darby select Send Message

While traveling through Europe I decided that my souvenirs would be to bring back tea from each country. I visited Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It was so much fun seeking out the small shops in each town and then trying to converse with them! I remember just enough german to say hello and such, but definitely not asking about tea. I tried to purchase teas local to the area so most are blends. For instance in Austria I purchased Mozarts blend.

I’ll start off by saying that I’m not a huge Rooibos fan. When picking out teas there, I mostly went by scent and what smelled good. We had limited time as we were on a tour so I couldn’t translate all the ingredients.

This tea is obviously rooibos, but I was new to tea then and didn’t really know much about it. This tea has a wonderful aroma, spicy and inticing. I’ve made this hot in the past and it has a nice spicy bite to the tongue. The clove really shines through on this blend – fortunately I’m a clove lover. The rooibos on this is high quality and doesn’t taste earthy at all!

I need to make space in the cupboard and use up some teas so I decided to try it iced. WOW! I think I like it even better this way. I think I have enough to make another 64oz pitcher of this and then it’ll be gone….or maybe a cup or two for the swaps.

I don’t see that you can order this on their website but if you’re there – pick some up!

Went to my favorite local tea room today and had a delicious chicken salad sandwich paired with this tea.

This is a small tearoom, they don’t specialize in selling tea but they have GREAT tea! I have been there 3 times now and have never had a bad tea. I’ll hopefully get around to adding my reviews of the others soon as you all need to try them!

Let me start by saying that I do not like lemon in my tea, in my water, not at all! This tea smelled so good though I just had to try it. I love ginger in tea and figured oolong would give it a twist. I don’t know how they do it but they create the right blend of lemon, ginger and oolong so that you taste all the flavors without one flavor overpowering the others. It tasted great with and without sugar….I can only imagine how wonderful it would be iced!

If you’d like to purchase – all their teas are $6.95 for 2 oz. They accept phone orders at 763-422-4160. They did tell me they are working on getting their teas on the website but they’re a small family run place so they’re dependant on the website developer.

My tongue has healed! I’m now able to try the teas from the Traveling Box! So there was enough Jasmine Coconut for one cup of tea. I saved this one as I love Jasmine. The idea of coconut added intrigued me.
Unfortunately for a jasmine lover this just did not have enough jasmine. If you are one who doesn’t like floral then you will love this jasmine. It’s soft and subtle. I think the coconut adds a creamy effect but I’m not really getting much coconut flavor from it.
This was ok, but not one I’ll buy.

Thanks again to Dinosara for this tea! It came in the most adorable little tube…I’m a sucker for cute tins and such.
So I had Mariage Freres Tibet and this back to back so that I could compare them. I really loved Tibet. This one seems lacking. It smells wonderful before and after steeping. When I sip though I just don’t get much flavor. I can’t really explain it but it seems Dinosara and I had the same reaction.
I wouldn’t purchase this one but will try making the rest iced. I think I have enough left for a 16oz cup.

THANKS to DINOSARA for this sample…eh..um…huge bag! I’ll be enjoying this tea all winter thanks to you! I really like this one. I’m not a huge fan on straight Earl Grey but love Earl Grey Creme.
I’m going to try steeping this at different temps and times and iced also to see if I can acquire additional flavor.
This first time I did 2 tsp for 16oz, 3 min steep at 208 degrees. I totally tasted the vanilla and bergamot. I did not get any jasmine or orange and I love my jasmine! So overall this is an excellent tea just based on flavor. If you’re wanting jasmine and rose to come through they didn’t for me at this steep. If I don’t get more on other steeps I might try adding a jasmine pearl or two.
I would definitely buy this tea.

Davids is definitely my new FAVORITE TEA SHOP!!!! I have not had one tea that I did not care for by them. Their flavored blacks have such a good quality leaf that they all turn out tasty.

SO…I decided to put this in my glass tumbler that I recently purchased from Mandala Tea. Filled with 208 degree water and just let it sit. Took it with me to go out and it sat for about 2 hours. Never went bitter.

The smell of this before brewing is a strong strawberry. The taste is a nice blend of strawberry and a tart rhubarb. The yogurt makes it all creamy and yummy! The nice thing is that the strawberry doesn’t taste artificial!

I would like a little more dept to this so I might try blending it with something else – maybe Red Velvet Cake. I’d really like to try the crumble one now. I do like having straight herbals on hand though so that I can just throw it in my glass tumbler and not worry about oversteeping.

