tastes but there is quite a bit of almond or even an amaretto taste, too!  But like I said…what blew me away about this one is the creaminess.  The creamy-taste and feel is what sets this Tiramisu apart from the others!

You can purchase the Tiramisu Rooibos directly from the TeaFrog website.

I have been on a Black/Green Kick lately!  There are just some blacks and greens that do go good together and when you add something link mint to it – I’m always game!  For this particular one, I think you can taste the Gunpowder Green more than the black tea but the Mint is what makes it in more ways than one.  Here is what I mean by that…if you like Mint,  you will probably like this.  If you like flavored black tea -  you are certainly going to want to try this.  And if you are into greens that are blended with others – you can’t pass this up!  On the other hand…if you aren’t sure about gunpowder and are willing to give it another try – TRY THIS.  I repeat TRY THIS.  The Gunpowder and mint go together perfectly.  It takes away from the grassy taste and the aftertaste is pure minty goodness!  I would classify this as a very versatile blend!  It would appeal to many and maybe even gain some newbies to try new things and find their love of gun powder teas and/or black & Green blends.  In addition…if you are worried there is too much mint – I don’t believe there is.  I’m a huge mint fan…and usually the more the merrier but feel this is one of those ‘just enough mint’ type scenarios!  Overall this is one of my favorite TeaFrog Teas so far!  Thumbs up on this one from me!

You can purchase the Asian Mint directly from the TeaFrog website.

As my husband handed me the box from Mike, I could smell this tea! And I have to admit my comment was “something really smells in there!” The fear in the back of my mind was Rooibos. Had I requested another Rooibos? The fear was subsided when I opened the box to reveal this silver tin of Honeybush tea. I have only had honeybush tea once before and on that particular occasion the honeybush strongly resembled a woody rooibos.

Honeybush is a mild, caffeine free herbal tea. I was hopeful that I would like this tea. As I put my teaspoon into the tea leaves, I noticed something…what is that? Chocolate? Yes, tiny chocolate pieces of goodness throughout this blend. Since I could not locate any brewing directions I just went with standard recommendations 4-5 minutes steep time with 1.5 tsp per cup.

Chocolate. Did I mention the chocolate??? This is very good chocolate tea! Smooth and rich. One cup will do ya kind of tea. And the best part is that it is caffeine free, so this may well become my nighttime tea. Halleluiah. It is really hard to find a good nighttime tea. I would never have pegged a honeybush to fill that need in my tea cupboard, but this jewel of a tea did just that for me. Go ahead and pick up a tin of this tea, it just may be your tea too!

You can purchase the Chocolate Honeybush directly from the Sanctuary T 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.