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Tea in Texas’ Prairie Green

Prairie Green by Tea in Texas
Green Tea / Flavoured
$10.00USD for 3oz

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First Impressions

I got a trio of teas blended from Tea in Texas as a birthday gift this year, and this review is of the first one that I tried – Prairie Green. What drew me most of this tea as I was smelling the aroma from the dry leaf is the bright freshness of the orange and lavender in the blend. The citrus is fresh smelling, and the lavender has a sweet floral aroma.

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Prairie Green is a blend of green tea, orange peel, and lavender. All of the three ingredients are visible in the green tea blend.

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Preparation

Tea in Texas recommends steeping Prairie Green in 180°F (82°C) water for 3-5 minutes. My initial steep of Prairie Green was for 4 minutes at 175°F (80°C).

First Taste

Prairie Green steeps to this beautiful yellow. The aroma that wafts up from the steeped tea as I poured from teapot to teacup was one of mostly citrus and lavender. The aroma is so inviting. The lavender is light and strong enough to be noticed over the orange peel. The citrus notes are fresh, bright. I can make out the green tea base – it has a vegetal undertone that is nice. When I sip this tea, I can taste the individual ingredients and yet they’re blended so well. I find that there’s a great floral taste, a sweetness to the citrus, and there’s the vegetal earthiness to the green tea base that’s so inviting. The tea lacks bitterness and astringency at the temperature and length of time I initially steeped it for.

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A Second Cup?

I resteeped Prairie Green twice, adding an extra 30 seconds per steep. I found the first resteep to be just as bright in citrus flavours, although the lavender wasn’t as strong. The green tea is beautiful to watch unfold, and the vegetal flavours are delicious. The second resteep is less vibrant in flavour, but still tasty.

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My Overall Impression

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I loved Tea in Texas’ Prairie Green. There’s just something really inviting by this blend of green tea, orange peel, and lavender. I really enjoyed the citrus notes in the dry leaf and steeped tea, while the floral notes from the lavender carried over well to the tea. I thought the tea steeped well, and would definitely recommend a second steep of the same leaves. It would go great with savouries, but I also think it would be an excellent tea iced because of the citrus flavours.

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Aroma Tea House’s Jasmine Pearls

Jasmine Pearls by Aroma Tea House
Green Tea / Straight
$16.00 for 100g

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First Impressions

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This was a tea that I picked up from Aroma Tea House’s vendor table at the 2017 Vancouver Tea Festival. Jasmine Pearls came to me in a resealable bag with a little window to see the tea leaves. The tea leaves are tightly wound into tiny pearls, and they’re quite fragrant. These green tea pearls have a beautiful floral aroma, the tea pearls have a sweet floral aroma that is inviting.

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Preparation

There were no tea preparation notes on the packaging, or on the Aroma Tea House’s product page. I did the initial steep at 175°F (80°C) for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Jasmine Pearls steeps to a very pale yellow after the first two minutes of steeping time. I found the flavour to be very mild and noted that the pearls to be only partially opened. There’s a mild earthiness that I noted with the tea, and the tea has a very smooth texture to it. I enjoyed having the first steep.

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A Second Cup?

I resteeped the Jasmine Pearls a total of four times. With the first two resteeped, the leaves opened up a bit more each time. I found that the colour got darker, and the flavour got more pronounced. I kept the steeps short (adding an additional 30 seconds with each steep), and found that there was zero bitterness or astringency with this green tea.

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My Overall Impression

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I loved Aroma Tea House’s Jasmine Pearls. The pearls are beautiful to watch unfurl, and I really enjoyed the jasmine fragrance from the dry tea leaves and the steeped tea. The tea steeps well at the temperature and length of time I picked, and found the lack of bitterness or astringency to make the tea quite enjoyable. I think it’d be a nice tea with sweets because of the light floral sweetness in the tea.

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InNature Teas’ Red Rose Tea

Red Rose Tea by InNature Teas
Black Tea / Flavoured
£5.95 for 50g

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InNature Teas has provided me with Red Rose Tea for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

With a name like Red Rose, it makes me think of the long-standing brand of orange pekoe that I grew up drinking. InNature Teas sent me Red Rose, a black tea, in a thick, square cardboard carton. On the outside, the packaging details the health benefits to drinking tea. On the inside, the tea came in a sealed paper packaging with a piece of paper titled Pure Fresh Teas Instructions. There’s some information regarding the history of tea, how to make the perfect cup of tea, and health benefits.

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Red Rose Tea is a black tea, from the Zhejiang region, and red rose buds, from Jiangsu. The aroma is that of floral and woody earthiness.

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Preparation

The piece of paper that InNature Teas provided suggested hot water, with no suggested temperature for black teas. The product page for Red Rose Tea suggested 75-80°C after describing the tea as a silver needle (white) tea. With that in mind, I used 80°C (175°F) water and steeped it for 3  minutes.

First Taste

Red Rose Tea steeps to a deep orange. The tea is quite aromatic, the aroma of the roses is strong with the natural woodiness from the black tea base. There’s an earthiness that mixes well with the floral rose fragrance that is tasty. I found that there’s a lovely sweetness at the end of each sip, and it is a nice finish. InNature Teas suggests that Red Rose Tea can be had straight or with a bit of milk and sugar.

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A Second Cup?

InNature Teas suggests that Red Rose Tea can be steeped up to three times. I resteeped Red Rose Tea three times (four infusions total), and found that the flavours seemed stronger for the first resteep, but became gradually weaker with each subsequent steep.

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My Overall Impression

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I loved InNature Teas’ Red Rose Tea. This black tea blended with red rose buds is delightful – I really enjoyed the floral flavours and the woodiness from the black tea base. I really enjoy the sweet, floral finish at the end of each sip. This tea is really tasty, and a nice change from a straight black tea. This tea also does well with a bit of honey and evaporated milk, and I think it would be a nice addition to an afternoon tea as it would couple nicely with savouries and sweets.

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