Bi Luo Chun Spring 2012 from Stone Leaf Teahouse

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Taiwan Green Tea

Where to Buy:  Stone Leaf Teahouse 

Tea Description:

Bi Luo Chun

Spring 2012

碧螺春茶

Taiwan. San Hsia Township.

Fresh is the operative word for this tea. Fresh, vibrant and green with notes of bamboo sprouts.  Perfectly balanced with subtle nutty aromas, lively vegetal flavors, lingering grassyness, and a touch of ocean mist.  This sparkling green infusion is perfect for a sunny day, or if you’d just like it to .

Learn more about this tea here. 

Taster’s Review:

When I opened the bag the buttery sweet aroma was so intoxicating! Then a sweet vegetal aroma lifted up toward my nostrils and I was in love. I just melt when I sip on buttery, sweet, vegetal, grassy, creamy, nutty teas and if I had to list adjectives to describe a perfect green those are the adjectives I would list, and this tea captures every single one of them perfectly.

It is such a very pretty leaf! All curly and springy! I love the shades of green and would describe this leaf as “playful”. The steeped leaf is so soft and silky – what I describe as “angel hair” feeling. It feels so plush I wish I could sleep on a bed that feels like this!

I keep re-steeping in order to do a proper review but I just can’t keep my cup full long enough to savor these amazing flavors, and while I do like to respect the tea, and appreciate it, savoring each and every sip I can’t seem to contain myself to do so with this one. Look out folks…its a guzzler!

Now I assume that in the description they say “a touch of ocean mist” to mean there is a slightly seaweed like flavor in it. I have to say that I get very subtle notes here and there of that, more of a salty like note, however it is slight and I do love salt! Ironically even though I am a total saltaholic my sodium levels always run low! Go figure, I could put a salt block in my living room and be quite happy. So for that reason I am very happy to have that “touch of ocean mist” flavor in my cup. As for a seaweed note, to me that is more in the aroma than in the flavor but it is there, that salty seaweed bamboo like flavor just screams tropical rain forest to me more than ocean side sea spray.

The flavor is so very buttery, so creamy and silky in the mouthfeel, yet I can’t quite decide which vegetable it tastes like, corn came to mind, but so did green beans, and peas, but its more like a medley of vegetables. Yet there is this nutty almost wood like flavor perhaps from the bamboo sprouts. The after taste lingers so nicely making me just want to keep sipping away without a care. Which in and of itself is making it more difficult to really give a detailed review of exactly what this tea taste like other than AMAZING!

I clicked on the blog link on Stone Leaf Teahouse website and found this tidbit of information about Bi Luo Chun that I wanted to share with you because I found it so romantic:

Yet another legend claims that this tea was named after a girl, Bi Luo, who watered a tea tree with the tears she had shed for her slain dragon lover.  She then died under this tree, and the next spring, the tree produced a fragrant green tea which we now call Bi Luo Chun.

This is only a small excerpt however as there is an entire article about the name of this tea and the man legends associated with it. Here is the link to their blog if you would like to read more for yourself.

Good Morning Sunshine from Butiki Teas

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Guayusa

Where to Buy:  Butiki Teas

Tisane Description:

Feel like a zombie in the morning? Then we highly recommend our refreshing Good Morning Sunshine guayusa. The lemon aroma and high caffeine content awaken the spirit. This guayusa has a zesty lemon flavor that is sweet, tart, and creamy.

Learn more about this Guayusa blend here.

Taster’s Review:

OK, I am LOVING this!

I generally do feel a bit zombie-ish in the morning.  Morning is absolutely my least favorite part of the day.  I’ll never be accused of being a morning person.  In fact, I’ve pretty much structured my day so that I can sleep through morning!  I’m much more productive late at night, so I stay up late enough so that I can wake up around 11 or so (sometimes later), and not feel guilty about sleeping the morning away … and still be rid of that bothersome morning thing.  I still have to get up – briefly – in the morning, just to make sure that my soon-to-be-teen daughter gets up and gets on her way to school.  But as soon as she’s out the door, I’m headed back to bed!

But there are sometimes when I have to get up early and stay up.  Some things won’t wait until later, and on those days, if I don’t want to look like a dead girl walking, I need something energizing to wake me up.  I can’t drink coffee, and really, with as wonderful as tea is, I don’t want to drink coffee!  But sometimes, I need the caffeine of coffee.  Fortunately, I’ve discovered Guayusa!  It offers that same caffeine burst of energy that coffee does, but without the sick feeling I get after I drink coffee.  Guayusa even tastes a little bit like coffee – only its smoother and not bitter like coffee can be.  This really is the best of both worlds.

I love the combination of flavors that Butiki chose for this Good Morning Sunshine Guayusa blend.  It is pleasantly citrus-y, providing the sunny flavor of lemon without the acidic flavor of it.  It’s a little bit tart, but not overly so.  There is a creamy element to the blend too, which curbs much of the tartness, making for a sweet, brightly flavored cup of morning goodness, with just enough tartness to keep it lively.

On the days that I have to wake up early (or early for me, anyway), this is the kind of tisane I want waiting for me.  It energizes me and helps me to shake that sleepy feeling.  After a cup of this, I feel like I can face whatever the day brings!

Rainforest Maté Tea from The Spice & Tea Exchange

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Yerba Maté

Where to Buy:  The Spice & Tea Exchange

Tisane Description:

Spice and fruit unite in this unique herbal melange composed of energizing mate’ tea, licorice, spices, rosehips and pineapple chunks that refresh and revitalize when brewed. Moderate Caffeine.

