Indie Teas

Today I am reviewing Teaflection's Japanese Sencha Green Tea. I've never tried Teaflection's tea before so I'm excited. Sencha tea is the most common type of tea consumed in Japan. About 80% of all tea produced in Japan is sencha tea.Image provided by Wikipedia It's typically a very good daily tea without much fuss.

The Nose and Color: The color looks like a greenish yellow typically of most green teas and smells a lot like seaweed. The leaves are about medium size and aren't too big. They really unfurl a lot once you steep the tea. I like the aroma of the leaves and it's very calming. Nothing overpowering and just a very simple smell.

Tasting: This tea is very basic and is a classic japanese sencha. If you want a classic green tea taste then this is a good tea to go for. It's slightly astringent on the back end but overall it's very smooth.

Steep Instructions: 4 teaspoons per 3/4 cup at about 200F for 1-2 minutes.

Price: $14.95 for a 1/2 pound bag (as of this writing it's currently on sale for $7.90).

Summary: 85 out of 100. I enjoyed this classic sencha and it was nice for my palate. There wasn't anything that was really overwhelming so this would make a really good everyday tea if you love japanese green teas.

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by Teaflection

I'm trying out Zhi Tea's Tropical Green Iced Tea out today. This is my first time trying any of Zhi Tea's products so I'm excited about it. Image provided by Zhi Tea

The Nose and Color: This tea smells great with a nice fruity component. This green tea is sencha based and has real pineapple, papaya, rose petals, calendula and safflowers which make it both smell great and look great. The leaves are beautiful to look at and really open up after steeping.

Tasting: This tea is perfect on ice for a hot summer day. I love its fruity flavoring with a nice relaxing green tea like sencha. I can really taste the papaya and pineapple and it makes for a great steep cold. I definitely think the ice helps open up the flavoring even more and I would recommend it more as an iced tea then a hot one.

Steep Instructions: 2 teaspoons per 12oz (double for iced tea) at 185F for 3 minutes.

Price: $12.50 for a 3.6oz tin.

Summary: 92 out of 100. If you are looking for a great iced tea then I highly recommend this one for hot summer days. The tropical fruits like papaya make it perfect for a hot day. This tea screams summer so it's perfect for this time of year.

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by Zhi Tea

Today I will be reviewing my first ever rooibos tea. Rooibos is new to my palate so I'm pretty excited. Rooibos tea is an herbal tea that hails from South Africa, the site of this year's World Cup (Go USA!), and it's known as red tea to some. Rooibos in Afrikaans means "red bush" and comes from Aspalathus linearis plant. Rooibos has increased in popularity in many Western countries because it's caffeine free and has a lot of antioxidants. This tea is from a company called Suffuse Tea that has a lot of great information on their website. I recommend checking it out.

The Nose and Color: The aroma of the tea is very different than anything I'm used to. It smells very "bushy" and almost medicinal in a good way. I also smell a nice earthy, dirt component. The color is a nice reddish brown and the leaves kind of look like ground up tobacco.

Tasting: I must say rooibos is a very interesting flavor. In some ways it reminds me of a very light pu-erh and has more of a raw earthy side. This tea tastes very bushy and earthy. It's a nice interesting flavor that is very unique. The finish is great and some slightly dry undetones for me on the finish. 

Steep Instructions: 1 pack at boiling for 2 minutes

Price: $9.99 for a 24-sachet pack.

Summary: 89 out of 100. This tea tasted great and I enjoyed trying rooibos for the first time. If you've never tried rooibos then I highly recommend it to help develop your palate. 

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by Suffuse Tea

Adagio just released a brand new Maestro Collection on April 10th. The Maestro collection consists of 8 teas that I will be reviewing in the coming days. Read my first seven reviews here: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7). This tea is a black tea from the yunnan province in china and the last tea in the collection that I will be reviewing.

