Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Description:
Dandelion Leaf White Tea is our own blend of Dandelion leaves with select white tea leaves. White tea is well known for its significant levels of antioxidants and is becoming more popular in weight loss programs by helping to block the absorption of fat. The Dandelion has been used for food and as an herb for much of its long history. Among the many benefits of the dandelion is its ability to aid in weight loss by acting as a mild diuretic and reducing excess fluids in the body. Other valuable benefits include acting as a stabilizing agent against extreme high and low blood sugar levels, stimulating the production of digestive juices, and aiding in reducing inflammation in the liver. Dandelion leaves contain significant numbers of vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, C and K, and are also a good source of calcium, potassium and iron.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I saw Dandelion White Tea from Nature’s Tea Leaf I nearly squeed and I KNEW I HAD to have it!
I love dandelions, yes that’s right love them! I will not turn this review into the myriad of reasons why I love them but lets just say this, I love them so much I have a tattoo of one on my ankle with the dandelion roots going right onto my foot. Dandelions are wonderful gifts of nature.
With that said … This tea … it tastes just like buttery sweet simmered veggies. It reminds me of my veggies from my stir fry before I add one of the many sauces I usually add.
This tea is not bitter as one may fear or think.
It really tastes just like a succulent green tea! Buttery, savory in some ways with herbal type flavors throughout. There is also a slight taste of fenugreek as well. The lingering after taste is reminiscent of avocado. Specifically the part of the avocado that is very close to the skin, a little earthier than the heart of the avocado.
I am so happy to have found that Nature’s Tea Leaf has this tea and will even say, regardless of my love of dandelion, is one of the better white teas I have had in a very long time. I almost said “flavored” white teas but its not even flavored which makes it all the better! Its a beautiful thing what nature can capture in tea, then to add to that a wonderful, beneficial herb like dandelion which is simply not used in enough things, we have perfection!
I am fairly new to Nature’s Tea Leaf as a tea company but I have been looking over their site more since I obtained this tea along with two others from them and I have to say it is wonderful to feel this type of excitement over a tea company.
Dandelion White Tea is creamy in the mouthfeel with a velvet like feeling, more than silky, thicker than that. Its so very naturally sweet I would think adding sugar would make it just too sweet.
This tea calls for a steeping of up to five minutes and I steeped it for a good 4 minutes and got plenty of flavor. I only found one other review on this tea which is on the Nature’s Leaf Tea site and that person said it was bitter to them. While I suppose all of our taste buds are slightly different I have to say I do not detect even the slightest amount of bitterness in this tea. Perhaps this person’s experience was bitter due to over steeping or using the wrong water temp but I don’t want to assume that because this other reviewer may be quite knowledgeable about tea. The point is – remember water temp and steep times are important and I think even more so when dealing with delicate herbs like the dandelion.
So overall – being the dandelion lover that I am I am 100% approving of this lovely tea! Thank you Nature’s Tea Leaf for providing us with some very unusual and wonderful blends!
Boysenberry Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Matcha, Green
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Boysenberry is an interesting fruit that greatly resembles a big sized raspberry, loganberry and blackberry. Its sharp and tart taste is mellowed by Matcha’s velvety flavour to make a Boysenberry Matcha treat that blends perfectly into the palate. This richly fruity treat is perfect for those people who want to expand their fruit filled snacks with different fresh new flavours. Boysenberry Matcha can also become a perfect hot weather treat to both cool and excite the palate with its enlivening sharp taste. It forms an interesting addition in the occasions of young children with its interesting reputation for being the surprise fruit-based treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Boysenberry Matcha from Red Leaf Tea is heaven in a chawan! To me, boysenberry is much like a blueberry flavor, only perhaps a bit more tart. Yet, there is this unique flavor to boysenberry that is almost earthy, a bit savory. It is such an interesting fruit, truly. I love it. Its an excellent palate cleanser as well. Its fresh, refreshing, and just so yummy.
The matcha base is excellent! I normally go with a basic grade of matcha but for boysenberry I selected Royal Matcha base as I really wanted this boysenberry matcha to be a true treat, and let me tell you – it sure is!
Now when it comes to Red Leaf Tea’s matcha you really can’t go wrong, you will enjoy any of their matcha bases and as I said I generally go with the basic grade but now and then I do treat myself. Yes I can tell a difference from the basic grade to royal but I just can’t say enough about how good even their basic grade is.
