Product Description:
Madagascar mixes rich black tea with slices of real vanilla bean to produce a deep flavor that incorporates notes of dark rum, sweet earth and tropical flowers. Both smooth and exotic, this loose leaf tea is great served with buttered toast as a special morning treat.

Tasters Review:
Although this one isn’t my favorite offering from Golden Moon I didn’t think Madagascar Vanilla was bad either. I did find some interesting traits and characteristics that I would like to share! First…the aroma! It smells nice both before, during, and after infusion. It ‘brews’ dark brown and is quite mellow in taste. I’m more of a “In Your Face” Bold and Black Tea Drinker for the first cup of the day and when I first sampled this it was my first cup of the day. I didn’t think it was overly strong but it makes a nice mid morning or afternoon flavored Black Tea. Overall it was an ‘alright cup’ but I was looking for something stronger for first thing in the morning. If you like a mellower black tea…this one might be right up your alley!

You can purchase the Madagascar directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

Product Description:
As the most gentle among green loose leaf tea, Snow Sprout delivers tender young buds that give a light infusion of serene clarity. Delicate herbal notes are followed by a lingering sweetness.

Tasters Review:
Snow Sprout from Golden Moon is just yummy and sweet and juicy and Delicious!  It’s very sweet and very refreshing…thirst quenching, even!  I would have to say this is one of my FAVORITES from Golden Moon so far!  It has almost a slight minty aftertaste to it to that I really like! 

You can purchase the Snow Sprout directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

Loose tea blend of lemongrass and ginger.

The ginger was a bit mild for my liking. The lemon seemed to take a back seat to the other flavors in this blend. As I sipped this tea, I was continually hit with the sensation that I was drinking hay. It was drinkable, but will I choose this particular tea again from my cupboard, probably not.

Well, I did choose this tea again and I liked it better, I let it steep longer and that seemed to overcome the hay sensation I experienced with tasting number one.

Overall, a good caffeine free choice from Tea Forte.

You can purchase the Ginger Lemongrass directly from the Tea Forte website.

One of the perks of being married 25 years come September is the marital right to stick just about anything under your spouse’s nose and say, “Smell that!” without getting clobbered. In the case of nice tea from India, the response was “Wow! There’s something clove-y going on, isn’t there?”

While neither of us have a professionally trained tea nose, we did pick up some nice spicy, fruity notes in the dark dry tea. I suspect it has something to do with the area in which Banaspaty tea is grown — evidently the perfect greenhouse environment for teas.

The fruity tones come through loud and clear when this tea is brewed. Because I prefer my Assams on the meatier side, I let it steep a full four minutes before a taste test. Assam Banaspaty has the nice thick heft you’d expect from an Assam tea, but was surprisingly mild in flavor. While I don’t think milk and sweetener would harm this gentle brew, it certainly doesn’t need to be toned down any.  This would be a good introductory selection for someone new to the world of fine loose leaf tea.

You can purchase the Assam Banaspaty Organic directly from the TeaFrog website.

The sample of Sunrise in Tibet from TSalon came in a two-part clear plastic package. The lower compartment sealed in 25 grams of loose tea from the upper compartment that contained 2-10 gram servings of loose tea in organic fold-type tea bags that were also sealed to prevent the leaves from falling about. I liked the clear plastic because you can see the quality of the loose un-bagged tea. There were strands of orange-coloured safflower petals and chunks of mandarin orange peel among chopped black tea leaves and stems.

I checked the TSalon web site but found errors in the listing for this tea. The tea description promised notes of vanilla, cocoa, mandarin orange and thistle with an aroma like freshly baked cookies. Gamesters will know that Thistle Tea is used as a quest reward to immediately restore energy. As it turns up as an ingredient in Sunrise in Tibet Tea from TSalon, this may surely be a sign to drink this tea after your game quest.

I weighed the sample and the tea bags and then slipped the loose tea into another tea bag to enjoy at a later time. As I prefer my tea strong, I used the 10 gram tea bag in 400 ml boiled water at 212 F. for a 4 minute steep. As a standard measure for most flavoured black teas, use 2.5 grams in 200 ml of 100 degrees Celsius water for 3-4 minutes. I used a glass tea pot as I wanted to see the colour of the tea, and also I wanted to keep the tea warm during the full steep to ensure the flavours would be extracted. When making a flavoured black tea that requires a longer steep, use a teapot that holds the warmth well and use a tea cozy. If using glassware, set your tea pot over a trivet and candle warmer. Do not use a tea cosy near a open flame due to the risk of fire.

