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Teatourist’s Quintessentials Tea Adventure

Quintessentials Tea Adventure (March 2018) by Teatourist
£11-15 for 1 box, plus shipping (+£3-5 per box)

Teatourist has provided me with the Quintessentials Tea Adventure for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

This was the first month where Teatourist had updated packaging! I quite like it – the bright orange goes so well with the teal, and it’s less the sleeve, so there’s less packaging to go into recycling, which I quite like as well. This monthly box came with six different teas, and four of the six are straight teas! The only way I’d be even more excited about trying this box would be if this box contained fudge…

The teas in this box are: Morgans Brew Tea by Morgan’s Brew Tea Company (black tea), Ceylon Tea by Cheeky Chai (black tea), Green Tea with Jasmine by Pure Leaf (green tea), Bright Afternoon by Brighteas (black tea), Earl Grey 1833 by CHASH The Fine Tea Co (flavoured black tea), and Safari Oolong by Nothing But Tea (oolong).

Morgans Brew Tea has a strong smell to it that reminds me both of a breakfast tea (think British or Irish), while having some apricot notes in the dry leaf. This straight black tea is a blend of a few East African black teas (from Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda). Ceylon Tea (Pekoe Fannings) has a mildly sweet aroma, and has a very familiar black tea aroma to it. Ceylon Tea consists of 100% small leaf ceylon tea (pekoe fannings). Green Tea with Jasmine smells exactly as expected (like green tea and jasmine) and, surprise, consists of Chinese green tea and jasmine flowers.

From left to right: Morgan’s Brew Tea, Ceylon Tea, and Green Tea with Jasmine.

Bright Afternoon has an interesting aroma that reminds me of a fresh after-rain smell, and has some mushroom-earthiness to it. The ingredients in this black tea are Chinese Keemun, Mao Feng, and Yunnan black teas. Earl Grey 1833 has a lovely bergamot/citrusy aroma to it, and smells like most Earl Grey teas that I’ve smelled in that past. Curiously, the ingredients are listed as being the finest Ceylon black tea and pure bergamot oil. However, there’s obviously flower petals in the blend that aren’t listed in the ingredients. Safari Oolong is the most intriguing to me, as it has a very light honey and floral aroma to the dry leaf. Safari Oolong is 100% oolong tea from Tumoi Teas, located in Nandi Hills, Kenya.

From left to right: Bright Afternoon, Earl Grey 1833, and Safari Oolong.

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Wize Monkey’s Ginger Lemon

Ginger Lemon by Wize Monkey
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$10.49USD for 35g (15 sachets)

Wize Monkey has provided me with Ginger Lemon for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I generally think of ginger and lemon going together when I’m sick because that’s what my mom used to put together for me (along with some honey – I can’t forget the honey!) so when I opened up the packaging on the sachets of Ginger Lemon, it brings me right back to being little & feeling poorly (sorry, Wize Monkey, it’s not your fault!). That said, this tisane has an amazing flavour – it smells exactly like you’d expect it to, very strongly of ginger and lemon.

Ginger Lemon consists of premium arabica leaves, ginger root, lemon peel, lemon myrtle, and natural lemon flavour. Unlike my earlier review this month of the Original coffee leaf tea from Wize Monkey, I can only smell the lemon and ginger and none of the tisane base.

Preparation

Wize Monkey recommends steeping Ginger Lemon in 95°C (203°F) water with no set time limit. If you recall my review of their Original, I steeped it for 8 minutes with no ill effects on the flavour. I opted to steep Ginger Lemon in 93°C (200°F) water for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Ginger Lemon steeps to a lovely golden red and has a great aroma to it. The ginger and lemon are very much in the forefront and it’s the only thing I can smell from this coffee leaf tisane. The aroma still makes me feel like I should be drinking this when I’m sick, but what’s a girl to do? The flavour has some of the warming properties from the ginger, and I can definitely taste the lemon. I don’t really get a lot of the tea base, which isn’t that surprising considering how strong of an ingredient ginger can be. I get a little bit of the grassy notes, but it is mostly overwhelmed by the lemon and ginger. The flavour of Ginger Lemon honestly reminds me so much of what my mom used to make for me when I was ill, it just needs a spoonful of honey to make it match up perfectly.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Ginger Lemon twice. I found for the first resteep that it was more ginger than lemon, and the grassy notes were a bit stronger in the first resteep. For the second resteep, it was lacking the ginger and the lemon and just wasn’t as tasty as the original I would say that Ginger Lemon is good for one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Wize Monkey’s Ginger Lemon. There was just something really thought provoking of the flavours of the ginger and the lemon, and it probably has to do with the fact that I really enjoy the flavour combination. That said, it did make me feel like I should be sick or at least feeling a little bit under the weather while I was having it, so I might not be the best judge of things. However, it tasted good, smelled and tasted like I feel like it should have, so all in all, it made for a good cuppa.

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Thinktea’s Matcha Set

Matcha Set by Thinktea
Ceramic, Bamboo, and Oak
$29.99

First Impressions

Last year, I was wanting to branch out and start preparing and reviewing matcha at home, which is the primary reason why I purchased this set from Thinktea (a brand available via Stokes Stores). This four piece matcha set consists of a matcha bowl (ceramic), whisk (100 bamboo prongs), a long handled bamboo scoop, and a Japanese oak spoon (where 1 spoon = ½ teaspoon). The one piece that I would say it probably missing is something to sift the powder to break up any clumps prior to whisking.

All the pieces seem pretty solid, the bowl has a lovely floral design on the inside and outside of the bowl. I’m not that familiar with what the difference is between the scoop and the spoon, so I’m not sure why both would needed.

Preparation

I gave everything a quick rinse under hot tap water prior to usage, you just never know how long everything’s been sitting in storage for or how many people handled it.

First Use

I am not a matcha expert, nor do I play one on television. The first time I used this matcha set, I used the scoop to transfer the matcha to the bowl and I wound up spilling some on my counter. I found the oak spoon a lot easier to use (and less spillage!), so my novice self thinks that the reason why both are included is that one is for novice matcha makers and one is for more experienced tea ceremony masters.

I whisked the matcha in an M (or W) motion until it seems well mixed and has some bubbles on top. You do have to whisk quite vigorously to get some foam action happening, so it’s both an exercise in making matcha and a small arm workout. I learned about preparing matcha from Kimmy of Whisk Matcha (when I met her at the 2017 Vancouver Tea Festival) so I’m somewhat confident that I’m doing it somewhat properly.

Overall Impression

I loved Thinktea’s Matcha Set. I kind of wish it came with some instructions for the very novice beginner, but I think for $29.99, it makes for a great beginner set. If you’re new to matcha, you don’t necessarily want to be spending a lot of money in your teaware right away because what if you decide that you don’t like matcha or you decide that your preferred way to prepare matcha is in smoothie.

For $29.99, you get a bowl, spoon, and scoop that’ll last you for quite a while (possibly forever if you don’t drop or break anything), and a whisk that’ll be decent for whisking up some ceremonial matcha. You could easily spend that much on a fancy matcha bowl alone (or a lot more). Of the four piece set, the only item that I can see having to be repeatedly replace would be the whisk, since it’s not meant to last forever, which makes this Matcha Set a modest investment in my matcha journey.

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