Sencha from Hon.yama, Ôkawa from Thés du Japon

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Thés du Japon

Tea Description:

A futsumushi sencha from Hon.yama, in the mountains north of Shizuoka, grown under difficult conditions at an altitude of 740 meters (2400 feet). Yet, the difficult conditions are also the secret to a very high-quality natural tea: abundant rain, the slope of the garden, morning mists, significant temperature differences. In order to bring out the qualities of these leaves, the producer, Nakamura Toshiaki, is careful to steam them as little as possible and to keep their shape. The tea obtained in this way rewards us with a beautiful clear golden liquor that releases a deep fragrance of sugar and peat. The liquor is very airy while at the same time very sweet, rich and somehow voluptuous, and it is especially long in the mouth. This special sweetness is carried through several infusions, and there is almost no astringency.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

A really lovely Japanese Sencha!  It’s been a while since I’ve had my last Japanese Sencha, in fact, as I sit here, contemplating this tea, I try to recall the last time I’ve had a Japanese Sencha, and I can’t do it.  I’ve had a lot of Matcha lately, and even flavored Sencha, but, not so many pure Japanese Sencha.  It’s very refreshing to have this cup now.

The aroma of the dry leaf initially reminded me of kelp, but after the package had breathed for a moment or two, it smelled more like freshly cut grass.  Very clean and spring-like!  A very nice fragrance to experience during these cold, wet, autumn-y days!  Once brewed, the tea smells more like vegetables than of grass, somewhere between steamed spinach and steamed broccoli.

The flavor is sweet, crisp and has a fresh, invigorating quality to the flavor. The flavor is very clean and smooth from beginning to finish, with very little astringency toward the finish – just a hint of a tangy note – and a gently sweet aftertaste that is reminiscent of dew drops.

Overall, I find this to be a remarkable Japanese Sencha – sweeter and milder than most I’ve tried.  Very pleasant to sip!

Lifeboat Tea from Williamson Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Williamson Tea

Tea Description:

Lifeboat Tea is a lovely full-flavoured, family-owned tea that has been created to provide sustainable funding for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) – the charity that saves lives at sea.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I had my misgivings about this – especially since I did recently have another Kenyan black bagged tea.  I didn’t want to compare the two, because they are two separate teas, from two separate tea companies.  Even the bags look different – these are the round tea bags without a “fetch-string” or tag on it, looking a bit like a rescue ring buoy.  No, it’s not colored bright orange or anything, it just kind of evoked that image given the name of the tea.

This really isn’t so bad, though.  I find it to be quite robust with a pleasant malty tone.  A nice sweetness to it too.  It is not unpleasantly bitter, but I suspect that had I oversteeped it, it might be.  It has just a hint of bitterness to it, suggesting to me that if the teabag had been left in the water a few more seconds I might have a bitter cup of tea.  But as it is, it is certainly not unpleasant, and I find the slight bitter tone to it gives a nice contrast to the overall cup.

This is not a bad cup of tea – but again, I must say that I’d rather it be a loose leaf tea rather than a bagged tea.  But, because it is bagged, it does make a great choice for cold-brewing for iced tea.  Even though it’s getting cooler (autumn is finally here!) I do still enjoy a glass of iced tea in the afternoon and with my meals, and this tea – iced – is really lovely.  Particularly nice with a thin slice of lemon.

 

Pink Rose Lemonade from The Tea Spot

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal Tisane

Where to Buy:  The Tea Spot  –  be sure to check out the coupon code featured just after this review for a limited time offer on this tea!

Tea Description:

Pink Rose Lemonade is a swirling collage of flowers with a hint of lemon and wintergreen. Like a fancy floral confection, this delicately handcrafted tea will refresh and soothe your palate. Pink Rose Lemonade is totally guilt-free, as it has no caffeine and is naturally sweet. Lemon, rose, mint, chamomile, and lavender spring to life in this absolutely fabulous herbal tea. Pink Rose Lemonade tastes distinctively wonderful brewed hot or cold.

Learn more about this caffeine free tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

Along with my Steep & Go, I received three samples of teas that go well using this cold-brew device:  Boulder Blues, Climber’s High, and this tisane.  Of those three, this one is my favorite to use in the Steep & Go. This was really surprising to me, because, I tend to avoid chamomile blends.  I don’t dislike chamomile, but I don’t really like it either.  However, the combination of ingredients in this herbal tisane works together so well, especially when cold-brewed in the Steep & Go.

It’s also quite good when hot-brewed and served warm just before bedtime.   I especially like the aroma of the hot-brewed tisane.  It smells so beautiful – I can smell the rose and the lavender and the combination of the two flowers is absolutely enchanting.

And it tastes pleasant too!  The lavender and chamomile are very relaxing, and I find it tremendously soothing especially after a busy day.  The flavors are sweet and lemony, with a foreground of floral notes and a background note of mint.  The mint is not nearly as strong as I thought it might be, as mint tends to be a rather aggressive herb.  Here, it takes the back seat and allows the other flavors to express themselves in a tasty and calming way.