The Nose and Color: The leaves of this tea feel amazing in your hand. They feel little silky smooth curls. The leaves are really unique and I've never seen anything quite like it. The color is a vibrant golden red like many high quality black teas. The nose immediately hit me with a strong pepper component. The smell reminded me of Rishi Tea's China Breakfast which also was a tea with a very strong aroma.Image provided by Steepster

Tasting: The taste isn't as strong as I expected. Like most teas in this collection the different components of the tea are very subtle. I can taste the pepper notes as well as some leather undertones. This tea doesn't have any astringency and it has a very fully body. Adagio says that as the liquor cools you can taste sweet potatoes which I would have never thought of unless they mentioned it but they're right. I do taste a slight sweet potato component which is very unique flavor that I've never found in any other tea.

Steep Instructions: 3g/8oz at 212 F for 3-5 minutes

Price: $29.00 for sampler set.

Summary: 94 out of 100. I really enjoyed this tea from start to finish. The leaves are so unique and the taste and aroma are there to match it. I highly recommend buying this tea.

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by Adagio Teas

Adagio just released a brand new Maestro Collection on April 10th. The Maestro collection consists of 8 teas that I will be reviewing in the coming days. Read my first six reviews here: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6). This tea is an oolong tea from the Fujian province of China and comes from the Wuyi mountains surrounded by rocks. 

The Nose and Color: The leaves are loosely twisted and look fully oxidized like a black tea. After steeping, the leaves really open up and reveal that the leaves aren't too oxidized and still maintain some green and brown colors. The nose is pretty strong off the leaves but not so much off the tea itself. The most notable thing about the nose is the roasted, almost burnt, aroma.Image provided by Steepster

Tasting: This tea has a strong roasted flavor to it but I detect some slight sweet notes as well which isn't something I expected. This tea has a really unique taste that's hard to describe. Adagio says it's like wet stone but I liken it more to burnt stone. The taste of the tea is fairly complex and I liked it to help develop my palate.

Steep Instructions: 3 grams at 205 F for 3-4 minutes

Price: $29.00 for sampler set.

Summary: 89 out of 100. This tea had a bold flavor and a lot of different layers. Personally, it wasn't something that really suited my palate but it was most certainly a very good tea. I recommend trying it out.

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by Adagio Teas

Adagio just released a brand new Maestro Collection on April 10th. The Maestro collection consists of 8 teas that I will be reviewing in the coming days. Read my first five reviews here: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5). This tea is a black tea from the Anhui region of China where Keemun teas are particularly famous.Image provided by Steepster

The Nose and Color: The tea leaves themselves have notes of wood and chocolate. It has a very strong earthy smell to it. It also smells a little bit like black when steeped. The color is a great reddish brown but not as dark like the Pu erh I tried in the collection. I really like the color a lot. This tea is a very vibrant red. It has a golden ring around it which typically indicates a high quality black tea. The leaves are so thin and small that it makes me think its machine processed but in reality their not.

Tasting: The first thing I notice is the gunpowder-like finish. It's very nice and a definite surprise. The chocolate aroma doesn't come through as strongly as I expected but the complexities are great. The pepper undertones are great and the smoky finish is not too strong which I liked.

Food Pairing: The bold smoky flavor and light pepper components could go well with a great steak. 

Price: $29.00 for sampler set.

Summary: 93 out of 100. The complexities in this tea was wonderful and I definitely would recommend buying this tea.

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by Adagio Teas

Adagio just released a brand new Maestro Collection on April 10th. The Maestro collection consists of 8 teas that I will be reviewing in the coming days. Read my first three reviews here: (1) (2) (3) (4). This tea is an oolong tea from the Fujian province in China. Ironically, the second tea I ever reviewed was an Adagio Ti Kuan Yin. Like I stated in that original review this oolong usually resembles a green tea but without the grassy flavor of many green teas.

The Nose and Color: This tea has a very pale color. It looks like a yellowish green tea. Nice calming smell.Image provided by Steepster Smells like the original Ti Kuan Yin I review but not as bold. I suspect this will have much more subtle flavorings to it.

Tasting: It's very smooth from start to finish. Almost silky in a way. It's definitely more complex than the other Ti Kuan Yin I reviewed. I taste a slight sweetness in the mid palate that I like a lot. Multiple steepings are highly recommended to really bring out a lot of the flavors. Like I said before, the flavor isn't that strong but it keeps revealing new things after each steep wonderfully.

