Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf here.
Tea Description:
Enjoyed for centuries in China, Jasmine tea is an extremely popular scented tea. Special Grade Jasmine is a quality green tea with long, dark twisted leaves and sweet jasmine buds that produces a blonde liquor and delicate jasmine flavor. A delicious tea for any occasion.
Ingredients: Jasmine Special Grade Green Tea
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
I think that August’s Selection Club box from Simple Loose Leaf is my favorite box yet! Take a look at the selections that came with this box: Lady Earl Grey (I mean … hey, if you’ve read very many of my reviews at all, you know that I’m all about the bergamot, right?), Blueberry White (I absolutely LOVED this and it’s phenomenal served iced!), Milk Oolong (Um … YUM!) and even the honeybush was really nice. And now, I’m drinking Jasmine! Yep, I love August’s box!
And I’m loving this Jasmine Green tea. I steeped it in my gaiwan, starting with a 15 second rinse, and then I steeped the leaves for 45 seconds using 180°F water, and then I strained the liquid into my special Jasmine Yi Xing Mug. I steeped the leaves four more times, adding 15 seconds onto each subsequent infusion, until my mug was full with yummy Jasmine goodness.
The flavor is sweet and delicate. The jasmine notes are not aggressive, they are soft and exotic and sweetly floral. These notes marry beautifully with the lush, lightly vegetative taste of the Chinese green tea.
The tea has a pleasant mouthfeel. It’s smooth throughout the sip and dry toward the finish. The aftertaste is sweet and lightly floral. A really enjoyable Jasmine tea.
To learn how you can join the Selection Club, click here. And don’t forget the coupon code for 25% savings. Just type in SISTERSELECTION25 in the coupon field and save 25%! This discount is applicable only to the monthly Selection Club subscription and not the retail selection of teas.
Lord Bergamot Tea from Steven Smith Teamaker
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Steven Smith Teamaker
Tea Description:
A flavor somewhat superior to traditional Earl Grey. Fragrant Ceylon Dimbulla and Uva are artfully combined with select teas from India’s Assam valley, then scented with the flavor of bergamot from the realm of Reggio Calabria, Italy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Lord Bergamot from Steven Smith Teamaker is one of my all-time favorite Earl Grey teas. So I was very happy when this tea was included in April’s box from Knoshy.
What makes Lord Bergamot so great? I think it has to do with the fact that the black tea base is a blend of Ceylon teas from the Dimbulla and Uva estates as well as Assam tea from India. This creates a very pleasant, full-bodied base for the scenting of the bergamot oil. The Ceylon provides a smooth, rich flavor while the Assam adds a touch of malty flavor. There is a slight “wine-like” quality to the tea that contrasts in a lovely way with the tangy bergamot.
And I love that when I tear into one of these individually wrapped sachets I can SMELL the bergamot and it’s a powerfully strong scent. This is the way bergamot should be. It should be very aromatic.
By the way, this tea is available loose leaf too, and that’s how I originally tried this tea and as is true with other teas: I prefer it loose! However, Knoshy decided to send a box of sachets instead of loose leaf tea. That said, even in a sachet, this is still a really excellent Earl Grey!
The flavor of the bergamot is evenly matched with the richness of the black tea base. It doesn’t taste fake or chemical-ish. It doesn’t have a perfume-y sort of taste to it. This happens sometimes when the tea blender has selected a bergamot oil that is of lesser quality ~or~ when the tea blender has gone a little too heavy handed with the bergamot scenting process. (Or perhaps a combination of both factors.) But when a high quality bergamot oil is used in the right amount, it produces a SUBLIME flavor like I have here in my teacup right now.
It is a bright and tangy flavor, but there is a really pleasant sweetness to this too. The combination of the caramel-ish, malty notes of the black tea and the sweet/tangy flavor of the bergamot is moreish. Which is why, as I said at the start of this review, this is one of my top three favorite Earl Grey teas.
Those top three change pretty frequently, depending upon availability – some times a tea company either closes shop or they discontinue or change their Earl Grey; and sometimes it depends upon my palate – meaning that sometimes I come across a new favorite Earl Grey and one of the other teas is knocked to the #4 spot. But this one continues to be a top contender.
It’s just really good. If you like Earl Grey … this is one you should be putting on your must try list.
Plum Blossom White Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White & Green Teas
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
A unique blend of Chinese white and green teas scented with Jasmine and lightly flavored with plum create a delicately fruity and floral delight. Great for anyone who loves jasmine green tea but is ready to step outside of the box, this tea is delicious either hot or over ice.
