Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Good Earth online or Wherever Good Earth Teas are sold.
Tea Description:
Sure we all have responsibilities, but that doesn’t mean we have to settle into a routine. Break things up with the tingling intensity of Pomegranate Burst™. Blended with the goodness of green tea and the unexpected tart flavors of pomegranate and cherry, one sip will be enough to shake up an ordinary day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I brewed this Pomegranate Burst™ Green Tea from Good Earth without knowing the ingredients in the tea – only knowing it’s a flavored green tea. So, I brewed it the way I’d brew any other bagged green tea: using 8 ounces of hot water (170°F) and steeping for 2 minutes.
After I finished steeping the tea, I noticed the color – it’s a vivid ruby color, just like the color of a pomegranate aril. This communicated “hibiscus” to me. And after my first sip, yep … there’s hibiscus in this. Ugh. That first sip told me something else: there’s stevia in this too. Double Ugh. And it’s not even the natural leaf from the herb “stevia” it’s steviol glycosides which is the chemical compound of stevia. And I can taste that chemical taste from it too. Triple UGH!
Served hot, this just isn’t my cup of tea. I taste to much hibiscus and stevia and a syrupy cherry flavor (read: cherry flavored cough syrup) for me to derive much enjoyment out of drinking it. I do taste pomegranate and hints of raspberry. Those flavors might be nice if my palate wasn’t overwhelmed by the flavor of hibiscus, chemical tasting stevia and cough syrup.
No green tea flavor to speak of here. Just none.
Not one to want to give up on a tea so quickly, I decided to cold-brew a few bags in my half gallon pitcher, hoping that the cold brew might soften the overpowering flavors that I experienced with the hot steep. I used 5 tea bags for 2 quarts of water and stashed it in the fridge for about 8 hours.
As an iced tea, this is a little bit better but not much. The cherry flavor is not quite as cough syrupy as when it’s brewed hot but it still has that cough medicine taste. The chemical stevia notes are a little less apparent although I can still taste it. To offset the flavor of the stevia somewhat and try to make the sweet taste more natural, I added some agave to it and this addition helped make the drink more palatable.
On the positive side: I do like that I taste the pomegranate and the raspberry and these two fruits have a pleasant fruity flavor. The hibiscus is also less apparent as an iced tea. This tastes a lot more like a fruit drink than a tea though.
I think it’s fair to say that this was not a win for me. It wasn’t horrible but I find it difficult to move past that artificial taste of the stevia. It really ruins this drink for me.
Lemongrass & Pandan Tisane from Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Description:
An exquisite, balanced blend of two fragrant herbs typical of South East Asia. The lemony flavor and aroma of lemongrass is a great match to the sweet, vanilla-like taste of pandan. If you haven’t tried pandan yet, this infusion is not to be missed. The lemongrass-pandan combination is known to relieve stress, ease constipation. detoxify the blood and, being caffeine-free, it’s also the perfect after-dinner beverage. As for all our teas and herbs, these two are also organic.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I don’t recall ever having tried Pandan before, so this moment with Lemongrass & Pandan Tisane from Chiang Rai Tea House represents a new experience for me.
Pandan is interesting! It has a sweet flavor that is reminiscent of rice. The description above suggests a vanilla-like taste and I get that too, but I think I taste more of a rice-like flavor than a vanilla one. I’m quite enjoying it!
I have tried a lot of lemongrass in the past, but I must say that the lemongrass that I’ve sampled from Chiang Rai Tea House is truly exceptional. I realize that there are people out there that might thing that ‘lemongrass is lemongrass’ but for those people, I’d recommend trying one of Chiang Rai Tea House’s lemongrass offerings and that might change your mind. If nothing else, you might find the curly shavings of the lemongrass more interesting and enchanting than the typical blades of lemongrass that you might be used to.
The combination of the sweet, citrus notes of the lemongrass with its subtle hints of butter complement the pandan in a very pleasant way. This is a really nice caffeine free drink – one I wouldn’t mind drinking on a regular basis!
Overall, I’m really happy that I had this opportunity to try this Lemongrass & Pandan Tisane – Pandan is delightful and so is the lemongrass! A really nice tisane.
