Dru Bramlett

It went down like this Steepsterites:
Oh! They have a Jasmine Green tea in this set, since the Mad Party Tea was serious enough of a blend to merit a Steepster mention, then it MUST be good.

Jasmine Green tea entails the visualizations of tiny fragrant jasmine blossoms floating into a cup of perfect golden jade liquid, complete with monks bowing in the background and an effervescent hum of prayer. Little did I know that I was wrong. Oh so very wrong.

I was filled with doubt, fear, and most importantly, I doubted my $20+ purchase of tea blended by the hands of corporate Disney. My biggest question still left unanswered is why a tea labeled “Jasmine Green Tea” would at all taste like cauliflower?

I bought with my Dessert Tea Sampler pack from Art of Tea, and it’s my least favorite from the medley of other flavors they provided. By itself, it’s an interesting fruity rooibos with a hint of weight (chocolate + peppercorn + banana). However, I think the fruity notes and heavier ones get muddled and don’t come through with enough clarity. The brew is slightly cloudy with a lingering banana note.

It’s a balanced brew that doesn’t leave the mouth dry and doesn’t overwork your tastebuds, but doesn’t wow you either.

Decidedly Apricot, less Ceylon. This could be a good or bad thing depending on what type of tea drinker you are. The finish is very sweet and the brew itself is slightly tannic, but it’s above par for a tea bag.

I like it to steep really dark because of one thing. The fragrance. It’s divine :D

I got this in a Dessert Sampler pack from Art of Tea, and I have come to the conclusion that it’s a quick second to the Caramelized Pear (definitely the best of all the ones in the set). If you’re going to have a snack with it, pick up some Ginger Cookie Thins from Trader Joe’s. It really brings out the flavor of the white chocolate pieces in the tea. This tea seems to be missing something crucial— like a spice to really bring out the flavor. Without it it seems sweetly bland, like a lower-end rooibos with a touch of honey or something.

The citrus is really distant, even though this has hibiscus and black currant in it. What is a plus is that it’s smooth and full. All in all, it’s a nice base tea, but really needs to be paired with something.

At first taste this tea is definitely more pomegranate than green tea. However, with consecutive cups, it definitely is more balanced (i don’t know if that’s just the tongue assimilating to the citrus of the blend). I also had this with a cilantro chicken salad and it was an awesome pairing. The tea goes down very smooth and has a slight tinge of cherry (like that weird zing… stop me if i sound crazy).

I had this tea iced and enjoyed it very much unsweetened, but i feel that the addition of the sugar would help bring out the sweetness of the pomegranate and override the cherry-esque-ness.

If you’ve never had ginseng oolong from Bird Pick before, you’re pretty much missing out. It’s a heavier bodied oolong that is coated with a mixture of ginseng extract and licorice root on the outside (it doesn’t say it anywhere on the packaging, but it’s where I suspect the sweetness comes from). It tastes so full in the mouth and has a gentle menthyl effect of the mouth after every sip in addition to its sweetness. No dryness – and that’s the deal breaker for me.

Don’t get the supreme grade mixed up with the regular ginseng oolong. The difference is highly noticeable. I’ll re-review this tea when I get a fresh batch in, because I’ve had it for awhile.

Pleaseexcusemyomgit’scoming…. tea*GASM*. Phew thanks. I just needed to break the ice with that.

Well this little ravishing thing is definitely a tease on the taste buds. I had the ecstasy of taking a sip of this tea a few days ago paired with a bag of Archer Farm’s Cinnamon Apple Pie trail mix. Um, until this point in time, I’ve always considered myself a prudent girl… however this whole little threesome between the tea, the trail mix, and my tongue was enough to make me into a permanent sinner.

I bought this along with a few other teas in a Desert Sampler set from Art of Tea. I haven’t gotten around to them, but if all the teas in that set are half as good as this one I might just quit my day job and take up teanography. Hmm.

The first few sips are a lovely heavier bodied rooibos with a hint of cinnamon. Later gulps (cup licking?) result in a fantastic end note of pears and other sweet ditties I just can’t place. It’s definitely smooth on the way down, not a single thought of dryness. (Haha.. dryness… smooth… [AHEM]).

Me and my little friend went for about 4 rounds (i mean cups, naughty thinker ;]), afterwards it degrades into a plain ’ol rooibos. I am definitely ordering more than 2 ounces because this little sample pack is NOT going to tide me over.

MMMMMMM!!!

This Earl Grey is the BEST tea to make a latte/milk tea out of. It has plenty of body and flavor to stand up against the milk and sugar, yet still soothes the tongue with bergamont in a pleasant non-citrusy way. (That makes the tea sound heroic, don’t you thinkk?)

D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. I love the fact that you don’t need a lot of leaves to make tea with it because it’s such a strong-flavored tea, it makes me feel like I’m really getting my dollar’s worth.

This is basically the gateway tea for me in Art of Tea’s other loose leaf. I CANNOT WAIT until I get my dessert tea sampler set.

