Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Our Yunnan Breakfast is a wonderful Chinese black tea with rich awakening flavours. Its invigorating fragrance and glossy red liquor offer a robust taste with a peppery finish. Enjoy this bold tea hot.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
Before I get started in the review of this tea, I just want to remind all my readers out there that the time grows short to take advantage of the free teapot offer from Simple Loose Leaf. Learn more about it here.
Nice! I am in total agreement with the above description, this is indeed a bold, robust tea! It’s invigorating! And I’m enjoying it immensely.
The leaves are a beautiful chocolate brown with some golden tips. They brew up a dark, glistening copper colored liquid that tastes exactly how I expect a good Yunnan tea to taste: rich, full-flavored, warm with pepper-like notes. I love the spice notes to this Yunnan Breakfast Tea!
There is a pleasant sweetness to this as well. There is a thin molasses undertone that contrasts nicely with the warm spice notes. The sip begins with a hint of that sweetness, followed by that bold flavor of black tea. It’s earthy, rich, and beneath those stronger, masculine tones of earth and hints of wood is just a touch of stone fruit. Plum? Maybe a hint of black currant too. Then my palate begins to pick up on the notes of pepper. My taste buds tingle long after the sip is over from the zesty spice notes of this tea.
As the sip nears the finish, I notice some dryness. It has a moderate astringency, nothing too overpowering, nothing that disrupts the sip. The aftertaste is lightly sweet, reminding me of molasses, like the sweetness you’d experience if you were to eat a gingersnap cookie.
This Yunnan Breakfast Tea from Simple Loose Leaf is a really enjoyable way to start the day. It would take the addition of milk and sugar well, if you like to add those to your cup of breakfast tea. If you really want a treat, try adding about half a teaspoon of brown sugar instead of the ordinary table sugar to the cup. This really enhances the molasses tones and gives it just a little something extra special.
Then again, it’s quite good without anything added – I like it straight with no additions. It’s got an edge to it that I need when the morning starts before I want it to! Just what I need!
I just love Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club – it’s a wonderful way to get some great teas delivered to your mailbox every month at an affordable price! Save even more when you use this code: SISTERSELECTION25 Get 25% off when you sign up for the Selection Club! (This discount is not applicable on the retail selection of teas, and is only good for the selection club subscription.)
Cranberry Breeze Herbal Tisane from Simple Loose Leaf
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
This perfectly balanced blend of subtly sweet cherry and rose hips with tart cranberry and hibiscus make this herbal tea refreshingly delicious and reminiscent of a fun fruit punch drink. Perfect for children and others watching sugar and caffeine; Cranberry Breeze is wonderful hot or iced and is the perfect alternative to sweet caffeinated drinks.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
This Cranberry Breeze Herbal Tisane is not one I would have selected for myself. I am sipping on it only because it was one of the five teas in this month’s Simple Loose Leaf Selection Club and I opted for the five samplers instead of choosing an ounce or two of two of the teas. But you know what? I’m glad that I received this because I am enjoying it.
Yeah, normally, I’m not a big fan of hibiscus, and this is hibiscus-y! Really hibiscus-y. When I drink a hibiscus-based tisane, I want it to either be light on the hibiscus, or have ingredients that work well with the hibiscus. Well, this tisane isn’t light on the hibiscus, but the cranberry and hibiscus work very well together.
Yes, it’s tart. There are times when I’d even go so far as to say it’s sour! But, cranberries are like that, and as I said, the hibiscus and cranberry work really well together in this tisane.
I taste notes of sour cherry too, and the cherry and cranberry together give this a very juicy, fruity, party punch flavor only healthier, because even though I am not a fan of hibiscus, it is does bring a lot of health benefits to this party in a teacup.
I like this better iced than hot because the fruity punch flavor just tastes better iced. Not my favorite tisane, but it is something that I’d drink now and then when I want something a little bit different to give my taste buds a jump start. Try brewing up a pitcher of this, chilling it, and then serving it to the kids the next time they want something to drink – it’s a great naturally caffeine free alternative to those sugary sodas!
Oh, and don’t forget about Simple Loose Leaf’s special April promotion! You can get your first month of the Selection Club for just one dollar! Yes, you read that correctly! Use this code: 1DOLLARMONTH and enjoy up to five different teas next month for just one dollar! Wow! That’s amazing! Be sure to check it out and tell ’em that I sent you!
Organic Gunpowder Green Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Named for its shape, Gunpowder is one of the most popular teas throughout Asia. Our harvesters use a special rolling technique to craft these shiny, compact nuggets of tea out of the freshest, sweetest leaves. The result is immaculately clean, translucent liquor with a smooth, round taste followed by the subtle aftertaste of fresh green leaves.
Organic Chinese Gunpowder Green Tea
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s NEW Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
And since it is St. Patrick’s Day, what better tea to celebrate with than a green tea? Specifically, this Organic Gunpowder Green Tea from Simple Loose Leaf!
And this is a really good quality Gunpowder Green! I love that it’s an organic tea. The more I’m trying organic teas, the more I’m starting to notice a slight difference in flavor in the organic teas versus the conventionally grown teas. Maybe it’s all in my head, but … I think I do notice a slight difference.
For the record, I did at one time do a side by side comparison of an organically grown rooibos versus a conventionally grown rooibos, and the organic rooibos did taste better. Now, that’s not saying that it is true of camellia sinensis leaves. I just noticed a difference in the taste of the rooibos.
