Arbor Teas

Jasmine teas all taste the same to me and this is no different. Dark. Floral. Brisk. Nothing new. Nothing different. And not for me.

Check out my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2019/01/25/jasmine-from-arbor-teas/

I got this in my Sips By box and was thrilled, as it’s been on my wishlist here for like 5 years. I just never got around to trying it.

And it’s exactly what I was afraid of. Another reputable tea company trying to create Thai Tea naturally. The spices just never come out recognizable. All I can taste in this is very loud cardamom and maybe a tiny bit of vanilla. It’s unfortunately nothing like what you would get in a Thai restaurant.

Also, I want to mention that this tea is super granulated and fine, so your spoon is going to get a dense, hefty amount. I know this is to keep it from being watered down too much by the milk, but it’s still something to consider during preparation.

This was a sipdown from yesterday, but I thought I’d write a proper review of it now that I remembered to look on the empty bag and find which company it was from.

I’m a very big kukicha fan (and houjicha too) because I love the sweet, woody, toasted grain flavour. This wasn’t a great kukicha as a few of the cups were bitter. It was about 50/50 on the bitter vs not bitter over the 6 or so cups I made. I still enjoyed it, but do remember this needs a higher steep temperature. Steeping at lower temps (80-90 C) will get you weak flavoured tea or tea with flavour that is bitter. Go with more leaf, hot water, and a moderate steep time for the best flavour.

This is a pretty basic black tea, very suitable for sugar and milk. Two infusions is all it can do.

The smell of this mixture is so comforting, like a potpourri that I had as a child. The taste is more mild than I expected from the description. I certainly didn’t get a “wham” of chili. There is a small buzz of it as an aftertaste, if anything. I can imagine this may be pleasant iced.

Buttery and refined. A very subtle green tea.