Woah this packs a punch. Definitely a lot of strong bodied oolong notes with a equally strong aroma and taste. You can sure as hell smell and taste everything congruently upon drinking. The color is a amber gold and the tea is slightly overpowering at first.

Maybe I slightly over brewed it today? Possibly. I’ve got a 25 pack of it, so we’ll find out eventually.

A light tea with lots of delicate notes, it’s pleasantly smooth and buttery – not grassy at all. There are subtle hints of coconut here and there and a light spice on the midsection of the tongue when drinking. Just wish the taste could be as strong as the aroma

MMMM, Honeydew Sencha!

Upon smelling the dry leaves, you’re presented with an unforgettable marriage of sweet honeydew and fainter notes of strawberry. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my more traditional teas. However, when I discovered that Bird Pick only uses flowers to scent the tea, I was shocked. All of this aroma without artificial flavoring or sugar? No. Freaking. Way.

Now you might be saying, “oh yeah, well I bet it didn’t taste as good as it smelled when you brewed it”. But to you naysayers, I say, “HA!”. It’s a delicious green tea that isn’t tarnished with the fruity fragrances. It has a wonderful depth of flavor that leaves a pleasant astringency on the tongue afterwards, akin to a palette cleanser.

What I have realized is that this tea is actually better on ICE! Yes, I kid you not. Brew it double strength and ice it over. It’s overpowering olfactory nature just screams sweetness in your mouth, it’s the craziest sensation: sweet fruit without sweetener in a green tea.

Love this tea. Definitely will be rebuying.

I agree with all the other posters. This tea definitely has a subtle blend of spices (I feel that the cardamom is most prevalent) that is smooth on the palette. I prefer my chai much stronger, and if milk and sugar are added to this (I drank it without) i fear that the subtlety of the flavors will disappear. Nice blend, good for those who don’t usually drink chai.

I definitely like the weight this tea carries in my mouth. The green tea is almost like a taiwanese oolong in taste. I don’t detect any sort of grassiness at all, and the armona is a fresh-picked strawberry (sadly, I don’t get any “cream” in either taste or smell – maybe I haven’t had it enough) that lingers for a few moments on the palette.

It was almost overbrewed by the time I got to it though, the water they use at my local Coffee Bean is ridiculously hot.

Every Asian has probably at one point had a box of Foojoy tea in their house (either that or Yamamotoyama brand) . It’s the tried and true green tea, doesn’t get bitter, and has a surprising full flavor for a teabag. It has a wonderful clear gold brew and smells fresh.

I’m never disappointed brewing it, it’s best for on-the-go travel when you need good tea but don’t have the time for loose leaf.

I like how the rooibos holds up in the milk, what I don’t agree with is the amount of sugar in it a whole 32g of sugar?! Oh my. I’d hate to work my butt off to try and burn those extra calories. I enjoy the vanilla sweetness that it has albeit a tad artificial, but it’s sort of like the same complex I have when I go to the Cheesecake Factory: Everything is so good, but I really shouldn’t think twice about consuming it. Tea lattes should definitely be more about the tea than the milk or sugar that goes into it.

It enjoyable and a once-in-awhile indulge, but definitely not something I would drink everyday.

Some teas are too perfumey with their jasmine whilst others aren’t strong enough. However this is a very balanced blend of jasmine and green tea. The leaves are definitely fuller than most and survive up to 4 brews. I’m not typically a jasmine fan, but it’s an excellent blend.

The tried-and-true go-to tea for me. I love the body on this Earl Grey, the other ones that I have come across have either been too drying on the palette or too full. It’s a wonderful medium bodied black tea with just a slight hint of bergamont. As a consequence, I usually drink it sans sugar and cream. Perfectly balanced, and I’m never disappointed with the brew. It’s a good pick me up and always satisfies… sort of like the same way a PB&J will tide you over when you’re sick of grilled cheese.

I love Goji berries. I love green tea, why not? However….

Yuck! Maybe it’s because I usually boil my Goji Berries to begin with, but this definitely is the abomination of what the sourness of a grapefruit fused with a too-light green tea would taste like. Goji berries should be light and sweet, not reminiscent of artifically-flavored cranberries. I couldn’t even taste the green tea because of this distracting note.

Brewed for a good 10+ minutes, not much color, flat taste. Disappointment.

Very light and base. Usually with overly mint-tasting things I feel a kind of acidity in my stomach, but not this time! It’s also very smooth on the palette, albeit not the best Mint tea.

In summary: Ho-hum “Pick Me Up” tea.

Wow! This stuff is strong, just like chai should be. I definitely enjoy the spice on this tea and its full body, however, I think next time I’ll add creamer. I also like that it isn’t too drying on the palette.

Silky Green is my absolute favorite tea from Bird Pick! It has a wonderful milky aroma and the leaves are furled similarly to oolong tea. The first brew, which isn’t my favorite has a light buttery note, and with consecutive brews, becomes more flavorful. The tea develops a creamy and almost perfect buttered-toast like flavor. It’s also very smooth on the tongue and doesn’t leave your mouth dry. Be sparing with the leaves, they unfurl quite large.