Green Mojito from The Love Tea Company. . . .

I’ve never had a mojito. I didn’t even know what was IN a mojito. But when I opened the pouch, I could tell you right away that a mojito must have lime and mint. The base of this tea is Japanese sencha. I decided to try it hot sans additions, hot with sugar, and iced sweetened. Then…drum roll, please….I found a person who has had an ACTUAL mojito to give judgment on whether the taste is accurate.

I thought this tea might not be too great as a plain hot tea since it was designed to mimic a cocktail, and the powerful smell of limes made me close my eyes and brace myself when I took my first sip. To the contrary, it was quite good sans any additions at all! The lime is natural yet doesn’t pucker your lips and dry your mouth. The mint is refreshing. The sencha is smooth.

I added sugar and had another small cup and also passed some along to my daughter. It was good this way, too.

The hot, sweet tea was poured into a carafe and left to chill in the fridge and to await the verdict of a true mojito drinker. I enjoyed the sweet iced tea with my supper, and poured a small glass to be tested with a wee splash of rum. My test subject declared that, aside from the lack of bubbles from club soda, the taste was to a “T” in the mojito tea!

Check out The Love Tea Company and their mission of awareness and compassion for those struggling with mental illness. Check out their Tea It Forward tea gift – so bright, so special! It is a great way to cheer someone’s day with a colorful gift box of tea, filter bags, and tea measuring spoon. It is a great way to send a message of love or a “thinking of you” for someone who needs it. And did I mention that it is incredibly economical? I have both received and sent these, and they really bring a smile – just like tea should!


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:   Green
Where to Buy:  The Love Tea Company
Description

This mojito concoction explodes with flavor.   It starts with Japanese style Sencha, has lime and mint pieces, and all-natural mint flavoring.  Enjoy it with a splash or milk and sugar, over ice, or blended as a mixer for rum and tequila.  If you ask Uncle Google, he’ll give you the famous Hemingway recipe for a Mojito Martini.  This tea will take you across the river and into the woods and down to the deep south where Hemingway certainly enjoyed a similar concoction one sunny sumer day in Key West.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Thoughts on Green Lemonade / The Love Tea Company. . . . .

Citrus and green tea. Not one of my favorite combinations. In fact I usually detest it to the point that I will avoid it.

So why did I try this one? Because everything deserves a second chance. Except the one at Starbucks. I am just not a fan of that one.

Today is very windy with a high of 80 so I figured it was a good time to test this one out. Initially brewed hot and then cooled over the course of the day.

Enjoyable both ways.

The citrus flavors would definitely be enjoyable with a sore throat when it’s hot, maybe a drop of honey along with it. For those who aren’t fond of grassy flavors this is a great tea for you as the citrus is predominate.

By the way if you prefer to buy tea from companies that care about more then their bottom line, Love Tea is a great company to buy from.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Love Tea Company
Description

This Brilliant Blend is a fan favorite.  It combines the best of green tea with the best of a lemon, with lemon bits and wedges you’ll get the full “lemon-y” affect.  Low in caffeine and easy on the pallet, it goes down like a smooth summer day (without the humidity).  Brew a pot of this fine blend and serve hot or cold year ’round.   It never hurts to add a fresh lemon slice to anything!  Be sure to #sharethelove on this one.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Green Jasmine by The Love Tea Co. . . . .

I steeped this tea with 2 heaping teaspoons of leaf in 1 cup of 200 degree water for about four minutes.

I was a little concerned that the jasmine flowers wouldn’t have much fragrance left because I couldn’t detect much smell in the dry flowers, but when I started steeping the tea it started giving off its perfume right away, so I guess hot water is the magic ingredient to bring that out!

There are tons of jasmine flowers in this tea, too. Like, actual jasmine buds. And they smell like a combination of candy and perfume once they’ve started steeping. The green tea fragrance isn’t really coming through at this point, but I’m not surprised at all given how flowery the smell is.

I let it go to four minutes because I didn’t want to waste any of the jasmine fragrance.

Once the tea is steeped, I noticed that some leaf has escaped the ball; the tea is orange-yellow in color and, as mentioned before, highly fragrant.

First sip: Apparently Jasmine tastes sweet as well as smelling sweet. There’s an edge of bitterness to the green tea, though; there’s also some umami and maybe a little seaweediness to it, rounding the flavor out. I blame myself for the bitterness, because I used 200 degree water instead of 195 degree water like recommended (because hey, my electric kettle only has so many settings. Next time though I’d go with the cooler option, which I think would be 185 on my kettle).

