3D Green Apple

Name: 3D Green Apple
Kathy’s Rating: 6.5/10.0
Company: Revolution Tea
Origin of tea: China
Price: ~$2/12oz can
Tea form: Sweetened iced white tea drink with fruit juices and multi-vitamins
What they say: Made from genuine juice, 3D Green Apple has a luscious sweet, tart snap. It’s light and refreshing, sweetened with a touch of blue agave and pure cane sugar. You’ll like its distinctive bite. Feel free to bite back.
Preparation method: Drink chilled, or pour over ice.

Review: Just in time for summer, Revolution Tea introduces their 3D line of sweetened teas. I guess the ’3D’ part of this represents white tea, fruit juices, and multi-vitamins. I liked the refreshing flavor of the drink, and I liked that agave syrup was used to sweeten the drink. However, overall, there is still a lot of sugar in this drink – 24g in 12 oz. The total amount of sugar could be reduced to 16g or less, and this would still taste good. So my question to Revolution Tea – how about it?

Full-disclosure: 3D Green Apple was a gratuitous sample sent to me from Revolution Tea. My policy is to rate free tea samples with the same unbiased standards with which I rate personally purchased tea. To read more about my personal thoughts on tea review ethics, see this post.

Bouddha Bleu

Name: Bouddha Bleu
Kathy’s Rating: 8.0/10.0
Company: Mariage Freres
Origin of tea: China
Price: ~$11/100g
Tea form: Loose scented green tea leaves and flower petals.
What they say: For centuries, Buddhists in the Land of Free Men have perpetuated the custom of making special offerings of flowers, fruit and tea to monks. From this green tea, sprinkled with blue cornflowers, there rises a blend of fragrances recalling the ripe fruit on a tray laden with offerings. A tea steeped in spirituality.
Preparation method: Pour slightly below boiling water over tea. Steep for 2 minutes.
Review: I liked this tea, and would definitely brew it again. The tea was mild-tasting, with honey-like tones, and reminded me of candy. Overall, delicate and slightly sweet, without fruitiness.

Sweet Shanghai

Name: Sweet Shanghai
Kathy’s Rating: 7.0/10.0
Company: Mariage Freres
Origin of tea: China
Price: ~$13/100g
Tea form: Loose scented green tea leaves and flower petals.
What they say: To celebrate Shanghai as the gateway to the Chinese Empire, Mariage Frères has blended a green tea-a symbol of eternal China, the shared link between lords and commoners-with exotic fruit to create a cup simultaneously stimulating and mild, sweet and fruity, with aromatic and pleasantly perfumed grace-notes.
Preparation method: Pour slightly below boiling water over tea. Steep for 2 minutes.
Review: This tea was extremely sweet and fruity smelling, but the taste was a bit more subtle, which was a pleasant surprise. I was concerned that the taste of this tea would be overwhelming after I took a whiff of that overpowering tropical fruity scent. The tea blender definitely used some restraint, as the final brew was crisp and fruity, but not cloyingly so.

Joongjak

Name: Joongjak
Kathy’s Rating: 7.5/10.0
Company: Teaism
Origin of tea: Korea
Price: ~$35/2.0oz
Tea form: Loose Korean green tea leaves.
What they say: A special, unique Korean green tea that is mildly vegetal and smooth, with a rich creamy aroma. Ours is the best you’ll find.
Preparation method: Pour slightly below boiling water over tea. Steep for 2 minutes.
Review: Joongjak had a very vegetal taste, and while I did find the taste to be smooth, I didn’t find it to be particularly creamy. This is a crisp and bright green tea that any green tea aficionado could enjoy and appreciate.

Matcha Black Soybean Rice Tea

Name: Matcha Black Soybean Rice Tea
Kathy’s Rating: 8.0/10.0
Company: Lupicia
Origin of tea: Japan
Price: $6/50g (1.76oz)
Tea form: Loose Japanese green tea and popped rice with matcha powder.
What they say: A Genmaicha with Matcha is blended with black beans “KURO MAME”, to promote “healthy (MAME) living”. Good aroma of black beans and mellow flavor of Matcha have created a fascinating Genmaicha.
Preparation method: Pour slightly below boiling water over tea. Steep for 2 minutes.
Review: This is basically a genmaicha (brown rice tea) with matcha powder added to the mix. I like the addition of matcha powder – while the idea of adding matcha powder to genmaicha is not new, it’s still not as commonly seen as plain genmaicha. I think the matcha gives the already hearty genmaicha a nice twist, because matcha adds a sweeter note to the brew. I’m thinking that this tea will go well with a wide range of foods, from sushi to delicate desserts.

Hatsune

Name: Hatsune
Kathy’s Rating: 8.5/10.0
Company: Lupicia
Origin of tea: Japan
Price: $12/50g (1.76oz)
Tea form: Loose Japanese green and black tea blend with herbs and grains.
What they say: Japanese green tea blended with black tea, Japanese basil, and various beans. A great harmony of aromatic and refreshing tastes.
Preparation method: Pour slightly below boiling water over tea. Steep for 2 minutes.
Review: This tea has a strong and fresh shiso taste (what Lupicia calls ‘Japanese basil’ is actually shiso). Since I really enjoy the taste of shiso, I liked the flavor, but it may be pungent for some. However, the roasted flavor of the beans balances out the astringency of the tea very well, and this would be an excellent tea to serve with sushi dishes.

