Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Undertone’

Much to my delight, I recently received a shipment of 3 teas from Davids Tea. I have been looking forward to sampling and reviewing tea from Davids ever since a store opened close to me here. They are truly a Canadian company (unlike the mistake I made with Mighty Leaf, Davids really was started, and is run, in Canada ), and I have been itching to feature them in a review.

Out of the 3 samples I was sent, the Mojito Mint was the one that caught my eye first. It could have been because after my wife going to Cuba, she has been on a Mojito kick, and we finally perfected our own Mojito recipe here, or it could be because of the sweet smell to the tea, or perhaps the odd mixing of Black tea and Rooibos. Whatever the reason, the Mojito Mint gets the nod for the first review.

This blend is part of Davids Tea’s Summer 2010 collection. I have, in all my years of tasting, never seen a blend of Black Tea and Rooibos together. In the bag, I get a sweet scent, with definite coconut and pineapple, and an undertone of the mint.

The instructions called for 80 deg. Celsius water – again, odd for a Black Tea and Rooibos both – usually you use boiling water for each one of these, but I am always for first trying it the suggested route, so that is what I did. They suggested a 3-4 min steep, so I went for a 4 min, as it seemed a good compromise between my 6 min usual Rooibos, and 3 min usual Black Tea.

The colour of the liquor is a reddish, muddy brown, mid-clear. It is not the dark Black, nor the red Rooibos, again speaking to the compromise that I am seeing in this tea already. Straight out of the steep the coconut scent dominated, but as it cooled, the sweet nutty Rooibos scent, and more mint started to peek through.

The flavour of this tea is amazing. Mojito it is not, I did not get any sense of that, but the name aside, I am really enjoying this tea. There is not a hint of tannin bitterness, in fact, the Black tea really seems to be only a supporting cast member. The dominant base is Rooibos, and each of the flavours seem to come through at different points – first sip I got coconut and a bit of rum’ish flavour, then the fruity pineapple flavouring peeks up – the final appearance from the mint leaves a refreshed taste in my mouth, and encourages another sip to start the cycle all over again.

I am still not sure why the Mojito name, since a Mojito is traditionally a rum/lime flavour, but frankly I don’t care what it is called! I have enjoyed cup after cup of this tea, and keep going back for more. Thumbs up recommendation for a Canadian company making it’s debut with us with a bang!

You can purchase the Mojito Mint Magic directly from the Davids Tea website.

Company Product Description: Artisans train for years to create blossoming tea flowers, and the Dancing Angels Flowering Tea represents the peak of that training. Each flowering tea is painstakingly hand sewn to ensure the each bud will open up and create a visual delight.

This flowering tea hails from the Anhui Province of China, where only the best leaves are chosen to wrap around a chain of Jasmine flowers, hanging like an arch over an Amaranth flower in the middle.

A succulent peach undertone characterizes this flowering tea, and it is as much of a joy to sip as it is to watch it unfold in the teapot. Each flower can be infused several times, and when you are finished brewing, you can replace the water in the pot or transfer the blossoming tea to a clear cup, add cold water and a touch of vinegar, and enjoy the blossom for days!

This Dancing Angels Flowering tea makes a great gift for friends, or can be enjoyed at a tea party where it will inevitably become the center of attention and conversation between you and your friends.!

REVIEW:

I was in a “Kids Choir” at our church when I was little and I always remember one of my first shows…we had to dress up like Angels and sing, dance, and act our way thru a Christmas Cantata.  I think I was 5 at the time.  I remember there being at least 2 Acts.  For some reason I had a sort-of Tea-Association with this Tea Experience.  When I tried this flowering tea for the first time I put it to the test for a total of 4 infusions…or should I say “Acts”?  Here are my findings…

ACT 1 – Infusion 1:
One this flower blooms it is HUGE!  It opened PERFECTLY and completely. The Red Floral Center’s color is so vibrant it looks like a strawberry from across the room. The liquid’s scent is sweet and wine-like. The color is pale but a pretty yellowish-white. My first sip was still very hot but I could instantly find the peachy tones – or should I say – they found me?

It’s sweet and peachy and floral-Jasmine towards the end of the sip. One of the better flowering teas I have EVER had! This is VERY flavorful especially for a flowering tea.

ACT 2 – Infusion 2:
The 2nd infusion was more flavorful than the first only infused about a minute longer. It was darker than the first infusion and, again, VERY tasty.  YUM.