But as I mentioned above, I really prefer this tea when cold-brewed using the Steep & Go.  I recommend allowing this to steep at least ten minutes, but it really gets good the longer you let it steep.  I found that after about a half an hour, the flavor was just perfect:  light and thirst-quenching.  I found that the bright, lemony notes were very refreshing, the hint of mint brought a cool, crispness to the taste and the floral tones added a pleasing contrast.  It was pleasantly sweet without sweetener – this is the perfect on-the-go beverage.

To be honest, when The Tea Spot sent me this tea to try with the Steep & Go, I had my doubts… I guess I come from the school of thought that believes that the best flavor can be achieved through hot brewing a tea … but I am coming around to the whole idea of cold-brew after trying this tisane cold-brewed!  This one made a believer out of me!

Special, Limited-Time Offer:  Now through October 14, you can save 15% on your purchase of this Pink Rose Lemonade from the Tea Spot!  Just put the Pink Rose Lemonade in your shopping cart, and use the coupon code sororitearose at checkout, and enjoy your savings … and the tea! 

Citrus Spice White Iced Tea from Nature’s Tea Leaf

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  White

Where to Buy:  Nature’s Tea Leaf

Tea Description:

Citrus Spice White Iced Tea is an exclusive iced tea blend that combines choice White Peony tea with real pieces of spicy ginger, zesty lemon and fragrant rosemary herbs. Our specially blended iced tea allows the brightness and tanginess of the lemon to soften the distinctive piquant bite of the ginger while allowing the aromatic essence of natural rosemary to shine through. This perfect balance of sweet, spicy, citrus and savory is a taste sensation you will want to experience again and again by the glass or by the pitcher.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I hot-brewed this and allowed the tea to cool to room temperature before chilling it, but I admit to taking a quick sip or two of it while it was still hot to see how I liked it served hot. And while I did enjoy this as a hot tea, I agree with Nature’s Tea Leaf:  this tea excels as an Iced Tea!

And yet, this is quite unlike any iced tea I’ve ever tasted … and I mean that in a very good way.  That is not meant to slight any tea that I might have tasted in the past, only to say that this is so refreshingly DIFFERENT.

The white tea offers a soft, creamy undertone to the bright, sunny citrus tones and the SAVORY spices.  Yes, that’s right, I said savory.  This is not a chai … which is immediately what I think when I see “spice tea” … and that is what makes it so different.  The ginger tastes zesty and peppery, but it lacks a certain heat that you might ordinarily experience with ginger because it doesn’t have other exotic spices like cinnamon, cloves or cardamom to enhance the spicy-heat of the ginger.  Instead, the ginger tastes a bit more mellow – peppery, yes, but without the heat.

The rosemary is what allows these flavors to translate into a more savory kind of taste.  The rosemary enhances the citrus-y tones while bringing in a delicate pine-like taste (and aroma!) to the cup.  So the tea does indeed have an exotic kind of taste to it, but, not a spicy-hot-chai kind of exotic.  Instead, it is more of a balanced taste with its bright citrus notes, sweet white tea, warmly spiced ginger and savory rosemary.

This is not only wonderful because it is so different, but it also gets BONUS POINTS for being incredibly soothing.  With winter time right around the corner and with it comes the cold-and-flu season, this is the kind of tea that you want to have on hand when you’re feeling a touch under the weather.

Very refreshing … deliciously different.  I like this very much!  OH… and it tastes great cold-brewed too!

Mango Iced Green Tea from Den’s Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Den’s Tea

Tea Description:

Mango is a flavorful tropical fruit. The only improvement we could think of is to combine it with our rich Sencha. Fresh Sencha flavor and sweet Mango will bring a tropical summer treat to your tea time.

Learn more about this cold-brewed tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Refreshing!

Of the different cold-brewed iced teas offered from Den’s Tea, this one might just be my new favorite!

What I’m liking so much about it is that just like the others that I’ve tried, the green tea is the strongest flavor… and here, the green tea tastes a bit more vegetative than the others that I’ve tried, and I’m really liking the rich flavor of the Japanese Sencha.  Sweet, slightly grassy, and a buttery background note.  Delicious!

The mango flavor is not a super strong flavor, but it is by no means what I’d call delicate, either.  I’d say it’s pretty evenly matched, with the vegetative taste of the Sencha and hint of Matcha edging out the mango just a bit.  The mango tastes lusciously sweet, like a very ripe mango (no under-ripe fruit flavors here!)

I love these cold-brewed iced teas from Den’s.  They are so refreshing, and I love how they go so well with a meal, but also taste so good that I want to drink them on their own too.  I also like that they don’t need to be sweetened!   These cold-brewed tea bags are simple, convenient, and produce a really flavorful iced tea.  That’s a win-win… or should I say win-win-win?