Handmade Tea Maia Lemoniou
Country of Origin: India and Sri Lanka Leaf Appearance: dark, varied shapes Ingredients: Assam, Ceylon, glazed lemon peel Steep time: 5 minutes Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: ceramic teacup and mesh infuser Liquor: dark reddish brown As you can all tell, I’m terribly behind on tea reviews. Life just seems to get in the way sometimes. This blend was the May shipment from +Handmade Tea. What I love most about their teas is that they are truly blends, no additional flavoring beyond the basic ingredients. This one is made up a 50/50 blend of Assam and Ceylon along with some glazed lemon peel. The taste was bold yet mellow with just the…
Handmade Tea Along the River
Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: small, dark green with lots of lemongrass and huge pieces of fruit Ingredients: Mao Feng green tea, cantaloupe pieces, lemongrass Steep time: 3 minutes Water Temperature: 175 degrees Preparation Method: Teavana Perfect Tea Maker Liquor: pale greenish yellow I’m terribly behind on tea reviews which means that I have not been able to indulge in my +Handmade Tea shipments in a timely fashion. This particular blend was sent out in April. Oy vey! Cantaloupe is one of my favorite fruits to eat in this summer so it appealed to me before before tasting. The base was a pre-qingming Mao Feng green teas. I was a bit worried about what…
Handmade Tea Oatmeal Raisin
Country of Origin: Sri Lanka Leaf Appearance: small, dark Ingredients: black tea, raisins, organic oatstraw Steep time: 4 minutes Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: ceramic teacup and mesh infuser Liquor: deep reddish brown I’ve been so behind on tea reviews that I am several months late in getting to this intriguing shipment from +Handmade Tea. You all know that I’m not the biggest fan of flavored teas but +Caleb Brown‘s blends are a whole other animal. He blends whole ingredients rather than using artificial flavoring and preservatives. This particular tea features a black tea from Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka blended with mini raisins and oatstraw. The desired affect was definitely achieved. Imagine a…
Handmade Tea Pomegranate Orangelong
Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: dark green, tightly rolled, lots of fruit pieces Ingredients: Tie Guan Yin, dried pomegranate, orange peels Steep time: 3 minutes Water Temperature: 195 degrees Preparation Method: Teavana Perfect Steeper Liquor: gold I always look forward to my shipments from +Handmade Tea every month but January’s tea actually made me say “Ooh!”. Flavored oolongs aren’t usually my thing but the idea of pomegranate and orange with Tie Guan Yin really a-peel-ed to me (sorry, I had to do it!). The taste was unbelievably light and refreshing. Tie Guan Yin dominated with it’s sweet, floral notes while the fruit added a really nice lightness. The mouth-feel was thick and there was…
Handmade Tea Perry Tart
Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: small, dark with lots of fruit pieces Ingredients: black tea, dried pear, dried cranberry Steep time: 4 minutes Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: ceramic teacup and mesh infuser Liquor: reddish brown I always say that +Handmade Tea‘s Christmas season blends are the ones that I look forward to the most. Last month’s Winterfylleth was one of my all time favorites but this month’s shipmet came pretty darn close. Overall, it was wonderfully sweet and fragrant blend. I loved the malty, rich complexity of the base Yunnan black tea. It paired well with the light, fruity sweetness provided by the pear and cranberry pieces. They were colorful and so…
Handmade Tea Winterfylleth
Country of Origin: Sri Lanka Leaf Appearance: small, black with lots of juicy apple pieces Ingredients: black tea, cinnamon bark chips, Fuji apples Steep time: 5 minutes Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: Teavana Perfect Steeper Liquor: reddish brown Although I enjoy all of the teas that I get from +Handmade Tea, the blends I look forward to the most are the ones that come around the holidays. Christmas seems to have come early with this blend as it is a festive blend of black tea, cinnamon and apples. These are a few of my favorite things! I won’t burst into song but there was some jumping up and down when I opened the…
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