Ancient Pu-erh Maiden

Name: Ancient Pu-erh Maiden
Kathy’s Rating: 7.5/10.0
Company: Rishi Tea
Origin of tea: Yunnan, China.
Price: ~$7/1.0 oz
Tea form: Loose leaf organic pu-erh tea.
What they say: A dark fermented Pu-erh made with tea leaves harvested from antique tea trees of Yunnan’s high mountain tea villages, which are home to some of the world’s oldest living tea trees and tea cultures. Maiden refers to a special grade of Pu-erh that is hand-harvested by the young women of Xishuangbanna’s Dai ethnic group. Made with tender two leaves and a bud without course or mature leaves it was traditionally offered as a special portion of their dowry. It is one of the most prized grades of Pu-erh and rarely found in the US. Pu-erh Maiden exhibits a well-balanced and smooth flavor, rich body and sweet finish. Like all of our Pu-erh, it goes well with spicy or oily food.
Preparation method: Boil water and pour over tea. Steep for 30 seconds and discard just the water. Pour the rest of the water over the tea, and steep for 5 minutes before drinking.
Review: Having tried and reviewed another of Rishi’s pu-erh teas in the past, I wanted to Ancient Pu-erh Maiden and see how it compares. Overall, I did not like this tea quite as much as the previous one. My thought were that this tea is very bitter at first taste. It is also very earthy, but that’s to be expected for pu-erh teas. This tea might do a lot better if I were eating oily foods (e.g. dim sum) while drinking this tea. The packaging for the tea claims a ‘buckwheat honey’ taste, but I did not taste any honey notes at all.

Mint Exhilaration

Name: Mint Exhilaration
Kathy’s Rating: 8.5/10.0
Company: Ineeka
Origin of tea: The Himalayas.
Price: $11/14 tea bag infusers
Tea form: Loose leaf organic peppermint leaves in paper infusers.
What they say: A natural digestive, this herbal infusion is cool, refreshing, and rejuvenating.
Preparation method: Pour boiling water (212F) over tea and infuse for 5 minutes.
Review: I recently came across Ineeka’s teas. They looked interesting, so I picked up Mint Exhilaration. The flavor of this tea is very good, and definitely refreshing. Yes, it’s true that it’s peppermint, so therefore, it should be refreshing. However, there’s a bit more to it than just that. I noticed that the mint taste is very clean – lending the brew a very sweet aftertaste, and not muddled like some other mint teas I’ve tried in the past.

The paper tea infuser I mentioned above is quite unique, and I’ve never come across anything else like it. There are actually little wing-like paper handles on the side of each paper infuser. The idea is that the wing-like handles would gently be stretched out to cling onto the sides of the tea cup. This novel design allows water to be poured directly into the paper infuser, much like if a regular metal infuser is used.

Roastaroma

Name: Roastaroma
Kathy’s Rating: 8.0/10.0
Company: Celestial Seasonings
Origin of tea: United States
Price: $3/20 tea bags
Tea form: Roasted barley, chicory, carob, and spices in a paper tea bag.
What they say: Roastaroma is made from healthy grains which have been brought to life by the roasting process. Malt made from barley contains natural grain sugar which gives it a touch of sweetness. Unlike most grain beverages, Roastaroma is blended with selected spices, creating an absolutely full bodied taste treat. It is delicious by itself, or try some cream and honey! This flavor was especially created to give the coffee crowd a delicious coffee-like, caffeine-free alternative. May Contain Gluten. Naturally Caffeine Free.
Preparation method: Pour boiling water (212F) over tea and infuse for 5 minutes.
Review: Roastaroma is one of the most unique teas I’ve tried. It is super bold and robust, with a hint of cinnamon, and has a coffee-like taste to it. It’s the closest thing to coffee as you’re going to get from a tea. Like coffee, this tea is good with cream and sugar. If you’ve been trying to convince a coffee-drinking friend to try tea, this would be a great place for them to start. I enjoyed the rich and satisfying flavor of the roasted grains in this tea.

Now that I’ve talked about the tea itself, let’s focus on the tea packaging. I’m sure Celestial Seasonings packages most of their tea in these paper containers for economic reasons, but is it really going to cost that much more to add a piece of string and a small tag to the bag itself? I can’t tell you how annoying it is to have to get a fork out just to take the tea bag out of the cup. I think their teas would present much better if there was an easier way of getting the tea bags out of the mug.

Rouge Bourbon Tea

Name: Rouge Bourbon Tea
Kathy’s Rating: 8.0/10.0
Company: Mariage Freres
Origin of tea: South Africa
Price: $25/30 tea bags
Tea form: Loose rooibos tea in muslin cloth tea bags.
What they say: Flavoured with Bourbon vanilla, this red tea displays great finesse. Delicate aroma, subtle taste. 100% theine-free. For pleasant occasions.
Preparation method: Pour boiling water (212F) over tea and steep for 5 minutes.
Review: This has got to be the best vanilla rooibos tea I’ve ever tasted. The vanilla infusion is dense, silky, and utterly pleasing – like eating a very good vanilla creme brulee dessert. Most of the time, I like this tea with some cream, but it also stands alone just as nicely. Usually, I prefer to buy loose tea over tea bags, but for rooibos, I find it annoying to clean the tiny herbal twigs out of my tea infusion containers. If you’ve ever tried to dig rooibos tea out of tiny sieve openings, then you know what I mean. At any rate, the muslin cloth tea bags Mariage Freres provides are high-quality.

That said, I thought Mariage Freres really needed to work on a couple of things. One, the website is fairly atrocious, with its badly designed JavaScript pop-ups. In this day and age, the website design really could be so much more sophisticated. Who wants to see pop-up window after window when selecting options on the webpage? Another thing I find annoying is that apparently, Mariage Freres prohibits online vendors from selling their products directly online. Come again? It’s 2008 – who doesn’t want to shop from the comfort of their own home? I know that Mariage Freres has online ordering on their website, but their ordering process didn’t look secure enough for me to chance it. Improve these points, and I will buy more of their teas.