A little sugar helps with any bitterness; or you could just steep at the recommended temperature, unlike me, and do a less intense steeping as well (three minutes instead of four). It’s really great as is, though, and tastes like drinking flowers!! Jasmine is so magical it kind of blows my mind every time I try a good jasmine tea (the reason I don’t try them more often is probably because I’m kind of scared of getting a not-so-good one).

I’m also really impressed by this tea company’s mission and activism; they don’t just say that they support charitable causes, they also give 25% of their proceeds (that’s a quarter of everything they get!) to mental health causes, according to their website.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Green
Where to Buy:  The Love Tea Company
Description

Jasmine tea is one of the most pleasant fragrances to all people. To the nose, the dry tea has a floral bouquet, which causes your senses to come alive with pleasant thoughts. This tea is filled to the brim with an abundance of beautiful jasmine blossoms which gives the tea an amazing presentation value.  In China, they declare this jasmine tea as ‘Jasmine #1’.

This high quality green tea – produced between the middle of March and the middle of May – has jasmine flowers that bloom between the 1st of May and the end of May (the time of the most intense aroma). This tea yields a cup with all the concentrated heady bouquet of a garden in bloom, even if its your neighbor’s jasmine bush.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Strawberry Rush from The Love Tea Company. . . .

Welcome to summer this tea screams as it tumbles down your throat.  . .

The hot weather sensations begin with the liquid. Clear rose in color with hints of a sunset orange.

This tea has hibiscus in it so one must be mindful of the steeping time. In order to full appreciate the summery strawberry flavors steep 2 – 2.5 minutes.

Sensations of fresh strawberries intertwine nicely with the crisp grassy green tea notes.

Once you hit the three minute mark the hibiscus takes over like Japanese beetles on a bean plant. . . . .so this tea is for those who love a tart strawberry tea with a grassy note. Definitely one that needs to be enjoyed in the summer or to brighten up ones palate since winter time is typically a heavy spiced tea season.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Green
Where to Buy:  The Love Tea Company
Description

It’s hard to keep this one in stock, teens and tweens love it, and it’s so much better than soda.   It’s a Brilliant Blend of herbal and fruit that evokes strawberry fields.  It is an organic green tea that is a simple pleasure with complex ingredients – green tea, with papaya, apple, orange and strawberry pieces, rosehip, calendula petals and natural strawberry flavors.  This blend is great hot or cold, but our preference is cold.   Blend several pots, keep it refridgerated and serve over ice with a fresh strawberry on the side.   The kids can take part in the mission on this one.  Make sure they #sharethelove with their friends.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Rose Chateau by The Love Tea Co

I steeped this tea at 200 degrees in about a cup of water for about four minutes.

This is another selection from the Love Tea Company, who donates a quarter of their proceeds to mental health causes. Their teas also come in cute little reusable canisters!

The dried leaf has rose petals and other flower petals too, it looks like. According to the ingredients list these could be hibiscus, calendula, or sunflower petals, which are all included in the blend! In addition, there’s green tea in here and some curled oolong bits and some pieces of dried fruit (which turn out to be rosehips based on the ingredients list). It smells mainly fruity, with some rose/floral scent.

The steeped liquid looks almost pinkish-peach and smells like strawberry with floral notes and some savory green tea flavor.
I steeped for four minutes because it didn’t seem very strong at three (and I prefer getting stronger flavor out of my tea when I can).

First sip: it tastes a little astringent and strawberryish; the rose flavor isn’t overpowering here (maybe I just didn’t get any rose petals in my scoop of leaf?). It’s delicate and reminds me the most of a strawberry-flavored green tea, which is quite nice and desserty. There’s a bit of seaweedy vegetalness in the back of the throat. A few particles of tea escaped the strainer so I’d recommend a fine mesh if you don’t like that sort of thing (although mostly they’re just sitting on the bottom of the cup not causing a problem).

Overall it’s light, floral/fruity, but with a hint of buttery aftertaste (from the oolong), so I’d say it’s great for afternoon or evening relaxation (unless you’re super-sensitive to caffeine; green tea generally has just a little).


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Green/Black
Where to Buy: The Love Tea Company
Description

This blend was created by a Canadian Master to evoke the character and spirit of France’s best rose vintages.  It’s combination of some of the most luxurious green and black teas available today.  Like wine, it goes perfectly with cured meats and fine cheeses.  Milk and sugar are NOT recommended with this one.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!