Anyway, let’s get back to this Gunpowder Green. It has a pleasant, smooth texture to it. I want to call it “brothy” because it reminds me a bit of the mouthfeel I’d experience if I were sipping a vegetable broth. Sort of thick and silky. But I’d much rather be sipping on this over a vegetable broth!
It does have a vegetative tone to it, though. It tastes of lima beans, only sweeter! There is a light buttery note to this as well as a toasted nut flavor. It has a nice complexity and a well-rounded flavor. Unlike some Gunpowder teas, I don’t taste the slight “smokiness” that I sometimes taste. This tastes cleaner … fresher!
One of the better Gunpowder Green teas I’ve tasted!
Crème Brulee Black Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
This luxurious tea is almost as fun to drink as it is to crack the crust of the famed dessert. A crisp black tea balances the creamy, caramel-like flavour of Crème Brulee for a delectable cup of tea, perfect for an after-dinner treat. This creamy tea is best served hot.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s NEW Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
My fifth installment of my customized subscription with Simple Loose Leaf arrived the other day! It’s a happy mail day whenever there’s tea in the mailbox! And I was really looking forward to this package from Simple Loose Leaf because I had a feeling that I’d love this Crème Brulee Black Tea from Simple Loose Leaf Black Tea!
I’m sure I’ve probably mentioned this once or twice on this blog: crème brulee is my favorite dessert. I’ve tried a few different teas that have attempted to capture the flavors of crème brulee and some have been pretty successful at bringing the decadent flavor of the dessert to the teacup.
This one is really good! I can taste the creamy, smooth flavors of vanilla intertwined with the robust notes of black tea. These two distinct notes seem to swirl together and are present throughout the sip. The tea is strong, slightly malty, and has some distant fruit notes that are especially discernible in the aftertaste.
And then there is a caramel-y taste to this that tastes very much like the caramelized sugar that is browned on top of a crème brulee custard. All that’s missing here is that crackle of the crispy sugar crust! This tea is incredibly YUM!
Before I posted this review, Simple Loose Leaf got in touch with me to tell me about their new “Selection Club” subscription. Here is some information about this subscription:
The Selection Club is the only member curated Tea of the Month Club. Each month Simple Loose Leaf assembles a menu of 5 unique teas (a traditional green, a traditional black, a white, a oolong or pu’er, and a flavored tea) for our club member’s consideration. From this menu each member selects the two teas they want included in their next box of tea. Alternatively members can select to receive a half-weight sample of each of the 5 teas. Simple Loose Leaf also includes a list of the teas being featured on the next month’s menu and each member gets to select one of these 5 teas and we include a free 6 gram sample of the selected tea.
This allows you to try more teas each month, but you still get to customize your experience! Sounds pretty awesome, right? Well, I’ve got some more awesomeness for you! Use this code: SISTERSELECTION25 and get a 25% discount when you sign up for the selection club. This discount is not applicable on the retail selection of teas, and is only good for the selection club subscription.
I really like this company. They are very accessible! They respond to email inquiries in a VERY timely manner, and as I’ve mentioned before, they go above and beyond to make their customers happy! And they’ve got yummy teas too! Sounds like a winning combination to me.
Madagascar Coconut White Tea Blend from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Our Madagascar Coconut white tea is like a coconut cream pie in a cup! A vibrant combination of Madagascar vanilla and coconut enrich a toasty white tea for a fruity, buttery and sweet finish. Enjoy either hot or iced for a light, sweet delight.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s customized subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
My subscription package from Simple Loose Leaf arrived the other day and I’m LOVING this Madagascar Coconut White Tea Blend that I received! What a deliciously creamy tea! It tastes decadent, but it feels light and refreshing.
The white tea base is a Shou Mei white tea. I like this choice, because it isn’t as delicate as a Bai Mu Dan. The Shou Mei is a stronger tasting tea and this allows for a more flavorful experience. I can taste the earthy, hay-like notes of the white tea, along with a light, buttery sort of taste. It is crisp and exhilarating to sip.
The vanilla cream notes are smooth and rich and taste very dreamy! Like a dessert but without being a overly sweet treat. The coconut and vanilla are nicely balanced with the vanilla notes maybe just barely edging out over the coconut, but not by much. I taste just a tad more vanilla than coconut. But the two together are quite wonderful, like a sweet coconut custard.
You might remember my blog post about last month’s tea from Simple Loose Leaf. Well, they got in touch with me not long after the post published, and they wanted to make my dissatisfaction with that tea right! I was very impressed with not just their willingness to work with me to make things right, but their wanting to go above and beyond what they needed to do to fix things.
I love it when I find a company that is dedicated to excellent customer service – even when I will be the first to admit that the fault was not really with Simple Loose Leaf … it was my fault for not having read the description before I placed the order! I saw Cocoa Cream and thought CHOCOLATE without reading the “coffee” in the description. That’s my fault, not theirs. But they still wanted to make things right, and I love that.
They wrote me a nice email, and in it, they offered to replace the tea that I didn’t care for with a tea of similar price and weight ~or~ a handful of free samples. I, of course, opted for the samples since I’m a taster. This month, along with this month’s selection, I also received three free samples. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on those teas with you when I try them! Until then, I’m so happy that I included this Madagascar Coconut White in my subscription order, because it’s fantastic!