Good Earth, Cocoa Tango

Good Earth Description:
As unpredictable as a newfound romance – and just as spicy. Cocoa Tango™ blends together the sweet and sensual flavors of cocoa with the heat of chili peppers, making for a tea experience that will leave you breathing heavy with satisfaction and wanting more.

Ingredients:
Black tea, cocoa beans, natural flavors, chicory root, natural chocolate flavor with other natural flavors, natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavors, chili peppers, cardamom, peppermint, rose petals, steviol glycosides (stevia).

Sample Provided by Good Earth

My Review:
Today I travel back to my roots in a way. I haven't reviewed a tea bag product in a while. More importantly I haven't reviewed one that I could actually find locally. In my early tea drinking days, there were very few choices in our small rural town. Today the choices are a little better. I have seen Good Earth tea on our grocers shelves. This is my first opportunity to give one a try.

The first thing that catches my eye, occurs before I even open the box. The net wt is 40.5g and there are 18 tea bags in the box. That means there is 2.25g per bag. To put that in perspective, Twinings uses 2g per bag. Stash generally has 1.6g, and the last Republic of Tea I sampled had a wimpy 1.33g.

Inside the box, the bags are individually wrapped and sealed in aluminum envelopes. Once opened I immediately smell chocolate. It is somewhere between powdered hot cocoa mix and milk chocolate. It is fairly typical of bagged chocolate teas in scent. Putting the bag in my mug I notice the string is plenty long enough so the tag won't end up in the mug.

I steeped 4 minutes, removed the bag for pictures, and then returned the bag to the mug. This is bad practice but I did it as a test. Throughout the entire mug it never became bitter. I noticed this contains stevia. Ordinarily I would object to pre-added sweetener, but truth be told, I can't tell when tasting.

At first I am thinking this tastes like a pleasant simple chocolate tea, and it is pleasant, but I was wondering, where are the chili peppers? I love spicy foods and I was expecting this to be a pepper blast. It is not. It is more a slow building heat that never goes over the top. This starts sweet and chocolaty and ends with a warm heat. If you are afraid of chilies in your tea, don't be. If you love some spice, wait for it.

I am definitely not one of those tea people who can't or won't enjoy a bagged tea. I found this trip back to my roots very enjoyable, and happy day, I still have more for later.  

Rosali Tea

Promotional Box actual subscription may be different

Rosali Tea Description:
Rosali Tea is a monthly subscription of artisanal whole-leaf teas, curated for your needs and delivered to your door.

Sample provided by Rosali Tea

My Review:
Rosali Tea supplied this promotional box for review to make you aware of their monthly subscription service. At this time there are only a couple days left in the kickstarter campaign and apparently they have already reached their goal. So if your curiosity is piqued, after reading my review, jump over to their page and read more of the details.

My sample box contains 2 teas

Whether you are new to tea or looking to expand your horizons a bit, a subscription service provides a good opportunity to experience and learn about new teas and tea types.

Rosali Tea offers a variety of options from a $15 one month plan to 3 month, and 6 month options. Shipping is included, and according to the homepage, you can cancel or pause at anytime.

The actual subscription box will contain 3 premium teas, and biodegradable filter bags. The subscription is tailored to your tastes.

My box contains the filter bags and two teas -a Milk Oolong and a Hibiscus Orange Nectar herbal. Let's take a look at them:

The first tea I prepared was Milk Oolong from Taiwan.

The sample came in a white aluminum resealable pouch. The back of the bag has clear brewing parameters for western brewing. You gongfu folks pretty much have your own ideas and I'm sure you'll adjust.

When I got my first whiff it reminded me of grain, more specifically oats as in Cheerios. The first picture above shows the golden yellow brew. The second is the dry leaf. Tell me it doesn't look like a ninja turtle. Yeah, I thought so. The third picture shows the enormous pile of leaf that results from steeping the ninj.... I mean tea nuggets for 4 minutes.

The taste is very nice. It is light with a milky taste that settles in behind the refreshing green floral oolong notes. The aftertaste lingers, yet isn't the typical heavy floral kind of latex taste found in many green oolongs. I really enjoyed this even more once it was cold. Maybe I'm weird, but this is excellent cold. A very nice tea.

Next up we have Hibiscus Orange Nectar. It is a caffeine free herbal

I have to be honest, when I saw this package my first thought was eeeuuuuwww hibiscus. Yeah, I'm not really a fan - usually. I opened this up expecting a tart blast. Instead I found the most amazing orange and vanilla scented blend. I can see orange rind in the mix as well as tiny bits of hibiscus, and rooibos. Funny rooibos can occasionally be a red flag for me as well. Dry, I do not notice it at all. I believe I also spy red safflower petals as well. This is pleasant on the eyes and really smells amazing kids.