What does the sunrise look like? In a white tea cup, the brilliant golden-red tones of the liquor beam out at you, inviting you to sip in the good morning vibes. See photo. This is a bright cup of tea that gives off tantalizing scents of spice and vanilla. The chocolate tones were a bit lost. The taste is naturally sweet but there was a bitterness, surely not from the steeped tea? No, that would be mandarin orange and thistle bringing a tartness to this smooth in-the-mouth blend. Your taste buds will be stimulated and your taste-sight-feel-smell-senses become alert. This tea would cut through peanut butter and jam or even a bagel and cheese. There is a lingering astringency, a dryness in the mouth that would go well with the fats serves in a breakfast such as butter, cheese, home fries or bacon.

Dare I try a drop of milk in this morning brew? Yes, the bitterness rounded out and after adding sugar, I sensed a balance of sweet and bitterness. I wanted to have a Peach Danish pastry to compliment this tea.

Is there anything Tibetan to this? Probably not, but it is romantic and congers up visions of orange-red morning skylight over rugged mountains. You’d need a brisk tea to get you started in the morning there too. The thistle will certainly help get your energy going. This tea is very pleasant overall and is well suited as a compliment to a breakfast meal or with a sweet rather than as a stand-alone tea.

You can purchase the Sunrise in Tibet directly from the T-Salon website.

This sencha is one of the loose tea samples included in Den’s Tea’s Green Tea Novice sampler. The dry leaves are lovely to look at – shiny, dark green needles of tea that have a full, savory sort of smell with hints of nuttiness. When I took the leaves out after they’d steeped they looked almost like pieces of fresh leaves that had been picked today.

The colour of the tea is a vivid lemon-yellow hue despite having a fairly short steeping time. The tea itself hovers somewhere between the grassiness of matcha and the flavour of cooked vegetables. It has a distinct savory undertone to it – I think someone else called it umami and I agree with that. There’s also a bitter tang on the end of each sip that leaves a bit of a sour aftertaste in the mouth. Nothing too horrible though, and the other attributes of the tea more or less make up for it in my opinion.

I’ve not had much experience with authentic, good-quality Japanese teas, but within my limited experience I can say that I think this is an excellent sencha and something that I might consider buying a full bag of one day.

You can purchase the Sencha Fuka-midori directly from the Den website.

Vendor Description and Ingredients: One of our most flavorful teas. Light fruity grenadine lifts exotic caramel vanilla creating a unique heavenly flavor. Excellent smooth and mellow finish.

Review: I recently received this from a friend.  Apparently she lives near the Tea House where this came from.

The Pre-Infusion/Dry Loose Leaf smell is like Vanilla, Apricot, and a hint of chocolate… which is interesting because I don’t think 2 out of those 3 are even in there! But it smells really nice!  My nose can also pick up on a slight cookie or pastry speck of something, too.

While this loose leaf tea is infusing I can smell a little caramel, a little vanilla, a little grenadine, and of course, a little black tea.  The aroma is quite unique and the more I breath in the scents the more intrigued I am by it.

After infusing the wet leaves smell almost candied.  They also smell a little bit like wood.  The liquid itself certainly hits me as grenadine and black tea.

Organic Monks Sacred Blend by the Path of Tea has a handsome medium-dark brown color to it.

Much of the actual ingredients seem to play nice with each other and there isn’t any one ingredient that seems to be too over the top.  As far as I can taste – the grenadine – is in the forefront a bit more than the other ingredients – but it’s sweet and juicy and a great contribution to the flavor instead of being distracting.

You can purchase the Organic Monks Sacred Blend directly from the The Path of Tea website.

The Product Description on the Tea Forte Site is:
Our double-wall ceramic tumbler and integrated stainless steel infuser make brewing loose tea by the cup simple. The innovative double-wall construction keeps tea hot and the tumbler cozy to hold. Brews a generous 12 oz cup and is dishwasher safe.

My findings on the products…
First – I would like to mention the tumbler itself…
It’s heavy-duty which I LOVE. I am keeping this at work so I tend to walk around with my WORK mug. I will say that THIS has officially REPLACED my old ‘mug’ completely. I really LOVE the design! Like I said, it’s the GRASS one and it’s “so me” because some people refer to me as a tree hugger or hippie! It’s earthy, natural-looking, and FUN!

I really appreciate the fact that it has a LID. ONE…because it keeps the tea itself warmer than if the tea is exposed while steeping or infusing like I did it before. And TWO because I am a klutz and will really benefit from the usage of this lid!