ACT 3 – Infusion 3:
I could taste the Jasmine more than before.  TeaFrog says it’s good for 2 to 3 infusions but I am going to push the envelop!

ACT 4 – Infusion 4:
The 4th Infusion was lighter in color than the last 2 and sweeter but not much Jasmine than before but that’s okay with me.  One could probably try a 5th infusion if you were looking for a weaker or mellow tea. Regardless I am very pleased with this and would recommend it to anyone!

You can purchase the Dancing Angels directly from the TeaFrog website.

I love genmaicha so when I saw this blend from TeaFrog I knew that I had to try it. I didn’t really know what to expect in terms of flavor but I was imagining some type of genmaicha/chai/tropical hybrid.

In the scent of the dry tea, the fruity sweetness is the most noticeable. The typical toasted genmaicha scent is hard to identify, but there is a lot going on in this tea. As it is brewing, the genmaicha scent begins to become more noticeable.

I’ve tried this tea for several different steeping lengths and I love it at 3 minutes. The finished tea has the typical yellow/green aroma that is typical of green teas and has a strong toasted scent with a slightly sweet undertone. This tea is amazing. Slightly sweet, toasted, buttery. This is the Kettle Corn of teas.

Bamboo Shoots is extremely smooth, tasty, and doesn’t need any additions. I think this one is a very original play on the traditional genmaicha and is something all genmaicha lovers should try at least once.

You can purchase the Bamboo Shoots directly from the TeaFrog website.

Orange Blossom is a deliciously fragrant tea blend from Rishi Tea. Rishi describes it as “a refreshing and floral blend of green teas with sweetly-scented blossoms, lemongrass and tropical citrus fruits”. The listed ingredients are organic and fair trade certified green tea, organic lemongrass, organic osthmanthus flowers, organic lemon myrtle, natural essential oils of orange, lime and tangerine.

Out of the bag the tea seems to be more lemongrass than green tea leaf – a very pretty combination of light and dark green with a scattering of golden osthmanthus flowers. Not surprisingly, the scent is strongly citrus – the orange, lime and tangerine combination almost mimics bergamot; with a nice fruity undertone provided by the osthmanthus.

After brewing, the blend maintained it’s refreshing aroma and produced a nice amber cup of tea. I really couldn’t taste the green tea in this blend, but it had a very pleasant taste; the citrus flavors were mild and not too sharp, and the floral notes added a sweetness rather than a perfumed taste. The lemongrass did a nice job of softening and tying all of the flavors together; although I think that between the lemongrass and the lemon myrtle, someone who didn’t like the taste of lemon may not like this tea. The lemony scent and flavor was not overwhelming for my tastes, but I was expecting stronger notes of orange based on the name of the tea.

Organic Orange Blossom Tea is available for purchase as part of the Xuan En Yulu Organic Fair Trade Sample Set from Rishi Tea.

You can purchase Rishi Tea Orange Blossom directly from their website.

I’ve decided over the last little while I really have to expand my tastes for white teas. I’ve never been a huge fan of herbal teas, most of them upsetting my stomach slightly, but the whites tend to be different. Not as strong, or medicinal, more soothing and refreshing, this one delivers.

First let me say that I love Tea Forte. There is something about the packaging that truly appeals to me, like little presents wrapped in silk. The triangular shape tea bags are unlike any other tea on the market that I am aware of. Could be that the shape maximizes the brewing process or it’s simply a marketing genius, either way, I like it. At the top of the triangle is a little wired leaf that allows you to neatly hang the tea bag on the side of your mug, eliminating the need for a spoon.

I brewed this particular bag 3 times, each time at 180 degrees for approx. 4 minutes. It has a wonderful aroma. The sweetness of pear with a slight undertone of ginger. It was perfect timing for a tasting of this flavor as I had a little upset tummy from thanksgiving festivities and ginger has soothing properties. Surprisingly the first cup was very sweet, far too sweet for my liking. I add nothing to my white teas, preferring to savor the full flavor. It wasn’t until the 3rd brewing did I really begin to enjoy this one, the sweetness drastically abating. This would make an excellent iced tea on a hot summer day, and once we are back in summer months, I will give that a try. I think the reason I gave this particular tea 3 chances is simply because Tea Forte is a favorite of mine, but I have to say, this isn’t a tea that will have space on my shelf. I’ve given it a 6.5/10.

You can purchase Tea forte white ginger pear directly from their website.