LeafJoy

Testing this out as a late night alternative to tea. Like other reviewers, I was prepared not to like it, but surprisingly actually quite good. The description of caramel and rum lives up to its name, but not in a bad way. I was worried that it would be sickeningly sweet, especially from the smell of the tea bag. It leads with slightly sweet caramel and rum, and the rooibos makes a surprisingly mild and toasted base that isn’t overwhelmingly sweet. I had it plain, and then added milk and sugar to try it as well. Yum! While I’m not in LOVE with it, it’s pretty good.

This tea is pretty AH-mazing. I wasn’t feeling it as much before when I was just drinking it straight- the flavors are intense, fruity, and almost a bit too floral for my taste as a brewed oolong tea. It was not bitter at all. It had promise, but wasn’t quite right. Until today it struck me — iced tea!

What a great way to ring in the first day of July. I brewed it strong and iced it, and it is delicious. I’d highly recommend it. The peach flavors are intense and lend a natural sweetness to the tea without needing extra sugar. The base of vegetal and smooth green oolong balances out the tea. It’s a light and refreshing way to enjoy your summer.

This came as part of the Lupicia newsletter in tea bag form, and I finally took it out for a taste.

This is a nice, well-balanced jasmine tea. Some great floral notes and aroma from the jasmine without being overpowering. The green tea base is smooth and provides a great base to the tea.

Also, I’d say that I’ve the pyramid teabags Lupicia provides are sooo convenient for the office. I’ve found that this type of tea tends to be very forgiving of water temperature to consistently create a nice cup of tea. I’d definitely recommend having this type of tea in the office especially if you have a hot water heater that doesn’t deliver the hottest water.

A very fruity and light tea that would be delightful on a hot, sunny day! The berry flavors come out strong and are good if you enjoy the berry taste. The underlying base of green tea is very subtle but rounds out the overall flavor.

As the tea cools, it tasted sweeter to me. I’d definitely echo the recommendations of trying this tea iced.

No notes yet.

This tea is so aptly named — it smells exactly like how it’s described. The initial scent is rich chocolate overlaid with the bright, luscious sweetness of strawberry. It is sweet and evocative of summer. The puer taste comes out in the steeped tea as an earthy, rich undertone that complements the strawberry and chocolate perfectly.

This tea is really delicious! Thanks Lupicia for the free sample!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Chi of Tea’s Artisan Heart Shaped Mini Pu-Erh’s are super adorable and cute. The miniature hearts are approximately the diameter of a US quarter, and composed of dry tea leaves tightly compressed into heart shapes. Overall the taste is strong and earthy, a bit like a brisk black tea plus a little sweetness and a distinct smoke and camphor aroma which lends it an appealing character. If you enjoy strong black teas, this would be a great introductory pu-erh tea to try. For pics and full review: http://www.leafjoy.com/2011/02/review-artisan-heart-shaped-mini-pu-erh-chi-of-tea/

Joy’s Teaspoon Sun Kissed Jasmine blend is a little bit like drinking liquid sunshine! The tea is complex combination of green teas (China sencha, Lung Ching, green Yunnan), white teas (Pai Mu Tan), and flavorings (rose buds, rose petals, mallow blossoms) that all together create a blend that packs an explosively floral and tropical punch. I’m usually not a fan of fruity scented teas, but once steeped I found this particular blend to be a smooth and well-balanced. The mild, sweet flavor of the white and green tea provides a great foil to show off the depth in the sweet tropical fruit combination, evocative of sun-drenched pineapple and juicy papaya. Full review + pics: http://www.leafjoy.com/2011/02/review-sun-kissed-jasmine-joys-teaspoon/

Drank this as a post-lunch pick me up today. It’s a mellow tea with lots of complexity to its fragrant, floral and roasted nuts taste. Even though it’s advertised as the “greener” style, it’s imho on the more oxidized side. It has a great lingering and sweet finish to it.

No notes yet.

Backlogging my genmaicha experience.

Obubu’s Genmaicha is a flavorful, well-balanced combination of Japanese sencha and roasted sweet mochi rice. The tea it produces is flavorful and light, with a wonderfully aromatic smell of roasted rice without a trace of bitterness. There is a slightly sweet, peppery aftertaste that adds layers of depth and complexity to the tea. For my full review and pics: http://www.leafjoy.com/2011/01/review-genmaicha-obubu-tea/

This tea was pretty good, but not really knock your socks off.

