Posted in Reviews

The Persimmon Tree® Tea Company: Mandarin Cream

Dry Leaves
Packaging

Tasting Notes

Tea, Wet Leaves, Green Tea CakeThis tea is quite decadent. Dried leaf aroma smells exactly the same as the way it tastes, which I always love. This is like drinking a nice, hot version of vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet, but less sweet. The first taste is of a strong vanilla, then it ebbs a little bit into some floral fruit flowers, a bit of oak and rum, then comes back to the creaminess. Sadly, I think the oolong is a little lost in this blend, but it still tastes very good. I don’t think I could drink this too often since it is a heavier tea, but I have brewed it up several times and gulped it down before writing any notes!

This time I ate it with a nice piece of green tea castella cake while relaxing after a long day of work. I’ve had it a few other times, including on a recent visit from my sister, Ariel.

Flavors: Butter, Cream, Rum, Vanilla

Description

Our Mandarin Cream tea awakens the senses with oolong loose tea leaves, hints of cream and a stimulating citrus finish. Blended with lemon myrtle, marigolds, and natural essence of vanilla, Mandarin Cream is a rich and smooth tea experience with an utterly heavenly aroma.

Available through The Persimmon Tree Tea Company | Facebook

Disclaimer: I was given these teas by The Persimmon Tree to review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

The Persimmon Tree® Tea Company: White Guava

Dry Leaves
Ready for Drinking
Brewing

Tasting Notes

The first smell I get when about to sip this tea reminds me of trail mix with dried, juicy fruit. The taste itself is more mild and clean. The taste opens with guava and then leads into the white peony. The aftertaste is a mix of strawberry and guava bouncing back and forth and finishing with strawberry.

Flavors: Guava, Strawberry

Description

White Guava tea brews a light infusion with a beautiful, rich scent and a delicate tropical flavor. It comprises an exotic blend of white peony loose-leaf tea leaves, strawberries, ginger, and natural flavors, and as with all of our white teas, White Guava tea prepares nicely both hot and iced.

Available through The Persimmon Tree Tea Company | Facebook

Disclaimer: I was given these teas by The Persimmon Tree to review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Single Origin Teas: Candied Chestnut

Dry Leaves
Brewed Tea
Wet Leaves

Tasting Notes

The dry leaves smell of rum and sugared nuts (think of those roasted nut stands in Asia).

The smell of the brewed tea is of roasted nuts and smokiness with a hit of sweetness at the end. The liquor is a light amber. The sip starts buttery and sweet and finishes with a woodsy smoke reminiscent of tobacco. The finish is brought back to an earthy sweetness.

I enjoy this tea and its complexity. It is great as an “oolong” because black tea would be too astringent (it is a black tea made in an oolong style). This tea borders on being almost too astringent, but it pulls itself back from the edge with the sweetness and smokiness. From the leaf I thought it would be much sweeter, but it is actually quite well balanced. I could see this becoming more indulgent with sugar and cream, but I like it just the way it is.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Brown Sugar, Chestnut, Earth, Rum, Tobacco

Description

Candied Chestnut is one of our holiday teas! Made with candied chestnut pieces on a black tea base, this sweet tea is perfect for the season (or any time of the year). Made using marron glace pieces, French chestnuts that undergo a candying process, our Candied Chestnut tea is one of a kind.

This Chinese black tea is made in an oolong style. The tea brings out a delicious nutty taste many people associate with an oolong (despite the fact that this tea was fully oxidized)!

Available through Single Origin Teas (Limited Edition).

Packaging

Disclaimer: This tea was sent to me by Single Origin Teas. All notes & opinions are my own.

Tea at Sea: Mountain Organic Indonesian Green Tea

teaatsea_green

One of the great things about the Steepster community is not only keeping tracking of the teas I have in my cupboard but also finding out about new teas and tea companies.

One of the new companies I’ve discovered is Tea At Sea, a Canadian loose leaf tea company with a nautical theme with offices in Vancouver & Montreal. They source their tea directly from the farmers so that they can guarantee the quality and freshness of their teas.

Tea At Sea was nice enough to send me a sample of their Mountain Organic Indonesian Green Tea which is “grown in the Halimun Mountains of Indonesia at 800m above Sea-Level [and] treated with natural spring water and fresh mountain air. The lightly oxidized tea leaves have a seaweed aroma, slight fruity taste of superior freshness.”

This tea is delightfully smooth and pleasant. The taste is very clean and smells sweet and vegetal. The sip opens with sweet grassiness and finishes with roasted rice. It has a nice, creamy mouth-feel and reminds me more of an oolong than a green. The aftertaste brings it back to a nice sophisticated green tea, similar to a green tea bread. It has no bitterness or astringency. I’m sad that I was only able to get two cups out of this sample package since this is a great tea.

While drinking I picked up on flavors of  baked bread, grass, minerals, plant stems, and roasted barley.

Image from tea-at-sea.com
Image from tea-at-sea.com

The Persimmon Tree® Tea Company: Wellness Blend & Green Caramel

Tins
Leaves for Wellness Blend & Green Caramel

persimmon_logoCheck out my other post about Lychee Burst & Jasmine Passion from The Persimmon Tree® Tea Company to learn more about the company and their teas.

You can head on over to their Facebook or website to learn more about them, or browse their teas.

Leaves

Wellness Blend Tea

Designed to do exactly what the title says, this blend of organic herbs, fruits, and spices works well as pick-me-up. Invigorating and life affirming, Wellness Blend combines the best flavors, herbs, textures, and tastes into an excellent elixir. Add flavor and wellness to your senses, your body, and your mind.

This tea has a nice balance of sweetness, acid, fruitiness, and spice. The tartness of the fruit and the spiciness of the herbs balance each other out, and the licorice keeps it bright and clean tasting. The combination of flavors is warming yet calming at the same time. The use of green roobois worried me since I don’t like red roobois, but this added to the fresh taste and to balance out the other flavoring a to keep it from being too potently spiced. The roobois is also more hearty and less vegetal than a green tea and can hold up to a longer brewing.

It is great to have a warm cup of this before bed time to unwind, especially since it has no caffeine.

Leaves

Green Caramel Tea

Our Green Caramel features roasted and steamed green loose-leaf tea leaves, rooibos and sweet caramel pieces. This low-caffeine treat combines just the right amount of body with the richness of the creamy caramel flavor. Enjoy on its own, or with a sprinkle of sugar as a low-calorie dessert.

For all of the ingredients in the description of this tea, I was expecting a sweet, burnt, and roasty cup. I got a clean grassy green tea with a subtle sweetness at the back. The second steeping of the leaves was a little more sweet. I did read on Steepster that others put more than the typical amount of leaves when brewing and preferred those results. Perhaps I will try over-leafing and see what that brew tastes like. 

Disclaimer: I was given these teas by The Persimmon Tree to review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.