Food Pairing: Sushi would pair well with this tea to help accent the more subtle components. 

Price: $29.00 for sampler set.

Summary: 91 out of 100. Slightly better than the last Ti Kuan Yin and I really enjoyed this tea after multiple steepings.  

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by Adagio Teas

Adagio just released a brand new Maestro Collection on April 10th. The Maestro collection consists of 8 teas that I will be reviewing in the coming days. Read my first three reviews here: (1) (2) (3).  Pu-erh tea is a post-fermented tea which means it has undergone exposure to air and has been aged. Pu-erhs are the only teas that can be aged and highly aged pu-erhs can become more expensive over time. Adagio considers their pu-erhs as black teas but I disagree. I believe they are in a class all their own even though many times they do have features similar to black teas. Image from Adagio

The Nose and Color: As expected, this pu-erh has a very strong fermented smell with a vibrant reddish black color. The color looks great and it looks like an even darker version of most black teas. The nose consists of a earthy, dirt-like smell. It doesn't sound that appealing but it is actually fairly unique.

Tasting: It has some nice wood notes and I can really taste the earthy flavorings. Also, it has a surprisingly smooth finish. Pu-erhs have a very interesting taste but I believe this one may be a little too strong for me. I would recommend steeping it for a little less than advertised. 

Food Pairing: I love having pu-erhs with some nice dark chocolate. I find they typically go great together and I highly recommend it.  

Price: $29.00 for sampler set.

Summary: 87 out of 100. This pu-erh was good but it was just a tad strong for me. I usually like more softer pu-erhs but this was still great to help develop my palate. Pu-erhs aren't for everyone so if you intend to try it out I recommend just starting with a sampler.

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by Adagio Teas

Adagio just released a brand new Maestro Collection on April 10th. The Maestro collection consists of 8 teas that I will be reviewing in the coming days. Read my first two reviews here: (1) (2).  Adagio's Formosa Pouchong, like the Formosa Ali Shan, is an oolong tea from Taiwan which is famous for their oolongs.

The Nose and Color: The tea leaves are a beautiful dark green. This oolong is very similar to a green tea in how little it is oxidized. The color of the tea is extremely light. I was surprised by how pale green it looks. It's almost the transparent color of water and most likely will be a light taste. I also detect some slight floral hints similar to the jasmine pearl in this collection.

Tasting: This tastes like a very light version of the formosa ali shan. This flavor profile makes sense as they are both from the mountains of Taiwan. It also has a similar taste to some green teas. A second steeping is highly recommended. Adagio says it will fully unfurl the leaves and the floral notes will really come out. After trying multiple steepings, I agree that the floral notes really flourish but the green tea flavor is lost a little bit. 

Food Pairing: I wouldn't pair this with any food because of how light this tea is. I wouldn't risk anything overpowering the flavor of this tea.

Price: $29.00 for sampler set.

Summary: 88 out of 100. This tea was a little too light for me. It tasted fine and I liked the slight floral hints but it just didn't suit my palate enough. I recommend trying it and making your own opinion of it.

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by Adagio Teas

Today I am review PG Tips' bagged black tea. They are known as the UK's Number 1 most consumed tea brand and are owned by Unilever (owners of Lipton). PG Tips is set to make a big push into the United States soon. This tea comes in pyramid shaped bags to allow more water-flow in comparison to traditional rectangular bags. Also, this tea I'm trying comes in loose leaf form as well. Image provided by PG Tips

The Nose and Color: With a first whiff the tea smells harsh and bitter. The color looks good with a nice dark brown hue with a slight golden ring. This tea smells very strong and reminds me of Rishi Tea's China Breakfast. I also opened up the bag to get a better look at the leaves and it looks like "dust" tea which is what I expected. 

Tasting: It's got a strong astringency and bitterness to it. It's very bland and has no real strong flavor profile. I could not see myself drinking this daily without milk and sugar. The finish is particularly bitter and leaves a lingering taste on your tongue that I do not like. 

Price: $4.00 for a 40 count.

Summary: 75 out of 100. This was a bland average tea that tastes like most other bagged teas. I could not taste a difference between this and Lipton. I do not recommend trying it.

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by PG Tips.