Strange thing, back in the day…I used to really down the Red Bull energy drinks. I loved them. I think I was craving the Vitamin B 12 but regardless, this matcha interestingly has a similar flavor profile, but so much better, and by far healthier!
I just can’t get over how succulent this flavor profile is. Sweet, yet tart, savory, yet sweet, tangy, mouthwatering, dark berry goodness! Then we have those grassy like earthy notes form the matcha which if you love matcha like me, are just simply divine!
Don’t be afraid of the boysenberry! If you are looking for a new fruit adventure grab some of this and give it a go! I can’t see how you could be disappointed in this one. It is so fresh, so refreshing, ripe, and juicy you will swear you are eating the berries themselves!
As a type 1 diabetic this is a treat that I can have with no guilt! Flavored matcha have no added sugar and are very low in carbohydrates, calories, etc. That is why I stock up on as many flavors as I can!
Gui Fei Cha from Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tea Description:
Taiwan, Summer 2012
Medium Roast
贵妃茶
A medium bodied, roasted oolong from the famous mountains of San Lin Ci, near the traditional tea producing region of Lugu. This is a unique and hard to find variety of rolled Dong Feng Mei Ren, or Eastern Beauty. Yields a slightly earthy, sweet, and savory rose aroma with a smooth woody-bamboo body and a delightful lingering honey aftertaste. Energizing and strong with a bit of a bite.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Gui Fei Cha from Stone Leaf Teahouse is a more earthy tea but the honey note is one of the first things I tasted and the note that tends to linger along with the rose. I do pick up on the floral aspect of this tea and it is reminiscent of rose but I would not really consider this a floral tea. This may sound strange to some, but the taste of the rose in this tea is more like the way a fresh rose scent lingers in the nostrils. It is clean, crisp, refreshing, but subtle. There is a very green leafy aspect to the rose note, but then rose has always been one of those aromas that is quite clean and refreshing so it comes over very well in the flavor note here. So okay I am one of those people who will try eating their tea leaves, and I am no different when it comes to flowers. I tend to want to taste them. Before you think I am a total freak consider please that I am very much into natural medicine, herbs, and natural perfumery, therefore really being one with the herbs, flowers, and plants I use is essential. Regardless, and aside from all my weirdisms, this tea is quite lovely in its floral nature, however I don’t want anyone to pass this tea up for its floral nature if you are not inclined to enjoy a floral tea – as there is so much more to this tea than its rose accent.
Gui Fei Cha has a wonderful note of bamboo, tropical rain soaked trees and plants, notes of honey and a slight spice note. And as for that bite as mentioned in the description, think of it like an astringency type of bite. Not bitter, but just this kick at the end of the sip.
The mouthfeel is on the heavier side but the finish of this tea on the palate is bright and cherry. It is truly a tea you can’t be in a crabby mood while sipping as it will lift you right up out of your funk and place you on a fluffy cloud and leave you floating gleefully. So if you are in a crabby mood and want to stay there – don’t sip this tea!
With each sip I feel a little smile creeping over my face and by the time I am tasting the lingering notes that are left behind the sip, I am beaming.
Now there is a darker side to this tea interestingly enough … some of these heavier notes of wood, of spice, the savory notes of fresh herbs from the garden, they tend to be very calming and grounding. So the after effect is a tea that brings you up and makes you feel joyful but keeps your core essence firm and secure. This could make it a very nice meditative tea perhaps, or a tea for those days you need a little boost of confidence, say before a presentation, or before a big date night because the tea is a little bit of mystery, a little bit of romance, and a little bit of strength and confidence all rolled into one.
Of course I always try to assign personalities to teas but that is how I feel about this one from Stone Leaf Teahouse and again, as always, they have a winner in this tea!
Bai-Lin Kung-Fu Classic Red Tea from Shang Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Red Tea
Where to Buy: Shang Tea
Tea Description:
Hearty and flavorful, this brew has a complex flavor, crisp finish, and a deep traditional red tea hue. This tea is harvested from a white tea plant, which offers a smooth finish to a fermented tea.
Ingredients: Organic White Tea Leaves
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Bai-Lin Kung-Fu Classic Red Tea from Shang Tea is quite spectacular! The aroma is like a malty black tea with aromas of cocoa, hay, and maple. My first reaction when smelling this while steeping was Mmmmmmmm. A deeper inhalation of this tea brings forth some berry aromas as well. Yet there is also something savory about this tea. My mouth was watering while I patiently waited for my tea to cool just a tiny bit so I could indulge!