The double-wall ceramic that the description refers to – is something else I must mention!  I also like this feature because you are still able to pick it up while hot. YES, it’s still warm to touch but I would have to say it cuts down on the ‘holding temperature’ by about half…this is my estimated guess I haven’t officially or technically tested it…but this is just to give you an idea of the ‘heat to hand’ comparison..

As for the “integrated stainless steel infuser” I would give it a thumbs up as well! I did find it a little less heavy duty than other strainers I have used but it also allows for more movement of the loose leaf. Having said that – it’s also easy to remold into the original shape. 

The Strainer PERFECTLY fits the tumbler! While the loose leaf is infusing the leaves stay put regardless. They DO NOT “Jump Over Board” into the liquid…NO FLOATIES!  YAY!

When you discard your loose leaves they do stick a little but it’s nothing I can’t deal with.  Just simple whack or flick the ‘leftover’ loose leaf out or rinse, even.  I have tried this tumbler and strainer with all kinds of teas.  I have found that Green Tea tends to be more stubborn than others, generally speaking.  I have also done Rooibos in the KATI and haven’t had much of a problem with the very thin Rooibos sneaking thru the cracks…that’s a definite PLUS.  Heck I have even tried a teabag (minus the strainer, of course) and the tumbler works well…as a matter of fact, I have noticed that all of the tea bags I have tried in there so far have floated to the top when fully wet so there is no fishing around in your tea for the bag to discard because it’s right there!

The only thing I miss is a handle on the side…but because I am so excited about the actual product and ‘know’ it’s supposed to be ‘different from a mug’ I will certainly look past that!

So far I give the Tea Forte KATI 2 thumbs up! It’s a great addition to ANY Tea Lovers Collection!  I even have non-tea drinkers EYE BALLING it!  By getting this KATI it just might encourage me to get into more accessory hunting/purchasing.  When you purchase this little darling you will receive the Tumbler, Strainer, Lid, and 3 Loose Leaf Tea Forte Samples.  A great deal for the price!

You can purchase the Kati Loose Tea System directly from the Tea Forte website.

I am a fan of Rooibos. I love all teas, but there is something about Rooibos that is more appealing to me. Perhaps it is my sweet tooth, which appreciates the natural sweetness of Rooibos, or perhaps it is because Rooibos tends to blend with so many “sweet” flavours such as Caramel and Vanilla. Whatever it is, I am a fan.

With that in the forefront of my mind, I brewed up a bag of the Mighty Leaf African Nectar. My teabag prejudice aside, Rooibos actually works well in a teabag because it is naturally a small leaf, and does not need a lot of room to expand.

I brewed the tea using my regular Rooibos methods, boiling water, steeped for 5-6 minutes. The smell was fantastic, and I could not wait to dive into it. The cup was a deep red color that I relate to good quality Rooibos.

Prevalent in the taste was a mango and vanilla combined with, but not overwhelming, Rooibos flavour, which is a sweetish, nutty flavour. I like it. I like it a lot! There is not much more to say on this tea, as I think the above speaks for it’s self. Sometimes Mighty Leaf has fallen down in taste for me, but in this case, it is a home run! I would recommend this tea to anyone who likes Rooibos, and to someone who wants to get an idea of what a flavoured Rooibos tea can be!

You can purchase Mighty Leaf African Nectar Loose Tea or Mighty Leaf African Nectar Tea Pouches directly from their website.

Green Tango is a mildly flavored green tea from Tea Forte; their website gives this description of Green Tango: ” Deliciously fragrant mangoes and peach scent every cup of our lightly steamed green tea with honeybush. A hint of the tropics with every satisfying sip.” The listed ingredients are organic green tea, organic honeybush, natural mango flavor, and natural peach flavor.

I used one of Tea Forte’s beautiful pyramid tea bags to brew this cup and steeped it for 5 minutes (more than the recommended 2-4 minutes). Always curious, I did slit the bag before brewing to take a look at the blend and was a bit disappointed to find that at least this particular bag must have missed out on the marigold petals and was just a mix of green tea leaves and honeybush. I don’t imagine that the flavor was compromised but it did look “prettier” on the website with the gold accents against the green.

Before and after brewing the tea had a pleasant scent of mango – nothing too strong and overpowering, but just enough to be identifiable as mango rather than simply fruity. The mango flavor presents itself as mildly in taste as it does in the aroma and unlike a lot of flavored blends it doesn’t hide the taste of the tea which is very smooth, no bitterness at all – a very nice cup of green tea with a refreshing fruit finish.

Green Tango is available in Tea Forte’s pyramid infusers and come in a box of 48 at $1 per, or more affordably, as loose tea in a 35 serving canister for $15.

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