Learn more about this tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

This tisane has a lot going on, but it all works together very nicely.  The cloves offer the most prominent flavor of this cup, followed by a sweet licorice flavor.  I don’t taste much of the distinct earthiness of the Yerba Maté, and given the natural earthy qualities of the spices I don’t think that earthy/vegetal tone is really necessary and might detract from the delicious flavors that the spices provide.

By the end of the sip, mint tones begin to peek out without becoming too overwhelming.  I like the mint notes here, they are mere hints of minty goodness rather than an overpowering mint flavor … which is rather nice as I know from my own experience of blending teas that it is not easy to keep mint from taking over.

The sweet pineapple gives this tisane a luscious, fruity tone that is almost a surprise with the first couple of sips.  With the start of the sip comprised of warm (but not spicy) spice, I didn’t really expect the sweet, juicy flavor of pineapple to shine through, but it does!  Right about mid-sip, the pineapple begins to weave its way in and out of the sip.  It’s quite nice!

In the background there are hints of floral notes that seem to complete the rainforest-y theme that this tisane embraces.  I love how this tisane doesn’t just call itself a “rainforest” blend – it actually captures the spirit of what I imagine from a rainforest.  Zesty, but with a cool, crisp mint coming in toward the end.  Sweet, starting with a sweet yet snappy licorice note which is followed by a lovely pineapple flavor.  It all comes together in a very refreshing and energizing way!

Organic Black Andean from Drink T

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Drink T

Product Description:

In the high slopes of the Andes Mountains where they meet the Amazon Basin is a region of sub Andean valleys called Yungas. The unique soil of the high altitude rain forest covered mountains, where the cool air from the snow capped mountains combine with the warm moist air from the Amazon, is ideal to cultivate superior quality tea. This black tea has an original flavor unlike traditional black teas from India and Sri Lanka. Large jet-black organic tea leaves yield an exquisite bright amber cup with a garden fresh aroma that is full-bodied and has a tantalizing apricot peach after taste

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Earlier this week, I had realized that I hadn’t yet reviewed this tea!  How could that be?  I have enjoyed this tea for quite a while now.  But, I shall remedy that.

When I first opened the pouch of this tea, I noticed the beautiful dark chocolate colored leaves – long, twisted and wiry – and their distinct fruit-like aroma that evoked images of summer when fresh peaches and apricots are ripe and bursting with flavor.  After brewing, the dark coppery cup offers mere hints of the delicious fragrance of the dry leaf.

The flavor is very rich and pleasant.  It is a full-bodied, robust flavor that has some gusto to it.  I am noticing a deep, baked-bread kind of taste and notes of malt, as well as an enjoyable chocolate-y flavor in the background.  Remarkably smooth, and agreeably sweet with lovely fruit undertones.

Flavor wise, I would classify this tea from the Amazonian rainforest as somewhere between an Assam and a Ceylon, but also with notes that are reminiscent of a rich Fujian black tea.  There is a fair amount of astringency to this tea, a slightly dry astringency that readies the palate to enjoy the aftertaste that has hints of sweet apricot.

This is an excellent tea that I’d recommend to anyone.  It has that “agreeable” kind of flavor that even someone new to tea can appreciate, and possesses a complexity that will please tea enthusiasts as well as the occasional tea drinker.

Rainforest Alliance Certified – Strong Black Tea from The Tao of Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  The Tao of Tea

Product Description:

Uplifting brew with earthy aroma and hints of black cherries and warm cane sugar.

You can learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I’m loving this tea.

But, I must be honest, I was a little disappointed by it at first.  And I think that disappointed is too strong a word for how I felt.  I think I was mislead by the name of the tea “Strong Black Tea” to me indicates that I’m about to taste something incredibly bold, with a hefty taste and texture.  Something to give you that sharp kick in the buns that is needed on those mornings that you don’t want to get going.  I don’t think that this tea would accomplish that, because it isn’t as strong (at least, not to me) as the name would suggest.

But that is not to say that this tea isn’t exquisite, because it IS!  It is a truly delicious tea that merely suffers from a misnomer, which after perusing The Tao of Tea’s website, I notice there is also a “Light” Black Tea from the Rainforest Alliance collection, so perhaps the strong is in comparison to the light, and not so much strong compared to other black teas outside of the Rainforest Alliance collection.

But that’s enough about that.  Let me get to telling you about what makes this tea so delicious.  With the first couple of sips, I noticed a similarity to an Oolong tea.  It has that soft mouthfeel that I might experience from an Oolong, as well as a hint of vegetative flavor that hits the palate right about mid-sip.  There is also a chocolate flavor – like bitter chocolate – that hits the palate at almost the same time, and these two notes provide a very savory tone that is quite appealing, and I think essential to the palate at about this moment in the sip, because the overall flavor of this tea is quite reminiscent of raw sugar cane.  Sweet with an undertone of molasses.  Let me put it this way:  my sweet tooth right now is very happy!

The description suggests these notes of “warm cane sugar” (if you’re one who automatically sweetens a tea before trying it I suggest not doing that with this tea – taste it first, I found that this is pleasantly sweet without any sweetener) and also it suggests notes of black cherry.  And I am getting those fruit tones as well, but it isn’t a syrupy kind of cherry flavor, this is more like a hint of fruit off somewhere in the distance.  As I attempted to describe it on Steepster:  “it is more of a insinuation of cherry that doesn’t quite become fully recognized.”  It is there, but, then again, is it?

While I’m loving the smooth sweetness of this tea, I’m also noticing a rustic edge to it too.  There is some astringency, it is fairly mild and slightly dry.  And while this tea isn’t the strong, hearty tea that I was expecting, I am glad that I was mislead … or shall I say, pleasantly surprised? … by this one because I’m liking it just the way it is.