Tea type
Green Tea
Ingredients
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Edit tea info Last updated by Carolyn
Average preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 15 sec

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From Our Community

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20 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Eponymous tea! I’ve been looking forward to drinking, er, Shanti, for some time now. Ick, this feels weird, referring to it as “Shanti”. I know the Jessicas and Elizabeths and Jennifers of the...” Read full tasting note
    60
  • “This tea does smell slightly smoky and there is a smokiness to the flavor along with a vegetal note. I’m used to drinking strong black teas so sometimes when I sip a green the first thing that hits...” Read full tasting note
    79
  • “The Final Sipdown: Day 26.1 The tea. The tea. The tea is on fire. We don’t need no water, let the… This tea is smoky. Smoky in a way that has me on the fence between wood burning fire and...” Read full tasting note
  • “After my week of work tea divine decadence (jasmine! violet! cherry! chestnut!) I decided to have a plain green today. I got a very nice sized bag of this free with my Dawn order. Thanks Simple...” Read full tasting note
    85

From The Simple Leaf

“The beautiful green leaves and prominent tips of this tea will be the first thing to grab your attention. When brewed, these leaves unfurl and produce a wonderfully mellow, light green liquor that is exceptionally smooth. The flavor is fresh, slightly vegetal and fruity.”

Little known Arunachal Pradesh, in the north eastern part of India, has arrived! Remember: never use boiling water or milk with green tea as they will ruin the flavor. Let the water cool down a bit after it comes to a boil. Enjoy hot or iced.

1 tsp. / 6oz cup
170 – 190° hot water
3 minute infusion

About The Simple Leaf View company

Company description not available.

20 Tasting Notes

60
96 tasting notes

Eponymous tea! I’ve been looking forward to drinking, er, Shanti, for some time now. Ick, this feels weird, referring to it as “Shanti”. I know the Jessicas and Elizabeths and Jennifers of the world are used to this, but I’ve never met another Shanti before in my life, so this is exciting. Maybe I should take a page out of the GOP’s playbook and start referring us as “Shanti the Person” and “Shanti the Tea”? Or perhaps “Shantea”?

Mmm, these leaves smell mysterious and opaque. I know opaque isn’t a smell, but bear with me. You know how colors like lavender and periwinkle are always opaque and milky looking? Well, if that opaque quality had a smell, it’d smell like Shantea. It’s a very cozy, comforting smell.

Whoa. The smell coming from the liquor is smoky. Kind of like cigarettes, to be honest. And under the cigarette smoke, there’s the—OMFG I JUST SNORTED TEA UP MY NOSE. Well, that’s a first. Ow!

Where was I? Oh yeah. Smells like smoke and just barely like some kind of salted vegetable. Sipping now…Smoke! Smoke smoke smoke! There’s quiet a bit of bitterness, but it’s a good bitter. A drinkable bitter. A dull, non-astringent bitter. It fits in with the smoke nicely, and I think the tea would taste worse if it wasn’t there. The smoky, dull, opaqueness of the tea is actually making me a little sleepy. The more I sip on this, the more I taste sweet grass and hay. And gasoline, maybe. And, wow, now I’m getting flashbacks of the smell of the farms along the highway in my rural hometown in central California. It doesn’t even taste like smoke to me anymore, it tastes like driving home. And now I’m feeling all nostalgic and homesick and want to take a nap. Thanks a lot, Shantea.

Cofftea

Too funny! Is this what you took your user name from? Or is Shanti your given name? So sad it only got a 56 though. :(

Shanti

It’s my real name. :) I forgot to say so in the note, but it means “peace” in Sanskrit.

Harney & Sons The Store

I’ve found that lately I think I’ve forgotten how to drink tea, or properly function for that matter. When I taste teas these days the first slurp always ends up going down the wrong pipe, and I end up hacking a lung for awhile… Highly attractive and pleasant for the customers I’m sure.

Cofftea

Oh pretty!

Shanti

Cofftea, I feel bad for rating it so low, because it was actually a very interesting and unique tea. It’s the first smoky tea I’ve ever had, and I’m not sure I like smoke :x but I think other people might really enjoy this if they like light smokiness.

