Category: Review

Posted on

Tealish’s Perfect Tea Spoon

Perfect Tea Spoon by Tealish
Stainless Steel (?)
$9.95

Both Perfect Tea Spoons came to me in subscription boxes by The Sugared Teacup.

First Impressions

I received the Gold and Rose Gold Perfect Tea Spoons via The Sugared Teacup subscription boxes. They came in retail packaging – a simple clear plastic box with a cardboard sleeve. The spoons feel quite durable, and it doesn’t feel like a coloured coating – I’ve had no issues with any chipping with use or washing.

The Perfect Tea Spoon holds a little over 1 teaspoon (upon measurement, I found that it holds 1½ teaspoons of water). The spoons have a beautiful mirror finish to them. The weight of the spoons just makes it feel like really good quality.

Preparation

I washed the spoons in warm soapy water prior to use.

First Use

The packaging suggests that the Perfect Tea Spoon holds the perfect amount of tea for a cup of tea. Because teas do vary, I think it really depends on what type of tea that you’re wanting to steep. In general, it holds on average the right amount of dry leaf for one cup of tea. I use less than full spoonful for more dense teas (e.g. oolongs) versus more airy teas (shou-mei or silver needle).

My Overall Impression

I loved Tealish’s Perfect Tea Spoon. It functions as expected, and holds a good amount of tea per tea cup/mug. I do think that it is on the pricey side. It’s definitely something that I would buy as a gift and for fancy tea party usage. The beautiful mirror finish and quality of the spoon makes it feel luxurious.

Posted on

Adagio Teas’s Samurai Mate

Samurai Mate by Adagio Teas
Herbal Infusion (Yerba Mate & Rooibos) / Flavoured
$8.00USD for 3 oz

First Impressions

I got this sample packet of Samurai Mate as part of a promotion that Adagio Teas was putting on when Teavana Teas was closing. The packaging and label is nice and simple – very on point with their branding, and the label tells me everything that I need to know about the tea – steeping instructions and ingredients. Bonus points for being resealable, Adagio Teas! Something I greatly appreciate. Resealable packaging helps keep the tea fresh and ready to go for the next time I want to make a cup. If you’ve ever heard of Adagio Teas, it might have been their fandom teas (of which they have many…).

Samurai Mate has a strong almond aroma, which the cardamom, ginger, and orange in the background. There’s fruit in the blend as well, and lemongrass, that I can see, but I can’t pick out those aromas. Samurai Mate consists of: yerba mate, green rooibos, cinnamon bark, ginger root, cardamom, orange peels, lemon grass, aniseed, almond flavour, spicy cinnamon flavour, mango pieces, papaya flavour and pineapple pieces.

Preparation

Adagio Teas recommends steeping Samurai Mate in 212°F (100°C) water for 5-10 minutes. My initial steep was for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Samurai Mate steeps to a beautiful golden orange colour. There’s a rich ginger and cinnamon aroma from the steeped tea, which I do taste as well. Along with the ginger and cinnamon, I taste the cardamom with a light sweetness – which may be from the fruit. I can’t taste the almond, which is unfortunate since it was so present with the dry leaf. The tail end of each sip has just a hint of bright citrus notes, which makes for a tasty cup.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Samurai Mate, steeping for a total of 10 minutes. I found the colour and the flavour to be quite dilute compared to the initial steep. I didn’t really enjoy the resteep of the same leaves.

My Overall Impression

I liked Adagio Teas’s Samurai Mate. I really enjoyed the warming flavours of the ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon in the blend. The sweetness from the fruits was a nice touch, but I was a bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to taste the almond in the steeped tea. That said, I’m really grateful that I couldn’t taste the rooibos in the base as I’m normally not a very big fan of rooibos. The citrus just added a touch of brightness to this blend, which made it quite delicious! I just wish that it had resteeped better since it was so enjoyable for the initial steep.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Aroma Tea House’s Ginseng Oolong

Ginseng Oolong by Aroma Tea House
Oolong Tea / Flavoured
$14.00 for 100g

First Impressions

Starting off the week with an oolong review – one of my favourite types of teas for the last little while now! Ginseng Oolong was a Vancouver Tea Festival purchase that I recently rediscovered in my tea stash as I was organizing it. Ginseng Oolong came in a cardboard tube with a bright green label telling me what it is.

The leaves of Ginseng Oolong are a dark greeny-brown, with an almost dusty appearance to the tea leaves. There’s a mild ginseng aroma to the leaves. It’s not a knock-you-over type of ginseng aroma that a lot of Chinese medicine shops have (if you’ve ever entered a shop that carries traditional medicinal ingredients, you’ll know what I’m referring to!). Ginseng Oolong consists of oolong tea and natural ginseng flavouring.

Preparation

There were no steeping instructions to be found on the packaging or on the product page. I opted to steep Ginseng Oolong in 195°F (91°C) with my Breville IQ Kettle‘s oolong tea setting for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Ginseng Oolong steeps to a light golden yellow after just the 2 minute steep. The aroma from the cup of tea was primarily that of the oolong tea – with a light ginseng aroma. The flavour of the tea is a mix of earthiness, ginseng, and a mild astringency that wasn’t off-putting, it added a bit of mouth pucker to the tea itself.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Ginseng Oolong five times, adding an extra 30 seconds for each steep. The tea became a deeper golden yellow, peaking in colour for the third resteep. The ginseng flavour was strongest for the second resteep, while the earthiness from the oolong base peaked at the third resteep. The last resteep (sixth steep overall) still had the ginseng and earthy aromas, although it was weaker.

My Overall Impression

I loved Aroma Tea House’s Ginseng Oolong. This oolong tea has a lovely flavour to it, and resteeped so well. It’s definitely a tea that I would recommend resteeping multiple times in order to fully exhaust the leaves out of all that beautiful flavour. It’s a gorgeous colour, and makes for a good cup. I think this would pair really well with something savoury.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.