7 Tasting Notes
Huge, full, twisted leaves of Taiwanese green oolong with just the right amount of succulent mango flavor. Soft, creamy mouthfeel and chewy texture that stands up to multiple brews (the mango flavor starts to fade after a couple brews, but you’re left with a pretty tasty pouchong after that.)
Preparation
I’ve always been a fan of chamomile blends, and this is one of the best I’ve ever tasted. It’s sweet with a faint mint-like aroma and has a pleasantly syrupy liqueur. (No sweetener necessary at all.) The chamomile blooms are huge, and all the ingredients seem to be of excellent quality. This brew left me relaxed and refreshed.
Preparation
Pomegranate flavor pairs surprisingly well with the slightly smoky, vegetal Tikuanyin oolong base. The texture is very silky and buttery, and the pomegranate lingers pleasantly on the tongue. The flavoring has a good balance with the tea; I am always gladdened when I find flavored teas that still taste like proper tea.
Preparation
I chose this as my last tea of a stressful work day, and I’m really glad I did. I’m not normally a big fan of jasmine tea and would not have ever thought to pair it with vanilla, but the smell of the leaves intrigued me enough to try it. It is a bit like drinking warm cream soda (albeit less sweet), and the aroma is superbly relaxing. It brews up very smooth and while I do taste more vanilla than jasmine, the vanilla tastes very natural and pleasant. I could see drinking this as a late afternoon tea very often.
Preparation
A very underrated tea in my opinion. Excellent toasty flavor and full body thanks to the matcha. Takes a splash of soy milk very well, which turns the liqueur a beautiful mint-green. You can even eat the beans and rice after brewing (they’re very tasty!)
Preparation
How well does the Genmaicha taste show up?
I’d say you get toasty rice flavor as the forerunner. I’m not sure you even get much flavor from the beans themselves, actually. However, the matcha does give it a richer green tea flavor than one might expect from genmaicha.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this tea. This was one of the first teas from Teavana I tried, and I was worried the spices would simply overpower the tea. The brew was light yellow and had a very mild taste with subtle spices. Surprising indeed, considering how much “stuff” is in the tea itself.
Preparation
Amazingly subtle strawberry flavor that tastes totally natural. The leaves are large and unfurl beautifully while brewing. (I steeped this in a gaiwan to give the leaves a lot of room to move.) The white tea itself is very mild, but only slightly behind the strawberry taste. Brewed well a second and third time.