I used my stainless steel strainer instead of the provided filter bags. I should have known better. The strainer always lets fine particles pass right on through. I'm tough, I don't mind a little sediment in the bottom of my cup. Steeped 5 minutes in 200 F water. The brew is kind of an orangy root beer color.

I can lightly catch the rooibos in the steeped aroma. The taste is a wonderful as the dry aroma suggests. It is a velvety smooth vanilla orange with light notes of rooibos. I honestly don't taste hibiscus at all. Rooibos can be problematic as it is often woodsy and rough tasting. Here its sweet flavor fits perfectly with none of the bad throat scratchy roughness.

I added a little sweetener and Oh My Lands! This is truly extremely good. Rosali, I salute you. Hands down the best blend with hibiscus and rooibos I have ever tried. Just Wow!

Currently available only in the U.S.

Until Oct 8th, you can find Rosali Tea Kickstarter page here.

After October 8th the Rosali Tea homepage is here.

Teasenz, Fujian Silver Needle

Teasenz Description:
For many centuries enjoyed by imperial families in China. Fuding's Silver Needle is a pinnacle-grade white tea with a soft, smooth, and silky-sweet taste.

Silver Needle is the most famous white tea from China and also known as 'Bai Hao Yin Zhen'.

Sample provided by Teasenz

My Review:
The weather has turned back to beautiful warm sunny days and cool nights. A/C by day and furnace by night days. Love it. Not loving the fall allergies that have hit like a brick today.

I have tried several Teasenz offerings to date, and all of them have been very good. I hope the trend continues as Fujian silver needle is one of my favorites. I haven't done a lot of comparison pricing but this one seems exceptionally reasonable at $15.45 for 70g (2.5 oz).

The packaging is a resealable aluminum bag. The label is brief and clearly provides brewing recommendations.

My first test with any tea is the sniff test. I have had enough white tea that I have certain expectations. This one meets them well. The scent is that wonderful sweet hay I expect, and more. This one has a melon fruitiness along with almost a minty hint. I can't say for certain it is not the allergies, but I don't think so. It certainly smells, not only nice, but fresh.

There was a little bit of crushed leaf when I removed a scoop. I am pretty certain that is my fault. Things are a little out of hand at the moment and the bag was a little banged around. The vast majority is full white fuzzy buds with hints of green.

I used my clear glass press and water heated to 175 F. The steep time was 4 minutes.

When the water hit the leaf it all began to float. As it steeped some began to slowly sink to the bottom while standing on end. The visual dance of the leaf is an important part of my tea experience. I encourage you to take note of it while preparing your own cup.

The liquor is far more enticing than I was able to capture with my point and shoot camera. It is a deep golden amber. It is almost radiant as it captures the light and reflects it back.

So far this is shaping up to be a very nice tea.

Upon tasting, I will first tell you I have had deeper more complex white teas, but not at this price. That is not to say this is a simple one note cup. It certainly is not. In fact there is plenty of depth. I am finding it to be just what I wanted today.

It is clean and crisp. As with most white teas there is not a hint of bitterness. This is naturally sweet and does not ask to be sweetened. It is not grassy but isn't exactly the typical hay taste either. It kind of fits in between somewhere but closer to the hay. There are floral/fruit notes swirling around the taste. I still get an occasional flash that suggests mint. It is very brief and light. Quite refreshing.

As I sip, I can feel stress melting away as I begin to relax. The wonderful thing about a good tea is the feeling of rejuvenation that comes with the peaceful contentment.

This has a good solid flavor at a reasonable price. Once again I can recommend giving Teasenz a try.

You can find Teasenz Fujian Silver Needle here.

Red Leaf Tea, Acai Berry Matcha

Red Leaf Tea Description:
Our fabulous Matcha Tea cannot get any better than this! Its high-quality Green Tea leaves are young and processed in a special way that maintains all of their amazing health benefits. Matcha Tea features multiple healthful qualities that keep your body and mind strong and alert. Matcha Tea helps detoxify the blood, has cancer-fighting properties and also kills free radicals.

So, what could we possibly do to make our Matcha Tea any better? We have taken our amazing, healthy Matcha and supplemented it with Raw Organic Freeze-dried Acai Berry powder. If you have followed any health buzz for the past few years, you know about Acai. If you haven't been following it, let's take a look at what Acai can do. Acai has ten times the antioxidants of blueberries or grapes. Antioxidants, like Matcha, help fight free radicals and keep your body healthy and strong all year round.

Ingredients:
Pure Matcha powder from green leaves, Brazilian Acai Natural Flavor

My Review:

A new month. A new opportunity to drink tea and write reviews. My wife and friends are complaining about the cold already. It does make porch setting a little more of a challenge but I am still running the ceiling fan indoors. I love the cool.

