Reviews

Enjoy my take on many of the teas I have enjoyed over the years. Always rated on a 5 point scale, entirely my subjective opinion.

Tea of the Week – Irish Breakfast

Black Tea

Name:  Irish Breakfast

Type:  Black

Region:  Sri Lanka and India

Bought At:  Adagio.com

Price:  $2 for a 10-cup sample

First Impressions:  Strong, Dark

Review:

Since today was St Patty’s day I thought it would be fitting to try the Irish breakfast that I hadn’t had a chance to drink.  It was a good morning drink, a strong black tea, but not bitter.   Like it’s name it was a lot like the English Breakfast that I enjoy, but a little lighter.  Looked it up and found that it’s a blend of Ceylon from Sri Lanka and Assam from India.  I really liked it with a touch of milk, it smoothed it out nicely.  In the end I think I like English Breakfast a little better, but this would do in a pinch!

My Rating:
3 / 5

–brent
 (Teageek.org Founder)

Tea of the Week – Genmai Cha

Green Tea

Name:  Genmai Cha

Type:  Green

Region:  Japan

Bought At:  Adagio

Price:  $3 for a 10 cup sample

First Impressions:  Popcorn!!

Review:

I was very interested to try Genmai Cha.  I was very intrigued by the popcorn/rice/tea combo and was hoping for something really different.  In that respect, I wasn’t disappointed – it definitely is different!  It has a heavy popcorn smell and taste.  It reminded me most of popcorn that is overcooked to just short of truly burnt.  The tea serves more as an undertone to the rice and popcorn, and was almost lost in their over powerful taste and smell.  Overall, I didn’t really enjoy this.  It was different, but not something I am in a hurry to have again.

My Rating:
2 / 5

–brent
 (Teageek.org Founder)

Tea of the Week – Kukicha

Green Tea

Name:  Kukicha

Type:   Green

Region:  Japan

Bought At:  Adagio

Price:  $2 for a 10 cup sample

First Impressions:  Staw like look and smell

Review:

Kukicha is a tea that I have had before and wasn’t overly impressed with, but I thought I would give it another try.  It does have an interesting appearance, combining stems with the typical tea leaves gives it a very unique look.  As far as taste goes it is okay.  The problem I have with this tea is there is just nothing that jumps out at you.  It’s not that it’s necessarily bad, just sort of “blah.”  It is little on the light side with a grassy aftertaste.  Overall, I’ll drink it, but I don’t think I will order it again when it’s out.

My Rating:
2.5 / 5

–brent
 (Teageek.org Founder)

Tea of the Week – Rhubarb Green

Green Tea

Name:  Rhubarb Green

Type:  Green

Region:  Unknown

Bought At:  Adagio

Price:  $2 for a 10 cup sample

First Impressions:  Sweet, almost sugary smell

Review:

This week I tried a green I have had for a little while but never tried: Rhubarb Green.  I was curious at the sweet smell because I was expecting it to have a hint of sourness to it (Like real rhubarb).  It has a lighter taste, and is very pleasant and sweet.  I have to say it didn’t remind me too much of rhubarb.  It isn’t earthly or smoky like some greens.  It is sweet, with just a hint of sour.  Overall a good tea, it provided a nice break from some of the more intense greens that I have had.

My Rating:
3.5 / 5

–brent
(TeaGeek.org Founder)

Tea of the Week – Dongshan Dolce

Green Tea

Name:  Dongshan Dolce

Type:  Green

Region:  Zhejiang, China

Bought At:  Adagio

Price:  $3 for a 10 cup sample

First Impressions:  Sweet grassy smell

Review:

The second of my new green teas is Dongshan Dolce from Adagio.  The tea leaves themselves have a sweet grassy smell that reminds me of alfalfa.  The tea itself is a mild green with a very mellow flavor.  Slightly sweet, it is a very smooth cup of tea.  It is a little “grassy” tasting, but not to the point that it is unpleasant at all.  Not a new favorite, but still a nice cup of tea, especially for true green tea lovers.

My Rating:

3.5 / 5

–brent
(TeaGeek.org Founder)

Tea of the Week – Casablanca Twist

Green Tea

Name:  Casablanca Twist

Type:  Green

Region:  Darjeeling, India

Bought At:  Adagio

Price:  $3 for a 10 cup sample

First Impressions:  Minty aroma

Review:

My second tea this month is a green from adagio: Casablanca Twist.  I didn’t really know anything about this tea before I tried it, and was surprised by its minty flavor.  It has a very smooth, light green tea feeling to it and by far the biggest taste you get is that of mint – peppermint to be exact.  I learned it is a “twist” (pun intended) on the older Moroccan Mint which uses gunpowder instead of Darjeeling as the base.  I would be interested to try Moroccan to see the difference between the two.  It isn’t overpowering like some mint herbal teas, just a cool feeling after you have taken a sip.  Overall it was pretty good, definitely refreshing.  It would probably make an interesting iced tea. While it was a good mint tea, mint really isn’t my favorite; but others who enjoy mint more might like it better.