Cofftea

Yeah, I try to be unbaised w/ my tea reviews and rate it based on what it is, not how I feel about it- but that’s hard.

LENA

LOL! Careful with that lethal tea. I hear you on having a name out of the ordinary. As a kid, I was always bummed when stores didn’t have Lena bracelets or Lena’s Room signs, etc. I’ve only met one other Lena in person. We’re a rare breed. HAHA!

Harney & Sons The Store

Right there with the both of you. My name’s Emeric and the only other Emeric I’ve “met” is actually an Emeric I saw when I was a kid watching MTV summer Beach House… tragic really.

sophistre

Awww. It’s always interesting when a flavor or smell sends us back to some other place…sort of a shame that this one wasn’t an instant trip to someplace you’d like to ruminate on, though.

Angrboda

Lena is a fairly common name in Denmark. I’m sure I could find a ton of name stuff for you. :)

Shanti

Lena, me too! I was always jealous of my sister who has an “American” sounding name and always had plenty of those mini license plates and keychains available with her name. I especially loved when people would get us gifts, and her’s would be like “I’m name!” and mine would say corny generic stuff like “I’m Cool!” LOL!

jennlea

I am one of the gazillon Jennifers out the and always wished I had a more unique name, lol.

Cofftea

In my graduating class of 150 (guys and girls) there were 6 Sara/hs, 7 Amandas, and 7 Rebeccas.

Bethany

I think Shanti is a love it or hate it tea. I personally really like it, but I’ve noticed the reviews are pretty much split down the middle.

In terms of name, I feel kinda lucky. When I want to be more generic and blend in, I go by Beth. When I want to be a bit more unique, but not 1 in a million unique, I can be Bethany. Works out well!

Shanti

Bethany, I know what you mean about the tea. I think I was a little shocked by the smoke, since I wasn’t expecting any. But, even now, I find myself wanting to try it again, so who knows…

IdentiTEA

Bethany – “I think Shanti is a love it or hate it tea. …I’ve noticed the reviews are pretty much split down the middle.” I agree! I remember reviewing this stuff and hating it… both this one and Chloe by The Simple Leaf. I am total green tea lover, but I couldn’t even make it to half of the cup. When I posted this review on twitter, one chic was just appalled that I hated it… she ranted and raved that I was completely wrong, that I must have not made it right. Heh, yes, insult someone’s intelligence, that will make them change their opinion. ;)

Harney & Sons The Store

Not like that hasn’t worked before IndentiTea.. ;)

Ricky

From your tasting note, it seems I would probably not like you. Sorry!

I meant Shantea, not Shanti ;)

Shanti

IdentiTEA – Lol! By the way, Chloe was just “eh” for me…not a lot of flavor on that one. I think I have to try Shantea again, though. I’ve never had smoky tea before, and it wasn’t in the description, so I was shocked and not in the mood for it.

Shanti

Ricky – cries You don’t like me?? sobs hehe j/k. Just you wait…one of these days they’re going to make Ricktea and I will say I hate you too! muahahaha

Ricky

“You don’t like me??” Nope, not at all. KIDDING! I mean what is there not to like about those adorable kitties in your avatar. You shall never find a tea with my name, fwahaha. I wonder what time of tea I’d be. Would I be a black, green or oolong. Ummm I wonder!

Cofftea

Ricky, A blend of pu erh and a chinese oolong.

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79
429 tasting notes

This tea does smell slightly smoky and there is a smokiness to the flavor along with a vegetal note. I’m used to drinking strong black teas so sometimes when I sip a green the first thing that hits me is that this tastes like yellow/green water. I have to remember that green tea is delicate so I slow down and as the tea cools I get more flavors. I also tend to get the water too hot and then I have to wait. Waiting is not my strong point. Overall this is a nice drinkable tea, Next I intend to double the leaf like Teaequalsbliss did and see how I like it. I do like the Maharani much better though.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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260 tasting notes

The Final Sipdown: Day 26.1

The tea. The tea. The tea is on fire. We don’t need no water, let the…

This tea is smoky. Smoky in a way that has me on the fence between wood burning fire and cigarettes. It would be full on firewood, if it weren’t, maybe ironically, for the vegetal quality underlying the whole thing. For me it’s giving it that nicotine-y tinge that’s making me think I won’t be finishing this cup.

