Choice Organic Teas

Steep Information:
Water: ~500ml at 175°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes http://steep.it/2%20minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: slight jasmine, vegetal
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet jasmine
Flavor: jasmine (floral), sweet, end of sip is vegetal
Body: Light
Aftertaste: slightly perfume/chemical
Liquor: translucent light green

Not bad, not the best jasmine green I’ve had, but a good teabag choice.

Rating: 3/4 leaves

blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2012/12/19/choice-organic-teas-teabag-green-tea-jasmine-green/

Steep Information:
Water: ~500ml at 212°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: a little over 6 minutes http://steep.it/
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: peppermint
Steeped Tea Smell: peppermint
Flavor: licorice (root), peppermint, sweet
Body: Light
Aftertaste: licorice root
Liquor: translucent murkey yellow-green

Let it sit at 6 for another minute or so, as it was mostly peppermint then

Usually not a huge fan of licorice in tea, although I love chewing the roots directly, but this was a nice blend!

Post-Steep Additives:

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2012/12/19/choice-organic-teas-teabag-herbal-tisane-sweet-liquorice-mint/

Steep Information:
Water: ~500ml at 175°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: a little over 4 minutes (was aiming 3 and got distracted)
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: floral, paper
Steeped Tea Smell: paper
Flavor: paper, chemical
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: vegetal, floral
Liquor: translucent yellow-green

bleh

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2012/12/19/choice-organic-teas-teabag-green-tea-oothu-garden-green/

Steep Information:
Water: ~500ml at 212°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: a little over 7 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: chemical, hint of chamomile
Steeped Tea Smell: chamomile, honey
Flavor: slightly tangy (citrus), chamomile, with a finish of berry (hibiscus)
Body: Light
Aftertaste: sweet
Liquor: translucent yellow

Not a flat chamomile, interesting depth but perhaps a little heavy on the citrus?

Rating: 2/4 leaves

blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2012/12/19/choice-organic-teas-teabag-herbal-tisane-chamomile-citrus/

Steep Information:
Water: 212°F
Steep Time: a little over 4 minutes at Steep.It
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: strong citrus
Steeped Tea Smell: bakey, citrus, sweet
Flavor: bakey, ending with citrus
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: citrus, astringent
Liquor: barely translucent dark brown-red

An earl grey, not a particularly unique example or anything but not a bad cuppa

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2012/12/19/choice-organic-teas-teabag-black-tea-earl-grey/

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: barely noticeable
After water is first poured: hints of mintiness
At end of steep: brighter hints of mint
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: light green
Staple? Type yes, brand No
Time of day preferred: Any
Taste:
first notes: flat mint fuzzyness
As it cools? starts to leave a fuzzy lingering note in the mouth
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Slightly, same fuzzy notes

Bagged

Aroma when Dry: woody, warm, faintly sweet
After water is first poured: warm, earthy, woody.
At end of steep: woody, sweet (eastern) chewy.
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: light earthy brown

Staple? Has great possibility, I do love it but prefer loose leaf, so looking into other brands.
Time of day preferred: Any.
Taste:
first notes: twiggy, buttery, smooth.
As it cools? notes warm, bitters slightly, gets twiggier.
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No.
Lingers? Yes, with warm, sweet (eastern) earthy smoothness
Also great cold.

It has hibiscus and rosehips, lemongrass, and a surprisingly nice bit of peppermint, all of which I love. A nice medium-strength herbal tea. Sour, in a good way.

I’ve been drinking this on occasion, but, I just realized that I’ve not logged it even once!

This is a really good rooibos chai. As I’ve said on many occasions, I’m not big on rooibos, but, I do enjoy organic rooibos, and I did at one time have a very tasty rooibos chai blend that I crafted using a similar recipe of spices that I used for my Masterpiece Chai. It’s been so long since I’ve had that rooibos chai though, that I would have a hard time saying how this one stands up to that. This one IS good though.

It’s warm and nicely spiced without tasting too spicy. The ginger and pepper sit off in the background, providing a warmth to the cup but it isn’t an aggressive, peppery chai. Nice and warm when it is COLD outside!

Not one of my favorites. It smelled sweeter than it tasted, and I prefer a sweeter rooibos. Luckily it was part of a sample pack I picked up and I don’t have a whole box left over in my pantry.

I haven’t had other decaf earl greys. This is what I use to make the water at my job drinkable (otherwise it reeks of chlorine). A mild earl grey. For some reason, I think I like this better than the caffeinated version, perhaps because the tea overwhelms the bergamot less in this version.

I got this for my boyfriend, who really doesn’t love the taste of regular tea. He likes the roasted, sweet taste of this, and it’s good with a little honey. A gentle pick-me up, easy to make, good for a fall morning.

Steep Information:
Water: 185°F
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell:sweet, floral
Steeped Tea Smell: floral, vegetal
Flavor: vegetal, sweet
Body: Light
Aftertaste: grassy
Liquor: translucent yellow brown

Blog: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4732204343630518234#allposts

I’m almost finished with a cup of this. It sort of smelled like lima beans before I started to sip it. The first taste was a tad bitter and grassy but as it cooled it did get a bit better. It was a little vegetal but still a slight bitter grassy taste with a bit of sweetness trying to come thru. The color of this one shocked me as it was a orange-yellow-brown color…different from most green teas I have had. It’s pretty decent for a bagged green and a decaf bagged green at that but I wish the bitter grassy taste was a bit more muted. Not bad tho.

