Nature's Tea Leaf

I love LiberTEAS note on this one. As she said this one has chocolate and chocolate makes me happy. A very nice flavored white tea. I prepared it in my Finum basket as it is less work cleaning chocolate out of than the screen in my press.

After a couple false starts I learned I needed to use more leaf by volume than I normally use. The front of the sip is white tea. The white peony remains solid but dives under the chocolate flavor that comes in next. Its white and Belgian semi-sweet curls that completely melt in the brew. The curls taste really good when you pick them out of the bag. As it turns kind of milky the peppermint kicks in for the finale in the aftertaste. This is white tea so everything is a little subtle. Whisper is the correct name for this but it works. A really good cup.

Ahhhhhh! This smells wonderful! ALIVE!

I’ll be sharing this with a few people, too!

This is screaming Multiple Infusions but I will save that test for another day!

This time around here are my findings:

Green, Leafy yet Slightly vegetal, Aromatic, Vibrant, a bit roasted yet very clean, sweet, slightly floral, a little buttery, and VERY tasty!

Loose
Appearance: med curl leaf, deep black, paper fine choclate shavings
Aroma when Dry: bittersweet, slightly smokey
After water is first poured: dusty, salty sweet
At end of steep: sweet, musty
Tea liquor:
At end of first steep: powder brown
multiple steeps: not likely, did not attempt.
Staple? No
Time of day preferred: evening
Taste:
first notes: flat, bland, and at same time, silky, creamy buttery, black tea chases slight smoke.
As it cools? Gets dustier, nutty.
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No.
Lingers? No.

A lovely sample from Nature’s Tea Leaf!

I’m a huge fan of Hong Kong milk tea, so I was interested to see how that would translate into a normal tea that doesn’t need anything mixed in. Amazingly, it’s very spot-on! The black leaves (amusingly mislabeled as “red” on my sample packet. No, I know black when I see it) smell very strongly of condensed milk, hitting your nose as soon as you open the packet. When you pour the water, you can see the milk seep out from the leaves. The brewed smell is quite a bit softer than the leaf smell, but both the tea and milk scents are there. The flavor is one of the smoothest I’ve ever tasted, with the milk and sugar flavors right there in the tea! I suppose you could add extra milk and sugar, but wouldn’t that ruin the point?

I do imagine I’ll be buying the full size in the future. I highly recommend this tea to people who love a good milk tea!

OMG – LOVE THIS!

When I saw this tea on the Nature’s Tea Leaf website, I had to try it. Just look at all those yummy chocolate curls! My mouth began to water just from me looking at the picture. And the picture does not lie! There are a bunch of little chocolate curls in this. Yum yum yum!

And this is really amazing. The yunnan is a perfect choice for a chocolate flavored tea because of the natural chocolate notes in the tea … as well as the hint of spice notes which accent the chocolate very nicely. The vanilla bean adds some creaminess to the cup without making it taste too much like milk chocolate … this has one of those dark chocolate truffle tastes … like the kind of confection you might buy in one of those expensive chocolate shops (you know, the kind of place where I can only usually afford one or maybe two pieces of chocolate … but it’s OH-so-worth-it!)

Amazingly good. Bravo Nature’s Tea Leaf!

Snow day. Staying on the couch waiting for the end of the world. I need Earl Grey but its at work. This has bergamot. Close enough. Actually it is completely different. As I was sipping this I kept thinking, this reminds me of something I’ve had before. Hmmm. This is peppery. The Earl Green I get from Empire Tea Services is peppery but much brighter and with more emphasis on the bergamot. This is lighter and darker. Trust me that makes sense if you try them both. What does not make sense is that this reminds me of Gurmans Pepper Mango without the heat. Completely unexpected and interesting.

My last sample from Nature’s Tea Leaf! Oddly enough this is the first black tea of theirs I’ve tried. The majority of the teas I drink are black but their other blends just caught my eye more. But when I saw this, I knew it had to be! Especially after their amazing cinnamon oolong which is a tea near and dear to my heart because the cinnamon is absolutely perfect. And I just noticed that I am writing up two cinnamon teas in a row—it really is that time of year!

In the bag this tea smells heavenly, like pure apple cider. And there are the big chunks of cinnamon bark like in the oolong blend! Often I don’t mind artificial flavors, but I am a staunch believer in natural cinnamon only. There are also chunks of orange peel, it’s a festive looking blend—or maybe I just have Christmas on the mind haha.

Sipping this is… wow. Apple cider! The apple is really strong with a nice hint of cinnamon, clove and something kind of caramel-y? That might be the black base, which has some nice malty tones that bring everything together. There’s a lot of flavoring going on here but you can definitely still taste the base! It’s an utterly perfect mix of apple cider and tea. It’s even better than the real deal (plus, of course, way less calories.).