Today I am reviewing Acai Berry Matcha from Red Leaf Tea. I debated with myself for quite a while, trying to decide how I would prepare this one. More on that in a moment.

I ordered a sample size to try out something new and different. The sample bags are small and not resealable. Once opened I fold the top over and close it with a paper clip. I usually prepare the rest in a day or two.

A tip from a friend - when opening the vacuum sealed bags, first make a small cut at the notch in the end. This will release the vacuum allowing gravity to do its thing. Since learning this trick, the mess on my table is much smaller. Matcha tends to make a dust cloud when opened otherwise. (Thanks Ashmanra!)

This sample uses the basic level matcha. It is a little darker than most of these blends have been, apparently from the powder acai.

The scent is pretty intensely berry. My first thought was to make a cup with hot water. I normally don't drink my matcha that way. I like a cold milk latte. I really wasn't sure milk and acai would be a good mix, but, I decided I would do it for science! If it turns out badly, you'll never see this and I will be writing about a hot cup today :)

A tsp of powder was added to my mug along with 4 oz of milk. I used my frother to do the mixing. I worked up a nice thick foam that reached almost to the top of the mug.

Next I added an additional 4 oz of cold milk and lightly mixed. As you can see in the picture, the color is kind of light. The foam is a much smaller amount with bigger bubbles than before adding more milk. Normally I use a big tumbler for extra blending room, but it is hard to get a good picture through the graphics.

The taste is very berry! I have never had an actual acai berry. I have had a few flavored acai teas. This one is the most intense - in a good way. It is kind of its own flavor, somewhere between blueberry and blackberry, with floral notes that remind me of a light rose.

I needn't have worried about adding this to milk. It definitely holds its own and with out a taste conflict. I added no sweetener to the mug as I often do with matcha. Seriously, this does not need sweetened. The natural sweetness is more than enough. I kind of expected some tartness. I did not notice any in the cup.

The only downside I can comment on is this did not mix thoroughly. Some sediment remained in the bottom of the cup. It is possible this would not occur in a hot preparation. I was just really in the mood for a refreshing cold mug of joy. Mission accomplished.

You can find Red Leaf Tea Acai Berry Matcha here.

Red Leaf Tea, Pumpkin Pie Matcha

Red Leaf Tea Description:
Despite its unique name, pumpkin pie tastes very similar to sweet potato pie. It is sweet on the palate and when combined with the enriching hints of exotic Matcha, becomes more balanced and delectable on the palate. Pumpkin Pie Matcha can be adapted to suit the occasions of young children because of its sweet beckonings and also the occasions of adults because of its delectable taste. This understated delicious snack can be an excellent choice as an in between meal snack for those who are not afraid to experience true adventure. It's surprisingly sweet taste both delights and enriches the palate with unexpected pleasure.

My Review:

It's fall and as a tea drinker that means trying the obligatory pumpkin inspired tea. This year I went a different route and ordered this flavored matcha from Red Leaf Tea.

I'll start by saying I love pumpkin pie. About this time of year I can almost imagine the very reason I was put on this earth was to eat pumpkin pie. We all know that isn't likely to be true but it's my fantasy and I'm sticking to it. That said, it makes me sorry for tea companies that I review. I know they will not capture the true flavor of pie. Pumpkin spice sure, but not pie and crust.

So this one is intense out of the packet. The spice is quite strong when I open the bag. I mostly notice clove. To a lesser extent it is cinnamon and allspice.

Viewing the powder it looks typical of kitchen grade matcha. Upon closer inspection I see sparkles of possibly sugar crystals although the ingredients are listed as "Pure Matcha powder from green leaves, Pumpkin Pie Natural Flavor".

I used my usual heaping teaspoon of powder with a couple ounces of cold 2% milk. With my electric frother I worked this up until it was almost entirely a creamy foam. Then I added more milk until the foamy mix reached the top of the tumbler.

You can see in the picture how much foam is still present. It makes for a thick creamy dessert drink.

I read through the reviews on Steepster. Most of them praise this for capturing the essence of pumpkin pie. I will have to say I respectfully disagree. This is not pumpkin pie. At least it is not any pumpkin pie I have tried, and I have tried a lot.

That said, it is still pretty good. It is very sweet. It is also heavy on the spice. This reminds me of the powdered Chai mix a friend and I used to buy at Sam's Club. We went trough several large cans of the stuff. Every time we would swear we weren't going to get another, but before long one of us would crack and away we would go again.

So, this is a very sweet decadent dessert treat. I could become addicted, but as with virtually every pumpkin themed tea I try this time of year, this is pumpkin spice, it is not pumpkin pie.

You can find Red Leaf Tea, Pumpkin Pie Matcha here.

Little Red Cup Tea, Premium White Peony

Little Red Cup Tea Company Description:
Grown high on Guzhang Mountain in Hunan Province, this White Peony (Bai Mudan, 白牡丹) tea is one of the best we've ever tasted. Whole leaves plucked by hand and dried in the sun make for a full-bodied brew rich with floral notes of honey and melon.

