Geisha Beauty

Yum! This is a delightful blend. The peach flavor is sweet and authentic tasting. There is a very light floral taste. The black and green teas are very harmonious here.

I’m off to write a review for the Tea Review Blog!

had a nice bowl of pasta for lunch and was hoping to wash it down with something sweet and refreshing! i bought this tin of tea a few months ago and have been looking for a good time to try it out. i love the blend of green and black teas with the subtle fruit flavor. whereas some artisinal blends loose the essential flavors of the tea itself, this one did not shame the leaves while also adding a touch of floral and fruit!

From my review at It’s All About the Leaf, found at: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/1702/tea-review-sanctuary-t-geisha-beauty/

I’ve been working on this review for a month.

Or more specifically, I’ve been trying to start writing this review for over a month, but never get as far as getting anything written down. I’ll open the tin, smell the tea, get my brewing tools ready, and be excited to drink. This excitement will last until I actually start sipping the tea. Then I keep delaying in writing, because I keep thinking that this boring brew can’t be right. So I tinker with the parameters, and try again, or get bored and wander off. Either way, the review isn’t getting written.

The leaf has an awesome scent; peaches blending perfectly with the black and green tea. Brewed, its got a good color, and a nice aroma. But I keep sipping, and when I do, part of my brain is still waiting for yum to come. I tried longer and shorter steeps, a variety of water temperatures and sweetening the liquor. Even still, I wanted more fruit, more flavor and more oomph from this tea. Those with more delicate palates may apprecaite this tea more than I. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for a more robust drink.

I find myself reaching for this tea more and more. The blend of black, green and peach are perfectly balanced, you will be hard pressed to find a better black/green blend.

Generally, I’m not a big fan of flowery teas. I, in fact, despise them the same way any classy lady will turn her nose up at overly strong body sprays and glittery mascara. It’s over the top, it’s embarrassing, and just leaves everyone feeling like you’re a cheap tart.

This, however, is the Audrey Hepburn of teas. It’s elegant and crisp. The tea leaves themselves have the faint aroma of jasmine that is only enhanced by the brewing process. The fragrance wafts gently through the air to meet your olfactory senses upon sipping. It first opens with peach and honeysuckle notes and then morphs into a fresh blend of lighter green tea notes.

The liqueur is a rich gold (on the website it said amber…?) and is utterly smooth on the midsection of the tongue. It leaves no drying sensation and is quite a filling experience in itself.

The leaves retain their flavor for about 3 brews, while the fragrance has a funny way of staying on your cup. Honest to say, even that didn’t bother me in the slightest.

This is my new favorite tea! Normally I stick close to brands I know but I saw somebody tweet about how great Sanctuary T’s geisha beauty is and I had to try it. It is perfectly balanced with peaches, black tea and green tea all coming through in a sip.
But in hot weather months, nothing beats a glass of iced geisha beauty.

Sipdown no. 212. The second in the Sanctuary Sampler.

I am always puzzled by how to steep teas that mix different types of tea with different steeping temperatures and lengths. This is a black/green blend. I’m going just a tad hotter than usual for green, 180F, and the same length of time in the hopes that this doesn’t get bitter.

It smells very peachy in the sample packet. The leaves look sencha-esque. The tea is a light amber color and has some floaters in it, which I often find the case to be with sencha. Something about it manages to evade the Breville filter. It smells very peachy, with a vanilla edge. Given the ingredient list I would have expected some rose, but I don’t smell rose.

The tea is very pleasant tasting. There’s a sugary sweetness to it, as well as a peach/vanilla flavor. It’s not bitter at all at this temp. I don’t taste a lot of tea, but what I do taste is mostly the green, probably because I steeped at a low temperature and for a short time.

As flavored tea mixes go, this is a good one. I’m unlikely to purchase it in quantity simply because this isn’t the sort of thing I usually find myself wanting to drink, but that’s not a reflection of the tea’s flavor or quality.