Shou Mei White Tea, Jasmine Special Grade Green Tea, Safflowers, Sunflowers, Plum flavor, Jasmine Flowers
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma wafting out of my teacup right now is quite lovely. I smell the jasmine and the plum and these are two scents that I don’t think I’ve ever imagined together before today, but, they smell rather beautiful together! It smells fresh and flowery, with mouth-watering fruit notes dancing in the background.
And it tastes – wow! Just as I would not have imagined the two scents together, these are two flavors I wouldn’t have imagined together either. But it works!
The first note I taste is that of the Shou Mei. It’s light and airy, with a subtle earthiness and a hint of hay-like flavor. The green tea notes seem to marry seamlessly with the white tea notes, becoming more of a unified flavor than two individual flavors. Like green tea, only lighter and crisper … or perhaps, like white tea only with more of a grassy intonation.
Then I can taste the notes of jasmine. Delicate and floral. The floral notes are sharpened slightly with the presence of the sunflower petals. The soft jasmine flavor stays with me throughout the sip and lingers into the aftertaste.
Just before mid-sip, I start to pick up on the plum note. It starts out subtle and as I continue to drink the tea – about four or five sips into the cup – I notice the plum notes starting to become more defined. Sweet with just a hint of tartness. I am really enjoying the contrast between the sharpness of the sunflower and the sweeter elements of this cup, like the plum and the sweet notes of green and white tea.
I’ve tasted so many wonderful teas since I’ve joined Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription service! This one may just be my newest favorite (although I don’t think it will “replace” any others that have been favorites … this is just a new one to add to my list of favorites!) It’s such a lovely tea. It’s nice served hot, and I like it iced too.
Now, I know I’ve told you about the savings that Simple Loose Leaf offers our readers, but I’ll tell you again: use this code: SISTERSELECTION25 and you’ll save 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.
White Lavender Tea from Tea of Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
When I smelled the silky pouch filled with tea, I could smell the delightful notes of lavender. Lavender is one of my favorite flowers when it comes to tea, so I was very interested in trying this tea.
The brewed liquid has a softer note of lavender than I experienced with the dry leaf, but that was expected (usually, the brewed tea does smell softer than the dry leaf). I can smell more of the white tea notes now that the tea is brewed than I noticed when I smelled the dry leaf. With the dry leaf, I could smell lavender, and not much else.
Hmm … I’m not really loving this. The lavender tastes artificial in this. It doesn’t have that natural, sweet note that I love. Instead, it tastes like someone added a drop or two of lavender perfume to my teacup and I don’t really like that.
The white tea has a delicate, sweet taste to it, and I think I’d be enjoying this a lot more if the lavender wasn’t there. The lavender just ruins it, and that’s something that I don’t often say about a lavender tea. As I mentioned above, lavender is one of my favorite flowers when it comes to tea … so this not tasting the way I would like it to … is very disappointing.
Most of the teas that I’ve tried from Tea of Life I’ve actually quite enjoyed, but this one – unfortunately – gets a sad thumbs down from me.
Lilac Blend Black Tea from Strand Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Strand Tea
Tea Description:
Premium Black Teas from highland China blended with lilac flowers. This tea looks, smells, and tastes great.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I must agree with that last line in the description above: this Lilac Blend Black Tea from Strand Tea DOES look, smell, and taste great! I love the beautiful purple blossoms, the tea is lightly fragrant with the flower, and the flavor is a rich, full-flavored black tea with a delicate floral tone.
I really like the texture of this tea. It has a delightfully round taste, and the texture is almost creamy when it glides over the palate. The flavor is lightly floral and sweet with notes of caramel and honey.
I can’t say that the flower that I taste is distinctly “lilac” because I can’t say for certain that I’ve actually tried a tea with lilac flower in it before. But I will say that the delicate flower notes are very pleasant. The flowery notes don’t taste sharp, they are soft and sweet tasting. It doesn’t taste off-putting or perfume-ish. It’s just really … nice!
I have been a fan of Strand Tea for a while. I love that they’re a local company, and I love that they embrace that with their Portland Blend. I also like that they include cookies with every order. I love it when a company adds special little touches like that … it makes me feel special as a customer, and it makes me want to order from that company again, and the next time I order from them, I’m going to be getting more of this Lilac Blend because it’s really good!