Author: Michelle

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Whisk Premium Matcha’s Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha

Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha by Whisk Premium Matcha
Green Tea (Matcha) / Straight
$45.00 for 30g

Whisk Premium Matcha has provided me with Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha came in a sealed, resealable, foil pouch. The front of the package gives a bit of information regarding the flavour profile (baby vegetable, young bamboo), as well as the fact that this matcha is from a first harvest of handpicked tea leaves from a single cultivar.

Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha is from organic tea farms located in Uji, Kyoto, Japan and is a 100% pure, organic matcha. The colour of the matcha is amazing – the green is so vibrant and bright. I find that it has a slight vegetal aroma that reminds me a lot of raw bok choy with slight mineral undertones.

Unsifted Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha.

Preparation

There were no preparation instructions on the packaging, but Whisk Premium Matcha’s website has a Matcha Preparation page. I used 2 bamboo scoops of Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha and sifted it into my bowl. I used 175°F (79°C) water and whisked the matcha in an M motion until there was a layer of bubbles.

Sifted Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha.

First Taste

Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha is such a vibrant green, it’s almost unreal. I took a sip after whisking this matcha and found it had a beautiful light sweetness to it. The flavour reminds me of dark leafy vegetables (spinach, Shanghai bok choy, gai-lan/Chinese broccoli) – it just had that familiar bite to it. There are some definitely strong grassy notes and lots of umami flavours to it. A lot of the time, especially for green teas, I find that the umami to be a bit strong for me, erring on the heavily salty side but the umami that I taste in the Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha is well-balanced with the lighter sweetness that’s also present – which just made it very pleasant. I found that Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha has a lovely smooth texture to it. I had this matcha straight.

A Second Cup?

As matcha is a suspension, there was no second steeping since it was all used up in the first whisked bowl (and went into my belly!).

My Overall Impression

I loved Whisk Premium Matcha’s Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha. I found that the flavour profile was well balanced and quite complex. The subtle changes from grassy to vegetal to grassy again, with strong umami notes that were balanced against the gentle sweetness that I found in this matcha was a delight for the taste buds. I find the steps of whisking matcha to be really relaxing, so that was a nice added bonus of trying out the Ultra-Premium Organic Ceremonial Matcha – it put me in a good mood prior to drinking it.

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Woash Wellness’s Immunity

Immunity by Woash Wellness
Honeybush / Straight
$12.50 for 40g

Woash Wellness has provided me with Immunity for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Woash Wellness released their latest herbal blend, Immunity, in January. It’s a tisane that is designed to help boost the immune system and help relieve those pesky cold symptoms. As someone who was also very recently feeling sick with a (stupid) cold, Immunity could not have a picked a better time to arrive in my PO box. Immunity comes in a dark blue and cream sealed, resealable bag. The label on the back lists steeping instructions and ingredients. Woash Wellness describes their Immunity blend as being full of vitamin C and antioxidants.

The aroma of the Immunity blend is, in short, delicious. It smells a bit like an herbal-ish dessert. I can smell the honeybush, ginger, cloves, and the lemon myrtle. The lemon myrtle gives it a nice citrus aroma, and the combination of citrus and honey fragrances reminds me of some common lozenge flavours. Immunity consists of: honeybush, elderberries, ginger, lemon myrtle, cardamom, and cloves.

Preparation

Woash Wellness recommends steeping Immunity in 205°F (96°C) water for 5 to 10 minutes. Because a lot of herbal infusions don’t do well with a second steep, my initial steep of Immunity was for 10 minutes with 200°F (93°C) water.

First Taste

Immunity steeps to a deep brownish-orange colour. The aroma is primarily that of the lemon myrtle and the honeybush. The citrus and honey notes really do remind me of the cough lozenges I had been using not that long ago. The flavour is a mix of the honeybush, lemon myrtle, and ginger. I get the natural warming sensation from the ginger in this blend, which is a quality to have in a blend that’s meant to make people feel a bit better from beig sick. There’s a nice thickened mouthfeel to Immunity, which does a lovely job of coating the mouth, and adds a nice soothing aspect to my poor throat.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Immunity but found that it didn’t taste as good compared to the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Woash Wellness’s Immunity. I’ve been actually drinking this almost daily since I picked it up from the post office. While I am getting better on my own, having it to help with my sore throat has been absolutely lovely. I love the combination of honeybush, lemon myrtle, and ginger – it makes for a tasty blend that both smells and tastes pretty good. If you’re in need of a delicious boost of flavour while sick, Immunity might be a good option for you!

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Aroma Tea House’s Lychee Black Tea

Lychee Black Tea by Aroma Tea House
Black Tea / Straight
$5.00 for 40g

First Impressions

Lychee Black Tea from Aroma Tea House was a black tea that they had available for sampling at the 2018 Vancouver Tea Festival. The black tea came in a resealable foil and plastic bag, with a simple label on the front that only tells me the name of the tea. Fun fact for those that don’t know, what we call ‘black tea’ in western culture is called ‘red tea’ in China. The leaves themselves are short, dark brown leaf pieces, with some lighter tips mixed sporadically. The aroma of the leaves is pretty much exactly like lychee. There’s a beautiful floral and fruity aroma, which is what lychee smells like to me.

I wasn’t able to find Lychee Black Tea on the Aroma Tea House website, but back in November at the Tea Festival, I had spoken to the people running the booth and had been told that Lychee Black Tea is a straight tea with no additives, so Lychee Black Tea is a straight black Chinese tea.

Preparation

No steeping directions from Aroma Tea House, but never fear! There’s plenty of information online about steeping temperatures and times for the variety of teas out there, including in my steeping guide. For this black tea, I opted to use 100°C (212°F) water for 3 minutes for the initial steep.

First Taste

Lychee Black Tea steeps to a beautiful golden orange. The aroma from the steeped tea reminds me a lot of lychee – both fruity and floral. The flavour of this black tea has a nice sweetness to it, with the fruity and floral flavours throughout each sip. There’s a bit of crispness to the tea, which lends itself to a nice mouthfeel. I found there to be a slight astringency at the end of each sip, which wasn’t very off-putting when coupled with the sweetness of the lychee flavour found in the tea.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Lychee Black Tea three times (four steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that with each steep, the flavour became more floral and less fruity. The sweetness was sustained throughout each steep, although by the last steep (fourth steep with the same leaves), there was less sweetness to it and almost all of the fruity flavour was gone.

My Overall Impression

I loved Aroma Tea House’s Lychee Black Tea. I really enjoyed this black tea when I sampled it at the 2018 Vancouver Tea Festival, and really enjoyed being able to steep and resteep these leaves at home. The flavour combination of fruity and floral really made me think of lychee, had a great sweetness to it, and overall just made a nice cup of tea.

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