This is a sweet tea! It even smells somewhat sweet. As I sip on this tea I find notes of honey, toasted cocoa beans, notes of roasted flavors, some kind of molasses perhaps, and a spark of spice. The after taste is lingering of that savory element I noted above. Almost an oregano note.
What a strange, interesting, complex tea!
This is not a tea for the faint of heart, it is bold, robust, not shy at all. It wakes you up and perks you up as it presents itself with a hearty “Hey there! Bet you weren’t expecting me!”
Its a bit sweet, a bit saucy, and all attitude! If this tea were a person it would be that interesting, but sometimes peculiar uncle Bob that sometimes makes you laugh and other times makes you go Hummmmm. Unless your uncle Bob is just creepy in which case this tea is not like him at all. It just has a way about it that speaks boldly for itself yet makes you feel comfortable with its unusual flavor. This tea makes you feel good to be a bit different, to go off the beaten path, to try new things, and indulge in rare delights that you won’t find around every corner.
If I were going to take a trek through the country I think I would take this tea along with me. It tends to make me feel invincible or like all things are possible. Its unusual, exciting, and unlike any other tea out there yet familiar enough in some of its flavor notes that I find it comforting at the same time as exciting.
Is it white or red or black? Its confusing right? Don’t despair, read all about it on Shang Tea’s blog here.
Yunnan White Jasmine from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
New Spring 2012 Harvest!
This jasmine makes us understand what jasmine is all about. It starts with a silky smooth silver needle white tea from Yunnan with notes of cinnamon sweetness. Jasmine blossoms are scattered around the tea while drying for several nights in a row, and removed in the morning to be replaced by fresh blossoms, scenting the tea in the traditional method. The result is a perfectly integrated flavor, that starts off with the textures of a white tea, and sweetness drawn out and extended by a silky jasmine aroma. Continue steeping this out, and an intriguing apricot jam flavor starts to come out and compliment the subtle spice of the yunnan white. In later steepings there is even the slightest hint of pine needle.
ICED: Perfumed florals are more potent, with an exquisite silky texture and notes of melon and banana fruit salad.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was so pleased to sample this tea. I was surprised at the first flavor note I tasted being that of nut, rather than jasmine. Interesting because I have not really noticed anyone else picking up on that in other reviews, and it is not listed on the Verdant site as being a flavor note in the tea. Everyone experiences their tea in their own way though. I find the jasmine to be natural and light in the first steeping. A light sweetness and a slight rock mineral quality, but no one note is standing out in the first steep beyond the nutty flavor I am now so focused on. The mouthfeel is creamy, and the cup color is very pale yellow, almost beige, and quite clear. The after flavor is somewhat vegetal but only so slightly, more like a green tea than the after taste of a white, but lovely. Everything about this steep is slight, delicate, gentle. Now I am not saying I detect absolutely no jasmine in the flavor, I do, but even then it is faint and does not make me declare this a strong jasmine tea. I think however that is what is so lovely about this cup, the jasmine is so natural that it does not make you feel assaulted by its note. Toward the end of the cup of this first steep I am beginning to pick up on hints of a baked sugar confection flavor. Quite enjoyable!
In the second steep more of the notes come forward and the color of the brew is slightly darker. There are some lightly cinnamon notes but to me they come over as more like a black pepper which is delightful and awakens the senses. This note is detectable both in the aroma and flavor. Fruity notes are also coming forward which taste like red and blue berries. The sugar notes develop more as the cup cools. Jasmine is still of course a flavor note that is present but unlike many jasmine teas this one does not come over like grandma’s perfume! For those who have experienced a jasmine before and hated it – you must know that not all jasmine teas are created equal. There is a distinct difference between one that is done well and one that is not. This is done to perfection. A natural jasmine will taste, and for that matter smell far different than an artificial one. I leaned this long before my tea journey through natural perfumery and essential oil training. There is nothing quite like true jasmine.
Steep three evokes somewhat of a savory flavor palate with the citrus and linen notes in the background. There is a light drying sensation now on the tongue with grapefruit and orange notes. I am also detecting an oregano flavor. This is quite pleasing and surprising! I was not expecting the savory notes.
I am going to get many more steeps out of this tea!
All in all – a wonderful experience! I enjoyed this tea while listening to a Reiki CD and it was such a glorious way to welcome a new day!