The other flavors in it are savory and salty. There’s also a peppery note that is hitting the tip of my tongue. This is one of the least grassy green teas I’ve ever had, and were it not for the lightness of flavor beneath the smoke [and the coloring of the liquid] I may have pegged it for a black tea.

The sweeter notes don’t come into play for me until the end, and then it has an almost fruity sense about it. That fruit, however, is lending a more sickly quality than sweet and fresh…until the aftertaste really kicks in and the liquid is completely gone. Then it’s like a Febreze commercial.

I don’t know. I don’t mind a smoky tea, but this one’s poking at my gag reflex. The combination of flavors just doesn’t make any sense to me, and there isn’t really anything enjoyable about the profile as a whole. A pleasant aftertaste alone does not a good tea make.

Ah well. I appreciate Carolyn sending this to me nonetheless. And now it’s gone! Good things all around.

Teas Downed: 32

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec
wombatgirl

Yeah, that was my problem with it – the cigarette flavor. I couldn’t reconcile it with anything else in my head and so for me, bleah. Nice to know I wasn’t the only one thinking of the cigs for this tea.

East Side Rob

I’ve always associated smokey teas with China since Indian teas are usually baked to stop the oxidation. But since they’re emulating the Chinese in producing green teas, perhaps the Indians are pan roasting them too. Can’t imagine who’s consuming all these smokey teas, especially lapsangs.

iTea

Interesting tealog and I like the lyrical touch at the beginning! :D

Gurgaon Guesthouse

I like the lyrical touch at the beginning!

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85
1112 tasting notes

After my week of work tea divine decadence (jasmine! violet! cherry! chestnut!) I decided to have a plain green today. I got a very nice sized bag of this free with my Dawn order. Thanks Simple Leaf!

This tea smells SMOKY!!

It tastes earthy and smoky, the slightest bit asparagus-y, but I like it! It’s not my usual “profile” at all, but it’s really nice after days of sweetness and refinement. This tea would be excellent with a meal. As it cools, it is a little less smoky, a little more asparagus-y and slightly sweeter.

2nd steep: (3:30) Nice! It’s more subdued and very delicious. I don’t know if I prefer the first or second steep! The first one is so interesting, but the second one is very harmonious. I am wishing I had a bowl of rice with salmon and bok choy (yeah – I know! specific!) to go with this tea!!

3rd steep: (4:00) Sweeter! even less smoke. I am so full, but I think this tea could go on to yet another steep (but I won’t save my leaves because I have dark chocolate covered graham crackers for my afternoon snack, and that would be an awful pairing!!). I wanted to mention it though, because if you are having guests for a meal, you can keep on refilling your teapot at least 4 times imo with this tea.

Look at me – evolving!! ;)

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

I love evolving teas!

JacquelineM

…and evolving tastes! Hurrah!

LadyLondonderry

Your fantasy food pairing on the second steep sounds great (though I might swap out the salmon for some broiled eel, which is deliciously smoky itself!

JacquelineM

LadyLondonderry – I haven’t tried eel yet, but I should since I am evolving at present !! :)

__Morgana__

Yay for evolving!

AmazonV

eel is delicious! try it as a sushi so it’s only a tiny bit – it’s a cooked sushi don’t worry

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84
6768 tasting notes

Apparently I am in the minority…but I really like this tea! It’s another selection from the goodie-bag I received from SoccerMom. It’s extremely juicy – VERY mouth watering. A nice relaxing cup!

I doubled the suggested amount of loose leaf, however, and infused for about 4 minutes.

In my book…this is YUMMY…thanks SoccerMom for sending this my way…

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Dan

Sounds like a good idea, I’m going to try this.

