Teaviews.com » Kari

Review: Simpson & Vail Kenya Oolong

Kari — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:22:19 +0000

This is a great website to look at if you not only want to buy some tea, but also would like to host a tea party. They have the perfect kind of thin crispy cookies that go marvelous with tea.
This company has been around for many, many years. They have colorful pictures, great descriptions of their teas and brewing instructions. Whew – I think I just spent the last 15 minutes looking around all their products – they really do have some unique items.

On to the review:
The description says that this oolong is from Kenya and it is supposed to have a new taste in the realm of oolongs. The dry leaves are small and some are broken looking more like the classic black tea leaf. They smell sweet and have a citrus aroma. After I infused the leaves my nose picked up more of a floral aroma. The taste is brisk and malty, with a little bitterness. It is a little astringent and has a long finish. It is more on the black side of oolongs. On the 2nd infusion it still was malty and still has that deep color. I made some into iced and it became more bitter. It’s nice to buy only one ounce. It will be interesting to see other oolongs coming out of Kenya.

Review: Yogic Chai Fennel Rooibos Masala Chai

Kari — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:22:43 +0000

Yogic Chai specializes in Chai blends (I know – it‘s in their name.) This isn’t the first time I’ve tried one of their tea’s and I plan on having some of their blends in my cabinet at all times. I have tried most of their teas and think they have the perfect combination of spices and herbs in their blends. On their website they have so many ways to get you interested in their teas it‘s almost overwhelming. They have interesting pictures, health information on all the ingredients in their blends, a variety of discounts and even some videos.
On the package it tells how you can make it in a pan on the stove – although I didn’t do that this time, I have many times before and it does give it more depth.
The aroma of this blend is spicy, invigorating and smells strongly of fennel – I love the licoricy (is that a word?) aroma. There are nice size chunks of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, fennel and of course the rooibos all of which are organic. The fennel comes though more after the water has been steeping for awhile. In the cup this blend smells like it’s going to be delicious and sweet – and it does. It tastes great It has a perfect combination of everything that makes a Chai good. I like that little tiny bit of smokiness from the rooibos that enhances the chai spices. I added some milk and honey and that made it even better. I had this overall feeling of warmth while drinking it and I enjoyed the comforting effects. This was also just as good iced. This is a great value.

Review: American Tea Room Special Reserve Midori Sencha

Kari — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:22:21 +0000

There was an unexpected surprise when I looked at their website – they have ever changing pictures, unique food items like jasmine petal jelly, and a “what’s new?” section. It wasn’t just another tea website. They say that they strive for the finest and most spectacular teas. What happened to their blog? The last entry is from over a year ago – this seems to happen too often. Blogs are started with enthusiasm, but the entries fade over time. They have a store in Beverly Hills as well. It does not say how much of this tea you get for price tag of $22.00. After looking in their FAQ it says the loose tea comes in 100 grams bags.
The tea smells sweet and reminds me of midori liqour. It has fresh looking sencha leaves and flower petals. After I infused the leaves the aroma was more tea like – though quite grassy. In the cup the color was a bright yellow green. I really enjoy drinking this tea. It has a fruity sweet aftertaste. It’s has a full flavor and is one of the better senchas I have tasted. It has a real melon flavor. This really could make an interesting cocktail. After I read the description again it suddenly clicked that I thought it tasted like a green melon or orange melon. I see it is mixed with two types of Japanese melon. I would definetely have some of this again. I recommend this for anyone who likes melon flavored green teas in which the melon doesn’t overpower the green tea flavor.

Review: TeaFrog Earl Grey Special

Kari — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:22:20 +0000

There are many different ways to get information about tea from their website: you can download an e-book, follow them on twitter, read their blog or you can look at some video pod casts. They even have recipes on the website. Tea Frog was founded in 2006 by a husband and wife team who decided to start selling tea. I like how they put a lot of useful information on their tea samples. This blend has a twist for an earl grey lover – they added some lemongrass and jasmine flowers for extra flavor.
I saved this sample to try with my earl grey, tea loving sister in laws while on a family vacation up in Vermont. As I looked at the bag, I can see little pieces of lemongrass, lemon peel and the tea leaves, but I don’t see the jasmine flowers. It has an aroma of sweet candy. The scent of the infused tea, however, is of lemongrass and a little bergamot. In the cup there is a mild aroma. It doesn’t taste like an earl grey flavored tea. We were expecting a more hearty taste. Of course – as one of my sisters would say – you have to add some milk and sweetener. That was not good – maybe the milk didn’t like the lemongrass? It just made it weaker. The other sister said it’s like lemongrass tea with sugar. Maybe if they labeled it differently it would have been better.

Review: Tea Palace Sencha Aloe Vera

Kari — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:22:53 +0000

This company is based out of London. On the website under a section titled ‘tea picker” you can pick your tea by caffeine content, health benefits, organic status and time of day. Talk about modern, you can even follow them on Twitter. They encourage you to ask the tea maters questions. I always look to see what a company will say about the health benefits of their teas. As compared to some other web sites where they just give general information, they give very specific information about the type of tea and the additional ingredients that are in the blend. For instance, I know this doesn’t apply to this blend, but I didn’t realize all the health properties that bergamot (famous for being in earl grey blends) has. You can look up the ingredients when you click on the teas.
This is a green tea with aloe vera (which has immune boosting properties) and some pineapple pieces.
The dry tea aroma was really different – I don’t know if I had ever smelled something like that before. I had the same perplexity when I smelled the infused leaves. In the cup there was more of a black tea aroma. It’s surprisingly good. The mouth feel was chewy and astringent. It was refreshing. I made some into iced tea and a little more astringency came through.

