I tend to like tropical tastes. Much to the chagrin of my family, when I order pizza, I usually choose pineapple and ham as toppings. This just grosses people out but I like it. So how about pineapple tastes in tea?…keep that thought in mind, okay now add to it guava. This combination makes me think that you’ll either love it or hate it. As separate food and drink items, I like it so I’m game to try the combo too. Not too sure about the flower petals in it though. We’ll see.

Opened up the package and found a mesh-stitched teabag filled with not small fannings or dust in the teabag but whole leaves that looked of good quality and only a tiny bit of blue flower petals. Steeped the teabag in boiling water for 3 minutes as per the instructions. Aroma is very fruity and floral. A very pleasant fragrance.

I agree with Mighty Leaf that the “green tea blends harmoniously with the sweet tropical fruits of pineapple and guava” and this may be part of the problem. It would have been more distinctive had the green tea had some of the characteristic grassy or vegetal notes of other green teas. Because of this, it tasted more like a tisane than a green tea blend. The taste of pineapple also seems to be lost in a stronger base note of the sweet guava. The blend does seem to come together quite naturally with the floral notes. It is an okay beverage but tastes too much like many fruity, floral teas I’ve tasted. It doesn’t stand out but it’ll do. I could take it or leave it.

You can purchase Mighty Leaf Green Tea Tropical directly from their website.

Steeped in a Tea Forte Café Cup, with the spent tea pyramid resting on a Tea Forte tea tray, all the pieces were set to provide an enjoyable tasting experience of this mango flavoured green tea. Impeccable as always, the packaging of this individual tea pyramid infuser bag was clean and sharply presented. After heating the water to the proper temperature, I proceeded to steep the tea for only two minutes before moving on to tasting it. The aroma is light, and the mango smell is lighter yet. My guess would be that the green tea base is a sencha or something akin to it.

The tea itself has light forward notes with a strong finish. The mango is present but not very prominent. Overall the tea is not very impressive in its taste. Not wanting to judge it by first try, I steeped a second cup. This time, I left the tea pyramid in the water for three minutes. The mango flavour is now a lot bolder and broader. It complements the green tea far more than during the first infusion.

Overall, I think this is not one of Tea Forte’s better blends. However, for lovers of fruit flavoured green teas, it may be worth giving this one a try. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate it a 76/100.

You can purchase Tea Forte Green Tango directly from their website.

The initial scent I get from this tea reminds me of a darjeeling…light and a bit spicy. In fact, this almost seems light enough to be a bit reminiscent of some green teas that I have had. Steeping it for three minutes with just-boiled water, I’m greeted with creamy aromas from the golden-brown liquor. Despite being a little too eager to try it, and burning my lip on the first sip, once I wait and get in a (safe) first sip, I am delighted by the result. This tea is indeed creamy, just as the Canton Tea Co website describes. I am not so sure about the caramel notes, but I suppose I could see where one might pick up hints of those. To me, this tea has just the slightest bit of a malty aftertaste, creating an impeccable flavour.

A resteep of this tea brings about a much-subdued, yet still flavourful, brew. This is most definitely one of the best black teas I have ever tasted. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it 90/100. On top of that, I would definitely recommend this as one of the must-try teas for lovers of black teas.

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!

When one takes a look at the little brown rice puffs peeking out from the tightly rolled spinach-y sencha, one would conclude that this is tea with an interesting backstory. Two histories are attributed to this tea; the first one being highly practical–housewives using a common household commodity to stretch expensive tea.

The second legend is much more colorful: the servant of a samurai tucked some grains of toasted rice in his sleeve to sneak a snack in between his duties. As he served his master’s tea, a few grains fell into the steeping cup. This attracted the ire of said samurai, who whipped out his blade and beheaded the poor peckish peasant. To his regret, the master discovered the brew he believed to be tainted was pretty doggone tasty.

Believe either, or neither, but if you’re a lover of out-of-the-ordinary green teas, this is one to taste. Steeped, it’s a luscious golden green and has a scent akin to a whiff with your nose stuck deep in a box of Rice Krispies. And instead of muting the flavor of the quality organically-grown sencha, the rice gives this bright and brassy brew a nice sweetness. Perhaps our remorseful samurai repented by writing a haiku in praise of this serendipitous discovery:

Snap, crackle, pop; rice
Enhances this tea’s flavor.
I’ll have one more cup.

You can purchase the Genmaicha Organic directly from the TeaFrog 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.

On the package, Hampstead Tea promises the drinker an evening on the beach. So, with that promise in cup, I brewed up this Lime Green tea.

As I look at the dry tea bag, I can see bits of ginger intermingled with an abundance of tea leaves. The smell of the dry tea bag is of limes. Ok, I have never had lime in my tea. A two minute infusion, the tea bag is heavy as I pull it out of the water. This is not your run of the mill grocery store tea bag, these bags are full and the leaves expand into the entire tea bag. My first sip…’you put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up’ hum…sorry I got carried away by the LIME in my tea. Did I mention it had LIME in this tea? The lime is not overpowering, it balances the green tea. Oh my, I have never tasted a green tea that was so refreshing, so different, so totally not grassy or bitter.