Pull it out for guests, gift it to someone you admire, this tea is special.

Fair Trade premiums from the sale of this tea, as with the other teas from Hunan, are used by the growers for equipment purchases and much needed public works and sanitation projects.

Sample provided by Little Red Cup Tea Company

My Review:

White tea - tea drinkers are divided on it. Some, especially the Assam drinking crowd, find it to be too subtle. Others, including myself, find its depth of flavor something not be be missed. White Peony, or Bai Mudan, seems to be a good middle ground for the two groups. It has a bolder flavor than Silver Needle and still maintains a good flavor profile.

This one comes to us from Hunan Province in China. I try to always enjoy the aroma of the just opened package before looking at the leaf. I don't want my eyes to sway me before my nose has a chance. I was not disappointed. The scent is pure white peony. It always seems dark to me. It also reminds me of fall. There is a leaf aroma like deep in the woods on a crisp autumn day. Along with it is hints of hay and melon.

Now I move on to visually inspecting the leaf. Check it out: there is plenty of silvery tips, ample leaves of cinnamon, and deep brown, as well as light touches of green. White Peony leaf is just lovely to look at.

I used what appears to be a lot of leaf by volume, but white tea leaf is so light and fluffy it just takes more. My resealable sample did not have brewing parameters, so I jumped over to the website and read 180 F for 3 minute steep.

The result is a dark honey colored brew with gold edges. The steeped leaf is deep browns and greens.

The taste is just what I expect from White Peony. Like the scent it tastes dark to me, while the feel is light and refreshing. The main element to me is dried leaf (again an autumn feel). There is also a touch of honey, though it is not overly sweet.

If you are in the white tea fan group, this is a lovely example of a good White Peony. If you are of the not a fan of overly subtle tea club, this one is bold enough to enjoy on a sunny afternoon soaking up some of the final warm rays before winter takes over.

You can find Little Red Cup Tea, Premium White Peony here.

3 Leaf Tea, Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Three Leaf Tea Description:
All of our signature hot chocolate blends contain 3 or less ingredients. Our blending begins with raw, organic cacao (ca·cao) which creates a smooth rich chocolate base without any artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. Cacao is the purest form of chocolate where the bean is cold pressed to separate the oil from the protein and fiber. The pressed cakes are then finely milled into a powder to become the finished product. Because high heat is never used, cacao is a raw product. We believe using raw cacao versus using processed cocoa (co·coa) is better for you, and more delicious!

Vegan, Gluten Free 

Ingredients: Pure cane sugar, raw organic cacao powder, natural flavors

Directions: Whisk 2 tablespoons into 1 cup of hot milk until well blended.

Sample provided by Three Leaf Tea

My Review:

Yes, I know, this is not tea. Since I have reviewed many herbal 'teas' on this blog, I feel it is acceptable to review a natural ingredient hot chocolate, and besides, it's hot chocolate!

3 Leaf specializes in flavored matcha but also offer a selection of loose leaf teas and hot chocolates.

I have really been looking forward to trying this since it arrived in the mail but it has not been the proper weather with highs in the 90's. We have suddenly been thrust into some solid October like weather so today's 45 F morning seems just right.

The entire sample is required for this cup. The powder looks a little like rooibos but of course that is the finely ground cacoa with some added sparkle from the pure cane sugar.

I heated the milk in the microwave then poured half of it over the powder. Had I been thinking I wouldn't have poured the powder into the mug until after the microwave, because now I have two mugs to clean. D'oh!

I then grabbed the mighty MatchaDNA frother and began mixing. In mere moments I had a hot thick and creamy mug of chocolaty foamy goodness. I slowly poured the rest of the milk in the mug and took the glamour shot.

The first taste is not what I expected. It was better! I have had the common grocery store variety of peppermint hot chocolate. It is watery with over the top mint in the face. This blend from 3 Leaf is very different. The first thing I notice, after the foam on my nose, is how deeply cocoa and rich tasting is this mug.

It is sweet but not overly so. I probably notice more because I never add sugar to anything. My Splenda monkey won't let me. So the rare treat of cane sugar is more apparent to my senses.

The next thing that comes to mind on first sip is, where's the peppermint? Then mid sip, it slowly rises and fills your mouth with cooling. It really is more sensation than taste. That is some beautiful restraint. When I'm drinking tea I want to taste the tea first, then the added flavor. Same with hot chocolate. I want to taste decadent rich chocolate. Then give me a little something extra to add to it, not take away. That is exactly how this peppermint hot chocolate fulfills it's role, and it does so perfectly.

Excellent work 3 Leaf!

You can find Three Leaf Tea Peppermint Hot Chocolate here.