Review: American Tea Room River of Heaven

Kari — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:22:00 +0000

I checked out their website and was very impressed. They say they offer the most dynamic range of accessories and accoutrements. They have an expansive selection of beautiful Japanese tea cups. They even have candles.
They have a store in Beverly Hills – very high end. Their website says they strive for the finest and most spectacular teas.
The dry leaves smell nice with a little sweetness and a hint of licorice. There are some purple flower petals, which include some lilacs and violets and they add to the overall beauty of the tea. After I infused the leaves I became more intrigued with the appearance of the leaves. They were small and they had a chopped look to them.
There is something really different about this tea in the taste – it has more of an herbal, tisane taste. It is a little bitter, but not overpowering. It has a “gooey” mouth feel and I can taste licorice on my tongue. There was a lingering aftertaste that was pretty pleasant.

Review: Local Coffee + Tea Selby Select

Kari — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:22:32 +0000

Their motto is “sip locally“, that’s cute – they promote local products and services, protect the local environment and celebrate local treasures. They have some stores on the gulf coast of Florida, as well as a website. They also sell their products at a local farmers market. This blend was created to celebrate the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. This was informative- they talk about how the plant is grown and processed, you don’t find too many places talk about rooibos.
I see good size pieces of orange rind and some dried yogurt pieces in this rooibos blend. It really smells like a creamsicle to me. The infused aroma was even more like a creamsicle, just a little milder. Holy cow, it tastes even more like a creamsicle. It has a velvety and creamy texture in my mouth – just like ice cream. It really does have an intense orange and vanilla taste. That is really good. I decided to get a little crazy and try a new specialty drink – I iced it down added some Maui sugar, squeezed some fresh Clementine juice into it and found a swanky bar glass to serve it in with a slice of the Clementine on the edge. It was really delicious. You can buy 2oz. for $9.00. They say you will think you’re drinking Flordia sunshine in a magnificently serene garden and I have to agree.

Review: Yogi Tea Green Tea Active Body

Kari — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:22:51 +0000

Since 1984 the Yogi Tea Company has been creating specialized herbal formulas blended for flavor and health purposes. They have incorporated tea and herbs into some new food products including cereals and granola crisps, which I can’t wait to try. They have this cute function on their website in which you can send a Yogi inspiration to a friend.
I recently tried this blend at a friends house in Guam and was very surprised at how good it was (only because it was a tea bag.) Yeah, Yeah, I know that sounds snobby. It made me become more open to some bag teas (I don’t plan on going hog-wild about them or anything) and to know there can be some good ones. When I saw I could review this, I thought that would be a good way to find out more about this tea and company. I don’t think I had ever tried a yogi tea before, which is really shameful because they have been around forever and now I see they have a lot of interesting teas.

OO- for some reason I was looking at my tea bags for something and I remember now I keep their ginger tea on hand for an upset stomach-and it works for me.
Lemon myrtle is the pronounced aroma I smelled from the tea bag. I really like it. I can taste lemon grass, ginseng, fruit and the myrtle. This is a lively and nice combination of flavors. It makes me think of a good single flower honey. This is a good everyday tea. I imagine if someone were trying to go cold turkey kicking a bad habit this might help. I made some iced and it had some body. The inspirational phrases on the tags of the tea were a nice touch. You can even get free sample from their website.

One last final note- this is now called Green Tea Muscele Recovery

Review: California Tea House Tiramisu

Kari — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:22:01 +0000

This company is a family owned store that started in the local California farmer’s markets. Some of their herbal teas are California organically grown. Their website has bright, attention getting colors and they are still updating some of the sections. They have a lot of information on tea including health benefits and using tea as first aid remedies. I find this very useful and wonder why more websites don‘t include more of it. I swear by using a wet tea bag after getting bit by a mosquito – nothing stops the itching faster.
The dry blend has an aroma that makes me think of a kind of rum flavoring. It looks like little bits of sugar that could be toffee and cocoa butter slivers – and of course rooibos. After I infused the blend I enjoyed the aroma even more. I used 1 1/2 teaspoons and steeped it for 5 minutes. In the cup it smells extremely hearty. I can taste the rum and it’s really sweet. I don’t know if it tastes like tiramisu but it was yummy in a non-tea way. I think it is a little expensive compared to other tiramisu type blends at 4oz. for $21.00. It would be a good thing to drink if you wanted something different and almost calorie free.

Review: American Tea Room Special Reserve Midori Sencha

Kari — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:22:35 +0000

There was an unexpected surprise when I looked at their website- they have ever changing pictures, unique food items like jasmin petal jelly and a what’s new section. It wasn’t just another tea website. They say they strive for the finest and most spectacular teas. What happened to their blog – the last entry is from almost a year ago. They have a store in Beverly hills. It does not say how much you get for this tea for the price tag of $22.00, after looking in their FAQ it says the loose tea comes in 100 grams.
The tea smells sweet and reminds me of midori liquor and it has fresh looking sencha leaves and flower petals. After I infused the leaves the aroma was more tea like, real grassy. In the cup the color was a bright yellow green. I really enjoy drinking this tea, it has a fruity sweet aftertaste. It’s full and one of the better senchas I have tasted. Real melon flavor. This really could make a interesting cocktail. After I read the description again it clicked that I did remember thinking does it taste like a green melon or orange melon. I see it is mixed with two types of Japanese melon. I would definitely have some of this again. It is recommended for anyone who likes melon flavored green teas in which the melon doesn’t over power the green tea flavor.