Mi Lan Dan Cong Oolong from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Dan Cong is the champagne of oolong tea: ripe with intense fruit and sweetness. The first time people taste this tea they are astonished by the arresting honey and floral notes – all completely natural. The tender leaves are thoroughly fermented and baked to produce a rich liquor bursting with peach, lychee, honey and orchid flavours. Grown on a plantation on the lower slopes of Wu Dong Mountain, Chao Zhou, this high-grade Chinese tea can be enjoyed through multiple infusions.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I so adore this Mi Lan Dan Cong Oolong from Canton Tea Co.! It has a delightful honeyed flavor with notes of flower and lychee fruit.
The description above suggests notes of peach and yes, I definitely do taste peach but I also find myself tasting plum-y notes too. Like hints of sweet and sour from a ripe plum. I taste distinct floral notes – orchid! – and I love the way the orchid melds with the fruit notes and the sweet, honey taste.
The flavors all come together so smoothly – seamlessly. It’s sweet with the contrasting sour notes. It’s nicely round with very little astringency and no bitterness. Just very, very beautiful to sip.
Later infusions offered even smoother flavors – the sharpness of the Lychee notes have softened somewhat now and melded with the other fruit flavors, creating a sort of unique fruit taste that’s a little Lychee, a little peach and a little plum. I’m picking up on fewer sour notes now, just a hint here and there.
But the cup is still delightfully sweet and honey-esque.
I’d recommend this tea to any tea lover looking for an exceptional tea experience! This tea delivers!
Ana’s Green Tea from Nepali Tea Traders
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Tea Description:
Looking for a flavourful green tea? This signature green tea of Nepali Tea Traders starts from tea bushes high in chlorophyll content, making the tea steeping in your cup a pleasing vibrant green (and an extra healthy brew!). This is a great example of a premium tea grown at high altitude. It’s smooth to sip and tastes fresh, lightly vegetal and sweet to finish.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
25% of profits from our Nepal teas will be donated to the ‘Nepali Tea’ Restoration Fund for earthquake relief. Learn more here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea – Ana’s Green Tea from Nepali Tea Traders – is the last tea left for me to try from Amoda Tea’s box for May. And I must say I’m really pleased with this tea! It’s quite lovely!
The flavor is light and refreshing. There is a delicate vegetal/grassy note reminiscent of lightly buttered green beans. It’s sweet but not overly so. It has a smooth character with a slightly tangy astringency toward the tail.
It’s a very invigorating cup of tea – I feel like I can feel the tension of the day melt away each time I take a sip and I start to feel my energy renew and I have an overall sense of calm as I continue to drink this tea.
And it’s good for a couple of infusions too! I steeped this tea three times and enjoyed each infusion to the last drop! I found that the later infusions were stronger in flavor than the first and there was a bit more astringency to the second cup compared to the first – but it was still quite enjoyable.
This is the kind of tea that you want to drink when you just want to sit back and forget about the stresses of the day and enjoy a delightfully good tea.
Wish Upon A Star Green Tea from Tea Leaf Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea Leaf Co.
Tea Description:
An eye-catching green tea blend with a sweet rose fragrance and light citrus notes. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this blend while the world’s magical nature reveals itself to you.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
My first couple of sips of this tea – Wish Upon A Star Green Tea from Tea Leaf Co. – were a little less than memorable, to be honest. I tasted green tea and little else. I found myself wondering where is the rose and citrus?
Then I sat the cup aside and let it cool a few minutes. Now as I sip it, I can taste those lovely notes of rose and orange – and they’re really quite lovely indeed!
The orange and rose are still quite delicate, but they’re discernible now and I like the way the flavors are arranged here. The green tea is the strongest flavor: it’s fresh and lightly vegetal with a pleasantly creamy texture. It’s very smooth! I’m not getting any astringency from this at all. The vegetal tones are somewhere between sweet grass and mild steamed veggies.
The rose is the next flavor I pick up on – it’s a subtle rose flavor. Not sharp nor does it lend a strong perfume-y flavor to the cup. It’s softly sweet and pleasantly floral. It’s a nice contrast to the hint of juicy flavor that I pick up on from the orange. Another subtle flavor, the orange adds just a touch of brightness to the cup. It’s a very uplifting note.
Overall, a very pleasant cup of tea. I recommend letting it cool slightly so that the flavors have time to develop – about five minutes – just the right amount of time to let the tea come to a drinkable temperature while the flavors come forward.