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Wize Monkey’s Sunset Chai

Sunset Chai by Wize Monkey
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$14.99 for 100g

First Impressions

Another 2020 Vancouver Tea Festival purchase! I was super pleased to see the fellows behind Wize Monkey at the festival this year, it’s always lovely to see familiar faces. I picked up a tin of Sunset Chai because it smelled amazing – it basically smells like ginger ale and I thought that was pretty cool, so I picked up a tin of this blended coffee leaf tea.

Sunset Chai consists of coffee leaves, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, black pepper, and natural ginger & cinnamon flavours. The ginger is honestly the strongest aroma in the blend, followed by the cardamom and cloves. It smells like ginger ale and I’m all for it.

Preparation

Wize Monkey recommends steeping Sunset Chai at 95°C (200°F) water for a minimum of 5 minutes. I did an initial steep of 6 minutes.

First Taste

Sunset Chai steps to a slightly cloudy orange. It smells like ginger, cardamom and cloves. I can also smell the coffee leaf base – it’s difficult for me to describe because I feel like it has an aroma all its own – it has some malty notes to it. The flavour reminds me of a gentle masala chai. There’s the lovely spice notes – ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon – but doesn’t have that punch of caffeine behind it like in a black tea. Coffee leaf does have caffeine, but not as much as tea or coffee does. It’s quite pleasant – the coffee leaf base adds a little bit of roasted notes and a malty flavour. There is no astringency or bitterness, which makes it even more pleasant.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Sunset Chai. I found that the ginger and cardamom wasn’t as strong as I would have picked, and those were the flavours that I enjoyed the most in the initial steep. I’d recommend a longer initial steep to get all the flavour out and leave it at that.

My Overall Impression

I liked Wize Monkey’s Sunset Chai. I found the flavours of this coffee leaf tisane to be quite pleasant – I definitely appreciated the bright ginger aroma in the dry leaf, and the pleasantness of the spice flavours in the steeped tea. It makes for a nice alternative to the traditional masala chai, because it’s lower in caffeine and just has that more gentle way about it – it’d make for a nice option to get those warming spices in your cup when you’re closer to bedtime or not wanting to drink as much caffeine.

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Wild Orchard Green Tea’s Twig Tea

Twig Tea by Wild Orchard Green Tea
Green Tea / Straight
$10.00 for 55g

First Impressions

Twig Tea was a 2020 Vancouver Tea Festival purchase from the Seasonglass Green Tea booth – the same organization that was behind the Belcarra Seasonglass Green Tea Festival that I attended last year. While Twig Tea was described to me as being roasted green tea made with stems of the tea plant, I asked how it differed from hojicha as some types of hojicha are made using the stems of the tea leaves as well. I was told that the flavour was different, but it wasn’t available to taste test at the time. But for $10, where could I go wrong?

Teas from Wild Orchard Green Tea are washed following harvest, and before the tea leaves are processed. Not surprisingly, Twig Tea appears to be a bunch of little twigs or stems, all brown in colour. There’s a delightful nutty aroma to it, and it does remind me a bit of hojicha. Twig Tea consists of organic green tea stems from South Korea.

Preparation

Wild Orchard Green Tea recommends steeping Twig Tea at 85°C (185°F) for 1 minute. I followed the steeping instructions. They also say that the leaves can be steeped up to 2-3 times… but more on that later.

First Taste

Twig Tea steeps to a lovely light golden orange. I did steep this in a tea pot that has a stainless steel infuser basket – as you can see some little bits of the tea got out (so if this bugs you…. use a filter bag? If not, just carry on as usual). Twig Tea has a delightfully smooth mouthfeel to it, very pleasant and smooth. There’s a slight thickness to it that almost makes it feel savoury. There is zero bitterness or astringency, Twig Tea has a nice roasted and nutty flavour to it, I quite like it. It reminds me of a milder version of hojicha, which is not necessarily a bad thing (since I know some people don’t like an over-the-top roasted flavour).

A Second Cup?

So the packaging suggests steeping 2-3 times, which means 1-2 resteeps. I opted to try 3 resteeps (so 4 steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the flavour was best at the first resteep (best = strongest). The second resteep was a bit weaker than the initial steep, while the third resteep was a bit weaker than that. Still drinkable with plenty of flavour and colour though, so definitely push those limits and get as much tea as you can out of your leaves!

My Overall Impression

I loved Wild Orchard Green Tea’s Twig Tea. While it doesn’t pack quite as big of a punch as hojicha does for me, Twig Tea does exhibit a lot of the qualities that I enjoy in hojicha in a milder, well-mannered format. A lovely drink with ‘leaves’ that resteep quite well with a good amount of flavour, so I really haven’t anything negative to say. It’s definitely a green tea that I would drink again (and again) because it’s smooth and could be a great tea to have while studying or doing a task – tasty, but doesn’t make me stop and think about what I’m drinking.

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Adagio Teas’s Teaster Marshmallow

Teaster Marshmallow by Adagio Teas
Rooibos / Flavoured

Adagio Teas has provided me with Teaster Marshmallow for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Teaster Marshmallow is a fun blend from Adagio Teas – it comes in just the cutest Easter themed bag. Very cute, very happy, very much invoking feelings of spring. This is an rooibos blend that is available as a 3oz pouch for free currently from the Adagio Teas with purchases of $39 or more – if you are successful at their Easter egg hunt on their website (and like all good things, it’s available for a limited time only and this offer expires April 12th, 2020).

This rooibos blend is pretty adorable – the ingredients in this Easter treat are green rooibos, apple, sprinkles, natural flavour, marigold, and apricot. It smells like candy, and it has some pretty cute sprinkles (eggs, bunnies, and chick shapes). I can’t really smell the rooibos, which is basically a bonus for me since I’m not a big fan of rooibos.

Preparation

Adagio Teas recommends steeping Teaster Marshmallow in 212°F (100°C) water for 5 to 7 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Teaster Marshmallow steeps to a cloudy orange colour with a slight oil slick across the top. The oil is from the sprinkles for sure. The aroma of Teaster Marshmallow is sweet, with a slight fruitiness. The texture of the tea has a full mouthfeel to it. I can taste the rooibos base, but it is offset by the apple and apricot fruit flavours. There’s a nice sweetness from the fruit and sprinkles, but not quite as sweet as I might enjoy.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Teaster Marshmallow, but found that the flavour did not taste quite as good as the initial steep (I definitely could taste more rooibos in the second steep…).

My Overall Impression

I thought that Adagio Teas’s Teaster Marshmallow was just okay. I think it’s definitely a fun treat for Adagio Teas customers to offer a tea as the prize for a virtual Easter Egg hunt – great for both tea loving parents and kiddos alike. It has the added bonus of having the most adorable spring sprinkles as well as being caffeine-free and kid-friendly in that regard. For me, personally, I’m not a fan of rooibos on the best of days, so it’s not really a blend for me – but I think a lot of people will enjoy the whimsy of this Easter-themed blend and it’d be a fun game to play with your kids at home during their home school ‘recess’ to get a little treat for the family.

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