Additional notes: Sad sipdown of this gem. So chocolatey and not just because of those chocolate flakes! I wish Nature’s Tea Leaf would stock up on this one again! I just saw Anne’s glowing tasting note… maybe she can recreate it for 52Teas?!!

Edited to add: They still have it on the site!!! I swear it wasn’t there when I looked before…

Additional notes: I’m having a couple steeps of this one, as Dinosara was nice enough to send me a couple teaspoons! This isn’t quite as magical as the first cup I tried, sadly. I wish I remembered how to steep it exactly the same. It is still very delicious and I think my favorite chocolate tea. I’ll definitely stock up at naturestealeaf.com when I run out!

I knew I would love this tea! Yunnan black tea! Vanilla! Belgian dark chocolate! It’s the perfect combination. I would pick dark chocolate over regular chocolate every time (you know… it’s healthier anyway… I have an excuse!) The chocolate pieces look like little shavings from a giant chocolate bar. The black tea itself looks perfect, definitely “midnight” as the leaves are very dark. The steep color is more red than a pitch black cup of tea. After steeping for five minutes, the cup certainly smelled like chocolate! I peeked in my infuser and most of the chocolate pieces had melted away. With another steep at boiling, it should take care of the rest of the chocolate! I think even if there wasn’t chocolate included, this is the type of tea that would taste a bit like chocolate anyway. It’s very malty! It has the perfect mixture of bitter and sweet, both from the tea and both from the chocolate. I don’t mean astringency… there is none of that. The vanilla definitely makes itself known too! This was reminiscent of another tea I had… I just can’t remember which one. It might be my beloved Phoenix Pearls from Zen and maybe something else… So so good. I think I might have to order this one when my sample is gone. I’m so glad I got the chance to pick samples from naturestealeaf.com this time around! thank you! A tea like this just makes my day a little bit better. :D

Less than one minute is MUCH better – at least for my tastes. It’s gentle, very clean, and summery. A tad fruity. Not as vegetal. My water was a little cooler (but still hot) as well. To play with this one – makes all the difference in the world.

Goody!
Sharing with friends :)

I’ll be spending more time with this before rating but I LOVE the way it looks! It reminds me of Paper Quilling!

Once infused and the rings separate it looks like (Silver) Needle Tea Leaves.

I got more vegetal but want to revisit this one very soon before rating. I think I over infused. It suggests only 1 minute.

First impression tho – a neat tea! Vegetal yet fresh!

My second sample from Nature’s Tea Leaf. I requested this because I absolutely adore floral teas, but have never had one with globe amaranth. I’ve had it in the garden, but never in tea! Also, I kind of thought it was berry flavored as well—though of course, amaranth is called that because it looks like a berry. Duuh, kind of a silly mistake on my part!

In any case, I’m pretty glad there’s no berry like I originally thought. This is an almost impossibly light, effervescent blend. The amaranth isn’t really floral surprisingly, but refreshing and almost a bit sour, though not in a negative way. It also makes the glass a nice shade of light pink, almost rose-colored. I think the white base is what really shines here, it’s crisp and has some luscious cucumber and green apple notes. One of the most refreshing teas I’ve had for sure! I think this would be best iced in the summer, definitely a tea that you could chug down on a hot day.

thanks so much Naturestealeaf.com for the samples! I loved choosing which samples I wanted this go around. I picked these interesting little green stones because I’ve never seen any tea like this before. This is little oolong bundles wrapped in powdered ginseng and liquorice grass. They reminded me of the rock tumbler toy I had as a kid, where ordinary looking rocks are tossed around in a toy tumbler and out come colorful gems! (I tried to link to an example but it doesn’t seem to be working.) The smell of the leaves is very grassy and oaty. The taste is exactly the same in the best possible way, but after the sip, there is a unique slightly spicy sweetness that is probably mostly the liquorice but might also be an awesome combination of the oolong and the liquorice grass… and maybe the ginseng… not sure what that is supposed to taste like! I wanted to gulp it right down. The steep color was a golden color, but the second cup was much darker. With the second steep, I used just boiled water for five minutes and a ton more of the liquorice flavor made itself known. And much like the rock tumbler toy, the leaves are like little shells with precious oolong inside, the outer coating kind of crumbles apart to reveal the oolong. It’s amazing this tea seems so simple yet is so tasty and addictive! It also looks like there are a ton of health benefits for this one. I can’t wait to try this tea with a brew basket I’m planning on buying after the new year when I have some cash to spare. (It will be a nice excuse for an Upton order!) I think this tea would really benefit with room to stretch out, rather than being crammed in my tea dipper. The oolong leaves were still curled up in my infuser! Very nice choice and the price is great! I’m honored to write the first tasting note for this “gem”. haha.

Having a cup of this with a pinch of dry ginger. Adds some great spice!