MATCHA MADNESS DAY has sadly ended and I’m out of new match to try….that is, until my new order arrives!!!! I saved Lavender for last as I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. I ordered Robust flavor since I love Lavender. I probably should have started with Delicate, but I’m not one to think about things too much. This matcha smells of heavy lavender – hence ordering robust.
My first impression of this matcha… I opened up the pouch, preparing it for the tin that will keep it fresh. The small size fits perfect in the tin with a little wiggle room…enough to be able to get the measuring spoon in. I wanted to put this in a sachet under my pillow and have sweet lavender dreams. I cannot get enough of that soothing lavender scent. I had thought that this might be a good soothing matcha before bed. I’m tempted to make a facial mask from it!
I always make sure to warm up my bowl and chasen under a bit under water, sitting in the bowl. My matcha does not cool down as fast when warming the bowl. All items ready…bowl, chasen, matcha, water and my sifter!
First I mixed 2 oz of water with about 3/4 perfect teaspoon of matcha. I was doubting my decision to order Robust on this one so held back on adding a full teaspoon until I could see if I could drink it. Once that was properly mixed I added a bit of sugar (sorry, can’t do without a touch of it) and 7 oz of water. Oh boy, I couldn’t get past the first sip. This matcha was so bitter. I definitely screwed up ordering Robust. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself to go Delicate….DELICATE!!!! I couldn’t try and fix it as it was so bitter I just didn’t know what to do. I’m going to try again tomorrow and add less matcha with more water. I will love this matcha somehow!
The smell of this matcha once mixed with water stayed the same, a robust lavender. I would recommend Delicate when ordering this for the first time. I might even try it with a white matcha. The quality of the actual matcha is very good. This is definitely one you need to try for yourself.
In the current flavor I would not order this again. I’m going to play around with this more. A latte might not be the best route for lavender but iced might. If all else fails, I will lather myself in it…and smell mighty fine!
Here is how I ordered my Lavender Matcha from Red Leaf Tea:
Size: Small
Quality: Starter (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Robust
Storage: Air tight refill flat pouch – would definitely recommend purchasing a tin for your matcha to keep it fresh. I did not order one this time since I already had a tin.
To try Lavender Matcha from Red Leaf Tea visit here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/lavender-matcha.html

I’m not going to rate this right now since I feel ordering Robust was my fault, but wanted to make sure others know that this is a naturally robust flavor so order delicate.

MATCHA MADNESS DAY is almost over. Hawaiian Honey was next in line from my order of five different kinds. This matcha smells very floral. I am crazy for honey so I could not resist ordering this wonderful matcha.
My first impression of this matcha… I opened up the pouch, preparing it for the tin that will keep it fresh. The small size fits perfect in the tin with a little wiggle room…enough to be able to get the measuring spoon in. I was hit with a strong floral scent. I do love floral teas, but this was not what I was expecting. I find it very hard to detect any honey scent. Now I was worried, the floral smell did not meet my expectations. I’ll admit, it was almost a chemical smell.
I always make sure to warm up my bowl and chasen under a bit under water, sitting in the bowl. My matcha does not cool down as fast when warming the bowl. All items ready…bowl, chasen, matcha, water and my sifter! I’m officially a matcha pro now. I could not get a good froth going no matter how fast I whisked my chasen. No worries though, froth doesn’t make the match in my opinion.
First I mixed 2 oz of water with about 3/4 perfect teaspoon of matcha. I was scared of the floral so held back on adding a full teaspoon until I could see if I could drink it. Once that was properly mixed I added a bit of sugar (sorry, can’t do without a touch of it) and 7 oz of water. As with the Jasmine Matcha the matcha itself is light and vegetal. Actually, it’s probably even less vegetal than most.
The smell of this matcha once mixed with water stayed the same, in your face chemical floral smelling. I did purchase the robust so would probably recommend Delicate when ordering this for the first time. The flavor is nice and smooth! This matcha is very hard to describe for me. I still do not really get honey flavor but a floral flavor. If you took the chemical edge off this I think it would be better. The quality of the actual matcha is very good. This is definitely one you need to try for yourself.
In the current flavor I would not order this again. I would play around with this more, maybe Delicate with White Matcha. I’d love for the honey to come through more so I think I’ll try it in a latte and add honey to the top. I don’t want to add honey while hot and gum up my chasen. This could very well be good iced too!
Here is how I ordered my Hawaiian Honey Matcha from Red Leaf Tea:
Size: Large
Quality: Starter (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Robust
Storage: Air tight refill flat pouch – would definitely recommend purchasing a tin for your matcha to keep it fresh. I did not order one this time since I already had a tin.
To try Hawaiian Honey Matcha from Red Leaf Tea visit here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/hawaiian-honey-matcha.html