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68
59 tasting notes

I recently placed an order with The Simple Leaf, and they sent me a 1oz sample of this for free! Much thanks to them. I was considering ordering it, but my order was already approaching 70 bucks after the 20% “simple20” discount – a decent sum for a part-time teacher!

I opened the packet and the first thing to hit me was the Chinese-ness of the tea. I know it’s an Indian tea, but I would not be surprised if this particular breed of camellia sinensis was brought over from China somewhat recently. At risk of overgeneralizing, what I mean by “Chinese” is the slightly gritty, astringent, strong sort of green, in opposition to the lighter, more vegetal or hay-ish Japanese style, and so on. It is a bit less harsh than that though, and I do plan on trying a shorter steep next time (1:30?) to see how that affects things.

In any case, on that canvas are subtle strokes of clay, smoke, and soil after a rain. It’s sort of a nice memory for me, because this combination is the smell of mornings at my paternal grandparents’ house – my grandma is a sculptor, and she let us play with big old chunks of grey clay in the backyard on the driveway. My grandparents smoked, so there was always a hint of smoke even though they stopped smoking while we were around. The yard had a lot of tree cover, so the rain or dew would linger just a bit longer on the ground, stirring up smells that I loved.

I’m pretty sensitive to astringency in tea, and generally prefer the lighter greens, so Shanti still isn’t quite going to go down as one of my favorites. I would recommend trying it if you enjoy greens that lean toward the punchier side, or want to experience a green tea that has this somewhat peculiar blend of flavors.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Ricky

Yeah, I hate it when I set a budget for myself before I start browsing a tea companies website and before I know it, I’ve surpassed that budget twice. When I do decide to order from Simple Leaf it’s going to cost me close to $90 =/

Harfatum

I think my tea expenditures have doubled since I got on Steepster. But, I’ve never had so nice a tea collection, and I’ve learned a lot, so I’m cool with that :D

Ricky

Yeah, I didn’t nearly spend as much before I found Steepster. Then again I didn’t have as much tea either and now I’ve gotten many of my friends into the whole tea scene =]

Steve

Liked for sentimentality :)

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87
4843 tasting notes

This is the first time trying this tea. It’s been in my cupboard for a little while, I bought it at the same time I purchased Dawn and Honeybee. But, as I said, I have a lot of teas …

Anyways… This tea is yummy! Fresh vegetal taste – less on the grassy side and more on the cooked veggie side. These beauitful, long, spiral-y leaves slowly unwind and unfurl to a full leaf that appears to be small and quite young… but whole… and absolutely lovely.

I am currently enjoying my third infusion of this tea. With each new infusion comes a smoother flavor that is savory and sweet all at once. The Simple Leaf is simply amazing!

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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92
251 tasting notes

Another good tea from The Simple Leaf that I drank on a daily basis until it was gone! As I recall, this one was a nice dark brew with a lot of flavor. I need to make a wishlist for teas from The Simple Leaf. This one deserves to be reordered.

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49
236 tasting notes

Beautiful long dark green leaves give off a smoky fragrance when dry. Steeped it has an even stronger smoky smell which also dominates the taste. There is a very slight bitter edge. Overall, this isn’t really my sort of tea.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Bethany

I had a week where Shanti was the only tea I would drink in the afternoons. This reminds me that I need to revisit it. If memory serves me correctly, though, it was definitely unique and an acquired taste.

Carolyn

It may be that another day would have been a better one to try to acquire this taste. Today’s been pretty difficult and I was longing for a light, sweet tea.

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66
280 tasting notes

Thanks to LiberTeas for the sample of this.

I’ve never had a green tea from India, so it was fun to try one. This isn’t one I would seek after, but it was pleasant enough.

The leaves looked like I would think of as a small-leaf green phoenix oolong (if there was such a thing). They smelled like Gunpowder green tea, somewhat smokey and pan fried.

The flavor was like dragonwell/long jing, in that it was something like chestnuts, stir fry, but not as good. However, it had a very strong note of honey at the top of the mouth that was quite tasty and interesting. Strange too, to feel like it was a savory flavor on the one hand, and then a sweet one on the other (aftertaste).
As I said, it’s a pleasant cup.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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