Shanti Tea

From my It’s All About the Leaf review, available at: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/1761/tea-review-shanti-tea-spiderweb-oolong/

Spider webs conjure up ethereal visions of delicate pale films of almost nothing. Wisps of white that disappear in the sunlight. Shanti’s Spiderweb oolong initially seems strangely misnamed. The leaves are short, black and twisted, but very tangible and more like spiders than their webs. My sample didn’t have much aroma dry, but once steeped, it almost smelled more like grapes than oolong. Or ice wine. Very sweet. Again, not a quality widely associated with spider webs.

Once brewed up, the liquor is a light tan. The tea doesn’t have much of the typical oolong flavor of other teas, but it’s got a pleasant lightly tannic flavor, and a lovely sweetness on the finish that reminds me again of grapes, or on subsequent steeps of sweet lemons. There’s also a malty overtone to the brew. It’s got a thin, tannic mouth-feel, and here’s where the spider web name is applicable. The tea’s flavor dissipates quickly, leaving just the hint of sweetness, and the knowledge that you’ve just had some nice tea.

Drinking a big glass this morning iced. It’s so nice and refreshing; perfect summer tea. There is a slightly herb-y aftertaste that I’m getting more from it cold than I got warm, but it’s lovely.

From my It’s All About the Leaf Review, found at http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/2092/tea-review-shanti-tea-lemonade/

There’s a smell that you get from cold lemonade on a hot day. It’s the smell of sweet refreshement, a tang of sour and a scoop of sweet. It’s a smell of people outside at a country fair, sweating in unison, but happy to be there because of the gorgeous day, the riot of color and activity around them and the ice cold glass in their hand.

This tea – has that smell. The leaf for this herbal tea smells more lemony than lemons – it smells like the distilled essence of lemonade. And not just lemonade – but outdoor, perfect refreshement on a special occasion lemonade.

The flavor isn’t the same, it’s not lemonade, but it’s really good in its own right. It’s more lemon grass than lemonade, and has a warmer, mellower taste that the crisp, lemonade tang. It’s lemony, smooth and naturally sweet.

Hot, this tea is soothing and relaxing. Iced, this would be a summertime refresher. This is an amazing tea. Lemon-lovers, TRY THIS TEA.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me this one!

This is pretty good. The orange flavors are strong but the black tea is the dominate flavor. Sweet, flavorful, and enjoyable. The orange especially comes through in the aftertaste, it’s like a drop of freshly squeezed orange juice on my tongue. Nice!

I liked it. It is pleasant and flavourful.

This has an unusual taste for a green tea, at least the ones that I am familiar with. I really like the way it smells. It doesn’t quite taste the way it smells, though there are notes that are reminiscent of it. My friend says the smell reminds him of Irish Breakfast tea, which makes sense because it is a Darjeeling style tea, (Darjeeling tea is usually one of the components of Irish Breakfast tea.) I liked the second infusion better than the first infusion. For some reason I liked the blend of flavours better.

It had a strong flavour and a bite to it, reminding me of Jasmine tea. It is organic and fair trade, like the rest of the Shanti teas. It was as nice cold as hot.

I’m revisiting this tea because TeaEqualsBliss sent me a bit more of it in the last box that she sent me. (Thanks sister!) Here is my full-length review of this tea: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/02/25/white-lemon-from-shanti-tea-2/

It tastes as good as I remember, although, I did slightly oversteep it and the bitterness of the lemon sort of peeks out with the longer steep time.

I think that either Shanti Tea has discontinued this tea, though, or at the very least, they’re currently sold out of it, because I can’t find it on their website. It’s a shame, because even with the slight bitter edge to it, it is still quite pleasant.

Yum!

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.

This is one of the best lemon flavored teas I’ve yet to encounter. The lemon flavor is bright and vibrant but doesn’t overwhelm the crisp flavor of the white tea. It is a perfectly balanced cuppa! Lovely!