It smells like tea.
It’s from Japan.
I watched some youtube videos on Japanese Tea Ceremonies and decided to try this.
I like it.
No milk, honey, lemon needed.

12/6/2012 – I have a couple of bags left, I don’t think I would buy this one again, but the name oothu oothu oothu name sounded strange and exotic, just the way I love my women.

BB (Bagged Bonanza) #3 Tea for today:

I’ve had this one for a while and I thought today was the perfect day to try it. Not only because of my BB but because I could use the spices as I heard many of them are good for soothing tummy issues.

This smells like a sweet yet slight spicy chai post-steep.

The color is a nice rich dark red-brown.

The taste is sweet from the rooibos and slightly spicy from the spices. This is really nice! REALLY NICE – for a bagged chai! Probably one of my fave bagged chai’s as well as one of my fave rooibos chai in a bag, too!

I could see myself drinking this often! This one surprised me! If you see this on a shelf at a good price – give it a whirl!

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for a sample of this tea!
This bagged green is pleasant. Nothing about it really stands out; it’s mildly vegetal and a bit sweet. This is my first tea from India as far as I can remember, so that’s kinda cool!

I am revisiting this tea this evening, mostly because last time when I drank it the tea had cooled to the point of being cold, and I wanted to try it hot. It is much better hot, I think, although it’s nice cold too (I think it would have been even better with maybe a thin slice of lemon or lime!)

Served hot, I notice more buttery tones to the tea, and I like that. It is also less astringent when hot.

I’ve enjoyed this one both ways – hot and cold – but I like it best hot.

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.

I started brewing this right before I stepped outside to get the mail. I came inside just as the tea had finished brewing, so I removed the bag, and started to look through the mail. I got some tea (yay, Matcha!) and then some rather unsettling news. So, I found myself stressing out about this, and totally distracted from my freshly brewed cup of tea. I didn’t even take a tester sip of it to see if I needed to add a pinch of sugar to it (I always test the tea, and usually, it doesn’t need it.) so when I got back to the cup about 45 minutes later, it was quite a bit cooler but fortunately it did not need anything added to it. I didn’t think it would, I don’t usually need to add anything to my teas. But sometimes, with the edger teas, I find that they go down smoother with a pinch of sugar.

But I digress. Now, it is quite cold. But, it is still quite tasty. It is a little sweet with a strong, vegetative taste. A touch of fruity taste toward mid-sip through to the finish. I like that this is a little more savory than sweet, but enough contrast between the two to keep it lively and interesting.

Thanks TeaEqualsBliss for this sample. It’s an OK tea for me, not quite the kick I need to get this gloomy and rainy day started. It is sweet and slightly vegital. Not a bad start to the day…but I need a kick in the pants this morning, :)

This bagged tea doesn’t have much of an aroma or color to it. But what it lacks in those areas it makes up for in taste! This is darn tasty for a bagged green tea! It’s sweet and semi-malty for a a green. It has a slight hint of citrus, almost. The after taste is refreshing and cooling…not quite a mint flavor but something FRESH! This was a great surprise! I really enjoy this bagged green!

Keep away from other teas, or else they will pick up the smoky smell. I prefer with some milk, on a cold or rainy day. This is not a everyday tea for me to drink.

A review of Celtic Breakfast Tea by Choice Organic Teas

This is another great tea to fixed as iced tea. I placed four tea bags into a medium pan and fill it with freshly drawn, cold water. I placed cover on pan, partially and left to steeped for a good five minutes; when the water comes to a rolling boil, I remove the cover and let it brew a bit longer before turning it off.

Tea’s color is darken amber and smells very strongly of malt. I let it cool completely before pouring it into a jug. I take a tall glass from cupboard and set on table while retrieving some lime and ice to go with the tea. I thinly slice the lime into a few smaller sections and put one into the glass and crushed some iced to place in the glass and then poured myself some of the tea. I take one of the remaining limes and squeeze some of its juice over the tea and swirl about.

I have enjoyed this tea when hot with honey and sugar **(preferring it more with sugar) and now having it cold with some lime makes it for a milder cup of tea. The malt is very present…a rawness and drying of the palette but the lime makes it fruity and as I swallow the tea is not as astringently drying as without the lime. It seems as such.

I must note when I am to have the next cup of iced tea it will be without the lime. To truly enjoy this tea it is best alone with no tempering, but adding the sugar does to it nicely.

So enjoy a cup of Celtic Breakfast Iced tea and experience malt strength for what it is!

A review of Organic Celtic Breakfast by Choice Organic Teas

I poured over one tea bag in a cup some boiling water and left to steep for few minutes. The teas aroma is robust and richly dark. Upon tasting I can taste the malt of the Assam; leaving my palette with a drying effect at the back of throat.

It is smooth as it is robust and I am thinking this would make for a nice cup of iced tea. So I placed several tea bags in the pot and filled it with boiling water and left to brew for several minutes longer. I note the color is dark red…more amber than red. And the aroma is strong and invigorating.

I left it to cool for close to 15 minutes and took a taller glass and retrieved several iced cubes and placed them in the glass with a spoon of sugar and poured in the tea; stirring the tea, the sugar blends nicely with its coloring and to garnish I added on sliced (finely sliced) lemon and let that fall into the glass and this is was how the day unfolded with my Celtic Breakfast Iced tea; a favored refreshment of fine organic teas from Assam and Ceylon.

It is very good.

One last thing to note:
The tea bags in this package are made with unbleached natural fibers with a high barrier envelope that protects the freshness and flavor of the tea.

I am thinking guaranteed freshness with every cup of tea.