My samples from Nature’s Tea Leaf came today! What perfect timing, since I have a bit of an upset tummy and could use a soothing herbal blend. I was really happy to find this on their site since I’ve wanted to try the Teavana blend with the same name, but it has pineapple. What is up with that? Do they just add fruit to all of their blends to make them heavier or something? But here it’s just lemon, sage and lavender.

I happen to love sage teas, though I know they are a bit divisive. I have 2 others, Bergamot Sage (Rishi) and Ginger Sage Spa Blend (Verdant), but this one is quite different because of the lavender. It reminds me of Sleepytime, if that tea was slightly savory! The lavender and sage are an absolutely perfect match, the sage tempering the floral nature of the lavender while adding a nice mellow effect.

The lemon brings it together with a bright pop of citrus and adds another dimension. It’s a simple blend where every ingredient gets a chance to shine, and nothing is overpowered or overdone. It’s a perfect after-dinner or before bed tisane, relaxing and soothing!

I’ve been enjoying this over the course of the last couple of hours, it’s really nice. Nice and creamy with lovely notes of cinnamon. Very nice way to enjoy the evening.

I’m currently on my fourth infusion of these leaves, I’ve been enjoying this tea all evening while my daughter came over for a visit. She doesn’t have cable at her place, so she comes over every other week or so to watch episodes of Project Runway with me. It’s a nice way to visit with my baby who is not so much a baby any more.

Anyway… I’ve really enjoyed this tea. It started out rather delicate, with a soft, creamy Oolong and hints of cinnamon, and the flavor of the cinnamon progresses into the aftertaste. In subsequent infusions, I noticed that the Oolong became more floral and less creamy, and I like the way the cinnamon and floral notes merge. It is exotically sweet and gently spiced. Very enjoyable.

This is nice! The jasmine is just right: soft enough so that it doesn’t come off as soapy, but, strong enough to offer a distinct jasmine note.

Sweet, exotic and lovely. The jasmine is so soft and sweet, and the green tea has a light, fresh taste to it that melds very nicely with the jasmine. A very pleasant cup.

My full-length review of this tea will publish tomorrow evening on SororiTea Sisters: http://sororiteasisters.com

Sample provided by Nature’s Tea Leaf. The sip when hot is a little light on the first cup. It at first seems non-descript, then suddenly bam, bam, bam. It goes from tasting watery to mineral, then immediately changes to floral, followed by mellow roasted. The aftertaste lingers long and floral green oolong with a cooling breath sensation. Pretty awesome for one sip. Yet, it is so light that gulping this, you would miss all but the roasted note and aftertaste. As the cup cools I am noticing more of a woodsy taste early in the sip. The floral aftertaste is somewhere between tiguanyin and high mountain oolong but more subtle than either.

Steeping a second mug resulted in a press full of huge leaf. It is still not completely unfurled but there is a lot of it. The brew is golden. The roasted taste has mostly gone in to hiding. It is replaced by a creaminess. The aftertaste continues to grow stronger. It is now largely tiguanyin but the cooler the cup, the more it takes on a citrus type flavor.

I decided to try something different on the third mug. I cold brewed. I poured cool water over the leaf and set the press aside for an hour and a half. The result was the most flavorful cup yet from this tea. Seriously good. The sip was what I call geranium as that is what it reminds me of as I taste. It had the same great aftertaste as when I used hot water.

I wish I had more time as I am sure this has lots of steeps left in it.

TY to Nature’s Tea Leaf for a sample of this tea for review!

DRY: Fun, tightly rolled green tea balls.
STEEPED: Savory vegetal smell, very light yellow tea.

TASTE:
First steeping – light, savory and buttery. Tastes like I should be drinking this with lunch or dinner not breakfast.
Second steeping – brighter, little sweet pea like. Still savory tasting.
Third Steeping – I think this tea is getting darker. The sweetness of the second steeping is gone, moreso a stronger first steeping.

COMMENTS: Nice, simple green that isn’t grassy or very sweet – moreso a good savory type that would pair well with dinner. Good bang for you buck with this tea – I bet I could keep on resteeping, but I’m bored after 3 small pots and want something new.

Church was cancelled today because of snow and ice. I got my house pants and a mug of this. Looking forward to many resteeps. Sweet, fresh, smooth, mellow, scent of hay, and maybe the cup wasn’t rinsed well but I am getting a little spicy. This is the last of this one. All the Nature’s Tea Leaf teas have been very good.

Finally, the furnace repairman made it to my house. It only took a week. He said he is absolutely swamped. A burned out relay replacement later and I now have full heat again. So Yeah heat! Celebrating with Silver Needle and going to get a piece of pumpkin pie. They probably don’t go together but I don’t care ’cause I have heat.

This tea is a over a year old and it is still so light and fresh tasting.