OK, so now you know my issues with green teas: bitter, grassy, generally yucky. BUT, Hampstead Tea promises that their green teas are never bitter or grassy and it is all because they grow their Organic Fairtrade green teas at a higher altitude. I say hooray for the higher altitude and for a company that goes that extra mile to bring us good organic affordable teas.

When I first started on my tea journey, I drank green tea. I kept thinking over time I would learn to love it, but I never did. Granted I was not drinking high quality leaves, but I did not like it. Since that feeble attempt at green teas, I have found a few that I can tolerate to drink. This green tea is in a class all by itself in my humble opinion, it is mellow and fresh. I find myself looking forward to the next cup. As you might have guessed by now, I am a fan of this Lime Green tea. It is a perfect after meal tea. I can see myself drinking this throughout the day and night. The caffeine is low on this one, so this can be added to your nighttime tea stash.

Lime zest + Green Tea = Enjoyment.

You can purchase the Lime Green directly from the Hampstead Tea website.

Per Marcus Stout of the Golden Moon: “The four qualities of Dragon Well is the Jade green color, the sweet aroma, the roasted vegetable flavor and the shape of the leaves. The leaves are all hand processed to look like small flat blades.” Once the leaves are wet, they reminded me of cooked greens. The smell is of vegetables, at first I thought I could not get past the smell, but as I sipped I grew more accustomed to the taste of this green tea. If you are a fan of green teas, this is a must try. For me, this tea was a no go. I wanted to appreciate the tea the way Marcus Stout does, but the black tea side of me refused to let me go Green.

You can purchase the Dragon Well – Lung Ching directly from the TeaFrog website.

My first visual impression of this compressed green pu-erh was the bottom of the leaf pile I raked to the curb two months ago that the city maintenance crew still hasn’t picked up. The first smell impression was a strong memory of Grandpa Jenkins’ damp cement-block garden shed resplendent with rusty spades and bins of stored potatoes. Which, lest you think otherwise, is not an unpleasant recollection.

Since my sample didn’t come with an instruction manual, I averaged the best advice I could find online and among acquaintances. Starting gingerly with a nugget the size of an unshelled almond, I gave it a quick rinse with hot kettle water. With water just underneath boiling, I steeped the first batch in a two-cup pot for a minute. The garden shed smell was still prominent, but the taste was lighter and mellower than the eau de potting soil I was bracing for. Almost maple-sugar sweet and leafy with a thickness on the tongue that I don’t generally associate with green teas.

The second steep, since I declared myself over my initial apprehension, was allowed to go a whopping extra 30 seconds. Color deepened just one tint from golden to dark amber, and the sweetness intensified equally.

I’ll end this narrative with Steep #3 (2 minutes, 30 seconds), which is still darker, still sweeter, and apparently still viable for several more steeps. As a newbie to the pu-erh spectrum, I think I should skipped Steeps 1 and 2 and just started here.  Thanks, Grand Tea, for providing an afternoon of entertainment and analysis, as well as proof that even an untutored and clumsy tea preparer can learn to appreciate the personality of this unusual variety.

You can purchase the Year 2000 – 7542 Green Pu-erh directly from the Grand Tea website.

China Moon Palace – Chun Mee Tea is a pretty typical Chun Mee like Green.  It’s a fairly straight forward and good “go-to” Green Tea…everyone should have a few “Good ole standby’s”, ya know?  As for flavor…it’s a little grassy but not overly grassy.  There are hints of buttery and hints of semi-sweetness – but only hints.  The after taste is a little vegetal but doesn’t linger on for too long and doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste of some greens – which I appreciate!  Overall this is a good green tea to have on hand and anyone who likes green teas should try this at least once!

You can purchase the Chun Mee directly from the TeaFrog website.

Opening the package, the dry leaves smell grassy and have a perky sweetness about them that I’m eager to try (too much time spent drinking roasted and musty green teas has drawn me from teas like this). Two teaspoons of leaves, two cups of water, and three minutes later, I had a pale green brew with a much deeper aroma than the dry leaf had. Deeper, yet still as sweet, the grassy notes linger as well.

Deliciously smooth. The grassy flavour does not overwhelm, as some greens are apt to do. For such a lightly flavoured tea, the brew seems to carry a moderate amount of thickness to the mouthfeel. However, even those light flavours are complex by themselves, making each sip a lingering pleasure, if left to settle on the tongue.

The sweetness and delicacy of the brew leave one with a very refreshed feeling, and it is a very enjoyable tea to drink. I gladly give it a 77 out of 100 on my personal enjoyment scale, and would certainly recommend it.

You can purchase the Dragonwell Green directly from the Mark T. Wendall Tea Company website.