My Rating:
2.5 / 5

Tea of the Week

Name: Casablanca Twist

Type: Green

Region: Darjeeling, India

Bought At: Adagio

Price: $3 for a 10 cup sample

First Impressions: Minty aroma

Review:

My second tea this month is a green from adagio: Casablanca Twist. I didn’t really know anything about this tea before I tried it, and was surprised by its minty flavor. It has a very smooth, light green tea feeling to it and by far the biggest taste you get is that of mint – peppermint to be exact. I learned it is a “twist” (pun intended) on the older Moroccan Mint which uses gunpowder instead of Darjeeling as the base. I would be interested to try Moroccan to see the difference between the two. It isn’t overpowering like some mint herbal teas, just a cool feeling after you have taken a sip. Overall it was pretty good, definitely refreshing. It would probably make an interesting iced tea. While it was a good mint tea, mint really isn’t my favorite; but others who enjoy mint more might like it better.

My Rating:

2.5 / 5

Tea of the Week – Citron Green

Green Tea

Name: Citron Green

Type: Green

Region: Unknown

Bought At: Adagio

Price: 2$ for a 10 cup sample

First Impressions: Amazing sweet citrus smell

Review:

The second month of my tea reviews, February will be a month of green. To start out I decided on one of my all time favorites that I just got back in: Citron Green. The most amazing thing about this tea is by far its smell, probably the best smelling tea I have tried. Its taste follows up and doesn’t disappoint like last week’s Blood Orange. The delicate blend of the sweet citrus and the mellow green tea makes this taste just wonderful. It finishes off with just a hint of a smoky finish, leaving you with a very pleasant aftertaste, something a lot of teas lack. It also holds up well to multiple brewing, making it a great choice for mornings at the office. Overall, it’s my second favorite tea of all time. There’s just not too much more to say, except I think I’ll go make another cup.

My Rating:
4.5 / 5

Tea of the Week – Blood Orange

Black Tea, Reviews

Name: Blood Orange

Type:  Black

Region:  Ceylon Region of China

Bought At: Tea Gschwendner

Price:  50g for $4.90

First Impressions: Strong citrus smell, lots of orange pieces

Review:

The final tea in the first month of my tea tasting experiment came from a new company to me, Tea Gschwendner.  A German company that has a wide variety of tea, I hadn’t heard of them until I received this and a few other teas for Christmas from a coworker.  (As a side note I love tea as a present because you can give / get something that you wouldn’t normally try)  As for this particular tea, I was a little disappointed.  It has an almost overpowering citrus scent, but the actual citrus flavor left much to be desired.  It was a decent tea, but compared to the scent it gives off it was very tame.  There was almost no orange flavor and the Ceylon tea they used as a base isn’t remarkable.  It calls for a shorter steep time than I would normal do, but didn’t get bitter when I left it in a little longer than they recommend.  Overall it was a decent tea, but nothing to write home about.

My Rating:

2.5 / 5

Tea of the Week – Earl Grey Bravo

Black Tea

Name:  Earl Grey Bravo

Type:  Black

Region:  Yunnan region of China

Bought At:  Adagio.com

Price:  $2 for a 10 cup sample

First Impressions:  Strong Citrus Smell

Review:

Wow!  This was a lot better than I was expecting.  Maybe because of the poor reputation for tea and England in the States, I always thought that “Earl Grey” would be dull and bland.  How wrong I was!  The sweet citrus smell given off by the tea leads to an equally pleasing taste.  Definitely the most tasteful black tea of the Adagio sampler I have been going through.  I wish I could tell you how it tasted with a little milk and sugar, I enjoyed it so much plain that I didn’t want to try it!  Probably the Black tea I will be recommending to new tea drinkers, not once did I get even a hint of bitterness off it.

My Rating: 4/5

Tea of the Week – Yunnan Jig

Black Tea

Name:  Yunnan Jig

Type:  Black

Region:  Yunnan region of China

Bought At:  Adagio.com

Price:  $3 for a 10-cup sample

First Impressions:  Sweet Smelling, Large Leaves

Review:

My second attempt at new black teas was Yunnan Jig.  After the pleasant surprise of enjoying last week’s English Breakfast so much, maybe my expectations were just too high.  Yunnan Jig had a little bit sweeter smell than some black teas, but other than that nothing really jumped out at me.  It wasn’t too bitter, although it did have the slight hint that accompanies some black teas.  There just didn’t seem to be anything going for it.   I was also disappointed that there was no sweetness that I was expecting given its aroma.  While I didn’t mind drinking it, it wasn’t something that I was really enjoying either.  Definitely a mellow black tea, I found it a little lacking.

My Rating:  2 / 5