Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Wow! I just have to say: passion fruit is some ugly fruit. I mean, it’s just not attractive at all. I was looking for a picture of it to incorporate into my label and all I can say is that it’s a good thing it tastes better than it looks.Bananas, on the other hand, are much more appeeling. So, I decided to marry the two in our new Tea of the Week with some nice shou mei white tea. This is a tea that will make your mouth happy. Like not just pleased, but happy.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh yum! I agree with the above statement: this Passion Fruit Banana Shou Mei Tea from 52Teas is really making my mouth happy! The flavors of banana and passion fruit taste AMAZING together.
The Shou Mei white tea base is ideal for these fruit flavors – it’s delicate enough to allow the flavors really shine, however the flavor is not so soft that it gets pummeled by the strong fruit notes. I taste the light, sweet notes of the white tea. It’s soft, a little bit earthy and I taste a hint of creaminess from the tea too.
The real stars of this blend, though, are the fruit flavors. These two tropical flavors are made for each other. The taste is sweet and fruity (well, obviously, right?) and with the smooth, fresh, creamy taste of the white tea, it’s almost “smoothie-like.”
It tastes great hot, but I think this one is best iced: it becomes a really refreshing treat! Yeah, I know that I’ve often sang praises to 52Teas blends, but trust me when I say that for this tea, the praises are well deserved. It’s really, really YUM!
Blue Lady Black Tea from Zest Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zest Tea
Tea Description:
Our Blue Lady Black blends a sultry South Indian black tea base with an aromatic mix of orange, lemon, passion fruit, and hibiscus. A peppering of vivid blue cornflower petals and bits of orange peel make for a visual spectacle. Blue lady will excite all of your senses. No wonder this is a favorite among hot and chilled tea drinkers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Zest High-Octane Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I thought that this Blue Lady Black Tea from Zest Tea was the ideal tea to review on tax day. We got to get those taxes done and in the mail, right? Actually, I finished my taxes in the first week of February, but, I know that there are those who don’t get them done and April 15th always seems to be crunch day, right? So, this one’s for you!
Zest Teas are “High-Octane” teas, that is to say that there is more caffeine in this cup of tea than in the average cup of flavored black tea. The goal, according to the makers of Zest Tea, was to create a high quality cup of tea that had the caffeine of a cup of coffee.
My one concern was this: I can’t drink coffee. Coffee makes me sick. I used to drink coffee every morning until I realized that the reason I was feeling sick around 11 am was that the coffee I was drinking every morning was making me feel that way. Was this “High-Octane” Zest Tea going to have the same effect on me? I kept my fingers crossed that it wouldn’t.
This tea is VERY aromatic. When I opened the pouch, I was greeted with a very fruity “punch” of fragrance: I could smell citrus notes of orange and lemon and I could smell the passion fruit. And despite the images that the “High-Octane” evoked in my head, it doesn’t smell of gasoline. Not one bit. It smells like a fruit flavored black tea. I like that smell.
It tastes great! The fruit notes of citrus and passion fruit are strong, but I also taste the Nilgiri black tea base. It has a pleasing flavor: rich and smooth, no bitterness, and it has lovely notes of malt.
I like the way the notes of malt play with the notes of lemon and orange. I also appreciate the balance that has been achieved in this blend: I taste the strong fruit notes but there is a full-flavored black tea base to fill in the background. There is also an agreeable balance of tart and sweet here. It is neither too sweet nor too tart.
The hibiscus in this blend adds a little bit of body to the cup and a hint of tart flavor that complements the citrus notes. Not a lot of hibiscus flavor, just enough tart and tangy taste to contrast with the sweeter notes of the fruit.
There are no weird/funky flavors associated with the extra dose of caffeine in the tea. Not that I thought there would be, but for those of you who might have thought: “What will that “High-Octane” thing do to the flavor?” I’m here to tell you that I don’t notice anything off with the flavor at all. This tastes like tea. It doesn’t taste different or off or funky in any way. It just tastes like a tasty tea with lovely notes of citrus and passion fruit.
So far, I really like what I’ve tasted from this tea. I’ll come back in a couple of hours to let you know if I felt any ill after-effects from the caffeine.
OK … so a few hours have lapsed since I finished the cup of tea, and here’s what I noticed:
- More energy: Yep. I could feel the extra burst of caffeine. But it didn’t feel like the jolt you’d get from a cup of coffee. It was stronger than the usual energy flow that I’d get from the usual cup of tea, though. A bit more like the unbridled jolt from coffee, but, I didn’t feel jittery or … well, I didn’t feel like I had just consumed a cup of coffee. But there is definitely an elevated level of invigorated energy from this tea.
- No ill effects: I didn’t feel that icky feeling that I would feel after I drank a cup of coffee in the morning. Big bonus points for that.
- No “crash”: After drinking coffee and experiencing that jolt, a few hours later, I usually feel the crash. I feel a lack of energy, like I need another cup of coffee to get me going again. Now, the lack of crash could be from the fact that I drink tea throughout the day, but, my tea drinking today has been limited to this one cup of tea from Zest Tea and then a couple of glasses of cold-brewed black iced tea. I don’t know the level of caffeine from the iced tea, but, I will say that I don’t usually feel “energized” after I drink iced tea. I feel refreshed and I feel my thirst has been quenched, but I don’t feel the burst of caffeinated energy from iced tea.