The first infusion tastes like earthy and dark, though this immediate impression is offset by refreshing melony sweetness to the finish and a lingering tartness on the tongue. It has a full body and is almost creamy. This is a full-flavored tea relative to other white teas and tastes light and refreshing. For full review and pics: http://www.leafjoy.com/2011/01/review-pai-mu-tan-zoom-dweebies/

This is a solid everyday peppermint tea. I drink this when it’s late and I want a hot comforting drink without caffeine. It has a minty, refreshing taste and flavor which soothes the spirit. This particular brand of tea has a great smell and flavor and brews a great strong pot of tea. I actually like it much better than the Celestial Seasons version of mint tea because this tastes less medicinal.

Initially, the jasmine in this tea smells overwhelming. I thought this would be way too strong. However, the teabag was really quite good and on par with loose leaf tea.

It’s a great tea to have in the office. I was able to just leave the teabag in my tall cup and keep on adding hot water to it throughout the day. It steeps very well without any bitterness, and was very flavorful even after the third time I topped it off.

Trying out this tea since it’s late night and too much caffeine screws up my sleep schedule. :-)

I LOVE pomegranate so was excited to try out a sample of this rooibos blend. The initial smell of the tea is strong and candy-sweet, more like hibiscus and honey than pomegranate. After it’s steeped, most of the flavor in this tisane is from the smell instead of the liquor. If you had a cold, you wouldn’t taste too much of this tea because of it’s bland, indistinct flavor after the initial tartness. However, the liquor is thick and almost heavy on the tongue. The tea coats the tongue and leaves a lingering but very faint finish of vanilla and fruity red berries.

I’m not sure where the pomegranate is. Overall the tea is not bad. It would be worse if it had an overwhelming taste. It’s just not that astounding either far as taste.

This tea is fascinating and very much worth trying. It’s a really marvelous experience to drink clear, sweet nectar scented with cherry blossoms.

The flowers arrive salt-pickled and must first be soaked in warm water before use. The unsoaked salted sakura blossoms smell like a sweet candy. It reminds me a little bit of the smell of salted plum candies from the Chinese grocery store. While the liquor produced from steeping the sakura blossom is clear and virtually colorless, it has a very distinctive sakura taste, like honey, sugared plum and melon. Steeped as recommended, the flowers bloom exuberantly in the hot water and reveal a very sweet and floral taste with a complexity of flavor.

I also used this to flavor my everyday genmaicha and it tasted delicious. It really adds layers of complexity and sweetness to the tea!

The steeped flower is gorgeous, check out my photos here: http://www.leafjoy.com/2011/01/tasting-sakura-cherry-blossoms-from-obubu-tea-includes-pics/

This fragrant, flavorful tea has captured the summer in its tightly furled deep green and olive tea leaves. It has sweet grassy and floral smells, and once infused is like drinking in the warm flavor of roasted nuts while breathing in the honeyed aroma of summer’s wild flowers.

This tea is awesome and very good. It’s quite resilient and would make a great everyday tea. For pictures and my full review: http://www.leafjoy.com/2010/12/taiwan-sweet-summer-oolong-life-in-teacup/

The tea has a delicate pear and honey taste without being overpowering in its sweetness, which makes it a decent light tea to start the morning. The steeped tea is light-bodied with a vibrant goldenrod yellow liqueur and a floral, nutty aroma. Brewing the tea surfaces the first impression of a well-rounded, buttery taste. Despite the wonderful aroma of the brewed tea leaves, the tea is surprisingly light in flavor even after steeping for a full 4 minutes. For my full review (with pics!) visit: http://www.leafjoy.com/2010/12/review-ali-shan-thepuritea/

Emerald Needle is a dependable green tea with a pleasing aroma, vegetal taste and sweet finish. The tea has a delicate taste without an overpowering sweetness. The tea is delicate and light, with a body and thickness reminiscent of white teas. It has a sweet and floral flavor, but retains a savory, vegetal aftertaste. I thought this tea was a good everyday tea. For my full review and pics: http://www.leafjoy.com/2010/11/review-emerald-needle-thepuritea/

Phoenix Mountain Oolong is a lovely high-quality tea which exhibits the rich, complex flavors and sweet finish characteristic of oolong teas. This tea offers a rich, robust flavor and fruity finish which makes it a satisfying tea to drink on its own or accompanying a meal. The brewed tea has a floral fragrance and mellow smoky chestnut taste balanced by fruity peach overtones. For my full review: http://www.leafjoy.com/2010/10/review-phoenix-mountain-oolong-peets-coffee-tea/