Adagio Teas Red Bloom

Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: tightly rolled, dark colored ball
Ingredients: black tea
Steep time: 5 minutes
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: Glass Teapot
Liquor: pale amber

As flowering teas go, this one isn't the most spectacular looking but it still puts on a pretty good show. My five year old cousin was enthralled. I felt that the quality of the tea was better than most though so perhaps it's a bit of a trade off. It is also one of the few I have tried that fully opens on the first steeping. The taste was mostly floral with some earthy undertones. There was a sweet, honey-like aftertaste that lingered after each sip. I love that this tea never gets bitter, even when the bloom is left sitting in the water. I would definitely recommend this tea. The bloom that I had looks a bit different from those pictured on Adagio's site so they may have changed the product slightly.

Handmade Tea Gavati

Country of Origin: China (for the two teas, not sure about the lemongrass)
Leaf Appearance:
Ingredients: oolong, black tea, lemongrass
Steep time: 3 minutes
Water Temperature: 185 degrees
Preparation Method: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker
Liquor: deep gold/amber

This is my second monthly shipment from Handmade Tea. I have to say that I continued to be impressed by the packaging, the quality of the ingredients and the personal touches. What other tea company includes the owner's phone number in case you have any questions? I was actually a little hesitant about this blend because based on past experience, I'm not a huge fan of lemongrass. Happily, the flavor palate of this tea blew me away. The base oolong was very green and lightly floral. This was balanced by the earthy, smokey and peppery taste of the black tea. The lemongrass echoed that spiciness and added a touch of citrus sweetness. I never would have put these three ingredients together on my own but they complimented each other perfectly. I would definitely recommend this tea.

DCI Tea Duckie Floating Tea Infuser

I received this adorable tea infuser as a Christmas present. It features a mesh infuser basket that attaches to the bottom of a floating yellow duck. How cute is that? The basket is small but I think it is deep enough to handle a larger leafed tea. I tend to use a lot of leaf so I'll just have to be careful not to over fill it. I love that it comes with a holder. I'm often at a loss as to where to put my infuser when the tea is done steeping. This little guy is definitely going to be keeping me company at work in the near future. My only qualm would be that the duck piece is made out of plastic but there are no assurances of it being BPA free. It's a not a big enough concern for me to stop using this infuser but it might be for someone else.