Just Blissful Black Oothu Tea from Just.Organic.Tea

oothublackTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Just.Organic.Tea

Tea Description:

A smooth, balanced black tea with a long leaf. Blends perfectly with milk and sugar, but flavorful enough to stand alone. Also makes a great iced tea. Our Oothu tea is bio-dynamically produced in South India. Fair trade & organic certified.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Just.Organic.Tea has impressed me with their vision of being a socially responsible company.  I appreciate that their teas are all organic and that they only select fair trade certified teas.  And I really like that their teas – like this Black Oothu – is really GOOD tea too!

The flavor is really smooth and even-tempered, and nicely round.  It’s got a rich, malty flavor but it’s not an overly aggressive or robust tea.  It has a pleasing, medium body that would take the addition of milk and honey well, but I’m quite enjoying it with no additions.  It’s got a hint of fruit and floral sweetness in the background, and a nice, earthy taste that’s satisfying when I find myself wanting a smooth black tea.

It’s also one of those very “adaptable” type of teas.  It would be ideal to serve at an afternoon tea party, and would also work nicely as an iced tea, perhaps with a thin slice of lemon or lime.  It’s moderately astringent and there is a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste.

This is Just.A.Really.Lovely.Tea.   OK … that was kind of corny, right?  Sorry.  But it is really nice, and just what I need on an afternoon when I want to sit back and relax for a few moments and not worry about everything else that’s going on around me.  It’s the good stuff.

Blissful Buds Green Tea from Mellow Monk

BlissfulBuds

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Mellow Monk

Tea Description:

Blissful Buds™ is a mecha, or bud tea, made from young buds and shoots. The aroma is pleasantly herbaceous. The flavor is full and deep, with an apple-like sweetness and overtones of berry and a lightly tangy aftertaste.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Mellow Monk is a company that offers one of my all-time favorite green teas, so when I had the opportunity to try another tea from them, I was very excited.  And while this Blissful Buds Green Tea from Mellow Monk is not quite as amazing as their Top Leaf, it’s still quite delightful to sip.

Then again, it shouldn’t even be compared to Top Leaf, because they are two different teas.  Top Leaf is a Honcha tea, and this Blissful Buds is a Mecha tea, which is comprised of the young buds and shoots of the tea plant.  The leaves are so tiny, and the color is so deep and green.  The color reminds me of a Japanese Sencha, but these leaves are even finer in size and shape than a typical Japanese Sencha.

The aroma of the dry leaf reminds me of spring … like the smell of the fresh, newness of spring as all the plants, trees and even the grass begins to sprout new life.  It smells vegetative, but not like cut grass or steamed veggies like so many other green teas smell, this has that new, spring “greens” smell to it.

The flavor starts out sweet and lush, and by mid-sip, I notice a bitter undertone.  Not a “oh, I oversteeped the tea” kind of bitterness, but a savory bitter greens kind of taste which actually seems to complement the sweetness.  It has a brothy kind of appeal to it, like a cup of chicken soup would have – restorative … invigorating!

A very enjoyable cuppa, and certainly different from the usual cup of green tea.  I like that, and I like this for being different!