LiberTEAS select Send Message

I received this tea as a sample with my 2010 Shin-Cha Select.

This sencha is finely coated with a dusting of Matcha, which gives the brewed tea a slightly brighter color (as well as a slightly less translucent appearance).

The flavor is very fresh and vibrant and vegetative! The matcha gives a sweetness to the cup that I’m really liking. Just a hint of bitterness cuts through the sweet. Very pleasant cup indeed!

This is my first time trying this tea. I ordered this sample a while back but I’ve so much tea that I had forgotten about it (as well as a couple of others from Old Wilmington!)

The aroma is blueberry with a soft yet pleasant jasmine note.

The flavor is blueberry with a delicate vegetative backdrop, and jasmine flavor lingering throughout the sip. It is delicious – although the flavor is softer than I would like. It is almost like the flavoring of a white tea on a green tea, if that makes sense. Perhaps that could be remedied with a slightly longer brew time… I need to play with this one again to see if I can get the flavors to reveal themselves better.

My Harney & Sons order arrived on Saturday (very prompt shipping!) – the only real disappointment was that there wasn’t a free sample. I know that I shouldn’t expect freebies or anything – however, in the past when I’ve ordered from H&S I’ve always gotten a free sample tea sachet. This time – not. Ah well… I’m still quite happy with the prompt service of my order, plus, I have some of my favorites from H&S on hand again!

One of the very first tea reviews I’ve ever written was for this tea:

http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=1025

It remains a favorite. Not too lemony, not too sweet, just right!

In reading through the ingredient list, I’m perplexed as to why there are apricot pieces in it instead of peach pieces. As a tea blender, I know that the fruit pieces have really very little impact (practically NO impact) on the flavor of the tea… so that isn’t the issue. I don’t think that peach pieces are in so short supply that they couldn’t have been used in this blend. So the only thing I can think of is that maybe it’s a bit more difficult to find organic peach pieces than it is to find organic apricot pieces.

Anyways, on to the tasting. The ginger and peach are balanced well in this cup. Neither one overwhelms the other – and the overall flavor is sweet yet spicy. It’s quite enjoyable.

I also like that I can taste the black tea but that it is mild enough that it doesn’t interfere with the peachy, ginger-y flavor that I love!

Nice!

The flavor is vegetative with slight buttery notes. The buttery essence is not as strong as some teas that I’ve encountered – this is more like lightly buttered veggies. There is also a nice floral note toward the finish. Very nice, indeed.

Tasting this tea this morning – courtesy of TeaEqualsBliss ~ Thank you so much!

This is a pleasantly brisk tea but not as bold as I was expecting. This tea is quite smooth with hints of sweetness. Very little bitterness, although I do notice just a touch about mid-sip, but the tea recovers with a sweetness in the finish.

I’ve been drinking this iced all afternoon. It’s very refreshing! My daughters also love it.

This has a delicious fruity flavor. The cinnamon is a bit muted in the iced version vs. the hot cup that I enjoyed last night, but, the sweet apricot flavor really commands the palate’s attention. Juicy and yummy.

Not my favorite rooibos blend (you all know what that one is by now, right?) but, it is certainly tasty.

I’m not sure why I reached for this tea this morning, but it tastes pretty good.

Yesterday afternoon, I mowed the lawn and because of the rains we’ve been having over the past week or so, there was a lot of pollen in the grass. I didn’t really notice it while mowing the lawn, but I notice it today… my throat feels like it’s swollen shut! UGH.

So maybe that is why I chose this tea today. I think when I went into the kitchen I wanted something that would be strong enough to overcome the sort of dulled feeling that rests on the back of my mouth today. I suppose if this tea doesn’t do the trick, I shall have to resort to the heavy artillery and get out some of my allergi-TEA. (Which I probably will do at some point this morning anyways, I just needed some caffeine first)

Despite the dulled sensation in my mouth, I can taste the notes of caramel and cream this morning, which is nice. I do wish that Adagio’s black tea base was not as harsh as it is, because I am also really getting the — shall I call it astringency? Tannins? Heavy starchy texture? For those of you who are familiar with Adagio’s black teas you probably get what I’m referring to, right?

Anyways, I do wish there was less of that this morning, because I am tasting it stronger than I usually do this morning. Hopefully as I make my way down the mug I will notice it less so that I can finish the cup.

Enjoying a cup of this while I’m brewing Sheri’s Blend (52Teas) for an overnight chill.

Crisp, clean and pure. Nice way to end the day.

I ordered this along with the Strawberry Zabaglione which arrived yesterday, thinking it would make a really yummy iced tea. But I decided to try it hot first…

The apricot flavor works really well with rooibos. I can taste only slight hints of the woodsy tones usually associated with rooibos – and none of the funky artificial-sweetener taste that I get with rooibos. The flavor is just very smooth and sweet – like an apricot.

The cinnamon is a sweeter cinnamon taste, not real spicy or hot.

This really tastes like “summer” to me… and I definitely look forward to enjoying it iced! In fact, I think I’ll brew some up tonight so that it will be nice and chilled tomorrow.