Today I decided to try this as a latte. It’s pretty good as a latte, but I think I like it better non-latte… although as a latte I get a better froth. The Acai creeps up in the finish with the latte. I like it. I may also have to try it as a smoothie, and perhaps with some orange juice.

This is pretty good. I am not a big fan usually of Acai, but, when done properly, I like it fine, and here, it’s done well. The Acai is more of a subtle background note. The flavor of the berry cuts through some of the bitter notes of the Matcha which leaves a very nice, sweet flavor.

Nice! I didn’t get a whole lot of froth from it, but other than that, I like it.

Thanks to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me this!

Wow! This is definitely strong!

Malty and delicious. Very nice with a little milk. A nice caramel-y undertone to it, the milk adds a little creaminess to the malty, caramel-y character. Yum! An excellent tea to get me going.

I forgot to add: This song came to mind as I started sipping this tea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMFuc5mhxIc

And… thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me this tea!

A nice Mouthwatering green tea! Lovely! Mellow and relaxing! Smells more chewier than any other green that I can remember smelling this way. A little buttery, a little roasted, a LOT of lovely flavor!

Not as aromatic as my last experience but still as tasty! See previous notes :)

HAIR BAND, anyone!?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrPJgnOXjy8
Wait by White Lion

Why does this have a song/tea association for me, you ask? Well, when I first read the package I thought it said WHITE LION not WHITE LEMON…lol

Anyhow…
Dry this smells a little like Lemon Pledge and White Tea. Very Clean.

Post infusion…gentle lemon and white tea.

Tastes wonderful! Of course, I like lemon, so that helps! The White Tea is PERFECT and the Lemon just makes it even more tempting!

1 cup hot and another cold! LOVED both! Sending the rest to LiberTEAs

I’m sampling a little of this before sending the rest to my SororiTEA Sister!

This is very nice and pleasant. It’s pretty mild. The flavors DOES come out more as it cools. The aroma is AWESOME! YUM!

WOW! This has an interesting and unexpected taste. It does have a rare tasting type of astringency and that is unlike any other and I think it’s yummy! It’s slightly woodsy but very bold. It’s a bit sweeter especially on the back end. There are also mysterious floral hints too!

Very nice tea!

This is a mild black tea. I did not really get the mango flavor, but overall not a bad tea.

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea!

This is really delicious. The rose and the white tea unite deliciously in this cup – creating a very luxurious and relaxing beverage. The rose is sweet and the white tea is soft and fresh. A wonderful combination.

A nice standard Green Rooibos…a very little sweetness paired with a little nutty-vegetal taste but quite smooth.

Drinking only Rooibos and Honeybush for the rest of today…

The liqueur is a deep amber tone. There are a couple of leaves left in the cup. There is a smell of cooked grass, sort of like leeks, and a soft hint of caramel in the smell.

This doesn’t seem to be a super complex set of tones to this tea. That doesn’t make this a bad tea though, it is just a sort of basic tea.

The tea has a warm flavor to it. The feeling of baking is in the flavor of tea. It tastes of an oven, just after you have pulled bread out of it. There is also a hint of jasmine and rosemary. There is also a hint of sweet grass, sort of like someone lightly glazed the grass with honey. I really do love the taste of this tea. It is straight forward and simple, light, but not so light that I can’t taste the flavors. It is a nice balance for a green tea.

For more information and photos see below.

http://teasnobbery.com/2010/12/10/tea-review-dragonwell-from-shanti-tea/

This is a delicate tea and can be over brewed easily.

The liqueur is a light amber color, almost looking like it has no flavoring to it. It smells floral and fruity. The flower smells like rose but it tastes like jasmine. There is a lightly earthen tone at the back of the smell that is similar to many black darjeelings.

The taste is started off with a overtone of jasmine that slowly introduces the taste of fruit. It is sort of like a low roasted fruit taste though, like a low roasted pear or red apple. As you hit the end of the tea flavor it starts to hit a roasted nut and rice tone.

For more information and pictures see below.

http://teasnobbery.com/2010/11/19/tea-review-darjeeling-green-by-shanti-tea/