The third installment of my MATCHA MADNESS DAY!!! Jasmine was next in line from my order of five different kinds. This matcha smells like a nice light matcha. I really love jasmine so I had hoped that the scent would come thru, but it did not. For those that are not into a strong floral jasmine flavor, this is the jasmine matcha for you!
My first impression of this matcha was, “Where is the jasmine?” I opened up the pouch, preparing it for the tin that will keep it fresh. The small size fits perfect in the tin with a little wiggle room…enough to be able to get the measuring spoon in. I was unable to detect a “flavor” in this matcha. That of course does NOT mean it will taste bad, just not what I expected.
I always make sure to warm up my bowl and chasen under a bit under water, sitting in the bowl. My matcha does not cool down as fast when warming the bowl. All items ready…bowl, chasen, matcha, water and my sifter! I’m becoming a matcha pro now. No need to go looking for my tools, they were all handy. This matcha brings me to a place where I imagine sitting with friends passing around a matcha bowl contemplating our day. I would love to share this outdoors on a warm spring or summer day. Today is 60 degrees so I have to use my imagination.
First I mixed 2 oz of water with 1 perfect teaspoon of matcha. Once that was properly mixed I added a teeny bit of sugar and 6 oz of water. Last time I had a total of 7 oz and the matcha was bitter. After going back to my 8 oz I tried the matcha and still felt that it was a touch bitter. I added 2 more oz of water and a bit more sugar. I know it’s psychological, but I feel healthier drinking this matcha! It’s just so light and fresh and reminds me of a health food drink.
The smell of this matcha once mixed with water takes stayed the same, light and vegetal. This matcha is not available in flavor levels. If it had been, I would have order robust for sure. I am now curious how the Pure Jasmine Matcha compares to this one. I was torn between them when placing my order. The quality of the actual matcha is very good.
I’m not sure if this matcha will make my keep cupboard. Red Leaf Tea has so many flavor offerings that I think I’ll try those before going back to this matcha which doesn’t seem far off my normal matcha. My plan for the rest of Jasmine is to mix it to my health food drink which is a vanilla base. I ordered the large size so I will save a bit for next spring when I can enjoy it outside.
Here is how I ordered my Jasmine Matcha from Red Leaf Tea:
Size: Large
Quality: Believe it was Starter grade – you do not choose and option here
Flavor: You do not choose an option here
Storage: Air tight refill flat pouch – would definitely recommend purchasing a tin for your matcha to keep it fresh. I did not order one this time since I already had a tin.
To try Jasmine Matcha from Red Leaf Tea visit here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/jasmine-matcha.html

Another addition to my MATCHA MADNESS DAY!!! Pina Colada is next in line from my order of five different kinds. This matcha smells like Hawaii in tea form! I’ve only been there once and have missed it ever since. I’m sitting here in 60 degree weather drinking matcha that will take me to a warmer place.
My first impression of this matcha was heaven! I opened up the pouch, preparing it for the tin that will keep in the yummy goodness. The small size fits perfect in the tin with a little wiggle room…enough to be able to get the measuring spoon in. I could not wait to dig in to this matcha. If I had a piece of pineapple in the fridge I would have paired this matcha with it. I think that next time I will try preparing this iced and be sure to have some pineapple on hand!
I always make sure to warm up my bowl and chasen under a bit under water, sitting in the bowl. My matcha does not cool down as fast when warming the bowl. All items ready…bowl, chasen, matcha, water and my sifter! I didn’t forget it this time. I think I might need to get a matcha preparation bag so that all my tools are handy. I tend to get excited and forget a key item.
First I mixed 2 oz of water with 1 perfect teaspoon of matcha. Once that was properly mixed I added a teeny bit of sugar and 5 oz of water. I added a bit less water this time as I wanted the matcha to be thicker.
The smell of this matcha once mixed with water takes on different notes…almost a chemical smell. I did get notes of coconut and a touch of pineapple but it’s almost a fake smell now like an airfreshener. I’m surprised that the smell would change from the powdered form to when water was added. I purchased robust as I love intense flavor, maybe I went too strong on this one. The quality of the actual matcha is very good, I think it’s the flavoring that is throwing it off. I just ordered the starter/basic grade.
I’m just so sad that this flavor will not make my keep cupboard. My plan for the rest of Pina Colada is to mix it first as a latte, then try it over ice. I might try cold brewing it in the fridge, but I’m not sure you can do that with matcha. If all else fails, I will add it to my health food drink which is a vanilla base. I’m hoping that maybe it’ll be perfect one of these ways so I can add it to the keep cupboard!
Here is how I ordered my Pina Colada Matcha from Red Leaf Tea:
Size: Small
Quality: Starter (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Robust
Storage: Air tight refill flat pouch – would definitely recommend purchasing a tin for your matcha to keep it fresh. I did not order one this time since I already had a tin.
To try Pina Colada Matcha from Red Leaf Tea visit here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/pina-colada-matcha.html