OK, so there you have it. I like this stuff … it’s a great way to get your act together in the morning on those days that you really need to get it together. And it tastes great too. This tea has it going on.
Crime of Passion Green Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Memories of the Copacabana Beach in Rio. Papaya pieces, sunflower petals and criminally exotic passion fruit notes infuse superior green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! This Crime of Passion Green Tea from Culinary Teas takes me (or at least my taste buds!) on a tropical vacation! The sweet passion fruit and papaya flavors meld together with the lush, green tea to present a really tasty tea with tropical flair.
The green tea base is a Chinese Sencha, and it lends a sweet, buttery and slightly vegetal note to the cup. I’m not finding this to be overly vegetative or grassy. It’s a light “grassiness” – I find the buttery/creamy notes of this tea to be stronger than the grassy/vegetal tones to be. The texture of the buttery notes give this a very smooth mouthfeel.
The passion fruit and papaya are beautifully sweet. There are hints of tartness in there too, but mostly, I taste sweet tropical fruit. The fruit notes here are strong and are edging out the flavor of the green tea just a tad – that is to say that the flavor is stronger than the green tea – but it’s so tasty that I am finding it difficult to find fault with this, especially since I can taste the green tea. It just isn’t as strong as the fruit notes.
A really tasty tea. It tastes great served hot (and makes a nice mental va-cay during the cold winter when you want to think of warm tropical breezes, the sun and the surf!) but it’s even better iced. Very refreshing!
Gold Rush Black Tea Blend from Monterey Bay Spice Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Monterey Bay Spice Company
Tea Description:
Abundant with tropical treats, Gold Rush Tea is as appetizing as it is visually appealing! Chunks of delicious mango improve your mood while bits of passion fruit inject vitality into your body! Amongst the high floral notes of the colorful and aromatic blossoms are cornflowers, blue mallow flowers, safflowers, and marigolds. Completing this blend is robust black tea that provides body and warmth to this savory selection!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I first tried this Gold Rush Black Tea Blend from Monterey Bay Spice Company hot, and while it was enjoyable served hot, it is really best served as an iced tea! It’s so refreshing and thirst-quenching!
The black tea base is strong and somewhat astringent. I would classify the astringency as a “fair” amount of astringency, not overly astringent and this should not be confused with bitterness, but, there is that tangy sensation toward the tail of the sip. This tea is not bitter when brewed properly, although I did notice hints of bitterness in the sip that suggest to me that if you were to over-brew this tea, you might end up with a bitter cup. I brewed it for 2 1/2 minutes, and this was long enough to produce a fairly robust tasting tea without the bitterness that a longer brew time might have created.
The flowers in this blend provide a very colorful, appealing dry leaf appearance, but, I don’t think they add a whole lot of flavor to the cup. I do notice the faintest whisper of a floral presence to the sip, but, it is very slight.
The flavors are very pleasantly tropical with lovely notes of mango and passion fruit. Sweet and just a hint of tangy fruit taste. The sip is primarily sweet and fruity … with the tangy notes coming through more in the aftertaste than during the actual sip. The fruit flavors are delicious and sweet, but I like that they are not overwhelming the cup. The tea comes first … the fruit is an accent flavor. Just a little fruity note to complement the natural fruit tones of the black tea!
Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable cup – and as I mentioned at the start, this is much better iced than hot. It’s still good hot, too – but it’s spectacular iced!
Passion Fruit Wulong from Red Leaf Tea
Passion Fruit Wulong from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong, Wulong
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Wulong tea has become quite popular in recent years, owing mostly to its reputed weight reducing properties. In any case, Wulong offers a brisk, strong flavor and vibrant aftertaste that will make it a delicious choice even if you are not trying to lose weight. This particular blend has added fruity touches courtesy of the passion fruit and other assorted real fruit pieces for a tea that is exceptional in flavor and aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Passion Fruit Wulong from Red Leaf Tea is a gentle, delicate, dainty tea! How perfect that I decided to use my gorgeous pink with golden swirl teacups! I feel dainty drinking this sweet, juicy, fruity tea!
The Wulong aroma is present but it may have needed more steep time to give me that Wulong punch I am used to.
This is so subtle yet enticing with its flavoring. I could see this being the perfect tea for a young girls tea party, to introduce new tea drinkers to finer teas, etc. Brewed double strength I can absolutely see how this would be a wonderful iced tea as well.
Yes, I do like this one quite a bit. I tend to lean toward stronger flavors personally but this tea has really hit its mark with a soft warm gentle glow.
Passion Fruit Wulong has a strong buttery aroma, with fruity notes jumping up for attention. The flavor of passion fruit, and mango, perhaps even some papaya come out to play then to finish there is a lingering flavor of melon, perhaps honeydew or cantaloupe.
At 4.99 for 1.6 ounce its a steal!
Next time you are picking up some of the amazing matcha from Red Leaf Tea be sure to snag some of this as well!
